Home-made V-day dinner

 For Valentine's Day, Dan really outdid himself and made an excellent dinner of steak, au gratin (home-made!  That is WORK) and asparagus.  That alone would have been incredible, but then he out shone me and made a crepe cake from scratch!  Like 20 layers of crepes.  Mind you, we did not have a crepe pan at the time (just go one for Christmas!).  The crepes themselves were light and tasty, and the cream was even more incredible.  Perfect mix of vanilla and citrus.  Honestly, tasted as good as Lady M, but was even better because he made it for me <3

Entire dinner spread

Beautiful au gratin potatoes

Perfectly cooked meat.  And on the bone means more flavor

So many layers.  And used a torch for the top

Perfect slice

Home-made vegan nachos

 As much as I love meat, I know it's important to cut down my consumption for cholesterol.  We both actually really love beyond meat and impossible meat.  And in fact, I prefer to ground meat, which since childhood I have been very off-put by.  I cannot recall if this was impossible or beyond, but regardless, we made some excellent nachos with it.  A great substitute; in fact with the flavors, I think majority of people wouldn't even notice that it's not beef.

Dinner from Ding Food Market in Harrison, NJ

 Ding is another place we order from constantly and have never been disappointed from.  They also constantly give rewards, which is wonderful for me but then of course means I order sooo much food.  They've had a few things come and go on the menu, so some of this no longer is on the current menu as I write in Dec 2021.  I appreciate them adding new things though.  

I'm adding two diff sets of dinners

Dinner #1

3 Cup Basil Chicken Fried Rice - thankfully still on the menu and soooo good.  Love the crispy basil.  And look at all that green.  Makes you think it's healthy :)

Taiwanese Popcorn Fried Chicken with basil sauce.  Hopefully will stay forever and I'm guessing top 3 most popular foods?

Everything we ordered!

Chirashi (sashimi slices over sushi rice) with salmon and maguro (tuna)

Close up of the salmon.  This was good but unfortunately no longer on the menu womp womp

Dinner #2

The whole meal

Take-out pho with beef

Fried crispy brussels with fried tofu and korean spicy/sweet sauce.  Sooo delicious

Taiwanese popcorn fried chicken of course

2 Spam Supreme Onigiris - my fav

Dinner from Pizza Hut in Belleville, NJ

 I don't care what anyone says - Pizza Hut is and always will be my fav pizza chain.  It's definitely because I grew up eating it in NYC.  So many fond memories growing up; fond memories at the pizza hut buffet in NYC and abroad (thanks Europe for otherwise not having decent pizza).  So when Pizza Hut got on the Detroit-style-pizza train, I was here for it.  Definitely not the same as the specialty pizza places in NYC (looking at you Emmy Squared and Lions, Tigers and Squares), but I am not mad about it.  Definitely hit the craving and much cheaper and came quickly.  They don't have a ton of combo options, but IMO a good Detroit pizza is just cheese and sauce with the right thickness and buttery crust.  Hope this stays on the menu!

Stuffed garlic knots with marinara sauce

Medium Detroit Double Cheesy and added mushrooms

Look - a dinner with no meat :)

Home-made crabbed stuffed mushrooms

 I found a recipe for crab stuffed mushrooms, so Dan and I bought some not-cheap canned jumbo lump crab and made these.  They were rich and delicious and everything you would want from a stuffed mushroom.  Not hard to make, but for all the effort, I feel like we ate this very quickly lol.

Dinner from Pho Saigon in Hackensack, NJ

 Somehow, we've found even better Vietnamese food since moving to the burbs.  JC had some good spots, but this place honestly seems even better - more authentic, great quality, and similarly priced.  After we first discovered this place in January, we ordered again within a week; hence combining two meals in one.  We've ordered numerous times this year though, and it's never disappointed.

Vermicelli noodle salad platter w/grilled chicken.  Fresh and light

Viet Wings.  Sweet and mildly spicy.  The best

Rice Platter with pork chops

Second time ordering - had to get the wings again

Solid Vietnamese sandwich aka Banh Mi

Pho with grilled chicken

Pho all mixed up.  As usual, one order is good for two esp. when you want to order the whole menu

Lunch from Shake Shack in Wayne, NJ

 I have been so terribly delinquent in posting.  Last year, my resolution was to post within a month and then I didn't post all year so now am catching up on my week off.  I'm determined to make this resolution happen in 2022 though.  Time seems to mean nothing given the pandemic keeps worsening, but in any case, now is a chance for me to see all the good food I've eaten this year.

Shake Shack decided to make their own korean fried chicken sandwich, which is mostly gochujang.  Good heat, though honestly this wasn't super memorable.  I don't know if it's even still on the menu, but I much would have preferred a soy garlic patty.  Glad they tried though to expand the KFC market to non-Asians.