Tag Archives: potato

Cranberry, Sweet Potato, Sage

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I have so much to be thankful for, the least of which is a very exciting cache of Thanksgiving-themed foods! All were great but the stand-out was the sweet potato peeling candy; it was delightfully strange!

See also – cranberry hot sauce my parents sent me from home. I added this to every plate this week.

And hot honey flavored Uglies sweet potato chips. These were surprisingly great, definitely the best sweet potato chips I’ve ever tried.

One of the best yogurt bowls of the year – plain skyr with cranberry sauce and Tom’s Perfect 10 creme brulee granola. Plus a very exciting bowl of berries – Super Jumbo and Sweetest Batch blueberries and Lolliberry strawberries.

Chicken salad with miso honey sweet potatoes. Shredded baked chicken tossed with celery, green onions, diced cucumber, Sichuan pepper salt, white sugar, minced garlic, onion chili crunch, peanuts, and sesame seeds. The potatoes were roasted then sauteed with honey, white miso, gochugang, and rice vinegar.

Stuffing-style fried rice. Brown rice seasoned with rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil / roasted riced cauliflower / sauteed mushrooms with butter and smoked paprika / sauteed yellow onion and celery with salt, pepper, and celery seed / sage / Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pecans / dried cranberries / maple pecan smoked turkey / stir-fried with egg.

Roast‘s Thanksgiving crunchwrap is one of their best specials – with roasted turkey, white cheddar, cranberry jam, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and crispy onions. Plus a French onion grilled cheese for good measure – sourdough with short rib, gruyere, caramelized onions, mustard aioli, and garlic butter. And fries and wonderful homemade green beans – steamed then sauteed with toasted pecans, rice vinegar, brown sugar, horseradish, onion chili crunch, and cranberry sauce.

Thanksgiving nachos are our favorite holiday tradition! This year we did Trader Joe’s stuffing seasoned kettle chips / extra-sharp white cheddar / smoked turkey / green onion / sweet and spicy pecans / topped with cranberry sauce (and cranberry hot sauce!) / and fried sage. Plus sauteed brussels sprouts with a spicy fish sauce caramel (brown sugar, Sriracha, soy sauce, fish sauce, water, and cornstarch).

Bob Burger

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It was a wonderful weekend! I say that often, but any weekend I get time with Adam is wonderful! We tried some new-to-us restaurants, had several fun coffees, admired flowers at Little Island, bought some buttons at M&J Trimmings (it is closing soon!)… Some highlights…

Creme bru-latte from Foreigner. This was as good as it looks!

Humble Cafe. Pandan iced latte and a black sesame mochi cookie.

Bubble tea from a stall at Pier 57. A yuzu lemonade Arnold Palmer with lychee popping boba, rainbow jelly, and edible glitter.

These peanut butter bites have an amazing texture.

Nuar. Iced Kopi with a pandan cold foam.

Kaya toast with Thai tea jam, pandan ice cream, red bean, and toasted marshmallows.

Guava and mascarpone pie at Peete’s. (Pie Month!)

Brunch at Lord’s. The hype is deserved! We loved almost everything we shared. Pineapple amaro sour – aged rum, pineapple amaro, lime, and egg white / Orchard Spritz – Neversink apple apertif, ginger beer, and candied ginger.

Turkish eggs with garlic yogurt, chili butter, and sourdough toast (11/10) // curried lamb scotch egg – I’m not a huge curry fan but Adam loved this.

Welsh rarebit cheeseburger on a pretzel bun with fantastic chips. This doesn’t make my top five list (we didn’t like the inclusion of raw onion slices) but it was a very solid burger.

Banoffee French toast. This was fine, not super exciting and the “French toast” was definitely just a slice of toasted bread.

Dinner at Foster. We loved this Sea Cliff spot and want to come back soon! The lighting was not photo-friendly however. I had a very solid dry-aged burger with aioli, arugula, caramelized onions, and gruyere.

Our leftovers were still delicious too. Wood-fired Margherita pizza with house-made mozzarella, tomato sauce, and seasonal pesto / okonomiyaki-style brussels sprouts. We also had a charred broccolini Caesar that was 11/10 delicious and pumpkin bread pudding with excellent pecan pie ice cream.

Dinner at Lula Mae was even better and the lighting was even more hostile. We shared and loved crispy tofu with a soy Chianking vinegar dressing, pickled veggies, scallions, and roasted walnuts / braised duck with pickled pearl onions, fried shallots, broccoli puree, and duck fat potatoes // fried chicken two ways – soy tamarind glazed wings and dry-rubbed boneless with lime pepper dressing and house-made pickles.

It’s Pie Month

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We had a lovely weekend including a long Brooklyn walk and a trip to the Brooklyn Museum for the Monet exhibit. Food highlights included…

Bean Monger‘s maple tahini mocha iced latte. It was so cute here!

Kyo‘s tiramisu iced latte with oat milk.

Blank Street‘s (dirty) iced matcha with blueberry and ube.

