Caldo Verde (“Poor Soup”)

Right now, I’m sitting in the kitchen, typing and listening to the spattering of the soup that is bubbling on the stove.  Perhaps I love this time of year so much because I really enjoy cooking and making soup.  There is something so satisfying about eating a warm bowl of soup on a cool evening, especially when it’s made with the last of the fresh local veggies of the season.

It seems as though the stars have aligned for me to cook this particular soup, not only because of the brisk air outside, but because a) I recently got a bag of fresh veggies from our CSA group (community supported agriculture) that Jill and I joined this year and b) I had two of my wisdom teeth out this morning and just about all I can eat is soup!  But the most important reason for my being compelled to cook this soup was because of a chance encounter at the bakery.

Jill and I had been closed for a few hours on Saturday evening when a very nice older woman, Maria I believe was her name, came in with her granddaughter.  I saw them walking towards us from across the street, and as soon as they entered the doorway, the woman asked what I would be doing with the collard greens that were sitting out.  I had just gotten them from the farm that day and, since I don’t have much experience cooking collards, I had been wondering myself how I would prepare them.  She then began to tell me what called, ‘poor soup.’

The nice woman, who had a sharp Portuguese accent, told me about using collard greens in her ‘poor soup.’  She told me that it’s very simple, and at it’s most basic, the soup is simply pureed potato soup with thin slices of collards in it.  Caldo Verde is the proper name for it, and I saw later online that it could be considered a national dish of both Portuguese and Brazilian cuisines!

I could also see she why called it ‘poor soup,’ since it was nothing put cheap ingredients, bulked up with water to stretch the number of people it could feed.  Borcht would be the ‘poor soup’ of Jill’s Grandmom, since beets, cabbage and potatoes are featured prominently (and cheaply) in Ukrainian cooking.

Caldo Verde is farm food, which I love so much!  Maria told me how she doctors up the basic soup, maybe a carrot and onion with the potatoes, and always with pieces of a good Portuguese sausage for a little meaty richness and salty boost.

After a few minutes of chatting, Maria’s daughter showed up and after telling me how to properly clean and prepare the collards and feeding me a few stories of ‘poor soup’ she pulled from her memory, the three women purchased the last of the pastries we had left in the case and took off into the evening.

Today though, I’m not feeling well on account of my now-removed wisdom teeth, but Grandmom made me a pot of lentil soup to help me recover.  When I returned from the surgeon’s office this afternoon, I enjoyed the hearty vegetarian lentil soup down to my soul.  Real soul food… Thank you Grandmom!

But then as it got closer to dinnertime, I wanted to make a pot of soup for myself, and ‘poor soup’ seemed the rational choice of what to prepare.  The cool thing about a basic recipe (like Maria’s ‘poor soup’) is that you can add endless amount of variety.  The recipe is so simple, it’s essentially a method and with practice one can prepare all sorts of new dishes.  This is on reason why I love learning about new foods, the foods of different cultures, because once you learn the basics of that cuisine, you can tweak it to make it your own.

In my CSA bag, besides the collards, were a few sweet potatoes and a sweet pepper.  I thought I could chop those up and add them to the potatoes as they simmered, as well as a carrot, an onion, a few cloves of garlic and about a cup of leftover white wine that I had in the fridge.  I also added to a bay leaf, for flavor and to aid in digestion, as well as some salt and pepper.  While that simmered, I prepared the collards by cutting the stems out (too tough), rolling the large deep green leaves into tight bundles like a cigar and then cutting them into thin strips (which is called a chiffonade cut).  I then washed them in the salad spinner and they were ready to be cooked.

The soup was ready at that point, the bubbling had slowed a bit and sounded like the aromatic vegetable broth was thickening.  I quickly and carefully poured the soup into the blender to puree and back into the pot, where I added the collards and let it all simmer for another few minutes (not too long, I was instructed by Maria).  I didn’t have any sausage (I could have used a nice Italian pepperoni or Spanish chorizo if I had either) so it was a vegan soup.  A little EVOO drizzled on top to give it an extra layer of richness, done.  Wholesome, healthy, satisfying and, from the smell coming from the bowl in front of me, very tasty.  Perfect on a cool, fall evening…

Padre Pio

The weather a few Sunday mornings ago was awful… overcast and rainy.  It was too bad, I thought, because the Padre Pio Festival was going to take place later in the day.  As the morning progressed, I began to doubt that I would even go because it was simply yucky out.

Friends and Neighbors meet and dance at the Padre Pio festival

Well the weather looked as though it was letting up, so Jill, my mother-in-law and I piled into the car and took off for Our Lady of Pompeii on Dante Ave.  We arrived to ever increasing good weather (the sun actually came out!) and a grass field absolutely packed with cars and trucks.

There were so many people there, I couldn’t believe my eyes!  We walked closer to where the action was, ducked under yellow caution tape set up around the perimeter and dodged several large puddles that the rain had left earlier in the day.  Under the canopy of trees were dozens of picnic tables, almost all of them with ringed with people eating, drinking, and talking.  The hum of hundreds of conversations filled the air, as well as the cheerful sound of Italian singing and instruments coming from the stage.

Almost immediately, we saw folks that we knew… friends, family and guests of ours from the bakery.  It was silly how much of a social event this festival was.  Not only did we see all sorts of people that we knew, it seemed as though everyone there was running into people that they knew as well.  What an amazing event!

But as much as I loved talking to friends and family, what I really went for was the food!  In the middle of the festivities was the dessert and coffee area, which was loaded with Italian pastries, but that would have to wait since I was hungry for lunch!  Along the back of the festival was a long covered area, with little kitchenettes, each filled with busily working volunteers.  Above each kitchenette was a sign; just a single word that announced what was being served underneath.  ‘Pizza, Sausage, Eggplant, Meatballs, Porchetta.’  Porchetta sounded interesting, so I immediately went to that booth to see what was going on.

As I walked up, I caught the savory smell of roasted pork.  It’s aroma was heavenly.  Behind the counter, there was a crew of gentlemen carving up whole roasted pigs.  The crusty brown skin of the pig was no match for their sharpened knives as they carved and the meat from the animal and then placed it onto cutting boards.  From there, large cleavers dramatically chopped the meat into small pieces before it went into a warming vessel.  Squares of foil were laid out, and rolls were placed in the center.  Tommy Merighi then placed a tong-full of pork onto the roll, wrapped it up, and handed it to me.  ‘Buon appetito!’

