NYCWFF 2014 - Down Home Country Brunch

I'm so sorry it took me this long to tell you about the rest of our weekend last month at the New York City Wine & Food Festival. As most of you know my mom and I got to go to the festival because of the generosity of Shoprite and after attending and working the Grand Tasting on Saturday we got to go to the Down Home Country Brunch on Sunday at the Midtown Hilton hosted by Trisha Yearwood. 

I liked the Down Home Country Brunch more than the Grand Tasting as it was smaller and much more intimate. They set up these lovely tables in a big beautiful ballroom so you could go and get plates of food down the hall and then come back to your table and actually enjoy it. We brought along two out of the three of my sisters so it was nice that we could all sit and eat together. They also gave us a full menu of the food choices and who made them which made it easy to know what foods were worth waiting in line for.

These shrimp and cheesy gits with collard greens and ham were the best plate of the day in my opinion. Lev Gewirtzman is the chef and owner of Mayfield in Brooklyn and I'm dying to go and try out what wonderful creations he has in store for his guests. The white shoepeg corn pudding that went along with the BBQ ribs was really good as well from the Hill Country BBQ Market.

One the left is monkey bread french toast that had a bourbon maple syrup from Bo's Kitchen and Bar Room. On the right is our host's Country Quiche. As most of you know Trisha Yearwood is married to Garth Brooks and apparently it was his idea to put cheese tortellini in her sausage and tomato quiche recipe. I wouldn't think to do that but it was delicious and hearty :)

Here I am with Damaris Phillips who was the winner of The Next Food Network Star Season 9. She is from Kentucky and has an adorable southern accent, I'm so glad I got to meet. She hosts the show "Southern at Heart" on the Food Network where she teaches guys to cook for their ladies which I record on my DVR every Saturday morning!!

The little cup on the left was Damaris's Cornbread in sweet milk that had a drizzle of honey. Although it sounds like a strange combination it was clearly my families favorite as every single one of us brought two or three of those tiny cups back to our table. There was something about the cold milk with the cornbread that made it delightful. The plate on the right was open faced shrimp benedict from Damian McDowell from Marietta in Brooklyn.

We even got to meet the beautiful and talented host of the brunch Trisha Yearwood who sang a few songs for us acoustically after we were all done eating to promote her new album Prizefighter coming out later this month,

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NYCWFF 2014 - Grand Tasting Presented by ShopRite

This past weekend we had the opportunity to attend the New York City Wine & Food Festival courtesy of ShopRite!! We both were so excited for it and the events we went to turned out to be amazing!! We are so lucky to have been sent by ShopRite, and we can't wait for next years festival :) On Saturday afternoon we were invited to the Grand Tasting on the pier to both experience and work the event. There were hundreds and hundreds of booths set up with vendors giving out tastes of both food and alcohol. There is no way anyone can try everything that is available, even if you had the whole 5 hours and a huge appetite so you have to carefully pick and choose what's worth it to you. 

Fleet Street Kitchen located in Baltimore, MD had what I would consider to be my personal favorite bite of the day which was their Braised Short Rib. They also offered a Pumpkin Triffle that had mini marshmallows on top. I paired these two delicious offerings with Entwine Pinot Grigio. My other favorite bite of the day came from Crave Fish Bar located in New York, NY which was a Smoked Scallop that was topped with olive oil, fig and pumpkin seeds. That was the only bite I actually had two of but didn't take a picture of it either time...Sorry!!

Here we are in front of the Cupcake Wine truck. We were total advocates for the Wine Glass Necklaces which make holding your tiny plates of food easier as your beverage dangles in front of you. Just be sure not to walk around with it full. Plus an extra bonus is it keeps the amount of glasses that break during the event minimal since everyone has them hanging from their necks!

This Churro flavored pretzel with Nutella dipping sauce was from the Cooking Channel booth. They also had an Everything pretzel with honey mustard sauce as well as a Za'tar pretzel with middle eastern spices paired with a Tazaiki Greek yogurt dipper, but I was in a dessert kind of mood. Since there aren't a lot of tables and chairs set up we grabbed our pretzels and went over to watch one of my favorite food network stars!!

This is Rachel Ray doing a cooking demo on one of the two stages set up in the rear of the pier. Notice the large mirror above her, it allows all the people watching to really see what she's doing in all those orange pots and pans. Afterwards she was taking questions from the audience and even let a few people taste what she made which was some kind of pasta casserole. 

