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What I ate last week.
Plus recipe testing, product reviews, and food news.
Complete archive available here:
http://foodlogpodcast.org
December 29, 2025 (Monday)
NEWS & UPDATES
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-30/america-s-test-kitchen-buying-bankrupt-recipe-site-food52
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/americas-test-kitchen-under-contract-for-food52-inc-assets-302650783.html Dansk, schoolhouse
https://food52.com/recipes/14136-goat-cheese-ravioli-with-mushroom-leek-gravy wE KNOW WHY THIS SHIT IS GOING UNDER; blown out, martha-stewart style close up photo of mush; clearly a website update issue gone wrong
Mashed potato double boiler
LISTENDER FEEDBACK
Fake sourdough: vinegar
Do you get scared when you are on a map application EXAMPLE and you scroll too far and end up in the middle of the ocean
New Years Foods
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose_milk_(cocktail)
In Gaelic New Year's Eve is called Oiche na Coda Moire, or Night of the Big Portion / Crump, William D. (2008). Encyclopedia of New Year's holidays worldwide
Cornbread (gold, disk)
Pork / Pigs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marzipan_pig
Secondary meat of 90s holidays (ham); my family will not eat ham with me; hiding in a corner eating ham all night
RELATED: Dusek’s ham plate / board which is symbolic of how we met but also pork
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choucroute_garnie with duck confit, house garlic sausage, bacon, confit red potato, sauerkraut, caraway pickled apple
Dad mad about big Katz sandwich; also lost me on the subway
REVIEWS & RECOMMENDATIONS
$27 wheel of Rebel Rebel cheese (Listener submitted review but I will protect their identity so that their husband does not know that they purchased this) purchased in Oak Lawn; if you don’t know what Oak Lawn is, it’s a neighborhood in Chicago that has no business selling 7oz of cheese for $27; are there enough cheese-loving vegans with disposable income to support this business?
$33 mufaletta in a rural county of NC where at any given time at least 20% of th cars on the road have a headlight out; prices go up when you try to recreate access in a single remote location; not economically sound especially when you rewrite the menu weekly and have to order all new food
Not Jimmy Maio (Tiktok) on how NYC Chinatown is so cheap
He talks about random topics like why the amish population is exploding (which could be explained with an exponential equation)
Supply chains, family labor, problematic low pay
Part of my restaurant price shock is having access to incredibly cheap restaurant food in NY
Meghan Markle holiday special with Tim Heidecker commentary
I think Tim is funny even after working on the comedy, one of the least funny things he’s ever doned
Epitome of millennial cringe; hard watch
Tom Colicchio, Will Guidara, Tosi
Compostable, no-storage christmas (oranges, winterberries)
LE LABO
Tonka: Prada Infusion D’Iris but warmer; DRYNESS; cedar
Neroli: beachy sunscreen freshness of lavande but with powdery, soft finish that lingers for longer; white floral notes
Lys: Zebra stripe gum and OLD LADY like Labdanum & Vetiver; I am cautious about promoting the idea of imprisonment for not agreeing with me but I have founded a perfume jail
Ylang is also going into perfume jail; vetiver and patchouli; too musky in a damp way
When you sample all the Le Labo you eventually realize that they are all just variations on the same like 6 components
MARTHA CHANNEL HIGHLIGHTS
Turned on Martha and she was making black & white cookies
Kat’s black and white cookies
Unexpected wikipedia section: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_and_white_cookie
Last time she was making Chrabeli right after I had eaten one
She invited a man named Jason on to make Navy Bean pie, which she said was from Chicago, but failed to mention the nation of islam connection; Brian said that they used to hand these pies out in Chicago but stopped for some reason
Martha told the guest that he looked like a 12 year old with a beard
Which is unfortunate
TIKTOK
Ella Quittner pancake test book
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8yGuFnE/
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8ynhf4h/
Vietnamese fried spring rolls (beer bs water) and stretched dumplings
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8ywrMBU/ leftover egg whites packova
2025 Bingo Card
Bonefish Grill files for bankruptcy
https://www.bloominbrands.com/our-brands
MARKETPLACE
Cocoa https://www.seriouseats.com/best-dutch-cocoas
9am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
10:30am: Bran flakes with Kalona whole milk.
2pm: Pretzels.
5:30pm: Screamin’ Sicilian frozen pepperoni pizza.
8:30pm: Dietsch’s milk chocolate pretzels.
December 30, 2025 (Tuesday)
8am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
12pm: Leftover frozen pepperoni pizza.
1:30pm: A slice of cornbread with butter, made at home.
CORNBREAD RECIPE
1c flour
1c Redtail Grains bloody butcher cornmeal
1 tsp diamond crystal kosher salt
1 tsp baking soda
¼ c sugar
1/2c Brown Cow maple yogurt
1/2c Good Culture sour cream
1/4c Kalona whole milk
1/3c Brightland olive oil
2 eggs
3TB lightly browned butter
350/30-35min in 9” cast iron on mid-high shelf or until 200 degrees
5:30pm: Leftover soup.
8pm: Half of a can of Bitburger Pilsner and Dietsch’s milk chocolate covered pretzels.
December 31, 2025 (Wednesday)
9am: Leftover coffee with half & half.
12pm: A spicy potato soft taco, chipotle ranch crispy chicken cantina burrito, and a classic stacker with onions from Taco Bell in Oxford, North Carolina.
