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Eli’s Creates 500 Pound Cheesecake

Deborah Smith, Executive Editor
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This is a miniature version of the 500 pound Cheesecake that Eli’s Cheesecake of Chicago is baking for President O’Bama’s Commander and Chief Ball.

JerseyBites was lucky enough to score this beauty and sample it in honor of our new President; a sacrifice I was ready and willing to make for my Country (snif.)

The cheesecake is a combination of Eli’s Original Plain Cheesecake and Eli’s Apple Cheesecake, a tribute to Abraham Lincoln’s love of apples.

As you can see, our junior reviewers were more than happy to take on the job. (Jill, please teach that kid how to smile.)

Before we dive into our review of this cake, here is the mind boggling grocery list for the Official 500 pounder.

100 pounds of cream cheese
30 pounds of sugar
25 pounds of sour cream
50 pounds of powdered sugar
126 eggs
15 pounds of flour
50 pounds of apples
30 pounds of butter
4 cups of vanilla
15 pounds of brown sugar
12 tablespoons of cinnamon

The folks at Eli’s were also kind enough to supply the recipe for those of you who would like to whip up a human size version of our President’s mega-cake.

And they are offering our readers a special coupon code should you want to purchase one of the originals. Inablog9. Here’s the fine print on the offer. The code offers will be 15% off their entire purchase on http://elicheesecake.com/ Not valid with any other offers. Discount valid Jan. 15 – Feb. 16, 2009.
Eli’s Cheesecake is a “Chicago Style” cheesecake, which I’m pretty sure Eli’s invented.

The two traditional differences between New York and Chicago style cheesecakes are that Chicago cheesecakes have a very smooth texture and use sour cream and New York cheesecakes are very rich, dense cakes and use heavy cream. Some signature elements to an Eli’s cheesecake is their all butter cookie crust and the use of triple strength Madagascar bourbon vanilla.

It was new to all of us East Coasters, and, basically, once we dug in all I heard was “Wow” “Oh, wow” “Oh, that’s good” “That’s really good.”

I haven’t had cheesecake in quite a while but it has always been my favorite desert since childhood, and I can honestly say, in my “expert opinion” that Eli’s Cheesecake is fabulous. I sent what was left in to the teachers at my son’s school because I knew if I left it in the fridge I’d eat it. I hope they got to nibble on it while they watched the Inauguration.

Believe it or not, I have never been to Chicago. It is on my list of places to visit, soon, and I will be making the trip to Eli’s. I hear their tour is great fun. Eli’s has a deep history in Chicago. If you get a minute, check out their website for the story of Eli and his family business.

Broccoli O’Bama Pizza

Deborah Smith, Executive Editor
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We had an impromptu Inauguration Dinner last night with some friends and their children. In preparation for our dinner, I did some research early in the day trying to find out what our new President’s favorite food might be. About all I could find was Pizza. Evidently, he’s a man of simple tastes.

While campaigning through Saint Louis a restaurant called Pi, a chicago style pizzeria, sent O’Bama and his staff some pizza’s after his speech. Later that day, O’Bama called the owner, Chris Sommers, to tell him it was the best pizza he’d ever tasted.

Pi was so pleased with the praise from our President (pretty good huh?) that he introduced a new Pizza in his Honor’s honor called the Broccoli O’Bama pizza.

I made a few adjustments to the list of ingredients and recipe, because I can’t seem to stop myself these days. I added mushrooms because I love them and thought they’d go well. The original recipe calls for a Sour Cream “dipping sauce.” I thought, why not just make a sour cream sauce for the pizza? So, that’s what I did and it was really delicious. Thumbs up from everyone.

