Friday Night Fun

 Kids are feeling pretty down these days with most sports and after school activities being cancelled. Yet there's one thing that can't be exed out and that's Friday night. It 's meant for fun dinners and activities to welcome in the weekend There are plenty of neat dinner ideas and snacks to keep everyone full and fun. 

Pizza has always been a Friday night standard. It's easy to make at home with the dough consisting of just flour water,  yeast, olive oil, salt , and yes, a teaspoon of sugar. What makes it special is what you put on top. A fun idea is creating individual ones and let the kids put what they want on top. Vary the toppings. Have chopped bell peppers along with  chopped and diced broccoli and cauliflower. Kids love pepperoni so you can always make that one of the toppings too along with extra cheese. A spin on pizza is a calzone. The name means big sock however you can make them little sock size for your little ones. Another way of looking at it is as inside out pizza. Usually the toppings and sauce go on the inside and then the whole thing is baked in a 375 degree F oven for thirty to thirty-five minutes. Omit the pizza sauce and save that for later dipping. Like pizzas , calzones can vary . Kids can stuff them with sausage and bacon along with Canadian bacon and sausage. They can also be stuffed with the traditional ham and ricotta cheese but different veggies can be subbed in for the ham. You can also season or not season them too. Kids love barbecue and if the weather is still warn in your area then think about a cook out with their favorite burgers and hot dogs. Since it's Friday serve up a bowl of potato chips or tortilla chips with nachos too.

The end of the week usually means movie or game night. The fun food that comes to mind with both of these activities is popcorn. A tasty version is subbing in olive oil for a richer flavor. You could also make a variety of different flavored corn. Add a heady sprinkle of cheddar cheese powder or finely grated Parmesan.Caramel corn is another sweet treat perfect for munching during a marathon or Scrabble game. The caramel is a mix of butter,vanilla and the two sugars brown and white cooked over a stove top. The already cooked corn is then tossed into the mix and coolers. There's a great recipe in the Two Sisters Food blog (where I get all my frosting recipes). Another fun Friday night treat is a bowl of potato chips. However the store bought kind can be greasy, especially when eaten at night. This is when the air fryer comes into play. Air fryer chips are crispy and just as tasty as any of the commercial brands. You just need Russet potatoes sliced thin with a mandoline.It's then soaking them in cold water for thirty minutes. Before frying coat both sides of the slices with cooking spray and then cook for sixteen minutes at 300 degrees F and then the last few minutes at 400 degrees F. Remember to salt them too.

Nothing will take away Friday night fun. Bake that pizza , pop some corn. Have fun foods and fun treats for the best night of the week.

A Classic Revisited Nino's Pizzeria

It's very rare that a restaurant lasts almost  forty years with the same owner. Yet that's what happened  with Nino's Pizzeria in Garfield, New Jersey. It's been feeding the community with good food, introducing generations to Southern Italian classics. I've come back to it after a long time away and I'm glad I did.

Nino's is an unpretentious  little eatery with only four (albeit big) tables.It's been a take out since the original owner opened up this Harrison Ave. landmark forty years ago. The current owner John, and his brother bought it from the original owner, Nino, hence the name. Unlike other Italian restaurants in the area, this one has a surprise - good Portuguese food. Yes, Nino's has pizza, garlic knots and rice balls, as their fellow pizzerias but they also have frango assado, roasted chicken with vegetables and the famed codfish bacalhao, steamed, fried and  roasted.Picadinho , that tasty blend of minced meat and vegetables can also be ordered for a change of pace. The catering menu even includes a roasted  suckling pig or leitao along with a seafood rich paella Portuguese style.It can be washed down with the mild cherry tasting soda Guarina from Brazil.

This is a nostalgic trip for me, I used to go to Nino's during my college years for their garlic pizza. It was a gem, standing out, with the perfect ratio of cheese to sauce, studded with tiny bits of minced garlic. Has it changed? I had the plain slice and it was not greasy , unlike  slices from other local pizzerias. There was more cheese than sauce, creating a chewy , gooey texture. Their crust is good, more of tart one than than of the usual flat one with puffs. Their calzone is about the best around.It's crust was light and crackly,again not sogged down by oil. The filling is the traditional  ricotta, but it was like a ham infused cloud , light and fluffy without the usual cloying salty taste.It came with a tomato dipping sauce which was also perfect in flavor and texture.Many Italian restaurants put out a sauce that's too thick and chunky which slides off the calzone, ending up on the floor, table or lap. Nino's was spot on , and the best part was that it actually tasted like tomatoes - not too sweet or garlicky. The calzone and sauce were a definitely matched pair.

