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What I ate last week
[LOCAL] NEWS
Ideals in Durham is expanding and opening a bakery; menu expansion, catering, dinner options, deli case, wholesale bread
Will the quality suffer? Will reduce the line
Owners aren’t making money so they need to expand
Is it better for a restaurant to expand scope, potentially compromising attention to detail and quality of product to avoid closure?
NC is getting its first Buc-ee’s in Mebane in May 2027
Food pyramid inverted; everybody’s going keto
Brian’s mom eating apple pie
Keto except for deep eddy, which she thought was a mixer so she would add vodka to it
LISTENDER FEEDBACK
Anonymous vegan cheese correspondant is reporting that the shark thank product known as Rebel Cheese is actually good; also has a mac and cheese recipe that requires 3 full blocks of cheese and yields what looks to be 4-5 servings for $60. Is $12 mac and cheese worse than eating a $12 salad? Also just realized that Rebel cheese has pirate branding which begs the question: who is your target audience? Pirates? Who are famous for STEALING?
However, having a high price point specialty item is useful for the art of thoughtful and targeted gift giving. I would never stock my home with $13.50 jars of an artisan collaboration in the form of tomato sauce, but I would consider gifting it, and appreciate that the option exists.
Over the holidays one of my sisters asked “if you could be an M&M, which one would you be” to which I replied the Lisa Rinna M&M. This is the obvious answer but i was also influenced by recently listening to the lisa rinna episode of Las Culturistas and they brought up her M&M campaign with Joey Fatone. What are our other options, besides the standard characters? 2007 “Find your inner M” campaign allowed you to make an M&M based on your likeness online; artifaxing on IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/DQR5MbODsFc/
Dr. Phil, Michael Bay, adams family, indiana jones, brad garrett from everybody loves raymond is a truly unidentifiable m&M; could be any man on this planet, Michael Strahan, two sports announcers whose signatures I can’t read, Brooks & dunn, kiss, larry bird, magic johnson, bobby flay, burt reynolds, mary lou retton, cristina saralegui, joan rivers, melissa rivers
Let me know which M&M you are as soon as you can
CONSUMER ADVOCACY & PRODUCT REVIEWS
Ditched my car because it’s not fast enough and RAN home to email companies about their failures
Made In volumetric measurements on website and pan
Dufour pastry sheet quantity and dimensions INCLUDING THICKNESS
Baggu lunchboxes all need top handle; gorgeous apple patterned lunchbox in a sort of naive style drawing of squat apples and leaves that I have to carry like a lunch tray as to not risk the contents of my tupperware spilling all over creation
Happy and hail banana bread blaster
Quince quilts copying food 52 who filed for bankruptcy and is being purchased by America’s test kitchen.
Honda CRV has a coffee icon which I thought might be a coffee machine in my car but really tells you when you need to drink coffee because you’re not paying attention and you’re swerving all over the road. I love an excuse to have to go and get a coffee.
LE LABO
Patchouli smells like the scented markers you would get in elementary school, especially the cherry scent, but if they were a cigarette or had been smoked overnight like a fish; fades to the smell of home depot
Lys has the same fresh sunscreen hit of Lavande or Neroli but with more pronounced white florals; I like it but smells like the soap you would get at a Double Tree hotel in the 90s
Fleur d’oranger supposedly took 3 years to develop and you can smell it in terms of it being somewhat distinct compared to the previous samples. Very fresh, like honey suckle, lemon blossom. Brian said it smells like high school.
Eucalyptus is masculine. Wood, musk, sharp dried greens, a little bit like maybe the dried eucalyptus that is hanging in your shower isn’t getting a chance to dry out properly and it’s time to throw it away.
THE INTERNET
Can’t believe I didn’t talk about Claire Saffitz’s mortadella cookies
Dria aka Salty Lunch Lady does custom cakes https://www.instagram.com/p/DI4coIrSKbx/?img_index=6&igsh=MTRlOTR1MmM2cmY0aw==
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8feE1Hq/
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8fexnAc/ Sean james jawns: “so i’m making this…” cooking a ripped up lemon, ripped up onion, what looks to be boiled porkchops; Zach fox is first comment: “Idk man”
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8feCrgD/ Dr. Howard Smith
CONSUMER ADVOCACY; who is doing his design work?? I have messaged him to ask; very Tim & Eric early internet / public access style videos
Ukrops recall; prepared food made for grocery stores; the virginia version of an entemann’s
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-howard-smith-reports/id1663726286
“Thank you for the information king”
“You’re welcome. Not a king tho”
You’re the people’s king
Just trying to provide good info. Thanks.
