Quesadillas, Chilaquiles, And Burritos, Oh My!

by Emily

As I flip from one classical musical references in my title to another in my opening line… This week these were a few of my favorite things –

Favorite breakfast – This incredibly excitingly pink coconut water.

One of my coffee combos – Birch Cold Brew roast with vanilla cashew milk. <– good idea in theory but the mouthfeel and taste were both sort of “empty” to me and I ended up having to add a splash of cow’s milk.

Favorite yogurt bowl – Vanilla & Cinnamon Chobani with Brown Sugar Cinnamon peanut butter. Plus a Kanzi apple.

Favorite snack – an assortment of nuts and dried fruits from Trader Joe’s.

Pears, persimmons, and sweetened dried lemons plus TJ’s nut and seed medley.

I can’t choose one favorite dessert, they were all so good! We were surprised by how tasty these TJ’s churro bites turned out to be.

I made a batch of snack attack brownies! This recipe, minus marshmallow, plus crushed potato chips, pretzels, and m&ms.

And I was killing it in the dinner department this week. Baked burritos – whole wheat tortillas / shredded chicken breast / sauteed onions and orange and yellow bell peppers cooked with cumin / shredded sharp cheddar cheese / TJ’s double roasted salsa.

Chilaquiles, mostly from scratch.

I made chips out of the whole wheat tortillas / cooked in salsa and diced tomatoes / with leftover onions and peppers / shredded chicken / lime / cheese / topped with a sunny side up egg and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt.

Egg and cheese sandwiches with homemade sausage.

Whole wheat hamburger buns toasted with mayonnaise / cheese / fried egg / turkey sausage made with smoked paprika, fresh sage, and maple syrup.

Plus roasted green beans.

And yesterday I had a late doctor’s appointment in the city so I grabbed dinner at La Esquina. I had a ridiculously delicious chicken quesadilla with salsa verde.

I am off of work today with a three-day weekend and we’ve got super fun dinner plans tonight, woo-hoo!

22Jan2018

Good Coffee, Bad Coffee

by Emily

Weekend coffee round-up: The cold brew roast from Birch is fantastic.

This Vita Cafe vanilla coconut water coffee is pretty darn good.

And the vanilla iced latte from Panera is no good, terrible, very bad. <– it was so sweet it was practically caustic, and that was with “light on syrup” and extra espresso!

Saturday, Adam and I spent the day in Astoria. We finally got to check out the Museum of the Moving Image, which had a great Jim Henson exhibit running.

Plus we got a sprinkle cookie from Chip.

Spent some time at the gorgeous newer, bigger Kinship. <– maple cold brew, for the win

And got brunch at Queens Comfort. We shared the cornflake crusted chicken and waffle with maple tabasco glaze.

And the Super Marios Benedict – cheesy cheddar chicken patty, home fries, poached egg, and hollandaise.

Home-based highlights include a yogurt bowl for work – lemon Chobani, sour lemon raisins, blackberries, and strawberry granola minis.

Cocktail hour. Sprite, grapefruit seltzer, and vodka.

Chicken hash bowls.

Duck fat / shredded chicken / yellow onion / spring onion / red bell pepper / arugula / tater tots / cream cheese / smoked paprika / and a fried egg.

13Jan2018

Spicy Cherry Coke Chicken

by Emily

This past week was extra-strength lengthy. I stayed late at work a few days and had several issues with my train and the end result was that I was home more than two hours late almost every day this week – yuck! I did manage to eat some good dinners still, but I did not manage to get this post up on time.

Best bites {or really should I be writing “superior sips” here because I always start with coffee?!} –

Iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk.

I also had a yummy iced latte from Birch.

And I tried the new blonde espresso from Starbucks. <– quite good, felt like it should be paired with vanilla

Peach Siggi’s with a Cara Cara orange and strawberry granola minis.

Plain Icelandic style yogurt with maple taffy, Page mandarins, and sprinkled donut crunch cereal.

I am a marketer’s dream; I don’t eat cereal all that often, and I hate Captain Crunch, but I still bought this because it was adorable!

Adam and I both had Monday off, so we got to go on a lunch date! Serendipity3.

It was our best meal there to date, we were both swooning over our entrees. I had curried chicken casserole with almonds and many bites of Adam’s sandwich.

We came home with two-full-meals-worth of leftovers and were still almost too full for dessert. Almost. This sundae is the best thing ever – humble (peanut butter) pie / vanilla ice cream / sliced bananas / hot fudge.

