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Culinary Classes: Cape May Court House: The Academy of Culinary Arts at Atlantic Cape Community College offers amateur chefs and food enthusiasts alike the opportunity to learn how to prepare a variety of tasty meals in classes running from January to May. Classes will be held at Atlantic Cape’s Mays Landing Campus, 5100 Black Horse Pike and at the Cape May County Campus, 341 Court House-South Dennis Road, in Cape May Court House. All classes take place 6-9 p.m. For fees and to register, call (609) 343-4829, or visit www.atlantic.edu/conted.
January 11th: West Windsor: West Windsor Farmer’s Market End of Season Wine & Cheese. Get together and toast the New Year with friends and vendors from the Market at a Wine and Cheese party. View the pilot of Fresh a new series starring some of our farms from the market. To purchase tickets: https://m.bpt.me/addtocart.html
January 12th: Titusville: Dutch Foodways in the Colonies 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fee: Please call for fee; reservations necessary Washington Crossing State Park, Johnson Ferry House Sponsor: The Open Hearth Cook Mercy Ingraham, Instructor (215) 757-4397
January 13th: Iselin: “Sit Down” with Vincent Pastore & Friends Casa Giuseppe, 487 Route 27, Iselin,NJ 08830. Ticket price is $100. Includes a Meet & Greet with Vincent Pastore from the Sopranos, a tradional Italian 5 Course dinner, music by Tony “Boccigalupe” Amato and friends. Proceeds to benefit the Light of Day Foundation. Click for more information and tickets.
- Meet representatives from local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms
- Get up close and personal with worm composting
- Learn how to grow veggies in raised bed and container gardens
- Master Gardeners on hand to answer all your “growing” questions
- Presented by the Sustainable Cherry Hill Garden Task Force and Master Gardeners of Camden County. Registration required: Click Here
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 www.mutzfest.com.
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 Bibi’z Restaurant, 284 Center Avenue, Westwood, NJ where organic and sustainably produced hot and cold hors d’oeuvres and wines will be served. The pre-festival reception is tickets-only. The price of all six films plus the Pre-Film Reception at Bibi’z Restaurant is $35. All films are priced separately or are free. For a full schedule and pricing information, or to purchase tickets, go to: www.westwood.bccls.org and click on Green Screen.. February 6th: Point Pleasant Beach is “Open for Business Benefit” to be held at Europa south, 521 Arnold Ave. 6-11pm $15 admission, includes a full buffet, live entertainment and prizes. Come help us spread the word that Point Pleasant Beach and our members in the surrounding areas are open for business. For information or if you would like to donate a prize for this evening contact the chamber office at 732-899-2424.
February 18th and April 2nd: Mays Landing: Gourmet dinners at Careme’s hosted by the American Vegan Society, at the Academy of Culinary Arts. Experience a meal of exceptional quality prepared and served by the culinary students under a chef educator. Call 856-694-2887 or visit www.americanvegan.org.
February 24th: Princeton: “East Slow” Winter Farmers Market . Stock up on and eat locally produced meats, cheeses, breads, mushrooms, baked goods, wine, sweets, pies and more. Held at Tre Piani Restaurant. 609-452-1515
February 26th: Atlantic City: A Taste of Atlantic City. $35.00. Experience an exclusive Preview of Atlantic City Restaurant Week. Tickets are available only online at www.acrestaurantweek.com. The ticket price includes the tasting and live music. A cash bar will be available. The restaurants will serve “tasting size” portions of items that will be included on their special Restaurant Week menus, as well as specialties from their regular menus. One hundred percent of proceeds will benefit Community FoodBank of NJ/Southern Branch, Alcove of Atlantic County and the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority Foundation.
March 14: Atlantic City: The 30th anniversary Atlantic Cape Community College Restaurant Gala will take place on Thursday, March 14, at Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel and Casino. With the theme, “Celebrate the 30 kNights,” the Gala will feature Camelot-inspired décor and an opulent feast.
The Restaurant Gala’s 30th anniversary honorees include the Donio and Crescenzo families of Hammonton and Chef Kevin Scull of Egg Harbor Township.
The annual fundraiser celebrates food by highlighting hors d’oeuvres prepared by students in the Academy of Culinary Arts and showcasing the specialties of 50 of the region’s best restaurants at a progressive dining experience. Each year hundreds of guests attend the Gala, which also includes live music and an elegant dessert reception.
The event has raised nearly $3 million for scholarships since 1984. All Gala proceeds benefit student scholarships at the Academy of Culinary Arts at Atlantic Cape Community College and Atlantic Cape Foundation operations.
For more information on the 2013 Gala, contact Carrie Leahy at (609) 463-4672, [email protected], or visitwww.atlantic.edu/gala.
