Cape May in May

Congress Hall - Cape May, New Jersey

http://www.congresshall.com/

Given the fact that I was Maid of Honor in my cousin's wedding, I was stalking weather.com in search of the perfect forecast for May 8th for about a month before Nadia's wedding! 

Drew & Nadia Nielands ~ May 8, 2010

Once that amazing wedding weekend came to a close, I was excited to relax and enjoy a weekend away with Jerome.  The weekend weather for May 15th continued to impress me, so I called Jerome at work on Friday morning and said something like...."So remember we wanted to take a trip to the shore before the weekends got to be too hectic and....?"   With that, he let me know just happened to be looking up information for Congress Hall in Cape May NJ...for that very weekend, just as I called. 

These types of  things happen to us.  A lot.

Since about 2000-2001, when I think of the shore, I think Avalon.  I loooove Avalon.  Until this past weekend...

Cape May was not just a last minute, pack one bag, quick trip, to the Jersey Shore.  It was a vacation. 

We stayed at Congress Hall, near Cape May Point.  About an hour and 10 minutes from Philadelphia.  We left Saturday morning...crossing the Ben Franklin Bridge at exactly 11am.  Since I still cannot completely let go of Avalon, we pulled off Rt 9 and drove through Sea Isle, then Avalon, then Stone Harbor on our way to Cape May and made a few stops.

We made what is now our traditional and always necessary stop at  Hoy's 5&10 in Avalon for all of our beach trip necessities:

http://www.avalonbeach.com/webads/shopping/hoys.htm 

1. Kite  

2. Sunglasses -- Jerome  

3. The biggest beach hat I could find  -- Me - I wore it ALL weekend

4. New paddle ball set!

Next, we stopped at The Windrift on the border of Avalon and Stone Harbor for lunch and a Corona with a view.  This is one of my favorite spots for doing just that!  It's right on the beach, overlooking the ocean.

http://www.windrifthotel.com/

Our next stop was Stone Harbor.  We just HAD to go to Fred's Tavern for:

1. Cheap chilled champagne

2. The largest bucket of pretzels on the Jersey Shore
3. A new, non blue, non gray, non white Fred's T shirt
4. A beer coozie, of course

Once we got to Congress Hall, I noticed the displayed itinerary for the weekend.  There are 3 weddings in three days!  Too bad we were only staying 1 night. 

I remembered the itinerary and made sure we were back at the hotel for each ceremony that was held outside on the lawn by the pool.  Each one so beautiful, and each one so so different.  The first wedding was about to start in about 2 hours.

We walked around Cape May for a while, stopped by the Promenade which included an arcade

and my favorite shore tradition...black and white boardwalk photo strips.

We had some drinks by the pool while we watched the wedding before getting ready for dinner.

We went to FRESCO's which is a small BYOB on Bank St.  It was absolutely delicious!

That night, we were having so much fun, we decided to stay an extra night (Sunday night) and enjoy the next day without rushing home.  We got up early and went to Uncle Bill's Pancake House, which was on the property of where we stayed.  How convenient.  I won't talk about Jerome's "What?  I'm on vacation." breakfast. 

We rented bikes for the day right at our hotel.  We bought 2 waters and a map and were on our way to the Lighthouse about 1.5 miles away, right on Cape May Point.  

Not far from the lighthouse is one of the old WWII bunker which fascinated us both.

This bunker was part of a coastal defense system during World War II. The bunker was originally 900 feet inland. Coastal erosion had taken it's toll on the beach. As you can see in the pictures below, the bunker was in the surf. A plaque at the pavilion near the lighthouse says that the pilings were only meant to stabilize the structure, not support the structure with it's 7' thick walls in midair.

In 2005, a beach replenishment project restored the sand around the bunker.   On the day we were there, we were able to stand between the bunker and the ocean in about 100 ft of sand.