INGREDIENTS

Pizza Dough
Broccoli florettes, steamed for approximately 4 minutes in the Microwave
4 Medium Red Potatoes, cleaned and sliced thin
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
6 Strips of smoked bacon, crumbled
1 package sliced button mushrooms
1 cup of Gruyere cheese
1 cup of cheddar cheese
1 cup of Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup of Low Fat Sour Cream
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 – 2 Tbsp. snipped chives
2 Tbs. Cornmeal (to keep pizza from sticking)

You’ve got two choices with Pizza dough, you can make the dough yourself (too much work for me) or purchase the dough raw from your local pizzaria or the Grocery store. This time around I purchased it frozen and let it thaw in a bowl on the counter for 30 minutes. It was just fine.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice red potatoes in thin, potato “chipish” slices, toss with olive oil and salt and pepper and place on cookie sheet. Back in oven until golden brown, turning once. Approximately 20 minutes.

Steam broccoli florets until tender.
Saute mushrooms in a few tablespoons of butter until tender, approximately 10 minutes.

Mix Sour cream, cream cheese, Italian seasoning and Garlic salt. Set aside.

Grate cheeses, set a side.

ASSEMBLY:

I use a pizza stone that I purchased for a whopping $6. It does a great job. Start by preheating your oven to 450 degrees and preheating your pizza stone in the oven for at least 10 minutes.

Remove pizza stone and sprinkle generous amount of corn meal on the stone or you will need a crow bar to get that pizza off. Form your dough into a nice round pizza and use the tines of a fork to poke some holes in the center area. (much like pie crust, this will help keep it from bubbling up). Pop dough in oven for about 5 minutes. Remove dough and push any bubbles down with fork.

Spread sour cream mixture on dough first just like you would a red sauce. Arrange the potatoes, then mushrooms, then broccoli. Cover with cheese mixture and then sprinkle bacon and chives over top.

Bake for 15 minutes until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes or so. Slice and enjoy.

The Cabin Restaurant in Freehold

Deborah Smith, Executive Editor
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If people are shying away from dining out and staying home because of the lousy economy, you wouldn’t know it at The Cabin in Freehold. When Peter and I pulled into the parking lot, I was a bit concerned. I can’t remember the last time I saw so many cars in the parking lot of a restaurant, and, you see, I am not good at waiting. I do not, can not, wait for a table for more than 10 minutes. Those people at Outback Steakhouse always amaze me with their vibrating whosie whatsies (I almost called them vibrators, but thought that might conjure up a strange image) standing in the entrance waiting and waiting for chain restaurant food. When I used to go to Outback, I was the one who would zip past the line and eat at the bar or turn around and heads somewhere else.

So, when I saw the cars, I was worried this was going to be a nightmare. Now, I’ve never been to the Cabin and from the outside, well, it looks like a log cabin (so ironic). What you don’t realize from the outside (in the dark) is how big the place actually is. There were still some patrons waiting to be seated when we walked through the front door, and the first bar was a mob scene, so we cruised past and found the only two seats available at the second, very large bar. (There’s something strange about a log cabin with 15 flat screen TV’s, don’t you think? Not exactly kickin’ it Little House on the Prairie style, if you know what I mean. Just a thought.)

Anyway, I digress. Peter and I were meeting some friends from High School to “plan our reunion” which we later decided was just an excuse to get together over cocktails. I only had a chance to sample two of the appetizers and the one you see pictured here was a real winner. Fried Monkfish served with a Horsradish dipping sauce, delicious. We also ordered the Onion Rings which I thought were a little too breaded, but that didn’t stop me from eating half the basket. I was disappointed that they had taken the “Pepper Rings” off the menu which sounded really interesting.

This place is casual with a capital “C,” sweatshirts and baseball caps galore. It looks like a great family place during the week and they also offer live music Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. From the looks of things, the Pizza seemed a popular menu choice. I have also been told they do a very good steak. We’ll have to get back there on a week night to give the Cabin another go and I will update you on our experience.

THE CABIN RESTAURANT
984 ROUTE 33
FREEHOLD N.J. 07728
732 462-3090

Chicken, Spinach & Butternut Squash Lasagna

Deborah Smith, Executive Editor
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I know it sounds crazy, but trust me when I tell you, you have to make this one! This is one of the tastiest lasagnas you’ll ever eat and its fairly healthy. I used cottage cheese instead of Ricotta (first time for me) and went pretty conservative with the Mozzarella.

