Working Weekend Wrap-Up

by Emily

No traditional weekend for me, my only day off was Thursday. I’m actually working straight through this Thursday – 7 days in a row – which means next weekend will be a three-day extravaganza! It’s hard to complain about 7 days anyway, my last year at Buff State when I was doing school/internship/part-time job there were a few stretches where I went 30 days plus without a true day off.

The past 4 days in numbers –

glasses of iced coffee – 7
packed lunches – 0
product reviews* – 2
desserts – 10 billion
books read start to finish** – 1

notes: *the products were both sent to me free of charge and neither company gave me additional compensation for this post; **the book was a murder mystery that I actually hated but needed to know the ending to

Here are the highlights…

Key lime cookie from Schmackary’s.

With white chocolate, pistachios, and cream cheese icing. The middle is the best part.

Three new dark chocolate flavors of Nonni’s Almond THINaddictives* – Dark Chocolate Banana Almond, Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond, and Double Dark Chocolate Almond. FYI – hit up their Facebook page for a new flavors giveaway.

They are 70-80 calories per pack (2 thins) and crisp but not too crumbly. I though the double chocolate flavor was a bit plain but the cherry and banana had great notes of tart and sweet. This week I paired them with my coffee but I’m also looking forward to crumbling them into yogurts.

That combo is killer, Grady’s is thick and sweet and it makes my heart sing.

Traditional breakfast.

Potatoes, scrambled eggs, and (turkey) bacon. Covered in ketchup because I grew up in St. Thomas and we put ketchup on everything. <– real talk, I didn’t know that ketchup wasn’t an automatic pairing for chicken wings until I went to college; now I mostly use other condiments but scrambled eggs always get ketchup

The cafeteria is pretty grim over the weekend but Friday I did eat this seafood feast.

Fried shrimp, potato wedges, and vinegar-based cole slaw. We had leftover ice cream from our birthday party and I taught my coworkers about Australian iced coffees.

They loved it!

Since I didn’t have my yogurt lunches I got my probiotics in the form of Health-Ade Kombucha*.

Their small-batch (2.5 gallons) fizz is organic, vegan, kosher, and gluten-free. They do their fermenting in glass containers only and the bottles are fantastic and just begging to house a handful of wildflowers. Health-Ade generously sent me a case of Ginger Lemon.

I have to confess here that I actually kind of hate ginger. Nonetheless, I found the kombucha to be very enjoyable. The flavor behind the spice was very “clean” and just sweet enough. I still wouldn’t buy this flavor once I finish my samples but I will damn sure scoop up Pink Lady Apple or California Grape the minute I spot them. P.S. I brought a bottle to a ginger loving friend and she said it was hands down the best kombucha she’s ever tasted.

Date night in Hell’s Kitchen. My NCIS obsession finally paid off for Adam – I took us to Donna Bella Bake Shop because it’s co-owned by Pauley Perrette (aka lab tech Abby). We had a dreamy lemon bar and this delectable brownie with a cookie crust and ganache on top.

We walked past Room Service and decided to do Thai for dinner.

That guava mojito was terrible and weak. But the crispy duck salad wasn’t half bad.

I ordered the Pad Noh Mai for dinner, shrimps, minced chicken, fresh basils, Thai chili, and bamboo shoots with herbs chili paste garlic sauce.

The menu promised spice and it delivered. I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant though, Hell’s Kitchen is a bastion of excellent, authentic Thai restaurants and you can do better.

I cooked! A real dinner, a stew, made of vegetables no less. I put the crock pot to work for me, filled to its brim. Onion / garlic / carrot / kale / red bell pepper / white beans / red lentils / diced tomato / veggie broth.

I didn’t bother to season or brown anything so the end result was a little bland, but topped with melted cheese it was hearty and satisfying.

Three down, four to go.

2Aug2016

This Weekend’s Best…

by Emily

…breakfast –

A blueberry cheesecake smoothie! Frozen berries with chocolate milk and low-fat cream cheese. Adam and I both loved it.

Plus the new cold brew from Dunkin. Delicious with the Heath Bar syrup and some skim milk.

