NJ SPICE

Not that this delicious veal chop from Bobolink Dairy’s grassfed herd needed any help with flavor, but I’ve been on this anchovy and caper binge, and that seemed a perfect touch for this dish, since I didn’t have an outside grill to lend it a charry flavor.

So I broiled the chops inside on an evening slightly less hot than others (not that any of our days or nights are comfortable lately), when I longed for a real “cooked” dinner.

Preparation was simple. I coated the meat with olive oil, and salt and pepper. While the broiler heated up, I melted a pat of butter and some olive oil in a small skillet, then added chopped garlic and oil-cured anchovy fillets. As the garlic softened over medium heat, the anchovy melted into it.  Then I threw in a tablespoon or so of rinsed salt-cured capers.  At the end, a good squeeze of lemon juice.

Then I broiled the chops, just a few minutes per side, and spooned on the sauce that was still warm on the stove.  Well, it was delicious.  I had some leftover mixed veggies on the side and a crisp Caesar salad that echoed that anchovy flavor.

Bobolink Dairy has recently moved closer to us, down to Hunterdon County, so I’m hoping to find them more at local farmers markets, as it’s a bit of a reach for me to get to the Sunday market in Stockton.  Their cheeses are amazing. Their breads are excellent, too, alhough they don’t have their bread oven rebuilt yet, so no bread is being baked at present. 

Bobolink owners Jonathan and Nina White worked with the Hunterdon Land Trust Alliance to preserve the Stamets Farm, which had so far been farmed by only two families since the American Revolution.  A delicious act of conservation to be sure!

A few weeks ago, before this terrible heat wave started, I paid a crabby visit to McCaffrey’s Market in Princeton.  No, I wasn’t feeling crabby, but had crab meat on my mind.

I headed right to the ice case in front of their seafood counter.  There’s always something interesting nestled in those ice chips.  For starters, I bought a container of their Krab dip, which I have a real weakness for.  Nevermind that it is made with imitation crab, barbecue sauce, cream cheese, and the like (soooo sinful), the stuff is darned good, with its big pieces of fake Krab and scallions.  Okay, now you know my dirty little secret. (Actually, by now you probably know quite a few of those!)

But I hankered for the real stuff, too, and picked up a tub of good looking lump crab from the same icy display. At home, I decided to forgo the predictable crabcakes, and make a gratin instead.  I made a Béchamel sauce with milk (I didn’t have cream, and didn’t add any egg yolk to enrich it).  I made sure to add a little sherry and nutmeg, then blanked the crab in a buttered au gratin dish with the sauce.  A topping of bread crumbs tossed with Parmesan and paprika went over the Béchamel, and into the oven it went, just until bubbling.  It was quite good, if I do say so.

Congratulations to Pure Indian Foods, makers of organic ghee, which you will find at local farmers markets, for their July 21 write-up in the New York Times.  There’s always something interesting in Florence Fabricant’s Food Stuff column, all the more so when it features a local company.

I first found Pure Indian Foods at one of our Slow Food Winter Markets, and posted about it then.  Now their ghee comes in several different flavors, so be sure to try some soon.  Not only is it organic, it is made from un-homogenized milk from grassfed cows, and, according to Vedic principles, only on the waxing or full moon.

Look for it at the local markets, or order from their website.

When Za Restaurant in Pennington first opened in 2006, I was glad to see several egg dishes on their lunch menu.  I’m always surprised there aren’t more places in our area that do interesting, creative breakfast and brunch dishes, or who serve them throughout the day.  You know how they say “it’s always 5 o’clock somewhere”?  Well, it’s always 8 o’clock somewhere too!

Going out for breakfast was a big deal when I Iived in Aspen, Colorado, as we really needed to fortify ourselves for a day of skiing or hiking.  And weekend brunch was a huge social scene, full of gossipy implications when everyone saw who you showed up with in the morning (hey, we were young and free!).

Za now reports they are getting farm fresh eggs from Kerr’s Farm, just down the road from them.  Kerr’s eggs are gathered daily from its new roost of one hundred free range chickens. (Photo above, Chef Mark Valenza of Za Restaurant, hen “Bertha,” and Pennington farmer Geordie Kerr.)

“They’re big beautiful brown eggs,” says Mark, “but more importantly they’re tasty eggs that haven’t been sitting in a refrigerator house for who knows how long.”

