Cupcakes Make Everything Better in Howell, New Jersey

Among the darkened storefronts and decaying facades of businesses that once thrived in the area, a few remaining jewels shine through the heavy clutter of "out of business" and "liquidating - everything must go" signs that dot each struggling shopping center.

One such obscured treasure is a little bakery shop tucked along the side of its nondescript retail plaza (Candlewood Shopping Center). Without a major anchor store to lure traffic off the highway, "Three Girls Cupcakes and Swirls" can be easily missed. It doesn't deserve to be missed, though.

How ironic that the business slogan is "Cupcakes Make Everything Better." They sure do; especially in a working middle-class town that has long been starved for something special to call its own along this portion of a state highway that offers increasingly better "finds" as it heads north through the towns of Freehold Township, Manalapan and Marlboro. "Three Girls..." definitely makes this part of Route 9 worth traversing.

Kelley Rountree and her partner opened the business this past summer, hoping to bring something new and different to the area. Prior to their arrival, area residents had to travel all the way over to Red Bank and down to Brick for mom and pop bakery made, specialty cupcakes. The two women have a special talent in coming up with exciting, unusual and very delicious blends of ingredients to produce their outstanding cupcakes; each a magnificent work of art.

Take, for example, their "Chunky Monkey" cupcake, which has a mocha butter cream swirl with a banana chip atop of it. The real surprise is their mouth-watering filling. Kelley created a banana custard filling to die for. It is so smooth and creamy, even a wild monkey would be calmed by it. The chocolate cupcake, itself, is fresh and moist and equally delicious. That's what we like to see in any cake.

"Three Girls Cupcakes and Swirls" is not a very large place and they don't have lots of cupcakes to choose from, though there are always about a dozen different varieties on hand at all times. Recognize thought, that it is not always about having dozens of unsold and stale creations in a showcase to choose from. Isn't it much better to know that what IS available is freshly made and equally appealing in appearance and taste? This is the case, here.

The store is done up in themed pink, and it is as immaculate as the staff is friendly. On the counter are various fresh baked items, such as brownies and cookies that all looked home-made delicious. They also sell frozen custard and a variety of hot and chilled drinks.

While we visited, Kelley mentioned that they often run small parties in the store and that they are also a charity-friendly business; donating their products for fundraising events. We especially love socially responsible businesses that help make a difference.

"Three Girls Cupcakes and Swirls" is open six days a week until 6 pm (or as Kellie mentioned, ...until the cupcakes run out.) They open each day at 11 am.

The current website (http://www.threegirlscupcake.com/) is a simply-designed placeholder for a more interactive and informative one to come later, but it does offer the store's physical address and phone number; links to the business' Facebook and Twitter pages; and an easy way to contact the store by email.

Since they are located in a small shopping center, there is more than adequate free parking, on-site.
Stop by soon.

Hand-dipped Donuts Arrive at the Jersey Shore!

How many of us at the Jersey Shore are fed up being stuck with that lackluster and pedestrian Donut Monopoly called Dunkin Donuts? Sometimes, I wonder if many of us really know what a great donut tastes like anyway. Then again, what have we - at the Shore - had to compare Dunkin's small, unimaginative and soon-to-go-stale (by next morning) donuts with? The answer? Nothing, since DD ran Krispy Kreme's out of Brick years ago - and they were only marginally better than Dunkin's.

Any of us who have ever ventured to Ocean City Maryland know who the king of donuts is in that popular eastern seaboard summer vacation spot, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year. People stand on line and out the door waiting for the made-to-order, hand-dipped donuts served at "The Fractured Prune" donut store on the Coastal Highway. These donuts are really something special and having waited on long lines for up to an hour to get some FPs is the most convincing testimony I can personally offer.

Why in the heck - I ask myself - do we have to put up with bland Dunkin Donuts and industrialized Supermarket donuts when most of the greatest donuts in the country are hundreds of mile away?