In our eyes you are, Dr.
Rather just be a trusted friend.
Tiktok video of a what is looking like a dire situation; all the sudden a can of Wendy’s chili comes into frame
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8fe7f8a/ patty.plates: honey garlic shrimp pancake made with settled potato starch and egg whites; basically one giant fried shrimp
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8feC4tS/ pantry boy: chinese lasagna
Martha Stewart Living Channel from the late 1990s
Naomi Duguid’s recipe: “Martha’s Mother’s Cookies” from her book Home Baking; from a friend of a friend and not a reference to Martha Stewart’s mother
Makes about 30 puffed, finely layered, sugar-topped cookies
The dough is made from equal weights of butter, cream cheese, and flour, and folded several times like a simple puff pastry; no sugar in the dough itself.
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
8oz or 1 cup cream cheese, softened
Scant 2 cups flour
Pinch of salt
1 large egg, separated
Orange or lemon zest (optional)
Powdered sugar for coating
Process butter, cream cheese, flour, salt, egg yolk, and zest in food processor until smooth. Wrap in plastic and chill for 1-3 hours or two days.
Roll dough on floured surface into 12x8” rectangle. Fold into thirds and roll out again to 16x8”. Fold again into thirds and then roll out to 16x10”. Transfer dough to baking sheet covered with plastic and refrigerate for 30-120 mins.
Cut 1 and ½” rounds or squares. Brush tops with egg white and dip the top into powdered sugar. You’ll want a thick crust of sugar.
Place on prepared baking sheet with ¼” space between cookies, which will not spread outwards, only upwards. Bake until shiny and risen, 18-20 mins at 350.
If cutting into rounds, dough scraps can be rerolled. Cutting into squares may prevent scraps.
January 5, 2025 (Monday)
7:30am: Leftover coffee with half & half and a bowl of bran flakes with milk.
11am: Leftover jangjorim with kimchi and jasmine rice and a cup of coffee with half & half at the office.
BOWL OF SKITTES AND STARBURSTS
Aversion to skittles because of saxophone in 6th grade band STAKE SKITTLES ON RAINY DAUS
People say oboe is hard but it’s the only instrument i can play so i have no point of reference; no idea how a piano or a string instrument works and I never will
Also went to a superbowl party and there was a child there who only ate skittles and fruit loops and the parents were like “there’s nothing we can do about it”
Updates from the cake room from Anna / Upjohn breakroom emails
5pm: Tortilla chips.
7:30pm: A chicken shawarma wrap with tahini, babaganoush, and feta and pesto orzo from Sassool in Raleigh, North Carolina.
January 6, 2025 (Tuesday)
7:30am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
8:30am: An olive oil toasted slice of La Farm sourdough with avocado and sriracha, made at home.
1pm: Pretzels with hummus and baba ganoush from Sassool and a piece of Cadbury Dairy Milk Whole Nut.
3pm: Graza potato chips.
STRESS EATING; BACK AT THE OFFICE; I RECORDED THE “EATING HAM ALONE” EPISODE ON THIS DAY AND WAS SO FRAZZLED THAT I FORGOT TO TALK ABOUT EATING HAM ALONE AT THANKSGIVING AT BEN & ASH’S (SAURKRAUT PEOPLE). VOICE WAS SHAKY AND OVER CAFFENATED. MANIC ENERGY.
6pm: Chicken pot pie, made at home.