The ‘porchetta’ was phenomenal.  The pork was very moist, a bit salty, and the roll absorbed the juices from the meat.  It was so good I could have eaten another one, but I wanted to try something else!  I then got in line to get the sausage sandwich.  Dozens of sausages were browning on a flat top range, and when I ordered my sandwich, one was plucked off the heat and placed in a too-short bun.  I was instructed to put grilled peppers on my bun, if I so pleased, and was directed to two pans… one with sweet peppers, one with long hots.  I wedged a few sweet peppers under the glistening sausage, and placed one long between the meat and bun.

Folks enjoying the Italian food and fellowship

I savored every bite of that sandwich too.  It was simple, but delicious.  And eating it with all those people around, the Italian music filling the air, and the smell of pork in my nose added to the ambiance and enjoyment of the food.

The Padre Pio Festival also had the added benefit, aside from the amazing food options, of offering dirt cheap, local and fresh-as-can-be produce.  Local farms donated all the produce sold that day, with the proceeds going straight to the church.  It’s a true community event, because the farmers and their families actually worked the booths as well!

You can't get any fresher than Jersey Fresh!

All sorts of vegetables, herbs, and greens were being sold, all for next to nothing.  We picked up leeks, escarole, beets, lettuce, arugula, basil and more.  All told, we spent $13 and got bags and bags of produce!

Chef Jill with her fresh produce

Before leaving though, we had to get some dessert.  After walking out to the car to drop off the produce, we went back to the dessert island to pick out what we wanted.  Since it was an Italian festival, we went for the homemade goodies… tiramisu, cannoli, and sfogliatelle.  To be honest, I’m kind of a dessert snob (I can’t help it), but these desserts were excellent.  They were moist and creamy, crispy and flavorful, and I was definitely impressed.

The Padre Pio Festival ended up being blessed with great weather and a great turnout.  It was nice that there were so many places to sit… to eat, drink, be social, and marvel at how lucky we are to live in such a wonderful area.  I already can’t wait for one of those porchetta sandwiches next year… Salud!

Visiting the Culinary Institute of America

Jill and Stephen at the CIA

Several months ago, Jill and I were invited to return to our alma mater, The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), to put on a cake decorating demonstration for our fellow alumni as part of a reunion weekend.  We were honored to have been asked, and we agreed with much enthusiasm.  After all, it had been several years since we had last been to our beloved college and October in upstate New York is a beautiful time of year.

We prepared the bakery accordingly, and left it the capable hands of Brittany and Ariana.  The drive up was uneventful and a mere four hours after leaving Vineland, we arrived in Hyde Park.  The campus was beautiful and it was great seeing the old sights; the bakeshop where Jill and I first became friends, the kitchens we worked in, the classrooms where we learned so much…

After settling in and finding a home for the cake (and various equipment) that we had brought, it was time to eat!  We went first to the Apple Pie Bakery/Café, where we drank espresso and ate a lovely brioche tart filled with spiced mascarpone and topped with candied butternut squash.  This was far more avant garde than the pastry that Jill and I made when we attended that class, which was a curious surprise!

Stephen celebrates his birthday with Jill and Paula

Since it was my birthday, my mother-in-law treated us to dinner at one of the restaurants on campus, the Caterina di Medici, which specialized in Italian cuisine and is the shining jewel of the five eateries on campus.  We started with cocktails, which I rarely get, but hey, it was my birthday!

We ended up eating very well that evening, the standouts being Garganelli al Ragù (a pasta similar in shape to penne, served with a classic Bolognese meat sauce), Costolette d’agnello con Peperonata e Zucchine (Lamb Rack with pepper/tomato stew and sautéed zucchini), several ridiculously good Italian cheeses as well as a platter of bite sized cookies and candies.  The service and food was excellent, especially considering the staff is composed primarily of students who rotate in and out of the kitchens every few weeks.  It was good to be back on campus, and we left quite satisfied.

Jill demonstrates cake decorating while Stephen answers questions about running a small business

The next day was the day of the cake demonstration.  Our nerves were a little on edge leading up the demo, as the gravity (at least in our minds) of what we were doing caught up with us.  For the most part though, we were relaxed and excited to be there.  The demo went off without a hitch, and in addition to Jill showing off her cake-decorating prowess, we got the opportunity to talk up Vineland and south Jersey to the roughly 60 people who were in attendance from all over the country.  It was a good time, and we hope to do it again in the future.

The Sweet Life Bakery cake demonstration was a success!

Stephen enjoys the alumni dinner

That evening was the alumni dinner, and if there’s one thing you do at the CIA, it’s  eat well.  After the demo, we had time to change at our hotel before heading back to campus.  We walked into the main hall and were greeted by students of the soon to be graduating class, who had organized and executed the entire alumni dinner.  Platters of wine, both still and sparkling, were being passed.  The sparkling was good, dry and crisp, but the still wine was gorgeous in its fruity aroma and full body.

In addition to the wines, there were little hors d’oeuvre being passed.  My favorites were tiny piles of cold, rich lobster salad on crisp round toasts, and triangles of toasted bread on which sat a thumb-sized piece of seared fois gras that hid a dab of lingonberry jam.  Fois gras is, in my opinion, the height of decadent dining, and I relished the opportunity to eat several of these bite-sized delicacies (doubly so since they were complimentary!).

A selection of NY cheeses

What Jill and I hadn’t noticed when we first arrived was a table of cheeses that was set up outside the dining hall.  We meandered over to discover that there was a wide selection of cheeses all from New York available for us to sample.  There were quite a few creamy goat cheeses, a few pungent sheep milk cheeses, and several classic cows milk cheeses.  I am an avowed cheese-a-holic, so I was in hog heaven at this particular table.

Dinner soon followed; rich lobster bisque, butternut ravioli, and pumpkin crème brulée among other delicious foods.  Again, everything was wonderful and like the previous evening, everything was done by the students.  I must say, I was proud of them.  To put on a banquet of such high caliber is no easy task, and not only that, they ended up raising over $6,000 for scholarship funds through a Chinese auction to boot!

