The holidays provide us with a good opportunity to help others and to share love through cookie baking. This year, I had the opportunity to participate in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2012. Each blogger bakes three dozen cookies and sends one dozen to three other food bloggers. There is an element of mystery in the process, since we are not allowed to contact our cookie recipients before sending toothsome morsels their way.
The cookie swap also functions as a fund raiser for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a New Jersey-based charity founded by two employees of the company that makes Oxo “Good Grips” tools. The two Oxonians were inspired by the son Liam’s battle with pediatric cancer. Last year, sales of the company’s “Be a Good Cookie” spatula raised over $250,000 for pediatric cancer research.
Cookie-baking bloggers were asked to make donations to the charity, with our donations matched by Oxo. Participation in the cookie swap held particular meaning for me this year, since my mother in law lost her battle with cancer and my sister underwent cancer surgery in the week leading up to Thanksgiving.
I decided to make Chocolate-Hazelnut Drop Cookies, which can be found in the Giada
DeLaurentiis cookbook entitled “Weeknights with Giada” and is also featured on the Food Network website: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chocolate-hazelnut-drop-cookies-recipe/index.html
Ingredients
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup plus 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread, at room temperature (such as Nutella)
Directions
Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners. Set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With the machine running, gradually add the flour until incorporated. Beat in the chocolate-hazelnut spread. Using a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon, drop 12 balls of dough onto each baking sheet. Bake until the bottoms of the cookies flatten out slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Place 1 cup of powdered sugar in a medium bowl. In batches, roll the cookies in the sugar until coated. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
The day after I mailed my cookies, I received a tin of a dozen peanut butter sandwich cookies from Eleana of the blog Chou Down. Eleana used a recipe created by Thomas Keller of Bouchon Bakery, Pe Se and French laundry fame. They were redolent with the scent of butter and peanut butter-my family stood over the tin and inhaled them!
Thanks to Lindsay of Love and Olive Oil and Julie of The Little Kitchen for organizing the cookie swap.
Beth Christian subsisted primarily on cheeseburgers and liverwurst sandwiches during childhood and refused to try most new foods. Her culinary horizons were expanded during her college days in Schenectady, New York, where she learned the joys of trying slow-simmered Italian dishes, Szechuan cuisine, and everything in between. When not engaged in the practice of law in Monmouth County, Beth is busy scouting out interesting restaurants, farmer’s markets and food purveyors near her home in Burlington County. Beth’s primary dining sidekick is her husband John, but she also enjoys having her daughter Meghan, son Michael and her wonderful friends come along for the ride. Email Beth at [email protected]
December 6th: Spring Lake Heights: Jersey Shore Restaurant Week’s “Restore the Shore” Benefit 6:30-9:00pm, at The Mill. Attendees will enjoy hors d’ouevres, wine and beer tastings and live music by the Billy Lawlor Band. Instead of the traditional Jersey Shore Restaurant Week Kick-Off Party, this year’s party will raise funds for RestoreTheShoreBenefit.Org, a 501c3 partnership with WANDAA, created by Jersey Shore natives to assist in relief and generate donations for families and businesses affected by Superstorm Sandy. Working directly with relief centers, RTS’ primary focus is to help pay for temporary housing for the more than 2,000 displaced families on the Jersey Shore. For more information on the charity, visit: 
December 8th: Atlantic City: An Evening With Paula Deen, Saturday, at 6pm. Tropicana Casino & Resort in Atlantic City welcomes Paula Deen. This is your chance to witness first hand, some delicious southern home cooking demonstrations. For tickets and more information, 
December 13th: Randolph: Holiday Toy Drive & Cheer and Beer Night at Morris Tap and Grill. A night of fun while collecting toys for the St. Peter’s orphanage and families who have been displaced by Hurricane Sandy. What more could you ask for? Make sure you RSVP today! https://www.facebook.com/events/441095882620469/
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.
My Ninja came in very handy over Thanksgiving when my oven was busy entertaining the bird. So far I’ve made sausage corn-bread stuffing, oven roasted loaded potatoes, soup and chili. I love that you can brown your meat for Chili and then dump in the rest of the ingredients put it on slow cook and walk away. This used to take two pots to accomplish pre-Ninja.