It’s Pie Month! Four & Twenty Blackbird‘s brown sugar pie with peanuts and toasted coconut was divine.

Elleno’s pecan pie yogurt with Biscoff cookie crumble. Pie Month!

Chip City fall special – maple cookies with maple cream cheese frosting and chopped pecans.

Brunch at Agi’s Counter. I had a dirty Ovaltine with oat milk.

We shared several dishes. Everything ended up going together perfectly. Tuna melt – served on a griddled potato pullman with alpine cheddar and a side of cabbage slaw and mustard // hash brown with trout roe.

Palacsinta, Hungarian crepes with with port-stewed figs, butter, and maple.

Little Grenjai does brunch now and it’s even better than their dinner service! We shared several things and are dying to go back soon to try more dishes. Pandan iced matcha latte (not as good as I was expecting but still an ok matcha).

Thai iced coffee (delicious!) // Hat Yai fried chicken and with sticky rice waffles, fantastic chili sauce, and maple syrup.

Pad Thai with confit duck.

The lox platter was my favorite dish of the meal – cured salmon crudo with everything roti and rangoon cream cheese // fried duck egg.

Baba’s Pierogies. We shared pan-fried with feta, black garlic, and potato and boiled potato, cheddar, and jalapeno with a horseradish sauce.

Homemade taco dinners that were both wonderful. Baked chicken chopped together with canned pumpkin puree, roasted poblano pepper, and extra-sharp cheddar. Heated in a frying pan. Plus green beans that were steamed and then sauteed with onion chili crisp, honey, and rice vinegar. Plus the best ever homemade ranch (Duke’s mayo, ranch seasoning, and some liquid from Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pickled jalapenos).

Local lamb sausage, roasted onion and bell peppers, extra sharp cheddar, and labne baked in the oven. Plus sauteed asparagus.

Pastabilities

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Things from this week…

Yogurt bowl – plain Greek with Whole Food’s delicious cinnamon granola and blackberries.

Lucky Ox matcha lemonade sparkler (8/10 – we liked it but nowhere near as much as their pandan coconut sparkler).

Quinn peanut butter and honey filled pretzels (9.5/10).

Mellowcreme leaves in flavors such as maple, butterscotch, and caramel apple aka FALL CANDY (10/10).

Roast Sandwich House had two new seasonal specials so obviously we redid our dinner plans. Braised brisket grilled cheese with white cheddar, grilled red onion, hash brown, hot sauce aioli, and griddled sourdough and a chicken salad sandwich with cranberry jam and white cheddar on a croissant. Plus fries and veggies from home (cauliflower rice sauteed with spinach, minced garlic, garlic powder, onion, powder, gochugaru, and salt and pepper).

The rest of our dinners were all pasta salads! I made a box of sourdough fusilli and embraced a new theme. Chicken taco. Pasta / sauce – mashed avocado, mayo, Greek yogurt, lime juice, and taco seasoning / baked chicken / sauteed corn, scallion, and green bell pepper / sharp cheddar.

Bang bang shrimp. Pasta / sauce – mayo, Greek yogurt, sweet chili sauce, honey, and rice vinegar / quick-pickled cucumber / red bell pepper / scallion / shrimp.

Egg salad. Pasta / sauce – hard-boiled egg yolk, pickle juice, mayo, Greek yogurt, Dijon, and smoked paprika / hard-boiled egg white / scallion / poblano pepper / pickle. Plus green tomatoes as our veggie (dressed with TJ’s mango vinaigrette and chopped capers).

Kingston

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The highlight of our weekend was a trip upstate to Kingston! We thrifted, admired the wildflowers, and ate some truly fantastic food…

Rough Draft. Adam got a delicious tea latte and my coffee was just perfect – iced espresso with housemade concord grape syrup and vanilla cold foam.

We found a new-to-us flavor of Something or Nothing.

Pinkerton’s. This was the best breakfast sandwich we’ve ever eaten. Scrambled eggs, sharp white Cabot cheddar, and herb and garlic mayo dressing on their exceptional housemade English muffin.

Plus a slice of passionfruit meringue pie.

Kingston Bread + Bar. Vanilla cake with blackberry buttercream, peach compote, and strusel.

Kingston Standard Brewing. They make good beers and very good wood-oven sourdough pizza. We got a Compost – crushed tomato, pesto, mozarella, parmesan, red onion, and arugula.

Sonder. This is my 2nd favorite restaurant in all of New York! Housemade za’atar bread with tomato butter and browned honey butter. Plus sweet potato bisque.

Golden beets with jalopeno cream cheese and pretzel bites.

Dry aged strip steak with sweet potatoes.

Sonder burger with cornichons, special sauce, and American cheese. Plus fries. This is my 2nd favorite burger in all of New York.

We finished the meal/day with the best dessert I’ve eaten this decade – flourless chocolate cake with toasted marshmallow.

Cinnamon, Five Spice, Old Bay

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Things from the week…

Wild Cherry Barebells bar, better than the key lime one but I definitely prefer the milk chocolate flavors.

