January 1, 2024

December Dalliances 2023

by Liz Heather in Best of NYC, Family, Food, Movies, Personal, Products, Recipes, Television

Welcome to the last monthly post of the year! I would say that this felt like a fast year but truthfully it still feels like 2012 to me so my opinions might not be reality-based. Here’s what went down last month!

Here are the best tweets of the month.
The best Christmas tweets can be found over here.
I recapped how I did on my autumn list.
I wrote my winter list of things that I want to do.
I got drinks at The Peninsula, which was fun and Christmas-y but wildly overpriced.

Some of the department store windows in NYC this year were fantastic.

The New York Public Library, December 2023

I made these espresso martini cookies and they were really good.
Nathan’s special was named Best YouTube Special of 2023 by The New York Times (!!!!!!!)
Finally got dinner at Mel’s (in the old Del Posto space) and it was good! But I never need to go again.
We’ve needed new pots and pans for over a decade, so it was immensely satisfying to buy this set from Wayfair.
I made this apple crumb cake over Christmas break and I didn’t try it (!), but it wasn’t a big hit since it was only half eaten by the time I left for New York so I should remember not to make this one again. (Also I never want to become the type of person who doesn’t eat the things she makes for others, it goes against everything I stand for??)
Speaking of Christmas food, so much was made!
- Still obsessed with making homemade pizza with sausage and fennel.
- Two charcuterie boards: I will forever add candy to these boards going forward. And I finally made the ricotta jam jar and it was a a big hit. Absolutely should be on all charcuterie boards at all times. (The tip I use to make this faster: make the tomato jam yourself, but absolutely buy jarred pesto.)
- The mushroom loaf (that I learned about from this tweet) that I will absolutely make again, it was so good.
- The leftover turkey sandwich: always a winner.
- The Nutella cookies: always my favourite. Next year I won’t be so stingy with the amount of Nutella.
- Made the spinach & artichoke puff pastry Christmas tree for the second time and I absolutely love this recipe. It’s delicious, beautiful and actually not difficult to make.
- Not every recipe can be a winner, so the losers this year? The Christmas lunch roast beef sandwiches. The meat was overcooked and tough enough that it made me instantly decide to try a new lunch recipe next year. Also I’ve messed up shortbread on TWO different recipes this month. The Alison Roman ones I always make during the holidays AND a new recipe of chocolate pistachio shortbread cookies. Both doughs were beyond crumbly, and they just didn’t taste right. So I’ll need to take a long shortbread break.

I’m still learning how to create a good board

Spinach & artichoke puff pastry Christmas tree

Obsessed with the Mighty Patch nose patches.
Some things I watched:
- I started Office Christmas Party and stopped it after twenty minutes, it was so bad.
- I finished The Crown. Oof. Other than the fact that this was, by far, the worst season of all - it really made me focus on what a terrible show it truly is and how thankful I am that it has ended. I hate that it was based on all of these real people, but so much of it is fiction. If the writers/creators would have just committed to either being fully truthful or fully fictitious then I wouldn’t be left with this feeling of disgust. There’s so much to complain about, but I’ll let it go because let’s just be glad it’s done. But really… the ghost of Diana? God, this series was sick.
The egg nog flavoured Greek yogurt at Trader Joe’s is spectacular.

We didn’t have the whole family together this Christmas (which never feels right), but we made the most of it.

Did my annual skating night with some close friends that truly heals us all, haha.

Buying skates at age 38 was the smartest decision I’ve made in my adult life

Nathan and I spent the past few days near Baltimore in Maryland and went to The B&O Railroad Museum (yes the B&O Railroad from Monopoly), which is a must-visit attraction if you’re nearby and then I had a great crab cake from Alexander’s Tavern.

Fun clouds make a photo a thousand times cooler

I told Nathan that one of his resolutions will (not “should”) be “take more photos of Liz.”

Train museums are the best museums, fight me

Some things that I’m looking forward to this month: looking forward to seeing the Restaurant Week menus (it starts on January 16th), I’m going to start using this first-of-the-month checklist again and I’ll recap my resolutions from last year as well as make new 2024 ones.