7pm: Olive oil toasted La Farm sourdough, garlic and herb water crackers, Wild Dill Snofrisk goat cheese, Banner garlic, parsley, and basil compound butter, jamon serrano, prosciutto, coppa, Point Reyes Toma, Uplands Cheese Pleasant Ridge Reserve, assorted olives, pickled Peruvian drop peppers, and a pour of Unibrou La Fin du Monde Tripel.
January 1, 2026 (Thursday)
10am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
12pm: Baked Cipriani fusilli with cheddar, Uplands Cheese Pleasant Ridge Reserve, Point Reyes Toma, Carr Valley Fontina, Somerset black truffle cheddar, Cook Out buffalo sauce, dijon mustard, and meyer lemon and garlic panko crumbs, made at home, and a small pour of Bitburger Pilsner.
BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE RECIPE
½ pound of pasta
2.5 TB butter & flour roux
2 cups of milk
2 cups of sliced / broken cheese (OG recipe called for 8 cups grated by volume for 3 cups of milk; weight different; Additional cheese would have added some nice cheese pull; this was more creamy and saucy; but I didn’t have a lot of cheese; if I had grated it it probably would have been closer to 3 cups but I didn’t weigh it)
1 ramekin of Cook Out buffalo sauce and a teaspoon of Grey Poupon dijon mustard
Black pepper of course
1/2C prepared breadcrumbs and dolloped butter
Cook pasta until al dente and toss with a bit of butter in a bowl; set aside
Make roux, slowly add milk until thickened; add cheese, Cook Out sauce, and dijon, and whisk until smooth; add to pasta
Butter and fill ramekins; top with breadcrumbs and butter
https://madeincookware.com/products/stainless-steel-gratins/2-pack NO VOLUME MEASUREMENT??? Would require calculus; 400ml or 1 and ⅔ cup
350 / 45 min / 15 rest
6pm: Marinated pork tenderloin, sauteed spinach with garlic, hashbrown casserole, and a cornbread muffin at Brian’s parents’ house.
8pm: Dietsch’s milk chocolate covered pretzels.
January 2, 2026 (Friday)
8:30am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
1pm: Two cajun ranch chicken wraps and cheese curds from Cook Out in Oxford, North Carolina.
5:30pm: Jangjorim with jalapenos and Cleveland Kitchen kimchi over jasmine rice, made at home.
9pm: Half of a Campbells shortbread finger.
WHAT TO DO WITH AN EYE OF ROUND STEAK AKA EYE ROUND
Purchased by Brian from Sam’s Club in May 2025 and has become my burden
Initial thoughts:
Roast beef;
Country or chicken fried steak; seriouseats tested bottom round and eye round and said both are terrible and sirloin is better, or cube steak;
Beef stew or stroganoff sound risky due to lack of connective tissue
People roasting it with a bottle of italian dressing
Wiki options: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_steak
Eric Kim NYT recipe uses brisket and jalapenos
People complain about saltiness of recipe; might be the dish
This is where I need the mellower aged soy
Korea herald recipe says it keeps for 10 days which I need
Old to begin with, defrosted for several days, and lots of meat to eat for 2 people
Maangchi says saltier version keeps for a month; her recipe is 1lb beef with ½ cup soy keeps for a week; she eats with pickled whole garlic clove
Tongmaneul jangajji (TONGmanool JANGachi)
My version of Jangjorim
Slice 3.5LBs eye round into 6oz chunks
Bring to boil with 6c water and cook 10 mins
Strain and scrub beef until water runs clear
Return to pot with 6-7c water and cook for about an hour, until you are able to just start to pull beef apart along the grain and water is reduced by half
Add 1c soy sauce, 20 fat cloves of garlic, 1 whole yellow onion sliced along the grain, 2TB sugar, 1TB MSG
Cook until shreddable but still holding its shape, about an hour, and let cool while you cook rice
Add 3/4LB or 8 jalapenos, sliced in half lengthwise, towards end of cooking
January 3, 2025 (Saturday)
10am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, blueberries, hickory smoked bacon, and two sunny eggs over a slice of La Farm sourdough toasted in bacon fat, made at home.
2pm: Garlic and herb water crackers with Wild Dill Snofrisk goat cheese.
4:30pm: Goat cheese ravioli in a tomato cream sauce, made at home, and a pour of Saison Dupont.
6pm: Dietsch’s milk chocolate triple dipped malt balls.
GOAT CHEESE RAVIOLI
Filling
4oz goat cheese
2TB Wild Dill Snofrisk goat cheese
Juice of one lemon cheek
8 shallots, caramelized
5c mixed greens, sauteed with olive oil and garlic and chopped
1 egg
Pasta dough
Serious eats fresh pasta dough recipe
2 eggs, 4 yolks
255g Redtail Grains pasta flour
1TB Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Sauce
1 jar of Gustiamo tomato sauce
1/4c heavy cream
Squeeze of lemon
Salt, pepper, and parmesan to taste
January 4, 2025 (Sunday)
10am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half and a frittata with leftover ravioli filling and avocado, made at home.
2:30pm: Santitas white corn tortilla chips and salsa.
5:30pm: Frozen cheese pizza and mixed greens with great northern beans, avocado, Parmesan, lemon, Jacobsen lemon salt, and La Tourangelle olive oil, made at home.
6:30pm: Dietsch’s milk chocolate triple dipped malt balls.