Top Five This Week

by Emily

{1} Fiber One sent me samples of their newest product line – layered chewy bars.

I’m a fan! Sometimes fiber-added products hurt my stomach, but these gave me no issues. They are chewy without being tooth-breaking and salty-sweet – my favorite flavor combo. They come in double chocolate almond.

And the even more delicious salted caramel and dark chocolate.

{2} I made a tasty strawberry sauce.

It was quick and easy, just fresh strawberries quartered and cooked in a skillet over medium heat.

Paired with passion fruit yogurt with Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes.

And plain yogurt with vanilla granola and a few Luxardo cherries.

{3} Ben & Jerry’s and New Belgium partnered on a cookie dough beer and I paired it with cookie dough ice cream.

We ended up not loving the beer, which had a chemical aftertaste to it, but the ice cream (which I topped with melty Biscoff) was obviously delicious.

And speaking of Speculoos…

{4} Starbucks has a cookie butter bar and it is out of this freaking world.

{5} I spent 3+ hours making over-the-top lasagna.

Loosely based on this recipe, it was totally worth the time commitment.

I made a red sauce with ground turkey and TJ’s soy chorizo. My béchamel was a four-cheese doozy made with cheddar-gruyere and parmesan-gouda. I skipped the ricotta, but did top my dish off with more parmesan-gouda.

{bonus} My schedule – I worked President’s Day and work this upcoming weekend which means I was off from work yesterday and today for a midweek weekend! And Adam is off today too so we’ve got some Upper East Side fun planned. See you next week!

17Feb2017

♥♥♥

by Emily

Did everyone have a happy / romantic / chocolate-coated Valentine’s Day? Mine was good; Adam and I don’t do gifts but we went out of a yummy dinner on the 13th, and some of my coworkers brought in candy.

Top five tastes from the week…

{1♥} chocolate-covered cherry <– one of this month’s theme flavors!

CCC smoothie – chocolate milk, frozen dark cherries, plain Greek yogurt.

CCC coffee – cold brew, chocolate milk, Luxardo cherries with juice.

The coffee seriously made me swoon with happiness.

{2♥} best Mexican food in Brooklyn

I read two different places that El Atoradero had the best nachos in New York, so clearly we had to go there immediately. They were delicious, though not as good as the nachos I bake at home.

This was the best chicken burrito I’ve ever eaten though. The chicken tinga was smoky and roasty and there were peas and carrot in it giving little pops of sweetness.

Ample Hills for dessert!

{3♥} yogurt bowls

Toasted marshmallow yogurt(!!) with vanilla granola and chocolate tahini/Biscoff.

Siggi’s raspberry with mixed nut butter.

{4♥} deep-dish pepperoni pizza

I used TJ’s whole-wheat dough and cooked it in a casserole dish. With mozzarella, pizza sauce, and turkey pepperoni that I apparently did not have the skill to cut into hearts.

{5♥} English butter fudge

I love you, Trader Joe’s; this was the single best candy I’ve ever eaten. If you’re a fan of penuche/praline/brown sugar I recommend you buy this immediately.

Have a nice weekend!

3Feb2017

The End Of The First Month Of The New Year

by Emily

I’m two weeks late and about a hundred pictures short, but here, finally, is a (bi)weekly wrap up for the end of January. I blame a bout of the cold, a string of loser dinners, and a case of the mid-winter blues for my lack of timeliness and photo-taking-enthusiasm.

Gaps aside, here were some eats from the past two weeks…

{rated within their category; i.e. the yogurt bowl is an 8 out of 10 compared with other yogurt bowls not compared other dissimilar items}

Green monster from the cafeteria. They sometimes set up a smoothie bar at the rotating station. I chose spinach, strawberry, mango, and coconut water. 8.5/10

Chocolate iced coffee. 8/10

Work snack – an apple and coconut caramel bar. The score here is for the Thai Coco coconut milk drink, which was creamy and sweet. 9.5/10

Soursop yogurt with blueberries and vanilla granola. 8/10

Turkey reuben-ish sandwich from the cafeteria. Sliced turkey, swiss cheese, pickles, spinach, and cole slaw on a whole-wheat wrap. Plus french fries dipped in 1000 island. 6.5/10