It was great visiting the CIA.  It’s a beautiful campus, stunning actually, but what I liked most (and what I liked most when I attended) was the passion for food that is evident everywhere you look.  The dorms are named after culinary spices; kitchens display student chefs learning their trade, and everyone (students and visitors alike) eat well… very well.  It’s definitely my kind of place.

Close up detail of the Sweet Life cake

Talula’s Table

The Sweet Life Gang is getting bigger!

The crew of The Sweet Life took another culinary adventure recently, this time to Talula’s Table in Kennett Square, PA.  I had heard about Talula’s Table last summer when a piece aired about it on the radio, and so Jill and I had been wanting to make the short trip over there ever since.  In fact, soon after the piece aired last summer, my mother went and raved about it, and so our resolve to visit had been steadfast since then.

Jill and I actually first visited two weeks ago with my mother and sister, and we had such a positive experience that we needed to take our crew with us so that they could experience the phenomenal service, excellent food, and unique concept and atmosphere.  We also wanted to return because unbeknownst to the four of us, the day that we visited coincided with the 24^th annual Kennett Square Mushroom Festival.  Mushrooms are a big deal there, since the town bills itself of the ‘mushroom capital of the world’ and so needless to say, there were severe crowds, little parking, and a general crushing feeling.  Regardless of the mass of people in Kennett Square that day though, we felt that there was something special at Taula’s Table and we needed to return on a more normal day.

The very next Sunday, the eight Sweet Lifers piled into two cars and began our road trip to Pennsylvania.  The traffic was light and the weather was perfect, and we arrived there about an hour and a half after leaving Vineland.  I had heard that downtown Kennett Square was very cute and so I had expected to feel pangs of jealously walking down their ‘main street.’  But seeing the stereotypical downtown cutesiness made me realize how far Landis Avenue has come in the two years since we opened The Sweet Life.  Kennett Square was cute, but Vineland’s downtown has its own unique feel and I didn’t feel any sort of jealously from the ‘main street’ I was visiting.

The family table at Talula's Table

Then we arrived at our destination, the eight of us forming a stream a people as we walked in the open door with gusto.  Jill and I had made nice with the manager, Titus, the previous week and she welcomed our group warmly.  I went to the back of the self-described ‘gourmet food market’ and hovered around the one large family table in the rear of to save our group seats while everyone else explored the medium sized shop.

Oh and how there was much to explore!  The front windows featured much plant life (which Jill especially loved), as well as a few prime sunlit seats.  Along the walls were shelves with jams and jellies, pastas and sauces, oils and vinegars.  Many gourmet products were to be found, and before we left, we managed to grab a few boxes of organic teas.

But first, we were hungry.  In addition to having grab-n-so salads and sandwiches near the front of the market for those in a hurry, towards the back of the retail area was where the good stuff was.

There were refrigerated cases of house-made sausages, ravioli, soups, and salad dressings.  A cold case in the back held copious amounts of delicious cheeses, as well as platters of such dishes as lobster pot pie, eggplant rollatini, fresh succotash, mac n’ cheese, roasted beet salad, lamb tenderloin kebabs…  An old-fashioned pie saver case near the cheeses held a modest variety of fresh baked bread; baguettes, sourdough loaves, soft rolls and pretzels.

Needless to say, we ate quite well.  Titus arranged a nice platter of six different cheeses, complete with a little dish of local honey. Small plates of food arrived one after the other, and we each had our favorite dishes.  In my mind, the succotash, cheeses, and lobster pot pie stood out.  Everything was phenomenal though, and I kind of didn’t want lunch to end.

A beautifully prepared cheese platter

Of course we had dessert and coffee after the food.  Behind the seating area in the front there was a small coffee bar with a tiny pastry case full of tarts, mini-cheesecakes, and chocolate tortes.  On the other side of the bar, a rack of cookies, scones other baked pastries stood admirably.  The peanut butter sandwich cookie was my favorite, although the slice of carrot cake seemed to be the most popular with the rest of the crew.

Talula's staff kept the Sweet Life team happy!

For the true foodies out there, Talula’s Table in Kennett Square is definitely worth checking out.  While on a road trip there, you can also stop at Longwood Gardens (which is a few minutes away), any of the wineries or antique shops in the area.  But the real star in my mind is the unique and incredible dining experience at Talula’s Table.  Cheers!

Family Table

I’ve had the pleasure of going to several friends houses for dinner lately.  There’s not much that I enjoy more that to share the dinner table with good friends and family.  Last week, Jill and I made plans to go to a friend’s house for dinner and a movie.

We arrived at their house early in the evening.  Ariana greeted at the front door with the comforting pleasantries of being welcomed into house of good friends.  Jill and I were led into the kitchen, which was warm and active from of the buzz of cooking.  Snacks were laid out on the kitchen counter, in a little seating area that offered Henry (the cook) the opportunity to socialize and snack while he put the finished touches of dinner together.  Wine was poured for each of us, a crisp white Riesling from Germany that tasted perfect on this late summer evening.  The family gathered around the appetizers, and talked and drank and snacked on the three delicious cheeses that Deanne had picked up earlier in the day when she was in Cape May.

Friends gather around Chef Henry in the kitchen

There was also a plate of thickly sliced tomatoes, fanned out between slices of buffalo mozzarella, tufts of fresh basil, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a healthy amount of EVOO.  It was so simple, and that’s what made it so good.  The tomatoes had been picked up down the street, from a little farm stand that still works on the honor system, earlier in the day.  That very morning, the tomatoes were still getting nourishment from the Vineland soil, breathing the air and gathering energy from the sun.  By the end of the day, they were ours to consume.

After some time had elapsed, dinner was closer to completion.  Henry checked the stuffed peppers in the oven, while Deanne began to prepare the kale dish.  She was happy to say a portion of the kale had come from their garden.  I hadn’t had kale in a long time, and looked forward to tasting theirs.  The table was then set and soon we were ready to eat.

