All I Want For Christmas...

is Covid & some damn sugar. Santa already brought us one of the two.

Disclaimer right off the bat: I’m not making light of Covid, we’re very grateful ours is mild in comparison.

Well, we’ve joined the club! It seemed to be inevitable right now. Our household tested positive earlier in the week and we’re hunkered down. The tough thing really isn't the flu like symptoms, it’s the flu like symptoms while running a makeshift daycare. Dean seems to have gotten out unscathed, he’s in perfectly good health. And then to add salt into the wound, I’m still on my gestational diabetes diet. So no noodles in my chicken soup and no sweets whatsoever - real comforting! But, we’re taking it in stride. If we had to get Covid, now's not a terrible time. We’re both off work and more time at home to work on getting my blood sugar numbers down. Which is proving to take some serious laser focus. 

Spinach Salad With Warm Bacon Dressing

Sounds so good right? It is so so so delicious. A great photo of it , in all its glory is at the top of the newsletter. And then a less glamorous shot of our dinner last night above- roasted beets added and soft boiled eggs held back. The miraculous part is that it’s extremely low in carbs. I made this with our new favorite: Dry Brined Chicken Thighs. Also, so simple: Season bone-in chicken VERY generously with salt and halved garlic cloves > let that sit in the fridge for 2 days > roast on a foil lined sheet pan @ 400° with olive oil for 35-45 minutes. Best freaking chicken ever. The texture is kind of like duck confit. Back to the salad… It’s really filling and one of my favorite ways to eat a salad - it makes you want to keep eating the greens. I have a reel on my instagram @oliviamackmccool if you want to see how easy it is in action. Here’s the recipe for 2 servings:

• 4 slices of thick cut bacon, cut into lardons a.k.a ¼” thick strips

• 1 small shallot, sliced

• 2 tablespoons of red wine or apple cider vinegar 

• 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (this amount depends on how much fat your bacon renders out)

• 6 ounces (this is very approximate, think about half the box) organic baby spinach

• 2 hard (or soft!) boiled eggs, sliced

• A hunk of blue cheese, crumbled

• Freshly ground black pepper

Here’s How:

1. Cook the bacon on medium low heat in a small skillet until all the fat has rendered out and the bacon is crispy. 

2. Turn off the heat and add the sliced shallot, vinegar and olive oil (if using). If your bacon rendered out a ton of fat you may not need much oil and vice a versa. Season with a pinch of salt. 

3. Place your spinach in either a big serving bowl or individual bowls. Top with the still slightly warm bacon dressing, the eggs, blue cheese and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. 

Almond, Chocolate & Orange Meringue Cookies

I made these cookie a while ago when I was developing a fresh pasta recipe. The fresh pasta dough required a lot of egg yolks, so I was looking for something to do with the whites. You may already have all these ingredients in your pantry - so you could whip these up in time for the big day - or if you plan to bring something to someone’s house this week. They are gluten free by default and the result is a light and chewy cookie that doesn’t feel super heavy. It’s a really nice addition to a cookie platter or box because the appearance and texture is really different from your other holiday cookies. If almond extract isn’t in your pantry, vanilla would work. It’s the combination of chocolate and orange that makes these so special. Subscribers will receive this recipe later today. 

What I’m Loving This Week:

1. Boursin Cheese: A major throwback for some of us. With the doctors orders for constant snacking (low carb snack of course), I’ve been hitting the cheese dept. hard. Trader Joes sells the Garlic Herb one for $3.99 on a consistent basis and I can attest to it’s deliciousness even on a slice of cucumber. Stirred into soft scrambled eggs is another delightful application.

2. Searching For Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok: This is what I’m reading right now and I’m really liking it. It’s part mystery (the title gives that part away) and part complicated family story. It takes place half in Queens and half in The Netherlands. My favorite kind of books are well written mystery books. If anyone has any other titles they love that fall into this category PLEASE leave a comment, I’d love to hear! 

3. My low carb/ no sugar dessert: Love is a strong word, I’d say I’m fairly happy with this. I’d really like a bowl of ice cream but this is about as sweet and indulgent as my blood sugar numbers will let me go. Whipped organic heavy cream with vanilla extract + mashed raspberries + almond butter + cinnamon all layered in a glass. Any riff on this (add some maple syrup to yours if you can) would make a delightful and easy make ahead dessert.

Last Minute Gift Idea!

I love the little community we’ve built here and I hope you get as much out of each week as I do. If you’ve got a loved one who is into cooking and you think they would enjoy this newsletter, you can gift a subscription to them easily and instantly! Just click the button below. Along with their subscription, they’ll gain instant access to all previous newsletter and subscriber-only recipes. Might just be the easiest holiday shopping you’ve done thus far!

If you’re celebrating tomorrow, Merry Christmas! We’re going to make the most out of it given the circumstances. My husband’s dream of having Chinese food on Christmas Eve may just come true. For Christmas Day I have Swedish Meatballs, Potato & Cauliflower Mash, Beet & Apple Salad, and Dilled Cucumbers on the dinner menu with Shrimp Cocktail as an appetizer. I hope to write a recipe from that meal for you all because this Beet & Apple Salad alone is worth a whole newsletter XO Liv