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.

Want to Make a Deer Dance? Offer It One of These Little Buttery Cookies

Dancing Deer Baking Company is a company of people passionate about food, nature, aesthetics and community. That’s a lot to be passionate about and still have enough energy left to invest into baking delicious, buttery cookies.

Dancing Deer was started by three company founders; all successful businesswomen from Boston, Massachusetts. The name comes from that of a quaint little New England antique shop owned by one of the women's grandmothers.

The founding troika included: a talented baker, Suzanne Lombardi, who originated many of Dancing Deer's recipes, a theoretical physicist/business strategist, Ayis Antoniou, who loves to cook, and a business woman/artist, Trish Carter, whose passion is nature and the environment. According to the company history; all three have since moved on, but many of their founding principles still remain with the management and employees of Dancing Deer.

Since 1994, the company has been known for its delicious tasting all-natural brownies, cookies, cakes and baking mixes, which are sold in specialty, natural food and grocery stores nationwide and online as gourmet gift arrangements for consumers and corporations. Dancing Deer has won many national awards and accolades for its distinctive products and innovative business practices, and was one of the first 25 Massachusetts companies to be certified as a Sustainable Business Leader. The company was awarded Elite status by STELLA Service in recognition of its high quality customer service. Dancing Deer places an enormous emphasis on giving back to the community, most notably by helping homeless and at-risk families through their Sweet Home Project.

On a recent trip through New England, Betsy and I discovered the great taste of Dancing Deer gourmet cookies in a little gift ship in Concord, New Hampshire. The store had four or five different types of cookies on their shelves. They looked awfully good, so we decided to try some at the shop owner’s recommendation.

We tried the “Tangerine Butterfly” shortbread cookies and found them to be firm, buttery and with a hint of orange flavor. They are so good you can’t eat just one. This is an all natural product with 0 transfat. Two small cookies equal about 150 calories, so go lightly – if you can.

Dancing Deer produces a fair number of distinct baked goods from brownies to shortbread cookies to cakes. The flavors are pretty unique, in many cases. Among the cookies are Molasses Clove and Sugar Cane Lime; the brownies include: salty caramel and peanut butter and jelly.

On a culinary website unrelated to the company a past customer of Dancing Deer products – perhaps - sums their cookies up best using the following expression:

"Surely these must be the cookies they serve in heaven!" They are among the best cookies I have ever eaten!

Now, these cookies aren’t cheap – especially if you order them at the company’s website. Even in the stores a small bag of cookies will run you about $6.50. The Dancing Deer website also provides an option to search for their products, locally. In doing our own search for New Jersey, we found Dancing Deer cookies to be available at a local Whole Foods Store in Middletown, NJ among other locations.

And so, you will ask, if company recipes are available for home baking. They are. In fact, company founder Trish Carter offers up some of her shortbread cookie recipes online at:

We enjoyed these cookies very much and will look for these and other Dancing Deer variations in our local area. If you like good cookies with a tall glass of ice cold milk, you should, too.

Mofongo Sounds Like an Insult to You, But is a Fine Complement to Your Wine

You are traveling to a place where English is a second language. One has to imagine that the locals are the best ones to ask when it comes to “getting around” town without getting ripped off for food and drink. So, we asked our taxi driver, “what's good to eat around here?”

“Mofongo!” the cab driver shouted out loud and seemingly in anger. “Same to you!” Betsy and I thought.

“...and the best place for mofongo is Cafe Puerto Rico at Calle O'Donnell, 208 San Juan (Puerto Rico),” the driver continued in his near perfect English.

Cafe Puerto Rico is a cozy little, bi-level restaurant on O'Donnell Street next to Plaza Colon featuring menu items that are prepared at the time the order is taken. The food there is fresh and delicious; especially their signature dish - mofongo rellenos.

Mofongo is a fried plantain-based dish native to Puerto Rican cuisine. It is typically made with fried green plantains mashed together with broth, garlic, olive oil, and bacon bits. It is often filled with vegetables, chicken, crab, shrimp, or beef and is usually served with fried meat and chicken broth.



At Cafe Puerto Rico, which is only a couple blocks from where most cruise ships dock, I chose the shrimp mofongo. Betsy had the chicken version. Both were equally well prepared and absolutely delicious.

So what is the taste like? Well, it's got the consistentcy of what one might call a "Plantain stuffing." The taste is rather Caribbean and unique with a hint of garlic and salt pork; balanced by a light Plantain sweetness - not too sweet, though. Of course, what you choose to put in it (i.e. chicken, beef, pork, seafood or vegetable) also influences the taste. The dish is considered a starch (Plantains), so take a calorie counting break this time around.

The Dish

Though the portions at Cafe Puerto Rico are sizable, the mofongos were so good that we left the place wanting more – knowing we probably would not find the awesome equivalent back in New Jersey.

Apparently, another past diner identified with our bigger-eyes-than-stomach lingering desire by sharing the following about this wonderful dinner entree:

“The mofongo was nothing less than heaven in my mouth! I wished I had two stomachs so I could order another one! (Well, as a woman...not really.) The plantains and fritters were yums as well but I was too full to finish them.”

