Lunchtime Links for January 4th, 2013

• BGSK: Chocolate mousse pie. 
• Table for Two: Chicken noodle soup. 
• Picky Palate: Pepperoni pizza mac and cheese. 
• The Kitchn: Meyer lemon spotlight. 
• The Pioneer Woman: Perfect potato soup. 

Shake Shack - January Custard Calendar

It's time for a new month of Shake Shack custards, woo!

Monday: Pretz-idential Caramel
Tuesday: Mud Pie
Wednesday: Chocolate Hazelnut
Thursday: Mom's Coconut Cake
Friday: Thin Mint
Saturday: Red Velvet
Sunday: Cinnamon Cream Cheese

A few repeats from past months, but I am definitely excited to try the Pretz-idential Caramel and Cinnamon Cream Cheese custards!

Lunchtime Links for January 3rd, 2013

• BGSK: Hot blue cheese dip with sweet potato chips.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Matcha shortbread cookies.
• Picky Palate: Sausage and potato bake. 
• Cookies & Cups: Hot chocolate Bundt cake. 
• How Sweet It Is: Crockpot pulled pork and beer cheese grilled cheese sandwiches. 

Graffiato - Pumpkin Tortellini + DC Brau Can-glass

When my best friend I was visiting back late last year, we had a wonderful dinner at Graffiato.  One of the seasonal dishes that was on the menu was this pumpkin tortellini below.  These were pillowy puffs of pasta and pumpkin, with chopped hazelnuts scattered through as well.  Without the hazelnuts, the pasta was almost a little too soft, but the pumpkin flavor was still delicious.

During our dinner, I also enjoyed the design of this DC Brau can-glass.  Maybe there's a real name for this but to me it'll be a can-glass, haha.  It was just the right amount of "sit-down dinner classy" + "why can't I just drink from the can?" :o)

Lunchtime Links for January 2nd, 2013

• Serious Eats: Shake Shack's chocolate bar. 
• Picky Palate: Peanut butter Snickers brownie skillet. 
• A Kitchen Addiction: Gingerbread cinnamon rolls. 
• Cookies & Cups: Peanut butter banana fudge. 
• Closet Cooking: Cookies and cream popcorn. 

Godiva Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffle

So, I didn't plan this out very well, but I figured it was better late than never to get my "pumpkin" posts on here.  What can I say, a lot more fun and food got in the way during the fall/winter, haha.

I got this Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffle as part of the monthly free chocolate program at Godiva, just for being a member of the free Godiva club.  The bright orange color was a little off-putting, but of course I had to try out a pumpkin "chocolate".

Luckily, the actual taste of this truffle was far from off-putting :o)  As you can see from this cross-section, there's a layer of pumpkin filling as well as a layer of cheesecake filling, which makes for a great combination of flavors.  It really was like a bite-size pumpkin cheesecake, a perfect little bite for any pumpkin lover.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2013 everyone!  Here's to another year of good food and fun times!

If you're looking for something else to do with the bottle of bubbly besides drinking it, here's a great recipe from Georgetown Cupcake for Strawberry Champagne Sparkler Cupcakes - so cute and delicious!

On a less fun note, I guess I don't have much more time to come up with resolutions for this year, huh?  If anyone has any good resolutions, please share!