Category Archives: New Jersey

Sha-Sha-Shakshuka!!

15 Tuesday Jan 2019

Posted by in Epicurean, New Jersey, Vegetables

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So good (pat, pat, pat…).  Sunday’s dinner was a success!  The menu:

  • Cheese and olives – with a bit of pepperoni
  • Falalfel with pita
  • Shakshuka
  • Briam  
  • Bailey cordials

The menu, minus a side dish, was set and I was beginning to panic, unsure as to what low-carb, paleo friendly accompaniment could go with a very spicy meal?  Thankfully, I lucked out; tripping across The Mediterranean Dish which is chock full of regionally appropriate dishes with easy-to-follow instructions, settling upon an intriguing Briam.  I also found great information on the New York Times’ Cooking site and on Eater.com – Eater being a  surprise as it’s a Vox website and as a general rule, I’m not a fan of Vox.

Italian Frying Peppers

The surprise hit was the falafel, thanks to Aglaia Kemezi’s Mediterranean Hot cookbook.  I’ve not previously seen, made or eaten the crispy patties of goodness and wasn’t sure what to expect.  The recipe called for Chilies which was confusing.  Never before have I purchased just chilies – habaneros and jalapenos, sure they’re pretty common in most Jersey grocery stores. I couldn’t recall, however, ever seeing plain ole fresh chilies in a store.  Frustratingly, I killed more time than I care to think about pacing up and down the aisle of Corrado’s looking for the spicy hot green goddess, but to no avail.  With the help of the produce guy, I found a pepper that we believed the recipe called for.

My happiness was short lived. While prepping the ingredients I realized that, combined, the falafel would probably be way too hot for my delicate palate. Feeling saucy, I threw caution to the wind – how could I not, my husband and our friend were taking them down; delicately nibbled the dark, crispy patty; and am now a changed woman.

The shakshuka – the driving force behind the meal — was delightful.  Albeit, the whole poach your eggs in the stew thing was new to me and something I need practice as ½ the eggs broke as I ‘gently’ dropped them into the stew.  The Briam was also intense – how could it not be, just look at that pan full comforting veggies. But I do question if it were the right side for the shakshuka – perhaps a little too sweet and maybe not a good strategy —  tomato on tomato —  when planning a meal.

Overall, the day was a success.  Proof?  That would be our friend, Ganesh, exclaiming, “this is basically a dish we make back home and yours is really good” – he’s from Southern India.  A few learnings from my adventures:

  • Frying peppers are a good substitution for Chili peppers (they may be one and the same). 
  • You really need to serve pita and some sort of saucy side with falafel
  • Shakshuka can be made the night before (I always enjoy doing this as it allows the ingredients to marry together).  Simply reheat and then add the eggs.

I’m confident the shakshuka will reappear on our table someday soon as will the falafel; however next go around they’ll be paleo friendly for the big man.  More tales of my mid-eastern culinary pursuits will follow.  Until then, however, I wish you safe travels, smooth sailings and, of course, bon appetite.

Simple Pleasures

08 Tuesday Jan 2019

Posted by in Christmas, Epicurean, Festivals, Holidays, New Jersey, Travel, Weekend

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Woefully behind in posting, I thought I’d do a write up on the various winter carnivals taking place throughout the NE. Disappointingly, however, my list was becoming more and more lame with each search. I’ve previously written about maple sugaring festivals; perhaps I should have updated that post for tonight.

My Not So Simple Salad

It’s been difficult getting back into the swing of things after the holidays, but I’m reveling in simple pleasures, one being my lunchtime salad. Definitely not a simple salad as that walnut commercial boasts about, but rather one that includes everything and the kitchen sink. Definitely refreshing, and needed, after the over-indulging of the holidays.

#Delicious

We celebrated little Christmas this past Sunday. Usually we host a brunch, but this year opted to go out to eat. The place we went, The Twisted Elm in Elmwood Park, NJ has a cozy atmosphere that includes a fire place — a definite bonus — and a menu that’s a combination of quasi-fancy fare and comfort food (literally, there’s a section on the menu entitled ‘Comfort Food’). Well, the Twisted Elm has a fantastic cheese board and its accompaniments — from fig preserves to relished cranberry to mapled walnuts — are simply scrumptious.