 

 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

We had such a fantastic day exploring Cape May!  We headed even more south to the Point, which is also called Sunset Beach.  There we saw remains of an old ship off the coast, a great little store with everything from hermit crabs to fools gold, and a little beach bar where we had a quick snack before the ride back to the hotel. 

Our bikes!

We had to return our bikes in about 2 hours.  Good thing we opted for a full day rental!  We headed back, with detours through the neighborhoods along the way, some shopping on Washington Street, and returned our bikes right on time.  We rested for about 30 minutes and then headed to the beach to fly our kite and play a few games of paddle ball! 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I am a huge vegetable lover!  I crave vegetables.  Never chocolate. Vegetables.  A kitchen counter with tons of fresh veggies on display is one of my favorite sights to see! 

Steaming, roasting, sautéing.

I have to say, that roasting is probably the easiest, and tastiest way to get your veggies.  Whatever I have lying around will work.  Maybe some onion, any type of  leftover peppers, mushrooms, maybe a potato or that tomato that needs to either be used or tossed.  I throw it all together in a glass bowl, a little extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and a bit of paprika, stir, and roast.  Easy and delicious.

BUT, my absolute favorite vegetable to roast is -- Brussels Sprouts.  

Since they are of the cabbage family, then tend to be a bit bitter if served undercooked and their odor is probably the main reason many people dislike them, however the roasting process brings out a very sweet and surprisingly mild and delicious flavor.  Brussels sprouts are a cultivar of the same species that includes cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, kale, and kohlrabi: they are cruciferous, which means they contain good amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid and dietary fiber which is of course essential to every diet. They are also believed to protect against some forms of cancer.

 A stalk of Brussels sprouts

Here is what I do:
I use about a pound of Brussels sprouts.  I cut off the bottom stem portion, and half each of them.  I will quarter them if they are on the bigger side.  I toss them in a large glass bowl with about 3 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil (or Wegmans Basting Oil, which is basically EVOO with garlic and herbs) salt and pepper.  If I have some extra garlic on hand, or an onion, or even a pear, I will cut that up as well and toss them in the dish.  It depends on what I have in the kitchen.

After tossing all the ingredients together, I place the sprouts in my favorite blue Le Creuset casserole dish that you can see in the background.  http://www.dillards.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=301&storeId=301&langId=-1&productId=502101271&linkshare=http://shopping.yahoo.com/affiliate

** I bought this dish and another larger oval cassarole dish at either Ross or Marshall's (both carry the brand at times) for about $14.99.  I absolutely love cooking with these dishes and it has been fun collecting these expensive items -- that I find for next to nothing.  IF you can find them...

I place the dish into a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes. I like them roasted in a well done fashion which makes them crispy with blackened leaves. Every 10 minutes or so, I give the casserole dish a shake to make sure they brown evenly. When the sprouts look like the pictures below, (after about a half an hour) I take them out and drizzle a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar over them, and give it a final mix and bake for an additional 10 minutes or so. This really helps to bring out a lot of the sweetness in the Brussels sprouts. This was a smaller batch, but if you make more than you can enjoy at the time, they make for a mouthwatering snack the next day.  Even when eaten right out of the fridge!

I like them roasted a bit more than seen here.

As you can see 1 cup of Brussels sprouts, (steamed without any added olive oil) are very low in calories and high in many nutrients.

ENJOY!

Dinner Spinner

No matter what I am making, I consult http://www.allrecipes.com/ for ideas and to review the basics of what I am doing.  You can find any recipe on this website.   I have been a member since 2004, when I really started cooking and as of today I have a collection of 80 recipes.   You can save all of your recipes in a virtual box and with your collection...you can make your own personalized recipe book.  Check out the website for more information! 
http://www.allrecipes.com/
Also, if you own an iphone, download the All Recipes application.  You'll love the dinner spinner where you can choose ingredients such as "vegetables" + "chicken" + "main dish" and give the phone a shake...within seconds you can flip through various recipes that match your request!