FINALLY, this has all changed for the people of Monmouth County. "The Donut and Coffee Company" (www.MyDoCo.com) opened in late July 2013 in a cute little red and black free-standing store on Rt 33E near the Collingwood Traffic circle; directly across from the Roadside Diner and Stewarts in Farmingdale. And, guess what? The owners, Nick and Vince had also been forced to enjoy their donuts at Fractured Prune in Ocean City and have improved on their homemade recipe, bringing these great treats to the Jersey Shore.



The donuts served up at "The Donut and Coffee Company" are light and airy with just the right amount of oil to brown and moisten them without over-saturating them. The to-order toppings you can choose from run the gamut from chocolate to peanut butter to raspberry to creme to nuts to sprinkles and just about any other delicious confection you can think of. These are not your local area "make-do" donuts - they are something very special. The kind of treat that gets you out of bed early Sunday morning to pick up a dozen to fight over with the family.

Having tasted both "Fractured Prune" donuts and those I'll call "DoCo's", I have to vote for the latter, which are even more flavorful and much less greasy. Other "Fractured Prune" fans are now able to take the same taste test over and over again right here in the local area.

Then there's the coffee DoCo's serves. It's New Jersey's own Ward Coffee of Newark, which surprisingly is a bit hard to come by in Monmouth County. This brew is a rich blend of java and a perfect match for any exceptional tasting donut or just about anything else that you generally enjoy along side a good cup of coffee.

Nick and Vince have some big plans for "DoCo's" including adding a number of interesting menu items involving their trademark donuts. These will include donut breakfast sandwiches and donuts with homemade ice cream. In fact, the two men are so confident they have a winner on their hands that they are already planning four more "DoCo's" in New Jersey in the near future.

Go and check out what are perhaps the best homemade donuts to hit our area in years. I am counting on these guys to save us all from having to settle for Dunkin Donuts and Shop-Rite's showcase unspectaculars.

Delicious All Purpose Seasoning Spices Up the Lives of Local Charity Recipents

Betsy and I have a mania for sauces and spices that make ordinary meals - cooked at home - taste better. Often, it is the packaging descriptions that sell us on trying something new that may be appearing on the local grocery store shelves.

I don’t want to tell you how often we have been disappointed by what we have bought, when we find that it has not even come close to living up to its labeling hype. This happens to us more often than not. Not only is it a disappointment, but a waste of money. Often five to seven dollars is tossed out the window (by us) along with the product and its deceptive packaging.

Recently, we came across a local New Jersey all purpose seasoning called Aunt Jayne’s Brand (http://www.auntjaynesseasoning.com)

. Oddly enough, its corporate headquarters is in the “suburbs” of the already small town of Marlboro, in Monmouth County (NJ). Yes, Aunt Jayne’s calls the almost mythical town of Wickatunk, New Jersey its home. Most people living in Marlboro don’t even know of its existence, even though there is a Wickatunk post office, nearby.

The packaging for Aunt Jayne’s Brand All Purpose Seasoning has a very “cool” retro-1960’s look and its slogan promises to “Stimulate Your Taste buds.” I am happy to report that it does just that. In fact, this stuff is nothing short of excellent. Without being too overpowering Aunt Jayne’s delivers a lightly salted, moderately peppery, SPICY kick in the pants flavor. It’s definitely the antidote for bland foods.

Oh…and did I also mention that Aunt Jayne’s is sweet? Not sweet in taste, but SWEET in what the company President G.A. Huntington, a highly respected food broker, is doing with the part of the profits on every sale. DONATING THEM TO CHARITY.

It turns out that the “Jayne” in Aunt Jayne’s Brand is a member of the Huntington family and is developmentally disabled. She attends the sheltered workshop programs of the ARC of Monmouth County (NJ) in Long Branch, where Aunt Jayne’s Brand is being stored and shipped from.