LONG CHICKEN POT PIE RECIPE
2 shallots
2 carrots
8 garlic cloves
1/2C peas
3C mixed greens
1.5LB Bell & Evans organic chicken tenders
2TB Olive oil
2TB Butter
2TB Flour
Pinch of Gustiamo Oregano di Pantelleria
Garlic powder
Black pepper
Dash of Kitchen Bouquet
2C chicken stock
1C heavy cream
Salt to taste
Egg wash
1 package Dufour puff pastry
Instructions: Salt chicken ahead of time. Brown chicken in olive oil and remove. Add shallots and brown. Add garlic and sweat. Add butter and flour and cook until golden. Add oregano, then slowly add stock and stir until thick. Add peas, carrots, chicken, greens and stir until wilted. Slowly add cream and kitchen bouquet. Season to taste and add additional flour or corn starch if necessary. Place in 2 quart capacity dish or whatever vessel you are using on a sheet tray. Egg wash the puff pastry and bake at 375 until pastry is golden brown (THIS WAS HARD, over 40 min and deep golden brown but middle was still soggy as hell; next time I would cook the puff pastry on a separate sheet tray and add it on top at the end)
Dufour puff pastry review: no dimensions listed anywhere; seriouseats said it was a square while a citizen product review said it was a long rectangle. List dimensions and number of sheets. Package contained 1 sheet approximately 9x12 which fit perfectly over a 2 quart capacity, approximately 8x12 inch pyrex dish. This is an old pyrex with a capitalized logo. I used a piece of 81/2x11 paper to estimate this measurement because Brian took my tape measure and it will most likely never be recovered. Verdict: Not worth the extra price.
7pm: Dietsch’s milk chocolate triple dipped malt balls.
January 7, 2026 (Wednesday)
7am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home, and a bowl of bran flakes with milk.
11am: Leftover jangjorim with kimchi, a jammy boiled egg, and jasmine rice, and a cup of coffee with half & half at the office.
BEDTIME TEA in the cake room
4pm: Graza potato chips.
6pm: Leftover chicken pot pie.
7:30pm: Tony’s hazelnut milk chocolate.
January 8, 2025 (Thursday)
8am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
9am: Two slices of hickory smoked bacon and an avocado over two slices of La Farm sourdough, toasted in bacon fat, made at home.
12pm: Graza potato chips with leftover baba ganoush and hummus.
6pm: Leftover goat cheese ravioli and cream tomato sauce with parmesan and black pepper.
7pm: Tony’s hazelnut milk chocolate.
January 9, 2025 (Friday)
7:30am: Leftover coffee with half & half.
9am: A cappuccino and a drip coffee with half & half at Joe Van Gogh in Durham, North Carolina.
12pm: A spicy crispy chicken sandwich with pickles on a brioche bun from Food Lion with half of an avocado and leftover tahini sauce.
2pm: Half of an avocado and Wild Dill Snofrisk cheese on garlic and herb water crackers.
6pm: Congee with garlic, onion, chili flakes, mixed greens, and a jammy egg, made at home.
7pm: Sour Patch Kids.
January 10, 2025 (Saturday)
8am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
11:30am: A classic smash burger and a bird dog from QueenBurger in Durham, North Carolina.
Brian: tastes like a flat piece of meat; like cheap flat cuts that Mexican restaurants serve; teetering on the edge of being inedibly oversalted; huge flat patties about 30% larger than the bun with hoop cheese, sauce, pickles, caramelized onions that had a strong grill top residue flavor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoop_cheese
Bird dog was a miniscule chicken tender that tasted like it was from a sporting stadium, maybe colored by my proximity to a baseball stadium, with scant Mayo and pickles. $5 chicken tender in disguise.
$18 for a burger combo with the bird dog as the side with tip. Would go back for the burger. The bird dog was a complete rip-off.
12pm: A cold brew with half & half from Cocoa Cinnamon in Durham.
Brian got the Harvest latte: Latte made with housemade pumpkin seed, cinnamon, ginger, & allspice syrup, topped with mace. NASTY but I don’t like sweet coffee drinks besides Vietnamese coffee.
Loudest woman ever who somehow works at a library
1:30pm: A burger with fries and pickle chips at Only Burger in Durham.
4/10. Meatball patty, no cheese, $27 with tip. If you like a worchestershire meatball style hamburger this is for you. I’m looking for more of a straight up medium rare, well-salted beef experience.
4pm: Graza potato chips.
7pm: Tony’s hazelnut milk chocolate.
January 11, 2025 (Sunday)
8am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
12:30pm: Maraq, mandi lamb, foul, mulukhiyah, and mulawah from Yemeni Arabic Restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina.
I don’t know much about Yemeni cuisine, obviously. I went to a restaurant called
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemeni_cuisine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulukhiyah (jute)
Pretty much silent except for two men in the back screaming at each other the entire time
Incredible tanoor bread
2:30pm: A cold brew with half & half, part of a spice roll, part of a malt shortbread, and part of an orange buttermilk pie from Boulted Bread in Raleigh.
Incredible lamination in the pie dough. Wish the custard was sharper. Malt shortbread tasted like fake smoke or bacon.
7:30pm: Graza potato chips.