Foodie

30 Gourmet Culinary Touches

Random Observation/Comment #831: A garnish with some finishing salt goes a long way. Why this List? Every chef has a unique touch that defines their creations. There are certain ingredients and techniques that can universally elevate any dish – making it stand out in flavor, texture, and presentation. This guide is a curated collection of those special touches, aimed for...

30 Themed Potluck Parties

Random Observation/Comment #717: All that cooking during the pandemic has prepped me for the upcoming set of neighborhood cooking competitions. Challenge accepted. Why this List? It’s time to party! We’ve been stuck inside for way too long and now we are ready to host and be hosted. Most of these ideas are just foods I want to eat all the...

30 Favorite Toddler Meals

Random Observation/Comment #620: I can’t find a purer way to show my love than through cooking and sharing food. Why this List? As soon as Evie could eat solids, I claimed head chef of the household. It started off with creating purees of everything using our Beaba and making sure we had as many colors as possible throughout the day…...

30 Drinking Tips for 30-year-olds

Random Observation/Comment #577: NYC is filled with functional alcoholics. I am certainly one of them. Why this list? There are a lot of reasons why drinking changes for your 30s. It’s no longer about getting drunk and pulling off shenanigans – it’s more about being social and catching up with people in your limited time juggling multiple “grown up” responsibilities. The...

30 Days of MealPass

Random Observation/Comment #552: I miss the simplicity of cafeterias at school. Who am I kidding – my mom packed lunch for me. Can I get on that meal plan again? At the end of April 2016, my colleague introduced me to Mealpass. Naturally, I signed up immediately and decided to make a 30 day challenge out of it and see...

Perfect Post-Workout Smoothie

Random Observation/Comment #444: A healthy diet is more important than an exercise routine. You can lose weight just by eating less… Earlier this year, I got this amazing present from my gf’s mom – I call it the Emulsifier. I was hesitant to use it at first, but since that first smoothie, it’s changed my health and meal selection. I’ve...

[Travel Advice] My Top 10 NYC Regulars

Random Observation/Comment #441: There’s something about going to a restaurant and ordering ‘the usual’ or walking into a bar and getting greeted on a first name basis that makes me smile. I think we all just want to be accepted as a regular. Recently, friends and old travel buddies have been visiting NYC and asking me where to go eat and...

[Food Review] Something Stewed

Random Observation/Comment #406: Anything with Guinness is delicious. Recipe: Something stewed – Beef and Guinness Stew Just like the good old days (2 months ago), I’ve decided to complete those left-out items from my cooking challenge. This one was rather simple. In short, I browned the beef, sweat the onions, and used the tomato paste to scrape all that goodness from the...

Cooking Advice for Beginners

Cooking Advice for Beginners

Random Observation/Comment #393: If you don’t know how to cook, you will need one of the following: 1) a loving significant other that knows how to, 2) deep pockets from eating at restaurants nightly, or 3) a fine taste for microwaved/processed meals. I think everyone CAN learn how to cook and everyone SHOULD pick up at least 5 recipes.  Yes,...

[30 Day Challenge] Cooking Challenge Impressions

[30 Day Challenge] Cooking Challenge Impressions

Random Observation/Comment #391: Start your cooking challenge with the full realization that you will probably gain weight.   The purpose of this cooking challenge was to simply cook more things and host more parties. I wanted to take my cooking hobby to the next level, and I think I successfully did just that. Challenge completed! I didn’t cook every night,...

[30 Day Challenge] Something on the Spot

[30 Day Challenge] Something on the Spot

Random Observation/Comment #390: The best meals I’ve ever made have been invented on the spot with the different ingredients I had available. Yay, backpacking! Recipe: Something on the spot – zucchini and sweet corn stuffing What do you do when you A) ran out of casserole dishes for making the planned zucchini and corn meal and B) have the last casserole...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Ridiculous

[30 Day Challenge] Something Ridiculous

Random Observation/Comment #389: Sometimes the creativity and bizarre combinations going into food will make it more appealing for people to try. Other times, you’re just freaking weird. Recipe: Something ridiculous – Ramen burger Luckily, the ramen burger was one of those things that everyone saw and had to try.  I totally made up most of the recipe. The only thing I learned...

[30 Day Challenge] Turkey Lurkey, I Love You

[30 Day Challenge] Turkey Lurkey, I Love You

Random Observation/Comment #388: I love the feeling of hosting a fun party where people loved the food and ended the night fully satisfied. I just wish there were less dishes to do. Recipe: Making Turkey Lurkey, Gravy, and Stuffing  The recipe I used for the turkey was the one I saw on Gordon Ramsey’s show.  I had a few months...