The Place

From what we heard, this small and nondescript (inside)San Juan restaurant is probably best known throughout Puerto Rico for this particular dish. Not having tried these Spanish delights elsewhere in town, we will have to accept this nearly standard recommendation from the locals and other tourists. Coming off a cruise ship, it is certainly conveniently located. The square right outside the restaurant's door is filled with street vendors and music. It's a great place to pick up and smoke a hand-rolled cigar to walk around with. Nothing says "that was a great meal" better than a fresh cigar rolled right before your eyes.

Pricing for mofongos at Cafe Puerto Rico range from $10 for vegetable mofongos to $24 for the seafood filled ones. By the way, the restaurant has a very extensive menu filled with many Spanish and Caribbean choices. We are not able to recommend any of these other dishes, since we only dined at the Cafe one night. General reviews on the food served there are mixed, but our experience with the mofongo dishes was positive. By the way, the service was a little slow (it was very busy), but the servers were very pleasant and tried to be accommodating whenever we asked for something.

Again, the restaurant is rather small and centrally located, so if you go try making reservations or getting their early. As we were leaving, we noticed the wait getting longer. Apparently, this place is no longer a well kept secret to many out-of-towners.

Cafe Puerto Rico has a decent mixed drink, wine and beer menu; not overly impressive, but sufficient to choose from. There is also coffee and dessert available; that is if you are so inclined to enjoy an after dinner sweet. We hear that the Tres Leches is the favorite of most guests.

The Recipe

Want to try mofongos at home? We were unable to find a recipe from Cafe Puerto Rico, but we did come up with a video and recipe from an experienced Puerto Rican chef. Let us know how they come out.

Next time a taxi driver tell you to “go mofongo yourself,” take his words as a compliment and visit the Cafe Puerto Rico in San Juan for a wonderful dining experience.

Treat Your Tired Dogs - And Yourself - to a Wonderful Taste You Will Relish

If you are satisfied squirting thick and gooey yellow mustard on your hot dogs, you do not need to read this post. This one is for the adventurous tube steak eater; those searching for something more to top off their ‘dogs.

Traveling through southeast Maine, Betsy and I stumbled upon a roadside “joint” that seemed to have attracted a lot of customers; all lined up at the window ordering fast food. From the look of things, the place seemed long since established and – no doubt – popular with the locals. We decided to pull off the road and see what all the attention was about.



As we usually do when visiting a new food establishment, we asked some of the other customers, “What’s good here?”

“This place has the best hot dogs around and you have to order them with Flo’s Relish,” one fellow in line recommended.

“Flo’s Relish?” we asked.

“It’s like hot dog relish on steroids,” explained this nice fellow. “It’s what make’s Flo’s hot dogs better than anyone else’s”.

And, so we ordered our hot dogs Flo’s-style and ended up going for a second round; something we rarely ever do with fast foods that are ordinary and unremarkable. The hot dogs were great and the Flo’s Relish made them even greater.

Flo's Hot Dogs is located on Rte. 1 in the seacoast area of Maine, in Capeneddick, between York and Ogunquit.

Florence Stacy bought the business in 1959 and operated it for 14 years, then sold it to her son and daughter-in-law, John and Gail Stacy, who have operated it ever since. By the way, Gail is often behind the window and she is known by many regular customers as “the Hot Dog Nazi”. You either follow her ordering protocol or endure her stern look of impatience.

Ordering is easy at Flo’s. There are only two types of hot dogs: the "House Special" (Flo's relish, mayo, and celery salt) and the "Loaded" (Flo's relish, green relish, mustard, onions, and celery salt). Just get the House Special and get out of Gail’s face. These are small steamed hot dogs ($2.50@), so order yourselves two right off the bat.



Now, as for that Flo’s Relish we’ve been talking about. Flo's famous relish works well with many condiments such as mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup. It is also very good on: hamburgers, steak, ham, eggs, beans and just use your imagination…

So, how would we describe this great relish? It’s dark - in color - and a bit chunky in texture. Call it a pleasant blend of sweet and sour ingredients. A food critic describes Flo’s Relish as “a bit relish-y, vaguely chutney-like and altogether mysterious”.

Yes, it remains “Mysterious.” Only two people know the ingredients, said co-owner Gail Stacy: herself and a company employee she has hired to produce a bottled version ($7.95). When pressed, Gail will say only that it contains onions, molasses and "spices." Whatever is in it – it is darn good stuff and worth buying on location or ordering online.

There are various unofficial recipes on the web for Flo’s Relish including this one. You can try it at home, but unless you have actually had the real thing, you will never know how close you have come to copying the mouthwatering taste of Flo’s Relish.

In the "Thick" of Clam Chowder Searching We Discovered Old Salt's

New Hampshire isn’t really nationally known for its beaches. Yes, they have a small shore of their own and most people who visit there either already live in the state or in one nearby. That being said, the east side of New Hampshire still makes for a nice late spring through early fall getaway destination.

Our children live near Keene, New Hampshire in the southwestern portion of the state and close to the Vermont border. Keene is a little, cozy college town best known for its annual Halloween festival, which tens of thousands of people flock to each fall.

