bubbledog blog

hot dog johnny

Each summer, I try to have a lunch at Hot Dog Johnny's in Buttzville, NJ and today was the day for the summer of '09.  When I was a kid, my parents would take my brothers and I there as a special treat.  I always loved it because you ate outside, there were swings on the premises, and you drank birch beer out of icy mugs.  Today I enjoy it for almost all the same reasons (not so much the swings anymore) and for the added nostalgic trip down memory lane. It's one of those places that is untouched by time and, for me, it's like being 12 years old again every time I go.  The hot dogs are awesome and if you ever get to go, you need to get them "with" which means with mustard, onions, and a pickle.

things that make you go mmmmmm....

Did you ever make what seems to be the perfect dinner?  We just had some family over for dinner and everything went really well.  The dinner turned out great... it was tasty, light, and refreshing - the perfect outdoor meal.  The desserts, though not homeade, were scrumptuous and I am still thinking about eating some more.  What did we have, you ask...

Lemon Feta Pasta Salad, recipe care of Epicurious
Circassian Chicken, recipe care of Simply Recipes
Green Salad with "Fullproof Vinaigrette" care of Cook's Illustrated

I can't take credit for finding the recipes or for doing the cooking (much thanks to my better half for all of that), but I did find time to take some pictures and for doing the blogging, so I get a little credit.  Oh, and I cut the bread too :)

Recently, my friend Laura discovered Crumbs Bake Shop in Westfield, NJ.  This morning, we went and picked up some delicious and, may I add, HUGE cupcakes.  I got the Coconut, Artie Lange, Twinkie, and Hostess cupcakes.  They were really good - perfect, moist cake with icing that was sweet, but not too sweet.  Highly recommended!

sweet avenue

My friend Laura made the long drive from our home town in western NJ to the Sweet Avenue Bake Shop in northern NJ today and brought me home the above box of goodies.  Let me tell you, these are some GOOD vegan cupcakes!  I want to try and savor them and make them last, but the sexy sadie (red velvet) and the old skool have already moved from inside their pink box to inside my belly.  They were delicious - especially the old skool which was A-MAZING!  I am curious to see how long the snowball (coconut) and the jet black (chocolate on chocolate on chocolate) will last into the day tomorrow.  Check out their website and set your mouth to drool!

endulging in some tasty cuban food

Just a quick cell phone blog from sunny Florida. I'm enjoying the warm weather, the clear blue water, and the tasty food. I can never resist a good Cuban sandwich... here is a delicious example from El Siboney Restaurant. It was amazing!

martine's river house

 
I took my parents out for dinner tonight for a belated Father's Day celebration.  My father requested going to Martine's in New Hope, PA.  For anyone that hasn't been there, New Hope is a really quaint town that is part artist colony and part tourist mecca.  Over the years, it has grown in popularity and seems to attract more and more people.  Sitting right along the Delaware River, it is a nice scenic town to spend the day walking, shopping, and eating.

Martine's was really great... everyone was pleased with their meal (that's no small wonder).  My parents have lived in that area for 20 years and I can't believe I have never eaten there before.  They have a beautiful deck that sits on the river and it was the perfect place to be eating on the first nice night we have had in a couple of weeks!    What did we have, you ask...

I had the Pork Medallions (Hatfield Prime Reserve medallions marinated in ginger and sesame, topped with apricot glaze, served with sweet potato fries and wasabi aïoli), my father ordered Farfalle Pasta (Tossed with sun dried tomato flavored sausage and braised escarole in a white wine and tomato caper sauce with Pecorino-Romano), and my mother and grandmother both chose the Salmon (Pesto topped and slow roasted, served with a yellow pepper and shellfish sauce, rice pilaf and asparagus).