This week’s apple snacks – kombucha and pink lady apple chips.

Delicious cookies – I made these brown butter oatmeal cookies and stuffed them with chopped up matzoh toffee candy.

Vermicilli bowls. Topped with celery and baby bok choy sauteed with ginger and scallions / nuoc cham / and baked turkey meatballs (with panade, egg, fish sauce, hoisin, white pepper, and tons of five spice).

Fish dip. Trader Joe’s canned smoked trout and canned tuna food-processed with plain skyr, Duke’s mayo, Dijon mustard, rice vinegar, celery seed, mustard powder, smoked paprika, and white pepper. Dipped with matzoh and cocktail sauce chips and served with green beans sauteed with mushrooms, butter, Dijon, lemon, and Old Bay.

We all know I planned the meal around this cute bag of chips.

Chicken salad. Chopped baked chicken, honeycrisp apple, Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy jalapenos, walnuts, and sharp cheddar dressed with skyr, Duke’s, honey, and lemon juice. Plus baked pretzel bites and roasted yellow and purple cauliflower with salt and pepper.

Matzoh brie with leftover cauliflower. I always top mine with salt and sugar.

Beaches

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This weekend included a run on the Long Beach Boardwalk (one of my favorite weekend activities!), a long Manhattan walk, and some exploring in Brooklyn. It was a very tasty few days, here were the highlights…

Homemade iced coffees with banana cheesecake cold foam (in the blender – frozen banana, cream cheese, butter extract, vanilla bean powder, brown sugar, skim milk).

A wonderful smoothie – frozen banana and peaches, soursop juice, vanilla protein powder, and malted milk powder.

Delicious pandan coconut sparkler from Lucky Ox.

Other Half. We split a flight of mostly double IPAs but also their Mister Softee collab strawberry yuzu sour.

Saint Street Cakes. The hype about the chocolate chip cookie is real. We also really loved the miso peanut butter cookie and blackberry cornbread cake slice.

This mochi doughnut from Win Son‘s Manhattan location was probably the best thing we’ve eaten so far in 2025.

Post-run breakfast on the boardwalk! We split a turkey, egg, and cheese taco and a fresh juice with green apple, spinach, ginger, and lime. We probably wouldn’t get food from this spot again but I would definitely get another green juice.

An easy but exciting, mostly home-cooked dinner. Leftover brown rice reheated in the microwave with rice vinegar, furikake, and white sugar / mayak eggs (I also put some mini mozzarella balls down in the marinade! / broccoli roasted with evoo, five spice, and gochugaru / fried chicken tender from Dave’s Hot Chicken. P.S. I ate all of an order of fries on the drive home; they are fantastic.

Dinner at Kabawa. We had a great meal here – some of the best goat I’ve ever eaten. It wasn’t lit for photographs but I happened to get a shot of my two favorite dishes. The bread course with house-made roti and cassava dumplings and an assortment of sauces.

Birthday cake flan. This was the best flan I’ve ever eaten.

Dinner at The Long Island Bar. We loved it here!

Cheese curds.

Roasted beets with hazelnut dukkah, brandied cherries, ricotta salata, and creamy herbed vinaigrette and shocking good deviled crab toast with, roasted corn and herbs and black garlic mayonnaise on toasted sourdough.

A single patty L.I. burger – dry-aged beef patty, pickles, cheese, and fancy sauce. Plus a yummy side salad.

P.S. It’s Apple Month today!!

Drinks!

Lavish Lavash

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Tasty things from the week…

Yogurt bowl! Plain Greek with blueberries, Rainer cherries, and cute Swedish gummies.

Iced matcha. With lime seltzer and strawberry and rose syrups.

Peach yogurt jelly gummies.

This baked chicken flatbread was the best thing we ate all week! Trader Joe’s whole-wheat lavash baked with evoo until crispy / topped with TJ’s Unexpected Cheddar / baked chicken breast / roasted red onions / and marinated artichoke hearts. Paired with great veggies – baby bok choy, brown beech mushrooms, and shallots sauteed with butter.

This taco turkey flatbread was also pretty good. Lavash / TJ’s shredded three cheese blend / ground turkey sauteed with taco seasoning / roasted veggies – yellow and orange bell pepper, white onion, zucchini, evoo, salt and pepper, Jamaican curry powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. Served with smashed avocado (mashed with salt, gochugaru, and TJ’s mango vinaigrette).

Paired with chips and dip.

Nacho night! Mike’s Hot Honey kettle chips / all of the cheeses / three grain tempeh sauteed with salt and gochugaru until toasty / snap peas sauteed with pecans, piquante peppers, gochugaru, cheddar, and honey.

This plate of leftovers was as yummy as it was orange. Leftover roasted veggies / leftover cauliflower okonomiyaki from Olmsted / leftover Indian take-out from Varli – butter chicken momo, house-spiced fries with cheese and minced chicken, and Baingan Bharta (spicy eggplant).