Za’s lunch/brunch egg menu includes eggs Benedict in four varieties, one with sautéed spinach and goat cheese and another with an eight ounce tenderloin steak fillet. Za egg frittatas offer an assortment of fillings choices. And, for those who like their eggs with a south of the border flavor, Chef Valenza also cooks up his cross-cultural take on huevos rancheros with a spicy pico de gallo sauce (photo below).

Za offers their lunch/brunch egg menu, along with its other lunch entrées, Monday - Saturday, seating from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

I recently had a fantastic dinner there myself, stay tuned for that review in the Packet TimeOff.

No matter what other preparation I try, this is still my hands down favorite scallop dish.

It’s the one where I delgaze the pan with a squeeze of lemon juice and a teaspoon or two of smoked maple syrup.  Snatch it right off the heat and pour all that goodness over the cooked scallops on toasted bread.

Soooo good!

Enjoy some high art with your fine dining at The Frog & The Peach in New Brunswick on August 6.

Their “Night at The Opera” event is an evening of Italian Opera and food and wine, with singer Annamaria Stefanelli.

Ms. Stefanelli will perform arias from some of the most beloved repertoire of Italian Opera, and Chef Bruce Lefebvre will match each course to a location specific to the operas.

For example, Verdi’s “Otello” is set in Venice, so one course will be Risotto al Nero, a classic Venetian preparation with squid, razor clams, and parsley, paired with a white wine, Russiz Superiore Friulano, Collio 2007

The full menu, which sounds fantastic to me, is at the website, the event is Friday August 6, 7:00 pm, and costs $125 plus tax and gratuity.

This is the happy result of having heavy cream in my refrigerator I needed to use up. I made cajeta!

Yes, it’s usually made with goat milk and, frankly, not with cream. So I mixed some milk in with my post-expiration-date heavy cream, which I had never opened and which smelled fine.  I added the tiny amount of baking soda called for, then sugar and vanilla (read the recipe in the link above).  I let it simmer on the stove during the evening, giving it an occasional stir.

When it was time for bed, I declared it “done” and transferred it to a Pyrex measuring cup.  It’s been in the fridge ever since, and is lucious dolloped on ice cream or toast.

Each new volume from Canal House Cooking thrills me.  Number 4 is all about the bounty from farm markets and gardens, and you’ll find so many lovely, and often elegantly simple, recipes that you’ll almost wish this hot and humid summer would never end. 

I’ve sent gift subscriptions (there are three volumes each year) to a couple relatives, too, just had to share this with anyone who appreciates good food.

I might even get out my canning equipment to make their Red Tomato Preserves, with lemon, ginger, and cinnamon.  Lucious!

Meanwhile, I’ll content myself with some Little Blue Reds: Mash together 1/4 pound good blue cheee and 4 tablespoons softened salted butter in a small bowl.  (The authors like Kerrygold butter.)  Season with coarsely ground black pepper.  Spread on halved cherry tomatoes and garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

I love Thai soups, and was inspired recently by Wegmans’ Thai cuinary stock to make a seafood soup, adding coconut milk, sliced baby bok choi, bean thread noodles (first soaked in hot water until soft), and shrimp plus leftover mahi mahi (more on that another time soon.)

I also added some chopped lemongrass and galangal (similar to ginger) I had stashed in the freezer, plus a good squirt of lime juice.  And while the package says the stock is medium spicy, I added extra shots of my own Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, which is among the ingredients list on the package.  The Wegman’s stock is vegan and gluten free, by the way.

A refreshing light dinner on a sweltering summer night.  Ahhhhh.

You don’t usually hear about special events at diners, but the Americana Fine Diner on Route 130 in East Windsor is having one that sounds like a lot of fun on July 21.

Remember, these are the same folks who have Craig Shelton consulting in the kitchen of their Skylark Diner in Edison.  The Americana is the new home of Donna Toscana, a top NJ chocolatier, owned by Diane Pinder.  (I’ve raved about her many times, and she participates in Taste of the Nation.) You can also buy artisan bread at the Americana, displayed right next to the chocolates!

Join Diane on the 21st, on the patio at the Americana Fine Diner for a Tropical Barbecue.  The Americana will fire up the grill and Chef Cummings will cook up an array of pork, beef and seafood while sharing tips for great grilling. Enjoy wine coolers, beer and music and finish off your meal with S’mores and a “make your own sundae” with ice creams hand made by Diane.

Space is limited so call 609-448-4477 to reserve your evening of food, fun and music.

Tropical Barbecue at the Americana
Wednesday, July 21
6pm - 9pm, $45/person
Preregistration required by calling 609-448-4477.