The product was developed specifically as a fundraiser for this wonderful organization and also serves as one of the shipping and handling projects that ARC has been tasked with to help its clients learn to be productive workers in society.

Betsy and I have always enjoyed cooking, but have never been that good at determining what seasonings or spices a dish needs. Aunt Jayne’s Brand All Purpose Seasoning basically replaces salt. It is used in our salad toppings; our homemade soups; added to our salsa, and most importantly we use it to season all kinds of meats, poultry, fish and veggies before grilling.

With Aunt Jayne’s we don't worry about amount or combinations of spices or seasonings to use. You really can’t overdo it if you season it to taste. It enhances any dish we make. We even use it on leftovers from a restaurant! This stuff is a must have in any kitchen.

While Aunt Jaynes is not readily available in supermarkets yet – but you can order it on the company website at http://www.auntjaynesseasoning.com/spices, where a 6 oz. bottle sells for $7.99, a fair price for a product that taste good and does good at the same time.

Jersey Shore Coffee Bar Expresso-s Itself with Amazing Pastries

Betsy and I are pretty demanding when it comes to breakfast pastries. We’re not going to force feed ourselves flour, butter and sugar at 9 am in the morning, unless the baker has done something special with it – to make it worthy of adding more fat to our waists and glucose to our blood sugar.

Recently, we stumbled upon a terrific little coffee house at the Jersey Shore that makes killer expresso and rich, bold coffee; served with a slice of heaven on the side. The Turnstile Coffee Bar on Route 71 in Belmar knows what good is and serves it up with excellence.

Go for the coffee, but do not overlook the pastry showcase that - to some - may look small, unimpressive and marginally stocked. Good things DO come in small packages and in this case, small showcases.

Understand that Turnstile is not your average coffee house to begin with. It is one of only a handful of ‘specialty coffee’ businesses in central Jersey. ‘Specialty coffee’ refers to a niche market in the coffee industry that focuses on a higher quality coffee than what is typically available in most grocery stores, cafes, and restaurants.

Well, these coffee bean perfectionists also know their bakery products. While they select, roast and grind their own specialty coffee, they sell baked goods made at the famous Balthazar Bakery, which has wholesale and retail locations in Englewood, NJ and New York City.

OMG! The Sticky cinnamon buns Turnstile has chosen to offer their customers are among the best we have ever tasted, anywhere. They are just the right blend of ingredients that makes them a good cup of coffee’s best friend. You have to heat them up a bit before sinking your teeth into them. Once heated, the inside of the bun melts into a delicious filling that is neither; overly sweet or disappointingly doughy. Not sure how else to describe the taste, but unique and amazing.

Balthazar offers no recipes for their sticky buns or other pastries and does not ship products to retail customers. They do have a wholesale division that sells to restaurants, catering halls and - fortunately for us - coffee establishments like Turnstile.

So, unless you are up for a very long ride to Englewood or into New York City, you just may want to venture ‘down the shore’ for a great cup of coffee and something terrific to go along with it. Look at patronizing the Turnstile Coffee Bar as a way of Restoring the Shore by enjoying a Sure thing!

When is Brittle not Brittle? When It Is a Munchy, Crunchy Chocolate Cookie Instead

I’m a traditionalist when it comes to certain foods that have a storied past. The history of Peanut Brittle, for example, is almost legendary and it is one of those foods that shouldn’t be toyed with.

Nowadays, you can find also sorts of Peanut Brittles and some – except for the purist version – have not a single peanut to be found. Today, you can get your Peanut Brittle with cashews, pistachios, almonds and even macadamia nuts. You can even get a Brittle that is really not a Brittle at all.

Betsy and I were skeptical about “Brownie Brittle” when we found it in the aisle of a Fairway store in northern New Jersey. First of all, Betsy won’t put anything in her mouth thicker than a dime. She is terrified over the thought that she might break a tooth or two. So, Brittles of any kind are usually off limits for her.

