Archive | Holidays

This Father’s Day, I’ll Honor My Father by Going Fishing

When I was a toddler, my dad invested in some property on a lake about two hours from our daily lives in suburban Chicago. My dad was an accountant, but also loved fishing, hunting and the great outdoors.  He wore suits and leather shoes during the week and swapped them for flannel shirts and Wranglers as […]

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This is my favorite season of the year. From Halloween through New Years, I go hard. I do all of the things. Eat of all the things. Go HAM with decorations. Keep Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas Album” on repeat. It’s my high season. High on life. High on peppermint mochas. High on it […]

Island Baby, a.k.a a Caribbean-Inspired Dutch Baby

We’re off to a strong start to 2018 after a lazy end to 2017. While the rest of the world was out drinking and dancing or standing in freezing cold Times Square, E and I were passed out on the couch in the middle of “Girl’s Trip,” only to be awaken by a teething baby. We […]

Holiday Visuals

A test. This photo is: a.) the reason why I was late to work today. b.) the reason why no one noticed I was late to work today c.) motivation for me to finish my Christmas shopping d.) the source of 1,456 extra calories I consumed throughout the day.   Answer: all of the above […]

Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies for the Snow Day Win

This weekend, I got walloped with the holiday spirit by our first snow of the season. Our little Brooklyn neighborhood got about 3 inches of the white stuff, a visual cue that it’s time to slow down, stay in, and get your fa la la la la on. I spent all day Saturday whipping up […]

Mentally Home for the Holidays

Christmas 1984. Holidays of my youth were filled with tidings and good cheer. And Andes mints and cordial cherries (even though I hated them, I still loved the holiday spirit they represented). And Swiss Miss hot chocolate with the mini marshmallows, even though a packet never yielded enough marshmallows, and I would always add a handful […]

Pumpkin Bourbon Pie

Last Thanksgiving, I didn’t cook one dish. I was in bed, resting and recovering after having Q, only meandering out of bed to eat the beautiful multicourse meal E cooked all by himself for our parents and I. Q lounged in her little Baby Bjorn rocker while we sat around the table, too little to […]

birthday party decor

5 Tips to Throwing a Low-Stress, Kick-Ass First Birthday Party

I know a few things about first birthday parties, having hosted one and gone to a bunch more. A few weeks ago, we hosted Q’s first birthday in our apartment. It was better than I could have ever planned. We kept the guest list small, made our own cake and kept the munchies minimal. We […]

Thoughts on Mother’s Day

…on my first Mother’s Day. I’m excited! I’m excited to wake up early and squeeze my baby and husband and eat pancakes and drink mimosas for breakfast and dance around the house in my pajamas… and then climb back into bed and sleep the rest of the day. Because the only thing a new mom, […]

What Super Bowl Sunday Means to Me

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. I’m not particularly attached to either team playing, and frankly I haven’t been paying attention to much of football this season because I was otherwise occupied with pregnancy, birth and baby. But this Sunday reminds me of a special bond I had with my own father over football. My dad, […]

New Year’s Eve Reflection and Reset

New Year’s Eve is a time for reflection. Last year was a hot mess on a macro level for so many reasons—the election, the escalating rate of African-Americans killed by police and the ensuing backlash, global terrorist attacks, the loss of so many great Hollywood and music icons. But in my own world, things weren’t that […]

New and Old Holiday Traditions

A reflection on holiday traditions. Christmas 1986. Homemade chocolate chip, shortbread, sugar and almond crescent cookies. Andes mints. Cordial cherries. Real Christmas tree. The Temptations version of “Silent Night” and Donnie Hathaway’s version of “This Christmas.”  Multiple screenings of “A Charlie Brown Christmas. Mom. Dad. Dogs. Santa. Christmas 2016. Homemade gingerbread, and chocolate chip and […]

Season Greetings and Expanding Families

Our best sandwich to date arrived a month ago–our daughter, Q (yes, we’re late on the announcement, but we posted about it on our on Instagram feed, didya see?) This baby is the most scrumptious, funniest little being I have ever met. She’s the perfect blend of E and I with a personality that keeps us […]

Valentine’s Day Heart-Shaped Hand Pies

Here we go. Another Valentine’s Day. But this year, it’s with my HUSBAND. That should mean something, right? That should mean that we should go all out, right? Book a dinner reservation at that overpriced restaurant with the snooty maitre’d and the methuselah of Cristal on the menu and eat mediocre overrpiced surf-and-turf and roll […]

The Ultimate Super Bowl Sandwich Picks

Super Bowl is not the time for fancy five-course dinners. It’s the perfect event for cheesy dips, big, boozy drinks and of course, sandwiches. Naturally, I have picks for the ultimate Super Bowl sandwiches you need to serve for the big game. And guess what? I won’t be vegan for the Feb. 7 matchup, so I […]

Brunching While Vegan

The vegan thing is trickier than I thought. I’ve been surviving for 9 days as a vegan, mostly on vegetables and quinoa, bread and chia seed pudding. I’ve reintroduced myself to oatmeal, which I haven’t eaten in years. But I’ve made several non-vegan mistakes, just out of habit I can’t seem to break. I accidentally […]

Food Goals and Experiments for 2016

New year, new goals. I had trouble writing down what I wanted to accomplish in 2016. Am I really going to learn to kitesurf? What about picking up that Spanish again? So much to do, so little time. But I at least have my food goals in line. I’ve started the year by doing something […]

To A Fabulous 2015…

2015 is coming to a close tonight. Boy, what a ride it’s been. E and I got married. I published a book about this whole 300 sandwiches experience, revealing more about myself than I ever thought I would. We traveled the world. We met new friends. We saw old friends grow and enter new phases […]

Christmas Morning Gingerbread Pancakes

Christmas Eve, y’all. I’m not concerned with the presents or Santa. I’m concerned about breakfast. Merry merry gingerbread pancakes! E and I are headed up to Vermont for Christmas. As you know, E and I are avid snowboarders, and we’ve been going to Vermont the past couple of winters. The conditions had been pretty good […]

Snickerdoodles and S’mores, or Snickerdoole S’mores

‘Tis the season to eat copious amounts of sugar. Hey, it’s less than two more until Christmas. And so, snickerdoodle s’mores. Last weekend, E and I hit up two holiday parties and a super fun birthday party at a club in Brooklyn and ended up drinking super fruity drinks and sleeping in super late on […]

Eggnog Waffles For Your Holiday Brunch

Seems it’s Eggnog Week here at 300. Hey, I’m on a roll here. Yesterday I shared our recipe for holiday eggnog. The only reason E and I didn’t drink the entire vat of it is because we had to hit two holiday parties later than evening in Connecticut, a road trip away from our cozy apartment […]

300’s Holiday Eggnog That Will Make You Say Ho Ho Ho

I have to admit, it took me a bit to get into the holiday spirit. I don’t know what my mental block was about. We got our Christmas tree super early this year, and had it up and decorated before Dec. 1. I’ve been invited to several holiday parties. I ordered this holiday onesie to […]

Christmastime Is Here

Prep for Christmas has begun. Tree? Check! A Charlie Brown Christmas Special playing on television? Check! Hot chocolate? Ready! Sugar cookies? Sorta. When E’s mom was here (oh, we had so much fun!), we made our first batch of sugar cookies. She had gifted us a vintage cookie press to make decorative cookies, like this […]

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