I started my quest for a recipe a few days ago. I had leftovers from a roaster chicken that I had made earlier in the week and I didn’t want them to go to waste. But, I hate leftovers that are just the same dang meal. I want leftovers to taste completely different. So, my mind started thinking about lasagnas. Then it started thinking about my favorite veggie combination spinach and butternut squash. If you wanted a vegetarian version, just omit the chicken and the egg. It will still be fabulous.

After a search on Google under “Butternut Squash Lasagna” I once again realized that I was not having any culinary breakthroughs here. There are hundreds of recipes out there for butternut squash lasagna. My buddy, Giada De Laurentiis (we’re tight) over at the Foodnetwork has a Butternut Squash Lasagna recipe which has garnered some rave reviews. Her recipe calls for a lot of basil which sounded interesting, but I thought it might overshadow the butternut squash.

One of my Twitter followers (follow me @jerseybites) from Culinary Competitor sent me a recipe for Winter Squash, Mushroom and Swiss chard lasagna. This recipe was getting closer to what I was thinking, but it called for Red Sauce and for some reason I was thinking a Bechamel sauce would go well. It also called for Tofu (you know those Californians and their Tofu.) Since I already had the cottage cheese, the Tofu wasn’t happening this time around.

So, push came to shove and this recipe was born from my need to use up leftover chicken and my love for Butternut squash and spinach. The Bechamel Sauce is the same sauce I use for the Green Bean Casserole I posted a while ago. I’m increasing the measurements by 1/2 because I found it didn’t quite make enough.

Many of the recipes I read call for boiling the Butternut Squash. I think this “waters down” the flavor of the squash. I prefer to toss the squash pieces with some garlic olive oil and salt and pepper and roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Then just mash them with a potato masher. No need for any food processors in this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 medium (3 lb) Butternut Squash. Peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 Tbs. Garlic Oil or Garlic Fused Olive Oil (my favorite)
S&P to taste
9 No Boil Lasagna noodles (**see my note on this at bottom)
2 boxes of Frozen spinach (thawed and drained well)
1 cup cooked and shredded chicken
1 cup low fat, small curd cottage cheese
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese

Sauce

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 Cup all purpose flour
3 cups whole milk (I used Lactaid skim milk, and it works just fine)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of grated nutmeg
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 healthy pinch of nutmeg

DIRECTIONS

Coat squash with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Mass with potato peeler.

While squash is cooking, mix spinach with cottage cheese, parmesan cheese and egg and set aside.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup flour; whisk constantly until mixture begins to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Pour in milk; continue whisking until mixture thickens, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in cayenne, nutmeg, and 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. black pepper. Remove from heat; let cool, mixing occasionally.

Time to Assemble:

Spoon a layer of sauce on the bottom of a 13 X 9 inch casserole dish.

Top with 3 lasagna noodles, then a layer of the spinach mixture.

Top this with a half a cup of the shredded chicken and half of the butternut squash.

Top squash with a couple ladles of sauce and 3 more noodles. Repeat second layer, spinach, chicken, butternut squash, sauce and Add 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese. Top with last three noodles, cover with sauce and last cup of mozzarella cheese.

Cover lasagna with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

**note on the no boil lasagna noodles. I am not a fan. The next time I make this I will probably go old school and buy the boiling kind. I do not like the crunchy ends that almost always come with the no boil variety.

And, last but not least, a picture of my kitchen after creating a new recipe. Why doesn’t Ina Garten’s kitchen ever look like this?

Now, I’m off to have leftover lasagna for lunch. Yum!

