This time of year whenever anyone in the house tells me they aren’t feeling well, the first thing I do is make a big pot of Chicken Soup, Italian style! With all the running around for the holidays and exposure to so many people and going in and out from the heat and then the cold, is it any wonder that my whole house is sick. So, out comes the soup pot. My grandmother always added a healthy dose of raw garlic cloves, fresh dill, parsley and peas to her chicken soup. I buy a whole organic chicken (I don’t kill it myself like they did) to get all the benefits of bone broth. That is what she told me was the benefit of starting with the real deal. I always hear people say it is too hard to start from scratch, but that is so not true. Other than washing the chicken and chopping a couple onions and celery and a few herbs, there is not much else to do. Prep time is max, fifteen to twenty minutes and then you just wait for it to cook. How hard is that? I even skip cutting the carrots and wait till it is done to cut them. Come on, you can do that! The result is so worth it and you can always make enough to freeze half for later! Smart huh? The old ways seem to always be the healthiest and tastiest and your family will benefit from the extra effort. We all need to slow down and savor the moments. The news seems to be always full of the latest tragedies, so take the time to share the simple act of cooking with your loved ones and turn it into a family tradition to share with generations to come. They don’t need elaborate gifts, what they really need is quality time with the people they love. That is the real Italian style!
Ingredients:
1 whole organic or free range chicken, washed and dried
6 carrots
5 ribs of celery, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
1 bag of frozen organic baby peas
1/2 bunch parsley and dill, chopped fine
2 tablespoons sea salt and pepper
cold water to cover chicken entirely
1lb any style small pasta such as Orzo, Alphabets, Pastina etc.
Locatelli cheese optional
Directions:
Wash and dry the chicken and place in large soup pot and cover the chicken with cold water, about half way up. Add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, dill and parsley as well as the salt and pepper. Add frozen peas last 5 min. Bring to boil, then lower to simmer for 2 hours. When done, remove chicken and shred and return to pot. Cut the carrots and return to pot. Serve over pasta or alone. You will be rewarded with delicious homemade soup that you can take pride in knowing you prepared with your own hands!
Michele Errichetti is from South Jersey born and fed. She comes from an Italian family where they eat, live, and breathe FOOD. Michele was cooking and eating under her grandmom’s feet every Sunday for “gravy” and at home with her mother (a Medigan or American) during the week. Nowadays, she cooks for her two sons, husband, and father most days of the week. She takes “Girl Road Trips” with her friends at least once a month that always culminate with you guessed it, FOOD. She hopes fresh, local, organic, and free range will become the norm. Michele is searching Atlantic County for everything that has anything to do with good food and she’s taking you along for the ride.
Chef Justin has provided his famous pretzel crusted crab cake recipe for our readers so you can try it out while thinking about inviting him to your home for a truly exciting and delicious culinary experience!
Even though I have never been disappointed in any dish I have devoured at this spot, I do have some favorites that standout amongst the crowd. First off, the bread and butter that are served will challenge your self-control, because between the enticing artisanal everything butter and the fresh baked bread, if you are not careful you will fill up before your meal begins. As For appetizers, I highly recommend The Spicy Garlic Shrimp($12), which combines garlic shrimp with Spanish chorizo in a mouthwatering sauce perfect for seafood lovers, or The East Meets West Ribs($12), which are covered in a sriracha barbecue sauce, that, I am not ashamed to say, have dreams about. As for the Main Course, I am a sucker for the Skillet Mac and Cheese with Lobster($15), which delivers a tremendous amount of Lobster flavor thanks to the gigantic pieces of lobster mixed into the cheese sauce that has a slight smoky flavor due to the loving addition of my favorite condiment, Bacon! That is right, you heard me, I said condiment, bacon makes everything taste better, and therefore it is the only meat that should be considered a condiment. The aforementioned Pork Shank ($24) also makes my list of culinary contenders on the Twisted Elm’s menu, due to a perfectly executed chasseur sauce that displays the Chef’s wide array of influences.
As you are eating the generous portions the 
Mike Arp a/k/a The Blue Collar Foodie was born and raised in Northern New Jersey and has spent most of his adult life on a relentless quest to uncover eateries that deliver white collar fare at blue collar prices. This never ending journey, combined with his passion for writing gave birth to his current food blog, 
January 19th: Round 2 of the Ultimate Chef Bergen County: In each of 3 rounds, two of Bergen County’s top chefs will compete head to head to select a challengerto the reigning UCC, Ninamarie Bojekian of Ooh La La Catering in February. Round 1 winner: Chef Adam Weiss. Competitors in Round 2 are Chef Arthur Toufayan of Cafe Amici (Wychoff) vs. Chef Ryan Lagud of Biddy O’Malley’s (Northvale) Competition begins at 11am at Chef Central in Paramus.
