Tag Archives: leftovers

(Pepper)Mint To Be

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Highlights from a tasty week…

Peppermint coffee – candy cane cold brew from Blank Street.

This week’s home coffee combo wasn’t my best. I did not care for the Browny cold brew, too sour. The Ronnybrook egg nog was crazy thick, almost too thick, so it was good but not my favorite.

Peppermint breakfast – a chocolate mint Perfect Bar and a peppermint mocha La Colombe can.

Peppermint doughnut – Doughnut Project‘s peppermint bark.

Peppermint watermelon is my favorite Aura Bora seltzer flavor.

Peppermint booze – Smirnoff peppermint vodka with lime and club soda (and food coloring!).

Six Point Bone Chill pear and spruce double IPA (8.5/10).

Peppermint mini meringues – from Trader Joes. 

Peppermint ice cream – with candy cane bits, fudge, and cookies.

I had the day off on Thursday and spent the afternoon admiring decorations in the city and got lunch at Chelsea Market. Very Fresh Noodles‘ very spicy vegan dan dan mian. These were super spicy and numbing and wonderful and topped with crunchy soybeans and cucumber salad that were the perfect foils.

It was Adam’s birthday on Monday and his dinner choice was Subway. I got a tuna salad sub with mustard, pickles, banana peppers, and cheese. Plus leftovers from Sunday in Brooklyn – brussel sprouts and the amazing roast chicken.

And I made him his favorite cinnamon brownies – just the Bakers Chocolate one-bowl recipe with 1 cup of chocolate chips instead of nuts and 2 tsp of cinnamon extract instead of vanilla.

Salad #1 – romaine / homemade ranch dressing – sour cream, dijon mustard, ranch seasoning / red bell pepper / pickled banana peppers / homemade croutons / baked chicken – marinated in Greek yogurt and banana pepper juice.

Salad #2 – romaine / homemade ranch dressing – sour cream, Cholula, lime, ranch seasoning / sauteed ground turkey with Rotel / avocado / hot honey cashews.

Salad #3 – mixed greens / homemade miso dressing – with brown sugar, lime, rice vinegar, and soy sauce / homemade baked wonton crisps with togarashi / cucumber / water chestnuts / baked extra-firm tofu coated in a mix of honey mustard pretzel and roasted seaweed.

Egg(nog)head

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Food things from the 1st week of December – good dinners / baked goods my parents brought us from home during their visit / EGGNOG! Highlights included…

Jelly doughnut iced coffee! Iced coffee with blueberry jam and a cold foam with cinnamon, brown sugar, and cocoa powder.

As much as I adore plums and plucots I think I am most excited for mandarin season each year. These are seedless and the peel slips right off so they are so easy to eat.

Trader Joe’s spicy tempura seaweed snack. This is heavy on togarashi, which I love.

Eggnog in my coffees, of course.

Eggnog iced matcha latte.

Trader Joe’s eggnog Greek yogurt (my favorite) with nutmeg, fresh persimmon, and Target sugar cookie granola.

Chobani eggnog yogurt with cinnamon, blackberries, and coffee cake (from my mom).

Boozy tiramisu eggnog from Dante West Village.

Abomination Brewing‘s best beer – Fog Nog, a double IPA with spices and lactose.

Xi’an Famous Foods‘ spicy cumin lamb hand-ripped noodles are consistently an 11/10.

A take on the broccoli salad we are obsessed with. Roasted broccoli / sauteed green onion / crispy baked tofu / dried cranberries / food-processed sauce: evoo, serrano pepper, parsley, peanuts, smoked sardines, soy sauce, rice vinegar, gochugaru, and brown sugar. Plus pumpkin bread (from my aunt) toasted with butter.

Roast‘s weekly special was a short-rib grilled cheese so we obviously had to get it, with cheddar and crispy onions on sourdough. Plus leftover broccoli salad and leftover roasted cabbage with Sriracha and Sriracha-ranch peanuts.

A 1st night of Hannukah feast. Trader Joe’s cheese blintzes topped with blackberries, blueberry jam, and Greek yogurt with lemon and brown sugar. Plus Trader Joe’s latkes, roasted brussel sprouts, and a honey Sriracha dipping sauce.

P.S. Happy Hannukah to all of my readers who celebrate!

December 2023

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It’s the first day of Eggnog Month! Also known as December. I am very excited about this year’s cache of themed goods.

Also a time for peppermint.

And other good tidings and joy.

Highlights from the last week of November include…

Several good yogurt bowls. Plain skyr with blueberries, chia seeds, and Seed & Mill lemon and white chocolate halvah.

Plain skyr with blueberries, leftover cranberry sauce, and Target sugar cookie granola.

