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.
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?
Boom Boom Chicken, Meet Fresh and HeyTea
Korean fried chicken and its mates followed by a Taiwanese dessert and a cap-it-off beverage at a place that’s become a worldwide phenomenon: It’s all in an afternoon’s eat-around at Festival Plaza. But nothing’s finer than bumping into a favorite food pro behind a counter once again.
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.
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.
Pierogies House
Guess what’s on parade at this modest and modern storefront owned by its Poland-born chef who channels the dishes her babcia made and serves them forth with pride.
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.
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.
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.
All’Assassina
An important dish that flourishes in Italy is defamed at a restaurant in Union County that purports to celebrate it. It’s the fault of improper execution and it’s not the only pasta (or pinsa or antipasto) that’s being mistreated.
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.
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.