Egg(nog)head

Food things from the 1st week of December – good dinners / baked goods my parents brought us from home during their visit / EGGNOG! Highlights included…

Jelly doughnut iced coffee! Iced coffee with blueberry jam and a cold foam with cinnamon, brown sugar, and cocoa powder.

As much as I adore plums and plucots I think I am most excited for mandarin season each year. These are seedless and the peel slips right off so they are so easy to eat.

Trader Joe’s spicy tempura seaweed snack. This is heavy on togarashi, which I love.

Eggnog in my coffees, of course.

Eggnog iced matcha latte.

Trader Joe’s eggnog Greek yogurt (my favorite) with nutmeg, fresh persimmon, and Target sugar cookie granola.

Chobani eggnog yogurt with cinnamon, blackberries, and coffee cake (from my mom).

Boozy tiramisu eggnog from Dante West Village.

Abomination Brewing‘s best beer – Fog Nog, a double IPA with spices and lactose.

Xi’an Famous Foods‘ spicy cumin lamb hand-ripped noodles are consistently an 11/10.

A take on the broccoli salad we are obsessed with. Roasted broccoli / sauteed green onion / crispy baked tofu / dried cranberries / food-processed sauce: evoo, serrano pepper, parsley, peanuts, smoked sardines, soy sauce, rice vinegar, gochugaru, and brown sugar. Plus pumpkin bread (from my aunt) toasted with butter.

Roast‘s weekly special was a short-rib grilled cheese so we obviously had to get it, with cheddar and crispy onions on sourdough. Plus leftover broccoli salad and leftover roasted cabbage with Sriracha and Sriracha-ranch peanuts.

A 1st night of Hannukah feast. Trader Joe’s cheese blintzes topped with blackberries, blueberry jam, and Greek yogurt with lemon and brown sugar. Plus Trader Joe’s latkes, roasted brussel sprouts, and a honey Sriracha dipping sauce.

P.S. Happy Hannukah to all of my readers who celebrate!

Chestnuts Blending

Five things from the 1st weekend of December…

Chestnut iced coffee – I blended skim milk, half and half, chestnut paste, brown sugar, and cinnamon. The flavor was good but unfortunately the blender did not work at all to create a cold foam texture.

I am still very much enjoying these Trader Joe’s dried baby pineapples.

These nuts from 7-11 were very ranch-y but not as spicy as I was hoping for.

A red and green yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with pomegranate, pumpkin seed butter, and halvah.

A weirdly wonderful dinner. Roasted cauliflower / roasted baby zucchinis / sauce – Greek yogurt, Kewpie, Sriracha, and lime juice / Trader Joe’s frozen fish sticks.

P.S./Number six – I had the cheesy nacho fries with steak from Taco Bell this weekend (I didn’t take a photo because I ate them out of the bag like a rat) and they were fantastic.

December 2023

It’s the first day of Eggnog Month! Also known as December. I am very excited about this year’s cache of themed goods.

Also a time for peppermint.

And other good tidings and joy.

Highlights from the last week of November include…

Several good yogurt bowls. Plain skyr with blueberries, chia seeds, and Seed & Mill lemon and white chocolate halvah.

Plain skyr with blueberries, leftover cranberry sauce, and Target sugar cookie granola.

The newest Reese’s big cup. The caramel layer is THICK and wonderful.

The last of the stuffing-inspired fried cauliflower-rice. Topped with the last of the cranberry sauce and pineapple hot sauce. I am definitely making this dish again next November!

Roasted spaghetti squash with baked turkey meatballs (stuffed with panade, tons of garlic, urfa pepper, and cheese). Plus Trader Joe’s pizza sauce and chili flakes.

Hot/cold tofu. Cold silken tofu topped with a mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, chili crisp, gochugaru, sesame seeds, and furikake. Plus roasted baby cauliflower.

Chicken and veggie dumplings from Mandu (the best!) the best with spicy sesame miso green beans (steamed, then sauteed in a mix of lime juice, brown sugar, gojuchang, miso paste, tahini, and water) and leftover tofu sauce.

