Bites of My Life

I mentioned it a little in my last bites post, but I was a little apprehensive of getting back into the swing of things. Not going to lie I had a small case of the January blues getting back to Dallas and into my routine here. After a week of fun evening plans, a busy work week and catching up with friends here, I’m feeling better. Writing this I’m mentally telling myself that I don’t need to get right back into the swing right away. Also writing this is making me sound kind of weepy and depressed when I’m not! January is just a weird month, and I know some of you can agree!

-Serena Wolf IRL at her Dude Diet Dinnertime cookbook tour at my new found favorite place, The Adolphus hotel in downtown Dallas. It was gorgeous.
-Post book signing at Americano, the restaurant at the bottom of The Joule hotel. I have dreamt of this shaved cauliflower salad since and have plans to recreate later this week.
-I got pretty into Melissa Wood Health’s workouts last spring then canceled my membership when I moved to Dallas knowing I wanted to spend my money trying out new studios here. I’ve recently fallen back into MWH’s flows and lifestyle and genuinely loving them so much. I feel great during and after the workouts. At only $9.99 a month, I quantify them as #worthit.
-First timer alert at Neighborhood Services. A big check off my Dallas restaurant list.
-I finished my first book in 2020. 2018 I was a reading machine and then fell off the wagon in 2019. Hoping to read 1 a month this year. I love anything by Emily Giffin and thinking one of hers is going to be next on my list.
-Woke up Saturday to SNOW and a morning with nothing to do (which hasn’t happened in forever). I watched Father of the Bride part II and had breakfast in bed.
-Paella night turned wine night turned game night turned sing-a-longs until midnight. Saturday was a good night in Dallas.
-Packed precious cargo Sunday morning to travel home with for a quick work trip.
-The benefit of my work trips is that work is at home in Oklahoma City, which means time with this little one.

Annie

Bites of My Life

Buckle up, there are 3 weeks of bites in one post. The holidays were great, I want to go back. I’m not quite ready to give back into routine. I mean I am, but I’m not. I’d be lying if I said coming back to Dallas wasn’t hard. I got so comfortable being home and with my family, and best friends. But we are here, I’m back in Dallas, and working to get my mindset wrapped around the new year and decade. It feels good don’t get me wrong. So fingers crossed, prayers being said, and sights set on a great 2020.

-This green juice from Trader Joe’s is my new secret weapon to add something healthy to my diet every day. I stocked up on a bunch during my last week in Dallas as prep before going home to all of the Christmas cookies, popcorn, drinks and treats.
-Cleaned out the freezer with one of my go-to’s, quinoa fried rice.
-If you missed my Brandy Ice recipe, head here now. I loved loved loved seeing how many people made them over the holidays!
-I ditched my car for a few days and challenged myself to walk more even with the weather being colder. I’ve become a recluse since it turned to winter and I loved pretending like I was in New York walking to work, to work out, the grocery store, etc.
-Christmas ice cream and hot cocoa and a Nancy Meyer’s movie to really lean into the season.
-The Amazon headband quad-fecta!! I have, I kid you not, worn one of these headbands every single day since I bought them. Did I mention they are 4 for $14?
-Had a huge group dinner with everyone back in OKC for the holiday. There were over 20 of us and it was so fun to all be back together.
-My parent’s tree (despite it being fake) is unreal! Full of gorgeous new ornaments intertwined with old popsicle stick ornaments we made as kids. The best!
-The Hall’s annual family friend Christmas party is one of all of our’s favorite holiday traditions.

-My little elves decorating cookies for Santa!
-Christmas morning cranberry orange bread and coffee. Not pictured sausage crescent rolls and mimosas.
-Cranberry mules to go with Christmas dinner. We just added cranberry juice and fresh cranberries.
-Meat, potatoes and mom’s Christmas salad. Always a win!
-Christmas night brandy ices, the whole family loved them!
-Headed to Memphis between xmas and NYE for Price and Kenzie’s wedding. Kenzie and I lived together my past two years in OKC. It was a really great weekend being back with two close friends for their wedding!
-Brandy Ice at The Jones only for NYE. I quickly grabbed a glass just to make sure it was up to par. It was :)
-Another Jones NYE party success has me feeling #blessed for this marketing team that developed in 2019!
-I finished out the night with some of my very best friends. AKA no one else I’d rather end one year and enter the next with.

-Greens, salad, vegetables!!! It seemed like so long since I had all of these in one meal. #holidaysgotmelike…
-Gotta get that luck in for 2020, so Hoppin’ John for New Year’s Day lunch.
-Popcorn is the best snack Y or N?
-Some ball pit snuggles and belly laughs with my favorite girls before I headed back to Dallas.
-Avocado toast on Ezekiel bread with tomato, just like my girl Melissa Wood.
-Easy peasy filling meal: sweet potato with almond butter and cinnamon.
-Trying to not eat all the almond butter straight from the container, as well as trying to be more eco and wallet-friendly by creating my own almond butter packs. I pre-portioned out 2 tablespoons in my little salad dressing containers.
-Not doing Whole30 this January and not trying to obsessively diet. I had lots of pizza and this amazing ice cream Saturday and loved every bite.
-Half Baked Harvest’s Indian Coconut Butter Cauliflower for Golden Globe watching and dinner this week!

Here’s to the new decade, new year, new month, new week!