I’m restarting my Sunday epicurean sojourns this weekend. These are culinary pursuits I embark upon for our afternoon dinner (sometimes it’s evening, depending on the meal’s intricacy level). There’s little method behind my madness with these meals; sometimes I pick a country and do a traditional feast from the locale while other times I embark upon the season and create a meal based off the holiday du jour. Ultimately, there’s no formula that I follow.

This Sunday, I’m making a Shakshuka. I first had the dish in Montreal and assumed it was Canadian, it was so warming considering the chill in the air that weekend. Little did I know the dish hails from North Africa and the Mid-East. I’m excited, it’s made me dig out my Mediterranean Hot cookbook and has given a reason for me to create a spicy repast for the weekend. Details to follow; I’m assuming I’ll make it out of the kitchen unscathed and we’ll wind down the weekend with bellies’ full of this wonderful…err, soup, sauce, dish?

Thanks for stopping by. I wish you all safe travels, smooth sailings and, of course, bon appetite.

Lights Out!

18 Tuesday Dec 2018

Posted by in Christmas, Connecticut, Festivals, Friday Night, Holidays, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New England, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Travel, Vermont

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I’ve been to Lights in the Parkway in Allentown, PA and the Christmas Light Show and Village at Skylands Stadium in Augusta, NJ. Both were pretty fantastic (albeit, I enjoyed the Allentown lights better as you literally drove through a park). I almost went to Bright Nights Springfield (MA) over Thanksgiving, but, unfortunately, time was not on our side.

Waiting to be Lit Up in Hershey, PA

With the days winding down, I am hoping that you’re able to take some time to enjoy the season. And, if that happens to be in the evening consider taking a road trip to your local “light shows.” The roster of displays I’m most familiar with is limited, so I did some legwork and gathered some favorite picks up and down the east coast as culled by people more intimately knowledgeable on the subject than myself:

Eastern PA – The folks over at The Patch identify their Top 5 light displays in the easterly part of the state. While Mommy Poppins (I love Mommy Poppins; even if you don’t have kids, she does a fabulous job curating what’s going on — for young and old alike — in the NJ area and often includes neighboring states!) details out more than 15 shows in the greater Philly area, including the burbs

Hudson Valley, NY – Our friends at Hudson Valley Magazine have gathered 12 light shows ranging from a tree lighting in Nyack to a show in Newburgh that has dancing arches.

Maryland – Chesapeake Family lists out tree lighting ceremonies and on-going displays throughout the month. Most of the ceremonies have taken place, but the static displays are still going on.

New England – Yankee Magazine details out some of the best light shows in New England. For state-specific shows, visit: Kicks 1055 for CT (good ol’ Mommy Poppins also has a list); our friends at Visit Maine present 20 sites throughout the state; in NH, the writers at NH Magazine give their selections for the best; the folks at The Globe have chosen 10 displays from MA, including Bright Nights; and WPRI Channel 12 in RI serves up their choices for the best shows in the state. I’ve left Vermont off as that turned into an expedition of hunting and pecking and, like the writers at Yankee Magazine, I’m left scratching my head.

New York – Of course the City is all all aglow this time of year (more so than usual) and has some fantastic displays as described in Time Out NY (again, Ms. Poppins also has a listing for NYC). For those North of the city, New York Upstate details list out some offerings.

This list is by no means exhaustive, just some thought starters for those of you looking to fill time between now and the new year. If you can’t find what you’re looking for or are traveling outside the Northeast, Travel + Leisure has a list of Christmas light shows in every state.

It’s time for to start thinking about turning out the lights here at Casa Rivera; and, with that, I’m wishing you all safe travels, smooth sailings and, of course, bon appetite.

And We Sang…

13 Thursday Dec 2018

Posted by in Christmas, Holidays, New Jersey

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Nothing says Christmas like caroling; and few things are more inspiring than caroling at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in beautiful downtown Newark, NJ. “Newark,” you say.  Yes, Newark. 