…brunch

Colonie. I got the duck hash again, because it makes the top five list for best dishes I’ve ever eaten.

…lunch –

Plain Greek yogurt with blueberries and the last of the cookies crumbled on top.

…brinner –

Eggs with swiss cheese, a simple salad, and a towering stack of buttered toast.

…dinner

Sandwich night with roasted broccoli.

Toasted french bread / mayo with Sriracha, fish sauce, and dark brown sugar / baked extra-firm tofu / quick pickled cucumber and shallot / crispy garlic.

…book –

Autumn Balloons, a memoir by Kenny Porpora. It had me laughing and crying, both at an embarrassing volume, on the train. Easily one of the most captivating memoirs I’ve ever read.

29Jul2016

Weekly Wrap Up

by Emily

2 product samples* + 1 cookie obsession + 1 deconstructed sandwich + 1 dinner out = this week’s top five.

*please note – the FiberOne bars and Divella pasta were sent to me free of charge to review on the blog. I was not provided further compensation for this post and all opinions are my own.

{1} I’ve enjoyed FiberOne’s cheesecake bar line in the past and they reached out and offered to send me their two newest flavors, yes please.

Chocolate Cheesecake felt appropriate with this coffee combo –

Key Lime Cheesecake went perfectly crumbled into a yogurt bowl with some fresh blueberries.

I enjoyed both of the new flavors a lot, but I will say that neither of them reaches the yumminess of the salted caramel bar.

{2} Loving the David Lebowitz chocolate chip cookies.

I made this batch a week ago and we are still obsessed with them.

{3} Divella’s Fusilloni is made using a bronze press which creates a porous exterior so the small grooves in each piece hold onto sauce extra well. The company sent me some pasta and sauce so I could try a simple recipe for myself.

Tomato Basil Fusilloni

1 package Divella Fusilloni pasta

1 can Divella tomato basil sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, chopped

6 basil leaves, chopped

¼ cup Pecorino Romano cheese (optional)

Bring two quarts of water to a rolling boil, adding a handful of salt just before the water begins to boil. In a separate sauce pan heat olive oil. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, then add tomato sauce and lower to a simmer for 3 minutes. Empty pasta into water and boil for 10 minutes until al dente, drain. Mix sauce with Fusilloni. After plating, top with Pecorino Romano cheese and chopped basil as desired.

The simple recipe was a little plain for us, but the Fusilloni was the best freaking pasta we’ve ever tasted. Adam and I were both eating it plain out of the strainer by the handful! The texture was wonderful, with the perfect amount of bite.

Served with simple side salads.

Ranch, carrots, pistachio.

{4} Deconstructed turkey reuben bowls, because if I like a food I have to eat it in every possible iteration (see also – macaroni and cheese, burgers, and casserole).

This version was quick and easy. Shredded turkey breast from the crock pot – cooked with evoo, s&p, and some potatoes and carrots, shredded cabbage sautéed in the turkey drippings, chopped dill pickle, cubes of swiss cheese, and caraway seeds.

I tossed everything together in a skillet and we were eating 15 minutes later, crock pot meals are great.

{5} Dinner at Baoburg knocked our socks off.

My Ping Pong Show had mixed juice, whiskey, lillet, grapefruit bitters, and nutmeg.

We started with fantastic crispy duck salad. Shredded duck confit, green apple, red onion, mint, scallion, and cashews, in a spicy lime dressing.

And I did more duck for dinner, in ramen with bok choy and black truffle broth.

Duck, duck, good!

11Jul2016

A Bunch Of Brunch

by Emily

Chameleon’s Mexican coffee was delightful with a bit of milk. Related – I am in physical pain that I can’t find the Texas pecan near me.

Iced coffee is always good though.

This cup from Colonie was knock-your-socks-off good. There must have been a nitro tap somewhere because it was crazy velvety.

I went for brunch with a girlfriend and we were both blown away by my duck hash. With poached egg, red potatoes, roasted onion puree, and aioli. I’m usually not that excited by potatoes but these were crispy perfection.

Afterwards we went to Grand Army and had {too many!} drinks. We practically tried the whole cocktail menu and everything was fantastic!

