Chef Mark from Tortilla Press was on Fox 29 this morning, promoting the event.

I can’t wait to try the buffalo mac-n-cheese. I love anything with blue cheese.

It’s been a slow quiet week news and event-wise (except for the wine shipping bill news, of course), so I don’t have any odds and ends for you this week. Enjoy your weekend, and hopefully I’ll see you at the Mac Off!

Philly Homegrown is once again working with the Restaurant Week organizers to bring locally produced items to the menus. Items with a little red tractor next to them on a menu include locally grown, produced or sourced ingredients.

I already have my Center City District Restaurant Week reservations that I made on Open Table. To make sure you don’t get shut out of the restaurant you want to dine at, make your reservations early.

Where are my reservations? I’m not going to tell you unless I absolutely love the place. If I do,  you’ll hear about it here. If not, I’ll keep my mouth shut.

The shipping bill will allow wine to be shipped to and from NJ residences, but more importantly it will allow winery tasting rooms to remain open and allow our wineries to thrive.

Congratulations to the NJ state wineries on their well-deserved victory late last night!

I spent most of the day yesterday checking Facebook and Twitter for updates on what was happening with the wine shipping bill that was being voted on in the Assembly. Finally, at a little after 11pm, Sharrott Winery tweeted this:

Bill passed the assembly! Just waiting now for the senate to concure tonight since there was an amendment.

and a little after 11:30 came the second and most exciting news:

The winery bill has passed!!! Just needs the governor’s signature and he has said he will sign.

It was a little tough getting to sleep last night; I was pretty excited.

It’s been a long, difficult uphill battle for the representatives who have sponsored this bill and the New Jersey State Wine Growers Association and the individual wineries to get this bill passed. At times, the future of the wineries seemed very uncertain. I can imagine the winery owners and their employees felt discouraged each time a version of this bill got stalled in the Assembly.

But now, Victory is within reach. Governor Christie has said he’ll sign the bill. Let’s all contact him and tell him we are thrilled that the legislature has passed this bill and let him know you want him to sign it.

This Saturday, January 14th, 8 of our state wineries will be at the Winter Wine Festival at Renault Winery in Egg Harbor. If you’re going to the festival, make sure to congratulate the wineries on a fight well fought and a victory well deserved. I can imagine there will be quite a celebratory atmosphere at the festival.

1. Natural Harvest Food Market in Mullica Hill – Late last summer, Darrol and Tracey Wilson, huge supporters of all things local, bought the Natural Harvest Food Market. Every time I read the market’s Facebook page, I want to jump in the car and go. Part of the store is dedicated to local foods and small producers. They sell Capogiro Gelato from Philadelphia (if you’ve never had this Gelato sourced from local ingredients, you don’t know what you’re missing), cheese from Cherry Grove Farms in Lawrenceville, pasta from Severino in Westmont, meats from Wellshire Farms in Swedesboro and much more. What’s not local is natural, organic and wholesome, and they make sure they have options for vegetarians, vegans and those on a gluten-free diet.
2. Vincentown Diner – For a NJ food lover, I’m not that big on diners. They’re great at 2 am, but the rest of the time, I can make the same foods most diners make at home. I’ve heard differently about the Vincentown Diner, though. They use organic eggs, local produce, all natural pasture-fed beef from local New Jersey farms, and they serve wines from New Jersey. I’ve been told the food is really great. Even the New York Times says it’s “worth it.”
3. Flying Fish Brewing – Even though it’s right around the corner in Cherry Hill, I’ve never taken the time to visit Flying Fish. I need to remedy that. They do free tastings/tours on many Saturday afternoons (see their schedule of events to find dates and times). The brewery will be moving from its current location to one that’s three times as large in Somerdale (Yay for local businesses doing so well they need to expand!), but that won’t be for a while. I hope to be able to check out their old digs and their new digs once the new location is up and running.
4. (& 5.) Landis MarketPlace and Bellview Winery – I hope to tackle two of my goals in one day by heading to Vineland and visiting the Landis MarketPlace to check out the Amish market on the bottom floor and the merchants on the top floor (including Martha’s Spice Shop owned by the former principal of the school I used to teach at). Then, I’ll head to the nearby Bellview Winery for a tasting and stock up on a few bottles. And, since I’m in the area, I’ll make it a point to pop into The Sweet Life Bakery and grab a treat or two. It’s a foodie day trip just waiting to be taken.

Tell me what local businesses and producers you’re hoping to finally visit this year.

Fromage Fort - a cheese spread made from the odds and ends of cheeses leftover from the holidays. Yum!