Nisi Estiatorio Opens in Englewood

Deborah Smith, Executive Editor
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Tonight, Nisi Estiatorio, a new Greek restaurant in Englewood, will be opening its doors to the public for the first time. Nisi is a gorgeous addition to the Bergen County restaurant scene. In this economic climate of gloom and doom, seeing a new restaurant with such a beautiful design is a wonderful surprise. When you step in through the heavy wooden doors, it is like being transported to a high end taverna in Santorini. Everything is blue or white, including the large tiled wall fountain behind the impressive ice bed filled with fresh fish for your choosing.

I attended a cocktail party at Nisi last night where I got to taste some of Nisi’s menu offerings. I was disappointed not to have an opportunity to sample any of the focal points of the menu: the fresh fish on display. They looked so appetizing that I plan to return soon to try them. There was no shortage of pass arounds however, so I can report back on many other dishes. Many of them were as delicious as I expected them to be considering Nisi’s chef is no other than John Piliouras, formerly of Manhattan’s Molyvos Restaurant.

Nisi could probably have been called Ouzo because it is a starring ingredient in many of the dishes. I started with some incredibly fresh oysters and clams on the half shell with an ouzo orange mignonette sauce. I also tried many of the mezedes (appetizers) including light as air taramosalata (carp roe mousse with almonds, lemon and olive oil), and a fire roasted eggplant spread. The ouzo cured Scottish salmon was very good as were the keftedes (mini ground lamb meatballs). The Greek take on shrimp and pasta with vodka sauce was done with orzo and ouzo and was actually more interesting and spicy than its Italian counterpart. My favorite appetizer was by far the Ktenia Kataifi, a sea scallop wrapped in a pastry that looked like shredded wheat. It was light and just melted in my mouth, leaving me with a sweet taste of scallop and balsamic vinegar reduction.

As I said, I didn’t get to taste any of the main dishes from the menu. The sea bass, dorado, pompano, sole and prawns lying on their bed of ice looked very fresh and appetizing. They are priced per pound ranging from $25 to $32 and are grilled and then deboned before being served. Unlike many Greek restaurants which emphasize fish, there is also plenty for the carnivores: chicken, lamb chops, rib-eye, and moussaka.

There was no shortage of desserts to be sampled, many of which featured some unusual Greek ingredients. The creme brulee was infused with something called Mastiha, a sap that can only be found on the island of Hios and is considered to be the original chewing gum. Nisi offers two types of baklava: a traditional one and another one with chocolate, raspberries and orange pastry cream. The diet conscious should try the Karidopita, a sugar free walnut cake.

Nisi has a soothing and hip ambiance. Unlike many of the restaurants in Bergen County, it has a liquor license and a beautiful bar. I have a strong suspicion that Nisi is going to become a serious dining and after-hours destination.

Nisi Estiatorio
www.nisirestaurant.com
90 Grand Avenue,
Englewood, NJ 07631
(201) 567-4700
______________________________________________________________________

Vanessa Druckman
Jersey Bites
North Jersey Contributor
http://www.chefdruck.blogspot.com
http://www.chefdruckreviews.blogspot.com
http://www.chefdruckwrites.blogspot.com

Also contributes to:
www.newjerseymomsblog.com

Our New Win It Wednesday, Sponsored by Goody Green Bag.

Deborah Smith, Executive Editor
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This Week’s “Win It Wednesday” is brought to you by GoodyGreenBag.com. One lucky winner will get their choice of one totally trendy, eco-friendly, reusable bag for the style conscious and environmentally friendly shopper. The bags are made from non-woven polypropylene – a coated, water resistant material that is light-weight, durable, fire resistant and washable.

I personally loved this design called “Bad to the Bone.” But, the winner will have his or her choice of one of 6 different designs. Every bag Goody Green Bag makes easily folds down to the size of an envelope. Keep it in your car, purse, even your coat pocket.

To Enter to Win, simply leave a comment WITH YOUR CONTACT EMAIL. This Giveaway ends on Tuesday, January 20th, at 11:59 pm. The winner will be selected with the help of Random.org.

