Friday Foodstuffs 11.20.09: Where Are the Turkey Day Events?

For those of you who read our blog regularly, and to you we say thank you, you know that I love to put together lists of events. Small lists, big lists, monochromatic and multicolored lists...I like my lists. So, some of you may be wondering: Gee, John, where is your fancy list of places to go for Thanksgiving?

And my answer is...I don't have one.

There's a reason for this, and it's not laziness (I heard you thinking that - cut it out).

Personally, I think Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday - maybe my most favorite one. And it's a holiday that should be spent with one's family...at home. Now, don't get me wrong; there will be lots of restaurants putting on great turkey and stuffing spreads on that yummiest of Thursdays in November. But, to me, the fact that Thanksgiving has been able to resist being overly commercial due to its simple nature - being grateful for what you have - lends itself to a more genuine connection with family and friends, and this kind of connection is best suited for the home.

But again, this is just my feeling on the subject. Other folks have their own ideas, and that's fine. I will still stand by my belief that the best Thanksgiving meals will be served at home.

Now...having said all this...

If you really want to break with tradition and have a restaurant make your Turkey Day meal, why not go all out? Heck, why not skip the turkey altogether?

Coriander in Voorhees is offering special holiday spreads for 10 or 20 people, and you can choose between a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian menu. Check out these spreads (and you must order by Monday):

Non-Vegetarian: $185 for 10, $300 for 20
- spiced butternut squash soup

- tandoori chicken or chicken tikka makhani

- lamb roganjosh
- gobi aloo mattar
- saffron pulao
- assorted bread basket
- walnut mandarin orange salad (w/ reduced orange dressing)

- gulab jamun or masala chai ice cream

Vegetarian: $170 for 10, $280 for 20
- spiced butternut squash soup

- paneer pepper masala or paneer lababdar

- vegetable kofta curry
- gobi aloo mattar
- saffron pulao
- assorted bread basket
- walnut mandarin orange salad (w/ reduced orange dressing)

- gulab jamun or masala chai ice cream

Indian for Thanksgiving? That might just make me change by whole belief system.


On the third Thursday in November every year, the newest of the Beaujolais are shipped from, well, Beaujolais out the thirsty world. It's tradition - everyone knows this, right? Sure. I guess. Well...kinda. I dunno...why you asking me?

Well, it is, so there.

We here in America have a similar tradition. By the third Thursday in November every year, it is determined that the Detroit Lions are eliminated from playoff contention. Thank you thank you...good night folks!

But I kid, Detroit Lions fans.

Let's get back to the Beaujolais nouveau, shall we?

If you're keen on celebrating the arrival of the Beaujolais (y'know, if you type it enough times, you get the hang of spelling 'beaujolais' without even thinking...oops, off on another tangent), the Academy of Culinary Arts at Atlantic Cape Community College (y'know, if you type that enough times, your carpal tunnel will really start to kick in...dang, tangent-ing again) will be having its annual celebration tonight at 6:30PM. Renault Winery will also be celebrating the Beaujolais tonight with a Celebration Dinner Party, with cocktails starting at 6:30.

If that isn't enough wine-ing for you, I've got plenty more!

Next weekend will be another installment of the Garden State Wine Growers Association's Wine Trail Weekends, and this is the holiday edition. Wineries throughout South Jersey will be having special tastings are other events from the 27th to the 29th. Here's what you can find:

Auburn Road Vineyard & Winery will have a special $10 pairing of their wines with gourmet food items, and with Sunday brunch you get a free glass of their Sangria.

Bellview Winery in Landisville is offering, for a $5 fee, a tour, a tasting, appetizers, music and a complimentary glass.

Cape May Winery in Cape May will have local specialty products, including Organic Raw Chocolate, Chef Walter J's Spices and Seaside Cheese Co.

Cedarvale Winery in Logan Township will be offering tastings and special gift baskets.

Hawk Haven Vineyard & Winery in Rio Grande will have their Eat Local - Drink Local dinner on Friday with food from Copper Fish in Cape May, a cooking demo in Saturday, and tastings with chocolate and cheese on Sunday.

Heritage Vineyards in Richwood is offering $8 wine and cheese tastings along with live music and a small food menu.

Laurita Winery in New Egypt will have live music along with their tastings and yummy gourmet cheeses and sandwiches. Check the special discounts for cases.

Natali Vineyards in Cape May Courthouse will have domestic and imported cheese to taste along with their wines.