If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend it!

craving cupcakes

   

After spotting a mouth-watering picture of some cupcakes on my friend Laura's flickr account, I gradually became more and more obsessed with getting those very same cupcakes into my belly.  It was a kind of mind numbing compulsion that had me in my car heading to the town of Easton without remembering to take the name or address of the bakery in question... I just thought my need for cupcakes would lead me to the correct address.  Well, I was wrong and found myself lost in Easton, PA.   Thanks to my trusty cellphone, my futile search became a successful venture with a phone call to Laura (name = Easton Baking Company) and some google address seaching courtesy of my parents (address = 34 North 7th Street).  For what it lacks in ambience, the Easton Baking Company makes up for in taste and price.  It's a little place in the middle of an old residential neighborhood that looks like it could have been there since the 1950s (and without much modification).  The workers were greeting most of the customers by name and I was overwhelmed with the choices of baked goodness.  I ended up getting three cupcakes, two cannolis, a loaf of Italian bread, and some cookies for $5.65!  I am definitely going back to this place... everything was really good!

...and speaking of cupcakes, I just noticed that my friend Amy is sponsoring a contest on her blog for one of her amazing cupcake bracelets.  You should definitely go check it out because all you have to do is post a comment on the giveaway post to be entered in a contest to win one of these beauties!   

 

pizza frita

After reading a post on my friend Maria's blog about doughnut muffins, I spent the last week gradually developing an obsession: doughnut muffins - to - doughnuts - to - homeade doughnuts - to - other desserts I could deep fry - and then eventually landing on fried pizza dough (pizza frita).  Every once and a while when I was a kid, my parents would make it and I really remember loving it.  Basically, you take bits of pizza dough, deep fry it in oil, roll it around in sugar, and then eat it while it's still nice and warm.  It's pretty simple and it's pretty amazing! 

With some phoned-in help from my father, I attempted to make some pizza frita last night.  The hardest part was getting the oil to be the right temperature.  When I started, I had the oil too hot so the first few looked like a potato, had a rock hard shell, and were still raw dough on the inside (yuck).  After allowing the oil to cool a bit, things started to come together.  When you drop the dough in the oil, it puffs up a bit and starts to float at the top.  When it turns light golden brown, you remove it and let the oil drain on some paper towels.  After a minute or so, roll it around in some sugar and eat it while it is still warm. 

We mixed it up and tried some dipped in sugar, some in powdered sugar, and some in cinnamon sugar. 

 

hill country

I met a friend of mine in New York to spend the day catching up with each while also trying to do a little post holiday shopping.  As with any day spent in my company, the priority always seems to quickly become deciding where to eat.  When it came to lunch, my friend suggested going to a barbeque restaurant called Hill Country.  It was a great little place with good food and a lot of character.  It's like a hip barbeque joint set up in cafeteria style where you go around to different stations and order your meat, sides, and drinks. 

I opted for a barbequed beef sandwich with sides of cucumber salad and macoroni and cheese.  We also decided to split a side of cornbread which was quite good.  My only regret... the ribs (which I didn't have) looked absolutely AMAZING!  

     

pizzagaina

Once a year for Easter, my grandmother bakes everyone in the family a traditional Italian Easter pie called pizzagaina.  It is quite scrumptious and has absolutely no fat... yeah, right!  It is basically a pie with all sorts of Italian meats and cheeses baked inside.  You can see a picture on the left of my first slice for 2008 - yummy!  My parents prefer it warmed, but I like it at room temperature where it is nice and cakey solid.  I really love it, but it is SO rich that it works out perfectly as a once a year treat!

"a harvest of holiday delights"

While thumbing through some old craft magazines to get some ideas (and some laughs), I happened upon this old Rice Krispies ad.  And wouldn't you know it was just a few days late too, otherwise I could have presented my family with this cornucopia o' krispies treats.  The Chocolate Marshmallow Krisps don't look too bad, but the Date Nut Balls are not winning me over.  The ad is dated 1982, but these recipes could be current for all I know (I haven't bought Rice Krispies in forever).  The more I am typing this, the more I am getting in the mood for some straight up Rice Krispies Treats... I might be making a grocery run tomorrow morning!