The newest Reese’s big cup. The caramel layer is THICK and wonderful.

The last of the stuffing-inspired fried cauliflower-rice. Topped with the last of the cranberry sauce and pineapple hot sauce. I am definitely making this dish again next November!

Roasted spaghetti squash with baked turkey meatballs (stuffed with panade, tons of garlic, urfa pepper, and cheese). Plus Trader Joe’s pizza sauce and chili flakes.

Hot/cold tofu. Cold silken tofu topped with a mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, chili crisp, gochugaru, sesame seeds, and furikake. Plus roasted baby cauliflower.

Chicken and veggie dumplings from Mandu (the best!) the best with spicy sesame miso green beans (steamed, then sauteed in a mix of lime juice, brown sugar, gojuchang, miso paste, tahini, and water) and leftover tofu sauce.

Macaronis And Marshmallows

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Things from the weekend…

We made scones! Chocolate chip and dried cherry. They were yummy and so easy.

Brunch at Agi’s Counter in Brooklyn. Dirty Ovaltine was a hit.

We were head over heels for these palacsinta – Hungarian crepes layered with honey butter and wine poached figs.

We also shared the hashbrown with trout roe and scallion sour cream.

And the confit tuna melt sandwich. It came with great house-made pickles.

Sugar Hill Creamery. We tried a split scoop of the Unicorn (vanilla with birthday cake and sprinkles) and the Don Cartagnea (cream cheese ice cream with guava and croissant).

But really we were there for the hot chocolate! Topped with torched marshmallow fluff!! This couldn’t compare with drinking chocolate but it was definitely the best hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted. It was dark and bitter in a way that really complemented the fluff.

See also – I ended my weekend with a scoop of this dark chocolate and mint Ben & Jerry’s topped with fluff at home.

Chopped turkey sandwiches in nacho form – one of my best dinner ideas yet. A mix of smoked turkey, honey maple turkey, sharp cheddar, garlic sauteed baby broccoli, pepperoncinis, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, mayo, and yellow mustard; chopped and baked on top of Kettle pepperoncini chips.

Leftover rice casserole and broccoli salad plus Whole Foods’ pimento mac and cheese balls. This plate got doused with Cholula and honey.

Take-out from Datz Deli for some 10/10 Caribbean food. Wonderfully spicy jerk chicken and the best baked mac and cheese I’ve gotten in NY (mind you, not as good as my favorite from Pueblo back home). Plus we shared one of the sandwiches they are famous for – stewed oxtail and mac and cheese stuffed into a chicken patty stuffed into a coconut bread. Every component was perfect and together it was a dream! Plus roasted romanesco on the side.

Pumpkin GOAT

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Highlights from the weekend…

Pumpkin Noosa (the best pumpkin yogurt of the month) with caramel apple granola.

Pumpkin spice Chobani with apple pie granola and frozen/warmed berries and cherries. Plus a pour-over coffee with a cinnamon and vanilla bean cold foam!

Southern Tier is the greatest of all time when it comes to pumpkin flavored alcohol.

Paris Baguette brie and cranberry croissant. This was great. I also tried an everything cream cheese croissant from Whole Foods that was only ok.

Perfect peanut butter and berry layers bar. Delicious. I’ve been very into things with a jammy layer recently (I had a Jenny’s doughnut ice cream over vacation with a mind-blowing jam swirl).

Someone at work gave Adam these spicy cashews and they are hands-down the best nuts I’ve ever eaten.

Good enough to salvage this very lackluster Cup Noodles flavor.

Taco bowls. Roasted cabbage with Sichuan pepper salt, cilantro, and lime / turkey sauteed with yellow onion, poblano pepper, and spices / double roasted tomato salsa / everything and the elote dip / sharp cheddar.

Enchilada-inspired casserole. Trader Joe’s black bean and cheese taquitos baked with a topping of roasted zucchini, leftover turkey, salsa, sour cream, and cheese. <– I will be making this again

Apple Of My Eye

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Things from the past week – So much Apple Month fun. Adam was out of town at a confernce and amazingly I served myself an adult meal almost every night. Highlights…

Apple pie sundae. Vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce and apple pie granolas.

Caramel apple cider doughnut cookie. I am actually not a Chip fanatic but this one is perfection! It’s a brown sugar cookie made with apple butter, with a carmel apple filling, topped with butter and cinnamon sugar.

Caramel apple boozy milkshake. Michigan apple whiskey with vanilla ice cream, ice, cinnamon, and caramel sauce.

Still loving the caramel apple Sugar Babies.

These fruit bites were good not great; something about the mango flavor was a bit gaggy to me.

A bowl of blackberries and Sumo mandarin delicious enough to document.

