Dine and Dance in West Orange

There aren’t many restaurants in north Jersey where you can have a luxurious steak dinner, enjoy a perfectly made pomegranate martini, and then dance the night away if you’re so inclined.

Sam Mickail’s CUT Steak House, specializing in dry-aged steaks, has redefined the steakhouse experience. I took part in a media dinner last month and got to see first hand the complete package that is CUT. Of course, you’ve got the requisite steakhouse fare, such as smoky, thick cut bacon, perfectly charred and lacquered with black honey and walnuts, and an impressive array of oysters, clams, and jumbo shrimp is offered at the raw bar. A few lovely fish, chicken, and pasta dishes are available, but let’s face it, you’re here for the steak. And this is where CUT shines. All their steaks are aged 28-32 days, but what I think makes them unique are the sauce combination accompaniments. For instance, I had the 18 oz Tomahawk steak with a black lava salt crust and served with creamy horseradish.  The Porterhouse is served with melted butter, sea salt, and cracked peppercorns. The nice thing about this steak is that it can be ordered for one or two people. Most steakhouses only offer the Porterhouse cut for two.  Additionally, CUT offers a14 oz Skirt, which is charred with Roquefort crust, and served with a chimichurri sauce, and roasted marrow. Hmmmmm! 

If steak isn’t your thing, try the delicious Double CUT Rack of Lamb, which is herb crusted, and served with goat cheese polenta crouton, braised red cabbage, and rosemary sauce.  Or, something you don’t see very often, Braised Organic Veal Cheeks, with grilled fresh corn salsa, Meyer lemon gremolata, with natural veal jus. I wish I had sampled this because it sounds divine.  Next time!

CUT is housed at 466 Prospect Avenue, also home to the 466 Club, which bills itself as a “state of the art mega night club.” So not only can you have a great dinner at CUT, but then you can join the fun in the club.  The club offers private bottle service, a sunken lounge, and a piano bar. But I think the real draw here is the club and restaurant’s capacity to host special events. With top DJs getting the party started, and the kitchen staff cooking up wonderfully inventive dishes, your private event will really be something to remember.

And just in time for summer, on June 4^th, CUT will open its 5,000 SF patio to enjoy small bites and cool drinks. Pretend you’re on South Beach in one of the dozen Miami-style cabanas surrounded by palm trees.  Sounds like the perfect place to unwind after work, as the patio will be open Tuesday through Friday from 5-7pm.

CUT Steakhouse and the 466 Club, perfect together.

Sam Mickail’s CUT Steakhouse

466 Prospect Avenue

West Orange, NJ

973-474-9896

Flour-free Maple Walnut Biscotti

I meant to get this recipe out to all of you much sooner than now, but as the French say, c'est la vie!

I made these delicious cookies for Passover and they were a perfect accompaniment to the more traditional Freda's sponge cake.

The biscotti are just the ticket with a morning espresso or a before-bed snack. I love that these biscotti are a little heavier than other recipes. When you hold it in your hand, you think, "now THIS is a cookie." A sturdy, New Jersey kind of cookie. The kind that'll stand up to an occasional coffee or milk dunking.

From a posting on Food52, by way of Andrew Carmellini's Urban Italian cookbook, these cookies are all about flavor. Generous additions of maple syrup and brown sugar provide a little sweetness to the dough, while a mixture of chopped walnuts, cinnamon, adds crunch & texture to the biscotti tops.

Vivian Henoch, the Food52 author, wrote that the original recipe called for lemon zest and pistachios, which also sounds divine, but a little more dainty. Either way, get a load of these beauties next time you've got a hearty cookie craving.

Print, bake, eat!

French Bistro Cooking Returns to Montclair!

To say that Chef/Owner, Mark Papera, of Fricassee French Bistro is excited to return to Montclair would be an understatement. When he heard that his original restaurant (Epernay) was up for sale, he moved lock, stock, and barrel, from Ithaca, New York, purchased the business, and immediately started the transformation. In a little less than a month’s time, he (and his merry band of family and friends) brightened the interior, overhauled the menu, installed new furnishings, and reestablished his NJ roots. Whew! Most restaurants take six months for that kind of work, but Mark had been itching to return to NJ for two years so he was eager to get it done.

