Home-made Christmas dinner and dessert

For our solo Christmas dinner, I made a ham inspired by uncle (soaked in pineapple, cooked low, then glazed w/maple syrup).   For sides, just had some corn, sauteed green beans in bacon fat, and TJ's scalloped potatoes.  For dessert, I made pandan olive oil cake L'artusi style.  I added green food coloring for festiveness and because pandan is actually green, but the extract was clear.  Soo delicious.  Added a nice floral/vanilla flavor.  Super moist (sorry!) and wonderful w/whipped cream.  The cake is just as good at room temp as heated up.

Full dinner spread

Beautiful ham

Cake batter

Freshly cut cake

With whipped cream

Festive slice, no?

Dinner from Lyndhurst Pizza in Lyndhurst, NJ

We were craving some pizza, so ordered from our usual spot.  This time, I was feeling extra comfort food so got disco fries as well.  Those didn't re-heat so well, but the pizza was great and I ate it for like 4 days after haha.

Disco Fries.  Awesome when fresh.  Also added some Frank's later on to make it like McGovern's

Extra Large (18" pizza).  Half mushroom, half chicken cutlet

A beauty

Lunch from Matera's Italian Market in Rutherford, NJ

Post hitting up Erie, we picked some sandwiches at Matera's, an Italian market.  The sandwiches were great; similar in taste and price and size to Michael's in Lyndhurst.  Next time we go to Erie, I imagine we'll come back here for more sandwiches.

The Belleville Classic - Boar's Head Ham, Genoa Salami, Sliced Provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, oil, red wine vinegar

I got the C18 - chicken cutlet, tomato bruschetta, fresh mozzarella, balsamic and oil

Was delicious, though lots of onions that I had to pick off :(

Brunch from Erie Coffeshop & Bakery in East Rutherford, NJ

 We went to Erie bakery in Rutherford because I saw on their IG that they had filled donuts.  I realized that nutella filled things can be a LOT, especially if not melty because it's so thick.  So the donuts themselves were our least fav thing but everything was really good, and entirely worth coming back for.

Got 4 nutella filled donuts.  A little much.  But the two chocolate covered cream puffs were amazing.  The custard filling was amazing.  And the key lime pie was also incredible later.  We got there pretty late (within an hour of closing) so most of the baked goods were gone.  Next time we go, will have to be early.

Dinner from Takorea BBQ in Harrison, NJ

We tried Takorea, which is a Korena fusion spot near where we used to live in Harrison.  Kind of reminded me of Kraverie in JC (RIP) but not quite as good.  I enjoyed the food but would definitely prefer Bon Chon for Korean Fried Chicken.  I was a bit thrown by the cheese as well on the rice bowl.

Dan got Takos wtih spicy pork, galbi and bulgogi

We ordered a Spicy Pork Bowl and instead it was Bulgogi, which I wasn't mad about, but the cheese was too much

Double Fried Wings, 6 pieces.  The "wings" were gigantic, like drum sticks basically.  Great taste, but not soy garlic, though labeled "crispy soy"

Dinner from Happy Belly Cafe in Clifton, NJ

I was exploring Uber Eats and found a cafe that is owned by Filipinos with a very fun menu.  Besides regular sandwiches, they have some Asian/Filipino inspired foods.  Also the owners are apparently VERYYY into the K-pop group BTS, which is just a fun tid bit.  The pork katsu was great, as was the taro milkshake, churros, lobster balls, and fries.  The only okay thing was the happy belly rice bowl, which was adobo pork.  I think it just didn't have that much flavor, but I have a feeling this dish was targeted towards non-pinoys who dipping their toe into this food for the first time.  Would def order again and some day try in person.

Taro Smoothie with almond milk and boba pearls added

Choco-filled churros. Sooo good

Pork-katsu sandwich.  Delish

Happy Belly Rice Bowl with adobo pork and white rice topped w/garlic and some atchara.  A little expensive for how much meat there was

Definitely presented beautifully

Smokey BBQ seasoned fries, and lobster balls

The entire haul

Lunch from Lenwich in NYC

November means Thanksgiving sandwiches.  Thankfully Lenwich by my office reopened.  It had been closed for months during Corona.   The Thanksgiving sandwich thankfully is still on the menu.  It was awesome on focaccia.  The bread really stood up to the toppings.

Brunch at Wake n Bacon in Chicago, IL

Debbie and I went to a MJ-inspired/Asian/Mexican/American fusion brunch spot.  The food and drinks were sooo yummy.  It was a cute spot and you order at the table on the app and then they bring the food.  So easy and fast.  Everything was delish and reasonably priced.  So many more things on the menu we wanted to try but tried to have some restraint.

