boxcar goodness in brookyln.

 

a few weeks ago, i was in brooklyn for a day for work. before a series of meetings, we swung by dekalb market for some coffee & donuts. holy moly, i loved everything about this place. the brightly colored box cars, the open seating outdoors, not to mention to eateries! and how perfect was the morning light? they also took me to lunch at watty & meg, which was absolutely incredible!

breakfast at foster's

 

heading to north carolina for sal & niko's baby shower was such a special trip. we wrapped it up by heading to one of our favorite places ever -- fosters market -- for breakfast. seriously. every detail about this place is amazing & there's aren't words for the pancakes and omelettes, oh my! check it out if you're in the durham/chapel hill area!

chicken crescents.

on our birthdays we got to request the menu. as kids, we had clear favorites, & these chicken crescents were pretty much my go-to. when i was coming home from college & my mom knew after finals i could really use some comfort food, these were my first meal home. i l-o-v-e them.

& i thought maybe they were a "you had to be in our family" meal, but i was wrong. since then, this guy, this couple and several others i've made them for have fallen head over heels. (it's a little hard not to love chicken in a cheesy goodness wrapped in crescent rolls). plus, they look fancy! best part? they are oh so easy to make! even better, they're what my grandmother calls "one substantial dish" in other words, you don't really need sides. without further adieu:

• 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken (~3 chicken breasts)
• 3 oz cream cheese
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp milk
• 2 tbsp chopped onion
• 1 package pillsbury crescent rolls
• pinch salt
• 2 tbsp melted better
• shredded cheese (or cheese croutons!)

either bake chicken breasts at 325 degrees for 50 minutes, or if in a hurry, cook it on stove top. cube it. soften butter & cream cheese. blend. add chicken, salt, milk, onion and milk well. unroll crescent rolls into 4 rectangles (so keep two rolls attached together in packages of 8). place chicken mixture in the middle of rectangle and pinch dough so four corners cover mixture and are pressed together (opposite corners together, then all mushed together). brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with cheese. don't worry if they're messy, that's the point! bake heat/time according to crescent roll directions & then watch until they brown on top. bon appetit!

i happen to think this simple recipe is worthy of a fancy restaurant & am waiting for some swanky chicago spot to call my mom and ask for a tutorial in chicken crescents!

gwyneth's cookbook!

is anyone else out there beyond excited gwyneth paltrow came out with a cookbook?! this just moved to the top of my wish list! xo

chicken ginger soup & maple biscuits.

last night i made one of my all time favorite comfort dinners: chicken ginger soup & maple biscuits. i discovered this recipe combination in real simple years ago, and over time, it's become a staple. i don't add the turnip or scallions & think the whole key to the soup is using fresh ginger. the biscuits are heavenly and oh so easy to make.

as we nestled down for this comfort food, i realized i've shared most of our absolutely favorite recipes: roasted vegetables, whole wheat pasta with tomatoes, tuna pasta, avocado toast, & burgers with hummus & couscous. i still need to share two of my family's most unbelievable recipes: chicken crescents & puffed potatoes. i think these recipes have been so well used because they turned out pretty great the first time i made them (so i was encouraged to make them again!), have really fresh ingredients, incredible flavor & were clear winners with ryan. i also think there's a balance in that they require some work, but are relatively simple. i also know them well enough to love preparing them.

we had pandora on last night & the music was just so great; ryan was doing some work in the family room & i was chopping vegetables in the kitchen -- it all just felt so right. a nourishing meal on the way, the time to prepare it & someone i love going through life with just a room away. feeling blessed & grateful.

pasta with tuna.

you know those recipes you LOVE,  then accidentally forget, and then rediscover?! i can't believe i ever lost this one. it is so, so simple & the flavors are magnificent. if you're looking for a new weeknight dinner, this pasta with tuna is your jam. p.s. isn't this great food photography from real simple?!

pear & apple galette.

last thursday night, we tried our hand at making a pear & apple galette. if you read t&f consistently, you could probably tell i was a little off last week. i didn't post a lot, nothing was really inspiring me & i was just sort of searching. as we made this galette, i realized it was an analogy for what i was feeling.

the photo with the recipe in real simple was absolutely beautiful. as you can see, mine was a tad more of a "rustic" galette. the pre-made pie crusts were supposed to roll into a 16 inch circle. well, that just didn't work & honestly, my guess on what 16 inches is could be 8 or 24 inches (sort of like when people say something is 3 yards away, i'm thinking that could be a football field or the end of my toes). the apples & pears were supposed to be peeled, something i realized once we hadn't done that & already tossed them with the other ingredients. i had way too many apples & pears for the amount of dough i had. i couldn't quite fold it over to look pretty. i also realized half way through that i wasn't sure what the heck a galette was (if you're curious, look here).

but you know what? it was awesome. it tasted so good that as soon as i took this photo, we grabbed two forks & dove in. no time to cut it & put it on separate plates. we just nestled down at our table next to each other & smiled really big as we exclaimed about how good it was over & over again. it felt so good for my soul to sit next to my husband, who sits by me no matter how my week is going, & eat something really delicious.

i'm feeling lots better, have some really wonderful posts for you this week & highly recommend this galette if you're looking to get out of a bit of a rut. it will definitely be making an appearance in our house again soon!

stove.

saturday night, we went to a gem of a restaurant, stove (in portsmouth). we absolutely loved everything -- especially this chocolate dessert (it was the best of my life & i've had a lot of chocolate). the atomosphere was something else -- we all got a good laugh out of sitting under a cougar. if you've seen the classic comedy, arthur, my dad perfectly delivered the line "this is a tough room" when we walked in & saw about twenty animal heads. it was such a good weekend with my parents, so, so grateful for them.

p.s. sorry about picture quality -- i was experimenting with no flash...

working from home lunch.

so, i mentioned i work from home a decent amount of the time. my lunches (usually 5 min) are most often this old favorite (loved by many bloggers!) or cheese, bread & apple. afraid i was going to get in a rut, and knowing i needed some more protein, i've done poached eggs on toast & greens a lot recently.

first of all, my pods crack me up. i feel like they're looking at me! can't remember where i got them, but you can grab some here. it's a foolproof way to poach eggs (just to be sure to rub some olive oil in them before you put the egg in). lately i've been digging wheat potato toast. and we always have greens around, so i just throw a little olive oil, sea salt and pepper on them. voila, new favorite lunch.

any other go-tos for those of you who work from home?

a winter ritual.

last night, we were expecting another snow in virginia and it was such a winter evening. i thought we could use some real hot chocolate. heating up the milk, mixing in the chocolate, topping it with whipped cream & even adding on some sprinkles. in an age when you can push a button and get a hot drink, there's a ritual to making one that felt so good.

a few years ago, i was in a bible study where the sweet host would make this for us each week & i've never forgotten it. there was something about those thursday evenings, where that hot chocolate made with such care was such a love language. every now & then when we have people over for dinner, i actualy serve it as dessert!