This backyard is all I need sometimes
That was one of the longest Octobers I’ve ever experienced and it couldn’t have been better. Here’s everything that went down last month:
The best tweets of October can be found over here, and I also did a post about the best Halloween tweets.
I started doing weekly Fall Fridays recaps because I can’t shut the hell up.
Made Halloween cake pops with Maya with meltable chocolate from Michaels (the funfetti vanilla is the best one) and I think these might be among my favourite desserts now. Nothing says ‘I’m almost 40’ like discovering how good cake pops are 15 years after they became popular?
Maya’s Halloween cake pops
Got a drink at Beetle House (the Beetlejuice-esque bar in the East Village) and that place is a party. Cocktails with dry ice should be mandatory at all bars for the prices we’re paying these days (I’d run on this platform alone if I were up for mayor).
Cocktail from Beetle House, NYC
I used a few of the single packets of the Dennis Gross triple eye serum and I could really see slight results in only a couple days. So annoying when expensive skincare products actually work well.
This chicken marsala remains one of my favourite top three dinners to make.
It’s a tall order, but please serve this chicken marsala at my funeral
TIP: if a recipe calls for softened butter but you forgot to soften it in advance, you should just brown the butter instead. This works for me literally every time. Browned butter is incredible.
Finally went to the Oscar Wilde bar and it was beautifully decorated for Halloween. It also had one of the best lighted washrooms I’ve ever seen in NYC.
It’s one week into November so have I already had the Thanksgiving dumplings from Mimi Cheng’s as well as the Bobbie (Thanksgiving) sandwich from Capriotti’s? We both know the answer, don’t make me say it.
Made pecan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, but they were only okay. I think I’ll steer clear of the baking recipes from Bon Appétit for awhile. Independent bloggers almost always have better dessert recipes.
Underwhelming pecan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
Okay, the flagship Nordstrom in Manhattan? New favourite place to shop for dresses. There’s also a great happy hour bar on the fifth floor with this incredible locker that charges your phone while you walk around.
I’ve made the Chrissy Teigen jalapeno corn pudding for the past few years as part of our Thanksgiving meal and I might finally be sick of it? Looking for new corn recipes.
Jalapeno corn pudding
My favourite freezable meal right now is this short rib bolognese.
Walked through a section of Central Park that I’d never seen before (the north woods) and it felt like an entirely different park.
Look at that little face
Made apple cider doughnut cookies that turned out great. I thought the cinnamon sugar topping sounded a bit boring, but it was perfect.
Apple cider doughnut cookies
It is both a blessing and a curse that I learned of Nuts Factory existence (it’s basically American Bulk Barn).
Made this coconut chicken tikka masala in the slow cooker and it was pretty good. I doubt I’ll make it again though because I never cook rice anymore and this is a recipe begging for rice. (Why don’t I like to cook rice? Um, it takes forever? And I threw out my rice cooker because I hate having useless appliances that I’ll use once a year.)
The focaccia ready-made sandwiches at Eataly? Holy shit. Unbelievably good.
Focaccia sandwiches at Eataly, NYC
Went to Canada for Thanksgiving and it was so lovely, as always.
Some things I watched:
Sabrina The Teenage Witch (the movie): I had no idea it was a movie before it was a show. I’ll always love Melissa Joan Hart as Sabrina, so this was a great find.
Urban Legend: totally forgot about how good this movie was. With the exception of the dog-in-a-microwave scene, obviously.
Knock At The Cabin: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, M. Night Shyamalan’s movies are always so hit or miss and this one? STUNK. I really hate that he insists on making cameos in them, too.
Prom Night: Great! Jamie Lee Curtis is a phenomenal dancer. Nobody talks about that.
Blades: it’s literally just a Jaws parody but with a lawnmower instead of a shark. So what I’m saying is that it was fantastic.
Trick R Treat: so terrible.
Halloween (the Rob Zombie one): UGH! Awful! Nathan claims that I hated it because apparently I don’t like “dysfunction or reality.” WHO DOES.
Coherence: so good! Everyone should see it.
The Fog: loved it! So fun when the villain is weather. And I LOVE the fact that when it was first released, they installed fog machines in some movie theatres where the movie was showing. God, that’s great.
Some things I’m looking forward to this month: Nathan’s big Gramercy show this weekend, buying new cookware finally because our pots specifically are pretty toxic, might make these salted chocolate pecan pie bars for (fake) Thanksgiving later this month and I can’t wait to finally eat at the Christmas restaurant in the city Rolf’s.
If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can see what went on in September over here. And my autumn highlights on Instagram can be found here.
October 2023
