There’s No Place Like Home

There are many fun places to go out to breakfast in Avalon but in my opinion, the best breakfast around is the one we cook at the house. There’s nothing like cutting up fresh local Jersey melon, peaches, and plums, adding a some fresh blueberries and raspberries to serve with French Toast made with cinnamon bread from Isabel’s, our favorite bakery/coffee shop.

Add some Taylor pork roll or my buddy Barbecue Bob’s homemade maple bacon, my wife’s incredible home fries and a New Jersey fresh sea breeze coming through the window and you have the perfect start to a day on the beach playing in the surf until lunchtime arrives.

Dining Out For Breakfast in Avalon

Over the years I’ve been to most of the breakfast restaurants down here in Avalon, but there are a few I go back to every year. While most of them have good eggs and pancakes, young locals working as waiters and waitresses, ok service and above fair market value prices, there are a few that go out of their way to make you feel particularly invited.

Our favorite breakfast spot of all is the Fishin’ Pier Grill at the start of the Avalon boardwalk next to the Beach Patrol shack (32nd & Boardwalk). Every year we enjoy at least one breakfast at the grill and every year Sue, owner and greeter, remembers who we are and chats it up with my daughters. With the thousands of visitors that must visit every year, it’s nice when the owners remember who you are.

The interior of the Fishin’ Pier Grill is one room plus a counter for 6 or 7 patrons. The tables are packed in but it doesn’t matter if your neighbors are close, the atmosphere has a “throwback in time beach feel” making breakfast or lunch taste all the better.

The food, prepared by Sue’s husband Rick, is delicious and the portions plentiful. You know what you are getting because the kitchen is open behind the counter and you can watch Rick flip pancakes and prepare his specialty gigantic omelets. The staff is young (Sue and Rick’s kids help out each year), professional, and very helpful.

Get there early, especially on weekends because by 9:00 am there is a crowd but waiting outside on the boardwalk watching morning strollers walk by is no big deal. There are lots of great breakfast places in Avalon but the Fishin’ Pier Grill is the one we always come back to.

Sitting here on the beach in Avalon, NJ, one of the most beautiful places to vacation reading Mark Schatzker’s new book Steak - One Man’s Search For the World’s Tastiest Piece of Beef, one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read on the subject of beef.

No, it’s not a typical read for the beach. I enjoy a fast paced detective novel that I can scan through in a couple of days. This is a combination travelogue, history, biological culinary guide into the world of meat, where it comes from, what’s in it and why we should look for the real thing.

I’ll be writing more about Mark’s book when I finish but for now, I highly encourage you to read my interview with Mark if you are a foodie or someone who loves a good steak and wants to learn the truth about today’s beef industry and then go out and buy Steak. So far I have learned about beef from Texas, France, Scotland, Italy and am now learning about the famous Kobe beef in Japan.

Terroir - Eating Geographically

What I wanted to talk about in this blog is the French term “terroir” Mark describes in the Italy chapter. He writes,

“Describing what terroir means is not easy. An advertisement for a wine I once found in a magazine does a good job: The location, soil and climate of a given vineyard site directly affect the flavor and characteristics of the wine produced from that vineyard.”

He then goes on to compare this concept to food. He says,

“If you spend enough time eating in Italy, it begins to feel less like a country than like a collection of Italian-speaking tribes who happen to live on the same peninsula and eat similar food, though they themselves believe their foods are distinctly different. They cling to local food not to reduce carbon emissions or in the name of maximum freshness, but out of pride: Italians are the world’s proudest regionalists. Culinarily speaking, they cling to their dialects.”

And in the Japan chapter I’m currently reading, Mark writes about “brands” of beef when describing the difference between Iwate beef and Kobe beef. He says,

“Kobe beef comes from Kobe. Iwate beef comes from Iwate. As the Japanese see it, every part of their country has its own distinctive climate, geology, water, traditions, and so forth. Each region, therefore, produces its own equally distinctive foods, and they all compete with one another to produce the very best. Branding, you might say, is the Japanese version of terroir.”

