It Was a Very Good Year

Traditional after-work New Year's Eve pizza
This year instead of our local pizza joint, Not Ray's, we doctored up frozen Amy's pizza with a Squirt drink.  This was an accurate meal representation of the year.  Nothing to write home about but it was without major issues and you couldn't complain.  It could always be worse (no extra toppings) and we did our best to add to the basic foundation of life each day to make it fun.  All in all, a good year.   Great would be an overstatement, but it didn't suck. 

You Could Have Done Better, But I Don't Mind

Touted as Best Brownie Recipe

The Best Brownies - Was the name of the recipe that will remain linkless.  I searched for a couple of hours to make the absolute best fudgiest, triple chocolaty brownies for a special recipient.  I bought the expensive chocolate, vanilla extract and butter.  In the end, these were too cakey.  I wanted dense fudgy-chewy.  Instead I got a moist chocolate cake, so I won't pass the recipe.  All brownies are good for someone, so no shade on the creator but if you're going to say you are the best, then be it.  Also, no shiny crackle top.  Not a fan, nope.

So, instead of giving an inferior gift, I shared these with folks that I like at work...but not that much. 

Leftover Split Pea Soup and Ham and Cheese on Rye Sandwiches

But I'll Stand My Ground

Monkey Bars 

The tried and the true.  Recipes you've made time and time again, that never disappoint.  It's almost tradition to make certain soups and baked goods, at least one time in the season. Split Pea Soup and Monkey bars. 

Split Pea with Ham

Neither of these food offerings will win any awards for excitement but when they are warm and hot in front of you, they are as satisfying as anything. I am not sure you can improve on the basic soup recipe (but if you did, please let me know)!  I think the key is using a real ham bone and although it is tempting to do this soup in the crock, I like to saute the trinity of celery, carrots, onions (and garlic) beforehand, along with the bone.  For me that is key to developing more flavor in the broth. 

Where the People Meet

Lunch with my bud at Junior's Diner in Brooklyn

Turkey Reuben on Rye for me with lots of mustard and sauce on the side.  Of course the complimentary condiments of coleslaw, pickled beets and pickles, side of fries.  My bud got the Grilled Cheese which looked extra fluffy. 

The great thing about a real diner, is that it promotes lively conversation, as does a good bud.  Somehow this hectic atmosphere invigorates and lends itself to the movie-like experience I crave about New York.  Plus actual conversation facing a live person cannot be beat.  I don't know how many times a text response has been misinterpreted lately but climbing out of the misunderstood hole is harder than you'd think.  Pick up the phone and talk in person you might scream.  It sounds so easy!  But like many millennials, I've developed a phobia-like fear of phoning.  Being able to form sentences on the spot that are consistent with the normalities of society, is more than I am capable of.  I can't talk right, in other words, unless I can see your mouth and your expressions.  Face Time?  No thanks, that's some hoo-doo witchery to me. 

And So It Continued Both Day and Night

Christmas Day Snack Meal

Grilled Ham & Cheese Sandwiches 

I've mentioned before how much I adored Cher's character in Mermaids, especially her snack game.  Sit down meals have always made me feel a heavy sadness, a formal discomfort.  Snacks sitting on a high surface is festive and promotes talking and a party-like atmosphere. 

Loaded Tots - cheese, bacon, green onions and tomatoes

Wedge Salad

Fried Ravioli - Tip:  don't use the small variety as the cheese can tend to leak out and then you just have a hollow crisp. 

Cheddar Crisp Fail Confession - Even though we ate them all, the cheddar crackers were a strange texture and not altogether right.  Butter, Cheddar and flour are hard to screw up but then again, when you're juggling appetizers, it was pretty easy. 

Mini Pizza'd-up Meatballs in marinara sauce, Food Wishes Everything onion dip (so good!) and chips.  Lastly, spicy and sweet toasted nuts

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The World in Solemn Stillness Lay

Christmas Eve Hawaiian Sliders

Using Original Hawaiian King Sweet Rolls, fresh baked ham and American Cheese, Mayo, butter and garlic.

Made with a Spiral Baked Ham in a Chipotle Honey Glaze

It was as Christmas Eve should be, cold, snowy and quiet. But there was a creature stirring. 

There's Got to Be a Morning After

Linguini Reward Dinner

My brother-in-law stayed with us for couple of weeks and it was an awesome, whirlwind of a visit.  However, my male cat chose that week to start spraying and I worked most of the time but tried to get in some homemade meals along the way.  We visited Ground Zero and took walks, and went to a movie in downtown Manhattan at Alamo Drafthouse where someone created a retro, ridiculous mini Kim's Video.  There is even a bar that feels as if you're somewhere in the village, yet it's tucked inside the depths of this giant high rise building.  All is strange in that area of town, so it made sense to go there to see, Heavier Trip, a ridiculously rewarding movie.  You descend into the ghostly white interior of this new building passing levels filled with giant artist spaces in vacant storefronts on full view.  It's eerily dreamlike as you make eye contact with these artists who seem more experimental monkey, than creators behind the thick paneled glass. 

Brothers 

I made a few pots of soup and stews but somehow only documented this cornbread.

Guests bring on meals you never buy for yourself and this was one of them. Giant submarines, chips and soda.  Excellent choices from La Bagel Delight, a true treat!

Dinner with friends
Our apartment turned into an artist space too with guitars, singing, writing and creating.

Introverts will understand that although the experience was rich and rewarding, after our guest left, I needed a pasta remedy that hugged my innards and made me safe and warm. This fully dressed linguine in spicy sauce did the trick.

along with a thorough cleaning of the apartment

Even Lefty seemed to settle down 

Coat of Many Colors

Corn Chip Coated Baked Chicken

Did you know there are a ton of coating ideas for chicken?  I didn't.  I found out by necessity and cravings. Baked chicken first dipped in egg and then seasoned flour can then be doused in even more flavor by adding another level of crunch.  Crushed up salty corn chips are an excellent use of the bottom of your chip bag.  Bake on 425 for 30 to 40 minutes.  Another quick tip for tender chicken is to soak in heavily salted water for 15 minutes before rinsing and drying completely for seasoning. 

Sauteed cabbage was happy to get a bit of that crunchy love topping as well. As a matter of fact, NYTimes Cooking ran a story in the next months about the loveliness of crunchy toppings to vegetables in the form of toasted bread crumbs, nuts, etc.  And its true, many of us are looking for more umami, heat and texture in our dishes, while also trying to eat healthier and clean.   

 

The Good Things in Your Past

CopyCat Zuppa Toscana

A friend had emailed about the past, during a particularly joyful time in our lives.  If you're lucky, there are many of these, although I always admit I would have told you I was miserable through all of them. 

There was another time when eating lunch at Olive Garden in Times Square, which in itself is quite an odd pairing, with a group of music buyers and paid for by label representatives was a regular occurrence.  This soup, along with several pasta dishes was a favorite discovery. Making it now with potatoes, sausage, carrots and kale is a no-brainer, feel-good meal.  Guaranteed to make you less miserable.