Origin Story
Jun Xu is an accomplished biochemist and research scientist for whom cooking is a never-ending experiment. She also is the mother and muse of Sean Yan, chef-owner of Ram & Rooster in Metuchen, where his own Chinese-inspired dishes riff on Mom’s home cooking.
Sunday Kitchen
Whipping Feta into Seasonal Shape
For Hanukkah, put together a spread that can segue into a topping for latkes, one made from the salty cheese and a late-autumn partner. Together, they’re jaunty and very Jersey.
Bocadillo’s Market
Within a new restaurant in Moonachie is a section of shelves holding some of Spain’s most desirable ingredients. It’s supplemented with jamon, cheeses and other perishables at a frontside ordering counter and curated by a couple who well know their Iberian specialties. It's a collection designed to help you host an easy and authentic tapas party at home.
Pine Barrens Native Fruits
Cranberries come naturally to the one-of-a-kind preserve that’s been home to a cherished crop for centuries and maintains its status as the place where the world’s best are grown and harvested. Their deepest roots are tended to and shepherded by caretakers of a heritage with no equal: Whitesbog farmers Brenda Conner and Joe Darlington.
Fortnightly 5
Support Systems
Sometimes a standout isn’t a spotlight entrée on a menu, but a riveting side show or starter or something refreshing to sip. Or even, not surprisingly at this time of year, a stuffing.
Sunday Kitchen
The Pink Pineapple
It’s a gimmick of a fruit that, since it hit the marketplace five years ago, has found its way into the host-gifting arena. What can you do with it?
Hot on the Trail
A New Spice Route in Stratford
The cuisines of South Asia are getting showplaces along South White Horse Pike in dishes classic and contemporary, but always with a soul that’s authentic. After meandering among the many storefronts in the Camden County borough, we’re spotlighting three restaurants and a market that also sports takeaway fare. It’s a diverse and delicious journey.
Food Find
Ohsung Yes! Chips! (Garlic Shrimp)
These crispy little critters of shrimp and garlic plus tapioca flour and seasonings are making noise on our snack scene.
Sunday Kitchen
Pomegranate Seeds
Ruby jewels of equal parts good nutrition and sweet-tart exuberance, the arils that spurt intensely fruity juices are natural partners for citrus. And lots more. Are they a splurge? Perhaps. But the myriad uses of pom seeds increase their value.
Saving Gracefully
Hit your farmers’ market or produce storage bins and do something this weekend to make Thanksgiving dinner easier on yourself. Or, if you’re guesting, not hosting, follow this lead to bring a gift the cook will find good use for that day or to complement leftovers in the days to follow.
For the Host Who Has Cooked Everything
On the day before Thanksgiving, please accept these recommendations of what you can give in thanks to the cook that might either serve to supplement all that home-cooked fare or be something useful, thoughtful and/or delicious to indulge in at some point after the party’s over.
Fortnightly 5
Big Bonuses
What do a chili-laden hot dog, jar of fig jam, head of Romanesco, big bowl of chickpeas and mates, and a skillet of ground beef Karachi-style have in common? Besides the fact that all hail from South Jersey, they’re also the favorite eats of the two weeks just past and they all benefit from big bonus flavors.
Sunday Kitchen
Freshen Thanksgiving
Scooping up a basket of produce from our Garden State farms is a sure-bet way to brighten the holiday table. Today, we take four vegetables from Savoie Organic Farm and turn them into Turkey Day sides with little effort. The result? A bushel of vivid flavors.
The Taste-Maker’s Gift
There’s a No. 1 in preserves-making in the Garden State and it’s someone you’ve met before here at The Peasant Wife: Amanda Newman, of Spotted Horse Provisions. Grab her peerless preserves while you can, in time for gift-giving and your own holiday tables.
Jersey’s Jewel
What, actually, do we know about the fresh, pure cranberry other than it’s a must on Thanksgiving and we’re bound to be shown every fall images of thousands of them swimming and bobbing in vast expanses of water? As residents of the state that ranks in the Top 3 of its production, we’re obliged to crack their code. Amy Howell, fairy godmother of the cranberry, is here to talk more than turkey.