Nicole anticipates a great dinner while Will helps in preparation

The food was very good, and I savored every minute of it.  The stuffed red peppers were filled with a quinoa mixture (a delicious, extremely healthy grain that has a slight nutty flavor and delicate crunchy texture), all topped with a hard grating cheese and then baked.  The lightly braised kale retained a nice amount of texture, a little chewy with just a touch of crunch.  It was studded with thin slices of sun-dried tomato, which added a tiny blast of salty, intense tomato flavor.  With these two wonderful dishes went a nice fresh salad and slices of crusty black-olive studded bread.

After eating, it was movie time and we enjoyed watching Air Guitar Nation with full bellies.  As soon as the movie finished and we had stopped laughing, I assembled the dessert that I had brought for the evening.

A sweet end to a great time with friends

Vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and drizzled with a little rich chocolate ganache that I melted in the microwave.  For the next few minutes, the relative silence was punctuated by the sounds of happy groans.

But it wasn’t the food that was the highlight of the evening.  It was the company, the act of sharing a dinner table with friends and family.  There’s something about sitting down together, sharing a meal, and talking about the happenings of the day that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

At the bakery whoever is working, as well as occasional visitors, sometimes join us sit down for family meal.  We all take a little break from the craziness of the workday to sit down, eat, and share what’s going on in our lives.  It allows us all to take a deep breath, and show that we value good nutrition and emotional well-being.  Obviously our dinner companions of last week felt the same way.  Jill and I were honored to have been able to share such a nice meal with them, to be invited into their home.  Cheers!

Heirloom Recipes: Aunt Joan’s Chicken & Dumplings

Aunt Joan's Famous Chicken & Dumplings

My recent article about family recipes being lost to the ages struck a nerve with Jill’s godmother, Aunt Joan. We’d been talking about her chicken and noodles for what seemed like ages, but for whatever reason, we had never made concrete plans to get together over her signature dish. That all changed after the aforementioned article, and so we made plans to get together on a Sunday morning to make her chicken and noodles.

Recipes passed from one generation to the next are treasures

Jill and I arrived in the morning to see that the kitchen was all set up for us. The table was laid out with a large glass top, ready for rolling dough, as well as flour, eggs, salt, baking powder, a big green plastic bowl and a whisk. It was like we walked onto the set of a TV show, since everything was ready for us to cook!
We got right to work making the dough. Joan’s rule of thumb is that the recipe starts with one egg per person, and everything else is based on that. Into the bowl went seven cracked eggs, where each landed with a plop, and a half-teaspoon of baking powder and salt per egg. Joan picked up the large whisk and vigorously but steadily mixed the eggs, baking powder and salt together.
All-purpose flour was then added, roughly a half cup per egg, and this was then mixed by hand into a tight, but fairly moist dough. Unlike grandmom’s pierogi dough from a few weeks ago, Joan did not rest the noodle dough before she rolled it out.
A softball-sized piece of dough was torn from the large mass and a handful of flour was sprinkled onto the glass. The dough ball was placed in the middle of the sprinkled flour, and with the rolling pin, Joan began to flatten the dough into a larger and thinner mass. She seemed to roll it with relative ease, sprinkling more flour when needed, and in a minute or two, the dough was roughly the size of a sheet of newspaper and was just about as thin. Joan then rolled the dough over the rolling pin, transferred it onto a sheet of newspaper on the kitchen counter, and covered it with another sheet.

Stephen learning the art of dumpling making from Aunt Joan

After repeating a few times, I asked if I could roll some dough to try it out for myself. That’s the best way to learn after all, to just give it a try! I pulled out a piece of dough and rolled it into a circle, dusting with a surprisingly large amount of flour. When I thought I was done, I was told that it was too thick. I rolled it thinner, and was told, once again… too thick! So I pressed harder and rolled the dough about as thin as it would go, and that ended up being the perfect thickness. That was the key to great noodles, to roll the dough paper-thin.

Jill prepares dumpling dough

Jill gave it a shot too, and pretty soon we had blown through all the dough, making six or seven large amoeba looking shapes. Now they would rest for the remainder of the morning and into the afternoon before being cut. Now was the time to start the broth.
Out of the fridge came a decent sized whole chicken, which was rinsed off and cleaned out. Aunt Joan then pulled out a huge stockpot into which went the chicken (along with all the innards, aside from the liver). One onion, peeled and cut in half, along with several stalks of celery that were rinsed and cut in half went into the pot. She then added a lot of water, enough to cover the chicken with several inches, as well as parsley, bay leaves, black pepper and salt. She made it a point to tell me that no carrots were added, because she feels that they make the broth too sweet. The fire was turned on under the pot and we went out onto the porch for delicious cafe con leche.
We made plans to return later in the evening, after the noodles had rested for a while and the broth simmered long enough to cook the chicken. Uncle Bill had yard work to do, Joan had errands to run, and Jill and I had a wedding cake to deliver. This is where the story turns interesting!
Jill ended up breaking her pinkie toe in a freak accident and so we had to go to the emergency room. I told Aunt Joan to complete the chicken and noodles without us, so she described to me how she finished everything. The dough was cut in half and then rolled into a tube. She then cut the tubes into inch thick slices, and fluffed the noodles together with flour so they didn’t stick. The chicken came out of the broth, as did any large pieces of celery or onion, and the chicken was shredded and put aside. To the broth, she added a jar of brown gravy (for body), and then she slowly added the noodles, stirring as they fell into the steaming broth. She then cooked the noodles for about twenty minutes.

Aunt Joan puts the finishing touches on the broth

Since Jill and I had been saving ourselves for dinner, and our time in the emergency room dragged on and on, we were incredibly hungry by the time we got home. We were relieved and thankful that a small pot of chicken and noodles was waiting for us on the stove. My mother-in-law had brought them from Aunt Joans for us, and dinner never tasted so good! The noodles and puffed up and thickened the broth. Pieces of shredded chicken gave it a little texture. It was comfort food at it’s finest, and I’m glad that this family tradition was been passed onto us, the next generation.

Love and Hoppiness

The author harvesting home-grown hops

In honor of my fourth wedding anniversary this past weekend I’m going to talk about beer.  Ok, I know that must sound odd, so let me explain.