Last summer, Betsy and I decided to vacation in Hampton, New Hampshire and meet up with the kids there. They decided to weekend in Manchester, about a 20 minute drive from where we were staying. This would be their own getaway.

Checking out Inns and Bed and Breakfasts in the Hampton area, we can across Lamie’s Inn (490 Lafayette Rd (Rte 1) Hampton, NH 03842), with its regionally well-known Old Salt restaurant. It was described quite nicely as a very homey sort of place with an excellent restaurant, attached. We later found out that it once served as the base of operation for the Eisenhower’s Thanksgiving celebration.

Thanksgiving of 1963 brought President and Mrs. Dwight Eisenhower, along with their son John and his family, to Lamie’s for two nights while grandson, David, was a student at Philips Exeter Academy. A personal note from the President expresses the sentiments of Lamie’s visitors for decades, “I cannot tell you how pleased the entire family was with the hospitality and courtesy that they constantly encountered during their stay at Lamie’s. All of us are more than grateful…”

Frankly, we are not quite sure if the place has ever been renovated since then. It is a decent place to stay, but nothing much out of the ordinary. But, what they do have at Lamie’s is a very good restaurant on the premises – The Old Salt. Gourmet restaurant? Not really. It is just a warm and cozy place that happens to serves good food at fair prices. What they do offer is an award winning clam chowder that they serve to diners on-site and offer to the public in cans at the restaurant and online.

Old Salt’s Clam Chowder (New England Style) has good flavor, is very creamy, and is a nice mix of potatoes and clams. If you buy the can, expect to have some cream on hand to add to the well seasoned stock. The stuff is very good out of the can, but is a notch lower than what they serve hot at the table of the restaurant. Still, it is better than most canned soups we have eaten.

Recipe? Of course, we’ll share that. But, for this one there is a video with the Old Salt’s Chef mixing up a batch of the stuff.

Another customer says this about Old Salt’s Clam Chowder:

“This restaurant had the best clam chowder I've ever had. We stopped in during their "Tavern Walk" this weekend (October 13). They had samples of the chowder during the Tavern Walk so my husband & I loved it so much we decided to stay and eat lunch.”

So, if you like good clam chowder and don’t want to spend the night at a – just OK – Inn. When you are in the are, stop by the Old Salt Restaurant for a bowl or stay home and order some online. It be clams, mateys!

Only the Margaritas are on Fire at El Compadre's in Los Angeles (CA)

Sure, sure. You probably have a favorite Mexican restaurant in your own neighborhood and don’t have too far to travel for your burritos and tacos. Besides, if you live on the east coast you are not likely to travel across the entire country for dinner, even if one of the better Mexican restaurants you’ll probably ever “chimichanga” at is in Hollywood California.

The restaurant I am talking about is El Compadre’s located at 1449 W Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles. For those more familiar with this part of Sunset Blvd, this is the Echo Park area of the city. By the way, El Compadre's has a second location also on Sunset Blvd.

On a visit to the "City of Stars," our son took Betsy and me to El Compadre’s for some “flaming margaritas” and dinner. The restaurant is well known for these (literally) fiery drinks – or should I say, drinks on fire! The margarita menu at El Compadre’s is sprawling - so many different kinds to choose from; and they are all well-mixed.

According to its very musical website (I enjoyed listening to the peppy selection playing as I browsed the menu), El Compadre Restaurant has been a Hollywood fixture since 1975 and “has been one of Southern California’s hot spots for Mexican cuisine and drinks”. Located along trendy Sunset Blvd in the City of Los Angeles, it was founded by lifelong friends.

Waiting for our drinks, we picked at the chips and salsa – picked some more - and we continued to pick until the waiter brought another helping. Sure, chips and salsa are to a Mexican restaurant what fried noodles and duck sauce are to a Chinese joint, but the chips and salsa at El Compadre are excellent and pretty highly recommended by many Los Angelinos, who know about such things. The salsa had the hint of a fruity taste mingled with its obligatory ripe tomatoes all pared to a perfect balance of liquid and solid – not watery, at all. Good salsa has to be moist and firm, not wet and runny.

The chef offers a recipe for his outstanding salsa. You can give it a try at home, if you are so inclined to do so. You will not be disappointed if you stick to the recipe and keep it firm and moist. Remember, firm and moist.

For my main course, I ordered the combination fajitas with beef, chicken, jumbo shrimp. This dish is also one of the restaurant’s signature items and spoken very highly of in many restaurant and customer reviews. It certainly lived up to its hype and its promise. It was crunchfully fresh, spicingly tasty, hottifyingly sizzling and demonstrably satisfying. Yes, it was YUMMY!

Let me just say that the portions here are immense. I probably would have needed a lawn and leaf bag to serve as my “doggie bag” had I taken any of my left-over portion home. The fajitas were so well prepared and delicious that I made a large dent in my serving, despite its battleship size.

Betsy ordered the Burrito Reanchero and Chile Relleno combination off the “Combinations Specials” menu. It was well-prepared and presented as a huge portion. She was very happy with it.

