ATE — November 6th to 13th —Falling Off the Nutella Wagon

Guess who's back in my life? No, it's not a relapse. I bought this jar of Nutella for a brownie recipe and have so far not indulged (other than to lick the spoon, c'mon). I have been clean for three months.

Friends about to have a party.

Look what the eggs, flour, butter and chocolate made.

This is what our hero actually eats: cabbage, quinoa, pumpkin seeds.

Or cabbage and beets.

Hot nutz!

Dope beetz! (seriously though, how clean are these beets?)

This was quite unpleasant. Some guests had requested Polish sausage. Well, I'd mistakenly thought they were an improv troupe (probably because the word Improv is in their name) and asked them to shout out three foods. This hunter sausage from Superior meats might be good on a bun with mustard, but not on its own.

Platter de la sandwiche for FED poker game.

Smoked duck with caramelized onion.

Brisket with coleslaw and mustard.

Pork and yams on challah.

Maybe I have mentioned it before, but I am in love with these cookies. I don't keep sweets around the house anymore, but when a guest asks, "What can I bring for dinner?" I tell them, almond cookies from Soma.

Scooping and ricing potatoes, for croquettes, it occurred to me to jam a still warm potato skin with leftover brisket, pickles and mustard. It was the second best thing I made this week.

Said croquettes: polish sausage, shrimp and thyme (the improv thing).

They were pretty great, actually.

I went to Newmindspace's annual capture the flag game. It wasn't just one of the best times I've had in years, but a special experience that I thought I wouldn't get to have again. I lost my phone, which cost me hundreds of dollars. But money is just money. There will be more of it. I had a great time, didn't get hurt or hurt anyone. That's more important.

Coleslaw.

Hmmm. As long as I've got oil going for croquettes, should I deep-fry shrimp for po boys?

Of course I should.

They are actually dough boys, since I used buns from the Vietnamese sandwich shop. Thought about calling them rich boys, but that seemed excessive.

A little coleslaw and gochujang aioli. The real trick was having guests who could engage with each other, allowing me the patience to get the oil just where I wanted it, so I could properly fry the shrimp without overcooking them.

Without contest, this was the best thing I ate or cooked all week.