Sandwich Inspired

by Emily

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.

5May2023

Pecking Order

by Emily

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.

17Apr2023

Duck, Duck, Soup

by Emily

Highlights from a tasty weekend…

Giant green smoothie. This had frozen spinach, strawberry, soursop, honey, and vanilla almond milk.

Siggi’s vanilla honey skyr. I only liked – not loved – this and found it to be a little sour (and am mostly posting to remind myself).

Kimchi butter ramen. This was spicier than I was expecting.

Gelato from a new spot in LI. I got Kinder and s’mores in a vanilla cone. We weren’t head over heels for this spot but my s’mores scoop did have a giant toasted marshmallow in it and that was delightful.

Beers from Destination Unknown. This was our 2nd trip there and we have loved almost everything we’ve tried. Great IPAs.

Brunch at Maya Congee Cafe. We loved it here. We shared passionfruit tea with mango stars.

Chicken breakfast congee with smoked cheese and a soft egg.

And a braised chicken bahn mi.

Dinner at Long Island Pekin. This is officially our favorite Long Island spot. This dinner was an 11/10 and the leftovers were sooo exciting. We shared the Peking duck scallion pancakes with cheddar and sweet plum sauce.

Flat rice noodles with veggies and duck.

And the half Hong Kong roast duck.

Leftover soup. I topped my bowl with chili crisp. Served with homemade garlic bread.

No photo but worth a mention – we tried the honey butter chicken sandwich from PDQ and were both impressed!

7Apr2023

Bean, Banana, Bap

by Emily

Highlights from the week…

Dessert-y yogurt bowl. Vanilla skyr with condensed milk, strawberries, banana, cornflakes, and sprinkles.

These jelly beans really do taste like Froot Loops!

We got chips and quesadillas from Chipotle with their new chicken al pastor and it was actually pretty great.

We went to Long Island Pekin this week for duck (sans camera) and it blew our minds! I ate leftovers with other leftovers and it was a great meal.

Bibimbap-inspired veggie bowls. Riced broccoli sauteed with white pepper and sesame seeds / crispy tofu shreds – extra-firm tofu that I shredded, tossed with evoo and gojuchang, then baked / bean sprouts / gojuchang / cucumber / sauteed baby shitake mushrooms and green onion / fried egg.

Roasted cauliflower with crispy white beans – tossed in evoo, cornstarch, furikake, gochugaru, and ranch seasoning then baked.

3Apr2023

Potatoes, Eggs, And Coffees

by Emily

It was a wonderful weekend! Adam and I had a ton of time together, the weather was gorgeous, and we took some great walks around the Lower East Side and Williamsburg and admired the spring flowers. Also we went on a million and one dates; our fridge is stuffed to the brim with leftovers – a very good problem to have!

Some highlights include…

Iced coffee with ube cold foam.

Dalgona iced latte with strawberry milk and and a dreamy packet of peaflower and edible glitter!

Iced matcha with ginger sparkling water and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Pazazz apple – a good spring choice, sweet and crispy.

Butterdose. Cream puffs – yuzu, ube coconut, and an Easter special with Cadbury eggs, Oreo, whipped cream frosting, and cream cheese filling.

Levain. This dark chocolate chocolate chip cookie tastes exactly like brownie batter and was the #1 best thing I ate all weekend.

Lindens. This meal was pretty unforgettable; the space was gorgeous and it was hands-down the best service I have ever experienced at a restaurant. We will be going back!

Lavender Daisy – pisco, gin, lavender, concord grape jam, lemon, club soda, and egg white.

Rosemary spiced margarita with mezcal, habanero, grapefruit, and agave.

Parker house rolls with grilled ramp butter. Tempura artichoke, maitake, and broccolini with chili oil and a cilantro yogurt sauce.

Herbed shoestring fries with a truffle aioli. 3rd best thing I ate this weekend and easily the best fries I’ve eaten the past 5 years.

Cheeseburger with grilled onion and cherry pepper relish.

Ocean Code. We had a highball with kyoho grape syrup.

Oden – beef, black fungus, daikon, tofu, and an inari-wrapped mochi ball in a super flavorful broth.

I had the spicy tuna rice bowl.

Okka. Very good cortado and Turkish coffee, plus baklava.

OTB. My favorite bar food in Brooklyn. The fantastic cup on the left was a frozen mojito.

Nuggets and chili cheese fries.

Rule of Thirds. Chiba Surf Club – yuzu sake, lillet, strawberry, sparkling wine, and fresh chives.

