Well, much like my garden right now, Jersey Bites seems to be bursting at the seems. We are welcoming seven new writers to our family of contributors this month. Please visit the Team page to learn more about all of our contributors. In addition to our writers, we also have a new Advertising Sales Executive, Tracey Hall, joining us. If you are interested in advertising your business here, Tracey can walk you through all the options. We are also finally getting started on building our Jersey Bites Restaurant Directory. I am so excited to be fitting this missing piece into our puzzle. If you have any input into what you would like to see in a restaurant directory, drop us a line.
We are also thrilled to announce our “Spirit of the Summer Cocktail Contest” sponsored by Spirits Unlimited and UV Vodka. Look for details this Thursday and make it a point to enter to win a Beach Cruiser and more importantly bragging rights to naming Spirits Summer Cocktail.
As always we have some fun, fun stuff coming up from our writers. Cape May County’s, Allison Heller, celebrates “National Ice Cream Sandwich Day” tomorrow with a new crispy twist to a family favorite. Morris County’s, Deanna Quinones, takes the role of super-spy secret taster on the Dessert Team for the Star Ledger’s Inside Jersey magazine, seeking out New Jersey’s top dessert spots (Tough job. Once again she finds herself right in the gooey thick of things). Our new Wine contributor, Bart Jackson, author of Garden State Wineries Guide, takes us to Hopewell Valley Vineyards for a taste of their Merlot and more. And another newcomer to the JB team, Union County’s, Michelle Stavrou, turns us on to a spicy new shop in Westfield that is a foodie find from heaven. As always, we will have some great Jersey recipes straight from the garden including my stuffed zucchini that was D-lish. We have a new recipe contributor, Kate Morgan Jackson, from FramedCooks.com, who is not only a great cook, she is a great food photographer, so I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us this month. And, finally, we’ll be doing a compilation piece from our writers on their Favorite Seafood Joints. They can be high-brow, low-brow, take out or eat in, its up to them. What is you favorite Seafood spot? Maybe we’ll pay a visit.
Speaking of seafood, stop by the Judges Tent at the The Fifth Annual Crab Cake Festival & Shore Chef Cook-Off and say Hi to me. I’ll be judging. Look for the sweaty woman in the red Jersey Bites polo. If you miss the Crab Cake Fest, the following week I’ll be a judge at Rib Rock at the PNC Bank Arts Center. If you’re there, please stop by and say Hello. Once again, I’ll be the sweaty woman in the red Jersey Bites Polo. And, lastly, always remember, we’re a friendly bunch of Biters, so don’t be afraid. Join in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. We like to get to know our readers. Happy humid August.
Deborah Smith , Founder and Executive Editor of JerseyBites.com. Launched in 2007 as a home for her growing collection of recipes, Jersey Bites soon grew into a hub for all things edible in the Garden State. Deborah is also the owner of Parents With Nannies, Inc. which operates a network of nanny employment websites established in 1999. In her spare time, (Ha) she works as a Social Media consultant and speaker. You can learn more about her services and marketing through social media on her blog www.DeborahLSmith.com
