BENEFIT DINNER AT RESTAURANT NICHOLAS, MIDDLETOWN
On November 26, a five-course dinner with wine pairings will be held at Restaurant Nicholas, 160 Route 35 S, Middletown to benefit the four members of the Restaurant Nicholas family who lost everything in the storm: chef de cuisine Nicholas Wilkins, pastry chef Kelly Kennedy, captain Dominic Aviles and food runner Jay Bitner. 6:45 PM; $200. Reservations: 732-345-9977. For menu, log onto: http://www.restaurantnicholas.com/
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BOOK FARE
Here are two books that came across my desk this week that would make perfect holiday gifts.
CANAL HOUSE COOKS EVERYDAY
Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton have been posting a daily lunch blog (lunch.thecanalhouse.com) filled with scrumptious recipes and exquisite pictures, which are the basis for their newly published cookbook, Canal House Cooks Every Day (Andrews McMeel, October 2012). This 385-page, red cloth-covered book has almost 250 new seasonal recipes and more than 130 photographs that will inspire you to cancel any restaurant reservations and stay home to cook. Each month is introduced with an informational essay, such as foraging for wild mushrooms, what to do with Meyer lemons, or how to use the outdoors to keep things cold. A few recipes to try this autumn or winter include: roasted-pumpkin soup; turkey soup; chicken broth with spinach and little meatballs; bratwurst with sautéed caraway cabbage; green lasagna with tomato sauce and fresh ricotta; roast prime rib of beef; pickled shrimp and celery; crushed potatoes with pancetta, peas and scallions; avocado mash on multigrain bread; red-velvet cupcakes with meringue frosting; and apples cooked with cumin and many others. Where is Canal House? It is Hirsheimer (photographer) and Hamilton’s (food stylist), studio in Lambertville by the D&R canal, where the authors design, write, and photograph foods and cookbooks. This charming book for home cooks has recipes that impress and taste as delicious as they look.
RACHEL RAY MY YEAR IN MEALS
It’s two books in one. Rachel Ray My Year in Meals then, flip the book over and you have Rachel’s husband John Cusimano’s My Year in Cocktails. Pick a recipe, pick a cocktail and you are in business. But we didn’t know which recipe to choose—as Rachel has published a food diary with a recipe for everyday of the year—so we picked an important date in our life: July 25, our anniversary. July 24 and July 25 were combined with a recipe using one of our favorite vegetables: cauliflower. So it was Creamy Saffron Sausage Cauliflower pasta that we made, page 102. Easy to follow directions, as well as helpful tips, make this book a perfect stocking stuffer for a Rachel Ray fan. Although we picked a date and started from there, be assured that there are more than 500 recipes to explore. And after you pick your recipe, turn the book upside down and choose a cocktail. We opted for the Blood Orange Margarita so that we could get our fruit serving for the day. My Year In Meals also has tags allowing readers access to bonus recipes and videos.
Copyright © 2012 by Rachel Ray from MY YEAR IN MEALS published by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Shuster, Inc.
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WANT WINE?
There are two events on November 27 for wine lovers:
A wine tasting with light hors d’oeuvres will be held at La Tavola Cucina, 700 Old Bridge Turpike, South River. 7 PM; $25, plus tax and gratuity. Reservations: 732-238-2111.
A wine class, “Italy Uncorked,” will be held at 55 Main Restaurant, 55 Main St, Flemington taught by George Staikos, a wine educator, sommelier, and corporate speaker. The class includes seven wines, as well as three dishes and cheeses to pair with the wines. 7 to 9 PM; $75. Register at http://TheEducatedGrape.com, or call George at 973-699-2199.
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SANDY WAS NOT DANDY
We are in the middle of a kitchen renovation and have been writing about our experiences every Wednesday since October 24 on Table Hopping With Rosie–Restaurant News. Please share your renovation stories, good or bad, with us.
Although we still had restaurants that we wanted to try our kitchen was completed enough for us to be able to use it within two weeks, and we filled our new refrigerator/freezer and freezer in the basement with food and cooked ad infinitum. But then Sandy came for a visit and we had no power or heat for 6 days. All the food that wasn’t eaten the first two days after the storm was thrown in the garbage. We were back to eating out, as well as looking for a power source so that we could use our laptops. Whole Foods became our new friend, as they had power, food and tables to sit at. Our expanding waistlines can attest to the high quality of their croissants and muffins. Some places we ate dinner during this leg of our journey were:
Salugo Bistro, Verona (BYO) with many worthwhile pasta and pizza options, it also has hearty comforting soups. Our pasta and bean; stracciatella (Italian egg-drop soup); and escarole, beans and meatballs soup took the chill out of our bones. We had the 16-inch vegetable pizza, a few salads and shared some pasta dishes. A previous posting about this restaurant, a new favorite, is here:
http://njmonthly.com/blogs/tablehopwithRosie/2012/10/10/restaurant-news.html
We spent a warm night at my brother’s home. They had eaten at Anthony & Son’s Little Italy Bakery Market Café, Succasunna (BYO), the night before and loved it so much that they wanted to return with us. This Italian market/restaurant has a deli case filled with tempting take-out options, fresh-baked breads and shelves filled with Italian imports. You can eat real cheap here. A small salad comes with dinner and portions are huge. Our bill, without tax and tip, was $15 per person. If you love onions, as we do, share the caramelized onions, mozzarella and sausage pizza before your entrée; it’s deliciously different. A homemade pasta in tomato sauce with pancetta, onion and basil received accolades. The picatta-style chicken with white wine, lemon and capers would have been enjoyed more if the potatoes weren’t undercooked and the dish hadn’t come to the table lukewarm. Breaded veal cutlet over baby arugula with mozzarella was well prepared, and the eggplant parm was made with thin, lightly fried eggplant with a notable tomato sauce; we’d order it again. If you’re stuffed there are plenty of desserts to purchase for take-out. Phone 973-970-9191.
Homemade pasta in tomato sauce with pancetta, onion and basil.
Photo courtesy of Lowell Saferstein
The noise level from the TVs and bar crowd was so disconcerting at the Verona Inn in Verona that we should never have sat down and ordered. If you are a sports bar fan though, this place is a good bet. Plenty of beer choices, tacos, wings, spuds, and burgers are featured. We shared a French onion soup made with cooked onions that were not caramelized. The soup was steaming hot, so we didn’t mind that the broth was not rich. Burgers were big, cooked to order and served on a brioche bun. Given a choice, we prefer Gaffer’s in West Orange for burgers.
Another favorite dinner is Chengdu 1 in Verona, which is known for its Szechuan cuisine. Instead of our usual order of the addictive dan dan noodles or spicy baby wontons, this time we opted for vegetarian dishes: steamed string beans with ginger; eggplant with garlic sauce; and vegetarian chow fun. All were exceptional. Hard core foodies will find unusual items on the menu to explore such as: pig tripe and pickled mustard soup; sautéed loofah; duck tongue with hot and pepper sauce; and jellyfish in scallion tasty sauce.
Steamed string beans with ginger.
Photo courtesy of Lowell Saferstein
We’re almost finished. We need to have the kitchen painted, order blinds and complete the punch list. Updates next week.
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DINING DEAL
From November 19 to 22, Christopher’s Restaurant & Bar, Heldrich Hotel, 10 Livingston Ave, New Brunswick, will be featuring a three-course Beaujolais Nouveau dinner for $45, which includes a glass of the wine. Reservations: 732-214-2200.
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