Bonus – we stopped at Dylan’s next door before our walk across the Queensborough bridge and bought a candy bar on a whim that ended up being fantastic.

I made a big crockpot of Spicy Cherry Coke Chicken for dinners. Basically this recipe but with Coke instead of Dr Pepper and chicken instead of pork and I diced up my cherries, chipotles, and jalapenos.

Served on a sandwich with brioche bun and mayo.

And roasted zucchini on the side.

And served on top of nachos!

My other dinners were brinners.

Breakfast bowl with sauteed kale with tons of garlic and onion, Trader Joe’s meatless breakfast sausages, and two fried eggs.

Scrambled eggs with tons of onion, chipotle, and sharp cheddar and roasted green beans on the side.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

8Jan2018

Best Ever Iced Coffee

by Emily

I survived the less-than-zero-degree weather! My first winter in Buffalo I bought myself a pair of (children’s!) Sorrel snow-boots and they remain the single most essential item in my closet.

I worked Friday, Saturday, Sunday, so my weekend eats weren’t all that exciting. Work was busy-busy so I mostly ate quick, snacky things. The highlights…

Iced coffee with a crispy Pacific Rose apple.

This New Orleans-style cold brew with sweetened condensed milk is officially my favorite coffee combo of all time. I love Grady’s in general and this was perfectly spiced so with the SCM it was insanely delicious.

Sooooo much hot chocolate.

A giant smoothie I shared with Adam – plain Greek yogurt, frozen soursop, mango, and grapes.

Toasted onion bagel with jalopeño-cheddar cream cheese. I ended up scraping off part of my mountain of cream cheese like some kind of tourist.

Watermelon / Sriracha chicken bar / vanilla crispy square.

Maple salmon bar / TJ’s dried chokanan mango / TJ’s seed & bean medley.

The first two nights of dinner I was thanking past Emily for leaving me yummy leftovers. Hot wing pasta.

Hot dish. With ketchup and Sriracha on top.

And Sunday night I finally got around to cooking the meal I had planned for the first night of Hannukah!

I had kind of a bad foodie/good foodie thing going on – my latkes were from a box but my matzoh brie was fried in duck fat.

I sprinkle sugar on mine because that’s how I grew up eating it. And that’s a blob of labne on my latkes that I wished was sour cream. Plus we had roasted broccoli with sumac.

I am off of work today! and we are going somewhere fun for lunch!!

18Dec2017

It’s Beginning To Taste A Lot Like Christmas

by Emily

Eggnog, peppermint, and rugelach, oh my!

Adam and I spent the weekend eating all of the holiday things! We did an eggnog tour of Brooklyn one day and then a Brooklyn holiday ice cream tour the next. I learned that even if you share and leave a lot of leftovers you can still tire of eggnog very quickly, and I’m probably someone who enjoys eggnog more than the average reveler. I also affirmed that no matter how many twinkly lighted and tinsel bedecked holiday pop-ups I encounter, I will still clap my hands in glee every time.

Alphabetically, here are some Brooklyn spots celebrating with holiday pop-ups and/or themed items:

16Handles. Peppermint froyo with Oreo and hot fudge.

Ample Hills.

There were so many holiday choices we had to get a flight to taste them all! In the front row – Eggnog with rum / Festival of Lights cream cheese ice cream with raspberry rugelach / Candy Cane.

Bearded Lady.

BL Eggnog – bourbon, spice, a whole egg.

Brooklyn Cupcake. Coquito cupcake. <– not a seasonal item actually, it’s on the menu year-round

Ladybird Bakery. Eggnog mousse tart. <– this was more visually appealing than anything, 5/10.

Leyenda. <– most festive stop of the weekend, 2nd only to Miracle on 9th Street

Coquito Ho Ho – Resposado Espolon tequila, Oloroso sherry, Braulio, coconut cream, cinnamon, egg.

Oddfellows. Eggnog and Santa’s Cookies milk sorbet with chocolate chip cookies.

And here were the highlights of my less festive eats…

We were pretty pleased with this 7-11 cold brew can. Made with skim milk and minimal sugar and it had way more flavor than anything we can get from the thousand Dunkin Doughnuts near our apartment.

Brunch at Forest Point. We need to come here more often because it’s amazing. Oban Sour – Moto Whisky, Mizu Lemongrass Shochu, yuzu-maple cordial, lemon, pimento dram.