Sunday, December 2nd: The Jersey Relief Experiment, an amateur cook-off to benefit the 
December 5th: What’s love got to do with it? Plenty, according to matchmaker and dating coach Julianne Cantarella, 
NEW DATE!! Michael’s Feat Annual Wine & Chef’s Tasting Tuesday, January 15th 6:00 pm till 9:00 pm Hosted at The Mill, Spring Lake Heights, NJ.Tickets for the event will still have the old date on them. They are valid tickets and will still be needed to gain entrance to the event.$40 per person in advance, $50 per person at the door (Minimum age 21) Visit 
Looking for a delicious gift for your hard to please food-obsessed friends? How about preserves with unique flavors, made by hand with local produce, in beautiful packaging? Let me introduce you to 
How about the Smoked Italian Plum on a burger or with pork tenderloin? The Donut Peach would be heavenly mixed into Greek yogurt. If you’re more of the savory type, try the chunky Spiced Tomato (with a hint of cayenne, cloves, and cinnamon) on a thick slice of hearty toast.
Sophie and Bobby do everything themselves, from macerating the fruit and jarring it, to packaging, and finally to writing each note that goes into every box. Nothing is outsourced to maintain the quality.
Back in the day used to take a beer with me when I hopped in the shower before a night on the town. Here’s another way to take your beer to the shower: Beer soap. 
Finally, here’s a more practical idea: Glasses. Every beer lover needs them because they are essential to enjoying your favorite brew to the fullest. I have a large collection of logo shaker pint glasses myself. Most of the states breweries and brew pubs offer them for sale along with other logo products like growlers and swag. Beer lovers also like to pair the right beer with the correctly shaped glass. The work horses of my glass collection are the 
The Academy of Culinary Arts at the Atlantic Cape Community College in Mays Landing hosted a Slow Food Sustainable Dinner which featured locally harvested food to celebrate World Food Day. The dinner was held in the schools award winning Careme’s Restaurant on the campus and prepared by the talented culinary students. The meal was served in a four course “farm to table” setting and included ingredients planted and harvested in Atlantic Cape’s organic greenhouse, responsibly harvested seafood and poultry, scallops from SeaSalt Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program at B & B Farms in Pomona. Proceeds from the dinner will benefit Atlantic Cape’s organic greenhouse on the campus grounds.
Our student server Maria Nicastro (culinary students work front and back of the house to learn all aspects of the restaurant business in a hands-on style in the college’s program) treated us to warm, fresh out of the oven dinner rolls, light and flaky with picture perfect egg wash brown and glossy tops (It would have made the Pillsbury Dough Boy jealous). Then, came the first course of Braised Escarole and Navy Bean Soup which had a silky and flavorful broth with a hearty amount of greens and beans. Next up, was a second course of Seared Cape May County Scallops with local pear and carrot puree, spiced port reduction and topped with young greens. The scallops were seared to perfection with just the right caramelization and so fresh and sweet you would have thought the boat was out back! Scrumptious!
Third course consisted of Half Roasted Organic Chicken atop Potato and Pepper Hash in a natural reduction. The chicken was tender, juicy, and nicely seasoned with a nice crispy skin and the hash was to die for! I made my husband give me most of his! I took home a silver swan with my leftover chicken for later. The dessert an Apple and Fig Cobbler with Vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce was just the right ending to an outstanding example of local bounty cooked to perfection by the culinary students of ACA. It is always a pleasure to be invited to Careme’s for any event as well as their regular lunch and dinner menu offered throughout the school year. Do not miss the chance to dine at the restaurant, as well as the Cafe series of eating events which features guest chef’s working in conjunction with the students. It is the most affordable luxury in fine dining you would expect to receive from only the best of restaurants! You can reach Careme’s for more information and reservations at 609-343-4940.
Following the dinner, the guest speaker was Marguerite Chandler, Co-founder of Slow Food South Jersey Shore. SFSJS is a chapter of Slow Food USA, an international movement which started in Italy in response to a McDonald’s opening across from the Colosseum in Rome. The movement supports a sustainable food supply which highlights the importance of food that’s primarily local (100 to 150 miles), seasonal, and fresh. They believe food should taste good with fresh ingredients, carefully prepared with respect for recipes and traditions that have lasted for generations. The group holds Slow Food Dinners throughout South Jersey at various restaurant locations. I have attended past dinners which are usually held in January and have immensely enjoyed the delicious local fare. You can get more information by visiting 
Stuffing
Megan Anderle is a web journalist by day, food blogger by night. On her blog budget-bon-viveur.com, she teaches beginner cooks the basics and proves that you can eat well without breaking the bank. Megan thinks everything tastes better with Nutella and hopes to attend culinary school one day.
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