Tag Archives: cheese

Damn The Man

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For being the 1st week back from a vacation this week felt painless! Here were some food highlights…

Even our leftovers from dinner at Theodora were fantastic. This was laffa with lamb, tahini, amba, and shifka.

A grown up takes on a cafeteria favorite – two bougie Gushers-inspired candies. Both were great.

I loved these sweet cinnamon bun flavored protein pretzels.

It was Rex Manning Day this week so I baked cupcakes for work (because there are 24 usable hours in every day!). Peanut butter cupcakes (boxed yellow cake mix baked with milk substituted for water, butter substituted for oil, an extra egg, and 1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter) with chocolate frosting. They were fantastic, amazingly the texture was perfect.

And we, of course, ate a bunch of pizza and watched Empire Records! This plate was chicken and waffle (possibly my all-time favorite slice of pizza, the chunks of waffle felt artisanal and there was maple syrup!) and buffalo chicken. Plus spicy green beans (steamed and then sauteed with Sichuan peppercorn, gochugaru, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, yellow mustard, dijon, and Sriracha.

The rest of our dinners were on the theme of school cafeteria lunches! Like a take on Salisbury Steak. Turkey patties (with ground turkey, panade, grated white onion, dijon, ketchup, and garlic) with a tomato gray (roux, water, tomato sauce, dijon, dark soy sauce, and low-sodium oyster sauce). Served with roasted broccoli and potato tots.

Macaroni and cheese. My mac and three cheese muffins. I substituted extra-sharp cheddar for parmesan because it was all we had. We used Goodles Loopdy Loos.

Fish sticks. Cornmeal crusted served with cocktail sauce and a side of roasted cauliflower.

Hudson Highlights

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Adam and I spent a GREAT weekend in the Hudson Valley (primarily downtown Hudson). On Saturday we walked around admiring the town for eight straight hours! Alphabetically…

Cafe Mutton. I ordered my Bloody Mary extra spicy and with excessive garnish (it came with a giant slab of house made sausage that Adam happily inherited). We shared a buckwheat scone with butter and curd.

And a mushroom and gruyere omelet with buttered toast. [And Bucitini with lamb ragu.]

Gracie’s Luncheonette (Leeds). Housemade cherry cola float.

Adam got a fantastic tuna melt and I got the brisket melt (my favorite sandwich of the trip!) – with smoked cheddar, jalopeno peppers, and white bbq sauce on white bread.

Lemon chess pie.

Hereafter. It was our first time at this bar. My drink on the right was a Magnolia Fizz – gin, Douglas fir brandy, magnolia oolong, milk oolong, cream, citrus, egg whites, and mint.

Hudson Roastery. Their iced espresso with skim milk is my 2nd favorite coffee in all of New York.

Kitty’s. Their brunch can’t compare to their dinner (but was still solid). I had a great mocktail, Kitty Temple – ginger beer, lemon, lime, and housemade grenadine.

We shared eggs on rice with pickled veggies and chili oil and and hashbrowns.

Lil Deb’s Oasis. Their cocktails are always amazing. Golden Thaw – Japanese whiskey, lemon, and tamarind / Unknown Legend – bay leaf, pisco, burnt honey syrup, grapefruit, egg white, and pimenton. [We also loved a Colorless Dream – Haitian rum, sake, bitter melon, and toasted rice.]

We shard a bunch of dishes. Loaded fries with vegan chz wiz and pickled onions and Fresno chiles.

Tamale with mushroom, poblano and nopal filling, and a golden milk veloute. (Adam’s favorite)

Llapingacho – a potato and cheese pancake with pickled pineapple, peanut salsa, and a fried egg. (My favorite).

Braised chicken mole with confit potato and a “Carolina Mole” (with vinegar).

For dessert we got the Sexpresso Martini – coconut nutmeg tequila, Forthave Brown, cold brew, and cola syrup.

And a scoop of chocolate sorbet.

Mel the Bakery. Pistachio and almond croissant and a fantastic corn cookie with blueberry jelly.

Stewart’s. We popped into this cute gas station and came away with maple French toast cold brew!

Willa’s (Catskill). Cinnamon sugar cruller.

And a buttery egg sandwich with sharp cheddar and honey Sriracha on a brioche roll.