New Jersey Terroir

As I’m reading this, I’m thinking about what I’ve been eating down here at the Jersey shore. I wait all year to enjoy the New Jersey beef steak tomatoes that are grown close by and purchased at a Clinton Conover Farm Stand on Route 9. It’s the same with the local sweet corn. It’s the best corn all summer - “in my opinion.”

Sure there is some local Jersey pride happening here but I just asked my friend from Utah about our tomatoes and she says they are the best she’s ever tasted. The peaches here are also outstanding. They seem sweeter than the local peaches we get from our farmer’s co-op out of Lancaster which are really good but not quite as sweet.

So I understand this term “terroir” from a Jersey state of mind and will start paying attention to it in the future when buying local harvests back in Philadelphia. I don’t think the United States will ever become as territorial as Mark describes Italy and Japan but I’m hoping I can get more involved with the local farmers’ markets and the wonderful source of goods produced by the Amish in the Lancaster area.

I have  enjoyed a small sampling of dairy and meat products offered to me by my friend Bruce Gill who makes a weekly journey to pick up supplies for the Harriton House in Bryn Mawr. I know there are local suppliers of chicken and pork but have not made the effort to seek them out. So I thank Mark for introducing me to this term “terroir” and encourage you to find your own versions in your own backyards.

Another Mexican Feast

I love all kinds of ethnic cooking.  But when I want a really hearty meal I find myself returning to Latin fare more than any other cuisine.  And that’s why this is yet another Mexican feast!  It begins with chicken burritos made with a creamy sauce from poblano peppers and spinach.  It’s served with spicy refried beans and the coup de grâce, a pitcher of margaritas.  It doesn’t get much better than that.

Chicken Burritos with Creamy Poblano-Spinach Sauce

For the poblano-spinach sauce:

3 poblano chiles, divided, (two for the sauce and one for the chicken burritos)
1 jalapeno chile
1 large handful baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste

For the burritos:

2 large, boneless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil, as needed
1 poblano chile from the sauce recipe above
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin
6 flour tortillas (or substitute corn tortillas and make enchiladas instead)
Grated cheese such as Monterey Jack, or a supermarket “Mexican cheese blend,” as needed

Fully pre-heat your broiler.  Slice the stems off the three poblanos and one jalapeno and then cut the peppers in half vertically.  Remove the seeds.  Place the poblanos and jalapenos, skin side up on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Broil until the skins have blackened.  Remove from the broiler to cool.  Turn off the broiler and heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place the spinach into a blender.  When the peppers have cooled, remove the skins.  Place two of the poblanos and the jalapeno into the blender.  Cut the remaining poblano pepper into thin strips and reserve.

Heat the butter in a saucepan.  Add the onion and on low to medium heat cook the onion until soft.  Do not brown the onion.  Add the garlic when the onion is almost done.  Add the flour and cook an additional minute or two.  Slowly whisk in the milk and chicken broth and continue to cook and whisk until the sauce thickens, about five minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the mixture into the blender with the spinach and chiles.  Allow it to cool somewhat and then blend it.  Reserve the sauce in the blender.

Butterfly the two chicken breasts by cutting them down the center parallel to the cutting board.  Season both sides of the breasts with salt and pepper.  Heat some vegetable oil in a large skillet until it starts to smoke.  Sear the first side of the chicken until fully browned, flip and sear the other side.

Remove the breasts and cut into thin strips.  Don’t worry if they’re not cooked through to the center as they will be added back to the pan to cook more.  Reheat the pan, adding more oil if necessary.  Return the chicken to the pan as well as the one reserved poblano that was cut into strips.  Add the chili powder and cumin.  Sauté a few minutes until the chicken is fully cooked and the poblano has softened.

To make the burritos:

Give the reserved sauce in the blender another whiz to mix it.  Pour some of the sauce into the bottom of a 9 X 13 baking dish and swish it around to cover.  Divide the chicken/poblano mixture amongst six flour tortillas.

