Welcome to a new year and a new way to roundup what I eat. I was going a little crazy sharing everything I ate each day. Some days I’m sick and don’t eat. Some days I just eat a bunch of uninteresting junk. Some days though are worth talking about. So my goal is to do this month by month and only share what is worth discussing. Hopefully it will be more meaningful for you and less work for me. Let me know.
January 1, 2024
So I know I’m going to write less, but my first day of the new year was eventful. I started the year with bacon and eggs, along with a dinner roll that I slathered with raspberry preserves. After that, I made one of my frozen Imo’s pizzas. Sadly it was shattered while frozen, but I put it together enough to cook it. Really the only issue was it was so badly broken I couldn’t quite cut it into squares.
I also made dessert. It’s not something I do often, but I had a little leftover banana bread and two leftover cinnamon rolls. I cubed it all, let them get stale, and then soaked them in a custard made from 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 cup milk, and an egg. I also added sliced banana and some brown sugar. It turned out pretty good, enough that I would do it again.
January 3
I was back at work today and had lunch at DeNo’s. I got a gift certificate for Christmas so I used that to buy a chicken kabob sub and some chips. I think that is my favorite sandwich they make. Before bed I opened another Christmas present, chocolates from Phillips Chocolates. We will see if the box lasts the month.
January 4
I stopped at The Concord Cheese Shop on my way home from work. I got two pieces of cheese, Le Secret de Compostelle and Beppie. I also got a baguette from Bread Obsession. I have not found a better one in Boston. Then, I got some of their Thai Chicken Salad. I made a charcuterie board adding some fig jam and cornichons left over from New Year’s. We had a half bottle of Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc. Everything was delicious.
January 6
We went to Gibbet Hill for dinner tonight to celebrate Ryleigh’s birthday and graduation. I had the crab dip, an old favorite that Kelly and I used to get. I got the duck which was very good, particularly the roasted onions. I also shared a side of brussels sprouts with Michael. And of course I had a piece of cornbread.
January 7
I had plans for a big dinner, but ended up going simple and making some chicken and rice. It turned out delicious so here it is.
January 9
I had some elk in the freezer which I thawed out thinking I was going to make it for dinner Sunday night, but I ended up holding off until today. I did a simple pan sear and then made gravy with the drippings and some beef stock. I also made mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts. I tried adding cranberry-orange juice to the brussels, but most of it soaked into the shallots I cooked with them. They were still good. For wine we had a bottle of 2020 Boatman Ridge Zinfandel.
January 10
Tonight my son asked if we could go to Karma for dinner. He actually asked two nights ago and I told him no, but tonight I agreed. We started with the tuna taco, what I consider their signature dish. It’s prepared table side, and tonight it was excellent. Then at Amanda’s suggestion, we tried the Happy Family which was very good. Then, because I needed something else we got an order of duck bao. I had a mai tai and some peach soju. I thought peach was ok, but I still prefer grapefruit.
January 11
I had a late dinner tonight. Kelly brought home pizza from Dino’s. Not that DeNo’s the other one. They changed the Italian pizza since the last time we had it. It used to have globs of ricotta and now it is drizzled on. It was still really good. I don’t know how, but I only ate three pieces. I’m just sitting here wondering if I should add it to my map or not since I ate their food but didn’t go there. Oh what to do?
January 12
I had leftover beef broth and I didn’t know what to do with it. I decided I would try to make French onion soup. It turned out pretty good for a first try. I cooked the onions for two hours and then another hour with wine and then beef stock. I topped it with toasted baguette and some shredded Le Secret de Compostelle. I will keep practicing this one and hopefully share the recipe soon.
January 14
We went out to dinner tonight. I was going to smoke, but the weather didn’t cooperate. We decided on Crossroads. I haven’t been there in years. We started with the Shrimp Scampi en Baguette which we used to get. The flavor was good, but the shrimp could have been better. Then I got a French Dip. It was disappointing that it didn’t have cheese or onions on it, just beef on bread. Overall the meal was a little disappointing. For dessert we went to Row 34. I got the butterscotch pudding and of course that was good. So we ended on a high note.