I do not recall what our son Steven ordered, but will say that El Compadre’s has an extensive dinner menu with House Specials, Chef Specials, fine seafood and steaks to choose from. This is not your typical tacos and burritos sit down "joint," though these old favorites are on the menu for all you traditionalists.

El Compadre’s is much more of an upscale gourmet Mexican establishment offering exceptional food, large portions, great service and fair pricing. And, let us not forget those superlative drinks – especially those Margaritas on fire (pictured above)!

As you dine, you are serenaded by a talented, traveling mariachi band playing traditional Mexican songs. This makes for an even more memorable dinner experience.

The desert menu is very limited here, but there is one treat worth ordering. The Bunuello Mexicano is a warm cinnamon tortilla topped with vanilla ice cream accompanied by Kalua, whipped cream and a cherry. It’s wonderful.

Another dining customer sums up El Compadre’s pretty well:

“My friends and I (4 of us) arrived on Friday night at 6pm and were seated immediately without a reservation. The service was prompt. The margaritas were good. The food was very delicious. Being from Texas and used to some good Tex-Mex food, I was pleasantly surprised by this restaurant in WeHo. There was even a "trio" playing music”.

The Comfort Food of "Simple People" Soothes the Modern Soul

What can possibly smell better than buttery soft pretzels baking in an oven and wafting into the air in a confined space? Is there anything on earth that makes a better sandwich than sweet bologna on a soft roll with honey mustard? Can processed American cheese beat the clean, fresh taste of home-made cheddar or alpine Swiss from a local farm with well-bred cattle? And, where can you go for good and wholesome dishes like dried corn, cauliflower au gratin, green bean casserole and barbecued chicken, turkey and duck? The answer is: an Amish market offering Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine.

Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine reflects influences of the Pennsylvania Dutch's German heritage, agrarian society, and rejection of rapid change.

The Amish are a religious group who find their heritage in the Protestant Reformation. Generally, the Amish reside in close-knit communities in 47 states of the United States as well as Ontario, Canada. The largest concentrations of Amish in the United States are in Holmes County, Ohio, LaGrange County, Indiana, and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. If you happen to live near any of these areas, you are sure to be in driving range of an Amish Market, selling a variety of home grown and home-made produce and comfort foods guaranteed to satisfy anyone with a love of creamy casseroles, hearty soups and stews, smoked meats and a variety of entrees and side dishes based on the sweet and sour cooking bias of German immigrants.

The average size Amish family is seven or eight persons, so they have many mouths to feed. The typical Pennsylvania Dutch table setting during a meal often includes side dishes or "relishes" 7 of which are sweet and the other 7 which are sour. Such items have include items like Red Beet Eggs, which is a standard "sour" to things like cinnamon bread, or bread and butter pickles which would be a sweet, in addition to the regular side dishes and main course offered by a Pennsylvania Dutch Family style meal.

Many of the foods offered to the public at an Amish Market represent the above “7 sweets and 7 sours” typically served to families at an Amish Homestead. Granted, they are “simple people”, who don’t prepare such a magnificent feat each and every night. And, it is also true that some of the recipes made for the public are romanticized concoctions made especially for the American palate. But, it is all good and usually available at an Amish Market, which by the way are always closed on Sundays – the Amish/Christian day of worship.

When we are not visiting Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Betsy and I get our Pennsylvania Dutch cooking from the Pennsylvania Dutch Farmers Market 4437 Rt. 27 in Princeton, NJ. It is only open Thursday, Friday and Saturdays.

The market is made up of individual merchants that include: Beiler’s Dairy and Meats, Smoker’s Deli, Stoltzfus’ Poultry, King’s Salads and Jellies, Stoltzfus’ Fresh Pretzels, Fisher’s Bakery, K&R Lunch Counter, R&B Produce and Juice, Mom’s Candy Corner and B&L Woodworks. The prices for everything are reasonable and the choices, plentiful. There is also more than adequate on-site parking, if you go.

Here is what another customer had to say about this place:

“Omgggg pretzels with cheese steaks in it are just the beginning. They have amazing steak cuts (and other meats) that are $10 which make a good $50 steaks. The Delmonico’s, rib eyes, and filets are just out of the world. With a candy sections with everything you would imagine. They also have pies, cookies, baked goods, over 30 types of cream cheese, ready-made desserts, smoothies and milkshakes on site, different types of butter honey.....racks of ribs that are amazing and chicken in the back that is already prepped. Just bring cash (some of the stands don't accept credit) and enjoy the end of your week! They are open thurs-sat! :)”

Now, for those of you who cannot get to or find an Amish Market in their area, here is a tried, true and easy Pennsylvania Dutch recipe you can make at home – Shoo-Fly Pie:

Ingredients:

1 (9 inch) pie shell, 1 cup of molasses, 3/4 cup of hot water, 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 egg, beaten, 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 cup of packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup of shortening.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. To Make Bottom Layer: In a medium bowl combine molasses, hot water, and baking soda. Stir well. Whisk in beaten egg. Pour mixture into pie shell.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: In a medium bowl combine flour and brown sugar. Mix well, then cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle on top of molasses layer.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake an additional 30 minutes.

