New Year, New York

Good weather and good vacation memories

I’m home! I’m writing in front of the new season of Virgin River (I hope this show runs forever) and enjoying the idyllic weather. It’s a new year in the Jewish calendar which means time for group meals, challah, apples, honey, and some reflection. My favorite way to do that is via the 10Q, a series of ten questions you answer in the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. They’re not religious and I have non Jewish friends who do them every year if you’d like to give it a shot. Your answers get sent to a vault and you receive them this time next year.

Now, let’s dive in and recap the past few weeks! On Thursday, we’ll be reflecting on summer and our bucket list!

Something to cook:

I made challah for our family’s rosh dinner, an annual tradition. Yeast is a tricky thing and this time, it took two tries to get a nice lively pack. Trust your instincts with dough, if it’s not looking right, it’s better to start from the top rather than push forward and hope it fixes itself. It won’t.

The rest of the Rosh Hashanah dinner was lovely, featuring many recipes from Adeena Sussman’s cookbooks—a veggie kugel and a brisket with pomegranate and figs that was very well received. Desserts were so good, from Julia and Jolie: apple crisp with double the crumble and the famous plum torte, which is famous for a reason! It’s always so special to be together for the holiday. Also, I brought hot honey to have with the apples, inspired by Lia, and it was so good. To a sweet and spicy new year!

Otherwise, my cooking as been very simple with so much travel—breakfast tacos with cherry tomatoes and arugula, mac and cheese with broccoli and chickpeas, and blueberry smoothies.

I got Dan Pelosi’s new cookbook and have a few recipes bookmarked already including zucchini bean “meatballs” and a pasta primavera bake. Plus, once it’s gets a little cooler, I’ll be back to making the famous sawce.

Something to order:

In London: This was my fourth trip to London, find more recs here and here.

We made many visits to Boxcar Baker for breakfasts and treats. The eggs in England are so good, with bright orange yolks and I couldn’t get enough of the avocado toast with poached eggs. The cinnamon roll is also excellent, not too sweet and no frosting.

Chiltern Firehouse was a perfect spot for a fun dinner with Teal, Nicholas and fam—get the zucchini pizza, mushroom pasta, and oysters! It’s a really fun vibe in a former firehouse.

It was sweltering in London so we all took the train to Brighton for the day and the coastal air was much needed—we hung at the Soho house, had brunch (Teal and I split a veggie burger, fries, and salad, the perfect combo) and swam in the pool. Once we got back to London, we grabbed Thai food at Monkey & Me where I had one of the best massaman curries I’ve had alongside pad see ew and tom yum soup.

Borough Market is packed on a Sunday morning but Teal and I braved the crowds for spices from Spice Mountain and some delicious English cheddars. We walked there from Marylebone through Hyde Park and along the river—it’s always beautiful to see London by foot.

I had my first proper Sunday roast at The Royal Oak. The veggie version was crispy cauliflower with the classic accompaniments of Yorkshire pudding, perfect potatoes (they were somehow tender and super crispy), and peas (it is England). Ask for horseradish sauce and enjoy! I love a tradition that combats the Sunday scaries.

We made a repeat visit to the Jamaican food stand at Selfridges, which makes very good wraps with plantains, jerk chicken (and vegan chicken), and all the works. Fuel is necessary for shopping.

Not edible but food related!

Our last London night, we grabbed dinner at The Italian Greyhound, on a very sweet restaurant and pub lined street. The ravioli with bitter greens was so good, as were the drinks. Our flight home was smooth (it’s when I wrote this newsletter) and I loved taking the Elizabeth line to the airport.

In New York:

Camille brought in Pop Up Bagels for the office which was such a treat. They’ve gone a bit viral and were really good. They come unsliced and a lot of people dip them into cream cheese or butter. The toppings are also generously distributed which can be rare.

I craved Mexican food after being away and my parents were kind of enough to bring Homemade Taqueria burritos to the airport (they have a few locations).

Lizzi and I caught up over dinner at one our shared favorite spaces, Lighthouse. We had oysters, of course, smoked labneh, hummus and a season corn dish. Always love it there.

Julia and I had a big friendship catch up at Esters—natural wine and pizza always hits. They have a delicata squash and burrata special that felt like the first bite of fall.

Dale and I visited one of our favorite places in its new home: Scarr’s! It moved up the block and is now double the size. We were able to bypass the long line and get seats inside (you just need to order a pie to sit inside). There are also some tables that you can reserve on Resy. The new space is retro and spacious and the pizza is as good as always. Get a vegan caesar salad and a pie and soak it all in.

Something to read:

This oral history of Mamma Mia covers the creation of the musical, casting the movie, scene by scene memories of filming and talk of a third film. Buckle in with your beverage of choice and enjoy.

Dietitians on social media are being paid to promote aspartame and sugar.

Would you go on a trip with your favorite influencer? I think it would be fun to host a TNHS retreat some day but I have no time to coordinate it at this moment. But maybe someday!

Girlhood is trending but we’re failing actual girls

I liked Ann Friedman’s take on the parent vs. childfree binary better than the viral article

Is Ice Spice’s Munchkin Dunkin’ Drink the Next Grimace Shake?

Joy made a fall bucket list, which means summer is really winding down.

Are you more of a party host or enthusiastic guest?

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Wishing you a sweet New Year!

xo, Abigail