The Round Up: December 2025
Food:
We made the double courgette & chicken dinner from MOB Kitchen, and it was a total hit! It was incredibly easy to make for a weeknight dinner and packed with so much flavor.
With the freezing temperatures in Boston, all I want to eat is warm, comforting food. I made this chicken and lentil soup, and it was a hit! It also reheated beautifully for leftovers.
I made Lion’s Head Meatballs for the first time using a recipe from Sonia Wong’s Salt n Pepper Here blog. The recipe was easy to follow and incredibly delicious, and the meatballs turned out tender and savory. I’ll definitely be making this again!
I had my family over for a Hanukkah/Shabbat dinner and was thrilled that my husband requested my comfort foods—kasha varnishke and brisket. The full meal included challah, matbucha, a green salad with Little Gems and radicchio, brisket, kasha varnishke, and latkes with sour cream and applesauce. It turned out, honestly, incredible. I was really impressed with myself.
My sister-in-law had been seeing a lot of Boston food influencers doing Chinatown food crawls, and since she was home from college, we decided to plan one ourselves. We did the research and found some fantastic spots. You can read all about it here.
We had Christmas Eve dinner at East Chinatown Restaurant in Quincy, MA, and it was honestly delicious. A friend from Dorchester recommended it, calling it their favorite sit-down Chinese spot—and I’m already excited to go back.
My friend made us the most stunning and delicious Christmas cookie box! How lucky are we?!
We had this wine with our meal at Field & Vine and loved it so much that we ordered two bottles. And of course, our meal at Field & Vine was incredible, as always!
We finally tried Settler in Salem, MA, and it was one of my favorite meals of 2025. I loved everything about the experience—the atmosphere, the service, the drinks, and, of course, the food. My favorite bites of the night were the cacio e pepe special and the pear tart for dessert.
We spent a few days in a cabin in Maine with friends and made some truly incredible meals together. Highlights included latke eggs Benedict, steak frites, caviar, a British-style pork roast, and a chicken pie, among others.
Other:
We kicked off December on a family trip to Honolulu, HI and you can see everything we ate here!
I found these Mason Cash classic mixing bowls in my town on Facebook Marketplace for a very good price. So happy to have these in my collection!
My friend and I hosted our very first Cook Book Club with Samin Nosrat’s new book, Good Things. Everyone really participated and brough incredible things! I can’t wait for the next one!
Hanukkah occurred in December this year, making it part of the broader winter holiday season. Although it is not a major Jewish holiday, its timing often causes it to be associated with other December celebrations. We had a nice and relaxing Hanukkah, lighting candles at home and having our family over for a meal.
After Christmas, our friends from DC came to visit, and we all headed to Maine near Sunday River for a few days in a cozy cabin. Our husbands skied while we crafted, watched TV, and cooked together. It was such a lovely time together! Here is the link to our lovely Airbnb.
Lenny:
