I’m happy to report that it was a pretty good January on Planet Byn! I’m normally in grumpy hibernation mode, but was actually in fairly good cheer this month. I didn’t eat out much, but I cooked a lot at home. Here’s what I was up to on the food front:

• My friend Christina hosted a potluck at her house, and it was EPIC. I’m a huge fan of potlucks anyway, but when you have a potluck full of food bloggers, it’s just brought to another level.  I can’t even list everything that was there, there was just so.much.food.  My personal feeling about potlucks is that they are always full of main dishes and desserts, so I decided to bring a kale salad to balance out all the rich dishes I knew my friends were bringing. I made this one from Kiwi + Bean and am now obsessed with it! I also brought this Pear Galette, but had some structural issues with it. It tasted amazing though, so I’m going to make it again with a couple of changes.
• The Superbowl of awards shows went down, and Kristine came over as per usual to watch and police the red carpet. We had this White Cheddar Mac & Cheese from Hungry Girl Por Vida, and while I was skeptical of all the stuff in it (apple, sage, caramelized onions), we really liked it. I made the kale salad again, plus that Peppermint Roll I talked about the other day.
• I made these Caramel Shortbread Squares for my new friend at work – the one who is allergic to nuts – and I didn’t kill him! Hooray! I actually ran all the bowls, spatulas and everything I was going to be using through the dishwasher before I made them, just to be sure there was zero traces of nuts. He loved them and was so happy he got a treat, after 6 months of me not letting him try anything I brought in.
• Everyone knows I have a pretty severe seafood aversion, but one of the things I’ve come around to in the last year or so is shrimp (mostly due to Carole making me try everything). I conquered another milestone this month when I actually cooked it at home. Unprecedented! I made these Chili Cashew Shrimp Noodles from Half-Baked Harvest and they were so good! I am actually going to make this again this week.
• I made these Banana Bread Muffin Tops from Oh She Glows, and loved them. Danielle made them too, and agrees. It’s hard to believe they have no butter, flour or sugar in them, instead they use coconut oil, ground oats, and dates.
• My friend Gwendolyn was in town from Calgary and we met for lunch at Lisa Marie, and it was OUTSTANDING. Seriously, we shared a Bacon Explosion Benedict and Fried Hen & Waffles, where the waffle was of the jalapeno cornbread variety. On the side we tried their trademark Pad Thai Fries as well as the Dijon & Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes. I guess if you’re only going to eat out once in a month, you might as well go out with bang like that!

Other non-foodie things I was obsessed with this month:

• The Bachelor started again, and I’m not even ashamed to tell you that I refuse to make plans on Monday nights because I need to watch this live.
• I saw American Sniper, and was riveted by this beefcake version of Bradley Cooper. Highly recommend.
• My Book Club met to discuss Amy Poehler’s Yes Please, and I picked The Girl on the Train for our next book, as it’s supposedly the next Gone Girl.
• I only read one book this month, One Plus One by Jojo Moyes. I really enjoyed it, so will now have to pick up some of her other books. Danielle said Me Before You is amazing.
• Three words: BEYONCE DANCE PARTY. Enough said.