BeeZee

Chanukka at my house yesterday, we decided to do "Linner" late afternoon so those of us who work could be home/rested. Mom made latkes and brought them to be reheated (a B+ batch, she had some Yukon Golds in the mix and they didn't crisp as well as usual), the obligatory applesauce and sour cream to top. Sis made salad with baby arugula, oranges, strawberries, almonds and a simple balsamic dressing. I made "asian" flavored meatballs (oven baked in a sauce without pre-browning, a timesaver) which were a big hit. I had bought 85%-15% ground turkey instead of my usual 93% lean and I had to add more panko to hold them together, that was a panic moment, but the texture was still good when cooked. Purchased cooked shrimp from Wegmans, served cold with cocktail sauce. Mixed berry pie, ice cream, and fruit slices (almost unbearably sweet, but deliciously intense flavors) from an upscale confectioner my Uncle frequents. Kind of a weird combo of foods, but it was sort of a nod to foods I knew everyone liked.

Shared this today with DH and his son, it was pretty rich, delicious. 9.2% alcohol, so no driving...

Made a TJ’s run (ack, the madness) to get some wines for gifting. Picked up a bottle of gingerbread stout which caught my eye. Box of gingerbread mix, tomatillo salsa for hubs, chocolate covered espresso beans, dried fruit and nuts, box of carrot ginger soup, 4 pack gift of maple syrups ($9.99, a steal), bag of brown rice/grain blend (making stuffed peppers tomorrow).

Half of a leftover (from dinner) red-skinned sweet potato, reheated in office micro, little swipe of butter and dash of cinnamon. Nice on a rainy day.

1) vanilla (the best quality bean flavor) 2) cinnamon 3) raspberry 4) roasted garlic 5) citrus 6) shellfish 7) pistachio 8.) balsamic vinegar 9) unsalted butter 10) coffee

I had my first Cosmic Crisp apple today, selling for $2.99 at my local Shop Rite. Nice and crisp, Firm flesh, skin not overly tough, sweet. The flavor reminded me a bit of Braeburn. I would buy it again, but don’t feel like it was a “life changing” apple experience.😉

Target is offering 10% discount on gift cards today, maximum $300 card value. So for example, if you select a $100 gift card you are charged $90. You can have the gift card emailed, texted, or mailed to you.

very busy at work today so all I did was snack on office junk (after having my healthy yogurt for breakfast), plenty of stuff due to hitting my snack drawer and the pre-holiday food showing up in the office. Philly soft pretzel. Buttery caramel corn with nuts. Dried fruit. Mini Reese's cup. Handful of pea/bean/grain crisps. So bad when I see it in writing, definitely stress eating. I better eat some veggies when I get home.

I would call a meeting...if it meant those kinds of snacks!

Stovetop grill pan seared tuna, cilantro/lime rice, salad. Downside of being a Thanksgiving guest, not a lot of leftovers. We wound up with the leftover stuffing (which I froze). Although I do have a slice of cheesecake to split with DH later. I resisted Mom’s entreaties to take the half of the cake that remained.

Chocolate. Mass quantities of the cheap stuff before...then no appetite.

Cubing the defrosted bread I had been saving in the freezer for stuffing...one partial loaf of a grainy/seedy variety that held up very well, I held back the "heel" end and made a mini sandwich of just provolone cheese on the bread. It's amazing how good bread, if wrapped well, holds up pretty well in the freezer.

Gawd, the angst starting already. Sis, who can't put a menu together and has limited cooking bandwidth, is stuck on the idea of making a stuffed mushroom casserole. Which I really can't see considering I have already made stuffing with...mushrooms. So more mushrooms and bread. I just emailed her to suggest just roasting some cubed root veg. Nobody really cares about the veg and at least those are good as leftovers, even for soup.