March 21st: Newark: Manischewitz Cook-Off Contest. The Cook-Off will be held at the Manischewitz Headquarters and Manufacturing Plant in Newark, NJ on March 21, 2013 where Matzo and other Manischewitz goodies are produced! Click here for information on entering.
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The next course was a little unusual, but worked so well. Local Sea Scallops, Braised Short Ribs, Sauce Gribiche was absolutely luscious. The pairing of fish and beef in one dish was one I would not have ventured to chance, but in Chef Siversen’s hands it was magic. This was paired with a Domaine Sigalas Santorini 2011.
The fourth course was Foie Gras, Spiced Cantaloupe, Lavender Honey Gastric, Brioche Toast…I am not a huge foie gras lover, both from a moral standpoint and taste wise, but the accompaniments were fabulous! This was served with a very dry 2010 Gini Soave Classico.
Did you notice that the previous paragraph stated, “course one?” That’s right, there were two dessert courses (not a bad thing). This was definitely the chocolate lovers course. S’mores Sundae with Toasted Marshmallow, and Coffee Chip Ice Cream; 16 Layer Bittersweet Chocolate Cake, Fudge, and Pistachio Crunch Ice Cream, washed down with a Heitz Ink Port from Napa. You couldn’t go wrong with any of these choices.
Perseverance
All five finalists will win an all-expense paid trip to compete live on March 21st 2013 at the Manischewitz® Manufacturing Plant and Headquarters in Newark, NJ in front of a live panel of judges consisting of food media and other culinary experts. The grand prize package includes Maytag® appliances, cash, expense paid trip and a beautiful crystal trophy.
When Luis Croussett and his long time friend, Carlos Paulino, were passing their time on a Christmas vacation in 2011 complaining about the long lines at several popular chain restaurants; how splitting the bill was always an issue and how sometimes you have to wait so long to place your order, get the bill or even pay, they never dreamed that less than a year later they’d be the proud owners of a brand new company, Flying Kick Inc., and the proud parents of a new product that would change the way restaurants serve up their menus and patrons place their orders.
Cookbooks are a dime a dozen these days; you can walk into any Barnes & Noble and find 100 cookbooks on the same topic. Most of them have recipes with more ingredients than King Henry had wives, and are so involved the average working person ends up wanting to behead themselves.
From start to finish the recipe only took about 40 minutes to prep and pop in the oven. I put the assembled dish in front of my family, including my 85 and 82 year old traditional meat-and-potato-loving grandparents. We devoured the platter in less time than it took to make. The crunch of the skin provided the perfect complement to the luscious chicken that melted in your mouth. You could taste a faint aroma of wood smoke from the olive oil permeating through the chicken, giving it a more robust flavor. Tyler was absolutely right when he described the olive oil as “sexy.”
Looking for ways to keep the kids occupied and happy during their holiday break? How about dinner and a movie? Chevy’s, the chain, is unusual in that it is preparing many menu items from scratch, often quite successfully. The food at this bustling tex/mex eatery, strives to be authentic while delivering consistent quality and value. Chevy’s has partnered with AMC Theatre in Clifton for a dinner and a movie promotion which allows Chevy’s patrons to nab theater tickets for $8, a sweet discount, when presenting dining receipts at time of ticket purchase. Expect long lines at the Chevy’s in Clifton Commons if you visit during weekend evening hours or the restaurant’s peak weeknight super-saving happy hour special nights. In a recent visit, my dining companions and I were very satisfied with our appetizers and drinks, with entrees almost an after thought. Corn chowder was a big hit, mildly sweet with a creamy texture.
Management runs a tight ship and servers are well versed and knowledgeable. Our server Adam, who doubled as a trainer, made good recommendations in terms of selections and quantity. He prepared Guac tableside, asking if we wanted our forked mashed avocados smooth or chunky. He blended that with pico di gallo, diced jalapenos and fresh lime juice. Slathered on flash fried tortilla chips, this was a delicious start. Paired with a Bulldog, an upside down bottle of Corona suspended in a blue Curacao Margharita that was sweet and tart at once, we were rolling. Taquitos and the crispy chicken flautas were winners. The flexible menu offers a variety of combos to suit different preferences. It was varied and reasonably priced. Sizzling platter items were among our most popular entrees and not surprisingly, the classic tex/mex fare were well-executed and authentic tasting with a delicious, addicting corn pudding alongside. Dessert included house made flan and ice cream (fried or in sundae formats) with house made chocolate and Cajita, caramel-like, sauces. We were told that the latter, a slow cooked, slightly bitter sauce, takes several hours to prepare and is made fresh daily.
“Eat Soup, Do Good”
