Phew! I didn’t mean to be away this long. I missed you all!
I figured I’d take MLK day off, and then a recipe failure happened. And then I had to jump on a plane to head back east to bury myself in the work that I’ve been putting off for weeks. Procrastination, I hate you.
But good news: I’m here, working diligently and it’s awesome. I’ve been in this really awful anxious mood for the past few weeks, so all this doing, writing and completing feels refreshing and wonderful. SO, I’M BACK! And I brought cheese to this productive party, my dudes and dudettes. Cheese!
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I’ve had exactly four cups of coffee today. My hand is shaking (just slightly). And I really need to trim my bangs. But I’m scared. I think I have reason to be…
I also cannot stop thinking about homemade fish sticks. How will I do this?! How will I make homemade fish sticks? Huh?
Still not sure. But if you have ideas/thoughts/experiences of the fish stick variety, I’m all ears. Also, if you know secrets about cutting your own bangs, I’d like to hear those too.
These are important life things. Fish sticks. And haircuts.
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Hi Jalapeño. Hi Bacon. Hi Cheese.
It’s kind of crazy to think that all those glorious things can exist in one bite…but they do. They totally do.
If you want to see how this is done, jump over to the Tasty Kitchen blog where you’ll find: step-by-step pictures (by me), and a the recipe. This is all so you too can create these bites of awesomeness.
Tomorrow! Big day! Are you stressed yet? Are you skipping washing dishes and going out to eat instead? I’ve done this a few times. I ain’t mad at you. I get it. I do.
Are you in another country and totally sick of Thanksgiving talk? I feel you…don’t worry, it’s almost over.
Today is all about prep.
This means sweats, music blasting, warm socks, turkey brining in a gigantic paint bucket, pie making…kinda fun! Kinda stressful.
You need a snack…
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A few Friday thoughts:
1. Why do high school reunions still exist?! This is why Facebook was invented. I already know that you married that dude. And had those kids. And live in that house. I see the pictures. EVERY. DAY…in my newsfeed.
2. Why don’t we embrace breakfast foods for dessert? Think warm chocolate waffles…topped with vanilla bean ice cream and whipped cream. I experienced this Monday night with Nastassia. SO MAJOR!! We’re doing this soon. Promise.
2. I make plans for nicknames. This is normal, right? For instance, whenever I give birth to a small human, I’m probably going to call him “tater tot.” Maybe “tater” for the nickname to his nickname. Is there anything cuter than a tater tot? No. Also, when I finally get a corgi I’m totally naming him “Fredrique.” Such a proper prestigious name. Very appropriate.
3. Third and final, I successfully (!!) cooked up the nickname of my future son. This is HUGE for me. I’ve tried a few tater tot recipes over the years and have never been satistifed with the results…until yesterday. I was giddy for the rest of the day due to this fried achievement. Is it the easiest, fastest recipe on this blog? No. Definitely not. Is it worth the effort? YES!! And a bonus is that you can double this batch, freeze them, and fry them up, per your leisure.
Plus: I (sorta) have step-by-step pictures. LET’S START!!
(CAN YOU TELL I’M EXCITED?!)
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BIRTHDAY ALERT!!!
This post is totally not supposed to be about me eating forty apple chips in one sitting. That wasn’t my intention when I went to the store on Friday.
I was there to buy seven-layer-gradient-glitter-birthday-cake ingredients. (I was dreaming up a cake that matched my nails.) Instead I left with a big brown bag of apples.
I think it was a subconcious move to avoid my birthday. Typically, I’m totally not a good birthday person. I don’t like to throw myself parties, or bake myself cakes, or even let most people know it’s my big day.
The whole thing usually just gives me an anxiety attack and makes my face red and arms sweat. But this year I decided to shake the bad birthday attitude, man-up and celebrate. So here I am…
Just making myself some Apple Chips.
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There’s this game…not sure if you’ve heard of it…but it seriously is all consuming. Like, it swallows people for like 4 months out of the year. They join fantasy leagues. (We’ll get back to that in a second…) They scream at the television. Become depressed if their teams loses. Wear pieces of cheese on their heads. Stand in negative 30-degree temperatures…
It’s called football. You’re familiar with this, right?!
And fantasy leagues…really, boyz?! Really?! When I finally had the mental energy to pay attention to the explanation I got one of my dude friends, I was totally disappointed. I mean, statistics…off of how players play. UGH! Snoozefest, USA.
I do like boyz, though. And boyz like football so I guess by proxy I like football, too.
And I dig football food, obvi. Wings and celery and cheese sticks and nacho cheese and chips and snacks!! I can get down.
Enter…pretzel tots…
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Hi!
I know a few days ago I was totally publicly flirting with Fall, talking about pumpkin this and cuddle that and apple cider whatever…and here I am posting this recipe with slices of heirloom tomatoes and fresh pesto.
I’m sort of all over the place, but that’s what you get during this awkward period between seasons. My brain isn’t sure what’s appropriate. My heart knows to look for cheese for the answers…
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Coconut shrimp always reminds me of Outback Steakhouse.
And bloomin’ onion appetizers.
And steaks that are super fatty that come with those weird wooden handle steak knives that are–for some reason–rounded? Can you tell I grew up in the 90s…and deep in the suburbs?! That stuff was awesome.
This recipe comes from two of my favorite food and real life friends, Jenny Park and Teri Lyn Fisher who both just launched (as in today!! hello!! visit!!) their new blog called, Spoon Fork Bacon.
Teri takes the pretty pictures and Jenny makes and food styles all the recipes. They’re both super talented and make everything pretty and delicious. So when I saw this coconut shrimp recipe on their blog (I got a sneak peak a few weeks ago!), I knew I needed to make it…stat.
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I realized something yesterday…
Making fries in various vegetable varieties is kind of my jam. I’m starting to think it’s my life calling to make fries out of just about anything…except potatoes. I have no interest in making French fries…I can just buy those from In-n-Out.
First there were Portobello Fries that I made for you, me…and Kate Moss.
Then…Avocado Fries. I mean…I’ve made them twice since Caroline originally posted them. Amazeballs.
Next there were Spicy Carrot Fries. And then…if I cut these pickles differently, they totally would’ve been pickle fries instead of pickle chips. But seriously, who cares. They were dipped in batter and fried. And then I ate like a hundred with a beer. End of story.
And now I give you these Zucchini Fries. With not one, but two dipping sauces!! Dipping sauces are important. Are you the type that has bbq sauces and hot sauces from fast food restaurants in your glove compartment?!
Yeah, me neither.
I roasted some garlic and made into an aioli. This was a good idea.
And Sriracha Mayonnaise. Ummmm…hello!!! It was delicious. You should do this.
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