These fancy bites were from a booth set up that was promoting a sweepsteaks to win a trip down to Mexico City. All 3 were signature dishes of 3 different famous chefs from Mexico. We had a Mexican Wonton with minced meat and pomegranate perils, decadent chocolate mousse with fresh whipped cream and mint and huge shrimp cocktail with vegetable tapenade and micro greens.

I totally chickened out for a picture with Aarti Sequeira who won The Next Food Network Star season 6 in 2010. She was a food blogger just like me and won the whole thing with lots of flavorful Indian dishes. She hosts the show Aarti Party and is often a judge on Guy's Grocery Game or other competitive programs.

At the end of the day it was our turn to work the Potluck Blog area of the ShopRite booth. We were out in the crowds talking to people and handing out recipes that are currently on the ShopRite Potluck blog!! It was so exciting knowing that hundreds of people took one of our recipes so hopefully we have increased our following and got the Potluck blog more publicity. 

Sweet Thai Chili Grilled Shrimp and Vegetable

Stay tuned to hear all about The Down Home Country Brunch we went to on Sunday morning in the Midtown Hilton, hosted by Trisha Yearwood!!

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New Jersey Local Farm Tour

Last week we had the pleasure of going on a tour of some local New Jersey farms that provide fresh produce daily to surrounding ShopRite stores. The Colalilo family who own and operate the ShopRite's of Clinton, Flemington & Greenwich, NJ were nice enough to host us along with about 100 of their customers for the day. We were both excited to get out there and learn about local fruits and vegetables from some of New Jersey's finest farmers. All of the farmers who toured us around their families properties really made us appreciate what goes into the phrase "Farm to Table". For instance; did you know that you only get 1 edible ear of corn from every corn stalk?!?!

Our 1st stop was Piazza Farms in Lopatcong, NJ. Sam Piazza is the 3rd generation of farmers who have been growing crops on this land for the last 60 years. Piazza farm grows lots of different vegetables: green and red cabbage, kohlrabi, all different kinds of peppers hot & sweet, all types of squashes, cucumbers, multiple varieties of tomatoes, a few different kinds of corn, broccoli and cauliflower.

 

Sam and his family use special plastic to cover the clay based soil and seal in the moisture that comes from the underground drip irrigation system. Here are rows of zucchini plants: on the left are the young plants that have been recently transported from the greenhouse and on the right are older plants that are currently producing zucchini. By planting vegetables at different times he can assure that he has produce to sell all throughout the summer.

Don't these cabbage look huge?? They look so pretty in their neat little rows. I never realized how many outer leaves each head has. All of the pepper, cucumber and tomato plants on Piazza farm are staked and tied by hand which keeps the plants growing up and out to fill in the space between them and the vegetables off of the ground. All of the produce is hand picked and packaged to sell at their road side market or brought to local stores usually the same day it is ordered.

Our 2nd stop of the day was Donaldson Farms in Hackettstown NJ. Greg Donaldson gave us a tour while we all relaxed on a scenic hay ride. Greg is also 3rd generation and his family has farmed in NJ for 100 years, they are now responsible for almost 1,000 acres of land. They grow not only fruits and vegetables for people but also produce hay and corn for animals.

Greg taught us a great farming tip to bring home to our own families backyard garden. When it comes time to pick tomatoes and they have become red it is best to take them off the vine immediately. This allows the plant to then focus all of its energy on the unripe tomatoes and make not only the fruit itself better but it helps the plant grow the fruit faster.

Here is a beautiful shot of Donaldson Farm in the distance surrounded by tons and tons of corn. Its such a nice picture, you'd think it was from Nebraska or another mid-west state. They have lots of different events throughout the year and allow customers to go into the fields and pick their own: raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, gords, pumpkins and decorative indian corn.

During our delicious lunch of burgers, salad and corn on the cob, NJ Secretary of Agriculture Doug Fisher told us that although NJ is one of the most densely populated states in the whole nation it has the 4th highest yield for produce. I think that is pretty impressive.

Our 3rd and final farm of the day was the Melickstown Farm in Oldwick NJ. You may be familiar with the name because they make delicious apple cider and sell it at most New Jersey ShopRites. Peter Melick took us through his apple orchards and told us how it has changed over the years. These apple trees are dwarf trees that have graft roots. If you notice in the picture above they are tied onto pipes where they are forced to grow up. By doing this the orchard can hold more trees and produce more apples, quicker than the old way of planting big trees every couple of feet and allowing them to grow on their own. This new way of plating also give the farmer the option to change the variety of apple once the tree has been established. 