Super fun menu

Very cute decor

Purple Haze  - house made Ube coconut milk concoction mixed with Brewpoint's Stargazer coffee and milk. So delicious. More ube flavor than coffee

Ube Flap Jack Stack - Ube pancake with tater tot bits & topped with your choice of bacon, sunny-side up eggs, cheddar cheese, spiced maple syrup, garnished with pickled peppers & green onions. For the bacon, we did tocino style. Unlike anything I've eaten.

Maui Wowie - Hawaiian bread, spam, tajin spiced grilled pineapples, chipotle mayo, and scrambled eggs.  Served with tater tots.  A more perfect breakfast for me could not exist

Such an excellent meal

Dinner at Labriola Cafe in Chicago, IL

 We had dinner at what has become so far my favorite Chicago-pizza place.  We had a Sunday funday and ended up trying to go somewhere else that was closed upon arrival.  It worked out for the best because this pizza was incredible both in the moment, and the next day since I was able to take some home and Dan got to try it.  It was more like Detroit style pizza than truly deep dish.  A much better balance of cheese/toppings to crust, and the crust was buttery but not excessively so.  Perfect.

Crispy Calamari with lemon and marinara sauce

Caesar Salad.  You know, to be healthy :)

Garlic knots made of croissant dough.  MIND BLOWN

All the apps.  We weren't hungry or anything

The waiter was so kind and told us that we could do half and half pizza for no upcharge.  So awesome because then we got to try two kinds

Russo Sausage with mozzarella.  Veryyy good

Burrata and Basil - mozzarella, provolone, pecorino, crushed tomato, burrata and fresh basil.  DIVINE

Late night snack at Sarpino's Pizzeria in Chicago, IL

We had a craving for late pizza so went to this place Sarpino's, which had NY style pizza.  Taste wise, it honestly reminded me of Domino's.  Sorry!  But it did the job since the job was to soak up the badness and make us feel better in the morning.

Missed a shot with the full pizza.  Got half cheese, half pepperoni

Brunch at Radio Room in Chicago, IL

Went to brunch at a sports bar that used to be a very happening club.  I was happy because I got to see the Steelers play and it was nice to be in a lower-key spot.  Except for the beignets, the food was very good.  The first batch of beignets seemed under cooked, do they replaced them but they only came out at the end of the meal when we were pretty full so we had to struggle to eat them, and then we realized they were only just okay.  The dough itself lacked flavor and not nearly enough sugar. I give them a pass though because my sliders were so awesome.

Housemade Beignets - dehydrated sweet corn, blueberry compote, vanilla anglaise, and powdered sugar. Now that I see this, I realize the problem was that they used corn as the base of the dough instead of regular flour.  To get any real flavor, you HAD to use the vanilla anglaise 

Of course I ordered these - Phat Stack Sliders: brie cheese, short rib marmalade, crispy shallos, garlic aioli, and curly fries.  Also came with a side of cheese sauce.  BECAUSE OF COURSE

Nicole got the Chicken Sandwich, Nashville hot style

Debbie got the Double Smash Burger w/American cheese, onion jam, house pickles, dijonaise on brioche bun

Tower of sliders.  I shared because it was too much.  Also an inappropriate amount of curly fries but I am not complaining

Dinner at Jaleo in Chicago, IL

Nicole and I went to visit Debbie in Chi-Town.  Our first meal was amazing although Early Bird timing haha.  Jose Andres opened up a Jaleo there, so we got an early res and had delicious dinner.  Most everything we got were things I had tried before, but was glad that they got a chance to have this amazing food.  As usual, the simplest dish (pan con tomate) was the best!

We shared a pitcher of sangria

Pan de cristal con tomate - Toasted slices of crispy Spanish ‘crystal’ bread brushed with fresh tomato.  Seems so simple but is unlike you get anywhere else.  We almost ordered a second but were full

Gambas al ajillo - shrimp sautéed with garlic.  Good but a bit salty this time around

Close up of the shrimp

Pulpo a la Gallega - Spanish octopus poached with potatoes, olive oil, and pimentón.  Always one of my favs

Patatas bravas - Fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce and aioli.  Cannot go wrong w/fried tomatoes and garlic aioli

Chorizo casero con puré de patatas al aceite de oliva - Grilled chorizo sausage with olive oil and potato purée and cider sauce

Arroz rabo de toro - Meloso-style rice with braised oxtail.  This was recommended by our waiter.  I was a little underwhelmed for how expensive it was ($80!).  It was wetter than your typical paella, which I did not love

Flan al estilo tradicional de mamá Marisa con espuma de crema catalana - A classic Spanish custard with whipped Catalan cream and oranges.  Very solid flan but was a little less creamy than Filipino-style