If you have any interest in the other monthly roundups of 2023, they can be found here: November, October, September, August, July, June, May, April, March, February and January.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Liz Heather (@lizheather)

January 5, 2022

December Dalliances 2021

by Liz Heather in Best of NYC, Food, Links, Personal, Products, Recipes, Reviews, Television

December was a complete whirlwind but when is it not? I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! Other than getting my booster (!), here’s what else went down last month.

You can find my favourite tweets of the month over here and here.
I recapped how my autumn list went.
I made a list of things I’d like to do this winter.
I compiled my very favourites from the year.
My favourite photos from 2021.
Here are two great things to do when a new year has begun.
I wrote about the Christian Dior exhibit at The Brooklyn Museum (which closes in February).
Did you know that Costco has candles? There’s a four candle box for $20 and they’re only two-wick each, but extremely good quality.
I don’t think I’ve ever had pecan pie before in my life (I don’t even know why, I think I thought it might be too nutty?) but I tried a slice at JG Melon and whoa. Who the hell knew?
I attempted to read Charles Grodin’s memoir and I just… I couldn’t. I don’t mean to show any disrespect, but what a bore. Some people shouldn’t write books, I simply had to softly put it down on Nathan’s desk and walk away.
Incase you need to know the Bob’s Burgers Christmas episodes in one handy chart.

bobs burgers christmas episodes Liz Heather

I am obsessed with the snow drop scent from Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day. I’ve got the all purpose cleaner as well as the dish detergent and I’m so angry I didn’t buy any more to use throughout the year because it’s currently sold out everywhere. And look, the pine one is very good too, but the snow drop one just takes your breath away. Oh god… is this my life now… excitement over cleaning supplies scents?? End me.

Speaking of things that bum me out, I also tried the basil scented Method dish soap and Nathan and I both agree: not for us. The bottle shape is weird and the smell of basil to clean your dishes is confusing.
The best of the holiday recipes that I made over the Christmas break: Mushroom & Leek Bread Pudding, Upstate-Style Roast Beef Sandwiches, Southern Baked Macaroni & Cheese, and Chocolate Pumpkin Pie (I didn’t do the marshmallow part, I went with whipped cream instead although a rum whipped cream would have worked well, too).
The dill pickle chicken nuggets at Burger King in Canada? Shock of all shocks: not good.
But the tim biebs at Tim Hortons? Pretty good!
Food lesson I learned: gruyere does not taste good as a shredded cheese on top of garlic bread, it must be mixed into some sort of mixture to taste good since it’s way too overpowering on its own.
Tried the chicken sandwich at Jollibee and honestly? It’s a definite contender for the Popeye’s one. Really great.
New nails alert!

Liz Heather nails Christmas — Nails For You in Square One, Mississauga, Ontario

I finally made Alison Roman’s Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies and they are fantastic. I had no idea how much I love demerara sugar, it’s that beautiful crunchy sugar that you can find atop the classiest of muffins and it’s too too good.
They have the dairy-free Boursin at Trader Joe’s! And it tastes exactly like the dairy version! Why does this excite me!
My niece Layla introduced me to the brand Native and I’m loving their holiday scented body washes (Sugar Cookie & Candy Cane).
I finally ate at Carbone with my dear friend Paul and it was good! Was it as special as the world seems to think it is? Of course not, but that reality is okay, too. The service was great, the place is beautifully decorated for the holidays and the food was very much adequate. The cons of the place are mainly due to its inaccessibility and food quality for its price. And maybe we should've gotten more meat entrees instead of only sticking with their pastas but I mean... it's an Italian restaurant... shouldn't all of their pastas wow you with a reputation like theirs? The best things we ate were the tortellini al ragu ($34) and the garlic bread (free). Both truly great. The spicy rigatoni vodka ($32) is their most celebrated pasta and honestly it was good but not at all worth the hype. The fettuccini con funghi ($32) was disappointing mainly because of the inclusion of bell peppers... why put bell peppers in such a dish? Such a gross flavour with the creaminess of a soft fettuccine. I really did want to love this place, but there are far superior Italian places in this city (L'Artusi, Lilia, Portale). Take your money elsewhere.