Ukrainian Pierogies

My mother’s family, which is of Ukrainian decent, has always celebrated the pierogi. However you want to spell it or more importantly -- pronounce it, they are a delicious tradition in my family.

Pierogies are dough pockets filled with potato and sometimes also cheese and onion.  Traditionally in the Ukrainian and Polish recipes, they are also very popular filled with cabbage/sourkraut, which we call kapusta instead of pierogi.  Kapusta in the Polish, Ukrainian and Russian languages, simply means cabbage. 

Fortunately for the American pierogi lovers, the United States has the most developed pierogi market.  This is because we have the largest Eastern European immigrant population in North America (Canada being second). Unlike other countries with newer populations of Eastern European immigrants, the modern pierogi is easily found throughout our grocery stores here in the U.S.

As a kid growing up in the Lehigh Valley, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by endless opportunities to enjoy pierogies, and I absolutely loved them! From the homemade pierogies that family member would make themselves or ones that we would order months in advance and pick up at our church picnic each August, to the fried Mrs. T’s which were available at every concession stand at the local summer league baseball games, I have always enjoyed them sautéed with fried onions and topped with sour cream.   During Christmas dinner in 2008, we enjoyed the home made dish made by my mom, an aunt and 2 of our cousins.

I have never had the opportunity to make the home made dish with my family, but after listening to stories over Christmas dinner in '08, I now know it takes a lot of time and it's A LOT of work. It goes faster when you have more people helping, but that may wear on your patience and could get pretty tricky...but, it's still well worth the wait.

At first, pierogies in America were a family food enjoyed mostly among immigrants new to the states until the post World War II era, when freshly cooked pierogies became a staple of fundraisers by the ethnic churches. These days, my parents have a valued connection and they are able to place orders each month from a Ukranian Orthodox Church in Northampton, PA.  When I am home to visit, I often see a note on the fridge serving as a reminder. "Pierogi order - Feb 2nd - 6 doz."

Recently, I was at the funeral of my great aunt Mary Bruchok, who helped make the pierogies in the church basement of the St Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Church that my great grandfather, Nicholas, helped build by hand in Allentown.  She was extremely well liked among the ladies, and still spoke the language fluently until a few years prior to her death. When my dad introduced me to some of the women who were there (that happened to be the some of the women who we order our pierogies from) I immediately mentioned my love of their work. We talked about their favorite ways of preparing the meal, how my parents order them for me to take back to the 'big city' of Philadelphia, we joked about my aunt Mary's great sense of humor...during this conversation, we even uncovered that one of the head ladies in the church basement pierogy business in Northampton, actually shared the exact same name as my great grandmother, Katherine Kochenah.  I thought to myself -- there was no way that I was leaving without the recipe. 

Well, the recipe is a secret. No matter how charming you are…

So here is what I do to enjoy Ukrainian pierogies by way of Katherine Kochenash in Northampton.

1. First I start to sauté the onion in butter and a drizzle of Wegman's basting oil until brown. 

(I also had fresh green onions on hand so I chopped up two of those and added to the white onion.  The Wegman's basting oil a mixture of olive oil, dried thyme, parsley and a touch of garlic.)

2.  Instead of sautéing the actual pierogies in the butter and onion, like my mom does, I do it in a way that is a little easier on the calories and I bake the them with a little salt and pepper on a baking sheet (lined with aluminum foil that I spray with cooking spray) at 350 for about 20 minutes on each side or until golden brown on the bottom. I turn them once so they are crispy on both sides.

When they are finished, I top each one with onion and serve them hot on a platter with sour cream (and green onion).   

Such a simple dish to make!  You can find fresh pierogies at church picnics, farmers markets, and of course The Pierogie Kitchen in Roxborough, Pa.  When I get them from my Mom, they are alwasy frozen.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/pierogie-kitchen-philadelphia

Greenmarket ~ Union Square ~ New York City

Last weekend we spent 2 days in New York City to celebrate my 32nd birthday and Valentine's Day.  We stayed at the W Hotel ~ Union Square on Park Avenue S, which was beautiful.  We absolutely loved this hotel! 