P.S. Our favorites were Gracie’s, Lil’ Deb’s, and Cafe Mutton!

3.1425

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Highlights from the week…

New York Beanery is doing a pistachio cold foam iced mocha special. The pistachio, while a lovely green, could have been more flavorful but I loved their mocha.

My homemade blueberry iced latte was better – coffee blended with brown sugar, vanilla protein powder, and frozen wild blueberries.

This week’s yogurt bowl – plain skyr with Kodiak cookie butter granola (fantastic) and blackberries and blueberries.

An array of watermelon things. 9/10 for all but positioned from least to most favorite.

Whole Food’s pie cookies are great. These were pineapple and guava. <– this is foreshadowing

Tuna salad sandwiches. Canned tuna with mayo, dijon, chopped pickles, scallions, and crushed bbq kettle chips on toasted Trader Joe’s whole-wheat bread with gouda spread.

Monday night Adam and I met up at Gup Shup for dinner in the city and had the best Indian food in recent memory. I had a non-alcoholic refresher with kokum and fig purée, mint leaf, and club soda. Adam had a cocktail with clarified tamarind that I will be going back for.

We shared a bunch of things and ended up with to die for leftovers. Mutton Sukka – goat meat, onion-curry leaf, black pepper, bone marrow stock, and malabar parotta (poppy seed).

Butter Paneer Masala. I was pleasantly surprised by how spicy this dish was.

Chicken Biryani with saffron basmati rice and burani raita. This was the most succulent and flavorful chicken. The dish came topped with a seeded bread dome that they excavated tableside.

Our favorite dish was Nizaam’s Haleem – lamb shank cooked overnight, haleem garnish, and butter naan.

Dessert was fantastic too; carrot halwa with gajar halwa ice cream from Caffè Panna.

Friday night we made a homemade pizza pie for Pi Day! Two ingredient crust topped with spinach pesto (spinach and basil food-processed with water, evoo, salt, pepper, and parmesan), extra-sharp cheddar, and tons of sauteed mushrooms.

I, of course, actually did a Pie Week. Turkey cottage pie. I loosely followed this recipe but used ground turkey and added baked cauliflower rice.

And chicken tot pie.

I very loosely followed this recipe but added sauteed mushrooms and substituted frozen potato tots for crust.

High Marks

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Some things from a lovely weekend…

Black sesame frozen coffee. Iced coffee blended with black sesame paste, honey, cinnamon, vanilla extract, vanilla protein powder, and skim milk.

Pistachio chocolate frozen coffee. Iced coffee blended with Javy, pistachio paste, brown sugar, vanilla extract, chocolate protein powder, cocoa powder, and skim milk.

I am obviously a sucker for seasonal releases but this grapefruit and blossom Red Bull did taste like a Squirt soda!

The maple cruller from Daily Provisions is my favorite doughnut in NYC.

We loved two new (to us) treats at Win Son Bakery – a fermented red rice donut and a vanilla cream bun.

11/10 brunch at Marks off Madison. We shared the smoked fish platter with bagels, veggie cream cheese and scallion cream cheese, tomato and red onion, whitefish salad, house-cured lox, sable, and Nova.

Dinner at Ammazzacaffe. We thought everything here was great, down to the free bread and olives.

My cocktail was so cute; Spill the Tea, green tea infused vodka, elderflower, St. Germain, yuzu, amaro, and prosecco.

We shared two pastas and two entrees. Spinach gemelli with maitake mushrooms and goat cheese and the special – beet mezzaluna with roasted beef and ricotta.

Braised lamb shoulder with beans, brodo, carrots, and pistachio gremolata.

The best dish of the meal was the pastrami short bread with roasted cabbage, rye strata, pickles, dill, and Russian dressing.

Chop Chop

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Things from this week…

Two types of blueberry drinks. We adore the Once Upon a Coconut blueberry, it is my favorite coconut water.

I bought a box of Melo bars without tasting them (flavor untasted?) and fortunately the 1st two kinds I tried were great.

I obviously bought this Slice soda because of it’s font/branding but I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor.

Gigantic dessert yogurt bowl – plain skyr, Ben and Jerry’s s’mores bites (this was a fantastic idea!), cereal, granola, and tons of blueberries and blackberries.

