Dill Pickle Cashews

I was cruising through Target looking for stocking stuffers that weren't sugar or chocolate, and happened upon DILL PICKLE CASHEWS. Love pickles, love cashews. 99 cents was quite a deal.

I did a walk-around with this very small bag of the Dill Pickle Cashews and offered them to about 20 people, and half opted to try a few. The other half made funny and/or scared faces.

The lowdown is that they're sweet, they're salty, they're sassy! You get the buttery cashew, and you get the snappy dill pickle, kind of a one-two punch. The bag size (SMALL) is important, this is not something to eat in bulk unless you cut the stock with regular cashews. For the people who tried them, we all liked them.

I think if you had to compare them to a similar snack food cousin, it's kind of like a salt and vinegar or a sour cream and onion potato chip feeling. Give them a try!

Raise your hand - who wants a hard roll with butter...

...you know who you are! Over breakfast today at the workplace, I again discovered that most people in New England have no idea why you'd want a bagel with cold butter on it. I discovered as I was talking to a fellow Jersey expatriot that it is a NJ area thing. We grew up on hard rolls (kaiser bun, bulkie roll) with butter, with many meals (or as a meal).

I would love someone to explain to me what the history of the hard roll with butter is, if you know it, please post! Meanwhile I found a humorous link on wiki highlighting the Cuisine of NJ, listing one of the dishes as a hard roll with butter. Here's another passionate blog post extolling the virtues of this sweet treat, calling it sacred.

Next time you find yourself in Jersey, do me a favor and pick one up somewhere. I promise, you'll enjoy it.

The Breakfast Billy, and I'm not talking an IKEA bookcase

Every so often you stumble across a bit of culinary genius. While down in Seaside Heights/Midway Beach New Jersey this past summer, we went into this little greasy spoon & bait/tackle shop combination for breakfast called Betty and Nick's. If you haven't noticed by now, I'm a huge fan of diners and little hole-in-the-wall places... Betty and Nick's is PERFECT.

Ambiance = A
The rods and reels hover over the patrons of the restaurant. The restaurant has an entrance to the bait and tackle shop for your day's deep sea fishing needs. We were at the last booth, so what you see here is pretty much the whole place.


Menu = A
This little sandwich from heaven is listed on the menu as The Billy, I believe, named after its creator who should be knighted. It's a hard roll (if you're from the NJ/NY/PA area, you know what this is) with eggs, cheese, pork roll, AND a hash brown. I ate half at breakfast, and half for lunch. Can you believe it, a hash brown on a breakfast sandwich? Now that is a man who knows what good food is. It's also helped me switch associations of "BILLY" from the strangely named IKEA bookcase series (which organizes your passions) over to a little heart attack sandwich (allowing me to eat my passions).

Tomato Pie, the God of Pizza

As most of you may know, pizza is my favorite food. I don't know how I managed to get through 40 something years of my life without eating Tomato Pie, especially growing up outside of Trenton NJ where it was invented. Blasphemous.

The first time I ever heard the word Tomato Pie was while I was playing at my Nana's house on Deerwood Drive. The neighbors across the street (The Bell's) asked me if I wanted some Tomato Pie (pronounced"tamayta"). Now, when you're 5 years old and are asked that question, you get this Ren & Stimpy Image of this bubbling deep pie crust with whole tomatoes bobbing up and down in this hot soupy filling. Well, at least that's what I saw, so I turned down the invitation. Maybe it was a good thing, I guess I wasn't ready for it and would never appreciate it like I do now.

Fast forward to my August summer vacation trip... my mother and her friend Lorraine drag me, my husband and my l'il daughter to Palermo's in Bordentown NJ. As DeLorenzo's is the most popular place to get Tomato Pie (Mom is not a fan of waiting or lines), instead we go to this BYOB hole-in-the-mini-strip-mall-wall. We order a plain Tomato Pie, and one with half mushrooms half pepperoni.

I have never eaten so much pizza in one sitting (a personal record!), with such enjoyment, marveling at every bite how amazingly sweet, salty, and perfect this food is. I am instantly transported back to the island of Capri, which was the only time I had ever eaten a "margarita" pizza THAT good, the best in my whole life. Words fail me, I'm reduced to tears in my eyes joy with a lot of "mmm"ing in all vocal scales. The crust is round, thin, cheese on first, tomatoes in chunks on top, then topping if necessary (not). I think the topping hides the sweet flavor of the Tomato Pie. I had to force myself to stop eating, it was THAT good.

The definition of Tomato Pie (why it's not exactly Pizza) is best represented from the City Dictionary (Trenton specific) as "Trenton's unique vision of a pizza pie, light on the cheese and heavy with big chunks of tomato drizzled with olive oil." A more in-depth story is posted in the last story of this blog for those who want to know the subtleties.

Next time you have the chance to order a Tomato Pie (there are several varieties depending on the state/city you get it in), please give it a shot. I welcome any references or stories about this deletable food that you have - please comment!

Foodgawker.com

Do not view this site if you are currently hungry:
http://foodgawker.com/

You Know It's A Bad Idea, But Somehow That's Not Enough

So... I'm at the supermarket looking for ice cream and I saw THIS: Edy's Limited Edition Root Beer Float ice cream. Essentially, I know it's going to be a mistake, but I NEED to get it. I figured there was about a 90% that I would be unable to finish a complete bowl without regretting it... yet I still bought it. (It actually turned out to be pretty good!)

It's like when you frequent the same place for lunch and no matter how many times you have to be reminded that you don't like the steak sub there, you find yourself ordering it again and again because you WANT it to be good. Or when you see a commercial for food that you don't even like, but somehow your brain begins to crave it.

Your brain may lie to you, but
your taste buds will not.

A Dear John letter to Dark Chocolate

Dear Dark Chocolate,

How many years has it been? I think my love for you started back as a kid, when I had the easter basket with all kinds of chocolates in it. Pirate coins, cadbury eggs, bunnies, Pez, you name it. At some point though, you stood out, you caught my eye, teased my palette. Wrapped around coconut, flavored with orange, straight up, it was always so sinfully divine.

Granted, there is that long-standing agreement you and I have with WHITE chocolate which I'm so glad you're OK with, but honestly I did not see this one coming. I have fallen in love. I don't know how it started, maybe because you weren't available and I had no other option. Then when I had the option, I chose Milk Chocolate over you.

I have been in denial for months. I thought maybe it was a phase? So, I went back to you - and you know what? You're bitter. I think I need someone sweeter right now.

I know you're upset, but you know what? I don't know how long this will last. Life is funny that way. There will always be a special part in my heart for you. I hope to see you around again.

Love always,
Dawn