I had never been to Epernay when Mark was the original owner, but I did visit the second incarnation a couple of times. Unfortunately, I was less than wowed. So when I heard that Mark had returned, I was curious.

You’re probably saying to yourself right about now, “OK, but what about the food?”  Let me sum it up this way: in two weeks, I have been there three times and each visit was sublime.  If you read my posts regularly, you know I am not given to superlatives often, so if you are a lover of French bistro cooking, read on.

In those two weeks, I have probably tried almost 50% of the menu, thanks in part to Mark’s hospitality.  Foods that I was a not particular fan of before are now on my  “must have” list. These include the delectable mussels, swimming in a white wine-garlic-herb broth that just begs you to sop it up with good bread (from Balthazar) or slurp with a spoon.  In fact, I liked these so much that on my second visit, I had the mussels for my entrée with plenty of bread, and a lovely Cameron Hughes Lot 259 Riesling.

Dreamy mussel broth

Roasted Beet Salad

Also on my list of new favorite foods, Mark’s roasted beet salad, which is comprised of mixed greens, roasted beets, goat cheese, toasted walnuts, and a sherry vinaigrette. The salad tasted like summer with herbs of mint, parsley, and basil.

Frisee Salad

Mark also does a classic frisee salad, which was heavenly. Frisee lettuce with generous bacon lardons and bleu cheese, croutons, mustard vinaigrette, topped with a poached egg, which envelops the salad perfectly when pierced.

Pates

If you enjoy pate, try the country pate, served with cornichons and Dijon mustard. It was so smooth, with just a hint of mustard. And not to be outdone, the chicken liver mousse was fabulously delicate.

Pommes Frites

Cotes du Boeuf

Any self-respecting French bistro has a regular “plats du jour” and Fricassee is no different. I was there on a Thursday and had to have the Cotes du Boeuf for two. A huge dry-aged rib-eye cooked spot on, served with a mixed green salad, and perfectly crisp and salty pommes frites.

Wild Mushroom and Truffle Mac 'n Cheese

Fricassee offers a selection of four or five gratins de macaroni. I sampled the wild mushroom and truffle. Here’s what I wrote in my notes: “OMG!” A small terrine of creamy spiral macaroni and a crunchy topping of Parmesan, cheddar, and mozzarella - the perfect winter comfort food. Other mac and cheese options include vegetable, cheese, and short rib and bleu cheese. I don’t think you could go wrong with any of them.

Duck Confit


Other winners on this tidy menu are the herb-crusted tuna, seared rare and served on warm green lentil salad, with mustard vinaigrette; the crispy skin salmon with a ragout of white beans, chorizo sausage, tomato confit, baby spinach, grain mustard cream sauce; and the duck confit served over pumpkin and bleu cheese risotto with walnuts and sage.

Herb Crusted Tuna

Crispy Skin Salmon

 

Dessert does not take a back seat here! Fricassee serves a classic tarte tatin topped with vanilla ice cream, a light lemon tart with raspberry sauce, profiteroles, vanilla crème brulee, and chocolate mousse. I have tasted all but the profiteroles and I must tell you that while they were all delicious, the crème brulee was exquisite. Probably about the best I’ve ever had. And the chocolate mousse is a very close second.

Tarte Tatin

Lemon Tart

Creme Brûlée

Fricassee embodies the true essence of a French bistro – casual atmosphere, good service, outstanding food.  I, for one, am glad that it’s close by. Say “oui” to Fricassee!

Fricassee French Bistro

6 Park Street

Montclair, NJ

973-744-2191

www.fricasseebistro.com

Open Monday-Saturday, 5:00-10:00pm

BYO

The Celebrity Chef Experience at Home!

Sometimes when I watch one of the many cooking shows on TV, I think “if only I could have Chef (insert your favorite TV chef’s name here) whip up that meal for me at home!” Mainly I think this while watching Ina Garten cook fabulous meals at her gorgeous home in the Hamptons (Ina, if you’re reading this…)

Well, now having a celebrity chef in your kitchen is within reach. Chef Justin Antiorio, of Hell’s Kitchen season 10 fame, and a New Jersey native, has put together a program to bring his special blend of culinary talent and fun personality to private homes.  Chef Justin offers an exquisite four course culinary experience for dinner parties and special occasions. He will develop a menu to suit your event and taste, arrive for your event with all of the details you discussed in order and personally introduce each course to round out the experience.