When I spotted “Brownie Brittle” on the promotional end of the cookie aisle, its very “Hersey-like” packaging caught my eye. On closer inspection, it seemed as if this was a Brittle that even someone with fragile teeth like Betsy could love. “Brownie Brittle” appeared to be some kind of thin cookie masquerading as Brittle.

I soon convinced Betsy to toss a bag of the stuff into our shopping cart; along with the other dozen or so goodies we loaded up on during that trip. Look...WE'RE FOODIES...remember?

So you want to know who tore into the package first, eh? You might have guessed it was me. After all, I often double as Betsy’s appointed “food taster;" making sure that what we have bought is something she will like and – more importantly – it is something she will be able to SAFELY chew.

“Brownie Brittle” immediately passed muster with me. It was love at first bite. Its combination of rich chocolate flavor and light crunch makes this one a winner. When I broke the news to Betsy that could munch instead of crunch, she was more than elated. When she actually sampled a square, she knew we discovered something very special. “Brownie Brittle” is officially and unequivocally DELICIOUS!

So, what is the back story on this goody?

According to the company website, in 1992, “Sheila G. Mains, better known in the food business as Sheila G, took a treasured family recipe for fudge brownies and baked her way into a thriving business.”


Apparently, she once baked regular brownies – not Brittle – for some of the finest restaurants and theme parks in the U.S. You know...the thick and chewy kind. But, her love for all things crispy led her to developing a new treat with that same rich chocolate taste, but also with an amazing crunch.

The story goes on to explain that “like many brownie aficionados, Sheila is particularly fond of the crispy edges. In fact, on many an afternoon she would walk through the bakery gathering the brittle batter off the sides of the sheet pans as the brownies cooled in their racks.” She soon figured out how to create a whole pan of crunchy edges – “Brownie Brittle,” which comes in chocolate chip, salty caramel and taffy crunch.

A bag of Brownie Brittle has about 4 one ounce servings equal to about 120 calories with 6 grams of fat. Not too bad for something that is so tasty and satisfying.

Each bag runs less than $4.00 in the supermarket. It is being sold to many mainstream supermarkets like Wegmans and Acme; as well as some food warehouses like Costco. After making a few calls in my local area it appears that many grocers have not yet made it available on their shelves. So, ask about it if you don’t see it.

On the company website, there are many recipes for treats you can make using “Brownie Brittle”, but there are no recipes for how to make the item itself. This one looks like it’s comes out better from a package than from one of your burnt cookie sheets.

So are Betsy and I alone in our praise of these treats? Apparently not! The web is full of “Brownie Brittle” lovers like us. This customer almost screamed out her review with the following:

“OMGGGG!!!! These things are delicious!!!!! I saw them on Wendy Williams show when she was talking with this lady about healthy snacks and the women had the brownie brittle up there ....I had went to BJs and they happen to have them. I have purchased 3 bags so far and now I have to hide them because my daughter loves them too...”

And, this story has an even sweeter ending. Brownies + Cookies = A Perfect Match. Brownie Brittle is matching funds raised at Cookies for Kids' Cancer events in May, up to $25,000! Not THIS is a company with good taste and social responsibility to match.

Sacrebleu! New Orleans' Beignets are Heaven

They are not donuts and don’t even have those telling holes in the center. Yeah, they are soft like donuts. They also covered in a ton of white, velvety powdered sugar, as many donuts are. And, they go great with coffee. Err, coffee of the chicory variety, that is. Does this give you a hint as to what kind of pastry we are talking about?

Beignets have been popular in New Orleans for 300 years and are traditionally enjoyed as a dessert alongside a piping hot cup of French-style chicory coffee.

These donut-like treats were brought to Louisiana in the 18th century by the French and quickly integrated themselves within home-style Creole cooking. Early Beignet recipes often featured banana or plantains as an ingredient.

Today, Café du Monde is a popular New Orleans food destination specializing in Beignets with powdered sugar (you get three per order) and coffee with chicory, of course.