The Cathedral Basilica

This is the second year I’ve been to the Candlelight Carol Sing at the Basilica and it was as magical this go around as the first time.  The conductor, John J. Miller, judiciously picked 20 carols for the evening, half of which were song by the choir, the other half with audience participants joining in.  It’s a fantastic program with traditional and religious carols and the manner in which Mr. Miller has the choir and audience playing off one another is delightful.  

Caroling Song Book

The evening began with the choir strategically placed throughout the Cathedral singing “E’en so Lord Jesus, Quickly Come” and ended with a tribute to the 200th Anniversary of “Silent Night” and, of course, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” In honor of Silent Night’s anniversary, the first two verses were sung in traditional German, accompanied by the harp, and the remaining verses were sung by an audience draped in candlelight. 

Do You See What I See?

The Basilica’s Carol Sing started 48 years ago.  Then director of music, John Rose, had a concert planned for mid-December.  As fortune would have it, the area was assaulted with a storm and the organist was unable to traverse to Newark.  Not wanting to disappoint the 50 or so concert goers in attendance,  Mr. Rose treated the audience to a preview of the Cathedral’s Christmas mass music and lead a round of carols creating, unbeknownst to him at the time, a long-standing and much loved holiday tradition.  This year, there had to be close to 500 people in attendance, if not more. 

On that musical note, I’m signing off with the sweat melody of “Carol of the Bells” in my head.  And, to you, I wish safe travels, smooth sailings and bon appetite. 

Newark, NJ…Really?

29 Thursday Nov 2018

Posted by in Epicurean, New Jersey, Portuguese, Travel, Williams Sonoma

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Homemade Mustard…#Yummy

I’m a bit of a crazed woman at the moment.  I recently read that as a content creator, yes, apparently, that’s what I’m trying to be, I need to publish at least one post a day — actually, the website I read this on the guy was saying multiple times a day. I’m down to 3 minutes left in Wednesday and the odds of this going live before midnight are slim.  I also wanted to write about my mustard, a recipe I was planning to share (and it takes a lot for me to share a ‘secret’ recipe), but I lost the bloody card w/ the recipe jotted down on it. 

I make great mustard.  It’s actually a recipe I adapted from a Williams Sonoma purchase (not really nor’eastern, but a fantastic store none-the-less).  A few years ago, while desperately scouring the one table in the store with ‘deep’ discounts I came across a make your own honey mustard kit.  Ripping open the ‘honey’ package, I realized I was about to dump a bunch of brown sugar into my mustard mixture; I tossed it instead.  While one might say I ruined the whole ‘thing’ I really made a fantastic discovery.  The flavorful mustard I created, which my spice-loving husband can’t get enough of, was amazing.  And, thankfully, for some reason, I jotted down how much flour was in the pre-packaged envelope and how much mustard seed was provided, thus creating my own recipe.  Of course, at this exact moment, when I have 3 minutes left in the day, I can’t find the effing little card the recipe is on. 

Welcome to…Newark Ironbound District!

With that, I’m going to share a cool blog, 
 The #1 Itinerary, I tripped across and an even cooler post. The #1 Itinerary folks have liked a few of my posts and I decided to meander over to the site.  As I was perusing it, I found a really informative write up about the Iron Bound District of Newark, NJ.  The thing about Newark is that it gives the rest of New Jersey a bad rap (yes, I know, everyone from Jersey says that).  But, it really does.  However, if you’re a traveler, it’s probably not uncommon to find yourself, at some point or another, going through Newark Airport.  And, if you’re going through the airport and have a few hours to spare, go to the Iron Bound District…just do it.  It’s a 10 minute cab ride (assuming all goes well with the traffic) and for the food alone, #Yummy, that 10 minutes will be worth your while.

Tales of Newark will be the subject of another post, when I’m not 1+ hours late in posting my ‘blog a day.’ 

Newark Airport

Thank you, as always, for visiting.  For those on the road, I wish you safe travels, smooth sailing, and, of course, bon appetite!