Lunchtime Links for December 16th, 2019

• A Spicy Perspective: Chocolate pots de creme with espresso whipped cream.
• Love and Lemons: French onion soup.
• Two Peas and Their Pod: Triple chip chocolate cookies.
• The Kitchn: Pumpkin sheet cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.
• Averie Cooks: Snickerdoodle mini muffins.

The Block MD in Pike & Rose

I had the chance to check out the new Block located in Pike and Rose over the weekend, and I'm so happy to have another new place close by!  The Block opened before Thanksgiving, and currently has 6 vendors - Mama Mei's, Slice Club, Oppa's, Pokeworks, Snocream, and Rose Ave Bakery, plus a nice bar set up in the upper level of the seating area.  

 

I tried the combination Lo Mein from Mama Mei's and it was very tasty - this will definitely be a go-to when I'm feeling like getting a quick fix of Chinese food!  

 

The pastries from Rose Ave Bakery are really pretty and if you get there early enough, there's a lot of very fun and inventive menu items to try! 

Since there were so many items to choose from in the morning, I got the Coffee milk tea doughnut, Ube s'mores mochi cruller, and matcha chocolate chip cookie.  The Ube s'mores mochi cruller especially had a great chew from the mochi and I really enjoyed it.  I love that they have so many flavor combinations that you can't find everywhere else.s I can't wait to come back and try out more items from them, as well as the other vendors!

The Block MD
Pike & Rose
967 Rose Avenue
North Bethesda, MD 20852

Lunchtime Links for December 13th, 2019

• Averie Cooks: Classic caramel Flan.
• How Sweet Eats: Hot cocoa cake with whipped marshmallow.
• The Kitchn: Pumpkin Alfredo with butter and sage.
• A Spicy Perspective: Chocolate snickerdoodles. 
• Two Peas and Their Pod: Hot cocoa cookies.

Lunchtime Links for December 12th, 2019

• Creme de la Crumb: Chicken avocado salad.
• Dessert for Two: Chocolate thumbprints marshmallow creme.
• The Kitchn: Shrimp and broccoli Lo Mein.
• Cookies and Cups: Chocolate shortbread. 
• Bakerella: Major mini chip cookies.

Lunchtime Links for December 11th, 2019

• Kirbie's Cravings: 4 ingredient apple cake.
• Cookies and Cups: Creme Brulee cookies. 
• The Kitchn: Lasagna.
• A Spicy Perspective: 50 Christmas cookie recipes.
• Creme de la Crumb: Cheesy mashed potato casserole.

Dunkin' Donuts x Homesick Candles

Dunkin' Donuts and candles - what a perfect combination!  As soon as I saw that Homesick was coming out with coffee and doughnut themed candles in a special collaboration wil Dunkin' Donuts, I knew I had to get them! 

There are 3 scents in the collection - Original Blend, Old Fashioned, and Peppermint Mocha.  I got the first two which you can see in the photo - the packaging is too cute!  On cold sniff they smell great and true to the names.  I love coffee-scented candles especially so the Original Blend is really awesome.  I hope they do more collaborations like this in the future!

Lunchtime Links for December 10th, 2019

• Cookies & Cups: Soft gingerbread cookies.
• Two Peas and Their Pod: Garlic mashed potatoes.
• Crazy for Crust: Cake mix sugar cookies.
• Love and Olive Oil: Cream stuffed chocolate cookies 'n cream cookies.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Pumpkin brownie mug cake.
  

  
  

Lunchtime Links for December 9th, 2019

• The Kitchn: Creamy Ricotta pasta with broccoli.
• Joy the Baker: Pumpkin pie with chocolate whip.
• I Heart Naptime: Easy Lasagna. 
• Crazy for Crust: Easy pumpkin bread.
• The Pioneer Woman: Pumpkin dinner rolls.

Mitsuwa NJ Visit - Ramen Santouka and Omusubi Gonbei

I was recently up in Northern NJ for work, and was pretty happy to see that I happened to be staying very close to the Mitsuwa market complex in Edgewater, NJ!  I used to come here a lot with my family when we lived in NJ, but I haven't been in years since we all moved away.  It was so nice getting to stop in and do some shopping like old times!

Ramen Santouka has been at the food court of Mitsuwa for as long as I can remember, so of course I had to grab lunch there before driving back home.  Below is the Tonkotsu Miso ramen - the broth is delicious, and the tender pieces of chashu pork are so good! 