Cola kombucha. 6.5/10

This Milka Oreo candy bar didn’t have as much cookie in it as I wanted. 6/10

But these TJ’s sour gummies are the best gummy candies Adam or I have ever tasted. 10/10

Biscuit breakfast sandwiches for dinner. Buttermilk biscuits (<– I don’t recommend this recipe, the biscuits had no flake) / maple Sriracha mayo / smoked gouda / fried egg. 6/10

Pumpkin soup. Roux, canned pumpkin, and chicken stock with sautéed onions, carrot, and maple chicken breakfast sausage on the bottom. This didn’t turn out as well as I was expecting it to, the salt and pepper pumpkin seed brittle I sprinkled on top was by far the best component. 5/10

Escarole and white bean skillet with (turkey) bacon and artichoke. 7/10

Creamy turkey pasta. Ground turkey sautéed with garlic, browned mushrooms, and oven-roasted tomatoes, tossed with sour cream, and whole-wheat pasta. 7.5/10

I’ve got some yummy things planned for this weekend so hopefully the next post will be slightly less lame!

17Jan2017

Long Weekend Top Five

by Emily

I had a very enjoyable weekend, including two fancy brunches and one entire day spent watching tv and eating nachos with a dog lounging in my lap. There have been some very enjoyable eats over the past four days too.

Here were the top five…

{1} The final serving of my new favorite coffee combo.

Texas pecan cold brew + sweet buttercream creamer + ice + a straw = a very happy Emily. Adam loved it too.

{2} Brunch at Gristmill in Park Slope.

We adored it and will definitely be back for dinner. They are known for their garlic knots and that morning they had an everything garlic knot for The Loxness Knotster – with pastrami smoked salmon from ACME, cream cheese, ricotta, and dill.

I got a Brunch Punch – with rum, lemon-lime shrub, grenadine, cinnamon, and clove. It was so pink!

Plus spicy potato hash with carrots, arugula, and poached egg. This dish was soooo balanced and just a joy to eat.

{3} Brunch at Sunday in Brooklyn in Williamsburg.

I had an egg sandwich on brioche with gochujang aioli, crispy potatoes, and cheddar. Plus a toasted oak soda with a shot of vodka. <– such a genius idea that the owner came by and nodded his approval.

{4} Super soup.

Served with ridiculously cheesy buttered toast.

Yellow onion, celery, green bell pepper, and carrot sautéed in evoo / white miso / low-sodium chicken broth / shredded turkey breast / pesto tortellini. The soup was super easy since I already had the cooked meat in my freezer. I boiled the pasta in my broth and it came out great.

{5} Okonomiyaki aka Japanese cabbage pancake.

Thank you, Serious Eats, for introducing me to another new yummy thing.

Served with quick salads of celery, red bell pepper, basil, and green onion, in a mustard vinaigrette.

My pans stick so my okonomiyaki came out in pieces, but you could hardly tell once I smothered it in toppings! Cabbage and Japanese sweet potato pancake / fish sauce aioli / gochujang / roasted seaweed / black sesame seeds / green onion.

Next week is going to be less exotic but more cheesy, I’m making a gratin!

13Jan2017

Mid-January

by Emily

Tuesday night, I met up with my aunt in the Financial District for dinner and then coffees/cookies at the beautiful new 3rd story Eataly.

Wednesday, I was off from work and spent the entire day in bed, watching tv, eating pizza, and reading a Liane Moriarty book from start to finish.

Thursday, Adam and I went on a dinner date sans coats in 66 degree weather.

<– kind of a hard week to complain about, huh?

Here were my best bites…

New all-time favorite coffee combo: Texas pecan coffee concentrate with sweet buttercream creamer. Swoontastic.

I also tried the new Starbucks Cascara latte. It was meh, too sweet but not in a brown sugar way as promised.

Chilaquiles!

Kinda, sorta. I cooked thick tortilla chips in salsa and leftover spicy pepper sauce from my shakshuka. Topped with black beans, shredded cheese, and fried eggs.