After only two truly cold days, the 55 degrees this afternoon have me in a happy, spring-like mood. My mood might also be contributed to the fact that yesterday, the winery direct shipping bill finally made it out of committee in the New Jersey State Assembly and will be going to the floor for a vote on Monday, January 9, 2012. This is the third (I believe) version of the bill – the first two never made it to the floor for a vote. On Monday, if bill A-4436 passes, chances are really good that our wineries will be able to thrive, our vineyards will continue to exist to preserve open land, and consumers will have a freedom of choice.

It’s not a done deal, and this is where YOU are very important. If you go to Free the Grapes, you’ll find an incredibly easy way to contact your district’s representatives. In less than five minutes, you can send them emails encouraging them to vote for A-4436. They need to hear from as many of us as possible. They need to know this is important to their constituents. Please take a few minutes to do this before Sunday evening so when your representatives get to work on Monday, they’ll be inundated with our voices.

I’ve got a few odds and ends to let you know about, too.

• Mark January 16th on your calendar for the 3rd Annual Mac Off to benefit The Food Bank of South Jersey. This year, the event will be held at The Collingswood Ballroom to be able to accommodate all the great people that want to come out and support our restaurants and the food bank.
• Two of my favorite local producers Sharrott Winery and Cherry Grove Farm are teaming up on Saturday, January 21 from noon to 5pm for an afternoon of wine and cheese pairings at Sharrott’s tasting room.
• If you’re being inundated with cute little Girl Scouts asking you to buy their cookies, but you don’t want the unhealthy ingredients, my partner in food writing over at MNN, Kimi, has a recipe for homemade Thin Mints.
• Another recipe that might interest you is Fromage Fort. I read about this in my latest issue of Saveur and had to make it. You take the leftover cheeses that you have in the fridge and mix the in the food processor with white wine and butter to make a cheese spread that’s different every time. You can get the recipe for Fromage Fort on my MNN post.
• In that same issue of Saveur (which was a really great issue – I enjoyed the whole thing cover to cover) there was a list of the Saveur 100 favorite things, and oyster stout made the list.  Flying Fish’s Exit 1 Oyster Stout was one of the stouts mentioned and pictured in the mag. How cool is that?

That’s it for this weekend. Things are fairly quiet after the holidays. We all need a quiet weekend, I suspect. I’ll be un-Christmasing my house this weekend. How about you?

New Jersey’s wine consumers and wineries received another major boost this weekend as the STAR-LEDGER, the state’s largest newspaper, joined five other newspapers in endorsing direct shipping legislation.  Additionally, the editorial went on to dismiss the liquor lobby’s misleading allegations about job losses and an increase in underage access to wine as a result of direct shipping.  The editorial said, “Both arguments are fear-mongering nonsense.” Further, the editorial pointed out, “New Jersey wineries – the state’s most promising farmers – need this law because it’s good for business. It’s already law in 38 states. Direct-shipping expands consumer choice. Moreover, local wineries draw tourism, and the state stands to make millions on license fees and sales taxes.”

 

Momentum continues to build for direct shipping!  A-4436/S-3172, sponsored by Senate President Stephen Sweeney, Assemblyman John Burzichelli, Deputy Speaker John Wisniewski, and Assemblywoman Celeste Riley, is scheduled to be considered by the Assembly Budget Committee on Thursday, January 5th!  This legislation provides the Legislature with an opportunity to enhance New Jersey’s image around the country, and further establish the state as a major wine producer.  Additionally, this important legislation will ensure the future of the NJ wine industry, stimulate agri-tourism, preserve farmland, create jobs and bring additional tax and fee revenue to the state.  Now is the time to reach out to members of the Assembly Budget Committee and urge them to support this legislation and finally give NJ residents the same ability as millions of other Americans in 38 states to have wine shipped from wineries to their residences.

 

UnCorkNJ is calling on its thousands of supporters to take action today and urge members of the Assembly Budget Committee to reject the liquor lobby and side with NJ wine consumers and wine growers and pass A-4436/S-3172 on Thursday!

 

We thank you for your past support and encourage you to spread the word to other wine consumers. To read the STAR-LEDGER editorial, please click here.