[30 Day Challenge] Something with Curry

[30 Day Challenge] Something with Curry

Random Observation/Comment #387: I don’t know what it is about curry, but it’s something next to mashed potatoes that I’ll always want to eat. Oh man, I should make curry mashed potatoes. Recipe: Something with curry – Curried cauliflower I erred on the side of caution with this recipe because I didn’t want to make anything too over-powering. Because we had a...

[30 Day Challenge] Something with Venison

[30 Day Challenge] Something with Venison

Random Observation/Comment #386: People say venison is gamy, but that’s probably because they’re eating frozen, thawed, and refrozen venison. The fresh stuff is just like a steak. Recipe: Something with Venison – Venison Stroganov When my parents gave me a package of venison to bring to my brother’s, I looked up a couple of recipes that I thought would be pretty...

[30 Day Challenge] Epic Thanksgiving Events

[30 Day Challenge] Epic Thanksgiving Events

Random Observation/Comment #385: Doing this cooking challenge makes me appreciate my mom and her food so much more. She’s been doing a 30 YEAR cooking challenge. Now, that’s amazing. I’m about 3 weeks into the challenge, and I’m actually really happy I’ve come this far. Moving forward, there are a few big events that I would like to cook for,...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Sweet

[30 Day Challenge] Something Sweet

Random Observation/Comment #384: I’ve never been a big fan of sweets. I’m more of a savory kinda guy anyway. Plus, baking means I need to follow the recipe exactly, which feels much more like chemistry than art. Recipe: Something sweet – honey cupcakes Honey cupcakes use a lot of honey. We bought the good stuff form a farm near New Paltz...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Fun to Make

[30 Day Challenge] Something Fun to Make

Random Observation/Comment #383: “Okonomi” means “whatever you like” and “yaki” means “fried”, so I just fried everything I like. What a great idea. Recipe: Something fun to make – Okonomiyaki The only part I followed from the recipe was measuring out the mixture of flour, chicken stock, and eggs. I wanted to make sure to get the texture correct, but everything else...

[30 Day Challenge] Something New

[30 Day Challenge] Something New

Random Observation/Comment #381: Making a salad isn’t exactly cooking, but I’m combining this with making garlic bread, which required some time in the oven. Recipe: Something new This recipe for salad with garlic bread croutons was made up on the spot to go with the baked ziti. I added thinly sliced cucumber and some lettuce with lemon zest, lemon juice, salt,...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Italian

[30 Day Challenge] Something Italian

Random Observation/Comment #380: I feel like everything Italian I eat today reminds me of visiting my aunt in Pennsylvania. Since I had Chinese food made by my mom every night, other cuisines are a pretty good treat. Recipe: Something Italian – Baked Ziti Once again, I adjusted the recipe, but I think for the better. I used extra ricotta cheese with the...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Amazing

[30 Day Challenge] Something Amazing

Random Observation/Comment #379: I love mashed potatoes. It’s become a bit of an obsession that I’ve controlled over the years. When it’s Thanksgiving, I eat it like a maniac and mix it with everything possible. That’s my exception day. Recipe: Something amazing – Garlic mashed potatoes I made a fairly simple mashed potatoes, but as mentioned in the last post with oxtail...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Soupy

[30 Day Challenge] Something Soupy

Random Observation/Comment #378: Oxtail sounds really gross, but there’s quite a lot of meat on it, and when you make soup with it, the bone thickens the broth and brings the taste to a whole new level. Recipe: Something soupy – oxtail soup I did not follow the recipe from allrecipes because I’ve made this soup at least 20 times. I altered...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Boozy

[30 Day Challenge] Something Boozy

Random Observation/Comment #377: Fruit in alcohol is dangerous, yet so delicious and fun. Recipe: Something boozy – Sangria I did not follow the recipe I intended to because my friend’s Mom made this awesome Sangria for a party and I wanted to try her recipe. She probably makes her own adjustments to the recipe because mine doesn’t taste as good. I  also...

[30 Day Challenge] Something New Soupy

[30 Day Challenge] Something New Soupy

Random Observation/Comment #376: I’ve only ever made Chinese style soups. I’m really looking forward to experimenting with potato soups because that just sounds like mashed potatoes to me. Recipe: Something new soupy – Ham and Potato soup  I followed the recipe for the most part except I decided to add squash because I had extra. I also added some heavy cream at...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Childish

[30 Day Challenge] Something Childish

Random Observation/Comment #375: I had my first peanut butter and jelly sandwich when I was in college. True story. Recipe: Something childish – Grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich I don’t really eat PBJs because my Mom packed dumplings or leftovers from dinner for my elementary school lunch. I don’t think this has negatively affected my upbringing one bit.  This take on...