Tag Archives: sauce

Call Me Buffy

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Highlights from an extra-garlicy, pizza packed week!

Mini cucumbers and Trader Joe’s caramelized onion dip are a very good combo.

As is coffee syrup and brown butter almond ice cream.

Hummingbird High’s Supernatural Brownies are out of this world good (we made the small batch version and it took less than 30 minutes!).

Homemade meat lovers pizza! I made a big batch of sauce by cooking down jarred marinara with yellow onion, garlic, turkey bacon, ground turkey, shallot oil, urfa chili, Korean chili flake, smoked paprika, and fish sauce. On a Trader Joe’s frozen crust with whole-milk mozarella balls. Plus roasted caulilini.

We had leftover sauce with roasted zucchini and Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi.

And I put leftover bacon in some homemade okonomiyaki (eggy cabbage pancakes). I also stuffed it with ginger and chili crisp and topped it with Sriracha, Kewpie, and furikaki.

We also made a sandwich style pizza that was my favorite meal of the week. With mozzarella, cheddar cheese curds, sliced turkey, and a homemade roasted garlic aioli. Plus sautéed snap peas and red bell pepper with tons of garlic and butter.

Mango-Lllama

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Three (out of the house!) highlights from the past week —

Fancy caffeine at New York Beanery. We had a lavender matcha and a peanut butter cup iced latte.

Mixed fruit mangonada! Somehow this was Adam’s first time trying chamoy but now he’s hooked.

Dinner at Llama Inn. A former coworker got us a gift certificate as a thank you (I helped train her when she moved from acute care to critical care) because it’s her favorite restaurant.

Everything was amazing. Atlas Shrubbed = Pisco, Shochu, aloe vera liquor, kiwi, lemon, and lime.

Asparagus with salsa, pickled green almonds, and huacatay // bok choy with huacatay, sunflower seeds, and grapes.

Scallop tiradito with kiwi leche de tigre and tapioca. <– best dish of the night!

Beef with scallion pancake, avocado, pickled chilis, and fries.

Chipotle, Coconut, Curry, Callaloo

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I hope all of my American readers are enjoying Memorial Day long weekends. I worked Friday-Monday; womp, womp. But Adam and I are off together next weekend and I am so excited I could burst. Meanwhile, most of what we ate last week was truly fantastic. Highlights include…

Phin-brewed coffee with herbed cold foam.

Tropical yogurt bowl – Trader Joe’s guava and passionfruit Greek yogurt with coconut chips and fresh mango.

This hibiscus water was nice and refreshing.

How excited was I to find Dr. Brown’s in a 2-liter?!

IPAs brewed with milk sugar are my favorite. The Founder’s was good and the Evil Twin is god-tier.

Pretty much any time I go to any store for any reason I come out with at least one ice cream.

Caribbean beans and rice – brown rice cooked with coconut milk, red kidney beans, habanero pepper, urfa chile, garlic, ginger, and onion // with curry chicken breast – baked after marinating in goat’s milk yogurt, green Tabasco, lemon juice, Jamaican curry powder, and paprika // and roasted zucchini.

Salad night – baby spinach and spring mix blend with green onion, red bell pepper, avocado, coconut chips, roasted garlic salmon cakes, and homemade creamy passionfruit vinaigrette.

I made callaloo! A very loose take on callaloo but a good one nonetheless. Spinach cooked with green onion, yellow onion, habanero pepper, spices, coconut milk, and crab meat.

Often eaten with rice, I paired mine with chipotle cheese crisps.

Black Sesame

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I’m late — I worked the weekend and it knocked me out — but last week was too yummy not to post! Tons of ube, black sesame, and homemade fried shallots, oh my!

Highlights included…

Vietnamese coffee combo all week.

See also, phin-brewed coffee with sweetened condensed milk and black sesame paste.

Cookie dough Perfect Bar and a fresh peach = my new favorite breakfast combo.

Calpis filled marshmallows.

Everything new and ube from Trader Joe’s! P.S. we made epic sundaes with those items plus sliced banana, frosted flakes, sweetened condensed milk, and black sesame paste.

We have loved everything we’ve tried from Fat Orange Cat, particularly this sour double IPA.

Udon noodles / roasted zucchini, shredded rainbow carrot, green onion / ground turkey / sauce including doubangijang (spicy bean paste), chili crisp, tahini, soy sauce, and rice vinegar / fried shallots.

Roasted eggplant with shallot oil and sumac / roasted super firm tofu / sauce including tahini, black sesame paste, gojuchang, lemon, maple, and rice vinegar / green onion and fried shallots.

Baked chicken thighs / roasted green cabbage with carrots and green onion plus tons of fresh mint and cilantro / Nuoc Cham / fried shallots.

Garbanzo Gang

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Highlights from the last week include fruits + grains and Greek-ish homemade dinners.

There is cocoa granola and milk under that mountain of blueberries.

This Guava Squad double dry hopped IPA was lovely.

Baby chocolate milkshake!

One of our best sheet-pan hash dinners. Potato, purple sweet potato, zucchini, and Trader Joe’s sweet apple chicken sausage. I topped mine with zhoug.

Dolmas / homemade roasted garlic hummus / everything pretzel thins / Persian cucumbers / baby carrots / bell pepper.

My favorite take on a Greek salad. Chopped romaine, Persian cucumber, Trader Joe’s Greek feta dressing, sumac, crispy roasted chickpeas, and zhoug.

Trader Joe’s kunefe, aka the best packaged dessert you can buy.

P.S. No post from this weekend – now that I have include sunblock in my bag again it felt too heavy for a camera – but we are living our best lives with a long walk through Central Park and a stop at Butterfield for many desserts yesterday. Today we have a run on the boardwalk in Long Beach planned!

