The Weekly Recap #82

It’s a new year, weird! This would have been the newsletter where I switched to my new branding but I was impatient and already did that. So I have nothing new to report today besides my house is quiet with my parents gone, I have taken down all the Christmas clutter, and I am currently obsessed with egg salad. I can’t tell you why but it is delicious.

Marco and I had a quiet but festive New Year’s Eve at home just the two of us. I shucked us a dozen oysters, which I find to be a very enjoyable task. I cooked some hasselback potatoes (Marco’s request) with sliced garlic between the slices, porcini salt, and ghee. I tested a new idea I have for a wedge salad and it was 10/10 delicious. Then I smoked the house up by cooking us some steaks. Bison for Marco and a 42 day aged ribeye for me. I have one rule about steaks in my house—you eat it while it’s still HOT without waiting for anyone. High up there with one of my favorite things ever is a salty marbled piece of meat with a deep sear and melty fat. You have a short window to get the perfect few bites and so we attacked our steaks straight off the cutting board which is always a special treat.

We aired the house out, cleaned the kitchen, hopped in bed, flipped through some trash TV shows, and fell asleep before midnight. The perfect evening if you ask me.

Yesterday we woke up to a bit of snow as we did on the first of the year last year too. I prepped and shopped for enough groceries to get us through Friday because I will never get used to driving in the snow. I may have planned more than I need to but our neighborhood is hilly and I refuse to do it unless absolutely necessary. Lots of cozy meals happening this week. More shepherd’s pie (recipe coming this month), baked penne, roast chicken, and soups. I deeply regret not making cinnamon rolls this weekend and I might have to add them to the to-do list here soon.

If you are a new subscriber, hi! I post daily content on my Instagram so you can see all the cooking I do in real-time. You can find me, here.

We got a few wimpy inches of snow here yesterday. Enough to cover the streets in a nice layer but not enough to leave a blanket in the grassy park. The only plus side to our hilly neighborhood is the great sledding we can do, even in the street. We picked up new sleds months ago and have been waiting anxiously to put them to use. We spent a few hours walking the neighborhood and sledding down all the hills. Fingers crossed we get a bigger storm here soon because we need to put these new sleds to use in the park one day.

Yesterday ended with drinks by the firepit sipping on one of our January wine club wines from Big Mood. A fun red blend from California with lots of fruit flavors (specifically tart cherries for both of us) but not sweet. It was almost cider-like, very easy to sip on, and better after it chilled from the bottle sitting in the snow for a few minutes.

FKA - Real Heads Will Know

These days are my favorite days out of the year. Being layered in long underwear, snow pants, and beanies. Slight exhaustion mixed with lots of serotonin from going up and down hills all day. Sitting around the firepit with nothing but snowy woods around us. The crackling fire mixed with our giggles echoing back at us in the quiet night. It’s dreamy and I always forget that I am not somewhere on vacation—I’m at home.

• Vinya's Allegra Angelo of Miami wants you to drink sparkling wine anytime

• I made fresh pasta more than 300 times this year—here’s what I learned

• Adam Platt’s Best Restaurants of 2021

• ’Tis the season for lobster—at least in Nova Scotia

• What Do You Mean You’re Not Toasting Your Oats? *I toast!

• #11: Toasted Oat + Pecan Cookies

• Don Angie’s Italian-American Wedge with Creamy Herb Dressing, Gorgonzola & Pepperoni

• Cinnamon Butter Pan Biscuits and Black-Eyed Peas & Collards Hotdish

• Hazelnut Rocher Cheesecake Bars *I want one of these right now

• French Leek And Potato Soup

It’s stuck in my head, don’t ask me why.

The puzzle we did over Christmas…I picked it because it is beautiful and it turned out to be one of the hardest puzzles I have ever done. You guys asked for it so here it is!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy this Sunday relaxing and recharging or maybe being extra productive. Whatever floats your boat!

See you next week, M