Mom and Dad are hosting. I am making dressing with mushrooms (my stand by recipe, has lots of shallots and fresh herbs), gravy (I do the "make ahead" version), and infamous Knorr spinach dip. Stepson was tasked with buying something for dessert (Mom is making apple crisp + ice cream). She sometimes buys the veg side (Wegmans butternut squash w/cranberries), and will be making twice-baked potatoes (no cheese). Sis usually is responsible for salad or soup since she's not the most confident cook.

I like roasting the seeds from delicata squash. Have to grab some, they only appear in my area stores before Thanksgiving.

Well that sad "salad" would deeply distress me (egg) and @liuzhou (c*rn)!

no pics...met a friend (former work client) for brunch and a long catch up on home and work gripes (2 hours later...) since we were both working "in the field" today...lousy misty cold day. We ate at PJ's Pancake House (Princeton area institution, they have expanded in the area to several locations). I had a "half portion" 3 pancakes, did the sampler so I picked Old West buckwheat, Nutty Multigrain, and Apricot Pecan. OOF...carb heavy, I just want to take a nap, I won't need any food the rest of the day. I can't imagine who could eat a whole portion (5 pancakes), like a brick.

On sale at Amazon today for $12.94 hardcover. I am a Prime member, so your price may vary.

Traffic in that area at that time of day is horrible, how long is your layover?

We have a Chick-fil-A devotee in the office, she got a seasonal milkshake this week, peppermint. Said it was good, not overly minty (pink color). She also loves the mac+cheese side, I haven't tried it yet. I've gotten the Chicken Tortilla soup a couple of times, it is hearty, made with beans, thick broth. They give you a little cello pack of tortilla strips to add as you eat. Since it is a half mile from the office, she orders on the mobile app as she walks out the door and timing is perfect. Don't sleep on the chocolate chunk cookies, either. For a commercial cookie they are pretty darn good. I can only eat half of one.

Typo, 200 degrees celsius...US should be 400 degrees F. Beautiful plate.

Last weekend DH and I ate at a very small (26 seats) seafood restaurant which was excellent (Two Fish in Haddonfield, NJ) but with the wood floor, wood tables, and wood chairs, the sound quality was awful. More so because we were only a couple of feet away from a party of 6 in the center of the small room. And a couple of people at that table were getting loud, slapping a hand on the table to make a point, clank as the tableware rattled from the blow. The restaurant certainly isn’t striving for a “party” atmosphere, it would have been less uncomfortable if some sound absorbing materials had been incorporated in to the design. I don’t expect to eat in a room that feels like a hushed, sacred space...but I would like to not feel like I have to raise my voice to have a conversation. I really enjoyed my meal, but I would hesitate to return due to the lack of comfort for my ears (and butt...man, those wood seats are brutal).

Did a Trader Joe's run today (restock wine, etc.) and I picked up Thai-style carrot and sweet potato soup and a small container of gooseberries (among other things). Feeling lazy, and as dinner was to use some thin sliced chicken breasts, I cut the chicken into thin strips, sauteed, threw in a bag of shredded "antioxidant mix" veg (doesn't matter what they were at this point, shredded to oblivion), a couple of splashes of fish sauce. The soup went in to the pan, simmered a couple of minutes, added the halved gooseberries. Served with brown rice. The gooseberries were really good in the (inauthentic) mix, a tart offset.

I'm with @kayb, I alternate between cottage cheese and Greek yogurt as protein sources. I do eat the no salt added cottage cheese, I've found that every brand tastes slightly different which is very noticeable when salt is not masking the milky flavor. Since I usually have mine with fruit, I prefer no salt. If I want to make it savory, I can add salt as I wish. Or eat it on top of salty crackers.

I bought two large (80 piece) bags of candy - Hershey brand miniatures so technically DH should have given out 2 per kid, these aren't the "Fun Size" (ex: Twix is one small stick). I had to work late so he was in charge and probably ate around 10 pieces but we only used one bag, so that means roughly 70 kids.