Thanks Goody Green Bag for sponsoring this week’s Win It Wednesday and here’s to……




The Winners of this week’s Win It Wednesday

Deborah Smith, Executive Editor
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Well, We had 93 entries for this Week’s Giveaway of Pizza Hut‘s New All Natural Pizza and our three lucky winners are………..

Vickie said…

Would love to try Pizza Hut’s new “Natural” pizza, especially for free!

Kaycee said…

Ive never heard of this- but sounds yummy!

Elsie said…

Pizza is fun, and since I lost a Scrabble game, I owe someone a pizza…would love one of these tasty and terrific new pizzas for the New Year!

Congratulations Ladies. Be sure to send us your feedback on the new Natural(TM).

And, don’t forget to come back later for this week’s Win It Wednesday sponsored by Goody Green Bag, keeping the earth green one bag at a time.

ALS Fundraising Event at The Atlantic Club in Manasquan Friday January 30th

Deborah Smith, Executive Editor
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We are spreading the word about a very important Fundraiser being held this month at the Atlantic Club in Manasquan. If you have not yet been to the Atlantic Club, it is one of the premier exercise facilities in New Jersey. Actually, calling it an exercise facility is a bit misleading. It’s more like a workout metropolis; pools, tennis courts, oodles of equipment and classes, field house, even a full salon and spa.

On January 30th, the Atlantic Club in conjunction with clubsforthecure.com will host this special day for one man’s quest for a cure, Augie’s Quest. One year ago this month, my best friend’s Mother was taken by ALS. It is a cruel and merciless disease that needs to be stopped. I hope you will participate and share the love. They are looking for prize donations from local businesses as well as attendees.

WinterQuest

at The Atlantic Club

Augie’s Quest, MDA’s ALS Research Initiative, is an agressive, cure-driven effort, focused on finding treatments and cures for ALS.

Friday, January 30th at 7pm

The Atlantic Club and the MDA are hosting a benefit to help find a cure for ALS.

All proceeds from this event go towards Augie’s Quest.
Great Food ~ Dancing ~ Music ~ 50/50
Silent Auction ~ Ice Carving ~ Valet
Event held at The Atlantic Club-Manasquan
No ticket refunds. Please check www.theatlanticclub.com
weather alert if weather is questionable.
Tickets sold at the Front Desk.
Members $15
Guests $20

You can also bid online!
Starting Friday, January 16th the Silent Auction will be available for bidding at www.winterquest.cmarket.com The Online Auction will close at noon on Friday, January 30th. The Live Auction will continue the night of the event at 7:00pm.

If you have any items you would like to donate for the event, please contact [email protected]

Sunday Leftovers = Pot Roast Enchiladas

Deborah Smith, Executive Editor
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Sunday Leftovers = Pot Roast Enchiladas

 

On Saturday night, I made my very first Pot Roast. I know, I know. How could I have never made a Pot Roast before? Well, to be honest, when you’re searching for “Food with Attitude” Pot Roast just doesn’t jump to the top of the list. And, to be really honest, it probably won’t be on my list of “have to haves” any time soon. In my opinion, pretty boring.

Leftovers, on the other hand, were anything but. These puppies absolutely melt in your mouth. I realized quickly after Googling “Leftover Pot Roast Enchiladas” that I was not alone in this discovery. In fact, it may be quite a common use for leftover PR.

Once I was on my way to making Enchiladas, I realized that I had no Enchilada sauce. Back to Google to find a fairly simple recipe. My only problem was that I didn’t have any canned Tomato Sauce. So, back to Google once again to find a substitution for canned Tomato Sauce. Low and behold, I found a great website Ingredient Substitutions where I learned that 1 cup of water + (1 ) 6 oz. can of Tomato Paste = 15 oz. can of Tomato Sauce. Who knew? Well, maybe you did, but I had no idea.

