Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and lite Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and literally. Sometimes we don’t have to look very far and it finds us. ☀️
It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasand It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasandwichshoppe when a friend texted me a screenshot of their cheese butter. Up until last week I had never even heard of cheese butter but just two days later, I’m driving an hour round trip to get some. 😂 I was never one to succumb to peer pressure (I didn’t have my first drink until I was 21!), but when it comes to food finds, I am very easily intrigued. After all, that’s how I’ve discovered some of my favorite bites over the years … lardo from @butlerandtheboard, a spicy Italian sausage, and my love of chicharron. If you haven’t visited Mike’s in Nutley, it’s worth a visit. While there, I also got a small tray of meatballs (a bargain at $10!) and a delicious mortadella sandwich that is worth a round trip. ✨
The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨
A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Press
  • Writing
  • Contact

Sweetnicks

Food and Life

Bobby Flay Burger Cook-Off with Burgers, Fries and Shakes

August 23, 2010 · Narrative

Napa Valley Burger


The week after we visited Bobby Flay’s Burger Palace, we couldn’t get the burgers out of our mind.  I happened to have his burger cookbook in my collection, and a plan quickly formulated to have a Bobby Flay Burger Cook-Off.  Anything to have his Napa Valley burger again.

After leafing through the recipes in the cookbook, seriously each burger recipe looks better than the next.  Oh those toppings!  And then the onion straws.  And the milkshakes.  It was all we could do to cut the menu off where we did.  Beth’s commitment to our plan included buying a Cool Daddy to make the onion straws – such dedication to our cause!

We ended up going with the Napa Valley Burgers, the Cheyenne Burgers, Onion Straws, and Strawberry Milk Shakes, all from the cookbook.  Rounding out the meal were hot dogs for the kids, sweet potato fries, chips and guacamole and homemade coleslaw.  Oh yes, and, of course, grown-up drinks.

1.  The Burgers.  Even with toppings galore, the recipes are basic, easy to follow and deliver.  The Napa Valley burgers tasted as good as they did in the restaurant, and I love the warm goat cheese that sits on top of the ground beef.  The Cheyenne Burgers are topped with Cheddar, homemade Barbecue Sauce and the Onion Straws.  My mouth is seriously watering just thinking about the Onion Straws again.

Cheyenne Burger Getting Dressed

Love Madeline’s expression in this one. I have no idea what she was looking at that was so darn awe-inspiring.

2.  Those Onion Straws.  Using only one onion, the recipe made a crazy amount.  And that’s a good thing, because they are addictingly good.  Whether topping the burger or eaten by themselves, you can’t go wrong.  I bet they’d be fab dunked in a little Ranch sauce as well.  It makes me want a fryer too, but I’m going to be brave.  And just hope Beth puts hers to work again.

Recipe Worth Making

Onion Straw Station

Onion Straws

3.  The Milk Shakes.  Bobby’s recipes for the shakes use a fruit base that you make by simmering fruit for a bit.  I’m not a big milk shake girl to begin with, but I could definitely change my tune after tasting the Strawberry one.  It tasted like warm strawberry jam through and through, delivering a clear flavor that just couldn’t be beat.

Dogs for the Littles

If you like Bobby Flay, or burgers, pick up the cookbook.  There are serious taste-bud delights from cover to cover.

Project 365
August 23, 2010, Photos #149, #150, #151 and #152

Exhibit A

When I caught a glimpse of the inside of Beth and Roger’s kitchen cabinets, I had to take a picture. These might be the best organized cabinets I’ve ever seen.

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Exhibit D

…

Read More

Review: Bobby’s Burger Palace

July 28, 2010 · Narrative

Bobby's Burger Palace

My friend Beth has been trying to get me to go to Bobby’s Burger Palace for months now.  Bobby as in Bobby Flay.  Although I wanted to go, usually we ended up somewhere a little more local, but this past Saturday, our whole day was planned around a burger lunch with Bobby.

As I was plotting out our route (since it also included a stop at a new cupcake spot as well), I quickly glanced at the reviews for the burger place.  Not a good idea.  There were many that totally panned the place, with a lot of them mentioning the long wait.  Given the set-up of the restaurant, knowing that there’s not really a good spot to wait, and the fact that we were going with the kids, I started to second-guess going there.  Especially on a Saturday.  At lunchtime.  But I needn’t have worried.

Interior Decor

Breaking It Down

When we got there, we were 7th in line, which gave us a few minutes to look at the wall-mounted menu and decide what we wanted.  I was torn between a few different burgers… Bleu Cheese is always my go-to, but then I saw one with Goat Cheese … and then the burger with Avocado Relish.  What’s a girl to do?  Order two and share!  Beth got one with Cheddar, tomatoes and Avocado Relish, and I got the Napa Valley one with warm Goat Cheese and Meyer Lemon Sauce.  OMG.  Just sayin’.  If only I could have convinced Nick to get the Bleu Cheese and Bacon Burger, I could have tasted all three.  But no.  My kid came to a burger place and ordered a salad.  I can’t be mad about that, but you know… it just gives us another excuse to go back.

Nick's Salad


For Madeline, I ordered a grilled cheese kids’ meal, thinking it was the easiest thing for her to eat (read: least messy).  As an aside, the grilled cheese kids’ meal is not something on their menu (they only have a cheeseburger kids meal listed), but ask, and smile, and ye shall receive.

Cuteness

And fries.  Of course, fries.  Regular fries.  Sweet potato fries.  Assorted dipping sauces.  I do one “reward meal” a week and between the cheese, the burger, the fries, I was doing it right last week.  The fries are my favorite kind, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.  Salted just right.  They come in these cute little tins.  So cute, I asked about them.  They are cake baking pans (from Allied Metal Spinning).  Fun idea, right?

…

Read More

Storytelling…
Through photos.
Words. And recipes.

Archives

Categories

Instagram

Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and lite Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and literally. Sometimes we don’t have to look very far and it finds us. ☀️
It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasand It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasandwichshoppe when a friend texted me a screenshot of their cheese butter. Up until last week I had never even heard of cheese butter but just two days later, I’m driving an hour round trip to get some. 😂 I was never one to succumb to peer pressure (I didn’t have my first drink until I was 21!), but when it comes to food finds, I am very easily intrigued. After all, that’s how I’ve discovered some of my favorite bites over the years … lardo from @butlerandtheboard, a spicy Italian sausage, and my love of chicharron. If you haven’t visited Mike’s in Nutley, it’s worth a visit. While there, I also got a small tray of meatballs (a bargain at $10!) and a delicious mortadella sandwich that is worth a round trip. ✨
The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨

Pinterest

Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and lite Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and literally. Sometimes we don’t have to look very far and it finds us. ☀️
It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasand It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasandwichshoppe when a friend texted me a screenshot of their cheese butter. Up until last week I had never even heard of cheese butter but just two days later, I’m driving an hour round trip to get some. 😂 I was never one to succumb to peer pressure (I didn’t have my first drink until I was 21!), but when it comes to food finds, I am very easily intrigued. After all, that’s how I’ve discovered some of my favorite bites over the years … lardo from @butlerandtheboard, a spicy Italian sausage, and my love of chicharron. If you haven’t visited Mike’s in Nutley, it’s worth a visit. While there, I also got a small tray of meatballs (a bargain at $10!) and a delicious mortadella sandwich that is worth a round trip. ✨
The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨
A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻

Copyright © 2023 Sweetnicks · Theme by Vicki Harrison Design