Lunchtime Links for December 17th, 2018

• The Kitchn: Creamy tomato pasta.
• Dessert for Two: Small batch cinnamon rolls. 
• My Baking Addiction: Peanut butter blossoms.
• Creme de la Crumb: Cookie butter chocolate chip cookies. 
• Brown Eyed Baker: Peanut butter cup cookies.

Canopy by Hilton - Pike & Rose

Last Friday evening, a group of us were invited to the Canopy by Hilton hotel in Pike & Rose for an event that included a tour of the hotel and a chance to try out some of their food and drink selections that they offer.  I like that the hotel's focused on both the hotel guests and the local residents, and fits in really well with the rest of the neighborhood.  

We started with some mulled cider in the lobby area, which is actually on the third floor.  The street entrance opens up to a large, open staircase as well as elevators to the lobby.  The lobby flows right into the common area, which includes a bar and dining room alongside a lot of open seating.  I love this huge chandelier that is made up of copies of National Geographic magazine! 

 

We then were taken around for a tour of the hotel, including one of the one bedroom suites.  Light wood and grey is the majority of my condo interior, so naturally I really like the hotel rooms in here, haha.  The bathroom in the suite is very spacious with space for everything - I wish my bathroom looked like this!  I also love the socks that come in every room on the nightstands.  Because the rooms are concrete with rugs place around the rooms, it's a nice cozy touch for the guests!  There are also glass bottles and drinking glasses in every room, which can be filled with the filtered water dispensers found by the elevators on every floor.  I really like the little touches like this - I like having water when I stay in hotels but don't want to pay for overpriced water bottles every time. 

 

 

After the tour we were treated to dinner to get a taste of the food and drinks that the hotel offers - I loved the semi-private space we ate in, with plenty of seating and lots of windows to look down at the holiday lights on the streets below.  I'm a sucker for tiny cute foods, and they had a wide variety of little dishes for us to try in addition to the main menu items - which were beef tenderloin, garlic roasted potatoes, and butternut squash.  I especially liked the salmon Rillettes in the tiny dishes and the mini fish tacos.  Plenty of cocktails and macarons rounded out the meal - the macarons served as both dessert and decor along with the sparkly holiday decorations in the room.  

 

 

I'm very happy I got a chance to check out what the hotel offers, especially as someone that lives nearby.  It wouldn't have really crossed my mind to come here that often, since I live close and wouldn't be staying over.  It's a great space for drinks or dinner if you're in the area, and a perfect fit for the Pike & Rose neighborhood!


Canopy by Hilton Washington DC - Bethesda North
940 Rose Avenue
North Bethesda, MD 20852 


Note: I was invited to the Canopy Hilton for the event but was not paid for this post.

Lunchtime Links for December 14th, 2018

• The Kitchn: 10 most popular pasta recipes of 2018.
• Serious Eats: Quick gingerbread cookies. 
• Damn Delicious: Creamy taco shells.
• Handle the Heat: Mocha cookies.
• Kirbie's Cravings: No bake Oreo cheesecake.

Lunchtime Links for December 13th, 2018

• I Heart Naptime: Soft sugar cookies.
• The Kitchn: Red velvet cookies.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Mapo tofu. 
• Two Peas and Their Pod: Oreo balls.
• Crazy for Crust: Tiramisu cake roll.

Lunchtime Links for December 12th, 2018

• Brown Eyed Baker: Peanut butter fudge.
• The Kitchn: Gooey butter cookies.
• Damn Delicious: Stovetop bacon creamed corn.
• I Heart Naptime: Butter cookies.
• The Cozy Apron: Prime rib.

Lunchtime Links for December 11th, 2018

• Two Peas and Their Pod: Peanut butter blossoms.
• Seasons and Suppers: Baked spaghetti and meatballs. 
• My Baking Addiction: Corn casserole.
• Cookies and Cups: Black and white cookies.
• How Sweet Eats: Lasagna Bolognese.

Lunchtime Links for December 10th, 2018

• Creme de la Crumb: Cinnamon swirl monkey bread.
• Oh Sweet Basil: Oven braised short ribs.
• Cookies and Cups: Gingersnap cookies.
• Averie Cooks: Fluffernutter cookies.
• My Baking Addiction: Hot cocoa cheesecake.

The Kitchn - Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

I normally keep a few boxes of cake mix in my pantry, especially when they go on sale at the store.  They're good to have around for quick baked goods, and are very versatile for lots of recipes!  I saw this recipe for chocolate cake mix cookies from The Kitchn and thought it'd be a perfect base for cookies to bring to a work potluck. 

The recipe is super simple and very easy to make with what you have on hand!  Instead of the powdered sugar coating, I added Reese's peanut butter chips to the chocolate cake mix dough.  I love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, so I'm hopeful that these will be a hit at the potluck as well. 

Georgetown Cupcake - Coffee Toffee + Chocolate Cubed Cupcakes

I recently tried the Coffee Toffee cupcake from Georgetown Cupcake, just before the menu switched over to the holiday flavors.  I also made it in time to get the free flavor as well - the Chocolate Cubed - which was a nice little bonus!

The Coffee Toffee cupcake consists of a "Coffee cupcake infused with crushed toffee and topped with a mocha frosting and crushed toffee".  In other words, if you like either of the main flavors, you will love this cupcake!  I especially loved the mocha frosting - so creamy and really delicious! The toffee bits were in both the cake and the frosting, so it was a great bit of texture in every bite.  I hope they bring this one back, maybe with other crushed candy combinations too.

Lunchtime Links for December 4th, 2018

• Picky Palate: Malted Oreo chocolate chip cookies.
• Serious Eats: Ramen noodles at home. 
• The Kitchn: Oreo bark recipes.
• My Baking Addiction: Snickerdoodle cookies. 
• Cookies and Cups: Cookies and cream marshmallow bars.

Lunchtime Links for December 3rd, 2018

• Cookies and Cups: Peanut butter balls.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Chocolate chip shortbread cookies.
• Dessert for Two: Christmas sugar cookie cut-outs.
• Averie Cooks: Glazed pound cake.
• The Kitchn: Mini cheesecakes.

ZooLights at the Smithsonian's National Zoo

Last night was a great night to check out the Zoolights event at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in DC - it was pretty warm, and more importantly not raining like it had been all Saturday!  As expected it was very crowded with a lot of families, but it's still easy to get around since the path around the zoo is pretty straightforward for the Zoolights nights.  If you're in the DC area be sure to stop by for this free event between 5pm - 9pm until January 1st!