If you have never been exposed to Pennsylvania Dutch cooking, you are in for a real treat. “Schmecks”, (Tastes so good)!

Moist Chinese Cakes Trounce Fortune Cookies

In order for a cake to be great, not just good, Betsy and I believe it should be moist. All of our young lives, we grew up believing that the best bakers in the US were inspired by Europeans. We had never been exposed to nor heard of the wonderful cakes made by Asians.

Who would have thought that Chinese desserts were anything other than Fortune cookies, kumquats and lychees? Growing up in the 60’ and 70’s we didn’t even realize that the Chinese had an authentic cuisine all of their own. In those years, Jewish kids never ate anything more exotic than chicken “charmain” and Won Ton Soup.

It was only after we escaped the clutches of our World War II era Brooklyn-born parents did we really begin to explore foods that were misunderstood and forbidden at home. “No pork spare ribs for you. You’ll get worms (Trichinosis).”

Passing through Philadelphia’s China Town some years ago, Betsy and I stumbled upon KC pastries. It still exists at its newer location at 109 N 10th St. Boy, is that place ever so good!

According to their website, K.C.'s Pastries, Inc. was established by K.C. Leung in 1995. K.C. started his baking career in 1976 at Hong Kong and continues his success until now. K.C. has been spending tons of time on bakery and pastries, his professional experience is going to benefit everybody who always wants to taste and enjoy something new! K.C.'s Pastries, Inc. has been voted as one of the best bakery in Philadelphia since 1996 from Philadelphia Weekly.

At K.C.’s, we found some of the most delicious treats we ever packed into a box to bring home. In addition to their wide assortment of pork buns (and buns filled with other wonderful delicacies). Among our favorite buns at K.C. are the curry beef puff, custard egg tart, red bean mochi bun, shredded pork bun, red bean cake, and custard cream bun. But, this post is about their moist cakes.

For starters, we like their sponge cakes, both the chocolate and coffee flavored ones. And...for finishers, too. Very moist and very satisfying. By the way, Chinese pastries and cakes tend to not be overly sweet like American-made pastries and cakes. However, the tastes of the Chinese pastries and cakes are still satisfying and just sweet enough to not give you a tooth- or stomachache.

Here is what another customer had to say about K.C. Pastries:

“This place smells heavenly. They have two locations in Philly, and they both sell the best pastries/baked goods in Chinatown. Prices are reasonable and they have some unique buns and cakes. I love their Snowy Mountain Top buns, so moist and topped nicely with a sugary crust that melts in your mouth.”

Would you like to try making your own Chinese Sponge cake? Here is a recipe that we are sure you’ll enjoy. As good as it make taste, it won’t be as much fun as visiting Philadelphia’s Chinatown and washing it down with K.C.’s famous Bubble Tea.

It's all Yummy!

Pour Little Bottle...Perhaps, We Will

You are having people over for a nice meal and want to finish it off with an after dinner drink that will leave your guests well fed and content. Most of what you have in your living room bar is old hat and run-of-the mill, we bet. Got any Sheridan?

Sheridan? What's that stuff?

Sheridan is a liqueur first introduced in 1994. It is produced in Dublin by Tomas Sheridan & Sons.

Sheridan is a two component drink where a white vanilla creme liqueur is floated on to the surface of a dark coffee-chocolate liqueur, resulting in a drink similar in appearance to an Irish coffee. With its white liqueur having a white chocolate richness, and the black of warm coffee and whiskey, the whole taste experience is rounded off by a chocolate & nutty finish. Pour it into a lowball glass and watch the cream rise to the top. Yum. It is so good.

Now that we've excited you enough about this product, here's the rub. ...Sheridan is not sold in the States. It is readily available in duty free shops around the world, but not at your neighborhood liquor store. Cruise lines also sell small and large bottle of Sheridan on board their ships. But, if you aren't planning to cruise, no dice. You'll have difficulty getting your hands on some. Bummer, huh?

Oh...you might find Sheridan online, but you'll pay top dollar for it. We think it is a bargain at any price, since it is so rare and extraodinarily good. Try Amazon.com for Sheridan. I have heard that they offer it for sale from time to time.

So, how good is this stuff, really? Is it is so good that it merits going to the ends of the earth to get some? It is very, very good and others obviously agree:

Wow! Nice! I don’t drink much, but I do like to drink on special occasions. We took a cruise to Barbadoes this past January and saw Sheridan’s at the duty free shop on board. I passed it several times thinking about buying it, but didn’t till the end of the cruise. Boy am I glad I did. They gave out samples in little small cups which I loved!

We ended up buying two. We gave one to a friend and I kept the other. I just opened up mine and did a perfect pour. Great drink!

----- Stacy DeWine 02.02.13 21:03

This is not exactly a liquor for wimps, by the way. The alcohol percentage is 18.5 combined .But the black coloured part ,coffee chocolate liqueuer has a huge 19.4% alcohol the other part, vanilla cream liqueur contains 17% alcohol. So its quite strong stuff, but on saying that you don`t realise when you`re drinking it at all, you could be drinking a Chocolate Mocha alcohol-wise and not tell the difference. Take care you don't drink enough to fall on your face. Drink it responsibly.