Then he brought us over to their pick your own peach orchard where we found some juicy white peaches which we enjoyed on the spot. He told us peach trees only live about 15-20 years but take 3 years to produce fruit and then another 2 years to produce enough fruit to make a profit. These trees are grown and pruned to be low to the ground so you don't need a ladder to pick all of the fruit. He also told us that they harvest both their peaches and apples every three days taking the fruit that is closest to the middle and top of the tree because it gets the most sunlight and nutrients the fastest so it will be ripe first. Then as the season progresses they work their way to the outside and bottom of the tree until it is completely bare.

We hope you enjoyed our farm tour pictures and stories!!

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Disney World Vacation

We are leaving tomorrow bright and early for a little vacation. Nicole and Sam are running in the Disney Princess Half Marathon on Sunday so we are all going to cheer them on.




We will be staying at the Beach Club Villas because they are right next to Epcot where the race starts. I can't wait to get out of this cold weather and get some sun and relaxation.  We will be back next week!

Cork, Ireland & Stuffed Cabbage (Galumpkis)

Our youngest daughter Samantha is studying the spring semester of her junior year in Cork, Ireland for the next 5 months. It looks like a beautiful place and we can't wait to visit her in April.  She just arrived there yesterday and I miss her already!  She went to the food store today and there is a whole aisle just for potatoes.  I hope she learns to like potatoes very soon.    

My husband is German, Ukrainian, and Polish.  His mom and grandmother have made this for him since he was little.  I thought I would give it a try myself.  This recipe is from smitten kitchen.        

Ingredients:
1 head of cabbage
1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 medium white onion, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
3/4 cup cooked rice
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 cups tomato sauce


Directions:
Cut the core out of the cabbage but leave it whole.  Place it with the empty core area facing up in a large bowl.  Pour a small pot of boiling water over the cabbage and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Heat oil in a saute pan.  Cook the onions until soft and add the carrot and celery.  Saute for a few minutes until everything is soft.  Season with salt and pepper. Take out and put mixture in another bowl.

Add meat and brown until meat is no longer pink.  Drain grease if necessary.  Add rice and tomato paste and cook for a few more minutes.

Drain the head of cabbage.  Pull of large leaves and cut out the large vein in the middle.  If the leaf is very large you can make two rolls out of it.  Pat the leaves dry with paper towels.  Roll about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of filling in each leaf and arrange in a large wide pot.

Pour enough tomato sauce to cover the rolls.  Bring to a boil and reduce the heat letting them simmer covered on the stove on low for about 45 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy!!  Susan

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New Hampshire Fall Weekend & Zucchini Carrot Nut Bread

This is where I spent last weekend with my husband - at the beautiful Mount Washington Hotel.  We had been there with all the girls about 18 years ago but decided to go back by ourselves for a little fun in the woods.  The leaves are just starting to turn so I am sure it will be gorgeous there for a few more weeks.  The  mornings were in the mid 30's but during the daytime the temperatures got into the high 60's.  

This is the view from the hotel looking at the White Mountains in the Presidential Range.  The mountains are 6 miles away from the hotel.  Mount Washington is the highest mountain in the range at 6,288 ft.

We took this cog railroad up to the top of Mount Washington.  It takes an hour to get to the top on the train and the view is amazing.  They have an observation building at the top with a weather station and a gift shop.  It was such a beautiful day we decided it would be more fun to climb down the mountain instead of taking the train down. Five hours later we made it to the bottom with feet and legs that were a little sore. We had so much fun we want to go back and climb up the mountain on a different trail.

These are the hotel decorations as you pull up to front door.  It just puts you in the "fall" mood.

I brought this Zucchini Carrot Nut bread with us for the 6 hour car ride.  I found this recipe on www.food.com

  
Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 beaten eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray two 9x5 loaf pans with PAM.  Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl.

Add sugar and blend.  Mix the eggs with the oil and add that to the flour mixture.  Mix again.  Mix the zucchini, carrots and walnuts.  Add and mix in.

Pour this into two greased loaf pans and bake for approximately 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool before slicing.

Enjoy!  Susan

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