Brunch numero dos at Tocolo Cantina. I had the mushroom taquitos – crispy tacos filled with roasted mushroom, corn, and Chihuahua cheese.

This cafeteria lunch wasn’t too bad either. My wrap sandwich had grilled chicken, cheddar, veggies, and cilantro.

Date shake smoothie. Plain Greek yogurt, vanilla almond milk, ice, dulce de leche, and fresh dates.

Lavender caramel. I brought these back from my Philly trip and I wish I’d bought more!

These leftovers eggs were better than they look. With chicken hot dog, baby spinach, yellow bell pepper, and gouda cheese.

A 2nd home-cooked dinner in one weekend?

These – only ok – salmon patties came from the freezer, but I did make the tartar sauce. Mayo, mustard, pickle relish, and dill.

And I assembled the salads myself. Romaine, ranch, heirloom baby tomatoes, pistachios, and an amazing blue cheese from Trader Joe’s.

8Jul2016

Duck, Duck… Bacon!

by Emily

This week Adam and I tried duck bacon and fell head over heels in love.

It’s probably a good thing that that package cost $14 or we’d be eating duck bacon for every meal!

Our other flavor theme was lavender caramelized almonds.

Love Our Nuts sent me a giant bin (<– free sample) and I put them to good use.

In a pan over medium-high heat dry toast 2 cups of raw almonds for 2-3 minutes until starting to brown. Add 1 Tbsp evoo, 2 pinches of salt, and 1/4 cup lavender sugar and cook 1-2 more minutes, stirring regularly, until the sugar is fully melted and the almonds are coated. Spread almonds on a greased cookie pan or sheet of tin foil until fully cooled before storing. If you want to try this recipe at home Love Our Nuts is actually hosting a giveaway right now, all you have to do is visit their social media pages.

I also had a lavender doughnut from Doughnut Plant.

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For this week’s coffee I cold brewed my Birch cold brew blend.

The tasting notes say caramel and chocolate finish so I stirred a dollop of caramel into this cup because why not?

I also had a really fantastic latte from Gorilla.

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And a Starbucks latte that didn’t actually pair that well with savory trail mix.

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Yogurt bowls for lunch. Plain Siggi’s with chopped plum and lavender almonds.

And fig with chopped plucot and KIND maple chia granola. Plus a so-so kombucha from Trader Joe’s.

Chocolate x2.

A coworker and I got tasty drinks at Grand Army after a particularly long day. This Trans-Siberian tasted like an adult Capri Sun! I also had a fantasmic peach sour beer.

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The night Adam was at work I ate Mexican leftovers in bed.

But the other nights were duck bacon extravaganzas!

Like this duck bacon, double cream gouda, and egg toasted croissantwich.

Served with a spinach salad with lavender almonds (dressed in evoo and lavender honey and lavender salt!).

Killer cheese plate.

Envy apple, baby carrots, orange and yellow bell pepper, lavender almonds, duck devils on horseback, gouda, and sharp cheddar.

Have you tried duck bacon yet?

27Jun2016

Queens International

by Emily

NYC readers – did you march/attend Pride Parade yesterday?? It was my weekend to cover work but I did manage to snag some on-theme treats (x2). And we didn’t have the energy to do much dinner cooking but we did have amazing Asian food in Queens (x2!).

Thursday through Sunday I worked every day but one so I’ve been drinking all of the coffee. Thanks to caffeine, this post is mostly a complete recap, I think I’m only missing one meal from each category. Here’s what I’ve got…

Seriously, all of the coffee. Always in the morning and a few times as an afternoon snack as well. Highlights include a latte from Hungry Ghost and a cold brew from Starbucks that I ordered full-strength (usually they add water).

With yummy bars. Coconut Chocolate Chip.

Caramel Almond.

A creamy tropical smoothie. Frozen mango, guava paste, avocado, and vanilla almond milk. I used a whole avocado (split into two servings) and I think next time I’d only use half, the creaminess was great but the flavor was a bit much for me.

Doughnut Plant‘s Pride doughnut = yeast with raspberry glaze.

Yogurt bowl. Strawberry lingonberry with real berries and Heritage Flakes.

