no. 130: pan seared snapper with golden butter and black lentils

Plus, my first ever holiday cookie box!

I’ve made the gut wrenching decision to pause my Nuuly because I don’t have much going on in these next couple months, given the state of my leg. It was a painful call to make, but I know that when I reactivate my subscription, I will be sporting a brand new ACL, therefore I will be stronger and hotter and my Nuuly Slays™ will slay even HARDER.

Despite this huge loss, there were also some wins this week. I decided to put together a holiday cookie box this year and it brought me a great deal of joy. The contents of the box were as follows:

• Katie Miller’s Black Sesame Cookies with White Chocolate and Apricot

• Zoe Barrie’s Billionaire’s Shortbread

• Molly Baz’s Peanut Cardamom Shortbread

• MY Salted Pistachio and Strawberry Shortbread Cookies

• These Kitchen Sink Cookies (subbed pretzels for Cheez-Its, of course)

• These Almond Ginger cookies (I used Fat Uncle Farms’ Ass Kicking Ginger Butter)

I made the doughs over several days, freezing them as I made them. Then on the final day, I baked them all off and packaged them into little boxes. It’s been nice to hand ‘em out to friends and people in my community who make my daily life better. It is very important to me that my baristas, grocery store employees, delivery people, etc. are all wrapped around my fingers.

The biggest win from these boxes is that I brought one to my first appointment with my surgeon, and let’s just say, this package of sweets was so compelling that he was mysteriously able to move my surgery date up nearly four weeks. That, my friends, is the power of BUTTER and SUGAR.

Here are some other things I’ve been loving at the moment!

Beyond Yoga Spacedye Movement Skirt

I have definitely mentioned this skirt in the past, but I simply must include it in here because they are essentially giving them away right now for $30!!! It is final sale which always feels like a big risk, but this skirt is so so comfy. I would say it’s true to size, though if you’re between sizes, you’re probably okay to choose the smaller one.

Even though my activity levels are currently much lower than their norm, I still love to lounge in this skirt. I own this skirt in a purple, coral, AND yellow.

Masienda Salsa Macha

I recently got my hands on a couple jars of this salsa macha and it is so, so good. I served a maple roasted carrot dish at an event that I catered this week, and I topped ‘em off with spoonfuls of this stuff. It was very, very good. It’s add a ton of chili-forward flavor as well as a nice little crunch. I’ve been spooning it on my fried eggs in the morning and loving it.

Pan Seared Snapper with Golden Butter and Black Lentils

Serves 4

Active time: 25 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

ICYMI, my friend and fellow private chef, Karlee, and I were planning on hosting a pop up dinner until I very selfishly tore my ACL. Even though the pop up dinner never happened, we did go ahead and write up a pretty killer menu that both of us were very excited about. And don’t worry, we’re eyeing some dates in 2025.

One of the dishes on that menu was this snapper dish (purely Karlee’s brain child, might I add). So, earlier this week, Karlee came over, and we made it together for lunch. It is truly such a shame that this dish didn’t see the light of day because, oh my GOD, it is so good.

Lentils are a food that I am rarely cooking or eating, but these black lentils have had me by the neck this whole week. They soak up the earthy, spiced turmeric butter and it really is a beautiful union of flavors. I cannot stop eating the leftovers. If you are a cumin enthusiast like me, you’re really going to love this one.

Pan searing fish can seem intimidating, but the most important thing that you can do is to let the fish cook undisturbed with its skin side down. If you go to flip the fish and it’s not releasing from the pan, make sure your heat is at a medium high, and continue to cook the fish until the skin crisps up and naturally pulls away from the pan. Patience and TRUST!

It is such a cliche to say that something feels “restaurant quality,” but this dish…feels very restaurant quality. Not to mention, it was extremely nourishing. After we downed these filets, we powered into yet another recipe, because we are both everyday heroes.

To me, this is the perfect meal to sneak into a week that is otherwise spent eating exclusively cheese and cookies (speaking to personal experience). Sub your favorite fish—salmon, cod, halibut, or grouper would all be great.