Chopped chicken sandwiches. I am so glad we started making these! Chopped together on the cutting board – baked chicken, sharp cheddar, Kewpie, garlicy sauteed broccoli rabe, kimchi sauteed with scallions and butter and sugar. Plus a side of roasted green bell pepper and purple cauliflower with curry powder, sweet and spicy pecans, and dried cranberries.

Big salads. Romaine with ponzu vinaigrette, bell pepper, scallions, bean sprouts, sharp cheddar, packaged fried tofu, and Trader Joe’s crispy mochi nuggets (10/10).

Chicken salad. I put so many things in here I don’t think I remember them all but this was definitely baked chicken with skyr, mayo, dijon, hoisin, lemon juice, scallions, celery, and toasted slivered almonds. Plus a Bibigo kimchi and cheese rice ball, buttered toasted baguette, and roasted zucchini.

A take on chicken laab. I loosely followed this recipe but used ground chicken, doubled the onion, swapped guava jelly for tamarind, and added bean sprouts. Plus a quick cucumber salad (sugar, rice vinegar, Sriracha, and yuzu ponzu).

Chili, Congee, Cookie, Chewy

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It’s March tomorrow, thank goodness! Did February feel even longer than January this year? Some things from the last week…

I searched for months for this chocolate chip cookie Nesquik to add to iced coffees and it ended up being very lackluster.

Meanwhile these Smash Bites are perfectly satisfying.

This pre-dinner snack was brought to you by the word “chewy.”

Yogurt bowl mix of the week – plain skyr with blueberries, blackberries, and granola and All Bran buds.

Dinners this week were all about comforting meals (and an excessive amount of unphotographed take-out!). Congee – brown rice slow cooked in chicken broth, topped with garlicy sauteed collard greens, silken tofu, chili crisp, and green onion. I loved the silken tofu texture/temperature contrasts in this.

Chili when it’s chilly! We made a huge batch with ground turkey, pinto beans, sweet onion, zucchini, yellow bell pepper, poblano pepper, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and a ton of seasoning. I pre-cooked my veggies by roasting them in the oven and it worked out great. We always add fish sauce and dark soy sauce to our chili. Topped with tons of cheese, hot sauce, and plain skry. With beer bread on the side!

Painkillers In The Snow

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I knew we’d been homesick after my mom left so I filled the week with Caribbean flavors to remind us of home! Highlights…

This week’s coffee combo.

Smoothie – pineapple with frozen peaches, water, and vanilla protein powder.

The last of the hibiscus iced brownies.

Tropical candies. Passionfruit marshmallows and pineapple and passionfruit gummies. Both were delicious.

Painkillers!

I also made rum and coke slushies.

We love our loose take on callaloo – chopped spinach sauteed with yellow onion, habanero pepper, and garlic, with crab meat and coconut milk. Plus I made dumb bread – with butter and cheese – that we adored.

Rice and beans (brown rice with yellow onion, ginger, habanero pepper, dark kidney beans, and coconut milk) with baked salmon cakes (canned salmon with green onion, egg, panade, mayo, smoked paprika, and Jamaican curry powder) and roasted peppers (bell, poblano, and onions).

Long/Mom Weekend

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My mom was in New York this weekend! She came up to see our condo and celebrate her birthday next weekend. We had a fabulous time and did all sorts of NYC things like – admiring the ceiling at Grand Central Station / admiring the ceiling at Albertine Bookstore / admiring the ceiling at Chelsea Market / admiring the snow in Central Park / shopping in Greenpoint / getting a flight of fruity milkshake beers at Evil Twin.

Here were some food highlights…

Morning coffees at home with this power duo (brown butter cookie cold foam!!?).

Egg foam Vietnamese coffee from Larry’s Ca Phe.


Brunch at Empire Dinner. The roasted broccolini was a standout. And I had the perfect bite of mac and cheese, egg yolk, and Calabrian chili.

Luke’s Lobster roll flight with original, honey butter, and truffle.

Tofu sandwich with cabbage, scallion tahini sauce, and chili crisp from Radio Bakery.

Tuna melt slider at Twenty Grams Cafe.

The best dinner at Hellbender. We ended with every dessert on the menu (chocolate mousse, churros, coffee tres leches, strawberry chamoy jello).