Trail mix bags. The standout ingredient was cinnamon roasted chickpeas.

Mini peanut butter cups (x ten thousand) make the afternoons seem less lengthy.

Sandwich and fries on a busy day. I was worried about mealy tomatoes when I bought this but they ended up being roasted and the chew and smokiness totally made the sandwich. There was a nice layer of spinach on there too, it was actually a pretty sandwich.

Salad / mac and cheese / hardboiled eggs.

Another Pride treat, from Ample Hills. In a cone with oatmeal lace.

The Queens International Night Market was fun, like a smaller, more focused Smorgasburg.

We split a taro shaved ice with mango, scm, boba, and mochi.

I had a very disappointing duck bao.

And Filipino tacos that were absolutely one of the best dishes we’ve ever tasted. Chicken sigsig, crispy shells, and lemon mayo. They were such a pleasing mix of textures and flavors!

The Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens is basically just the storefront version of the market. I want to try something in practically ever window we walked by! I loved what I had too. Bahn Mi at JoJu.

My “Hot Chicken” had grilled lemongrass chicken with spicy mayo and kimchi, plus pickled vegetables, and a soft cooked egg. And for $5.99 it was giant, that picture only shows one half!

And afterwards we walked to Red Ribbon Bakeshop. The Ube Overload cake was gorgeous but bland and the Halo Halo was fantasmic. Shaved ice with various sweetened beans and fruits, milk , leche flan, and whipped mango topping.

My only “homecooked” meal was basically an assembly of parts but I ate chips and dips and three day old roasted broccoli for dinner while I wrote this post so I’ll pat myself on the back for it. Plus it was delicious.

Potato and onion pierogis with tons of roasted zucchini, tossed in a sauce made of cream cheese and chicken stock, topped with hot smoked salmon.

I only work four days this week thanks to the weekend shift, woo-hoo!

16May2016

Bushwick And Beyond

by Emily

Weekend theme flavors: rose, tahini, coffee, and duck.

I am super lucky that my husband feels the same way that I do about trying new foods and sharing foods; splitting things means we get to have tons of tastes! I feel lucky to have him in general too! (<– see also: the gorgeous flowers below that he surprised me with after work on Friday)

For Saturday breakfast we shared a soursop smoothie. It couldn’t compare to the fresh stuff I had at home but was still yummy. Frozen soursop puree, caramel almond milk, and cinnamon and nutmeg.

I also had an iced Americano while we did a big grocery restock trip. Pro tip – ask for “light water” so you can add some milk without losing espresso.

Lunch was a smorgasbord at Smorgasburg. Duck bun, smothered in sweet chili sauce. The crunch from the fried shallots makes this our favorite bao in the city. {A+}

I cooled my mouth down with an earl grey egg cream. {A}

We tried a savory crepe with egg, chili sauce, and a crunchy cracker. {B} The texture ended up not really being our speed, we both wished we had gone for the extra egg in it.

Palm sugar with tamarind caramel ice cream for dessert. {A+} This had such a unique flavor.

I tasted a bite of cinnamon rose and it was pretty amazing as well. We grabbed an unphotographed coffee at some point in there too.

Our evening plans included a tasting/tour of Owney’s Rum at The Noble Experiment so we wandered around Bushwick a bit. We were parked about a mile from the distillery so we got to see a few cool spots. And the tour was great; we really love factory/brewery/etc visits.

I also had a vodka soda with cherries. <– desperately needed lime

For dinner we fell head over heals in love with Faro. Gorgeous tableware, locally and humanely sourced foods, and delicious dishes.

We started with ricotta gnocchi with ramps, morel mushrooms, fava beans, and cured egg.

Plus a little gem lettuce salad with miso anchovy vinaigrette, pistachio, soft-boiled egg, and mint. It was amazing, truly the very best salad we’ve ever had! Adam and I both thought it was the best dish of the day. The mint made it absolutely perfect.

Drinks were a meh rosé and a sour porter which we loved.

We shared our entrées (more tastes!). Squid ink corzetti with peekytoe crab, uni, shiro dashi, and sorrel. I really dislike long pasta – I should have looked up corzetti before I ordered – but Adam was swooning.