January 15
I had planned to use my smoker yesterday but the weather didn’t cooperate. Tonight I made dinner for my in-laws. I smoked two pork tenderloins, two spicy Italian sausages, and a sweet onion. I also made a salad and potato salad. It was delicious.
January 17
First Ken’s of the year. Buffalo fingers and mozzarella sticks were good, but the burger wasn’t.
January 18
Kelly hasn’t been feeling good so I made her some chicken noodle soup tonight. It turned out pretty good.
January 19
We hadn’t gone to The Smoke Shop BBQ in a while because frankly we’ve been a little disappointed on our last few visits. Tonight was a much better experience. First the hot wings were actually hot, really hot. That was great because we have been avoiding the Hot as Cluck Sliders lately because they have been anything but hot. I decided to get the ribs with mashed potatoes and brussels. Both of the sides were amazing. The ribs were good too and a half rack has me stuffed. To drink I got an old fashioned followed by a Collins with a gin that’s new to me, GlenPharmer Brookdale Gin. It’s a Massachusetts gin so now I need to go take a trip to their distillery. All in all a very fun evening.
January 23
I’ve been sick for a few days and still not feeling well. I asked my wife to pick up a pizza from New London on her way home. I got an old favorite, chicken and ham. I also put some hot sauce on there. Thomas even had a slice and he generally won’t eat a pizza with toppings.
January 24
I’m still not feeling great so I went to the store to get some soup on my way home, and they were already putting the soup away. So I grabbed some ground beef and made burgers. They weren’t my best but they were still pretty good.
January 25
I went to Wilson Farm today to get some food to cook a real meal. Being sick I hadn’t cooked in a long time. I got sausage to make tacos and duck for Saturday night. Pig Rock makes really good chipotle-lime chicken sausage and I cooked it up with onion and jalapenos. I also made some mexican rice.
January 26
We are working on finding a new Chinese place now that Chang An has closed. Our first attempt was not very successful but today we did a little better by going to Beijing in Lexington. We started with crab rangoon which were not very good and I would avoid. But then we got Peking Duck which was good, even if it was served with tortillas. And last we got spicy cabbage which was excellent and I would absolutely get again. It also went really good with the duck. I had a mai tia, which was decent. I don’t know that this will be our usual Chinese place, but it is much better than Blue Fuji.
January 27
We had lunch/dinner at The Druid. Last time I got the lamb burger which was great, but it was a special so I had to choose something else today. I went with the sausage, beans, and mash. I thought for sure the sausage was going to be my favorite part but it was the beans. We also had some drinks and listened to a live Irish band. A great time and great food.
January 29
I made duck tonight. I have a very simple but effective method where I sear it skin side down for about seven minutes and then roast it in the oven for another ten, depending on the size of the duck breast. It turned out perfectly today. It usually does. I also made some mashed potatoes. But the real star of the dinner was brussels sprouts with balsamic, honey, and parmesan that I cooked in duck fat. They were amazing!
January 31
I met up with Michael at Fogo de Chao. I had grilled tenderloin skewers with a very nice chimichurri sauce. Then we shared some chicken sliders that weren’t great and a huge plate of pork belly, sausage, and pickled onions that was.
Best of the month
The best meal that I made was duck with brussels sprouts, followed closely by my first attempt at french onion soup. My elk, banana bread pudding, and smoked dinner all turned out really great too.
The best meal I ate in a restaurant was sausage, beans, and mash at The Druid. It was as much about the food as the atmosphere. I really liked the duck at Gibbet Hill, the cabbage at Beijing, and the tuna taco at Karma. It was also really good to get spicy wings at The Smoke Shop after several visits where things weren’t as spicy as they should have been.
Links:
Imo’s Pizza
DeNo’s Pizza & Subs
Le Secret de Compostelle
Beppie
Gibbet Hill Grill
Karma
Dino’s Kouzina
Row 34
Ken’s NY Deli
The Smoke Shop BBQ
New London
The Druid
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Concord Culinary Lyceum 
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