Fall Fridays Volume 12
Waldorf Astoria, December 2025
Waldorf Astoria, December 2025
Last week of autumn, LET’S DO THIS. This will be the final Fall Fridays of 2025, so thank you for being here! I love writing these and all the eyes that read them.
BAKING/COOKING
Slow-cooker meatballs, Ina Garten’s cauliflower toast, BLT skewers, homemade Levain-dupe peanut butter chip cookies. Holiday cooking is in full swing, I can’t be stopped.
BLT Skewers
Levain dupe peanut butter chip cookies
CRAVING
The Thanksgiving egg rolls at Sweet Afton in Astoria. Good god, they’re unbelievable.
DRINKING
I had a Manhattan the other night and how on earth did I ever drink three of those a night?! That seems wild to me now. It’s made me not want to have another cocktail for at least a few months. I never thought I’d be this turned off of alcohol, but it’s felt amazing.
Fall Fridays Volume 11
Christmastime in New York is so lovely I could scream. Yes there are lots of people everywhere, but the coldness combined with the decorations is pretty magical. It’s supposed to snow on Sunday and if it does I might just explode.
NYC Gift Ideas
The best NYC gift ideas under $30 can be found in this week’s newsletter.
New Podcast!
Can’t remember the last time I was on Nathan’s podcast, but I’m back!
Fall Fridays Vol. 10
That is not my tree above. Showing you my Christmas tree seems… too intimate (says the person that gives away any and every detail of daily life). I really just posted that one above because it’s one from a midtown hotel and I’m really starting to hate the picture perfect ones. They’re very pretty, but so boring. A perfect Christmas tree is like that Instagram face you can’t get away from: it’s become mundane. Anyway, here’s what happened this week.
BAKING/COOKING
I made Ina Garten’s weeknight bolognese and was blown away at how good it was. Really can’t believe that you can get that sort of deep flavour in a thirty minute recipe. Absolutely keeping this one in the dinner rotation now.
The Best of November
I’m in my home writing this post underneath the warmest throw I’ve had in years while it’s pouring rain outside my window, Nathan is taking a nap on our couch and my evening plans just got postponed for tomorrow. I am living the dream? Here’s what went on in November.
It has felt like a lifetime since the Jays didn’t win the World Series, is it just me? It honestly doesn’t hurt that much now. They’re the better guys and it was an incredible season. I think it’s okay to be happy about that. (Oh god, I’m that Ross meme.)
The best tweets of the month can be seen over here.
I’m shocked that I’m still celebrating autumn (I know it officially ends on December 21st, but I’m usually celebrating pre-Christmas right now - which is sort of an ambiguous season onto itself where the leaves are gone, the snow has only teased us with a taste and the cold rain simply devastates) but I am and so Fall Fridays continue to happen each week. The latest volume can be found over here.
I have never seen Michael Symon’s cooking shows before but I caught a little bit of one and I think I might be a fan now. I love the recipes that he does, he’s very intentional with his ingredients and I love the way he interacts with his wife onscreen.
We had so much leftover roast pork so I made at-home cubano sandwiches that were killer.
The rest of this post can be read on my Substack right here.
The Best Tweets of November
Fall Fridays Vol. 9
Last week of November! Kind of the best time of the year. Anticipation is almost always better than the actual thing you’re anticipating. Tell me I’m wrong. Here’s what went down this past week.
BAKING/COOKING
I made a new stuffing (sausage gravy stuffing) for (fake) Thanksgiving and I’m so happy with how it turned out. I’m gonna make it again at Christmas to see if my family likes it, but I can’t see how I don’t make this every year from now on. I’ve loved Chef John’s recipes for such a long time and it’s wild that he’s been this consistently great for years now.
Sausage Gravy Stuffing
CRAVING
A phone-free holiday season. Is it even possible? Will everyone hate this idea? I’m gonna try my best to see if my family can get onboard with this idea next month at Christmas but it might be an uphill battle.
DRINKING
Candy cane cocoa in iced coffee. What can I say, Merry Christmas.
EATING
The Thanksgiving turkey dip sandwich from Deux Luxe in NYC. It’s a “turkey burger with cranberry onion jam aioli and mozzarella, ready to dunk into a house-made gravy sauce and topped off with a stuffing cranberry crunch on the side for dunking”. So good. I love a seasonal sandwich. And I’d never thought of a sandwich having a crunchy dip, but stuffing is such a genius idea.
Turkey Dip from Deux Luxe, NYC
Fall Fridays Vol. 8
This is the earliest that I’ve ever decorated for Christmas and I can’t decide if it was a good idea or not. That first snowfall two weeks ago really tricked me into thinking I could justify a wreath here and a Christmas village there, but I think I messed up. There’s something special about December and decorations. Lesson learned for next year. Here are the highlights of the week!
BAKING/COOKING
I cannot wait to make this sausage gravy stuffing from Chef John. I love that man and I love everything he creates so I’m convinced this might change my life, stuffing-wise. (My favourite recipe of his that I make each Christmas is this spinach & artichoke dip.)
Also, I really want to try this with the kids this weekend.
CRAVING
With fake Thanksgiving next week, I’m making this s’mores pie that I make every year and it’s honestly the easiest/best pie I think I’ve ever made. Anyone can do it and it hits every time. I know the s’mores trend is long dead, but absolutely no one says no to a slice of this pie.
DRINKING
Silk’s Festive Nog and wow it was the worst. It was thick in all the wrong ways. Stay far away.