The oldest and most popular Café du Monde (there are now 8 locations in and around New Orleans) is located in the French Quarter of New Orleans and is basically an outdoor café with some inside seating. As a building, it is fairly non-descript. But as a tourist destination, it is on everybody’s itinerary – especially those with tired feet and an appetite for sweets.

In fact, you really haven’t gotten to experience New Orleans until you’ve won the rubber match in the battle for the third Beignet on the plate. These fried pastry darlings are, indeed, worth fighting over.

On a recent four day visit to the “Big Easy” we stopped at Café du Monde five times. The last time was a pre-airport run for goodies to bring back home. A serving of three standard Beignets cost a meager $2.00.

Café du Monde sells their Beignet mix in a box, but we’ve never been able to duplicate the exact same look and taste experience of the real deal.

If you look hard enough the pre-packaged mix can be found at some gourmet stores and supermarkets in many areas. Or, you can order it online from Café du Monde ($3.36). Once you have your box in hand, you will need to pull out all of the following equipment just to get started:

Box of Cafe Du Monde Beignet Mix
Temperature Controlled Frying Pan/Frying Skillet works best
Fry Basket (to retrieve the finished Beignets)
Spoon (to stir the water and mix into a dough)
Mixing Bowl
Measuring Cup
Rolling Pin (to roll finished dough into a flat sheet)
Pizza Cutter (to cut dough into squares for frying)
Vegetable Oil/Louanna Cottonseed Oil is recommended
Powdered Sugar (to use as topping for finished Beignets)
Flour (to keep dough from sticking to rolling pin)
Water

You think making Beignets at home is easy? Think twice. If your Beignets do not get puffy and look flat, your frying oil temperature was too low to adequately cook the dough. Try again - this time - using small pieces of dough and let the fryer temperature rise to a full 370 degrees Fahrenheit before you toss your beignets into the sizzling oil.

Better to judge Café du Monde Beignets by trying them on location in NOLA, first. A great Beignet tastes like a never ending warm funnel cake. You can watch them being made on location on this short video: WATCH BEINETS BEING MADE

Perhaps, what is most amazing about Café du Monde is the amount of business they are able to generate with a very limited menu. The Original Cafe Du Monde is a traditional coffee shop. Their menu consists of dark roasted Coffee and Chicory, Beignets, White and Chocolate Milk, and fresh squeezed Orange Juice. The coffee is served Black or Au Lait. Au Lait means that it is mixed half and half with hot milk. And, of course there are the Beignets covered in powdered sugar. In 1988 Iced Coffee was introduced to the cafe. Soft drinks also made their debut that year. That’s it.

As for their operating hours? They are always open. According to their website, Café du Monde “is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It closes only on Christmas Day and on the day an occasional Hurricane passes too close to New Orleans.” Hurricane Katrina couldn’t even blow the confectionary sugar off one of these delicious pastries! Well…there was some minor damage to the building. But, it came back quickly.

A fellow tourist says this about his Café du Monde experience:

“Yeah, it's touristy as hell, but you HAVE to visit at least once!!

You HAVE to get the white powdered sugar all over you (and your friends).
You HAVE to spend the extra change to get the disposable paper hats to take silly pictures in.
You HAVE to go and get cafe au lait and beignets at 2 AM after a night of drinking.

It is a must!!”

We make it a point never to argue against good advice.

A Condiment that Really Cuts the Mustard

I don’t know about you, but I consider myself a connoisseur of condiments. Our home pantry is filled from top to bottom with all sorts of ketchups, marinades, relishes, mustards, sauces, chutneys, jellies and rubs. Does that make me a culinary oddball? Probably, so.

My father-in-law was truly a food purist, rarely ever pounding on the bottom of a ketchup bottle above a quality hamburger or steak. He believed that ketchup and mustard had no other purpose other than to mask the intended flavor experience enjoyed when eating Grade A beef in one form or another.

