(A long) Weekend Eats Edit No. 7
Recipes we made over Thanksgiving weekend, Upstate New York dining, and holiday drinks
I’ve been upstate at my parents’ house for the past five days, mostly standing in front of the fireplace, turning like a rotisserie chicken. It’s that time of year when I have to take a hot shower twice a day just to warm up. I’ve been living in my favorite winter fleece, which I stole from my brother, but it doesn’t fit him anyway.
I’ve been watching movies with my parents every night. We watched Love Actually on Thanksgiving – an annual family tradition to kick off the Christmas season. Then we watched Materialists, a serious critique on dating in 2025 that kind of seriously disturbed me. And last night we watched The Holiday, one of my favorites.
And in between being freezing and fighting my seasonal depression, I’ve been cooking and eating good food.
I made this Salsa Verde Soup from All Healthy Things that I am always making on repeat all winter long.
Modifications I make to the recipe: The Desert Pepper Salsa Verde is my favorite. I typically use EVOO instead of coconut oil. I’ve been using chicken bone broth for extra nutrients. I always omit the cumin and extra chiles. I like to use a sweet Vidalia onion instead of a red one. Sometimes I use chicken breasts instead of thighs, but both taste great.
The toppings for this soup are the best. If you want to go all out, add fresh cilantro, slices of avocado, shredded Cabot Cheddar (in the black package), Faye sour cream, and a squeeze of lime. It makes a hearty and delicious meal. Oh, and you can even pair it with my infamous watermelon marg recipe.
The Perfect Watermelon Margarita
Now that I am stateside for the rest of the summer, one of my favorite things to do in NYC on the weekend is a day trip to Long Beach. 50 minutes from Penn on the LIRR and you’re on the beach. I mean, it’s no St. Barths, but a beach is a beach.
I also made some of my delicious Pumpkin Bread that I’ve been eating for breakfast:
The Only Pumpkin Bread Recipe You Need
I called in sick today because, well, I am, but not fever sick, just regular sick. And I made my first pumpkin bread of the season this morning, which always slaps.
And I paired a slice of pumpkin bread with a glass of my Maple Vanilla Cream Top Cold Brew:
Maple Vanilla Cream Top Cold Brew
So, the first time I ever had a cream top coffee, it was at Lofty Coffee Co. in San Diego called Cloudy with a Chance of Cold Brew – Kyoto-style cold brew, house-made vanilla, shaken organic heavy cream – and it was incredible.
My mom made this delicious Apple Crumble from Mom on Time Out for Thanksgiving dessert. We warmed it up and paired it with a scoop of Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean, which is the best vanilla ice cream, in my opinion.
Modifications she made to the recipe: Instead of all-purpose flour, she used whole spelt flour, which gives it a richer and nuttier flavor. And she opted for brown sugar.
I made a Detox Mimosa for Thanksgiving, which left me equally detoxed and tipsy:
A Detox Mimosa
I decided to make all of this fresh-pressed juice without a juicer on Thanksgiving eve. My parents did have a Cuisinart juicer attachment for lemons, limes, and oranges, so at least that was somewhat helpful in my juicing endeavors.
My cousin Samantha made these cute little pumpkin pie cheese and crackers for an app.
And my cousin Hannah made a beautiful sourdough cinnamon sugar loaf, which she absolutely nailed. I mean, look at those swirls. I have attempted to make sourdough a handful of times and still have not made anything that comes close to looking as good as this loaf does. So here’s to me still trying. And I just know this bread would be so good smeared with some of that Kerrygold cinnamon sugar butter.
Hannah says this loaf was a three-day process and she woke up at 1:30 am to do a series of stretch and folds. The dedication is spot on.
My parents and I went to Next Door Kitchen & Bar in Ballston Spa, NY, and it was honestly good. Very adorably decorated for the holidays. I ordered two apps for dinner: the Maple Chipotle Wings, which I had to wash my hands twice afterwards, and the Tuna Tataki. Both were delicious dishes. And I just loved their bar – it reminded me of the Prohibition Era.
I needed a healthier dessert so I made The Viral Date Bark too, but with peanut butter:
The Viral Date Bark
I’ve been really into making healthier treats recently. I am obsessed with these almond butter/peanut butter chocolate-covered dates from French Squirrel, but they are super expensive, so I need to start making my own.
One night while I was rotating fireside, I had this Nine Pin Apple Pie-Secco, and it legit tastes like apple pie in cider form. It is very delicious and totally bangin. I’m going to get one right now.
And for another holiday drink highlight – I had this incredible Frozen Irish Coffee with Rachel Braun from Café Maud’s East Village location in NYC last week, and I need to go back to get it again. They recently opened a second location in my neighborhood on the Upper East Side which has a cute upstairs bar. Pretty much everyone who works there is from Ireland and I found out it’s the same owners as Dear Maud in Hoboken which is a great spot for cocktails and food. Plus they have cute tees for $25.
If anyone wants to grab a frozen Irish coffee at Café Maud this week, let me know.
Meet you at Café Maud 🫡