This past weekend coincided not only with my and Jill’s wedding anniversary, but with the third annual hop harvest here at our house.  Three years ago in the spring, I ordered hop roots (actually rhizomes) online and received them in the mail a few days later.  I found a place in the yard for the hops, planted the roots, and by fall had a small but respectable harvest of the bitter, fragrant berries.

Hops, as you may or may not know, are a key ingredient in the production of beer and provide the trademark bitterness.  The addition of hops in the brewing process also provides distinct flavors, aromas, and preservative qualities that are vital to making beer.  Since I brew my own beer (although not as much as I’d like these days), I thought that growing and producing my own hops would be a fun and exciting way to make my beer a little bit more ‘local.’  My interest in growing my own hops actually started before I even lived in New Jersey.

I started brewing beer about a year before Jill and I married.  We were living in San Francisco, and since we were paying for our own wedding, I figured a good way to save money on alcohol for the wedding would be to simply brew my own beer!  Some friends of mine brewed, and there was an excellent brew store in San Francisco, so I had the support network that I needed.  Over the course of the next year, I experimented with different styles, flavors, and additives.  I brewed imperial stouts, India pale ales, English brown ales, cream ales, and more.  I made a few fruit beers including an amazing raspberry brown ale (if I do say so myself) and a cranberry wheat beer, which became a Thanksgiving tradition.  I learned a lot about beer during that year through note taking, experimentation and trial and error.  (There were several instances of bottle bombs and less than satisfying flavors, but that’s how you learn!)

With every batch of beer that I made, about a third was saved for the wedding and by the time the wedding rolled around, we had 12 cases of beer, with at least a dozen different varieties, all stored in 1-liter San Pellegrino bottles.  Even the favors that we gave our guests were home-brewed beer, one in which Jill and I brewed together and christened ‘Love and Hoppiness.’  We ended up spending a fraction of the money we would have spent had we simply bought beer and wine, and let me tell you, it tasted a whole lot better.

I became quite proficient at homebrewing, but was somewhat unsatisfied with the hops.  The only way that I could buy them was in the form of little green pellets, which looked remarkably like rabbit food.  They smelled great, and added a wide variety of flavors to the beer, but I felt like it was cheating to use this highly processed hop product.

When I moved to New Jersey, I left the homebrewing equipment behind… there simply wasn’t enough room for the cross country drive in the mini-van for the carboys, buckets, tubes and various gadgets that I had.  When I arrived here, I found out that the same conditions that make our area of New Jersey ideal for growing great wine also make it an ideal condition for growing hops.  I also had a yard now, something I certainly did not have in downtown San Francisco, and so I gave it a shot!

Our harvest

The first years harvest was modest, and the second year’s harvest was downright awful, due to the fact that I did not erect a trellis that the hop vines could climb.  This year though, I put the trellis up and since the roots were firmly established by now, the plants went a little crazy.  During the summer, the vines quickly grew upwards and topped out the trellis by mid-summer.  At about that time, little buds began to appear.  They looked like little green puffballs growing off the vine, and they quickly grew in size, eventually getting to the size of blackberries.  Hundreds of the flowers grew on the vines in the backyard, and last week, Jill and I harvested them.

It took about an hour, but we picked off the mature hop cones.  They had become dry when squeezed, and the oils in them had taken on the bitter smell of a good beer.  We picked the cones off the vine, and dried them in a dehydrator to evaporate any remaining moisture.  The next day, I bagged them and got six Ziploc bags of Jersey Fresh hops.

Love and Hoppiness!

Fortunately, my father has taken the title of family homebrew master and has surpassed me in adventurism and skill.  He loves brewing as much as I do, and I am fortunate enough to join him every once in a while in the production of another beer.  As I write this article, I’m drinking a South Jersey IPA, brewed with the meager amount of hops I got last year.  This year, I hope to be able to brew several batches of the amber colored, bitter and delicious homebrew made with hops grown right in my backyard.

And so I’d like to propose a toast to my wife, Jill, in honor of our wedding anniversary.  Cheers to a lifetime of love and hoppiness, may we be blessed with a lifetime of both!

Cooking Up Memories

I love to hear people talk about the dishes that their grandmothers used to make when they were growing up.  When folks tell me about the memories associated with great meals gone by, I can tell that it isn’t necessarily the food itself that they miss, it’s the experiences, the family, and the companionship that was brought on by the simple act of sharing a meal.

So it pains me to hear how many culinary traditions have passed into the ether along with the matriarch of the family, how the recipes and techniques have been lost to time only to live in the memories of the people who have direct recollections of these meals.

My wife and I are blessed then to live with a genuine culinary historian, even though when grandmom reads this, she will scoff at that moniker!  She grew up on a farm in Malaga during the 1920’s and learned to cook from her mother (who was from the Ukraine), and has carried on the traditions of her heritage through the meals that she still prepares to this day.

Grandmom has a book that she keeps in the dining room bureau with all of her recipes in it, although anyone who has cooked with a grandmother knows that the recipes are just a guide, an idea of what the ingredients are and how they fall into place to become something so yummy.  This is the case with her pierogies, the traditional stuffed pasta of eastern European cultures.  Jill and I recently asked grandmom to make her pierogis with us, so that we can learn from the source of how to make her signature dish.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, I, Jill, my mother-in-law, and grandmom met in the kitchen to get started on making a big batch of pierogies.  The first step was to make the dough.  Grandmom went right to town, scooping the flour into a bowl and measuring with her eyes.  Jill immediately protested!  The whole point was to learn how to make the pierogis, to measure the immeasurable!

Jill began to measure out the ingredients; flour, eggs, and water.  Grandmom began to knead the dough, and slowly but surely massed the ingredients into a pliable dough.  Jill continued to take notes, scribbling down the measurements and mixing times all while taking pictures.

The dough was set aside to rest, and we began to work on the various fillings.  The traditional fillings are potato and cheese, and grandmom got working on the potato filling first.  She steadily pared the skins off of a bag of potatoes, cut them into rough chunks and placed them into water.  The water was brought to a boil, and the potatoes were cooked until tender but not mushy.  They were then drained and set aside.

Several onions were then diced and cooked in butter in one of the old cast iron pans that hang out in the kitchen until the onions were translucent.  They were supposed to get enough heat to soften them, but not enough to make them crispy.  While the onions slowly cooked, the cheese filling was prepared.

