Chef Mitchell Altholz from Highlawn Pavilion passed along his recipe below for brining and cooking a turkey. He chose this recipe because it's one simple thing the home cook can do to really improve the taste and quality of the central part of most Thanksgiving dinners.
Read MoreFood Foto Friday: Lunch on the Patio at Highlawn Pavilion
There are few places in NJ as beautiful to dine at as Highlawn Pavilion in Eagle Rock Reservation. Though the dining room offers refinement and sweeping views, I prefer the al fresco patio - and especially the bar menu!
Here's a few pics for the food porn inclined from Highlawn. Tweet @melodykettle #foodiefriday.
Read MoreKnowles Family Secures Long-Term Lease of Essex County's Highlawn Pavilion
This afternoon, the Knowles Family, who have operated the Highlawn Pavilion at Eagle Rock Reservation since 1984, held a celebratory lease signing and press conference with Essex County Executive, Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr., and James Paganelli, Executive Director of the Essex County Improvement Authority, at Highlawn Pavilion.
The Knowles Family Legacy: Local Sustainability at Highlawn Pavilion
On March 11, 2012, the Sunday Business section of the Star-Ledger published an ad announcing a "Business Opportunity" at "Eagle Rock Reservation." It read:
"The County of Essex is seeking a fine dining restaurant operator for the Eagle Rock Restaurant, located in the Essex County Eagle Rock Reservation in West Orange, NJ[.] A Request for Information (RFI) has been issued to find an operator interested in developing and operating a fine dining restaurant."
The rumor mill went swirling! The most important question proffered was: is Highlawn Pavilion, the renown fine dining and banquet establishment, closing? The Knowles Family, owners of Highlawn Pavilion, responded to the buzz on the Highlawn Pavilion website:
Business Opportunity at Eagle Rock Reservation
The following advertisement appeared in the Sunday Business section of the Star-Ledger on March 11, 2012:Mitchell Altholz meets Gordon Ramsay on the set of Kitchen Nightmares
Mitchell Altholz with Gordon RamsayCheck out this photo of Chef Mitchell Altholz and Gordon Ramsay!
Following dinner at Zod Arifai's restaurant, Blu, Chef Mitchell bumped into the rip-roaring celebrity chef on the set of Fox's Kitchen Nightmares, which is currently shooting an episode at Leone's on South Park St. in Montclair.
Here's what Mitchell had to say about the encounter:
I saw him on the street ( I know he speaks French) and I started to speak to him in French. Then he asked me if I was French and I said "No, but I lived there for 7 years and worked with Paul Bocuse." He said "no sh*t." Then we talked a little about The Manor. I wanted to hate him but he was so nice and funny.
Hot From The Kettle wishes Leone's a wonderful make-over! Look for the Kitchen Nightmares episode to air on Fox sometime in Fall.
Leone's
19 South Park Street
Montclair, NJ 07042
*photo credit, Mitchell Altholz