I’m not going to print the excellent Enchilada Sauce recipe, but you can Go Here to get it. I did make two adjustments to the recipe. I added about a half a teaspoon of salt and about a teaspoon or so of Chipotle chili in adobo sauce. I keep it frozen, so it’s hard to tell what is Adobo sauce and what is actually pepper. Keeps things interesting.

Ok, so while the sauce was simmering, I chopped up one onion and one green bell pepper and sauted them in a little olive oil.

Next, I shredded the left over Pot Roast. I didn’t weigh what was left over so it is impossible to give you exact measurements for this recipe. But, I’ve got lots of pictures (having fun with my new camera) to give you an idea of the ratios.

After the peppers and onions were done, I mixed them with the meat, about a half cup of black beans, one can of drained Rotel (my favorite ingredient) and a few ladles of the Enchilada sauce. You can see the consistency of the mixture below.

Then it was time to fill each tortilla. I used Whole Wheat.

Spread a couple of ladles of Enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 13 X 9 inch baking pan. Line up your Enchiladas like little soldiers all seam side down.

Cover with the rest of the Enchilada Sauce.

Add cheddar cheese or your favorite Mexican blend, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve by itself or over your favorite rice. I served it over brown rice and delish.

No leftover Pot Roast? Get yourself a Roaster chicken and shred the meat. Follow all the directions exactly as you would with shredded beef. Shredded pork, same thing.

This Dish was selected as a Top Ten Finalist in the Rotel Recipe Contest. Please click on the image to vote us the winner by June 30th.

White Bean and Italian Sausage Chili

Deborah Smith, Executive Editor
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This recipe was the winner of a chili contest that Esquire Magazine held in which they invited three of “America’s best young chefs to devise chili recipes with no restrictions.”

I hope Esquire and David Bull from Dallas’ Bolla don’t mind that I monkeyed with the recipe (just a bit.)

This is an extremely hearty chili, very thick. It calls for 2 cups of dried beans which cook along with the chili for 90 minutes. The beans soak up all the chicken broth leaving it a little dry, in my opinion. I thought it could use some “loosening up”(if that makes sense). So, I added a package of frozen spinach and I sauted some baby Crimini mushrooms in butter and threw them in. End result? a much more colorful and interesting chili. My guests agreed. I served it over whole wheat pasta.

Oh, I also used Sweet Italian Sausage instead of the Hot. I thought that the 2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes would add plenty of heat, and I was right. This is a hot chili. So, if you cannot tolerate heat, use the Sweet Sausage and cut back or eliminate the red pepper flakes.

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb hot (or sweet) Italian fennel
sausage links

1 tbsp olive oil

5 oz pancetta, diced

1 large yellow onion, diced

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 green bell pepper, diced

2 cups dry cannellini beans, rinsed

Spice mix:

1 tbsp finely chopped oregano leaves

2 tsp red-pepper flakes

2 qts (8 cups) chicken stock

coarse salt and ground black pepper to taste

My Additions: After chili has cooked 90 minutes

1 box of frozen chopped spinach. Throw the block in frozen it will defrost right in the chili and add some needed liquid.

1 package of fresh presliced crimini mushrooms sauted in 2 Tbs. butter until tender

Garnish:

sour cream

½ cup green onions, cut into long strips

½ cup fried leeks*

Method

Film a large stock pot with vegetable oil and place over moderately high heat. Brown sausage on all sides. Reduce heat to low and cook through, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove sausage from pan and cool. Discard grease. In the same pan, add olive oil and pancetta. Render pancetta over low heat until crisp, about seven to nine minutes. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent, five to six minutes. Add garlic and sauté until golden, about three minutes. Add remaining ingredients, increase heat, and bring to a boil. Dice reserved sausage and return to chili mixture. Lower heat and simmer until beans are tender, at least 90 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve each bowl of chili with a dollop of sour cream and some green onions and fried leeks. Serves 4 to 6.