Homemade take on okonomiyaki. I filled mine with crumbled super-firm tofu, cabbage, cauliflower rice, and green onions (plus ginger, eggs, flour, and ginger lime seltzer – I always use seltzer here instead of water). Topped with Sriracha, Kewpie, and furikake.

Korean steamed eggs on a bed of roasted cabbage and cauliflower rice with chili crisp. Topped with sesame seeds and way too much gochugaru because my shaker broke.

Red curry salmon cakes (there was green onion, panko, egg, and cauliflower rice in there too) and rainbow cauliflower with water chestnuts, stir-fry sauce, and Trader Joe’s chile and garlic cashews.

Pizza night (this was a successful too good to go order so I don’t know exactly what they were, fried eggplant and ??). Plus more cauliflower rice; it was a big bag for one person!

Tonight we have a fun couple date – dinner reservations at Hav & Mar!

Sandwich Inspired

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I worked this weekend and things were pretty hectic but thankfully I finally made it to the grocery from vacation and we were able to enjoy some great dinners. Highlights from the past three days include…

I tried and loved the new layers Perfect Bars. The oat crisps on top were perfect.

Chewy doughnuts from Paris Baguette – mochi, lemon cronut, and cream cheese filled mochi. We have been very impressed by every item we have tried from PB.

A former intern brought us in goodies including baklava and halvah.

Onda‘s canned tequilla seltzers are solid, this strawberry flavor is quite drinkable.

I 12/10 loved this Social Hour Sunkissed Fizz canned cocktail with vodka, yuzu, peach, key lime, and jasmine. I carted this home from a liquor store in Midtown and it exceeded my expectations. Very smooth, very boozy, not too sweet.

I turned my leftover Pecking House chicken-seasoned fries into something amazing. Leftover fries crisped under the broiler / Kewpie mayo / baby broccoli sauted with tons of garlic / Trader Joe’s teriyaki baked tofu / chili crisp.

Cuban sandwich inspired salads. Romaine / leftover garlic broccoli / homemade yellow mustard vinaigrette (equal parts mustard, mayo, vinegar, olive oil, and lemon juice, plus a pinch of salt) / homemade croutons / Jarlsberg cheese and sliced pork for Adam and smoked turkey for me. I forgot the chopped pickles, which is devestating, but this was still a fantastic salad.

Reuben sandwich inspired okonomiyaki. Shredded yellow potato (squeezed as dry as possible and microwaved for three minutes) / shredded cabbage and chopped green onion (baked for 20 minutes) / in a batter with minced ginger, white pepper, salt, gochugaru, eggs, flour, and ginger seltzer / stuffed with sliced roast beef and Jarlsberg / then cooked in a wide pan in canola oil / topped with homemade Russian dressing.

Pecking Order

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Adam and I were both on vacation last week and we went home to St. Thomas for Carnival! It was a perfect week – we had time with family, went on my favorite runs, ate my favorite foods (highlights included soursop shaved ice and a dark rum and coke), and went to the beach every day. It’s hard to beat a morning walk in the sand with an iced coffee!

We went right back to work when we got home (seriously, I was at my desk less than 10 hours after we left the airport!) and I didn’t get to go grocery shopping until yesterday but thankfully I had left myself a well-stocked freezer and pantry. Highlights from the week included…

This week’s coffee combo.

Beautiful smoothies. Frozen spinach, banana, and blueberries with honey, water, and key lime juice.

Frozen soursop, banana, and strawberries with vanilla almond milk, cinnamon, and plain Greek yogurt.

Trader Joe’s crispy apple chips.

These s’mores Ben and Jerry’s bites are hands-down my favorite thing.

Leftover chicken soup I made and froze a few weeks before vacation; this reheated really well.

“Freshly made” soup with this trio. Trader Joe’s ginger miso broth and garlicky cabbage plus ginger chicken dumplings.

Farro / furikake, kelp granules, black garlic, gochugaru / canned salmon and smoked trout with mayo, rice vinegar, and Sriracha / zoodles and celery / fried egg. I actually decided I didn’t like this and abandoned it halfway through for ramen but Adam liked it and I still think it was a good idea.

I work this weekend so I was off on Thursday and I went into the city for a haircut and a fun Brooklyn date. I have wanted to go to Pecking House for more than a year and it more than exceeded my high expectations! We shared fries with chicken seasoning.

Cornbread. Charred turnips with miso and almonds.

Fried chicken with salted egg sauce.

And the fantastic spicy chicken sandwich with Fuqi chili sauce, Oaxaca cheese, and pickled jalapenos on a brioche bun.

Plus gelato for dessert. A butter and salt scoop and a scoop of a cannolo flavor with candied fruits that blew my mind.