Farmers cheese must be used to make the cheese filling, it provides a good balance of firmness, flavor and price!  The cheese is first drained to remove excess water, and is then mixed with a little flour, an egg or two (depending on the size batch), salt, pepper and parsley.  By the time the cheese filling was completed, the onions were cooked and the potato filling was ready to mix.

The potatoes were mashed with an egg, some reserved farmers cheese, the onions, and were seasoned with salt, pepper the chopped parsley.  Once grandmom was content with the taste and consistency of the fillings, it was time to roll out the dough and make some pierogies!

The trusty old pasta machine was taken out of the pantry and set up on the kitchen table.  Flour was put into a bowl and sheet pans were lined with a dusting of flour, waiting to be loaded up with fresh pierogies.  The dough was then taken from its resting place, and we began to roll it through the pasta machine.

Short chunks of dough were run through the rollers of the hand-cranked machine, and were quickly transformed into long thin strips.  An assembly line was made; one person rolled and cut, while the other two filled and crimped.  The three generations of women expertly made the pierogies, lining them up one after another on the sheet pans until several pans were full.

I had put several large pots of water on the stove and when they came up to a boil, I added some salt, and the pierogies were gently slid in the hot water.  After a few minutes, they floated to the surface and I volunteered to test the first one to see if it was done!  With a small dollop of sour cream to top, I tasted the first pierogi.  The dough was tender and the filings were delicious.  We even made a few blueberry pierogies, which we’d never done before.  They came out well, although we’ll have to try them out a few more times to get the filling right.

It was such a great experience learning how to make a food that has been passed down though so many generations.  Writing this article made me wistful that I didn’t get the opportunity to learn how to make my grandma Cunningham’s chicken and dumplings though.  I was too young at the time and lived too far away from her, although I do remember eating it almost every time we went to my grandmother’s house.

If you’ve got elder relatives around and they’re holding onto some amazing culinary traditions, take this opportunity to learn from them before the recipes are lost to the ages.  You and your relatives will find it to be well worth it.

It can be a challenge to get measurements from a great home cook!

Time and patience are part of the great home cook's recipe

Pierogi ready to slide into the boiling water

3 Generations making a traditional family recipe

Learning from the master chef

Knowledge and heritage found right in your own home

Food Inc.

The truth can be a hard pill to swallow sometimes.  It’s never easy to see things that challenge your perception of reality and give you a different perspective.  Recently, I’ve been reading books that present critiques of the American food system such as ‘Animal, Vegetable, Miracle’ and ‘The Omnivore’s Dilemma.’  Although these books can be difficult to read at times because of the (sometimes) ugly truths that they tell, they succeed in creating debate and dialogue on the subject of where our food comes from.

At a ‘young professionals’ meeting put on by the Vineland Chamber of Commerce recently, it was brought to my attention that there was a movie coming out called ‘Food Inc.’ I searched online and saw that the movie would present itself as ‘lifting the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that’s been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies.’  Last week, my mother invited Jill and I to a showing of ‘Food Inc.’ at The Ritz in Voorhees, so we decided to go and see what the movie was all about.

After finishing the movie, we all left the theater talking about the effects of the industrialized food system on our lives.  On one hand, the benefits of an industrialized food system are obvious; cheap, accessible food, an endless supply of fruits and veggies available year-round, the ability to feed an ever increasing population.  On the other hand, the dangers of industrialization lurk underneath our reality; the reliance on fossil fuels to run the entire system, the environmental and social consequences, the indifference towards freshness, flavor and seasonality, and the truly inhumane treatment of both animals and humans in factory farms.

What I found most interesting about the film was how interconnected our food system is with so many of the problems that plaque society… everything from environmental pollution, to immigration, to health care.  Of course the makers of the film have their own agenda, so one has to take everything presented with a grain of salt.  And I did check out some websites that offer harsh criticisms of Food Inc, which is always important when forming an opinion.  Being in the food business, I am especially interested in informing myself so that I’m more knowledgeable in general.

I ultimately believe that our food system is somewhat broken and no one is to blame but ourselves.  We can only change it one person or one family at a time.  If we change our eating habits to support local business and family farms, cut out the soda and sugary drinks, learn to enjoy cooking and eating with family, and most importantly, teach our children healthy and sustainable eating habits, we can negate some of the negative consequences that our food system is having on our collective health.
If you have a free evening, check out Food Inc. at the Ritz, or grab a copy of ‘The Omnivore’s Dilemma’ or ‘Animal, Vegetable, Miracle’ of off Amazon.com or at the local library.  Learn about where your food comes from and what’s in it.  I know say it a lot, but remember that ‘you are what you eat’ and so what you put into your body becomes, quite literally, you!

All this heavy stuff about the evils of the food system made me get a hankering for some real food.  I stopped into Lucia’s on Sherman Avenue a few days later to drop off some leftover cookies we had from the bakery for Chef Murray and the rest of the staff.  I went in the back door, into the kitchen, and found Murray dropping squash blossoms into the hot oil of the fryer.  They were so orange and seriously beautiful.  He told me that he had gotten them from Malench farm right down the road, and I can assure you they were picked that morning because they looked so nice and fresh.  Murray had stuffed them with ricotta and basil and dipped them in a thin beer batter.  Little tiny yellow squashes still clung to the bottom of the each blossom.  He must have sensed my adoration of them, so he offered to quickly fry a few for me.  He gingerly slipped them into the hot oil, and they emerged a few minutes later to be placed in a to-go container (I had to share with Jill back at the bakery) and drizzled with a little sun dried tomato sauce.  He then gave me a big fat Jersey tomato and told me to slice it and sprinkle the slice with a little salt.  I got back to the bakery, and Jill’s eyes grew when she saw and smelled the treat I had in my hands.  We put the food onto a plate and dug in.  It was divine… pleasantly salty and cheesy, delicately flavored with the squash blossom and hints of basil with contrasting textures of warm ricotta and crisp tempura batter.

Real food.  Local food.  Prepared by skilled hands and treated with the utmost respect from the farmer, to the chef, to the eater.  It was a perfect food chain, a simple and delicious system.  We can change our common food future one meal at a time.  Remember that each meal is a vote for what you believe in, so vote wisely!