Plagido's Winery in Hammonton will be offering tastings and light fare for $5 as well as special discounts for cases of wine.

Sharrott Winery in Blue Anchor will have special treats, such as a chocolate fondue, to go with your tastings. You can also sample their Mulled Spice Chambourcin.

Swansea Vineyards in Shiloh will be pairing cheeses with their wines and a special gift for the first 50 folks who attend.

Valenzano Winery in Shamong is having 50% off second cases of wine along with food and live music. Try their Cranberry and Blueberry sparking wines, Shamong Reserve Red and Jersey Devil port.

And I've got one more for you. Ready?

Balic Winery will be having its annual Holiday Gala Extravaganza this weekend AND next weekend. Sample the wines and enjoy the music and Mediterranean cuisine.

A special holiday version of the Festivals of Food should be posted early next week, God willing. Prayers are always appreciated.


Wine is definitely a strong theme in the special dining events this weekend. Cape May will be the place tonight, with The Mad Batter in Cape May having its Holiday Preview Weekend Wine Tasting Dinner and Peter Shields Inn having its own Wine Pairing Dinner. The Golden Inn Resort in Avalon is hosting an International Tour of Wines & Food Escape Weekend this weekend, which sounds like fun.

If you'd like to switch over to beer, High Street Grill in Mount Holly is having a special Beer Lunch on Sunday.

And, The Robin's Nest, also in Mount Holly, is wrapping up its Vegetarian Week on Saturday.


In the cooking classrooms, the next installment of the Cape May Wine School will be happening on Sunday at The Washington Inn. Kitchen Kapers in Moorestown will be taken over by the kids on Sunday with two Kids in the Kitchen classes: Tantalize Your Taste Buds and Kosher-Style Cooking - Chanukah Delight.

In addition, there will be a special Open Hearth Cooking Demonstration presented by The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in The State of New Jersey (now THAT'S a society name!) on Sunday at the Peachfield location in Westampton.



Blogging Out Hunger

The Boy Scouts will be participating in Scouting For Food this weekend. Read about their efforts here and here.



And in the news this week...

James Beard Award-winning Mustache Bill's Diner in Barnegat Light briefly had to close due to an electrical fire.

The Courier-Post is running its annual Holiday Cooking Contest.

Congrats, Part I: Our friends at The Sweet Life Bakery in Vineland are being recognized by the New Jersey Small Business Development Centers with a Success Award!

Congrats, Part II: Chef James Malaby of blueplate in Mullica Hill was listed as one of the 40 Chefs Under 40 on Mother Nature Network!

And...Congrats, Parts III and IV: Michael Bray of Passion Vines in Somers Point will opening his second location in Egg Harbor Township tomorrow AND he and his wife Kimberly were blessed with the birth of their first child! What a week, Michael!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

- John

Our Apple-Pickin' Day at Terhune Orchards

This actually took place some weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to writing about it. So many post ideas, so little time...

Every year, we make it a point to go apple picking in the early fall. In the past, we never really gave much of a thought to how the apples we were picking were being treated for bugs and such. But that has changed. The more we read about how our food is grown, we now know that apples are very susceptible to taking in the toxins from the pesticides used to keep the insects away.

We wanted to pick organic apples this time around, but we found ourselves with a bit of a problem: nobody in South Jersey seems to have organic apple orchards.

After some extensive searching by Lisa, she finally found an orchard that did not use pesticides to spray their apples and did in fact use organic methods to keep the pests at bay. And that orchard was Terhune Orchards. Terhune is located in the Princeton area, which is a bit of a schlep for us - but for organic apples, we were willing to make the trip.

And, evidently - so were a lot of other people. When we arrived, we found that most of the varieties had been picked pretty clean. The fuji apples, which had just been made available for picking a few days prior, were gone. Gone.

But what they did have plenty of were stayman winesap apples.

They were crisp and a little tart, and had a beautiful deeper red color. And we found some really really REALLY big apples. Quite frankly, I was taken aback the size of some of these babies. And speaking of babies, compare the size of one of these apples with our little one's head:

Now THAT, fellow readers, is a big mofo apple. That's an apple that will make you into a pie if you're not watching.

But, in the end, baby had the last laugh. Or, should I say, gummy bite.

We packed a nice bagful of these lovelies and crossed over back into South Jersey. We've made a number of tasty apple treats with the winesaps we picked, including just a simple applesauce that we and the little one love. It's the best applesauce I've ever had - period.

Now that we know where to go for organic apples you can pick yourself, and that you need to get there quickly if you want to get the varieties you desire, we will be back next year.