Thankful 2023

I hope all of my American readers had a lovely Turkey Day! My parents flew up yesterday evening and we got to spend the holiday together. They are here through the long weekend and it is going to be a great visit. I am feeling extra grateful for family time this year – my grandmother passed away earlier this month at 94 years old. I am obviously sad, but mostly I have been feeling thankful. Thankful that I had my grandmother until my late thirties and she remained her funny, gracious, smart as a whip self until the end. Thankful she died so soon after her birthday and we had all just gotten to see her. Thankful we had such a perfect last visit – I took her out for lobster and she ate every bite and we went to a family birthday dinner and she and I shared nachos and had a wonderful talk about her life and my grandpa.

I am also grateful for cheese and good coffee, both of which I got to enjoy this week! Highlights included…

Look at my impressive stash of on-theme snacks! I was very pleasantly surprised by the popcorn.

And drinks!

Wired Coffee‘s holiday specials include a tiramisu cold foam and it was just divine.

Plain skyr with fresh persimmon, maple, cinnamon, nutmeg, and granola.

Roast‘s holiday specials are unmatched – Thanksgiving crunchwrap with turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry jam, crispy onions, green beans, and stuffing / potato croquettes with cheddar, green onion, and a side of ranch. Plus homemade green beans – sauteed with garlic, lemon, and honey dijon.

This stuffing-inspired fried cauliflower rice was one of the best dishes I’ve ever made. Riced cauliflower stir-fried with smoked turkey, celery, yellow onion, portabella mushroom, butter, dried cranberries, spiced pecans, and eggs.

But the best dish of the week was Thanksgiving nachos. These nachos are at least a quarter of why my parents wanted to brave the cold and visit now. Trader Joe’s stuffing chips, white cheddar, swiss, gouda, smoked turkey, poblano peppers, and cranberry sauce. Plus sided of roasted cauliflower and brussel sprouts.

Plus for dessert we ate Ben & Jerry’s pecan pie ice cream (I thought it was only fine, basically butter pecan, but my mom and Adam were fans) with homemade pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Winter Banana

Highlights from the week…

We are both really enjoying this flavored s’mores coffee from Bones Coffee Company.

Extra-purple smoothie – frozen grapes, frozen berries, Greek yogurt, and butterfly pea tea.

Yogurt bowl with fresh persimmon, caramel apple granola, honey, and nutmeg.

This giant apple was labeled a “Winter Banana” at the farmers’ market so obviously we bought it.

Such good packaged snacks this week. Jalapeño and honey chicken jerky (9/10) / peanut butter dark chocolate Over Easy bar (8/10).

Abomination Brewing’s marshmallow double IPA with a marshmallow fluff rim!!

True or False – I buy anything new Ben & Jerry’s has to offer? At least once! The peanut butter cup cookie dough bites were a new favorite, 2nd only to the s’mores option, but the Oat of this Swirled flavor wasn’t for me.

We also shop Seed & Mill pretty indiscriminately! These halvah coated pecans were a 10/10.

Take-out steak soft tacos from our local Mexican place. With zucchini, chopped tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce.

Noodle bowls loosely inspired by Khao Soi. Hand-cut noodles / shredded chicken breast / brothy sauce with coconut milk, red curry paste, and chicken broth / dinosaur kale sauteed with shallots, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, and rice vinegar / topped with tons of cashews and chili crisp.

Caribbean-inspired rice and beans (brown rice cooked with yellow onion, habanero pepper, coconut milk, chicken broth, and dark red kidney beans) / roasted broccoli / curried chicken salad (shredded chicken with mayo, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, sauteed onion, dried cranberries, salt and pepper, and Jamaican curry powder). I topped my bowl with pineapple Blind Betty’s hot sauce and the whole thing was divine.

Pumpkin GOAT

Highlights from the weekend…

Pumpkin Noosa (the best pumpkin yogurt of the month) with caramel apple granola.

Pumpkin spice Chobani with apple pie granola and frozen/warmed berries and cherries. Plus a pour-over coffee with a cinnamon and vanilla bean cold foam!

Southern Tier is the greatest of all time when it comes to pumpkin flavored alcohol.

