food lately: you know, from the last six months (part 2)

don't worry, there's more:

arugula salad with tomatoes and cheesy croutons 

pasta salad with cantaloupe, arugula, and prosciutto (awesome!)

pasta with eggplant, grilled onions, and tomatoes in cream sauce

one of my favorite pizzas i've ever made with eggplant, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, and pesto

and... the strangest pizza i've ever made with leeks, broccoli, and veggie patties, but not terrible

thyme & parmesan biscuits, fried eggs, and left over dressing 

cheese dip nachos (oh yes!)

a delicious feast of roasted sweet potatoes, greens, caramelized onions, chorizo sausage, goat cheese, and crepes (also one of my favs)

plus some sweet treats: 

brownies

and blue bell! 

xoxo

jake-attack

jake came to visit a couple of weekends ago. He got in late thursday night and then we were off to a solid weekend of fun and eating. 

On friday we took CH by storm and headed to Breadman's for lunch and then met up with the kids for some chill time at Sutton's and then froyo of course.  We did a driving tour of campus and then had dinner with Jonathan, Megan, and Mike at Buns! Later that night we had a night of Cards Against Humanity at the Standard, of course.

Saturday was a Raleigh day.  We started with biscuits from Sunrise and then headed east and grabbed Cook Out for lunch, a first for both Jake and I. 

Cook Out is ridiculous.  I'm not sure if in a good way though.  For a five dollar combo you get a sandwich (burger, chicken sandwich, bbq, etc.) and two sides.  But what can you get for sides? Well many things, including chicken nuggets or a corn dog! They are not even pretending to get  you a vegetable. Really, look at the menu and be disturbed, a little grossed out, and entirely intrigued. 

After gorging ourselves we headed to Big Boss to meet up with Ross, Yuna, and Kelly and enjoy the Brewery tour, which was less of a tour and more of a source for cheap beer (I'm not complaining).  Cool fact, the brewmaster that gave us our tour is the same guy that created Abita Purple Haze! NBD.  He also loves the Razorbacks, check plus. 

Yes, Yuna is Razorback red in this picture:

 

The crates were made in Canada! (just like Yuna)

After spending a few hours in the tap room we went to Beasley's for dinner, where for some reason they gave us twice as many waters as we needed.  Maybe they knew we needed hydration...

Delicious veggie plates for Jonathan and I:

We finished up the day around some bars and food trucks.

Sunday began with Crepes in Carrboro, and then an afternoon in Durham. 

Followed up with lunch at Vespa, and a pilgrimage to Southern Season. We then had a chill night before Jake left early Monday morning. 

It was a lovely visit. It's clearly time for Jake to move here.

Just saying.

xoxo

carolina with the sister

Casi came down to NC for a lovely long weekend.  We had a fabulous time of course, filled with too much booze and food, but that's just what we know how to do...

Jonathan and I picked her up from the airport.  

I was concerned immediately when I noticed they had the same sunglasses. Later their connection would grow stronger, and they would team up to pick on me. 

Ridiculous.   

We then went to gorge ourselves on Indian food, followed by a trip to the Big Boss Brewery for many drinks. 

Later that night, I took Casi to Southern Season, for the first visit.  

She was quite pleased to say the least.

We finished out the day with more drinking (of course) with some of the lovely policy peeps. 

Saturday was a big day in Durham for us.  We had a biscuit from Sunrise, and Casi was in heaven.  We then grabbed Ashley and experienced Gouge Wrestling (see earlier post). 

After that epic morning we headed to Nana Tacos for a feast. When I saw this board I knew what I was getting: Mexican Chocolate Milkshake, Spicy. 

And a bunch of salsa to go with my tacos: 

We finished off Saturday with dinner at the Standard and then a round of Cards Against Humanity. 

The best. 

Sunday, we almost died.  How you asked? Overconsumption of biscuit. 

No, I'm serious.  We went to Weathervane, the restaurant of Southern Season, and had a proper breakfast with a side of biscuit.  

 But this biscuit was the size of my face, literally:

We chilled out for most of Sunday before waddling over to Maple View Farms for some ice cream, and corgi play time!

And then headed to Raleigh for some drinks at Foundation and Landmark, where we saw a strange group of people, which included this man: a man who brings his own pineapple to a bar...

Monday, we wrapped up the trip with biscuit #3 and lunch at the Pit. I then put her on a plane back to NYC with a belly full enough to get her through the winter.

xoxo

food out on the town

Some food in town as of late:

all the salsas at a trip to carrburritos with ashbash and casey

Bacon egg and cheese biscuit from sunrise

shrip and chorizo pizza at the standard with lisa

baby bruschetta from toast with jonathan

all highly recommended

xoxo

it's good fat...

avocado that is. and delicious too. I had seen this a while back and then Casey reminded me how amazing an egg cooked in avocado sounded, so I made it. 

I just sliced off the bottoms, left the skin on, and put the halves in a skillet.

And then I plopped two eggs into the holes.

I had a small avocado and large eggs so some of the whites fell out. 

Conveniently I had some biscuits in the freezer and some beans and corn stir fry in the fridge to go on the bottom. 

Yeah, we were right, friggin' delicious.

xoxo

always delicious

Neal's that is.  I've only ever had their biscuit sandwiches, and they are so good.

xoxo

around town

What have I been eating around town you ask? Or didn't... But really let's go over the basics:

Biscuits. You know I love these. When I was robbed for the second time (yes), Ashbash took me to Neal's for breakfast.  I of course got the bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit.  It was quite yummy.  How does it compare to Sunrise? Well, they are quite different actually.

The insides: Though the egg is better at Sunrise, the bacon is much superior at Neal's, so point for Neal's
The biscuit: Sunrise offers a lardy-buttery flakey, fluffy goodness that fills you up all day long, while Neal's biscuit is like a more typical homemade one, just butter, so not as fluffy, but you don't feel like you are about to bust an artery after eating it and still delic.
Verdict: Neal's wins for an everyday kind of biscuit, while Sunrise remains an occasional reward after a long night...

Speaking of long nights...Oh yeah. After a solid night, the ladies and I have started a bit of routine of recouping at Breadman's. We go all out as you can see.  It's your typical diner experience but the food is better than your typical diner and still cheap.

 Did I mention it's walking distance to my new place? (you know, because of the second break-in)...

xoxo

Things I like about Chapel Hill

So I’ve been meaning to do this for a while.  Graduate school has provided a bit more time for my cooking and crafting habits. I hope you enjoy the products of my free time.

Chapel Hill and I have had some tense moments so I can’t say I love it.  But it has some redeeming qualities, especially in the edible category.   

Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen is, get ready for it, a drive thru biscuit kitchen. OMG! Their biscuits are huge, rich and buttery, yet fluffy; yeah I’m pretty sure there is a crap ton of lard in them, and I like it.   

The best part of these biscuits is that they are actually sandwiches.  Yup, this is a biscuit sandwich team.  I like mine with either Bacon, Egg & Cheese, or Country Ham, Egg & Cheese, but if its close to lunch, I’ll go all the way with the fried chicken biscuit.  Ridiculous and totally worth it.