Recipe

2 pounds Ground Beef Round
1 each Med. Onion — Chopped
16 ounces Taco Sauce — Mild or Hot
4 ounces (1 cn) Mild Green Chilies, chopped and drained
1/2 cup Sliced Ripe Olives
8 ounces (1 cn) Refrigerated Crescent Rolls **
1 1/2 cups Crushed Corn Chips
1 cup Dairy Sour Cream
1 cup Shredded Monterey JackCheese
1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Sliced Olives [...]

I had two wonderful restaurant visits lately. One was a déjeuner intime, the other was a restaurant opening in beautiful Princeton.

My lovely friend, M, who lives outside of Princeton, invited me to the opening of Elements restaurant. I’m always up for that. Anyone (anywhere) feel free to ask me, anytime.

Elements is a brand new, built from scratch, modern gem of a restaurant co-owned by chef Scott Anderson (formerly Chef de Cuisine of The Ryland Inn) and Stephen Distler. It serves “interpretive American Cuisine”, which means a little of everything – Asian, Latin and Mediterranean. All of it, judging from the tastes we had, was delicious.

CHEF ANDERSON

The cardoon (cousin to the artichoke) soup was rich and delicious. The corn crepe was yummy and there were various other tastes that came and went much too quickly. Miniature jelly doughnuts were adorable.

Another thing that will succeed for sure is the special cocktail list. This particular evening they were offering 4 special drinks, made with different liquors and fresh squeezed juices. I’m sure I’ll get the combinations wrong, but there was a beautiful emerald green, basil and lemongrass one that we dubbed a spa cocktail.

One nifty feature is the chef’s table (actually there are two of them), with prime viewing of everything that’s going on in the kitchen.

Elements will also be offering tasting menus and there’s a private dining space for 8,

and a larger one located in a loft upstairs. There’s also a sensational 600 pound sculpture by Frank Bowman Krimmel, hanging high above the Chef’s tables across from the loft.

And you have to love a restaurant with its own blog.

***********

My lunch was with L, one of my favorite sister-in-laws, at Mercer Kitchen, another of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurants. This one sits in a basement and is pretty fabulous.

The hosting was warm and friendly. I got there early and chatted with the waiter. He told me that everything is made fresh everyday…no vats of pre-prepared vegetables are hiding in the kitchen. When I looked up, I could see people walking across the antique glass overpass, which is visible from the dining room.

L arrived and the feasting began with a spiced apple cider champagne cocktail. Ooh la la.

Luckily L had been there before and steered us in an excellent direction. I was nervous about the word “steamed” in the shrimp salad. I always feel more confident about sautéed, deep fried or batter dipped etc.

I shouldn’t have worried. The shrimp were fat and juicy butterflied little darlings set atop a perfectly dressed avocado mushroom and tomato salad. The vinaigrette was a champagne vinegar one, which I couldn’t particularly discern, but it was wonderful.

Thankfully, the slowly baked salmon didn’t come out medium, as ordered by L. It was still very pink in the middle. The truffled mashed potatoes were unctuous and so smooth I could have eaten a vat of them.

Coffee came before dessert. I have to remember this isn’t Paris. It was an absolutely exceptional cappuccino. (I know in Rome I’d get the evil eye if I ordered that in the middle of the afternoon.)

Dessert was pretty fabulous. The first was an autumn cheesecake that was served with yummy figs and a Concord grape sorbet. The sorbet tasted like just-plucked grapes that had been whirled into a sorbet moments before. The cheesecake was accompanied by a crispy black sesame tuile-like cookie. Divine, but I must have been on my 5th cocktail, when I took this picture.

The lemon kiwi tart was topped with fresh sliced kiwis. I would have liked a bit more tartness in the tart, but the creaminess was beguiling. It was accompanied by some raspberries and chopped up kiwi. I would have skipped the extra fruit and taken a bigger piece of the tart.

This brings to 4 the number of Jean Georges restaurants I’ve been to. (I love having goals.) I really like them all - Jean Georges (visited in my pre-blogging days) is amazing, but Spice Market is probably my favorite (especially when I get to meet a blogging buddy). Vong comes next, but Mercer Kitchen is close behind. I thought the service was a lot warmer here than at Vong, although they did threaten to take away a plate before we both were through – one of my hugest pet peeves.

Just remember, lunch à deux or launching a new restaurant…I’m always ready and willing.

6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 of 14−oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups toasted coconut
1 cup semi−sweet or milk chocolate chips
In 2−quart saucepan over medium−low heat, combine butter, sugar and corn syrup. Heat to a full boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly [...]

Ingredients: fusilli, salt, pepper, 1 chicken breast, 1 leek, 150 ml white wine, 100 ml water, 250 grams mushrooms, 100 ml cream, parsley, cheese,
Cook the fusilli in boiling water with salt. Cut 1 chicken breast into cubes and season with salt and pepper. Cook the diced chicken breast golden brown in hot oil. Scoop [...]

Here are this week’s questions:
#1. What kind of pretzels are your favorite?-I like soft pretzels with a little salt, dipped in mustard. And I like Tiny Twist pretzels dipped into chip dip!
#2. What’s your favorite way to eat pancakes?-Mmm, with butter, sugar free Smuckers syrup, and extra-crispy bacon on the side.
#3. Do you make garlic [...]

I found this variety of garlic a couple of weeks back. It’s called Pearl Garlic.Keep in mind that the term ‘Garlic Pearls’ refers to a pharmacological product.
Interestingly, there doesn’t seem to be much information available on this on the Internet - if you find a source, do let me know.
I found it with a roadside [...]

It’s a busy day in our house. trying to get 2 children dressed for school in costumes, having back up clothes, homework from the night before, and snacks for the Halloween Party! UGH!

So I leave you with this…

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (anyone know how to do the degrees symbol?)

Ingredients:

1/2 stick of butter (melted)
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp white pepper
pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Directions:

• Mix and stir in cleaned and dried pumpkin seeds and place on a baking sheet.
• Place in the oven and stir every 5-7 minutes or until brown and crisp.

Happy Halloween!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp cornflour
300g chicken breast fillet, sliced diagonally across
2 tbsp oil
2cm piece fresh ginger, finely grated
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 celery stick, thinly sliced diagonally
50g green beans, sliced in half
¼ cup (60g) canned bamboo shoots, drained
¼ cup (60ml) chicken stock
2 tbsp Chinese rice wine or medium sherry
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp cornflour, extra
125g blanched almonds, roasted

Method:

CARROT FINGERS
Ingredients to make one hand centerpiece:
any dip
4 long carrots
1 medium carrot
softened cream cheese
sliced almonds
vegetables for dipping
Fill a serving bowl with your favorite dip.
Wash and peel 4 of the long carrots for fingers and 1 medium carrot for a thumb.
Cut a flat notch at the end of each carrot.
Place a sliced almond into the notch, [...]