Paris Baguette brie and cranberry croissant. This was great. I also tried an everything cream cheese croissant from Whole Foods that was only ok.

Perfect peanut butter and berry layers bar. Delicious. I’ve been very into things with a jammy layer recently (I had a Jenny’s doughnut ice cream over vacation with a mind-blowing jam swirl).

Someone at work gave Adam these spicy cashews and they are hands-down the best nuts I’ve ever eaten.

Good enough to salvage this very lackluster Cup Noodles flavor.

Taco bowls. Roasted cabbage with Sichuan pepper salt, cilantro, and lime / turkey sauteed with yellow onion, poblano pepper, and spices / double roasted tomato salsa / everything and the elote dip / sharp cheddar.

Enchilada-inspired casserole. Trader Joe’s black bean and cheese taquitos baked with a topping of roasted zucchini, leftover turkey, salsa, sour cream, and cheese. <– I will be making this again

Maple Month?!

Highlights from the week…

Pumpkin protein smoothie. Pumpkin puree, cottage cheese, vanilla protein powder, maple, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Pumpkin beers. We served these in a glasses with a cinnamon brown sugar rim!

Chobani pumpkin spice Greek yogurt with caramel apple granola and jumbo blueberries.

I also enjoyed the pumpkin crisp Flip.

A trio of maple treats! Maple is a year-round food (too good to limit to one month!) but it was fun to do a theme dessert. These were all wonderful, by the way, the candy bar was one of the best we’ve ever had.

Cocktail chip hour a la Trader Joe’s – their best potato chips with everything and the elote dip.

Spicy pumpkin pasta. Whole-wheat elbows with sauteed ground turkey with sour cream, pumpkin puree, and chili crisp. Plus roasted baby cauliflower.

Trader Joe’s spicy pumpkin samosas (11/10!) with roasted orange and purple cauliflower. I made a dipping sauce with sour cream, maple, harissa, and lime.

Macaroni and cheese cups with leftover cauliflower and a buffalo-ranch sauce.

P.S. Fellow millennials – We have been loving the new Goosebumps series and highly recommend it! So campy but sweet and we really like they way they’ve fit multiple titles into one cohesive story. P.P.S. Hubie Halloween on Netflix is also delightful.

Sandwich Week Forever

Things from last week…

Coffee combo – Nguyen Dalat roast (my new favorite after Hanoi) with coconut sweetened condensed milk. The SCM was more solid than liquid and it clumped terribly but tasted amazing.

See also – a summer s’mores iced latte (as good as it looks!) from The Barn in Merrick.

An array of apple beverages! Alani caramel apple energy drink / health-ade pink lady apple kombucha / Targer honey apple sparkling water.

An envy apple with 88 Acres vanilla cinnamon sunflower butter (so dreamy!).

Over Easy apple cinnamon bar – too raw oat chewy for me.

Trader Joe’s honey crisp apple cinnamon yogurt with apple pie granolas, chia seeds, and a honeycrisp.

I did not eat enough plums this summer but I am still excited for the start of Sumo season.

I loved the idea of this Sweet Water Gummies Tropical IPA but it was too pineapple-forward for me.

This week required SO MUCH ice cream! Including this new-to-us Ben & Jerry’s – Mousse Pie.

See also – I am still in a committed relationship with the s’mores cookie dough mix.

Sandwich 1 – chopped sharp cheddar, Applegate Farms honey and maple turkey and citrus ginger turkey, mustard, mayo, and banana peppers on a ciabatta roll. With roasted baby cauliflower.

Sandwich 2 – buffalo chicken salad (shredded chicken breasts with mayo, Franks, red onion, and blue cheese) on Trader Joe’s sliced sourdough. Plus roasted green beans with furikake.

Sandwich 3 – soft scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, cheddar, and quick pickled red onions on a garlic naan. Plus roasted brussel sprouts with pecans and blue cheese.

Sandwich 4 – baked tofu (super firm that I marinated in hot and sweet pickled jalopeno juice), sharp cheddar, and mayo on sourdough. Plus roasted broccoli and cauliflower.