Douglas Fir-Banks – sesame shochu, gin, peach, vetiver, lime, umeboshi, and douglas fir. Plus a hojicha iced latte that was the 2nd best thing I ate this weekend.

Souffle pancake.

Japanese omelette sandwich on milk bread with miso mayo and yuzu cucumbers.

Smashed potatoes with mushrooms, hatcho miso, and a poached egg.

20Mar2023

Oxtail Pizza

by Emily

Highlights from the weekend…

Passionfruit Coffee. This was a quad skim iced latte with caramelized milk chocolate sauce.

We are head over heels for these Nightingale ice cream sandwiches. Adam is a traditionalist but this cinnamon roll variety is my favorite.

We went to Food Bazaar recently (home of Rokstar Chicken) and brought home some great snacks. This weekend I enjoyed key lime grapefruit Polar seltzer,

honey butter chips,

Jom gummy candy,

and spicy beef ramen.

We waited in line two and a half hours for Cuts and Slices pizza — worth it! We got chopped cheese, chicken and wafles, jerk chicken, and stewed oxtail.

Lunch at For Five – I had a turkey Cuban.

Leftovers from a wonderful lunch at Mao Mao (I didn’t have my camera). Fried fish cakes with sweet chili sauce / steamed dumplings with chicken, shrimp, and mushroom / vegetarian rice rolls. We also had great poached chicken with chicken fat rice.

Roasted sheetpan hash. Fennel, bok choy, purple sweet potato, chicken pesto sausage, soy puffs, mint, and pesto.

17Mar2023

Kiss Me

by Emily

Highlights from this week…

Adam is busy tonight so we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day a day early with ridiculous/amazing corned beef reuben grilled cheeses from Roast. Plus short rib shepherd’s pie and (homemade) roasted green beans.

I also made us green iced lattes!

See also – this week’s coffee combo was a winner.

Still really enjoying these guava crisps.

Pineberries! We liked them more than the Oshinko berries but less than regular strawberries.

This bin of strawberry popping bobas felt like it had endless potential.

I made great iced matchas with lemon seltzer and boba. Also – amaretto and diet coke with popping boba; 9.5/10

We weren’t that impressed with these fancy truffles.

But were shocked by how much we liked these limited-release cookie dough candies.

Best meal of the week – chicken kale pesto sausage on a pretzel bun with honey mustard / roasted yellow and purple cauliflower / Japanese sweet potato salad that is one of the best things I’ve ever made; roasted Japanese sweet potato with mayo, Kewpie, Sriracha, rice vinegar, paprika, white pepper, gochugaru, green onion, and pickled radish.

Leftover veggies and potato salad plus salmon salad – canned sockeye, smoked sockeye salmon candy, mayo, Sriracha, rice vinegar, and green onion.

Giant, smokey, protein-packed salads. Romaine and carrot greens with black garlic balsamic vinaigrette / roasted brussel sprouts with evoo and urfa pepper / roasted carrots with maple, evoo, butter, paprika, and gochugaru / smoked turkey breast / bacon-flavored crunchy mung beans / fried egg.

13Feb2023

Super Duper

by Emily

Highlights from a perfect weekend. Adam and I had a big chunk of time together / we walked thirteen miles from Penn Station around Central Park and through Harlem and back / we tried several spots that became new favorites / we watched the Super Bowl (aka Adam watched the Super Bowl and I cartoons while eating themed snacks).

Forever Coffee skim cortado. We loved it here.

Blue Bottle chocolate New Orleans cold brew.

Zabar’s Vietnamesse iced coffee. <– I had coveted this for more than a year and it was as good as I’d imagined

Bear Donut strawberry rose mochi donut.

Super Nice passionfruit donut.

Flourish. This space is decorated like the inside of my brain and quickly became my new favorite Long Island spot. We shared a salted caramel latte and a fantastic Shakerato.

Bagel sandwich (on a house-made sourdough everything bagel) with fried egg, hashbrown, herby cream cheese, and pickled onion.

House sourdough with miso braised short rib, gruyere, fontina, hatch chiles, and au jus.

Butterfunk Biscuit. We had a fried chicken biscuit with pimento cheese, pickles, and hot honey. And the best cinnamon roll I’ve ever eaten.

Noodle Bar. I love David Chang’s ethos and I read his memoir but somehow this was the first time I’ve visited one of his sit-down restaurants. Sweater Weather – El Buho mezcal, Kraken rum, sweet vermouth, tamarind maple cordial, and lemon.