And I lost my mind over our dry aged duck breast. It was served on a fantastic turnip puree.

Key lime tart with fresh strawberry sorbet for dessert.

We will be back!

Sunday baking project – tahini granola. Best granola I’ve ever made; I ended up eating a big bowl with milk for dessert at the end of the day.

For breakfast I ate it on top of plain Greek yogurt, with fresh berries, and a single Luxardo cherry.

Plus a rose latte in an amazing cup.

We spent our afternoon wandering around Chelsea Market to get out of the unseasonable cold.

Lunch was a sharp cheddar grilled cheese with a chocolate milk stout.

Seed + Mill served the highlight of the day – goats milk yogurt with the best tahini I’ve ever had. We couldn’t believe how delicious this was! I can’t wait to take my parents there this summer.

My home-cooked dinner was delicious as well, thanks, crockpot!

Chicken, potatoes, and baby carrots were cooking away with 40 cloves of garlic while we spent the day out of the house.

Served with roasted green beans with a sprinkle of almonds and cheese.

Yum. And I am basically stuffed again reading through this post!

9May2016

Spring In The City

by Emily

As of this morning our spring vacation comes to a close. We did St. Thomas, DC, and a few wonderful days in the best city on Earth (aka our hometown, NYC). After a month apart while Adam was in Texas the past two weeks have been fantastic. I’m going to miss him a lot this workweek.

In spite of the rain and bitter cold over the past few days we managed to pack a lot of fun into our Friday/Saturday/Sunday. We walked more than 10 miles around Manhattan on Friday, most of them in the downpour! We had enough reprieves from the weather to appreciate how insanely gorgeous our city is in the spring.

Here were our top five eats from the end of vacation…

{1} Breakfast at Back Room

Breakfast in a fancy hotel with a view of the city? Yes, please! And it was one of the best meals of the weekend. Adam got an amazing fish platter with herring and smoked sturgeon, smoked salmon, belly lox, pastrami salmon, fingerling potatoes, eggplant salad, and cream cheese with trout roe. I’m usually a bit too squeamish for lox but I happily stole bites of everything from this plate.

I had duck confit hash topped with a duck egg! With a cheddar biscuit with honey and butter.

You really can’t go wrong with duck on duck; my meal was almost too rich.

{2} Brunch at Du Jour Bakery

It was so good the last time that I had to go back and take Adam. I ordered an iced latte (made with Brooklyn Roasting Company) immediately.

And I went savory with an egg and cheese croissant sandwich. My meal came with a tasty side salad and Adam’s came with fries so we were in business!

{3} Donuts from Underwest

A Hells Kitchen spot inside of a car wash. We tried halvah and vanilla-lavender.

They were a bit cakey for my preferences (Adam disagrees) but the glaze was top-notch.

Plus coffee from Laughing Man, Hugh Jackman’s Tribeca shop that donates all of it’s proceeds to the Laughing Man Foundation.

That’s a honey lavender latte to fit with our donuts.

{4} Ice cream from I CE NY

Smashed and rolled ice cream! They spread your base flavor and mix-ins on a giant frozen metal plate.

I got Thai iced tea ice cream with sprinkles mixed in and popping boba, mochi, and condensed milk on top.

It was fun, and also some of the best ice cream I’ve ever eaten. The base ended up being amazingly chewy! <– here is some info on why “chewy” is a compliment

{5} Dinner at Ten Ichi Ramen, a newish spot in Park Slope

We started with duck bao.

I got the veggie ramen, with an aged egg on top.

Not as good as Chuko but still pretty darn good. The broth was so creamy! Plus their chili garlic oil was wonderful, which is good for me because I add it to my ramen by the scoop.

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: duck

Working Weekend Wrap-Up

This Weekend’s Best…

Weekly Wrap Up

*please note – the FiberOne bars and Divella pasta were sent to me free of charge to review on the blog. I was not provided further compensation for this post and all opinions are my own.

A Bunch Of Brunch

Duck, Duck… Bacon!

Queens International

Bushwick And Beyond

Spring In The City