Nino's is worth visiting if you're in the Garfield area. It has an interesting mix of Portuguese and Italian food, all tasty and good. Visit it if you're craving pizza, pasta or bacalhao.

Nino's Pizzeria,
300 Harrison Ave #2
Lodi New Jersey 07644
973-772- 5056
Hours 10 AM to Midnight

A Quick Herb Guide

Spring brings the urge to plant an herb garden .Home chefs want to add a sprig of this or a few leaves of that .Yet many have no clue as to herb usage. The will add bay leaf to pizza or dried rosemary to ice cream.A good knowledge of herbs is vital to cooking good meals.

Rosemary and oregano are the most popular and most used.Rosemary is a fragrant plant with a variety of uses, from cooking to the medicinal.It is one of the pillars of Italian cooking, going into everything from sausage to pizza.A flavorful tomato sauce relies on its sprigs for some depth.It can also add zing if added to pizza or calzone crust.Oregano is another staple of not just Italian but also  Greek and Eastern Mediterranean cuisine.It gives marinades an earthy green flavor.It can also be put into olive oil for a fragrant oil , perfect for drizzling over slices of French and Italian bread.it can also be used in Eastern Mediterranean dishes too such as the trendy za'aatar along with savory and thyme.Surprisingly these versatile sprigs can also be used in various desserts.Imagine a coffee cake sprigged up with both oregano and thyme.Honey paired with it makes an awesome ice cream, both subtly sweet and herbal.They can even be baked into lemon cupcakes for a jolt of fresh springy flavor!

Tarragon is the herb most used by the French.It is one of my favorites and I use it in both my chicken and egg salads.It's flavor is a milder version of the stronger anise.It also is vital in creating the perfect Bernaese sauce along with herb rice and broiled fish such as tilapia and halibut.Cilantro is an easy herb to grow as well as being versatile.The sassy green leaves add dash to any salad and would be great in a chicken marinade.It can also add some zing to grilled veggies too as well as being a staple in Mexican cooking.Cilantro is actually the younger version of coriander, another versatile and necessary kitchen herb.It's excellent in exotic cuisines such as Indian and Morroccan, giving color and zest to curries and tangines.One of the sweetest and most delicious is chive. This is the season for them, as they grow abundantly in yards and even parks. The wild variety has an onion-y sweet taste . Yes , freshly chopped chives are good on baked potatoes , add color and flavor to sour cream but they're also good mixed in with cream cheese and dressings. Try cooking them with carrots in a yummy butter sauce.

Grow herbs.Just understand their uses and what foods they'd enhance.Use them correctly and you'll create deliciously tasty meals.

Lucali An A List Pizzeria

In the old days a neighborhood pizzeria usually got good reviews from loyal locals. Nowadays they get on the A -list being the highlight of celebrity tweets. Lucali, a trendy Brooklyn pizzeria is just this but so much more. Like any good city pizza parlor, it produces mouth watering pies.

It was the subject of Alan Richman's interview in today's New York Times Food section. Lucali is the invention of Mark Iacono, a Carroll Gardens native,  who brought business and good food back to his old neighborhood.What is truly unusual is that Chef Iacono has no background , no culinary education or family in the business.it was cooking with his nonna, his grandmother that was the springboard into pizza making and cooking. Another impetus was the pizza he had growing up, with it's paper thin crispy crust with the right amount of  cheese and sauce. It has paid off It's a favorite of Brooklyn boy, Jay-Z and his wife, Beyoncé. They famously blew off the Grammys to share a pie there. David Beckham famously tweeted  about having his most amazing meal there. It has become so popular that CHef Iacono has opened up a branch in Miami and will be opening up another Lucali in L.A..

