Kevin and I recently returned back from a short vacation to the Bahamas. We had taken a four-night Royal Caribbean cruise departing Miami, Florida, traveling to Nassau and CocoCay, Bahamas, and then returning back to Miami, Florida aboard the Mariner of the Seas. One of the specialty restaurants we ate at during our trip was Jamie’s Italian. We had read on cruise forums that one of the recommended dishes offered at Jamie’s Italian was the cured meat plank. We knew we definitely wanted to try the plank during our visit to the restaurant.
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Cinnamon Hot Chocolate
Several months ago, I had purchased a container of European Dutch processed cocoa while searching for a high-quality cocoa to use in my baking experiments. I had intended to save the cocoa to use for baking cakes and cookies, but I completely forgot about the cocoa. It sat in my pantry for months. This morning, while I was preparing breakfast, I noticed the cocoa sitting in my pantry. I checked the container and realized the cocoa’s best by date is just a week away. I decided to make some cinnamon hot chocolate to use up some of the cocoa, but also because I had a craving for a warm, chocolatey drink.
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Hash Browns
Weekend breakfast and brunch are not the same without a serving of potatoes on the side. My usual go to breakfast potatoes are roasted potatoes or breakfast hash. I recently started grating russet potatoes using my box grater. It is the perfect tool for shredding potatoes. Once I started using my box grater to shred potatoes, it became a game changer for making crispy, evenly browned potatoes.
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Maple Lemon Blueberry Scones
The chill of the fall air started to settle in this week. The temperature hovered between the fifties and sixties during the week and finally dropped to the forties on Saturday. I started taking out my boots on Tuesday and wore them to work every day this week. I love fall, but this temperature is borderline winter weather. The leaves on the trees are beginning to change colors to different shades of red, orange, yellow, and brown. The coffee shops around town started featuring fall flavors and spices in their drinks. All of these changes have inspired me to start incorporating different flavors into my baked goods.
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Shanghai Noodles
Shanghainese food is one of my favorite cuisines in the world. It is actually Kevin’s favorite cuisine in the world. Aside from soup dumplings, I always order Shanghai noodles every time I eat at a Shanghainese restaurant. Whenever I travel back to New York City to visit my family, my first stop is always to a Shanghainese restaurant in Manhattan’s Chinatown.
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Orange Yogurt Cake
I had an abundance of yogurt left over in the refrigerator from last week. I usually buy a large container of plain Greek yogurt for myself to eat for breakfast throughout the week and smaller individual containers for Kevin to bring along to work for breakfast throughout the weekday mornings. I didn’t feel like packing yogurt every day for breakfast last week which left me with an abundance of yogurt at the end of the week. The yogurt was also nearing its expiration date. In an effort to not waste the yogurt, I ended up incorporating the yogurt into a cake.
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Chicken Pot Pie
I started making individual servings of chicken pot pie two years ago. The first time I made a chicken pot pie, I made it in a large pie dish and served it by the slice. The filling spilled out after I cut a slice and the bottom piece of pie dough became soggy. It was also a bit difficult to store and eat the following day. I solved the issue by making individual servings in small ramekins using one piece of pie dough to seal the top of the ramekin.
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Lemon Cacio e Pepe
My favorite weekday pasta is lemon Cacio e Pepe spaghetti. It is one of those dishes you whip up when you barely have anything in your pantry. Two items I always keep on stock is a large piece of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and a bowl of lemons. You never know when you need to whip up a quick pasta because you are too tired to cook.
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Bacon and Caramelized Onion Quiche
Quiches are part of my rotation of Sunday brunch recipes. I like to make a quiche when I don’t know what to make for breakfast or brunch. Quiches are basically frittatas without the crust. They always look impressive and are always delicious served at any temperature. One of the easiest quiches you can make is a bacon and caramelized onion quiche.
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Tomato Galette
In case you haven’t already noticed, I am a huge fan of tomatoes. Most of the time, when I eat tomatoes, it is usually combined with either bread or pasta. I’m pretty sure my love of tomatoes resulted from the endless amount of pizza and pasta I feasted on growing up in New York. When I don’t have access to pizza or pasta, I like to pile tomatoes on toast and imagine I’m eating a slice of a pizza. A tomato galette is an extension of my love of pizza.
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