Sheridan stands alone very nicely, but you can create some interesting drink recipes using it. Here is a list of coffee drink ideas to borrow RECIPES.

We curently have an unopenned bottle of Sheridan in the fridge. It's been there for the past year. We fear opening it and running out of the stuff. We have no cruises or international travel booked and protecting the one bottle we have. Heck...I guess if we finish the bottle, we can bribe our son to pick us up some more as he travels the world. Cheers!

"I Can't Believe I Ate the Whole Thing" at Harold's New York Deli (NJ)

That's Harold Jaffe on the right.


You would think that the most well known corned beef sandwiches and knishes would be found in New York City. Maybe that's still true, but the biggest and best are found in central New Jersey at Harold's New York Deli; located inside a hotel in the middle of an industrial park in Edison. For those of you with a GPS, the physical address for Harold's is 1173 KING GEORGES POST RD. EDISON, NJ. 08837

Hidden and unknown? Not with all the parking spaces taken and with an average wait of twenty minutes for lunch and dinner. Harold's is a very popular place among BIG EATERS serving AWESOME Kosher-style deli food. Hold on to the word AWESOME for a bit. It has an entirely different meaning at Harold's. We'll come back to that in a moment or so and explain.

"Harold" is Harold Jaffe, a guy who cut his teeth - years ago - at New York's famous Carnegie Deli and later at the lengendary Claremont Diner in Verona, New Jersey. Harold knows from good food and he is glad to offer his patrons lots of it - whatever you order is supersized.

Oh yes, that word we mentioned earlier - AWESOME? OMG!!! Foot high sandwiches; mixing bowl size soup portions with softball size matzo balls! How about cakes the size of hat boxes? We are not kidding you. You have to see it to believe it. If you don't love food, you will be repulsed by the portion sizes.

We bring all of our friends to Harolds just to watch the expressions on their faces when the food arrives on the table. They all say the same exact thing: "who can eat all this food?"

Well, in most cases the food is ordered to be shared with three to four others or taken home for tomorrow's lunch or dinner. And, the next day and the day after that! In fact, at Harold's huge pickle bar (comes free with every meal) there is plenty of delicious rye bread to make many more sandwiches from the one your ordered.

Harold doesn't really care what you pile on your plate from the pickle bar, as long as it enhances your Kosher deli experience. Pickle Bar foods can NOT be taken home, except for the rye bread. You'll need that, for sure.

The "World's Famous Pickle Bar" also includes: cole slaw, sauerkraut, cherry peppers, pickled tomatoes and dill, sour, half-sour pickles and some of the best little corn muffins you've ever eaten. You can sneak a few of those suckers into your doggie bag, too.

Now, you may be thinking that size doesn't always mean quality. At Harold's every item on the menu is made with the best of the best ingredients, especially the meats he uses. he buys and moves a ton of it each week - maybe even more! Whether you order corned beef, roast beef, brisket, turkey, pastrami or tongue, you are getting fresh, lean and tasty meats every time. There are also some wonderful side dishes offered to top off the huge donner plates. Try the potato pancake(s) and or knishes. Yum. They are super-sized too and very delicious.

Here is a typical Harold's customer comment to chew on:

Harold's is famous for serving HUGE portions. Four people could eat a turkey sandwich and have leftovers. The food is very good, especially the giant cakes. You can go here for the food, but it seems many people go for the experience. Plan on splitting things, because they give you way too much to eat.

Spot on! That says it all and there is so much to share - BOTH on the plate and among your circle of friends. They will want to go there. This place is the real deal. Someplace very special. Out of the ordinary. A must visit.

So what from Harold's can you try making at home? His Health Salad - on the Pickle Bar - is to die for. Here is the recipe for that:


Harold's New York Deli Health Salad

2 T sugar
3T vinegar
2T salad oil
1T water
1t salt

1 cucumber sliced
1 carrot sliced
1 green pepper sliced
1 bermuda onion sliced
3/4 head shredded cabbage

mix sugar, vinegar oil,water and salt in a lidded jar.
add to vegetables and let marinate overnight.
bring to room temp before serving.

Make us much of it as you like and stop by Harold's for a full dinner; it will leave you full but wanting more - your leftovers. By the way, that's Harold Jaffe seating you. Nice guy. He'll treat you like he's known you for years. He is one heck of a hard worker and always looks tired. Pray for him. We need him to keep Harold's going for many more years to come!

Baking Ammonia Never Tasted This Good

Just as you are settling in with your new found Berger Cookie delights (earlier post), I have more great news from Baltimore. Could it be that Baltimore is the cookie capitol of the world? It very well may be, because it is also the home of Otterbein's Bakery, another Baltimore tradition that began way back in 1881, when Adam Otterbein’s opened the family’s first bakery.

Otterbein's is more than a one trick pony with its own brand of cookies. They offer a variety of thin, crisp delights that all have a home-made taste. They aren't too sweet, with a great crunch and wonderful flavor. I defy you to find anything as good as Otterbeins among the familiar national brands.