The South Jersey Food Bloggers United 100

The South Jersey Food Bloggers United 100

Whatcha eatin’?  In South Jersey, between the shore, the bay, the farms, the upscale restaurants in refurbished downtowns and glitzy casinos, and the mom-and-pop joints in quiet neighborhoods – you have a lot of choices.  A group of food bloggers that call South Jersey home got together, and, with very little blood spilled, put together a list of 100 South Jersey food experiences that they think are worthy of your attention.

In reality, this list will never be ‘finished’, as if time were to just simply stop.  It will be revisited, as newer experiences will eventually push some of these out of the way.  This will also be an interactive list, and those who read it and wish to make suggestions will also influence the changes made.  We don’t profess to be the ‘be-all, end-all’ experts here.

So…let’s get started, shall we?

For Your Dining (and Diner-ing) Pleasure
What restaurants and diners do we really enjoy?  For a classic upscale meal, some places have withstood the test of time.  In Cape May, 1) The Ebbitt Room and 2) 410 Bank Street continue to satisfy their guests.  For fine French dining, 3) La Campagne in Cherry Hill is excellent.  And for a night out where every detail is taken care of, 4) The Knife & Fork Inn in Atlantic City is just your kind of place.  There are certainly a plethora of Italian restaurants in South Jersey, and two that stand out for us are 5) Catelli Ristorante in Voorhees and 6) Andrea’s Trattoria in Newfield.  If you like your meal to be more eclectic, 7) Blue in Surf City is a real treat.  Hankering for a good steak?  Well, you certainly can’t go wrong with The Library 2 in Voorhees, 9) The Pub in Pennsauken, or 10) The Chophouse, also located in Voorhees.  11) The Tortilla Press in Collingswood and 12) blueplate in Mullica Hill have been very much a part of the trend of using local ingredients, and 13) Farm to Fork Week, run by SJ Hot Chefs, is a week-long event celebrating food grown by local farms.  And speaking of special restaurant events: brand new in 2009 was 14) Atlantic City’s Restaurant Week, the biggest of its kind in South Jersey with over 70 participating restaurants.  A good restaurant that’s kid-friendly is not easy to find, but 15) Sweet Jenny’s in Barnegat fits the bill rather well.  We love our diners here in Jersey; after all, where else can you order a plate of fries and gravy and a chocolate milkshake at 2AM?  The two South Jersey diners that stand out for us are 16) Mastori’s Diner in Bordentown (especially their cheese and cinnamon bread) and 17) Ponzio’s Diner in Cherry Hill (especially their pancakes and chocolate mousse cheesecake).

Comfort Food, South Jersey-Style
You say hoagie, and I say sub.  While the name debate rages on, our collective taste buds found three that we enjoyed the most: 18) Carmen’s Deli in Bellmawr, 19) White House Subs in Atlantic City and 20) Giovanni’s Italian American in Vineland.  The cheesesteak is known far and wide here in South Jersey, and one name stands above all others in making a great cheesesteak: 21) Gaetano’s Steaks & Subs in Willingboro (and other locations).  Other great sandwich places include 22) The Kibitz Room in Cherry Hill, 23) The Pop Shop in Collingswood (for their grilled cheese sandwiches) and
24) Kavanaugh’s Irish Pub & Grille in Malaga (try the broccoli rabe, roast pork and provolone sandwich).  With the aforementioned plethora of Italian restaurants comes the multitude of accompanying pizza joints.  We settled on four that we liked: 25) Panzone’s Pizza and Pasta in Beach Haven, 26) Pietro’s in Marlton, 27) Mack and Manco’s in Ocean City, and 28) Shady Rest Restaurant in Bayville.  Buffalo wings may come from, well, Buffalo, but we enjoy them here as well.  Two places that serve excellent wings are 29) Pic-A-Lilli Inn in Shamong and 30) The Jughandle Inn in Cinnaminson.  Those of us who live in Ocean County have a special connection with 31) Surf Taco and their tacos and burritos.  South Jersey has its share of roadside food, and we picked 32) Dewey’s Dogs in Forked River and 33) Uncle Dewey’s Outdoor BBQ in Mitzpah, which keeps up the great tradition of roadside barbecue stands in South Jersey.  Speaking of ‘cue, 34) Ben’s eXtreme BBQ in Forked River is the real deal.  If you enjoy your comfort food festival-style, check out the 35) Rock ‘n Roll ‘n Ribs ‘n Chili Cook-off in Vineland and the 36) New Jersey State Barbecue Championship in North Wildwood.

Putting the Garden in The Garden State
There’s a reason why New Jersey is called The Garden State, and we have the proof right here in South Jersey!  Let’s count the ways: 37) Jersey corn (and cook it the same day it’s picked!), 38) Jersey tomatoes, 39) Jersey strawberries, 40) Jersey blueberries (from Hammonton, of course), and 41) Jersey peaches, for starters.  But why stop there?  You can also find 42) wild broccoli rabe as well as 43) asparagus from the well-known Walker Brothers in Pittsgrove.  With all this wonderful produce, you can be sure that there are plenty of good farmers markets and stands as well.  Those that we like include 44) the Collingswood Farmers Market, 45) Brassie’s Farm Stand in Vineland, 46) Levari Farm Stand in Richland, 47) Happy Valley Berry Farm in Bridgeton, 48) Silverton Farms in Toms River, 49) Emery’s Organic Berry Farm in New Egypt, and 50) Mood’s Farm in Mullica Hill.   And we like to celebrate our produce with festivals!  In Hammonton, the 51) Red, White and Blueberry Festival is a big event.  At the Gloucester County Fair, you have the 52) NJ Peach Festival.  And let’s not forget another famous Jersey crop – the cranberry!  Enjoy the 53) Cranberry Festival in Chatsworth.

