Long Weekend Top Five

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.

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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.

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{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.

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

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

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{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.

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{4}  Super soup.

Served with ridiculously cheesy buttered toast.

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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.

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{5} Okonomiyaki aka Japanese cabbage pancake.

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

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

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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.

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

Mid-January

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.

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

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Chilaquiles!

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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.

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

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

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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.

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With leftover bok choy salad and roasted broccoli.

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

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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.

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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.

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Looking forward a long weekend!

Carbo-Loading For The Work-Week

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

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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.

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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.

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Espresso and chocolate milk.

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Best brunch of the new year at Sunday in Brooklyn.

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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!!!

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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. 

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

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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.

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

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

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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.

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Snack time, tortilla chips and peanut butter cups.

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Dulce de leche iced chocolate from Cacao Market.

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

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

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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.

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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.

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

Hello, 2017!

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

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Here are some culinary highlights from the first week…

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

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

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

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Veggie chili for my lunch.

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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

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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.

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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.

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Sea salt and black pepper chips and an Asian pear.

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Snack attack.  Popcorn and a honey kolsch.

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

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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.

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

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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!

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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.

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

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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.

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Served with hunks of sourdough.

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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!

Merry Christmas!

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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!).

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

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

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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.

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

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

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

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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.

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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.

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

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

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

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Enjoy the rest of your year!

It’s Beginning To Taste A Lot Like Christmas

It’s less than 1 week until Christmas and 2 weeks until 2017 <– how is that even possible?!!

After a brutally frigid Saturday, Adam and I took advantage of the practically balmy Sunday and spent some time walking around Manhattan.  We explored the Grand Central Station and Bryant Park markets and enjoyed the tree, the Christmas ornament statues, and the holiday window displays.

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Here were my best bites…

I’m still completely obsessed with both Pacific Rose apples and eggnog iced coffees.

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The hot chocolate from Max Brenner (with a marshmallow on top!) is the thickest and tastiest in the city.

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Muuna cottage cheese is pretty darn good.  That’s an iced tea in the background, in lieu of a 2nd iced coffee, and I’m not even sure who I am anymore.

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I’m not over these super cheesy turkey sandwiches – on an onion roll – from the cafeteria.  Served with broccoli drizzled in honey mustard dressing.

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I made sour cream and three onion dip!  Sautéed spring onions and garlic / caramelized onions / fresh chives.

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This lavender honey beer was enjoyable but far more sour than either of us were expecting.

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This cupcake from Magnolia was the best eggnog-flavored item of this season, including jelly beans and a scoop from Ample Hills.  The icing was marshmallow meringue!

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Crossing my fingers for a slow pre-holidays week at the hospital.

Back At It

With a crazy-busy week at work and a weather in the tens in NYC yesterday, we are definitely not on vacation any more, Toto!

Thankfully my day-to-day life takes place in the best city in America with the world’s nicest husband and the universe’s cutest dog so it’s really not too bad.

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And I get to eat some pretty yummy food too.  Flavors of the week – salmon, green beans, eggs, and egg nog…

This week’s coffee combo decked my mornings with boughs of jolly.

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Christmas blend espresso roast with soy/nog.  I also had a 2nd (and sometimes 3rd) cup at work everyday because going back to work after a vacation kind of sucks.

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Vanilla bean yogurt with Bear Naked cacao + cashew butter granola.  Plus a super juicy Pacific Rose apple.

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Oatmeal with chia seeds, chocolate-covered cacao nibs, and gingerbread spice.  Plus an apple on the side and a scoop of peanut butter on top once it was cooked.

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Yesterday I had a ridiculously cheesy toasted turkey sandwich from the cafeteria that I was too busy to snap a picture of.  And Wednesday the hospital served us a holiday luncheon, complete with the best steamed green beans any of us had ever tasted.

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It was a week of sweets, including on-theme jelly beans.

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Plus Brooklyn Cupcake.  Guava cheese and coquito <– the best flavor.

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I also ate all of the Oreo frosting off of this slice of red velvet.

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I knew Monday would knock me out, so I got dinner started before work that morning.  Strata with a super simple salad with honey mustard dressing.

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The egg casserole was this recipe but with whole-wheat pumpernickel, maple chicken sausage, and a nutty raw-milk cheddar.  The leftovers were great the next day too.

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Wednesday Adam and I did a date night at the beautiful Sisters’ Restaurant.  I want to go back for brunch so I get a better view, plus hopefully my food shots will be a little better.

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We shared drinks – Nine Pin Cider for me – and two appetizers.  Sweet potato fries with local maple crème fraiche and fried cauliflower and capers.  The cauliflower was ahh-mazing.  And we both decided the Nine Pin is the best cider on the market.

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I ordered the salmon niçoise, more green beans for me!  It was great, the fish was perfectly cooked.

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More salmon for dinner yesterday.  I made garlic salmon patties with sautéed bok choy with fried oyster mushrooms and a quick sauce of soy/honey/sriracha.  I ate my second patty while I assembled our plates, with a creamy cocktail sauce for dipping.

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Have a merry weekend!

This Week’s Top Five

December is here!  The last themed-food month of the year (also the last month of the year, holy crap)!

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Here were the top five from this week…

{1} Christmas-flavored coffees

Eggnog iced lattes have been rocking my face off, and I was also really into the holiday-spiced sweet cream cold brews this week.

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{2} Triple Draft Latte from La Colombe

Delish!  I enjoyed this can more than the store-made lattes I’ve gotten from this company.  I never did eat that pomelo though, it’s been a busy week at work.

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{3} Eggnog overnight oats

TJ’s low-fat eggnog / rolled oats / chia seeds / cinnamon and nutmeg / sliced banana.

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{4} Quesadillas

I ate one every day this week!  The hospital cafeteria kept having them and the one day I ate a different lunch I met up with a girlfriend for dinner and tequila after work.  Pictured is a jerk chicken quesadilla with corn, bell pepper, and cheddar and pepperjack.

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{5} Thanksgiving leftovers pasta

With turkey, roasted brussel sprouts, gruyere, and cranberry sauce.

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Now I’m looking forward to a month of mulled spices, eggnog, gingerbread, and peppermint.