Power to the Pumpkin
Get to the heart – or, rather, the guts – of the matter and follow Ella’s lead: Cook more pumpkins this month than you decorate. You’ll find it’s fun to carve them, but even better to fashion into dinner.
Chef Train
Shanti Mignogna, Talula’s
The influential chef who never stops thinking, never stops creating and never will stop building community is the newest inductee into TPW's chef-picks-chef club of top toques. As the owner of the instantly iconic restaurant in Asbury Park reflects, she also looks forward – and inside, to see what she can do to further the industry she loves.
Fortnightly 5
It’s Personal: 9-26-22
You love a certain food. So why not order what you love? Especially if a new spin, a new take, a new incarnation can bring more reason to love it? Each of this fortnight’s favorites have a history of some sort – but also a certain extra something that intrigues and propels.
Sunday Kitchen
Upsetting the Apple Cart
’Tis the season you’re planning to bake that sky-high pie, put together a sugary crumble or frost an apple cake. But don’t short-change our beloved fruit by keeping it only on the dessert menu. It’s got savory possibilities well worth exploring.
People
Connect Call
When City Green farmer Henry Anderson reached out to Razza chef Dan Richer about an abbondanza of a crop, the magic of farm-to-table cookery was ignited. Yes, it takes effort – to source, to obtain, to learn how best to use. But, as Richer is wont to say, “The proof is in the product.” And so it is when the farm’s primo plum tomatoes crush it atop the chef’s pizza.
Food Find
Shagbark Hickory
Straight from Hoppy Valley Farm in northwestern Morris County comes an out-of-the-ordinary ingredient that can put a new spin on your baking and cooking. Ella experiments with a flavor destined for stardom.
Edible Treasure Hunt
A focused hike in the Yard Creek Preserve presented by The Land Conservancy of New Jersey and led by Reid Giacomarra proves that nature offers wholesome riches.
Sunday Kitchen
Flat Green Beans
This good cooking bean looks humble, but goes haute quickly with a little help from companionable friends.
Life on the Farm
Zucchini Antipasto
Low-tech preservation is the right kind of “slow” – and it’s as forgiving as the good-hearted nonna who spoils only with her abbondanza. Kate Munning shares reasoning, resources and the right recipe to get you started.
Food Find
Squid Ink Fettuccine
Many come for the meatballs. Or for the wood-fired pizza. And perhaps the nightly specials. But for some, Piattino in Mendham (and also Summit) is the place where squid ink pasta with shrimp and horseradish-spiked breadcrumbs is the standout.
Fortnightly 5
Doubling the Standard: 9-12-22
You’d think ordinary foods – corn, chicken, ice cream, tofu, sausages – couldn’t shout out from various bills of fare as extraordinary, offering twice the flavor of presumably precious eats, right? Well, these did in the two weeks just past. Satisfyingly, and then some.
Sunday Kitchen
Egg Tofu Toss
Something new, served with wise recommendations, proves inspiring. Quick, healthy, economical, versatile and, ultimately, rousingly flavorful. Who could ask for anything more?
Food Find
Coffee, with an Empanada on the Side
At El Monte in Chester, a husband-and-wife team roast, brew and make a tempting savory pastry. Combine, and create a winning start to the day. And a way to keep it going.
Baker to Baker
Ridhima Sood, The Bake Shop at Moghul Express
In the latest installment of TPW’s monthly column featuring Martha Rabello talking shop with a fellow practitioner of the pastry and baking arts, Martha visits with Ridhima Sood, who is singularly capable of making rasmalai the center of the dessert universe. Rasmalai Tres Leches, anyone?
People
Market Roost
Best known by those who know good food, the pioneering market-cum-café in downtown Flemington has been piloted by Carol and Norman Todd for 41 years – 41 years of working together, cooking together and tending to the details that make every savory plate, every major-occasion party, every birthday pastry as special as it should be.
Sunday Kitchen
Ratatouille & Melon Salad
What? You were too busy enjoying the last lazy, crazy days of summer to plan a menu for Labor Day? Pit-stop at your local farmstand or farmers’ market to get the seasonal essentials for a winning holiday supper.
Chef Train
Alex Saneski, APEM
A chef who completely breaks the mold to redefine so-called “premium” ice cream today is inducted into the elite chef-picks-chef society of highest quality in the Garden State. It’s fitting that this Passaic native set up shop in Bloomfield, where he could tap New Jersey’s resources and mine our people as well for inspiration.
Food Find
Greek Fries
At Efi’s Gyros in Montclair, Ella finds the seasoned spuds not only stand on their own, but may need to be ordered in pairs – one to eat on the premises, one to fuel the ride home.
Fortnightly 5
Rolls & Bowls: 8-29-22
Favorite foods of the two weeks just past see new spins put on styles long popular in culinary culture.
Life on the Farm
The Seeds Planted
Lauren Vitagliano’s homestead is in the heart of the Pine Barrens, a natural treasure that is fertile and fruitful, lush with native plants and hospitable to what might not easily grow elsewhere. In this, her first Life on the Farm column, Lauren tells us about growing flax and how she uses it to up the ante on her honey.
Food Find
Little Star
Bassam Njeim and Louisa Ajami bring a new line of Middle Eastern specialty foods to market. Join the queue at their first-ever stall at the West Windsor Farmers’ Market.
Sunday Kitchen
Green Bell Peppers
This is the story of a dreaded vegetable rising to the occasion of being a true team player when managed by a culinary coach whose palate is attuned to balance. The lesson learned? It’s not that you don’t like a certain food, it’s just that you haven’t had it prepared the way you like it.
Food Find
Shore Shake
The farmers’ market food truck favorite takes milks and sweets, fruits and vegetables, accents feisty and calming – and blitzes its way into the hearts of its fans. Including our intrepid scout, Ella.
Smart Shop
West Windsor Farmers’ Market
A broad-scope market with much to choose from, this Mercer County stalwart is where those with a keen eye and adventurous palate do their food-buying. Ella weighs in with her vendor favorites.
People
Food for the Soul
By using history as far more than mere reference, Gilda Rogers' words and Ada Asghedom's dishes deliver a one-two punch of African culinary culture and its influences on modern soul food in a program presented by the Monmouth County Historical Association.
Sunday Kitchen
Pole Beans
Jolly giants of vines at Two Barn Farm in Pittstown yield deeply flavorful green, yellow and purple beans that can be turned, quickly, into a seasonal supper that celebrates produce at its height.
People
The Pastatarians
AJ Sankofa, Kristina Gambarian and their team at ESO Artisanal Pasta take their craft to another level, determined to elevate an everyday food we hold sacrosanct.
Life on the Farm
What’s Your Lawn Done for You Lately?
Grass isn’t the way to live a greener life. Alessia Eramo farms in her back yard in the city of Clifton, a commercial hub in suburbia, providing food for her family and friends. Her Life on the Farm columns will educate and inspire – starting today.
Baker to Baker
Josué Negrón, Dulce Artisanal Pastry
In the latest installment of TPW’s monthly column featuring Martha Rabello talking shop with a fellow practitioner of the pastry and baking arts, Martha visits with Josué Negrón, owner of one of the most revered bakeshops in the Garden State. And, she learns, this pastry artist never wants to be without his bowl scraper.