Annie

Annie's Brandy Ice (Dairy Free)

This recipe is a long time coming and one I’ve wanted to develop for a while. If you know me or have been around the blog for a bit, you know my love of Brandy ices. I even wrote a post devoted to the best one in OKC! Brandy Ices are a steakhouse staple in Oklahoma that makes for the perfect “after-dinner drink.” The most well known, and thought by many as “the best” can be found at Juniors.

Outside of Oklahoma, I’ve come to find that brandy ices are near extinct. Brandy Alexanders can be found here and there and espresso martinis are on about every menu these days, but no brandy ices. They barely exist on google I came to find out when I was doing recipe research. Who here has never heard of a brandy ice? You poor things.

A brandy ice is essentially a spiked milkshake. Need I say more. When testing the recipe, I knew I wanted to dry it with dairy-free ice cream. I’ve had many o’ nights at Junior’s that led to a few too many brandy ices. That amount of dairy + alcohol isn’t good for anyone. Much to my surprise, the dairy-free ice cream held up great in the blender. However, use your favorite brand of vanilla ice cream and it will be just as great!

Annie’s Brandy Ice
yields ~6-8 drinks

Ingredients:
1/2 gallon of your favorite vanilla ice cream (for dairy-free I use Nada Moo)
1/2 cup dark creme de cocoa (light is fine too)
1/2 cup brandy
fresh nutmeg

Directions:
In a blender, blend ice cream, creme de cocoa, and brandy until combined. If you have a high-powered blender, blend on it’s lower speeds. If you happen to over-blend and it turns out too thin, pop the mixture back in the freezer for a few minutes to thicken to your desire.

Pour into brandy glasses or martini glasses and top with freshly grated nutmeg.

*If you are making in advance, you can simply blend everything together, pour the mixture back into the pint containers and pop in the freezer. The alcohol will prevent the mixture from fully freezing, so when it’s time to serve, simply pour into glasses.

*This recipe doubles easily for a crowd by

Annie

Bites of My Life

Holiday food, events, movies etc filled last week. Zero complaints here! The same is on this week’s agenda. Only a few days until I’m home for the holidays!!

-Freezer foraging for dinner is my favorite little challenge and something I’ve gotten pretty good at. Frozen Trader Joes turkey burger over greens, with goat cheese sprinkled over the top, and a side of Trader Joes frozen rainbow cauliflower roasted with grainy mustard on the side to dip in!
-Recipe post #1 from last week: Ginger Cookies!
-Recipe post #2: Wintergreen Salad!
-Sugar cookie prep! Did you know an ice cream cone cookie turned upside down makes for the cutest Santa?
-Brought my annual Christmas cookie decorating party to Dallas this year for it’s the third year!
-Lots of holiday fun last week, but a highlight was Olivia’s ornament exchange feat. her Chinese food spread.
-Foxtrot #2 opened in Dallas on Wednesday and this location is even more convenient for me. Foxtrot is a modern market that came from Chicago to Dallas and it’s one of my favorite places to meet for coffee and get work done. I tried their avocado toast for the first time and it was so good.
-A hint at tomorrow’s recipe post ;))))
-Love love loooooved Drake’s! Dallas’ new hot spot dining destination! The food, the vibe, the service, everything was 100!
-Our London girl was in town so sushi and tons of girl talk were necessary!
-Found the real Santacon in a University Park’s neighbor’s front yard! If you are in Dallas you have to do a drive-by! We went after dinner Saturday and there were 4+ party buses with groups of people driving by looking at lights!
-Ended the week with a cooking class at Tre Wilcox school. Instead of a traditional cooking class, it was a Chopped style competition, something I’ve always wanted to do. We were split into 4 groups, had to create a salmon and steak dish and include snap peas, fingerling potatoes, ketchup and jalapeño in each dish. My team won!!

Wintergreen Salad

I got the inspiration to make this salad from an airport. Yes, an airport. It’s based on a salad from Modern Market I had in the Denver Airport a few months ago. I had never heard of Modern Market, but after an indulgent weekend in Vail for my friend Trinian’s bachelorette party, it was an airport restaurant with salads on the menu, and a salad was necessary.

The salad exceeded expectations, I knew I had to recreate it. With the name Wintergreen Salad, I’ve been waiting until the holidays to get this post together. It’s hearty with the roasted fingerlings, but light with the citrus basil vinegarette. It also includes one of my favorite salad ingredients - dates!

Make it for lunch, make it for dinner, make it as a side for your Christmas dinner, I love love love this salad!

Wintergreen Salad adapted from Modern Market
Yields 6-8 for a side salad, 3-4 as an entree

Ingredients:
5 oz pre-washed box of mixed greens
3/4 lb. fingerling potatoes
1/4 cup green onions, chopped on a bias (2 stems)
1/2 cup dates, pitted and chopped (about 8 large dates)
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted
4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
2 medium Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
1 bunch of fresh basil
large pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:
Start by roasting your potatoes. Slice them in half lengthwise and widthwise. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until they tender.

While the potatoes are roasting, toast your walnuts in a saute pan over medium heat. Shake the nuts around in the pan to toast evenly, about 5 minutes. Don’t take your eye off of then, nuts can burn very quickly. Take off the heat and set aside.

Then, make the dressing. Combine all of the ingredients in a small food processor or blender until the basil is finely chopped. Add more salt and pepper to taste if needed.

To assemble, toss the greens with the goat cheese, walnuts, dates, apples, roasted potatoes and enough dressing to your liking. There will likely be leftover dressing! Top with chopped green onion and some fresh cracked black pepper.

*would be great with chicken or roasted salmon if serving as an entree

Annie