Piñata apple with a spicy chicken epic bar. I’ve really been enjoying these meat-based bar options.

Yogurt bowl lunch. Siggi’s with granola and chocolate tahini. Plus pears.

I made cheesy turkey sloppy joes. Turkey breast sautéed with onion and green bell pepper and tomato paste, stirred into a sharp cheddar mornay sauce, and served on a brioche bun. It was pretty damn good.

With leftover bok choy salad and roasted broccoli.

Our date night was a pizza date at Paulie Gee’s.

It was our first time and we loved it. I had a Milk and Honey Ale and a pizza with fresh mozzarella, baby spinach, olive oil, and garlic.

Dessert at Ample Hills. A new flavor, The View – chocolate marshmallow ice cream with ooey gooey butter cake pieces, brownies, and crack cookie; plus fantasmic dark hot chocolate.

Looking forward a long weekend!

9Jan2017

Carbo-Loading For The Work-Week

by Emily

Three words to sum up this weekend’s eats – all the carbs. Fourth word – yum!

It was a very good weekend, in spite of the city’s first snow. We drove (carefully!) into Brooklyn both days for tasty brunches, I cooked two new dishes, we cackled loudly at the Garfunkel and Oates special, and I polished off a bunch of freelance work.

Iced latte from Milk Bar.

Starbucks smoked butterscotch latte. I ordered this with four shots of espresso (normal x2) and two pumps of syrup (normal/2) and it was still too sweet.

Espresso and chocolate milk.

Best brunch of the new year at Sunday in Brooklyn.

I drank a Sundae Coffee – cold brewed coffee, aged rum, allspice dram, and vanilla cream – and a Smoked Oak Soda, aka the best thing I’ve ever tasted. It was like a glass of toasted marshmallow!!!

We started with a pecan sticky bun and a maple cheddar biscuit. It’s possible we got excited and basically ordered the whole damn menu.

I uncharacteristically ordered pancakes… malted pancakes with hazelnut maple praline and brown butter.

Plus we spit home fries and I stole several bites of Adam’s smoked salmon and pastrami cod. We took some food home, obviously, and the dog was over the moon for that salmon. <– I agree, best lox I’ve had yet.

Work lunch yogurt bowl. Vanilla bean with TJ’s almond butter granola and chocolate tahini, plus a Piñata apple.

Pizza lunch at Emmy Squared. We had waffle fries with bonito flakes.

The Marn Blanc — white pizza with mozzarella, ricotta, pecorino, and caramelized onion – was good but intense; I’d probably get something with red sauce to cut through the fat next time.

Snack time, tortilla chips and peanut butter cups.

Dulce de leche iced chocolate from Cacao Market.

Turkey salad for a simple dinner, with mayo, ground mustard, celery, sweet and spicy pecans, and cilantro. Plus baby carrots and buttered sourdough toast.

Nacho night. Tortilla chips with sharp cheddar, chunky salsa, and black beans. Plus more baby carrots on the side.

Sunday I spent some time chopping in the kitchen and tried two new recipes. I did a very loose interpretation of Mapo Tofu with ground turkey and gojuchang served on brown rice.

Next to a bok choy salad. I borrowed this sauce, and tossed it with chopped bok choy, red bell pepper, celery, green onions, and Valencia peanuts. It was delicious! This was our first time eating the bok choy raw and we loved it.

I’d say my glycogen stores are fully replenished. Have a fantastic week!

6Jan2017

Hello, 2017!

by Emily

How is everyone’s year going?? So far, the word for my 2017 is tasty.

Here are some culinary highlights from the first week…

Coffee first, always coffee. Espresso roast and chocolate milk before work.

I also had the best iced latte of the year from Birch; their shots are extra strong and roasty.

Adam and I both had Monday off of work and we started our new year with a trip to Serendipity 3.

Veggie chili for my lunch.