I also had hummus, Israeli cucumber salad, fantastic grilled naan, harissa, and perfectly poached eggs.

Lunch at Lion’s Milk. We shared a sandwich with black olive paste, toasted sesame oil, and kasseri cheese. Plus Turkish coffees.

Tofu bowls for dinner. With mint lime kombucha.

Roasted buckwheat and kobucha squash with roasted elephant garlic / roasted zucchini / baked garlic brown sugar tofu / Sriracha. Except apparently neither Adam nor I like buckwheat one bit; we ate off our toppings and had cheese and crackers instead.

I try to have every healthy dinner include a protein, carb, fat, and veggie, and technically these meals fit the bill. Smoky honey chips with melted sharp cheddar and carrots with hummus.

Homemade onion dip (with turkey bacon and sharp cheddar!) with roasted broccoli and TJ’s cheesy tree crackers for dipping. I also dipped baby carrots and kettle chips but they didn’t make a nice forest.

I shredded two large sweet onions and spent 50+ minutes caramelizing them and it was well worth it.

Especially because I sipped this peachy and delicious Shiner Bock Holiday Cheer while I cooked.

Two more nights of Hannukah and one week ’til Christmas!

4Dec2017

Miracle On 9th Street

by Emily

New York City is the best place on Earth and that is doubly true around holidays! Adam and I had a lovely weekend with lots of walking and we explored Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan and saw and ate all sorts of fun holiday and city things.

Like lights in the Lower East Side.

And wild swans in Sheepshead Bay.

Coffees, specialty cocktails, pizza rolls, and other fantastic eats…

Mace’s Miracle Christmas Cocktail Pop-up is officially my new favorite holiday activity! I wish I had taken pictures inside because it was freaking magical.

The specialty cocktails were so fun! I had a Not Even a Mouse – pumpkin spice infused rye whiskey, Budweiser-marshmallow syrup, pumpkin puree, egg, and a marshmallow mouse.

And a Snowball Old Fashioned – gingerbread bourbon, sugar, and pecan bitters.

Iced latte love. Brooklyn Roasting Company.

Orso.

Yogurt bowl win. Plain Greek yogurt with maple jelly and vanilla bean powder with golden kiwi and granola on top.

Ice & Vice double scoop that was truly the best ice cream Adam or I have ever eaten. TBT – earl grey, dark chocolate, and speculoos chip and PSL – pecan, sorghum, and latte toffee.

The Nog at Sugar Sweet Sunshine, pumpkin cake layered with eggnog pudding and whipped cream.

Luda’s Dumplings.

We shared shrimp and loaded potato with garlic sour cream and mushrooms on top.

Brunch at Butter & Scotch, aka the restaurant that’s decorated like the inside of my heart.

I had biscuits with mushroom gravy and an egg on top.

The NameShake.

Birthday cake slice (the leftovers were still moist 24 hours+ later, fyi) and a Unicorn Treat – a brown butter cookie drenched in sprinkles!

The space was adorable, the music was wonderful, and as we were rolling ourselves to the door the waitress brought us a chocolate chip cookie to go since we had been so excited about everything.

Dinner at Thursday Kitchen.

You have to get a light-up booze-filled capri sun! I went with strawberry.

The menu is tapas style so we got to taste a lot. Everything was so interesting, and perfectly spiced. Pan-seared plantains with Korean chimichurri, honey ricotta, roasted pistachio, dried cranberry, and crispy plantain crumble.

Duck confit empanada with dill crème fraiche, cumin, and pickles.

Gnocchi with Korean chili pepper sauce, garlic aioli, parmesan, and crispy seaweed.

My homemade dinners weren’t bad either. I made vegetarian “rice” and beans casserole.

Riced cauliflower / pinquito beans / onion and bell peppers (yellow, orange, and green) baked in evoo / red enchilada sauce / sour cream / shredded cheese. I topped my bowl with more sour cream and some Cholula sauce plus beet and goat cheese cassava chips.

An epic take on cheeseburgers and fries.

Roasted green beans and butternut squash.

Cheeseburger roll ups! Crescent roll dough / ground turkey sautéed with chopped onion and pickle relish / mayo and ketchup / shredded cheese / brushed with garlic butter.

Happy 1st week of December!