I also picked up these at Omusubi Gonbei, which I don't think was around when I was shopping at Mitsuwa years ago.   They had a bunch of different omusubi flavors so it took some time to decide.  But I decided on the shrimp tempura and pork chashu omusubi.  Both were really tasty and packed with so much flavor.  A place like this would be a great option for a quick snack or meal, depending on how many you get.  I would love for one of these to open in the DC area!

Lunchtime Links for December 3rd, 2019

• Damn Delicious: Pumpkin spice waffles.
• Crazy for Crust: Swiss chocolate cake roll.
• A Spicy Perspective: Tres Leches pie. 
• The Kitchn: Au Gratin potato recipes.
• How Sweet Eats: Frozen pumpkin roll.

Lunchtime Links for December 2nd, 2019

• Style Sweet: S'mores black bottom pumpkin pie.
• Love and Lemons: Oven roasted potatoes.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Japanese milk bread rolls.
• Dessert for Two: Make ahead mashed potatoes.
• I Heart Naptime: Bread pudding.

Georgetown Cupcake - December Flavors

December is one of the best months for fun Georgetown Cupcake flavors - there are so many fun holiday themed cupcakes available now!

- Christmas Cookie: Georgetown Cupcake's twist on the traditional holiday sugar cookie is a Madagascar Bourbon vanilla cupcake infused with almond and cinnamon and red and green crystal sanding sugar, topped with an almond and cinnamon-infused buttercream frosting, red and green crystal sanding sugar, and a fondant Christmas cookie

- Mrs. Claus' Cocoa: Georgetown Cupcake's Valrhona chocolate cupcake, stuffed with marshmallow, and topped with a Callebaut milk chocolate buttercream frosting, Callebaut dark chocolate curls, and a white fondant snowflake

- Chocolate Peppermint: Valrhona chocolate cupcake with a peppermint-infused whipped Callebaut chocolate ganache frosting topped with crushed peppermint

- White Chocolate Peppermint: White Callebaut chocolate peppermint-infused cupcake topped with a candy-cane striped white chocolate peppermint buttercream frosting

- Rudolph Red Velvet: Classic red velvet cupcake with a vanilla cream cheese frosting topped with a fondant red-nosed reindeer

- Reindeer Munch Crunch: Valrhona chocolate cupcake with a peppermint chocolate ganache center, frosted with Callebaut white chocolate peppermint buttercream frosting, and topped with crushed peppermint and a drizzle of peppermint chocolate ganache

- Gingerbread: Gingerbread cupcake topped with a cinnamon-infused cream cheese frosting and a fondant gingerbread man

- Chocolate Egg Nog: Valrhona chocolate egg nog cupcake topped with a (non-alcoholic) rum-infused frosting, a dusting of nutmeg and a light blue fondant snowflake

- Christmas Butterscotch Cheesecake: Callebaut butterscotch cheesecake with a graham cracker crust topped with a butterscotch frosting and fondant holly

- White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake: Georgetown Cupcake's Callebaut white chocolate peppermint cheesecake with an oreo cookie crust, topped with a Callebaut white chocolate peppermint buttercream frosting, crushed peppermint, and a fondant wreath

- Santa's Chocolate Chip: Vanilla chocolate chip cupcake with a whipped Callebaut chocolate frosting topped with a fondant snowflake

-  Sticky Toffee Pudding: Georgetown Cupcake's modern twist on the traditional English sticky toffee pudding - Toffee cupcake with a caramel core, topped with a toffee-infused frosting, and a caramel star drizzle and fondant holly

- Christmas Caramel: Caramel cupcake with a salted caramel-infused buttercream frosting topped with a caramel drizzle and a green fondant Christmas tree

- Holiday Lava Fudge: Valrhona chocolate cupcake with a rich fudge core topped with a vanilla icing, a fudge star drizzle, and a green fondant Christmas tree

- Snowy Vanilla and Buttercream: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake topped with a vanilla buttercream frosting, sparkling sanding sugar, and a shimmering light blue fondant snowflake

- Snowball Coconut: Georgetown Cupcake's holiday inspired coconut cupcake topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting and coconut flakes

- Baileys Holiday Red Velvet: Georgetown Cupcake’s signature Red Velvet cupcake, infused with a non-alcoholic Baileys Irish Cream essence, topped with a gold fondant holiday ornament embossed with Baileys logo