January 20th: Hoboken: Stuff your face and the ballot boxes at the First Annual Hoboken Mutzfest Hoboken is a town known not only for baseball and Frank Sinatra but also for its world-famous mozzarella. On Jan. 20 we’ll bring the best that the town has to offer at the First Annual Mutzfest in which you can sample and vote for your favorite. The event promises to be fun-filled with friendly competition in order to earn sought-after bragging rights to be named the city’s best. Competing for the top honors are Biancamano, Fran’s Deli, Lisa’s Deli, Losurdo Brothers Bakery and Vito’s Deli. While all of the city’s top deli’s known for the fresh-made mozzarella were invited to participate, some are unable to attend because of other obligations. The Mutzfest, which runs from 2 pm – 6 pm at the Elk’s Club, will also feature a mozzarella-making demonstration, live entertainment and DJing by Angelo Cerrone, desserts, beer, wine and prizes. The cost to enter is $10 per person and is free for kids 10 and under. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Hoboken Family Alliance philanthropic efforts including a portion of proceeds for the Rebuild Hoboken fund and programs for children with special needs. Buy your tickets today. Tickets are on sale now at participating deli’s or at 
January 22nd: Asbury Park: Mr. Green Tea Presents a Night Out to Restore the Shore. $100 Tickets include full access to this exclusive event. Full course family style meal, drinks, live music and silent auction with items that range from bottles of wine to lavish vacations. Hurry only a few tickets are still available. Go to MrGreenTeaIcecream.com/RTS
Januray 31st: Westwood: Westwood’s Fourth Annual “Green Screen” — a week-long festival of fascinating and informative environmental films — will kick off on Thursday, January 31, 2013 and run through February 6, 2013 at the Westwood Cinema, 182 Center Avenue, Westwood, NJ and at the Westwood Public Library, 49 Park Avenue, Westwood, NJ. This environmental film series, which has a couple great foodie flicks, one of which is free with a talk from Guy Jones, one of the Garden State’s most acclaimed farmers, will kick off at pre-festival reception on Thursday, January 31st at 6:00 p.m. at 
The “Growing School Gardens” community on edWeb.net provides the seeds needed for the adoption of sustainability in schools to grow. In their new community, edWeb.net, a social networking and continuing education site for professionals in the education field, and the New Jersey Farm to School Network team up to create a place for “educators, gardeners, parents, and community volunteers to come together to share information and resources on how to start and maintain a school garden, and integrate it into the curriculum and the life of a school” (edWeb.net). Its goal is to make sustainability a community wide effort in order to “help children understand where their food comes from and how their food choices impact their bodies, the environment, and their communities at large” (edWeb.net).
ALL PROCEEDS GOING TO NJ VICTIMS OF SUPERSTORM SANDY
“As Buddha says your cup must be full in order for it to runneth over.”
“The first day I headed back to Langosta Lounge someone said to me ‘How does it feel to help yourself instead of others now?’” she recalls. On the verge of tears she thought that comment wasn’t a reach. For the past few months, she describes what she’s going through as experiencing “a death loss.“ The damage done to the restaurant will take hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair. After three months, Marilyn has still been unable to open two of her venues (Langosta Lounge and Labrador Lounge). Langosta Lounge hasn’t even begun demoing due to lack of funds and Labrador Lounge remains closed due to the curfew and lack of residents. Without the cash flow, there’s little Marilyn and her team can do.
“We’re working class people. I never expected to make more than what I needed and to pay for a few vacations. We’re restaurant operators. I can’t get unemployment because I’m a corporate officer.” She now understands that in the future she will need that safety net that she had lived without, but to get back to that point, she needs help. That’s where Go Fund Me came into the picture.
I was doing my regular weekly shopping trek to the Somers Point ShopRite and missed the light to make the left into to the shopping center parking lot. I had to go to the next traffic light and after I cursed under my breath, it turned out to be a good thing. Low and behold a new restaurant had opened in place of Chubby’s. Was it a sign, a lucky coincidence or kismet?! Who knows, but in it’s place was Heavenly Health Cafe. Talk about opposites! Hopefully it is a sign of better things to come in regard to better food choices. The name certainly was promising. Inside was a warm dining room with a gleaming open air stainless steel cook area. When I first arrived we were the only two in the place, ( I dragged my husband along to carry all the bags, I mean to help) but it quickly filled with people. The young waitress was friendly and helpful. We were told all the soup was made fresh and from scratch and the fruit, veggies and meats were organic as much as possible. Their breads are locally sourced. We both ordered the Vegetable Soup which came hot and full of veggies in a flavorful tomato broth with spaghetti squash “Noodles”. Neither of us missed the pasta noodles and the next time I make my own vegetable soup I am going to steal that idea!
My husband Richard chose the Whole Grain Grilled Pannini with house baked hand carved turkey, brie, cranberry chutney, and honey mustard, a delicious sounding combo, and I decided to stick with a salad.
I love Roasted Beets so it was a no brainer for me, they had a Roasted Beet, Arugula, Pears, Goat Cheese with Sliced Almonds topped with a House Made Wine Vinagarette. It was yummy with just the right blend of bitter and sweet and creamy goat’s cheese to round it out. And oh so good for you too. And my husband devoured his pannini saying it was moist and juicey and the combo of brie and cranberry chutney made him think of Thanksgiving all rolled into one sandwich. So that is a good thing because Thanksgiving is one of my husband’s favorite holidays. Ask about juicing! They will make design one for you. The sisters plan on building a juice bar soon.
What’s your favorite beer of 2012? To be honest, I have no idea how to answer that question definitively. Sometimes the perfect moment and the right beer collide to create a memory. I’ve heard that theme echoed by brewers more times than I can count. Ironically, they often focus on what’s around the glass and not just what’s in it. The story is important for them. Foodies know that presentation, atmosphere and circumstance can enhance (or detract) what’s on the plate. So too for beer geeks.