I kept lunch boring because I was focused on the main event – sundae funday! A giant scoop of peanut butter pie with hot fudge and bananas. <– swoon city

Work lunches were centered around a box of free product review samples I received from ips snacks. The snacks – crisps and popcorn – are all made with whey protein and pack at least 5 grams of protein for </ 150 calories.

I have to admit that I liked the snacks a lot more than I was expecting to. The salted popcorn was honestly the best bagged popcorn Adam or I have ever tasted! It was filling, satisfying, and totally delicious. The chips would rate poorly if I compared them to chip-chips, but score a 9/10 as snack crisps. Very few snacks, especially ones that pack less than 200 calories, keep me full enough in the afternoon that I don’t consider gnawing my own arm off on the train, but these did the trick.

I packed crisps and fruit to pair with toasted turkey and cheese cafeteria sandwiches. BBQ chips and a cara cara.

Sea salt and black pepper chips and an Asian pear.

Snack attack. Popcorn and a honey kolsch.

Yogurt bowl with plain Greek, chocolate tahini, sliced snap dragon apple, chia seeds, cinnamon, and sweet and spicy pecans.

I was killing it with dinners this week. Three different veggie-forward, flavor-loaded, 10/10 dishes! When I made fried green onions last week I saved the infused oil and that’s what I used for cooking this week. First, a simple salad to start off the new year.

Oak leaf lettuce, TJ’s Greek-style feta dressing, cucumber, dill, and roasted chickpeas. With hibiscus kombucha on the side.

Next up, spicy cabbage salad with turkey and peanuts from Bon Appétit. I only ever read this magazine on plane rides but this recipe alone would be worth the subscription cost!

I doubled up so that we could get 4 big dinners out of it, and roasted the cabbage so it was less voluminous, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly <– something I rarely do.

Served with cheesey breadsticks, aka pizza dough rolled up with an obscene amount of cheese.

Finally, I tried my hand at shakshuka. Based loosely on the recipes from Serious Eats and My Name is Yeh, my version had red bell peppers, red jalapeño pepper, and serrano pepper.

Served with hunks of sourdough.

I’m excited to do a little more exploring in the kitchen this new year. My meal plan list for the next month or so includes menemen, mapo tofu, kaya jam, okonomiyaki, and chilaquiles!

27Dec2016

Merry Christmas!

by Emily

My holiday greeting is a few days late but that’s ok, my holiday celebrating was late too! Adam and I both worked Christmas day this year (and Thanksgiving… and New Years) so we saved our gift opening and merriment for the 26th. It was actually kind of fun, we had an item that needed to be exchanged and we just ran right out to the mall and did it.

Here were the food-based highlights, no candy canes, sugar plums, or fruit cakes, but good all the same…

Making the most of the end of eggnog season with several eggnog iced lattes (with a quadruple dose of espresso!).

Christmas day I packed a bottled coffee for work (1.5 thumbs up) plus an exciting peppermint seltzer.

Saturday we headed to Brooklyn for Thai food at super artsy and cool Samui.

Apparently Christmas Eve lunch is not a thing because we were the only people in the restaurant! At least there was no one blocking our view.

The food was great, this was the 2nd best green papaya salad I’ve ever gotten.

And I had yummy shrimp Pad Thai in an egg crepe.

Ice cream for dessert to celebrate the first night of Hannukah – “Festival of Lights”cream cheese ice cream with pieces of chocolate rugelach.

Actual Christmas day I came home from work and ate leftovers with the dog, but Christmas Eve I had a pizza and beer party with the husband.

We made taco pizza that was fantastic. TJ’s thin crust / refried beans / Mexican cheese blend / seasoned ground turkey / cilantro sour cream. With roasted zucchini on the side.

And for our belated Christmas dinner we made brinner, aka breakfast for dinner.

Red and green eggs – a scramble with red bell pepper, green onions, spinach, and parsley, plus cheddar.

The best roasted potatoes from Serious Eats. <– seriously, they were THE BEST

Enjoy the rest of your year!

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: turkey

Top Five This Week

♥♥♥

The End Of The First Month Of The New Year

Long Weekend Top Five

Mid-January

Carbo-Loading For The Work-Week

Hello, 2017!

Merry Christmas!