Place a tortilla in the microwave for about ten seconds just to soften it.  Add 1/6 of the mixture to the center of the first tortilla.  Pour a little of the sauce over the chicken and then roll the burrito.  Place it seam –side down in the baking dish.

Repeat with the remaining five tortillas.  When finished pour the remainder of the sauce over the rolled burritos.  Sprinkle the burritos with cheese.  Place the baking dish into the oven until the cheese melts.  Serve with the refried beans and some margaritas, (recipes below).

Basic Refried Beans

Vegetable oil, (or even better), lard, as needed
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans pinto beans with their juices
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon chili powder (or if you like it even hotter, ground cayenne pepper)
Salt and black pepper to taste

Heat the oil or lard in a large skillet.  Add the onion and jalapeno and sauté.  When the vegetables are almost soft add the garlic.  Meanwhile empty the two cans of beans with their juices into a blender and blend into a puree.  With a rubber spatula, scrape out the beans into the skillet.  Add the spices and stir and cook until the mixture has thickened.

Like so many recipes, alternatives abound.  The lard will absolutely impart more flavor but vegetable oil works as well.  Adjust the jalapeno and chili powder to suit your heat preference.  If you’re not a fan of heat, substitute some bell pepper for the jalapeno or omit it altogether.  The consistency of the dish can vary as well.

For a completely smooth final product you can blend the onion/pepper mixture with the beans.  Conversely, if you like some whole beans mixed in, only puree one can.  Drain and rinse the second can of beans and add them as is.  Finally, other spice options include Mexican oregano, achiote, epazote, or cilantro.

Margarita

This recipe will produce a small pitcher of margaritas.  Change the amount accordingly but use a ratio of 1.5 parts tequila, .5 parts triple sec, and 1 part lime juice.

12 oz. tequila
4 oz. triple sec or for a blue margarita use Blue Curacao
8 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice

Whiz the ingredients in a blender.  Add ice to the blender if you prefer a frozen margarita.  Take a lime wedge, slice it through the center and slide it around the rim of your margarita glasses.  Then dip the rim in kosher salt.  Add ice to the glass, (if not making the frozen variation), a lime wedge and serve.

Chef Mark R. Vogel

Could be the best crab cakes I’ve ever tasted. I’ve heard about Back Bay Seafood in Stone Harbor, NJ for years. People have told me they have the best crab cakes and crab chowder on the island. Last night I had the opportunity to taste their crab cakes and they are right.

I was surprised when I entered their store by how small it is. There were three other customers in the shop and when I opened the screen door, they all had to move over so I could get in. In front of me was the back of a big refrigerator and behind that was a small kitchen where I could see three or four people moving around.

Just to the left of the door was the cash register and a nice woman who took my order and checked me out. I was told there could be a long wait but I think that is when you order prepared foods like their Seafood Combination Dinner - Fried or Broiled. When you are there just for their U-Cook-Em Crab Cakes, there is little or no wait unless there is a line out the door I guess. This night there was no line.

The nice lady at the counter asked me if I need cooking instructions and of course I reluctantly said yes. I thought she said bake them at 400 degrees for 15 minutes but when I read a review on their web site, I found articles saying to broil them at 400 degrees but I’m not sure how you do that. When I set my oven to broil, I stick it on broil and am not sure what the temperature it. We baked them and they came out delicious.

How Are They Made

I’m not sure if either co-owner Tom Hegyvari or Keith Meloni are going to share their crab cake recipe with me, but I’ll try to contact them and give it a try. I do know from eating them that there is little or no filler in these 5 ounces of crab delight and they may have a subtle coating of breadcrumbs or corn meal on the surface.

I also know from reading the articles on their web site that they use a combination of jumbo lump and blue crab claw meat, herbs and use mayo to bind the crab meat together.  I don’t know if they are getting their crab meat locally, but I’m guessing if not it is from Maryland or somewhere on the East Coast. I hope so.

