The Cherry On Top: 12/31/23

Happy Sunday & welcome back to The Cherry On Top, a weekly roundup of the best parts of my week. This week home in Maryland consisted of a ton of cooking, family games, quality time, and more.

Favorite thing I cooked: Chicken Marsala

Chicken marsala is a dish that’s close to my heart. My mom used to cook it often so it has a sort of nostalgic feel and it’s just so warming and savory. It only takes a few ingredients to make it all come together, and if you’re someone who might be new to cooking chicken, this dish is an easy place to start. We paired ours with parsley & butter egg noodles and roasted string beans, and I’m happy to report that everyone at the table was in the clean plate club.

Favorite activity: 1000 piece puzzle with my mom & sister

In this household we love a puzzle. During the start of covid it became one of our favorite activities to do together and that feeling has definitely stuck around. This puzzle was composed of all old, classic books and it was fun to recognize books that we’ve enjoyed and some that we haven’t read yet. We started the puzzle on Monday night and on Tuesday morning it was finished. Puzzles really are a great way to spend time together and disconnect from technology for a little while, and the perfect thing for a cozy winter night.

Favorite thing I ate: Steak with kale salad

I rarely cook steak for myself or order it at a restaurant, so I tend to crave it when I’m home and my dad is in the role of head chef. He made this perfectly cooked grilled New York Strip Steak, and we paired it with my mom’s kale salad and roasted cauliflower. Earlier that day I had made some pickled shallots and these went so well on the kale salad. The combination of it all together was the best bite and it was the most satisfying meal of the week for me.

Favorite new product: Homemade honey mustard

My favorite new find/new product of the week has to be this homemade honey mustard. We had mustard seeds from our trip to Beaune in 2022 lying around the pantry and some extra honey from the last harvest. I soaked the mustard seeds overnight with peppercorns in water, and once they were ready just strained them and added them to the food processor. I blended it with vinegar, garlic powder, honey, brown sugar, and salt. It’s the perfect addition to a sandwich, salad dressing, or glaze for a protein (it would be great on grilled salmon). We saved an old French dijon jar to store this new mustard in and I love the look of it!

Thanks for stopping by The Flour Child! Wishing you a week with several moments that feel like the cherry on top 🍒 See you next Sunday.