My Favorite Thing About Marriage & What I Cooked Last Week
The Best Breakfast Sandwich in Brooklyn, White Bean and Bacon Soup, Baked Italian Sub, and Mom’s Shrimp Scampi
Happy Friday friends! I hope you had a wonderful week :)
My husband Doug and I have been married for a little over two years, and my favorite thing about our life together is our weekend morning routine. It’s super simple and nothing that special, and yet it’s a highlight of my week. You probably don’t know this about me: I thrive with a consistent routine. It keeps me grounded and makes me feel at peace. And yes, this means doing the same thing over and over again, day after day.
Doug and I have been in Brooklyn for the past month and a half while I work on my cookbook (my publisher is in New York) and Doug gets some quality in-person time with his East Coast colleagues. We’re still discovering our neighborhood, Greenpoint, which we love. Every Saturday and Sunday morning, we’ll walk Kimchi and go get a coffee (for Doug) and a matcha (for me) from our favorite local spot, Rhythm Zero. I prefer matcha because it gives me less of a rush than straight-up coffee. (Too much caffeine can make me feel stressed out!) I rotate three different milks—almond, oat, or whole—depending on how I’m feeling that week. Doug always gets a cold brew with a splash of whole milk.
Then we’ll turn our attention to breakfast. Lately, that means only one thing: Radio Bakery. Early on, I went a couple of times for their pastries and they were good! BUT then I tried the focaccia sandwiches and my mind was blown. I took a bite and thought oh *wow.* I immediately understood the hype. No wonder there’s a crazy line down the block. I firmly believe there are few things in the world worth waiting in a long line for, and this breakfast sandwich is absolutely one of them. (If you go right when they open, the line is more manageable!) I always get the one with smoked salmon, cream cheese, dill, and pickled onions on an everything seasoned focaccia. It’s simply outstanding.
The focaccia almost has the chewy texture of a bagel and this incredibly crisp bottom that feels like it’s been frying in olive oil. When we first had it, Doug turned to me and asked (as if it would be the easiest thing): “Do you think you can make this?” and I responded: “No. …Well maybe, but it would take me months of trial and error to get it right.” (Wait until I’m back in LA, craving Radio Bakery and testing a million recipes 🤪)
As we devour our breakfast and Kimchi tries to steal crumbs, we’ll talk about our businesses (Doug is an entrepreneur and the co-founder of a hotel booking startup called Safara) and give each other advice. Or we’ll talk about home improvements, how we could make our house nicer, you know, just the everyday boring conversations of married life. Nothing that exciting, and yet it’s one of my most cherished routines. I can’t wait for tomorrow morning, though since we head back to LA today, it’ll be Tacos Delta for lunch :)
Love,
Maxine
P.S. If you go to Radio Bakery for lunch or they’ve run out of their breakfast sandwiches, I recommend the burrata, basil, and prosciutto on focaccia. In general, I love the ones with soft insides because then the chewy-crispy focaccia really stands out and you get that amazing contrast of textures.
What I Made Last Week! ↓
White Bean and Bacon Soup
My mom’s favorite soup as a kid. It has a delicious smoky flavor and an amazing heartiness that makes it really satisfying.
Ingredients
12 ounces bacon, cut into into ½-inch pieces
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1 large carrot, peeled and diced small
3 celery stalks, diced small
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
4 cups chicken stock
1 dried bay leaf
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 (15-ounce) cans navy beans (or another white bean, such as cannellini), rinsed and drained
4 cups chopped escarole (about ½ large head)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
Line a large plate with paper towels. Place the bacon in a medium pot and set it over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring a few times, until crispy, 9 to 12 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to the paper-towel-lined plate to drain; set aside. You should have about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pot.
Set the pot over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until starting to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the carrot, celery, and garlic, and cook, stirring, until starting to become tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken stock, bay leaf, salt, thyme, and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the beans, return to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaf and remove from the heat.
Using an immersion blender (or transferring half of the soup to a blender), blend until half of the soup is thick and creamy, with still pops of texture from the carrots, celery, and beans.
Set aside some of the bacon for garnishing, then add the rest to the soup. Set the pot over medium heat, then stir in the escarole and cook until wilted and bright green, 1 to 2 minutes.
Divide among six bowls and sprinkle with the parsley and reserved bacon. Enjoy!
Serves 6
Prep time: 15 minutes | Total time: 1 hour 5 minutes
You can watch the video here :)
Thank you so much for the link to your husband's business. Both my gen Z kids live in LA and we often visit from Seattle. Always looking for cool boutique places to stay!