Sunday Kitchen
Fresh Cilantro Sauce
Green and vibrant and ready to toss with noodles of all sorts is an herb-dominated tonic for those with the tomato-missing blues. And anyone who thinks it’s time for a change-up.
Putting Together the Pastured Poultry Puzzle
What actually goes into raising the best-tasting turkey? A lot of labor, know-how, constant monitoring and love. To understand how the kind of turkey you most desire can end up on your Thanksgiving table, we asked the best-possible source for some straight talk: Abigail Sickler, of Hidden Creek Farm in Stow Creek, Cumberland County.
Pasta e Fajioli
A most beloved friend cooks for you the most comforting of Italian soups. That’s not just amore; it’s a reason to be thankful for those who turn to the kitchen when it’s time to soothe.
Fortnightly 5
Flavors Full of Fall
It’s the season to be hearty, all the while managing to be bright, and it’s leaning on noodles with a sumptuous glaze, mushrooms, beans with the plushness of a pudding and a mini pie true to its namesake. Herewith, the quintet of favorite eats from the two weeks just past.
Sunday Kitchen
Thrills with Frilly Frisee
Don’t be intimidated by bigger-than-Frisbee-size heads of a curly endive that’s destined to bring grandeur and panache to your table. Magnificent as a dressy salad and oozing potential as a main course, it’s a bitter green that will not leave a bitter taste in your mouth once you pair it with everyday favorites.
Bakers on the Rise: Dillon Gray
A confluence of circumstances has brought us to a most opportune moment in the history of Garden State baked goods, where professionalism and independent visions reign on an expansive scale. We’re talking today with Dillon Gray of Lafayette, one of the emerging talents engineering his own startup, to give you a baker’s eye view of our baking boom.
Food Find
Whitehouse Station Sauce Company
Primo ingredients are the backbone of a line of ready-to-roll sauces that bring personality and no shortage of pizzazz to foods that otherwise might seem plain. They’re Chef John Kasper’s magic potions and they’re ready for stocking-stuffing, host-gift-giving and raising the bar of your personal pantry.
Sunday Kitchen
Baked Stuffed Apples
It’s the simplest of autumn dishes, fit for a holiday dinner finale as well as breakfast the next morning. Add one little crowning glory, if you’d like, to give it a spare bit of sultry sweet.
Smart Shop
Shoppers’ Paradises
We all know about High Summer in the Garden State and how its produce shapes our meals during that season. Now comes the time to employ a different kind of procurement plan, one that feeds our needs for a succession of holiday dinners and get-togethers and aids in neighborly gift-giving and family stocking-stuffing. It’s officially High Food-Shopping Season and we’re offering recommendations on where to score favored eats from authorities throughout New Jersey.
Antoinette Boulangerie
If the mood strikes on Halloween, it’s fine to think of certain pastries as substitutes for candies. Treat yourself to a sampling, for instance, at this French-accented bakeshop in Red Bank, which is the right kind of confectionary for indulgence when our annual sweet-and-scary holiday rolls around.
Fortnightly 5
Global Domination
Foods emblematic of their far-flung lands of origin are the emphatic favorites of all eaten during the past two weeks. They come from Peru, the Republic of Georgia, France, China and far Eastern Europe to ports of the Garden State where they’ve been expertly interpreted.
Sunday Kitchen
Pulled Lamb
Happy start of holiday season! That’s right: With Halloween on the docket Friday and the calendar flipping to November on Saturday, those never-lazy, always-crazy days of fall holidays are here. Today, we present a simple and seasonally correct supper that’s at once special and home-style, right for family or guests. It’s aromas-from-the-oven time.
The Solo Sup
We asked those who toil in the culinary professions what food they most love to eat when dining independently, be it out in a restaurant or at home without any obligations. What a range of answers we received!
Colorful Cauliflower
Pretty and more flavorful in purple and orange, two members of the current crop of the cruciferous vegetable don’t need a force field-strength shield of seasonings and sauces to make them lovable. Go accent-free, and appreciate their natural charm.
Sunday Kitchen
Stella and Her Smoked Fishes Groove
At NetCost, a new concept in smoked fishes inspires a new wave of meal ideas. It’s decidedly Eastern European, a trifle Japanese, a bit old-school deli, ultimately light on time and joyful to prepare.