The W Hotel Union Square

Union Square Greenmarket Farmers Market

Union Square is an amazing area to stay in Manhattan for many reasons but one of the best is the Union Square Greenmarket, which is right across the street from the hotel in Union Square Park.  The outdoor market is open all year on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays (the busiest day) from 8-6pm.  The market attracts dozens of regional, small family farmers and gives them an opportunity to sell their goods.  During peak season, there is an average of 250,000 people who come to the market each week.  The median distance between the farmer and the market:  90 miles.  Nice!

The market is not only a great place to people watch, but to also stock up on fresh fruits, veggies, hot apple cider, meats, cheeses and fresh pasta.  We made an extra stop back at the market before the vendors packed up and we headed back to Philadelphia on Saturday evening.  We walked away with homemade spinach fettucini for our Valentine's Night dinner of sauted shrimp in a lemon garlic, white wine sauce that I tossed with diced cherry tomatoes.  The pasta was simply delicious.  I wondered how many local chefs from the city's top restaurants take advantage of the market?  Also, at the end of the week, much of the unsold produce is donated to City Harvest where the food is put to immediate use helping to provide food for New Yorkers in need.

Along with the delicious homemade pasta, we also purchased 2 photographs that we are going to frame and hang in our kitchen.  (Blackberries-Jerome's favorite and raspberries-my fav.)  Perfect photos for the kitchen and an even more perfect reminder of our lovely weekend in Union Square.  The pictures were taken of the fruit right here at the market by a local vendor.

Local vendor selling wheatgrass shots. Yum.

http://www.cenyc.org/

 

Location: Union Square West from 15 to 17 Streets, 17 Street from Broadway to Park Ave South

Schedule: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 8AM-6PM, year round. 2010 scheduled changes: 11/26, 12/25 & 1/1 will close for the holidays.
Union Square Holiday Market: 11/23/10 ~ 12/24/10

Welcome to SAUTE!

Washington Square is happily where I call home in Philadelphia. I'm proud to say our patio boasts the best views of Washington Square Park and the surrounding city that stole my heart in the summer of 2006.

Please join me as I make sense of the extra time on my hands. I'll eat, drink, and travel. I'll post photos, tips, and tricks from Philadelphia and other cities in the US. I'll share lessons learned, new ideas, and old family recipes that originated mostly in Ukraine, parts of the Mediterranean and the good old city of Allentown. I’m excited to share with you my own cooking and dining experiences as well!

I absolutely love to be in the kitchen, and even grocery shopping that I would do it every single day, if I could. Actually sometimes I do.  I can get lost for hours in a farmers market and some of my most useful college memories include trips to the Renninger’s Antiques and Farmers Market in Kutztown, Pa on the weekends.   For me, cooking has never been a chore and I find it close to impossible to run out of ideas. 

I am an only child, and have been collecting recipes and cookbooks since I was little girl. I remember asking my Grandpop at a very young age to write down “exactly” how he made his adorable Manhattan Clam Chowder and being in the kitchen with my Mom rolling cabbage for Halupkis and not exactly understanding what she meant when she said, "Well...there's not really a recipe.."  By now I already have a chaotic collection of recipes that gives my mother’s little black book (held together with a pink rubber band from the 60's) a run for her money. I am not shy about asking for a recipe! Although I rarely actually follow recipes...I mainly just use them for ideas, memories and keepsakes.

Also, I get many requests from friends for all kinds of recommendations such as: where to take a special date, my favorite restaurants and hotels in cities all over the US, last minute vacation ideas, how to find the best flight, where to find a cheap happy hour in the city, etc. There is nothing I love more than helping someone plan for something special...and finding an off the beaten path gem!

I'll share all of this and more with you, plus my latest adventures in life, all while we prepare for our upcoming move to Washington, DC early this fall.

Enjoy!