Here are some of the wonderful cookies made available in stores throughout Maryland and DC and - thank God - online :

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sugar Cookies
Lemon Sugar Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ginger Cookies

These are award-winning cookies that have gone head to head - in competition - with Berger Cookies and have beaten them. Don't just take it from me. Read the following review from a worthy food critic:

Excerpt from The Baltimore Sun Paper, May 24, 2006

Chef Shirley Coleman, a chef instructor at the Baltimore International College, says the Otterbein cookies have retained a homemade look and taste. " They look like they were made with love," she says. " It wasn't thrown together" Coleman says she can taste butter as the primary fat in the cookies, instead of shortening. "I could tell someone took a little bit of extra time making them." Chef Faith Kling, another chef instructor at the college, says the key to the thin Otterbein cookie is to bake it just the right amount of time - long enough to let the moisture evaporate and make the cookies crisp without burning them.

Otterbein's uses only the best ingredients in their baking and that can only be confirmed by kowing how "bad" these cookies are for you. A normal serving size is considered 4 Cookies (if you can stop there!. A serving equals 130 calories 40% of which is from fat, which means MARGERINE (not butter), in this case. Moderation folks, but NOT avoidance. LIFE IS TOO SHORT.

The ingredients are simple sugar cookie ingredients; they use margarine instead of butter. The secret ingredient for crispness is baker's ammonia.

Actual company recipes are hard to find, but a few ambitious bakers have tried to duplicate the taste of Otterbein's cookies with some unverified success. Here is one such recipe:

AMMONIA SUGAR COOKIES

2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
3 teaspoons baking ammonia dissolved in 3/4 cup milk
5 cups sifted flour (I use a little more)
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon lemon or vanilla flavoring

Cream shortening, sugar, eggs and milk mixture together.

Add flour, salt and flavoring. Mix, adding more flour if needed, till you have stiff batter.

Roll out on floured board and cut out into desired shapes. Place on lightly greased baking sheets.

Bake at 350 degrees F till light brown.

I have no idea if anyone can really do as good a job as Otterbeins, themselves. If you can, let us know. Until then, buy the real thing and enjoy these yummies.

Pie Equals Delicious Squared

Yes, New Jersey; there is something good in the middle of nowhere - and it's a pie. Correction. It's is a ton of pies. Double correction. It is a ton of pies that each weigh a ton. It's Penza's Pies at the Red Barn Cafe in rural Hammonton, NJ.


2 miles north of Route 30, in Hammonton, New Jersey, at mile marker 2 on Route 206 IS the middle of nowhere. Most "nowheres" are known for something, though. Considering that the entire American continent was once a "nowhere", until Columbus stumbled upon it, Hammonton is much less of a "nowhere" to many folks in New Jersey, especially those most apt to "phoan hoam" to Philadelphia or Delaware. This "nowhere" is definely a somewhere for foodies!

In any case, Betsy and I just happened to stumble upon a little red barn near Hammonton on the way to visit a local winery called Valenzanos. This little red barn had one of those typical hand-made signs advertising fresh produce and home-baked pies. And, so we stopped in to check it out.

At the door, we were immediately overwhelmed by the heavenly aroma of fruit pies of every type baking in the oven. If that wonderful fragrance wasn't enough, we nearly fell over a counter filled with just-baked sample treats. Who can resist such an offer to taste these local culinary icons?

Yes, icons. A whole wall of reviews by everyone from the New York Times to NBC's Big Al Roker, said so. We soon learned that "Big Al" once broadcasted from Penza's. Probably, BEFORE his stomach stapling took place.

Having sampled a few of the pies used as bait, there was nothing left to do than buy one or two. Problem is. There are too many choices. They are all equally good. And, they are a little pricey at over $20 for the smaller size of two. There is only a slight price differential between small and large. Frankly, whatever size you decide on - these goodies are worth their heavy weight in gold. They are all magnificent works of calories!

This time, we opted for the "Very Berry," which is only available during the summer months. Penza's bakes its pies according to the season. They are currently offering Easter treats. By the way, they also make and sell other good stuff in the round such as a fine line of savory pies. Great, if you are more into cheese and spices on your plate than fruity pies.

Evelyn Penza really runs the place and we are fortunate enough to be able to share one of here amazing pie recipes here for you. Penza's is especially well known for their Ricotta Blueberry Pie. So, you bakers can give it a shot and see if it equals the value of driving out to Hammonton to get the bakery version.

And, this from another Yummy Finder that already has a love affair with Penza's Pies:

One of a kind delicious homeamde pies!. I picked up a delicious Pumpkin Ricotta pie at the Red Barn, after hearing about the cafe on The Food Network. The pie was fantastic, possibly the best I've ever had. It's rare to find any bakery that makes ricotta pie, let alone a mix of ricotta cheese and pumpkin. They also carry a long list of other varieties, such as Apple, Apple & mixed fruit, Blueberry, etc. These pies are worth every penny!

We fully concur!