 

Members of the Assembly Budget Committee:

 

Chairman Lou Greenwald

AsmGreenwald@njleg.org

 

Vice-Chairman Gary Schear

AsmSchear@njleg.org (note: the email I sent to this particular address was sent back undeliverable. I went in through Vice-Chairman Schear’s website and sent an email that way: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/bio.asp?Leg=258)

 

Assemblyman Anthony Bucco

AsmBucco@njleg.org

 

Assemblyman John Burzichelli

AsmBurzichelli@njleg.org

 

Assemblyman Gary Chiusano

AsmChiusano@njleg.org

 

Assemblyman Albert Coutinho

AsmCoutinho@njleg.org

 

Assemblyman Gordon Johnson

AsmJohnson@njleg.org

 

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon

AsmOScanlon@njleg.org

 

Assemblywoman Nellie Pou

AswPou@njleg.org

 

Assemblywoman Joan Quigley

AswQuigley@njleg.org

 

Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman

AswWatsonColeman@njleg.org

 

Assemblyman Jay Webber

AsmWebber@njleg.org

When I take a look at the list of participating restaurants, it’s no surprise to see many of them on there. I know that many of these restaurants are the ones that support our local food producers, help to raise funds for food banks, and probably also donate their time, money and resources to other local charities. If you choose to dine out at one of these restaurants Thursday night, you’ll not only be raising funds for autism, you’ll also be supporting the restaurants that truly get involved with and support their communities.

You’ll also be giving a show of support to a couple of South Jersey’s faithful local foodies and bloggers, John and Lisa of Eating in South Jersey. John wrote about the event last week and shared with readers why this event is personally important to his family.

Not a photo of my casserole, but it looks a lot like it.

This is one of my favorite dishes on Thanksgiving. It’s like having dessert with your dinner. I already have the sweet potatoes cooked and mashed and stored in the freezer, and I’ll put the entire casserole together and cook it on Wednesday. On Thursday, when the turkey comes out of the oven, I’ll pop it in there to reheat it, and by the time the turkey has rested and been carved, the sweet potato casserole will be hot.

• 3 c cold mashed sweet potatoes (prepared without milk or butter)
• 1 c sugar
• 1/2 c milk (I use 1%)
• 1/4 c butter (softened)
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 c packed brown sugar
• 1/2 c chopped pecans
• 1/4 c flour
• 2 tbsp cold butter

Save the New Jersey wines!

I just got some new information from UncorkNJ. It looks like another bill has been put forward to allow direct shipping to NJ and other state’s residents from wineries in and out of the state. The link in the information below will take you to a quick and easy website where you can make your opinion known. Please take a few minutes to ask for a fair shipping bill that will allow wineries to thrive and allow NJ consumers the freedom to have access to great wines. (If you’re unfamiliar with the wine shipping issue, please read State wineries are in jeopardy)

UNCORKNJ JOINS GARDEN STATE WINE GROWERS ASSOCIATION AND OTHERS TO URGE ASSEMBLY SPEAKER OLIVER AND DEPUTY SPEAKER WISNIEWSKI TO POST A-4303 NOW

IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED TO PRESERVE NJ’S RETAIL WINE OUTLETS AND PERMIT DIRECT SHIPPING FROM SMALL WINERIES TO NJ RESIDENTS

NJ’s Legislature will end its current legislative session on January 9, 2012 and time is short for the Legislature to act in favor of A-4303, legislation introduced recently by Deputy Speaker John Wisniewski. UnCorkNJ strongly supports Wisniewski’s bill, which will preserve NJ’s retail wine outlets, and bring direct shipping from small wineries to NJ residents.

UnCorkNJ calls on all of its thousands of supporters to take action now and request that A-4303 be included on the agenda for the next Assembly committee meeting. Let the legislative leadership know that you support NJ’s wine industry, and want to have the same ability as residents of 38 other states and have wine shipped from wineries to your residences.

NJ’s liquor lobby continues its opposition to A-4303, and is determined to never allow direct shipping from wineries to NJ residents. Over the past few months, NJ wine consumers have stood up to the liquor lobby and their voices have been heard by Speaker Oliver, Senate President Sweeney, and many other legislators. Despite the efforts of the liquor lobby to defeat the direct shipping legislation, momentum continues to build in our favor. UnCorkNJ again thanks Deputy Speaker Wisniewski and the long list of bi-partisan legislators for their support

Now is the time for the Legislature to stand with NJ’s wine industry and consumers and pass A-4303 now.

UnCorkNJ is again calling on its thousands of supporters to take action today and respectfully request that Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver post A-4303 for a committee vote as soon as possible. Please take a moment to share this email with your friends, family members, and colleagues and ask them to join you in contacting Speaker Oliver in support of A-4303.

Legislators are listening to the public, your voices are being heard, let’s keep up the effort and we will bring direct shipping to NJ residents this year!