Honey Bear Hijinks

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Highlights from this week included great homemade dinners and tons of best-in-their-game-good desserts!

Freddo cappuccino from The Grand.

Coquito iced latte from 787.

We had a giant, insanely good meal at Sunday in Brooklyn. Honeybear on Holiday – rum, Montenegro, sherry, apricot, pineapple, lime, cumin, and honey.

The Tiger Prince – Indian single malt whiskey, pandan, coconut, curry leaves, and lime.

Warm crab and artichoke dip with crusty bread.

Wood roasted mushrooms with salsa verde, peanuts, coriander, and spring greens.

Herb-crusted roasted chicken with butter lettuce and fries with za’atar, chili flakes, and spicy mayo.

Our dinners at home this week were great thanks to the best flour tortillas and a big batch of homemade salsa (loosely based on this recipe). Quesadillas with Oaxaca cheese and sharp cheddar (and salsa and plain Greek yogurt) plus shishito peppers.

Plus flan from Bushwick Taco Company.

And a homemade soursop frozen margarita!

Turkey tacos with ground meat sautéed with poblano pepper and orange yellow bell pepper plus cheese, yogurt, and salsa.

Chilaquiles – salsa, poblano and bell pepper, homemade baked tortilla chips and pico de gallo chips, plus tons of cheese – topped with fried eggs, shredded chicken thighs, yogurt, and hot sauce.

This mochi chocolate chip cookie from Cha An Bon Bon is one of my favorite things I’ve eaten this year! The crispy, slightly savory cookie was the perfect foil for the mochi.

Crepe cake with salted milk foam, boba, and brown sugar syrup from Prince Tea House.

Oddfellows Ice Cream – saffron passionfruit ice cream with apricot and pistachio plus chocotorta (cream cheese ice cream with dulce de leche and chocolate cookie crumb (<–my new favorite flavor!))

Kitsby dessert bar blew our minds. We came for (and loved!) the salted egg yolk lava cake.

But were head over heels for The King – durian cream brulee with banana ice cream, brown butter shortbread, and herbal jelly. If you’re a durian fan in NYC I recommend getting this immediately!

Have a great week!

The Best Homemade Pizza

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Unsurprisingly, vacation was amazing. We went home for 8 days and had a fantastic time!

Transitioning back to real life is never as fun but here were some highlights from the last week…

A work snack with strong fluffernutter vibes. Vanilla marshmallows and a peanut butter granola bar.

Chewy Swedish candies from a Snack Crate.

Gelato with dulce de leche and crunchy chocolate.

An easy one-sheet-pan dinner. Riced cauliflower roasted with carrot, celery, and chicken soup sausage.

The best homemade pizza. A frozen crust from Trader Joe’s / marinara sauce that I cooked down with tons of garlic and chili oil, plus fish sauce / smoked sliced mozzarella / turkey pepperoni. Plus roasted romanesco.

An eclectic salad. Baby romaine with sriracha-mayo dressing, wasabi peanuts, sesame seeds, yellow raisins, and leftover romanesco.

What’s With Today, Today?

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Highlights from the past week include…

I am a total sucker for anything labeled limited edition and I really enjoyed this double dark chocolate Perfect Bar.

Also very pleasantly surprised by the Trader Joe’s chocolate peanut butter mochi.

I made brownies for Rex Manning Day! This is my favorite, most obscure tradition. These guys had tons of chocolate chips and espresso powder in them and were fantastically fudgy.

Bahn mi chicken salad with bok choy with ginger and carrot plus taro coconut chips.

Thai take-out night – spicy chicken and long beans with veggie dumplings.

Roasted green beans with eggs, vegan pork floss, and chili crisp.

Leftover bok choy with the best pizza we’ve ever made. Just a frozen crust topped with tomato sauce gussied up with tons of garlic, chili crisp, and olive oil plus baby mozzarella and bresaola.

Turkey and cheddar sandwich (with black garlic mayo!) on toasted rye with roased brussel sprouts.

Weekend Provisions

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Highlights from a yummy weekend include…

Pistachio milk iced latte at Post Factum.

We popped into Daily Provisions for a cappuccino and finally got our hands on one of their famous coffee crullers. <– worth the hype!

I took my cola + coffee obsession a step further with a boozy coke coffee float.

We had our best meal of the year at Bahn. Including Vietnamese iced coffee and a housemade strawberry lime soda.

Noodle salad bowl with lemongrass butter beef. That meat was so good it literally took our breath away!

We also had it on a bahn mi on perfect bread.

We got Win Son take-out after I had a little too much to drink at Evil Twin and ordered all of the things. Fried chicken sandwich with mayo and herbs / roasted spiced peanuts / marinated cucumber salad / braised beef in a scallion pancake / fried eggplant with black vinegar, labne, and spiced cashews / sesame noodles with black sesame and trumpet purée, oyster mushrooms, snow pea leaves, and peanuts.

Have a great week!

Broccoli, Bacon, Black Sesame, Banana

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Highlights from this week include…

Halo-halo inspired yogurt bowls. Vanilla skyr mixed with black sesame paste topped with banana, blueberries, and nata de coco.

Dinners were great this week; I made a big batch of maple tahini broccoli salad. Chicken parm sausages on brioche hot dog buns with ketchup, yellow mustard, and sauerkraut.

Meatball subs. I made baked turkey meatballs packed with garlic, parmesan, and urfa pepper. Plus Trader Joe’s crispy crunchy mushrooms which were 10/10.

Did I plan breakfast for dinner so that this iced macchiato milk stout would be on theme? Yes, 100%.

With cinnamon, pecan, banana pancakes. Plus turkey bacon, blueberries, sumo mandarin, and tons of maple syrup.