The restaurant only has pizza and calzones, from the looks of the website. There is the choice of a plain pie and toppings which cost three dollars each.  Chef Iacono offers the usual, basil and the unusual , such as Portobello mushrooms, shallots or artichoke hearts. The calzones have a creamy mozzarella filling with extra sauce  for dipping. Another plus is the atmosphere. Chef  Iacono has made it look like a period piece pizzeria, with  even brass handled candlesticks that would not go amiss in the Masterpiece series "Poldark". The color scheme is not the typical red and white check, but sepia and creamy shades of brown that are reminiscent of tintypes. It's a perfect place for proposals and many a pizza has come out with MARRY ME written on it in mushrooms.The restaurant is where a beloved candy store Louie's was and it was an important part of his childhood. The restaurant was in part named for him and the Iaconos" daughter Kalista.

Good New York  pizza is few and far between. Go to Lucali to taste the best pie, the pizza of rock stars and sports idols.. Try it for a taste of heaven.

Hot Savory Pies

This is the weather that calls for a hot pie- no, not one bursting with fruit but with savory goodness.There's nothing like a pie that explodes with flavor.A hearty slice is the perfect dinner or lunch,especially teamed up with a salad. Quiche is one of the easiest savory pies to whip up.What is great about it is that it can have a variety of fillings.A typical Quiche Lorraine has bacon and Swiss cheese in it.This centuries old dish is staple in almost every brasserie in France.It is easy to make ,simply using a pre made pie shell.It is actually German in origin as is the recipe zweibelkugen.This is an onion rich quiche which can also have ham strips or chunks added.Quiches can also be made with chicken or seafood such as crab.You can also make what's known as quiche lets, small individual pies for a Sunday brunch too.You can vary the ingredients on this, going from tomato basil to four cheese Another hot savory pie is a meat pie.Nothing beats a homemade beef or chicken potpie on a colk night. This takes a little more work than a quiche.You have to make both the bottom and top crusts.What you put in them is up to you.You could easily fill it with a type of thick stew, redolent with potatoes, corn,peas ,and carrots.Meat pies can be made individually too ,using pre made biscuits and muffin tins.For these you can think fun.Experiment with chili or ratatouille. Calzones and empanadas are variations of pies and these, too , are perfect for a weekend night. Calzones are good stuffed with ricotta and ham while the empanadas are open to any filling.Both are easy to make and bake,and you might want to start with them before heading onto meat pies. Nothing beats a hot savory pie on a cold night.Enjoy an egg rich quiches or a gravy laced meat one for lunch or dinner. They are warm and hearty, the perfect meal for these chilly days.

Get Stuffed!

As any foodie will tell you there's nothing like sinking one's teeth into something gooey and feeling that savory or sweet filling squish out.It's kind of like a surprise ,with a spurt of texture and flavor added.Luckily there's variety of foods,from salty to sugary to satisfy that stuffed food craving. There are plenty of savory foods to choose from,from calzones to grilled cheeses. calzones, that Sicilian classic is literally translated from the Italian words big sock.That's what it is big sock of pizza dough stuffed with a combo of creamy ricotta and mozzarella.Sometimes ham or sausage is added.Bite into a fresh from the oven one and it's this explosion of pure flavor oozing into your mouth.A Monte Cristo sandwich is kind of like this.It's a batter dipped super sandwich stuffed with turkey ham and Swiss cheese.It's then dipped in a batter and deep fried.You can do variations of this with stuffing and just turkey along with a layer of cranberry sauce.Of course for healthier fare there are stuffed peppers along with stuffed cabbage and tomatoes.These can be stuffed. With healthy brown rice and quinoa or more decadently with sauteed hamburger meat and bread crumbs. There are some sweet stuffed treats out there as well. Turnovers are always a fun dessert or snack.These are easy to make at home thanks to pre made phyllo dough.Fillings can be anything from apple to cherry to blueberry.You can also have a creamy dark chocolate filling which is just pure decadence. Cream puffs ,that long forgotten but again easy to make dessert are another stuffed treat.They can have a simple vanilla pudding inside or a variety of creams.Try the easy Chantilly style which is just whipped cream with the addition of vanilla extract.You can also stuff them with a rich chocolate ganache.Fritters, are another fun surprise filled treat.Try them with apples or bananas and a dusting of powdered sugar. Everyone loves a surprise.There's nothing like a stuffed treat ,savory or sweet to embody that notion.Try a calzone or a cream puff for a fun burst of oozy gooey flavor!