27Nov2017

Thanksgiving Week

by Emily

I always have a lot to feel thankful for and last week was no exception. With working two weekends in a row and Turkey Day my schedule worked out perfectly for lots of fun free time with the husband! We had a great time in the city on his post-call day and were able to drive to Pennsylvania Thursday evening to spend the holiday with his family.

Highlights…

Fancy coffees –

Noble Tree iced latte at Nickel and Diner.

Stumptown Winter Cheer.

Vietnamese cold brew.

Fun city restaurants –

Supermoon Bakehouse!

So cool. We tried a banana split sundae twice baked croissant – caramelized sous vide whole bananas, banana caramel sauce, creme patissiere, and chocolate almond creme, topped with chocolate fudge, banana caramel, dehydrated banana, gold leaf, and torched meringue.

And a Golden Boy Doughnut – golden turmeric brioche filled with mild chocolate salted caramel, rolled in sugar and topped with a chocolate shard – aka the best doughnut I’ve ever eaten.

Crazy good ramen at Ganso. A girlfriend and I went after work one night and it was so fantastic that I went back with Adam the next day! The first time we shared blistered shishito peppers.

And I had triple shrimp ramen – with shrimp paste chicken broth, thick Sapporo noodles, chili-fried shrimp, dried shrimp, garlic chives, and moyashi sprouts.

The second time we had wings and beer.

And I had the Tori Shio – Japanese sea salt-chicken broth, toothsome Tokyo noodles, crispy chicken thigh chashu, ajitama egg, and greens.

On-theme eats –

Pumpkin yogurt with Heritage Flakes and a ~~mini pumpkin~~ persimmon.

Fruit and nut yogurt with toffee bits, pecans, and orange raisins.

A pre-holiday plate on Tuesday night.

Crock pot cooked turkey, Trader Joe’s cornbread stuffing, cranberry dressing, and roasted green beans.

Plus a cranberry beer!

Our Thanksgiving tradition…

Stuffing nachos! With turkey, cranberry, and lots of cheese.

Plus broccoli that I pretended was green beans.

My actual Thanksgiving plate.

Our contribution to the meal was peanut butter, butterscotch, toffee candy.

Have a great week!

13Nov2017

Shave Ice and Rock Candy

by Emily

Goodness, do I love New York City! We just had such a good weekend. First, how neat is this rock candy instillation at Union Square?

Second, we hung out in the epically cool Industry City,

and went to the American Fields pop up market,

where they gave us (multiple!)(free!!) delicious rosemary maple bourbon sours,

as well as a sample of Unicorn Kisses seltzer.

I haven’t actually tasted it yet, but I’ve been trying to get my hands on some for a year so this was pretty damn exciting. <– and it wasn’t even out on the samples table but I asked the Polar guy about it and he brought me one from a special hidden stash!

Five favorite foodie things this weekend…

{1} a new snack

Crispy okra from Trader Joe’s.

{2} a new favorite in bubble tea

Pa Tea might be our new favorite tea spot.

We had brown sugar milk tea with pudding aaaaand baby boba.

{3} breakfast at Brooklyn Kolache

Pimento cheese and sweet cheese and blueberry.

Plus a latte from Brooklyn Roasting Company.

{4} lunch at Pig Bleeker

Complimentary cornbread madelines.

A Yolanda Winston – vodka, curacao, vanilla, and Wolfer cider.

Duck lasagne!!

And roasted brussel sprouts with pickled mustard seeds that were the best vegetable I’ve ever been served.

S’mores in a jar.

{5} dinner at Little Tong

We loved this noodle shop. Everything felt intentional and the dishes were all gorgeous – I wish the light had been better for pictures so I could come closer to capturing the beauty.

Chinese broccoli salad with citrus soy and smoked egg yolk.

Spiced duck fat fried purple potatoes with cheese curds.

Grandma Chicken Mixian – noodles, chicken broth, chicken confit, tea egg, pickles, flowers, fermented chili, and black sesame garlic oil, and chili oil on top.

And then we walked across the street and cooled down our mouths with a guava snow cone with condensed milk. Yes, on the coldest day of the year so far.

I love NYC.

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: eggs

Quesadillas, Chilaquiles, And Burritos, Oh My!

Good Coffee, Bad Coffee

Spicy Cherry Coke Chicken

Best Ever Iced Coffee

It’s Beginning To Taste A Lot Like Christmas

Miracle On 9th Street

Thanksgiving Week

Shave Ice and Rock Candy