Pre Birthday Yum

 It is Coleridge's birthday today and a good time to celebrate. The Early Romantic poet may not have been to Italy like the Latter Rpmantics, Byron, Keats and Shelly, but he would have appreciated good Italian food and wine

I celebrated over the weekend at Que Pasta, a local Italiam restaurant in Saddle Brook. The food is phenomenal. They have excellent appetizers like their fried zucchini slices or coins and their smashed baby artichokes in a lemon butter sauce.

These can also be ordered as sides for holiday dinners (which I plan to do next month for Thanksgiving.) Both dishes were full of tender and flavorful veggies. Que Pasta is also known for its' wide array of pasta and homemade sauces.

Their spinach and eggplant filled ravioli do not disappoint. Each fat little pillow was full of flavor and the homemade marinara sauce worked well with them. There is also the thick straw like bucatini,

Again the marinara sauce highlighted the rich pasta taste perfectly. Grapefruit sized meat balls were served with them and they were tender and rich with oregano and thyme.

Que Pasta in Saddle Brook -home to another famous writer born on this day - is the perfect place for any kind of party.It's great for smal gatherings and large ones like birthday parties, showers and even weddings. The food is fantastic as are the servers. Go there for your big day.

An elegant Fall Birthday

 Having an autumn birthday means an elegant affair featuring the delights of the season.It could be a simple brunch or a lovely dinner party. It features fine wine and fine dining.

A birthday brunch usually means Bellinis and mimosas in tall flutes. Sub in the peaches and oranges with one of the fruits of the season pears. You can use fresh pears or canned halves (although using the fresh ones will give it a tangier flavor). Cut up the pears and puree them either in a blender or using an immersion blender. Pour the puree in a third of th e glass.Add a good dry champagne .Another drink perfect for a fall brunch is a tea punch.This is made with black tea and simple syrup. Most recipes call for apple cider but why not amp it up a bit by subbing in the cider with a cup of hard cider for a kick.If you're worried about the oomph or punch of it ,remember it becomes diffused when it 's mixed with the tea. You can also  add a half cup of regular apple cider to lessen it's strength.As for luncheon, think a butternut squash, pumpkin and potato quiche or one rich with leeks and feta. Bake three or four for the guests. Small finger sandwiches work well also. Sub in a chicken and grape salad on croissants and brioches. what about dessert. Think apple cupcakes with a just a dusting of confectioner;s sugar.

As for a dinner, think outside the bottle and try an apple flavored wine or one spiced with cinnamon Hard cider could also worked here but remember it's potent. You may want to  water it down with a plain or flavored seltzer. start the meal off with a fall themed charcuterie board. have cubes of rich Swiss and Gruyere cheese mixed with both sharp and mild cheddars Add ham, apple slices and grapes for variety. as for the bread, go with sliced sourdough  or artesanal rye slices. small hours and pumpkins can be added for decoration. The salad can be an arugula with diced apple and air fried prosciutto strips. Any kind of Wellington dish is always an elegant meal. Go for the original which has beef tenderloin encased in a buttery flaky pastry. You can serve with fall's root vegetable such as sheet pan cooked parsnips and carrots. This dish can be turned vegetarian just by switching out the meat for a mix of mushrooms and lemtils,Miso  , walnuts and tomato paste give it a definite meat like flavor and texture. The sides can be the same. Turnips and carrots crisped in a mix of olive oil and thyme and then oven roasted. End the meal with a pear or apple galette topped with creme fraiche ice cream. If you do want cake, think a simple vanilla one with a cinnamon icing.

A fall birthday is a time for  elegant celebration. It could be a brunch or a dinner.Either way serve sophisticated food and drink for a lovely time.

Starting Up A Cold Morning

 Now that' we're deep into fall , the mornings are downright nippy. what the best way to start a frosty day? Is it hot cereal? Toast with eggs and bacon? What about weekend morning meals? Do you have French toast with maple syrup and bacon? A slice of quiche Lorrai with a Bloody Mary? How do your days begin?

What is your favorite and most fortifying breakfast on a cold autumn morning? Let us know here. 

Pantry Ingredients Equal Good Eating

 It's important to have a well stocked pantry. It's amazing what those cans and tins can yield as far as ingredients. They can be tossed together to create  hot, delicious meals.It;s just knowing what to use and what.

Regular contributor Melissa Clark wrote about this as well as giving recipes in yesterday's New York Times Food section.She also offers several tips on different pantry Staples. Be creative . Chili crisp can be used in everything from scrambled eggs to ramen. Mustards such as Dijon cans also add color and flavor .Salsa is great for punching up stews and sauces >USe tapenades in veggie sautes for brightness and to liven up tomatoes and peppers. Make dips for dinner using curry paste and Greek yogurt. Serve with veggies as a nice appetizer . Miso just doesn't;t have to be for Oriental dishes. Try it mixed with honey in Ali Slagel's pasta Alfredo. Pasta can also get a lift from some tapanade or chili crisp. Mix it with olive oil and toos whatever pasta you have with it. The popular Colo Henry recipe for her bed white beans can be varied with just the addition of jarred pesto. An instant sauce is a blend of olive oil, flaky sea salt and whatever spice is there.Tru a mix of hot red pepper flakes with cumin for a different take.

Ms Clark has three interesting recipes that anyone can make. For a quick  meal try one pot spiced turkey and rice. This can be made on the weekend and also reheated for week night meals.It's a marriage of garam masala with tomato paste , chopped serrano chiles and ground turkey. Cinnamon added sweetness to this Indian inspired meal.A nother good dish is the cheesy chili crisp white beans. On their own white beans  can be bland but add chlili crisp, scallions and  white Cheddar cheese and they're elevated to something new and exciting.There is also pasta with spinach , yogurt and feta. The yogurt used is the Greek kind and that will add a creaminess similar to an Alfredo sauce. You can go into your freezer for the spinach along with adding freshly chopped mint, basli and cilantro.To make sure that the sauce clings , use a chunky kind of pasta like  rigatoni shells or camanelle. Red pepper flakes are also part of the recipe but if they're too spicy or hot for you they can be omitted.

