Drumm and Duck Fat Ciabatta - Bobolink Dairy!

by Melody Kettle in ,

Frolic, Baudolino, Cave Aged Cheddar, Drumm (left to right)During last month's thaw, I took a trip with Chef Michael Carrino out to Milford, New Jersey to visit artesanal cheese mecca - Boblink Dairy. 

I first sampled the unique cheeses, such as Drumm, Jean-Louis, and Baudolino, at the Summit Food and Wine Festival last September, where I also met proprietor, Jonathan White.  

On our visit, Nina, Jonathan's wife, taught me about the lifecycle of Bobolink Cheese. From the grazing fields, to the milking gallery, to the vats, and finally to the tasting in the bakehouse.

Watch the video below for see Bobolink for yourself:

 

If you're not up for taking the trip to Milford, you coould order cheese from Bobolink on-line. 

I left the Bakehouse with a Duck Fat Ciabatta and some phenomenal "crazy" Drumm.  Once we arrived home, it was gone in an hour!  For me it's all about the Drumm and Duck Fat Ciabiatta.

For the entire visit stay tuned to Montclair TV34, HomeTowne TV, and SOMA TV. 

Top O' The Mornin To Ya!

by Melody Kettle in , , ,

I love a good Irish Pub as much as I love conch shacks and cured pork. St. James Gate Publick House, 167 Maplewood Avenue, is everything an Irish Pub should be and a wee bit more.

St. James exudes the quintessence of an Irish Pub; it s warm, inviting, convivial, comfortable, and just a little bit dark.

The story behind the restaurant is just as authentic as the floor boards, which were sourced from Guinness vats in Dublin, Ireland.

The tale goes something like this: Irishman, John Meade, spent thirty years as a beer salesman. He did well, but yearned to become a Publickan. In 2003, he did just that and transformed the location on Maplewood Avenue from a men s clothing store into St. James Gate Publick House, taking the very name from the bottle of Guinness. To make his pub as authentic as possible, Mr. Meade imported furniture from Ireland, and even integrated wood from the Guinness vats into the wooden bar floor.

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Organic. Local. Sustainable. Salmon Three Ways from Market in Montclair

by Melody Kettle in , , ,

Last month Hot From The Kettle visited Market, now located at 12 Church Street, Montclair, to experience their new Church Street digs, and their new executive chef, Tre Ghoshal.

Chef Tre joined Market in November 2010. Chef Tre, who is of East Indian descent, has been cooking since he was thirteen. "It's all I know," he says.

And cooking is all he needs to know; he's a natural.  Chef Tre is imaginative, passionate, artistic, and intuitive. He prepares his dishes with confidence and moves about the open air kitchen with fluidity and focus.

The owners of Market, Joshua Cedarbaum and Adi Hecht are committed to using local, organic and sustainable product.  Cedarbaum and Hecht  have transformed the physical space of Market to be just as wholesome and unique as their fare.  The use of string lights and picket fence create an atmosphere reminiscent of a backyard on a summer evening, not to mention the olfactory enhancement courtesy of the open air kitchen.

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Hot From The Kettle™: Chocolate, Love?

by Melody Kettle in , , ,

Laura Himmelein, is not a pastry chef, she’s a confectionery architect!

Laura is the owner Maplewood based Partycake-Partycake, a custom baking company that specializes in creating whimsical and delicious desserts.

Laura recently spent a morning in the Kettle kitchen baking up a batch of Valentine themed Fudgy Sweetheart Brownie Bites. Laura’s brownie recipe is very quick and simple, and yields a chewy, fudgy, cocoalicious brownie.

Take a look at the video to see Laura’s interpretation of nostalgic Sweetheart candies via Brownie.

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Hot From The Kettle: Chinese Pork Dumplings

by Melody Kettle in , , ,

As part of my ongoing (and seemingly endless) Cooks of Summit Avenue Investigation, I visited the home of Christina O’Neill. Christina lives two doors down from the gastro-mechanic, Lou Palma and about five doors from Alison Bermack.

Christina and I spent the morning making delicious pork filled Chinese Dumplings. Soon after my visit, I took on the dumpling project. As Christina suggested, I was able to purchase a package of dumpling wrappers at East West Asian Market, 67 Belleville Avenue, Bloomfield, for less than $2! Though the crimping technique Christina demonstrates with such ease came a little slow to me, I succeeded in making about two dozen dumplings and tucked them away in the freezer.

Want to see how Cristina crimps the perfect pork filled dumpling? Watch the video below:

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Hot From The Kettle™: The Baristas Do The Souper Bowl!

by Melody Kettle in , ,

Alison Bermack, founder of the Cooking With Friends Club, is at it again! This time she's not making sauce or empanadas, she's making soup for charity! 

As part of the annual CWF Souper Bowl, Alison and the hyper-local blogging Baristas joined at the home of BaristaKids contributor, Holly Korus-Jenkins, for an evening of stirring the soup.

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