We always purchase fresh crab claws from the Avalon Seafood Market, a great source for local seafood but when we stopped there after picking up the crab cakes we were disappointed when they didn’t have any. Now they are selling a canned - pasteurized product with crab meat that comes from the “Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean – locations known the world over for producing the best Blue Crab.”

They were ok if you put enough cocktail sauce on them but nowhere near as good as the fresh crab claws from Maryland. There was an off taste that I’m guessing comes from the processing and the meat is not as tender or delicate as the fresh local claws.

Back to Back Bay Crab Cakes

The crab cakes are not cheap, $8.50 each but when you compare that with what they charge for crab cakes at one of the nicer local seafood restaurants ($30 to $40 for a pair and I can’t image they could be better than these), the price is reasonable.  And eating them at home gives you yet another opportunity to enjoy fresh local Jersey corn and tomatoes.

If you are in the Stone Harbor - Avalon area, I encourage you to go to Back Bay Seafood and give their crab cakes a try. And while you are there, you might want to taste their crab chowder and lobster bisque. I know I will next time I’m over there. I think I read they will even ship crab cakes to you overnight.

And of course, if you have a great crab cake recipe you would like to share, I would like to hear about it.

Related Articles

Crab Cake Recipe

Red Pepper Coulis to serve with Crab Cakes

I want to introduce you to a new culinary friend of mine, Ann Marie Michaels. Ann Marie is a cookbook author, cooking instructor, advertising guru and now online cooking instructor. She is also involved with teaching families how to eat healthier meals by eating at home with more nutritious ingredients. I was thrilled to find out she is a fan of grass-fed meat, an area I’ve been researching since interviewing Mark Schatzker and Carrie Oliver.

I found Ann Marie while browsing around the Internet looking for a ceviche recipe and found her very creative video on how to prepare ceviche at home. (You can see the video at the end of this post). I liked her easy going approach as well as her presentation. For homemade online cooking videos, I found her’s to be very professional looking with great production value and easy to watch. (I’m sure you have all seen some homemade videos that are tough to sit through.)

Online Cooking Classes

I noticed she is hosting her first online cooking class called Surf & Turf starting Wednesday, August 18th with 13 classes over 13 weeks. I immediately called Ann Marie to find out more about the classes and find out more about her. After an hour long conversation, I can tell you Ann Marie is very engaging, extremely knowledgable and fun to speak with. I’ve invited her to be a contributing writer on my blog and hope she takes me up on the invite.

I’ve also asked her to write an introductory piece about herself and her upcoming online cooking program. As her web site explains, if you want to “learn how to cook the perfect steak? Shuck an oyster? Make a delicious liver pâté?”  take the time to read Ann Marie’s introduction and sign up for her classes. She says if you are “low-carb, paleo, gluten-free, grain-free, on SCD or GAPS, or eating grains & starches but want to learn how to cook grass-fed meats, organ meats, and seafood…This class is for you.”

Surf & Turf Cooking Program

Here are her 13 episodes, and a Sneak Preview from Lesson 4 on How to Make Cerviche so you can see how Ann Marie presents her cooking classes. If you like what you see, be sure to visit her at Surf & Turf Online Cooking Classes.

LESSON 1: PROTEIN, FAT & NUTRITION
LESSON 2: SHOPPING & STOCKING UP
LESSON 3: GRILLING
LESSON 4: SEAFOOD I (RAW)
LESSON 5: SEAFOOD II (COOKED)
LESSON 6: BONE BROTH
LESSON 7: SOUPS & STEWS
LESSON 8: ROASTING & BRAISING PLUS REDUCTION SAUCES & GRAVIES
LESSON 9: PAN-FRYING & DEEP-FRYING
LESSON 10: SALADS & SANDWICHES
LESSON 11: ORGAN MEATS I
LESSON 12: ORGAN MEATS II
BONUS CLASS: STARTERS, SIDE DISHES & SNACKS

Sign up now

The enrollment ends this Saturday, August 14th so if you are interested, be sure to sign up now. She offers a full 30 days to get a refund, starting from the first day of class but be sure to read her entire refund policy.