Perhaps, he had a valid point. Non-descript foods are given a boost and made tolerable enough to ingest when smothered in something other than grease. A fast food hamburger without ketchup, onions and pickle is sacrilegious. I hot dog without kraut, chili, chopped onions, relish and/or ketchup and mustard is unheard of. The problem is that many of the condiments offered up at fast food eateries are common, pedestrian and unremarkable. I find nothing redeeming about regular ketchup or plain yellow mustard, myself.

Fortunately, the adventurist foodie can find many variations on a theme when it comes to condiments. There are store out there that sell nothing other than hot sauces with hundreds of blends on their shelves. This is also true of mustards. They, too, come in many flavors.

On a recent trip to New England, Betsy and I stopped for lunch at a terrific Jewish Deli in Woodbridge, Connecticut called Katz’s. There we discovered Beaver Brand Deli Mustard, made in the great state of Oregon. Apparently, at Katz’s Beaver’s mustard is a big deal. They sell bottles of it to their patrons to take home and have quite a large inventory of it on some shelves near the cash register.

“Beaverton Foods has an international reputation for manufacturing quality products and the development of innovative condiment flavors,” according to their website. They regularly use ingredients like honey, horseradish, wasabi, garlic, cream, bacon and even cranberry and pineapple in their mustards to give them kick, sweetness and unique flavor.

The mustard we tried (on our corned beef and pastrami sandwiches) and later bought at Katz’s was “Beaver Brand Deli Mustard” with horseradish. The flavor was great with just the right amount of kick, without being overpowering and a consistency that I would call coarse, whole grain with mustard seeds. I love mustard seeds in mustard that flavor burst in your mouth when biting down on them. It’s the same sort of experience one gets when enjoying caviar on sushi or steel cut oatmeal.

Beaverton Foods must be something right with their condiment products. They’ve been in business for over eighty years (1929) and four generations of “beavers.” Today, they are recognized as the largest producer of non-refrigerated horseradish and specialty mustards in the United States.

Their story goes that in 1929 Rose Biggi started Beaverton Foods in the cellar of her farmhouse. To help endure the Great Depression, she began grinding her horseradish crop, bottling it, and selling it to local grocery stores. Through her hard work and perseverance, she not only survived the hard economic times, but also built the foundation of this now great American food manufacturer.

Calling it “The Mustard with the Biggest Cult Following,” a “Serious Eats” foods reviewer shared the following about this wonderful condiment in his/her review:

"Unbelievable stuff!”... "I'd just squeeze out a little bit on my finger and eat it raw." … "The favorite in our house."

So, why haven’t many of us heard of this great product before? The Beaver brand is easy to find all over the West Coast, and according to Beaver Mustard headquarters, parts of Chicago, Texas, Florida, and South Carolina—but beyond that, not so much. "Beaver has always been easier to find on the West Coast and Inglehoffer on the East," said representative Roger Klingsporn on the phone. That is why!

You can buy it online, though. Amazon.com offers it – FOR $17.00 A CASE! Believe me; a case is probably not too much to have around of this terrific mustard. According to Amazon.com, a case is only 6 bottles.

Wanna know what’s in Beaver Brand Deli Mustard? I thought you might.

Water, Mustard Seed, Vinegars (White Distilled, White Wine and Red Wine), Soybean Oil, Sugar, Salt, White Wine, Grated Horseradish Roots, Garlic, Eggs, Spices, Xanthan and Cellulose Gums, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Citric Acid, Turmeric High Fructose Corn Syrup, Lemon Juice, Calcium Disodium Edta (Retains Product Freshness), Artificial and Natural Flavors, Annatto, Red Chili Peppers, Ginger.

So, if you are hankering for a great hot dog or thick deli sandwich on rye, break out the Beaver and spread it liberally. Sorry, Dad-in-law, this one time a condiment really cuts the mustard.