From his education at the Institute of Culinary Education to working at such well known restaurants as Highlawn Pavillion and the 21 Club to working with star chefs Marcus Samuelsson, Gabriele Hamilton, and of course, Gordon Ramsay, has given him a well-rounded outlook on the food world. Chef Justin says his Hell’s Kitchen experience taught him a lot about working with different personalities (very useful in real life!). 

Asking him to describe his culinary style, Justin free associated:

·       Contemporary American

·       Fresh, local

·       Chef’s table

·       Customer enjoys being there

Definitely things I look for when dining in or out!

Chef Justin has provided his famous pretzel crusted crab cake recipe for our readers so you can try it out while thinking about inviting him to your home for a truly exciting and delicious culinary experience!

Visit his web site for more information.

Valentine’s Day Planning in Woodland Park

It’s not too early to start thinking about Valentine’s Day and Fairway Market has a terrific event coming up to help you plan something special!

On Tuesday, February 5 at their Woodland Park, NJ location, they will be hosting a Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate Tasting and Lecture with experts in each field:

·         Steve Jenkins, Fairway’s cheese monger

·         Joshua Wesson, Fairway’s sommelier

·         Alexandra Leaf, chocolate expert

Fairway Market’s Steven Jenkins has been a cheese monger for almost 40 years and he has been an intensely influential driving force behind the state of the artisanal cheese industry in the United States today.    Jenkins’ first book, Cheese Primer (Workman, 1996) a New York Times bestseller, is one of the most highly regarded manuscripts in the cheese industry. Jenkins was a board member of The American Cheese Society and was awarded its Lifetime Achievement Award. Also, in recognition of his significant contributions and services given to the field of agriculture and to France, he was given the Order of Agricultural Merit by the French Minister of Agriculture in March, 2010.

Joshua Wesson (@joshuawine) is known to be among the most successful, knowledgeable and engaging people in international wine-and-spirits industry. In 1989, he was nominated for the Who’s Who in American cooking. In 1990, he was elected to the board of the American Institute of Wine & Food’s New York chapter. In 1997, Food & Wine magazine named him the Retail Wine Innovator of the Year for his work with Best Cellars which he founded. He is considered to be a leading authority on the pairing of wine and food and has written extensively on the subject in books and magazines.

Alexandra Leaf is an acknowledged scholar, a noted culinary historian, lecturer and expert guide to the world’s finest chocolates. She is the producer of the 92^nd St. Y’s annual Chocolate Fest and President of Chocolate Tours of New York City. She also leads walking tours and teaches classes for the Institute for Culinary Education. As a chocolate educator she travels the world lecturing on the history, manufacture and appreciation of fine chocolates.

Tickets are required. There is no charge for the evening but any donations to the Anita Kaufmann Foundation http://www.akfus.org would be greatly appreciated.  The Anita Kaufmann Foundation is a public charity whose sole mission is to educate the public not to fear people with epilepsy, seizures or brain trauma.  All of their programs are designed to eliminate stigma and increase awareness of these conditions and their impact on families and entire communities.

A credit card is required to secure your tickets. Your card will not be charged unless you have chosen to make a donation. Space is limited for this free event so go to http://www.fairwaymarket.com/wine-cheese-and-chocolate-master-class-woodland-park/  to reserve seats.

Besides getting expert tips on three essential ingredients for a perfect Valentine’s Day, if you choose to make a donation to the Anita Kaufmann Foundation, you’ll be helping others. Sounds like a delicious, heart-warming way to spend an evening!

Details:

 Fairway Market

1510 US Rt 46 West

Woodland Park, NJ 07424
973-339-5103
Tuesday, February 5
6:30pm

Maritime Parc, Jersey City

This restaurant had me at “hello.”  Located at Liberty Landing Marina at Liberty State Park, with the NYC skyline and the Statue of Liberty for neighbors, that alone would serve as enough of a draw for me. But the lights from across the river are not the only things shining here. Thanks to Executive Chef/Owner, Chris Siversen, the food shines brightly, too.