*Fried leeks:

2 leeks (white parts only),

cleaned, trimmed, and cut

into fine threads

1 cup canola oil

coarse salt to taste

Fried Leeks: Tip (Leeks are notoriously dirty. Break up your thin slices into rings and soak them a large bowl of cold water to clean properly. Use a slotted spoon to remove, leaving the dirt at the bottom of the bowl.)

Bring water to boil and blanch leek threads for five to eight seconds. Strain and squeeze excess moisture from leeks, patting dry with paper towels. In a large skillet, heat canola oil over high heat until almost smoking. Add leeks and fry until they just start to turn golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Season with salt.

Walk ‘n Roll with Enable

Deborah Smith, Executive Editor
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February 8th is the date to mark on your 2009 calendar for Enable’s first walk, “Walk ‘N Roll with Enable” to be held at PEAC Health & Fitness in Ewing, N.J. on their indoor track at 1 pm. The walk is for persons with disabilities, their families and friends, community citizens, volunteers—anyone that wants to participate. Register on line, register by downloading the registration brochure and mailing it in. To learn more about Walk’N’Roll, click here.

The Cooking With Friends Club

Deborah Smith, Executive Editor
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Recently, I was lucky enough to corner interview one of the members of our Jersey Biters Social network and founder of Cooking With Friends Club(TM), Alison Bermack. I think you’ll enjoy this look into what the Cooking with Friends Club is all about and what their very happy members have to say.


Q: What is “Cooking With Friends”?

Alison: Cooking With Friends is so many things. Simply put, it’s the act of friends getting together in one of their home kitchens and cooking together towards a mutually beneficial goal — family dinner, party foods, baby food, lunches, breakfast foods, birthday cakes — you name it! It is a timely alternative (during tough economic times) for people (mostly women) to connect with others while cooking for themselves and their families. It is social while constructive, makes economic sense (sharing ingredients and expenses) and most of all, it’s enjoyable. Cooking With Friends is a meaningful way to celebrate the process of cooking and not just the end result.


Q: Who is behind the Cooking with Friends Club? When was it Started?

Alison: I am the founder and creator of the Cooking With Friends Club. However, my best friend from High School (Shannon Henry Kleiber) is my partner and has been for more than a year. We run CWF together.


Q: What was your inspiration for starting the Cooking With Friends Club?

Alison: An overwhelming interest from friends wanting to cook with me. I started cooking with my friend Debbie about ten years ago when our kids were toddlers and babies. Other friends would stop by or hear about our cooking sessions and want to try for themselves. Soon this interest grew outside of my own little circle of friends and people were approaching me for advice and ideas about Cooking With Friends. Demand grew and iI am just one little person! I started a Yahoo group as a forum to provide inspiration and instructional tips on Cooking With Friends and as a means to help others connect and form their own cooking relationships.


From my Yahoo group:
“The Cooking with Friends Club is an online community connecting people through the common goal of cooking and eating good food. We think cooking with a friend or family member is more fun, economical and efficient than cooking alone. Cooking together gives you a chance to slow down and talk while you are chopping, sautéing and simmering. You can use the site to share recipes, trade ideas, and schedule cooking dates and swaps. The file section is chock full of advice, inspiration, ideas and big batch recipes that will help you cook with your friends.”


Q: How many members do you have and how does someone become a member?


Alison: As of right now, membership is free in the Cooking With Friends Club Yahoo group and so is a subscription to our free Cooking With Friends e-newsletter. We also have a Facebook group. It’s hard to calculate the number of members since many CWFC members are connected (we call these “connectors”) to CWF communities they created outside of our direct community. But, to give you an estimate, we have thousands of people accessing our website on a regular basis for tips and recipes, almost a thousand newsletter subscribers, more than 400 Yahoo members and with more than 200 members, an actively growing Facebook Cooking With Friends Club. Our members live all across the country and in Canada. We have an active group in New Jersey, Denver, Florida and Arizona. We also have members in NY, CT, PA, NE, WI. . .all over. Members get several recipes a month that are suitable to for group cooking, tips, time saving tool recommendations and loads of cooking together tips. Mostly women with children are interested in CWF since it provides them with a new and fun way to connect with others while getting the necessary job of feeding the family done. However, we have single men and women also interested since it gives them a social outlet and way to connect with others.