Tasty Raison, Rosemary and Wine

Betsy and I are cracker people. In fact, Betsy considers them "delivery systems" for fancy spreads and flavored cream cheeses. The cracker - itself - is nothing more than a means to an end "starring" its rich and creamy topping.

Recently, we came across a very unusual taste in crackers at Trader Joes Supermarkets. These are the Raison Rosemary Crisps(above).

The cracker is a bit on the brittle side, loaf-shaped and loaded with raisins, rosemary, flaxseeds and sunflower seeds. They're savory, sweet and yes, incredibly crispy.

Trader Joes recommends enjoying Raison Rosemary Crisps with French Brie or some Prosciutto & Roquefort. We think these crackers stand well enough on their own as a snack - maybe with some honey butter and definitely a nice glass of dry Reisling.

As we do in most of our reviews, we seek out and share home-made recipes for store bought products when we can find them. If it's great out of the box, home baking can often improve on a winner. Here is a RECIPE for Raison Rosemary Crisps that happens to be low-carb and gluten-free.

As for the store bought version, there are 90 calories in a 12 piece serving of Trader Joe's Raisin Rosemary Crisps. The calorie breakdown is as follows: 23% fat, 65% carbs, 12% protein. Anything in moderation is OK to enjoy as long as it tastes extraordinary and you remember not to overdo it. Why waste a single calorie on the unremarkable?

As is our usual practice we also like to share the opinions of others, who have tried the products we enjoy and recommend. Another fan of these crackers sums up these delights with the following:

These crackers are an absolutely delicious little snack! Imagine tiny and thin little slices of toasted French bread that are slightly sweetened with raisins and nicely flavored with rosemary. They have just the right amount of crunch and nuttiness too because of the flax and sunflower seeds. I just tried them at a party where they were served with a variety of cheeses and the flavor just exploded in my mouth. I just went and bought two boxes of these I liked them so very much! Yum, they melt in your mouth.

We just bought a box and are already running low. We'll be heading to Trader Joes again, very soon.

Best Cookies found in Mars

Traveling around the planet, it is easy to come across regional and local treasures that excite the palate. On a recent trip to Washington DC, we traveled the backroads to and from the nation's capitol and stumbled upon a supermarket we had never seen before or had ever heard of - Mars. Apparently, Mars is a local chain of grocery stores in metropolitan Baltimore, Maryland. There are currently 17 locations in the Baltimore area.

Bad news, first. Despite its celestial sounding name, Mars is pretty unremarkable and generic as most Supermarkets go. Our measure of Supermarket superiority or inferior status is usually determined in four areas of the store: The gourmet deli Counter, the bakery, the produce section and whatever aisles just happen to feature local goodies you can't easily find elsewhere. We like to visit the snack aisle for local chip and pretzels. The soda aisle often features unusual brands and flavors. And, the packaged cakes section sometimes displays items not found out of a particular area.

It was in the fourth place we checked - the packaged cakes aisle - that we found something very special - Berger's Cookies. Now, THESE are special cookies.

According to its website, the nineteenth century baking company that makes Berger Cookies describes itself and its trademark delight in the following manner:

"From its modest roots Bergers has continued to prosper, and has grown into one of the most recognized –and beloved cookie companies in the Mid Atlantic region. We still maintain the same recipes, with some minor adjustments to adapt to the processing of raw ingredients, as in the 1800’s. Our commitment to produce a quality product… one that our loyal customers can continue to enjoy, and new customers discover, is maintained in our production today."

Berger Cookies are a kind of cookie made and distributed by DeBaufre Bakeries. They are topped with a thick layer of chocolate fudge that derives from a German recipe, and are a cultural icon of Baltimore. The box seems to weigh a ton and are priced just under $5.00 - at least at Mars Supermarket. If you can't get down to the Baltimore area, Berger Cookies can be ordered from the company's website - just not during the warmer months of the year.

Boy are these suckers good, though some may consider them a little rich. You can thank the 1/8" of chocolate fudge weighing down the soft shortbread cookie buried in it. The two tastes make a great combination. Each cookie is about 140 calories of which 40% is fat. But, who cares when it tastes so good. It is too rich to eat more than one at each sitting. Problem is - you might be inclined to have another sitting as soon as the richness wears off!

There is another way to enjoy Berger Cookies. You can make them at home and here is the RECIPE

If my opinion on these cookies need any additional support, here is what another Yummy Finder thinks about this awesome tasting cookie and posted a review on Yelp:

When I was a kid, I could put away four of these easily. These days, I'm lucky if I can eat two in one sitting before my internal sugar police starts strapping on the riot gear. Nonetheless, the wonder that is Berger Cookies still puts a smile on my face whenever I arrive home to a care package from my aunt and uncle in Baltimore.

Over the years, I've gotten three friends, five roommates, and four coworkers hooked on these cookies. Picture, if you will, a plain vanilla cookie. The cookie is nothing special. The cookie is, indeed, nothing more than a token vehicle for the chocolate fudge topping. This chocolate is sugary, delicious, and tastes unlike anything else I've ever had. It will impress and overwhelm you. You'll probably need a drink of milk. And then another cookie.

Yes, Berger Cookies are YUMMY!