Origin Story & Still-Memorable Eats
What inspired Fortnightly 5, TPW’s every-other-week quintet of favorite eats, to begin with? A favorite fellow food critic and a favorite uncommon word. And, ultimately, a whole lot of sensational foods.
Shrimp & Beans
Well, what we’re actually talking about is the combo of Filipino shrimp paste and Chinese long beans. It’s a dish that sounds complex, and it is. But it’s fundamentally a two-ingredient dish that delivers astounding taste with minimal effort.
Personal Bests
We asked a cross-section of our Garden State’s culinary professionals – chefs, bakers and farmers, those who work in support of the industry and folks who make wines and pastries – to answer a question that might unravel the mysteries behind why they do what they do: What is the best part of your job, that singular something that people who don’t do the work might never guess is its most appealing aspect? Their answers are right here, in our latest Pro Picks column.
Pao da Casa
The eyes and ayes may be synced into the baked goods at this downtown bakery-cum-café, but if you read the fine print on the non-sandwich menu you’ll find Portugal’s national dish: Bacalhau com natas. There’s lots that’s lovely here, but the cod-and-cream savory specialty satisfies the soul in ways sweet stuff can’t.
Fresh, Young Ginger
Extend the life of this precious crop when it’s harvested during its super-short season by not only pickling, but freezing and even making it into syrup.
Representative, Please
Each of this go-around’s favorites have their roots in well-defined cultures and speak clearly and respectfully to those cultures. There are a million ways each could go south. But instead they soar, exemplars of type that do proud by proxy.
Queen Mayonnaise
Master this indispensable and ubiquitous condiment with the help of Chef Andre de Waal and find yourself able to construct a regal BLT. Then ride his recipe’s coattails to myriad other uses.
A Viticultural Shangri-la
Meadowbrook Winery’s mission well suits its protected and preserved home astride a sanctuary for nature in Tewksbury Township. That its focused portfolio of estate wines can be tasted while taking in an incomparable panoramic vista is part of an experience designed to captivate.
Brunch by De Martino
A switch from night to daytime dining is proving such a hit in the county seat of Somerset that Chef Martino Linares will be bringing a sibling of this Latin-leaning hotspot north to Denville, where his carefully syncopated dishes will continue to embellish and upgrade classics.
Farm Art at Ayres/Knuth
A farmstead in Denville that dates back to 1793 is the setting for an exhibition that gives agriculture its due through paintings, photographs, mixed-media pieces, pottery and sculptures, tightening the connection between our farms and our foodways.
The ‘Greening’ of Supper
Use this tart, green apple – or any other tart apple – as the key ingredient in a savory dish that can be served as the main event for dinner. In other words, re-think the fruit that too often is overshadowed by its sweet kin.
How About Them Other Apples?
Consider the Greening this season of a limited harvest, and let it be your gateway variety to the Garden State apples you can be with and love – and not grouse and grumble about those that didn’t make it out of a very cruel spring.