Q: What are your hopes and dreams for CWF?

Alison: To continue preaching the gospel of CWF thereby reaching and connecting with hundreds of thousands of people across America. To make this a truly National revolutionary movement.


Q: What do your members say about the Cooking With Friends Club?

Alison: Pretty powerful things. Some of the phrases I’ve heard from members:
It’s been “lifesaving” “life-changing” “revolutionary”
These are all the things that CWF has been for me. In fact, it has been “life defining” for me.
Here are a few quotes from members:


I am a big procrastinator with cooking. That’s why cooking ahead and with a friend has helped me tremendously. I am in a mom & kid playgroup. So, have lots of mom friends in the same boat. We do meals for moms whenever new babies are born. My friend and I always share the day for bringing a meal and cook together. But, we triple the batch. So, we leave with the new mommies meal and dinner for us! Love that! 


Amber, CWFC Member


I wanted to share with everyone my first experience with cooking with a friend! My neighbor Amy is expecting and on moderate bedrest. She had an abundance of green tomatoes in her garden and I had my grandmothers home made sweet relish recipe. We decided to double the recipe (which promised 16-20 pints of relish) can it all and split the jars between us. I shopped for the remainder of the ingredients. On the first night the we cleaned and ground 50 green peppers, 25 red peppers, 6 heads of cabbage, 15 pounds of tomatoes, and 6 pounds of onions. The next day we cooked it and canned it and were shocked to find we had about 56 pints! I guess vegetables have just gotten bigger since my grandmothers day! It was a huge undertaking though and definitely so much fun to have done it with a friend.


Amy, CWFC Member


I finally managed to have two friends over to cook on Sunday afternoon. We each made a dinner entree–bologneses sauce made with ground turkey and turkey sausage, chicken pot-pie (using biscuits instead of pie crust) and hearty bean vegetable soup. Not only was it fun spend a few hours with friends but we shared cooking tips and exchanged recipes. What a luxury to know that dinner is already prepared for several days! So, thank you for the inspiration and encouragement.


Liza, Cooking with Friends Club Member


I just wanted to share my positive experience today in cooking with a new friend. Chris and I got together this afternoon to cook (myself the Harvest soup and for Chris, Split Pea) and we had a great experience. Great because we had such a good time (and were compatible cooks!) and in 2 hours cooked 5 quarts of soup each – 10 quarts in all. What a feeling of accomplishment looking at our finished product (of very beautiful orange and green colors!) We spend our last 1/2 hour together enjoying a bowl of soup (with some bread and cheese). It was a nice way to end the experience enjoying the fruits of our labor. We really did enjoy this time together cooking for this great cause. We also saw how plentiful our output was that I want to do it again soon to freeze some for my family and the cold days ahead.


Kathe, CWFC Member


I read about this wonderful group in Hallmark magazine and could not get to my computer fast enough to sign up. I am a mother of two living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I work full time and between my job, my children, my husband, my volunteer commitments and my house – I never feel I have enough time to do one of the things I truly enjoy – cooking. I have often thought of going to one of those Make Ahead Dinner classes so I can have healthy meals ready on the spur of the moment in my freezers. However, Alison‘s idea seems much more practical and fun – cooking with my friends – what could be better??? Also – cooking to help out my local food
pantry is something that I would love to do.


Kristin, CWFC Member

Q: Do you have any tips or advice for someone who would like to host a Cooking With Friends Club get-together?

Alison: Go to our website. We have a great article that offers 10 Tips for Hosting a Soup Swap. The website also offers recipe suggestions for everything from appetizers to deserts. I would also recommend that they join our yahoo group and ask our seasoned members for advice.



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