At a media dinner recently, Chef Siversen showcased the culinary talents on display here. We began with a thick, velvety Smoked Potato Soup studded with Oysters and Caviar served with a Ulacia Txakolina 2011 white.  

This course was followed by Grilled Line Caught Swordfish, Grapefruit Beurre Blanc, White Bean-Carrot Ragout. The perfectly cooked fish accented with the delicious citrus sauce and a side of fried chickpeas was incredible! The wine, Abbazia di Novacella Nerner 2011, a white with deep fruit essence really brought this dish home.

The next course was a little unusual, but worked so well. Local Sea Scallops, Braised Short Ribs, Sauce Gribiche was absolutely luscious. The pairing of fish and beef in one dish was one I would not have ventured to chance, but in Chef Siversen’s hands it was magic. This was paired with a Domaine Sigalas Santorini 2011.

The fourth course was Foie Gras, Spiced Cantaloupe, Lavender Honey Gastric, Brioche Toast…I am not a huge foie gras lover, both from a moral standpoint and taste wise, but the accompaniments were fabulous! This was served with a very dry 2010 Gini Soave Classico.

 And the food continues…an absolutely mouth-watering Sake and Soy Braised Pork Belly “Kung Bao” Style with Peanuts, Butternut Squash, and Honey. The best dish of the night! Served with a Mount Jefferson Cuvee Cristom Pinot Noir 2010.

And ending the entrée portion of the meal, a Ginger Glazed Duck Breast with Parsnip Spaetzle, Hen of the Woods, Fig Jam.  The spaetzle, IMHO a terribly underused item, was to die for. A delicious 2010 Morgan Pinot Noir Twelve Clones accompanied this.

Elizabeth Katz, Maritime Parc’s Pastry Chef, did herself proud with the dessert tasting. Course one included a Lime Meringue, Mango Sorbet, Coconut Lemongrass Coulis, and Macadamia Brittle; Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingerbread Bottom, Butter Pecan Ice Cream, and Roasted Pear and Pumpkin; and finally Apple Brown Butter Cake with Warm Baked Cinnamon Apples, Caramel Ginger Ice Cream, and Candied Cranberries (the big winner in my book!).  These were served with a fruity and savory Vidal Ice-wine (NJ).

Did you notice that the previous paragraph stated, “course one?”  That’s right, there were two dessert courses (not a bad thing).  This was definitely the chocolate lovers course.  S’mores Sundae with Toasted Marshmallow, and Coffee Chip Ice Cream; 16 Layer Bittersweet Chocolate Cake, Fudge, and Pistachio Crunch Ice Cream, washed down with a Heitz Ink Port from Napa. You couldn’t go wrong with any of these choices.

Besides a wonderful setting indoors for dinner, or a drink at the outdoor bar and patio in the warm weather, Maritime Parc has 18,000 SF of lovely event space with wraparound terraces showcasing those fabulous views (do I hear wedding planners swooning over this location?).

And Chef Siversen is planning something special to kick off 2013. On Thursday, January 17, Chef will be pulling out all the stops to highlight two of his favorite culinary components: a bird+beer dinner! This first of its kind, 5 course meal is devoted to birds, featuring local chickens, quail, duck, and other fowl, paired with beer and wine. The cost is $135 all-inclusive and starts at 7pm.  Sounds like a great way to get the New Year started!  Call 201-413-0050 for more information.

And just to whet your whistle, try Maritime Parc’s signature cocktail, Perseverance. It’s just the thing to get you through these long, dark, cold winter nights.

Perseverance

1 oz. Diplomatico Rum (dark Rum)

2 oz. Sauvignon Blanc

¾ oz. Cinnamon Agave

½ oz. St. Germain

½ oz. Lemon Juice

½ oz. Pinot Noir Float

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add rum, Sauvignon Blanc, lemon juice, cinnamon agave and St. Germain.  Shake vigorously and strain in a large wine glass with ice already in it.  With a spoon over the wine glass, pour the float of pinot noir over the spoon into the glass.  Serve.

Maritime Parc is the answer to what’s been lacking at the Liberty Landing waterfront for quite some time. They always had the views, but now they’ve got the caliber of food and drink to match. Get there!

Maritime Parc

84 Audrey Zapp Drive

Jersey City, NJ  07305

201-413-0050