Seafood, Eatfood
South Jersey is surrounded by water, so it makes sense that seafood would be enjoyed here.  Some favorite local treasures of the sea include 54) Cape May salt oysters and 55)
blue crab.  If you like catching your own, 56) doing your fishing and crabbing at Turkey Point is one way to go.  If you’re not into catching the seafood, you can go buy some at 57) the seafood market at The Lobster House in Cape May or 58) Gregory’s Seafood in Manchester.  Need a way to prepare your crabs?  How about 59) a crab and spaghetti dinner cooked Jersey-style, by cleaning the crabs with beer and garlic.  Or maybe you just want to go out and have someone else prepare your seafood, like maybe some 60) she crab soup from Busch’s Seafood in Sea Isle City or the 61) garlic clams from Mud City Crab House in Manahawkin.  Care for a seafood festival?  62) Chowderfest on Long Beach Island and the 63) Festival of the Sea in Point Pleasant are very good and popular events.  Newer to the scene is the 64) Seafood Festival in Vineland.

Need Something Sweet?
All this talk of food, and no dessert?  Don’t worry – we got you covered.  If it’s a bakery you want, we like 65) The Sweet Life Bakery in Vineland, 66) McMillan’s Bakery in Westmont (try the cream donuts!), 67) Cacia’s Bakery in Cherry Hill (their bread and pizza are also excellent), and 68) Penza’s Pies at The Red Barn Café in Hammonton.  Even our farm markets make yummy treats, like the 69) cider donuts from Springdale Farms in Cherry Hill.  Summertime brings folks down to the shore, and all that time out in the sun makes one crave an ice cream cone.  Satisfy that craving at 70) Rich’s Ice Cream in Toms River, 71) Hoffman’s Ice Cream & Yogurt in Point Pleasant and 72) Kohr’s frozen custard on the boardwalk.  Summer also brings out that classic neighborhood ice cream treat – 73) Mister Softee!  Who hasn’t jumped up and down, waving their arms and yelling “over here, over here” at the ice cream truck – even if it’s March 1st and snowing outside?  So…do you have to get to the shore for good ice cream?  Puh-lease.  74) Sundaes homemade ice cream and water ice in Berlin doesn’t need any sand to taste good.  Want something else at the boardwalk?  There’s always the classic treat of 75) salt water taffy.  At the Ocean City boardwalk, you can enjoy 76) Johnson’s Caramel popcorn.  And you can wash all of this down with 77) a root beer float from Weber’s Famous Root Beer.

Liquid Refreshment
One of the best kept secrets in South Jersey is 78) our many wineries.  One style we like very much is the 79) viognier from Bellview Winery in Landisville.  When Thanksgiving rolls around, you might want to serve 80) a cranberry wine from one of our wineries.  You can celebrate many of our wine varieties at the 81) Cape May Food and Wine Festival.  Although not a hotbed for microbreweries, South Jersey does have a good one with 82) Flying Fish in Cherry Hill.  Looking for a nice place to have a drink?  For wine, try the great wine list at 83) Annata Wine Bar in Hammonton.  If you want to step back in time, go to 84) The Brown Room at Congress Hall in Cape May with its art deco feel.

Shops With That Special Something
Sometimes, you need to go somewhere outside of a grocery store to get what you need.  For hand-made sausages, we like 85) The German Butcher in Forked River and 86) Serra Sausage in Vineland.  Italian specialty shops are all around, and the ones that we found to be the best are 87) Severino Pasta Company in Westmont, 88) Conte’s Pasta in Vineland and 89) Bagliani’s Italian Market in Hammonton (and ask for Joe the cheese guy).  Want something more in your morning cup o’ joe?  South Jersey has two world-class coffee roasters in 90) Kaffe Magnum Opus in Millville and 91) Crescent Moon in Mullica Hill.

Uniquely South Jersey
And then there are some things that can only be found right here.  First off, only in South Jersey can you get 92) a real panzarotti, not just a generic pizza turnover.  Have you ever considered eating…muskrat?  Well, they have a special 93) Muskrat Dinner in Salem County every year.  Love them or hate them, lima beans do elicit a reaction.  If you’re a fan, come celebrate at the 94) Lima Bean Festival in West Cape May.  And if you’re ever driving around the shore and want to hear something fun on the radio, check out 95) Ed Hitzel’s ‘Table for One’ radio show on Saturday mornings.  If anyone knows their culinary way around South Jersey, it’s Ed.

What?  You say that’s only 95?  Where’s the other five?  This is where YOU, the reader, come into play.  We know you have your own ideas, and we’d like you to express them.  Leave your comments and suggestions of places that we might have missed, and the five that get the most passionate votes will complete the list.  So…give us an earful!

Love,
The South Jersey Food Bloggers United

This list was created by these fabulous South Jersey food bloggers and can also be found on their blogs:

Melissa Gaffney is a writer and a foodie in her own right. She blogs here and writes here, and currently is eating her way through New Jersey, one cupcake-bagel-steak-salad-sandwich-general dish at a time.

Lisa Grant loves to cook and write about it in her blog, Jersey Girl Cooks. She is a stay at home mom of two children and enjoys doing some part time freelancing as well as entering various recipe contests.

John and Lisa Howard-Fusco started John and Lisa are Eating in South Jersey to share about their food experiences. Both grew up in South Jersey and after spending some time in North Jersey (Lisa in the publishing world and John in the financial industry), they have come back as freelance writers and bloggers to rediscover what they have missed and spread the word about the great food here.

Robin Shreeves is the founder of the South Jersey Locavore blog where she writes about where to find all the delicious food and beverages our region produces. She’s a freelance writer, the eco-friendly food blogger for the Mother Nature Network, and a 98lifelong resident of South Jersey.

Mike Staff writes about eateries and other locations he visits around South Jersey in his blog South Jersey Places.

Stephen Wilson owns The Sweet Life Bakery in downtown Vineland with his wife Jill McClennen.  They are committed to using fresh local foods at the bakery whenever possible.  Stephen writes a weekly column for a newspaper, The Grapevine, and gets the opportunity to share his food philosophy and experiences with every household in Vineland (~23,000 copies printed).  He republishes these articles on his blog.

NOTE-  THE LINKS DIDN’T WORK ON MY EDITION OF THE BLOG SO PLEASE CHECK OUT THE OTHER PARTICIPATING BLOGS TO SEE LINKS TO MOST OF THE PLACES MENTIONED!!!

http://www.southjerseylocavore.com/2009/06/the-south-jersey-food-bloggers-united-100.html

http://www.simplysable.blogspot.com/