Tag: ice cream

Make This Now: Creamy Things are the Best Things

Lauren1 Comment

Before we begin, I need to tell you some important things.

  1. My energy level is VERY low today.  I know it’s Friday and I should have weekend energy but I’m just TIRED.
  2. Joey surprised me with coffee from Little Owl this morning and I love that man so much.
  3. I saw baby radish sprouts in our garden this morning and I should have just skipped my workout because those teensy green leaves got me more amped than any running endorphins did.
  4. It’s my little sister’s birthday today!  Though I refuse to believe EITHER of us are over 24 🙂

Okay, back to the subject at hand.

I was making quick mental note of which recipes I wanted to share next in this “Make This Now” series and they all happened to have the word “creamy” in the title.  Is that a coincidence or do my tastebuds just gravitate towards that word and I’ve never noticed until now?  I’ll ponder that on my own later, but you should make and eat these creamy things (maybe even this weekend!) and be the happiest version of yourself.

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Dijon-Herb Crusted Salmon with Creamy Dill Sauce + Warm Buttered Radish and Edamame Salad

Spring is all about fresh herbs, spicy radishes and bright flavors so this meal IS spring.  If you’ve never sautéed radishes before, they get almost potato-like in flavor and texture and you’ll probably want to drizzle that dill sauce over everything from now on.  So good!

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Creamy Thai Sweet Potato Curry

Joey and I have three well-loved curry recipes in our arsenal but if this was a Goldilocks story, Creamy Thai Sweet Potato Curry is “just right!”  More of a challenge than our 5-Ingredient Coconut Curry but easier than our Ginger Cashew Chicken Curry and most importantly, it’s crazy flavorful.  I keep a jar of this homemade Easy Thai Yellow Curry Paste in the freezer just for this meal.  It’s very worth making!

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Creamy Carrot and Herb Linguine

I thought I’d sworn against zoodles for life but then I saw this recipe which was only PART-zoodle and still had actual pasta and now that I’ve tasted zoodles, I’ll admit they’re good.  Still not going to forego pasta entirely for spiralized vegetables, but recipes like this seem like a good compromise.  And the sauce on this one is drinkably good.  Shoutout to my fellow tarragon lovers who will love that licorice-y garnish on top.

P.S. Yes, I know the recipe calls for carrot noodles (carroodles? coodles?) but I can’t ever find those, so zoodles it is!

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Cashew Ice Cream

I kind of want to try every recipe in this post Cassie wrote about cashew cream, but I started with the cashew ice cream recipe and was majorly impressed.  I don’t have an actual reason to not just eat real deal ice cream (THANK GOD!), but I volunteered to bring Easter dessert for my half-GF/DF family because I like a challenge?  Have a thing for vegan recipes?  Just want everyone to be able to eat/enjoy dessert together, even if it means the gluten/dairy lovers have to conform?  Who knows!  I just know this ice cream was just slightly icy but otherwise SO CREAMY, SO RICH AND SO DELICIOUS.  I’d totally make it again!

P.S. Totally wanted to tell you to make these Creamy Mushroom and Kale Quesadillas, but I apparently already told you that.

Best Tastes of 2016: Restaurant Edition

Lauren2 Comments

I really wanted to post this last week but Joey was adamant that I wait until we made it through the very last day of 2016 and HEY, he was right, because our very last meal of the year made it on this list and wouldn’t have otherwise.  He’s wise like that.

We were all over the country this year and so were the best meals we ate.  Burgers in Hawaii, po’ boys in New Orleans, miso butter in Chicago, cheese plates in Portland, roast chicken in D.C., Italian in Vegas.  Not to mention lamb sliders, Detroit-style pizza, steamed buns and, of course, ice cream right here in Denver.  2016 was, by all means, a delicious year!

P.S. Sorry I don’t have pictures of every single one of these dishes.  Sometimes it’s dark in restaurants and sometimes I feel like enjoying the moment without my iPhone camera 🙂

Best Toast:

Avocado Toast from Black Eye Coffee CapHill in Denver, CO (January 10) // cashews, housemade flax seed bread, cilantro + bacon

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Best Burger:

HĀNA BURGER from Hāna Ranch Provisions in Pāʻia, Hawaiʻi (January 20) // house-made ‘ulu brioche, caramelized onions, horseradish aioli, cheddar

Best Entrée Plate:

Crispy CHICKEN Breast, 3 CHEESE-MAC & CHEESE with SAGE & BUTTERNUT SQUASH from Tables in Denver, CO (February 14)

Best Slider:

Colorado Lamb Slider from Root Down in Denver, CO (April 1) // Harissa Aioli, Irish Cheddar, Arugula & Garlic-Mint Yogurt

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Best Sandwich:

Seared Gulf Shrimp Po Boy from Killer PoBoys in New Orleans, LA (May 2) // Marinated Radish, Carrot, Cucumber, Herbs, Special Sauce

Best Appetizer:

Curried Fried Cauliflower Hummus (and pita) from Shaya in New Orleans, LA (May 2) // caramelized onions and cilantro

Best Bread & Butter Course:

“Miso Hungry” from Girl & the Goat in Chicago, IL (June 4) // miso butter . kimchi relish
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Best Pizza:

Brooklyn Bridge from Blue Pan Pizza in Denver, CO (June 10) // Mozzarella and Brick Cheeses / Pizza Sauce / Creamy NY Ricotta / Natural Casing Pepperoni / Italian Sausage / Chopped Garlic / Sicilian Oregano / Pecorino Romano Cheese
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Best Ice Cream:

Space Junkie from Little Man Ice Cream in Denver, CO (June 17) // raspberry ice cream, brownies and marshmallow swirl
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Best Cheese Plate:

Cheese & Crack in Portland, OR (July 9)
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Best Donuts:

Pip’s Original Doughnuts in Portland, OR (July 10)
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Most Fun Restaurant Experience:

There Denver (July 16)

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Best Bun:

Let’s be mature about that category, okay?

Steamed Bun Trio from Night Shift in Denver, CO (August 4) // pork belly PB & J, pork belly, curried cauliflower

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Best Ramen:

Spicy Chicken Ramen from Uncle in Denver, CO (August 18) // spicy sesame broth, scallion, bean sprouts, soft egg

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Best Chicken Dish:

Roasted Half Chicken from Tail Up Goat in Washington, D.C. (September 11) // semolina toast, aioli, cipollini onions

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Best Italian:

Spaghetti & Meatball at Roma Deli 1 & Restaurant (September 22) // I think this might be self-explanatory 🙂

Best Side Dish:

Sweet Potato at The Nickel in Denver, CO (November 4) // poblano chile, hazelnut, toasted crepe, shallot

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Beers:

A three-way tie between:

Soul Glo Saison from Southern Prohibition Brewed (May 2)

Oaked Sorachi Ace IPA from Wild Woods Brewery in Boulder, CO (July 15)

Gumballhead (American Wheat) from 3 Floyds Brewing Co. (October 6)

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Best End of the Year Meal:

ChoLon!  ChoLon forever!  If I could afford it, I’d eat here every week.  But maybe it’s for the best that we don’t go that often because it means we’re that much more excited when do go.  This was our New Year’s Eve meal and every dish, every bite, every ingredient was nothing short of sheer perfection.

Spring rolls with tarragon cream sauce, pork belly steamed buns, kaya toast, French Onion Soup Dumplings.  FRENCH ONION SOUP DUMPLINGS.  And to top it all off, a lamb chop special that had us straight giddy.  No tastier way to end 2016.

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