Happy Friday, Noshers!  It sure is scorchin’ here in NYC today! How are things in your neck of the woods? This weekend I will be celebrating my birthday (happy birthday to me!) and doing a bit of traveling. What are your weekend plans?

Today’s fun fact relates to my favorite food group of all time -

June is National Dairy Month.

I love dairy – especially CHEESE!  Have you checked out my Artisanal cheese posts? What are you waiting for?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Tuesday, Noshers! Just a drive-by post here – guess what I’m bringing to work today?

A surprise for my coworkers – hope they like it!  Would you like to surprise your coworkers as well (or treat yourself, haha)? Check out my original blog post with this fruit tart recipe – one of the very first posts I wrote years ago!

Happy Monday!! (well, it’s all relative, right?)  I thought I’d kick off the week with some food highlights from my delicious weekend!  Are you ready?

I started my weekend in Chicago, so of course I had to have Garrett Popcorn Chicago Mix – they have a store in NYC, but I only purchase Garrett Popcorn in Chicago!

I also had to have a Chicago-style hot dog (and a chili cheese backup) from Portillo’s:

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Happy FRIIIDAY, y’all!  I’m writing this post from my hotel room in Chicago (in town for a few days for work!), where I have a lovely view of the Chicago River – gorgeous!  What plans to you all have for this weekend? I will be meeting some lovely friends for dinner tonight, attending a graduation party tomorrow, and meeting a friend for an early birthday brunch on Sunday. Phew – what a busy few days; good thing it’s all fun stuff!

I learned this fun fact years and years ago when learning about the Ancient Egyptians!

Honey plays an important role in my recipe for honey cornbread!

Honey is the only food that will never spoil – in fact, edible honey has been found in Ancient Egyptian tombs.

What’s your favorite way to eat honey? I love to add it to Greek yogurt!

I had been wanting to try Fatty ‘Cue for a while now – a restaurant specializing in smokey, Southeast Asian-inspired goodness of the pork specialization (they also feature other meats). First of all, I love BBQ – it’s a serious love, and one that I’d like to believe is requited.  Second, any restaurant with “Fatty” in its name has to possess a certain level of deliciousness.  So on one sunny NYC afternoon, off I went with an eating buddy to check this place out.

The first thing we noticed were that there were only two of us, and about 8 things we wanted to try on the menu:

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Happy Friday, Noshers!  I’m currently speeding down the East Coast on the Amtrak – unfortunately, I’ll be working all weekend. At least the weather looks gorgeous!  Hope you have more leisurely plans!

And now for today’s Fun Fact:

Lobster feast from my visit to Abbott’s

Today is National Lobster Day!

YUM! I LOVE lobster – my favorite way to eat it is simply steamed with lots of butter! I just wish I could have it more often

Are you a lobster fan? What’s your favorite way to eat it?

Happy Tuesday, Noshers! This past weekend I stopped by my local farmers market and I, er, might have gone a little overboard.  But look at all that beautiful bounty, can you blame me?  Bonus points for anyone who can name everything on the table!

If you’ve been following me from last year, you’ll know that I’m not a natural veggie lover.  In fact, last year’s Veggie Resolution was my whole-hearted attempt to “force” myself to like vegetables.  Boy was I glad I kept at it, because I discovered all sorts of new-to-me vegetables that I now love (kohlrabi, anyone?).  So I was super excited to check out what the farmer’s market had in store this past weekend.  Some of my purchases included:

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Happy FRIDAY, Noshers!  Got any grand plans for the weekend? I will be checking out my local farmer’s market and hopefully stocking up on some produce and other yummy nosh!  Also, today is the LAST day to enter the OXO Hand-held Mandoline Slicer Giveaway!  What are you waiting for?

Today’s Fun Fact is somewhat related to last week’s fact. Whereas last Friday was National Doughnut Day, today:

Image via Public Domain Pictures

Today is Jelly-Filled Doughnut Day!

My question is – when will it be Boston Creme Doughnut Day?  My favorite!

What is your favorite doughnut flavor?

Happy SUMMER!

Ok, it’s technically not summer yet, but it sure feels like it!  And you know what that means – tons and tons of summer recipes!  One of my favorites from last year’s Veggie Resolution was the Squash, Potato and Goat Cheese Gratin – chock full of hearty summer squash and potatoes, and finished with goat cheese, yum!  When I first prepared it last year, I wrote about how much easier the dish would have been to prepare if I hadhttp://bigapplenosh.com/wordpress/wp-admin/post.php?post=3057&action=edit a mandoline, but I didn’t want to invest in another bulky piece of equipment.

Well, lucky me, OXO gave me one of their hand-held mandoline slicers to try.  This bad boy slices in three different thicknesses at lightening-fast speed, and my favorite part – it takes up almost no room! Perfect for my tiny NYC kitchen!  In the future, I’ll think I’ll use this to make my salted caramel apple pie – it will be such a time-saver!

The OXO hand-held mandoline slicer comes with a grippy tool to hold onto whatever you’re slicing, perfect for a klutz like me.  It sometimes had a little trouble gripping onto the potatoes, but in the end was quite helpful.  I sliced 5 medium potatoes and 2 squash in about 10 minutes. Super easy!

Lucky YOU – OXO has given me one more hand-held mandoline slicer to give away!  Wouldn’t you like to win one for yourself? If so, enter below!

PS Make sure to answer the question asked below in your comment! (more…)

Happy Friday, enthusiastic eaters! What a gorgeous day it is in NYC today!  What are your plans for this weekend?

 Doughnut Image from Salim

Today is National Doughnut Day.

Be sure to check out your local doughnut store – perhaps they have a National Doughnut Day special?

Have a wonderful weekend!

What’s your favorite doughnut variety?