Here’s Ann Marie -

I’ve been teaching cooking classes since I was seven years old.  I was one of those “latch-key” kids who wore a string around my neck with a key on it.  The bus would drop me off after school, and I’d saunter into the kitchen to produce another cooking show.

This was in the seventies, decades before the Food Network was born. I’d seen my share of Julia Child, and I knew this was my calling.  My concept: teaching other latch-key kids how to cook after school.  Remember, microwavable meals didn’t exist yet.  I showed them how to make tasty snacks like cinnamon toast and popcorn that they could eat while watching Brady Bunch reruns.

I got to cook on TV for real when my first cookbook was published in 2004. I did a lot of TV interviews, from Good Morning, Texas to Good Day Arizona. I schlepped pots and pans and knives in my suitcase from coast to coast.

In 2007, I had a baby, and schlepping all over the country just isn’t what I want to do anymore. Thanks to modern technology, I found a way to do this from my own kitchen — just like when I was a kid.

Surf & Turf: An Online Cooking Class

This month, I’m launching my first online cooking class, Surf & Turf: cooking Wild Seafood and Grass-fed Meats.

Most of us don’t make the time to cook homemade meals for our families very often, which is a shame.  Is there anything more important that nourishing our families in an effort to prevent disease? We’re spending 30% less on food today than we did in the sixties, and we spend 30% more on health care. Personally, I’d rather pay now than later.

If you read Michael Pollan’s book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” or saw the movie, “Food Inc.” you know that factory farm food is not only unsafe, but also vastly less nutritious than farm-fresh foods. It’s not sustainable, as it is trucked for thousands of miles to your table.  And of course, there’s the issue of taste.

Cooking grass-fed meat requires completely different techniques than cooking meat from cows raised on corn. The cooking methods used for conventional meat will destroy a grass-fed steak. And if you’ve given up on the barbecue grill due to fear of getting cancer, I’ll teach you why grilling meat is completely safe — when done the right way.

An advocate of nose-to-tail cooking, I’ll cover a variety of cuts, from briskets to short ribs to organ meats like liver and even bone marrow. I’ll also be teaching how to make homemade beef, chicken and fish stock, and how to use the stock in homemade reduction sauces and soups.

We all know we should be eating more seafood to reduce our chance of heart disease. Yet most of us have no idea where to find safe, sustainable seafood — and no clue how to prepare it.  I’ll walk you through everything from how to shuck oysters to fancy-sounding but extremely easy Sole en Papillote.  Click here to see the complete class schedule.

Sneak Peak: How to Make Ceviche

Ceviche, a dish of seafood marinated in citrus (lemon or lime), is a traditional dish that dates back thousands of years.  While many people believe that ceviche originated in Peru, the fact that every former Spanish colony has its own version of ceviche makes many think that the dish was perhaps introduced by the Spanish.  It is also a traditional dish in polynesia ith variations in Tahiti and Fiji.  Today, it is popular all over the world, from Spain and Peru to Mexico, Panama, the Phillipines, the Bahamas and south Florida, and Hawaii.

Why Take a Cooking Class Online?

If you’re like me, you love to take cooking classes. I enjoy cooking as a recreational activity and I’m always eager to learn new recipes.  But trying to learn recipes from a cookbook is not always so easy.  Having a teacher show you step by step how to cook is the best way to cut to the chase.

Let’s face it, so many of us are busy these days.  Who has time to drive to a community college or cooking school once a week to take a class?  And who wants to fight traffic and spend money on a babysitter?  The internet has given us the opportunity to take cooking classes from home.  You can watch the videos on your computer, then pop into the kitchen and practice what you’ve learned.

Cooking classes are also expensive — upwards of $50 per class. My online course costs less than $10 per class. I also offer a full 30-day refund, no questions asked.

Sign Up for Surf & Turf

Click here to sign up for the Surf & Turf online cooking class.  Hurry! Enrollment ends Saturday, August 14th.