In spite of December’s surfeit of traditional holiday foods, I still managed to get in a variety of other dishes, including some ethnic finds. The month started with a very good oyster po’boy at ONE 53 for lunch one day when my nephew brought down my months old grand-nephew Sammy for a visit. I ordered several … Continue reading
Filed under Mexican …
New hours for La Costeñita in Hillsborough (original review pasted in below)
I had dinner at La Costeñita up in Hillsborough last week, and noticed that owner Alicia Aragos has new hours. She hasn’t been able to update her website yet, but they are: Monday-Thursday 11:00am-9:00pm; Friday-Saturday 11:00am-10:00pm; Sunday 11:am-8:00pm The night of my visit, we enjoyed the items you see pictured here, and of course it … Continue reading
Halinka Polish Deli
Why am I just now discovering the food culture of tiny ethnic delis in central New Jersey? (Remember, the term “delicatessen” originally meant a place where food delicacies are sold – not processed cold cuts.) First there was La Costeñita in Hillsborough, the wonderful Mexican place I reviewed last winter. Over the years, they transitioned from being … Continue reading
Best Bites – tacos, beef ribs, rice pudding and the demise of Kimchi Fried Rice
As usual, I’ve been chronicling my favorite dishes of the last month, aside from the special meals I’ve already posted about. It’s hard to resist when the camera is right on the table at home, or my cell phone handy elsewhere. Although, truth be told, these days I use my cellphone, a Samsung Galaxy S4, … Continue reading
Sickroom Fare Armenian to Mexican
After a lovely Christmas Day, where we all enjoyed playing with my baby grand nephew Luca (almost one), we all got his cold. Oh well, it was so worth it, but I am in sick room lockdown right now, and casting about for easy to prepare dishes that appeal and that I can actually taste. Thus the … Continue reading
Fire Roasted Tomato Salsa + A Rosh Hashanah Special
I love getting emails from locals businesses with a recipe (& a photo will pretty much clinch the deal!). The senders seem genuinely excited about their latest creation. Here are two recipes I’ve recently received, one from Chef Will Mooney at Brothers Moon in Hopewell, and the other from Mrs. G TV, Appliances and Sleep Center. From Chef Will: … Continue reading
Spring Has Sprung (or, What’s Been Cooking in My Kitchen)
Ahhh, Easter dinner! It seems ages ago, and I guess it was. I took the trouble to make a rack of lamb, potato galette, and fresh peas with pearl onions.The photo of the meal doesn’t show off the galette well at all, so I include a separate photo of that at the front of this … Continue reading
Oops!
Oops! is a bit of an understatement for what happened here! No, this was not my mishap, but that of a friend who lovingly prepared a wholesome Mexican lasagna for her family with premium ingredients like organic ground chicken (by the way, I’d love to have the recipe, if you can face looking at it … Continue reading
Carnitas
I keep trying shortcut ways to make Mexican carnitas, but they just don’t work. In this case I used 2-inch pork cubes and baked them at 250° for 1 ½ hours, as one (of my many) recipes advised. (before the heat wave!). Although the meat was not too lean a cut, and did not appear … Continue reading
Posole
This is one of my favorite winter dishes, which I make in many variations. This one was made with cubed pork shoulder, green chilies, and hominy. Then I got ambitious and soaked then puréed some dried guajillo peppers, for just a touch of red, inspired by this website. I also took the trouble to buy … Continue reading