Use your pantry to create tasty , flavorful dishes. Be creative. Have fun.it;s a great way to use up what you have.

Deconstructing Carbone

 Carbone is a popular New York City restaurant. It has branches all over the world and their food has a reputation. Yet is the overly expensive restaurant worth all the hype and money? 

Regular contributor Priya Krishna answered the question in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. She toured all of them and discerned if they 're worth the good press.The chain is sort of like a Disneyland or another splashy New York eatery of long ago - Mama Leone's. Like MamaLeone's that closed in 1984, Carbone's attracts celebrities like Kim Kardashion and has the cache of expensive saucy dishes.Ms Krishna wanted to examine the mystique behind this chain. People either love it or hate it.s he wanted to know why and went on an American tour of the branches.The restaurant goes for fanfare, presenting diners with salami, bread, cauliflower salad and even a hunk of Parmesan cheese. Yet the food at the New York Carbone is just so so with some dishes, How was the MIami one. It seems only the desserts stood out, including the chilled rainbow cookies that every table receives/ The main meals were horrible / The shrimp was too rubbery and buttery tasting.The linguini vungole was  too oily to eat.

The Dallas Carbone had some bright spots. The crisp top on the lasagna Verde gave way to flavorful pesto and bechamel sauce. Their Negronis were well made Yet it stops there. The veal Parmigian crust, like its' Manhattan counterpart was tasteless. The broccoli was flaccid .The waiters were so schmaltzy that Ms Kirshna and her family has t  leave(after a waiter joked was her father on the cover of GQ) It did appeal to the rich tony types of the city but that was it. The Las Vegas one fared much better due in part to the owner Mario Carbone being in the kitchen. The shrimp cocktail had been upgraded to a lobster one.It was delicious. The sauces tasted homemade , as if they had been simmered on a stove all day .The vonglole was finally briny tasting. The best part it seems was the complimentary hunk of cheese. This Parmesan actually came from Parma and not Wisconsin. It seemed the Las Vegas Carbone was the best and miost authemticto Italian cooking.

Should you go to Carbone/s if one is nearby? If you want expensive so so Italain food ,yes. Keep in  mind that there are better restaurant to eat at in any of these cities.

Everyone's Fave's

 The New York Times put out a fantastic guide of reader's favorite recipes this past Sunday. This is a please save because it will come in handy for the holidays. There is everything in here from the famed actress Kate Hepburn's brownies to Southern macaroni and cheese. These will be perfect for family dinners or every night and weekend dinners and snacks too.

The kind of cookbook is divided into five sections - The Icons, The Super Stars, The Chart Toppers, The Influencers and The Talkers. No matter what recipe you choose they;re all good.Some are extremely popular like the red lentil soup that has a pinch of red pepper to give it zing A quick dinner is the crisp gnocchi , fried in olive oil.Brussels sprouts or broccoli is first fried then the two are combined for  a tasty twist on a Northern Italian classic.

Yes, there are full meals as well.Try a caramelized shallot pasta for a Sunday dinner. This is a kind of puttanesca  with anchovies added but has a extra layer of flavor added, thanks to the caramelized shallot. A good Sunday supper is caramelized French onion grilled cheese.This is not the greasy diner version but an elevated salute. Gruyere cheese is used and blended with caramelized onions . This is then put on slices of bread - use artesanal here and then fried in butter. Finish with Kate Hepburn;s super fudgey brownies or a plum tart There are also drink recipes too from the Brazilian limoada to the heady  Tinto de verano,a mix of red wine vermouth and surprisingly Sprite.

This guide put out by the New York Times Cooking is a definite keeper. Use ot for fall Sunday dinners or for holiday get togethers. The recipes are not only popular but perfect

The Meeting House Princeton NJ

 Princeton ,New Jersey is lovely in the fall. The town has an academic charm similar to Britain's Oxford and Cambridge yet also has a distinctly American vibe.The main part of town around the University is full of all sorts of different restaurants .Yet there is one that's a few block away in the picturesque section of Princeton that stands out>It's The meeting Place on Witherspoon (yes, named after Reese Witherspoon's  ancestor  John Witherspoon who signed the Declaration of Independence and was Princeton's sixth president)

I liked the Meeting Place. It has Manhattan vibe even though it's deep in the country. The dcord is a sophisticated blend of farmhouse shingles and modern fixttures. The food is tasty and farm fresh.It's great to start with their flaky biscuits that come with a bitter blackberry jam and butter.

Their Sunday brunch is a wonderful mix of egg dishes. From a fiery huevo ranchereo to a creamy  Eggs Benedict diners cna enjoy these ample plates.

There is , of course, the traditional breakfast of  fluffy pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon

for a lighter nrucnh Meeting Pace offers a rich mushroom soup that's full of flavor. This is the perfect chill chaser for a fall day.It is even topped with fried scallions and croutons, with a swirl of truffle oil.

It may be brunch but there's always room for dessert. The eatery offers four only but they're excellent. Try their S'mores tart on a coulis of raspberry jam.

The tart jam rescued it from being too sweet as did the dark chocolate ganache.

There's also a light carrot cake with an even lighter than air cream cheese frosting. This was a perfect end to a lovely meal.

The Meeting Place is the place to go to if you're in Princeton.It's a wonderful escape into good food, especially after a fall day out. Try it when you're visiting the school and town.