Tortellini al ragu ($34) at Carbone, NYC

Liz Heather Carbone New York City restaurant — Carbone, NYC

I’ve never even heard of shapable soap, but I bought a can from Bath & Body Works (it’s on sale for $5 right now) and it’s so fun to use. Kids especially seem to love it. Apparently they only have them around the holidays but there are four scents to choose from.
I bought this faux leather vest from Zara that I love and have absolutely no idea how to style.
I won a lottery ticket to see Girl From The North Country and it was really good, I sat in the second row from the front and I might be ruined forever because seeing a play that close was unreal and so cool. Also, seeing the Belasco Theatre was a dream. Also, Austin Scott can GET IT.

Had a drink at the Ophelia Lounge and the view is wonderful, but the drinks and food aren’t terribly special.
The candy cane green tea at Trader Joe’s? Award-winning.
Finally ate at Via Carota with Irene on her birthday and it was really good. All the pastas were wonderful, skip the rice balls.

Irene Morales New York City — Beautiful Irene on her birthday at Via Carota, NYC

I made my way to Via Porta (the smaller, casual outpost of the L’Artusi crew) to get some of their jarred sauces and I was a little disappointed unfortunately. It just didn’t taste the same as in the restaurant. I only tried the bolognese one, so maybe the mushroom ragu will be better? I’ll definitely give it one more try, especially since they’re supposed to start selling their fresh pasta in the coming weeks. (Also, the baked goods they’re selling are extremely good.)
My friend Casey kindly invited me to the dress rehearsal of Dear Evan Hansen and I’m so happy to have seen it! But good lord, never again. The music is mostly wonderful and the actors were great, but every other aspect of the production? Yikes. Forever love seeing something on Broadway, though.
My And Just Like That… thoughts (spoilers ahead):
- God, where do I begin…
- In a time when death, sickness and darkness literally surrounds our every waking moment, why in the world would a team of writers want to start out a “beloved” series with the death of a major character? I mean… read the room??? Why start an entirely new season with grief? On what planet does this make sense? Especially when you have these characters living in this post pandemic existence that still isn’t a reality here and now? It’s nonsense.
- Also the cringey nature of every single podcast scene? I have to almost ignore these parts entirely because of how bad they are. It’s as though someone wrote this script and then a team of woke writers came in to make it fit into today’s culture but completely missed the mark and just ended up making this vomit-inducing trash. It’s all just so embarrassing to watch.
- I know this has been said to death, but them even doing this series without Samantha was the wrong decision. The balance is completely off, I don’t care about the new characters, none of this should ever have been made.

We bought this new pineapple print for the living room and I can’t wait until it’s hung up.
I tried the eggplant parm at Cutlets and it was pretty good but nothing to write home about.
In love with the new feathered evening coat I got for Christmas.
I tried the KFC potato chips from Walkers (brought over from the UK) and they were delicious.

I’m sure you saw my new hair, but incase you’re living under a rock. (Note: this is the first time in 36 years I’ve dyed my hair. Why did I want to do it? Mainly because I wanted to stop being afraid of doing it.)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Liz Heather (@lizheather)

Some things that I’m looking forward to this month: seeing The Phantom of the Opera with Nathan (his first time!), I’m excited about the return of Restaurant Week, the Bath & Body Works semi-annual sale has already started incase you like cheap candles (the hot buttered rum one is NUTS), I’m excited about making new resolutions for the year because I’m clinically insane, and I might make the trek to Governor’s Island now that it’s opened for the winter.

If you have any interest in other monthly roundups of 2021, they can be found here: November 2021, October 2021, September 2021, August 2021, July 2021, June 2021, May 2021, April 2021, March 2021, February 2021 & January 2021.