- John

Why Do I Blog About Food?

More and more, it seems that bloggers are getting this generic rap that all we're looking to do is get free stuff. And once we get said free stuff, we're more than happy to wax poetically about the stuff. Quite frankly, I'm tired of this tag, since 99.999% of the meals Lisa and I have blogged about we paid for...so, I'm going to tell you why I do this thingy here called food blogging.


I like to share

Let's face it: the little eatery that only you know about will soon be the little eatery with a CLOSED sign hanging on its door - permanently. It does not do anyone a bit of good to discover a great place to eat and not mention it to everyone you know. And not in a 'look-how-smart-and-cultured-I-am' way, but in a 'I-hope-you-will-enjoy-this-as-much-as-I-did' way. I always get a nice warm feeling when someone eats at a place I liked and comes back to me saying 'Thanks so much for the recommendation. I loved it!'

Now I don't get paid by anyone to write this blog, and the amount of money we've earned in ads from Google and Foodbuzz might pay for Lisa and myself to go out to eat - once. And we'd have to skip dessert. And maybe share an appetizer. So restaurants are not buying my praise through financial means or via free meals. I want to give restaurants another voice to get their message out because I want them to succeed. I want these places to stick around so that I and others can enjoy them again and again. After all, many restaurants are just getting by now and may not have the money to promote their business as much as they would like. This is where food bloggers can fit in nicely.

Pssst - restaurant owners and chefs, work with us. You don't have to give us free meals, just some time and cooperation.


I like being an advocate of the South Jersey region

The first reason segues nicely into my second reason. Living in an area that's close enough to two major cities makes it hard for our voice here to be heard. And when it is heard, we get the 'Oh, but it's not New York' or 'It's nothing like Philly'. Well, duh, of course South Jersey isn't like those places - we have actual farms and beautiful bays and large forests of trees and a shoreline with a real beach.

And - we have great food here as well.

By what authority do I have in calling myself an advocate? Well, I live here - have lived here for the majority of my life, have eaten in many many places here, enjoy the farms, bays, forests and beaches here, and I really appreciate the bounty we have. The many wineries. The roadside barbecue stands. A good cheesesteak. Panzarottis. Snapper soup at a diner. Fresh produce from a local farmers market. Blueberry festivals. Chowderfest.

There's lots of things to talk about here in South Jersey, and I want to be part of the conversation. Not the final authority, mind you.


I enjoy meeting other the food bloggers

At the end of September, Lisa and I hosted a little potluck barbecue and invited some of our food blogger friends to come on over and share some yummies and drink some choice bottles of wine and beer. As we were organizing this little event, a thought came into my head: Hey, this would be a great thing to blog about, wouldn't it? But then, another thought followed quickly: How lame is that? Create your own event so you can blog about it? Pah-thetic.

Sure, I could have pumped out a blog post splashing all these food pics, gushing about each and every item - sounding like someone who enjoys messaging his own ego.

But no - I wasn't going to do that.

Why? The reason we decided to throw a get together was simply to enjoy the company of people we have met because of the blog. I think about the folks who came that day and realize that we would not have met any of these people (and one person even lives in our town!) if it were not for the blog. Was the food good? Yep. Good beer? Yep. Good wine? Yep again. But the most important part of the day? Spending time with people you've come to know as friends.

By and large, I have found food bloggers to be good people - and people that you feel like you've known for years. When Lisa and I finally met Robin Shreeves (aka SJ Locavore) at the Tortilla Press Tweetup some months ago, it was as if we were long time friends picking up where we left off. And I could say the same for Deb Smith (Jersey Bites) or Chef E (Cook Appeal). Not so much for Jen Miller (Down the Shore With Jen) - she's friendly and all, but I think being a South Jersey celeb has gone to her head a bit. (Heh heh - just kidding, Jen. She's really good peeps as well).

I also have to make mention of the chefs, wine growers and other folks in the food industry that Lisa and I have gotten to know as well. Chef Mark at The Tortilla Press is not only a good chef but a good man. Ed Hitzel has been nothing but kind and generous towards us. And I can't say enough good things about Stephen and Jill from Sweet Life Bakery.

Yes, we don't really make any money from our blog, but we have been rewarded with some really great personal connections - and we are the richer for it.

My blogging adventure is very much like what you would want in your life's adventure: enjoying the experiences along the way, meeting interesting people as you go along, and being able to give back to the rest of the universe your talents.

- John