Jersey Exploration: Sweet Waters Steak House

In the spirit of blogging honesty, we will admit that we are catching up on a few entries this week to make sure that our food adventures of the year are still marked "2018" even if the exact date was embarrassingly long ago.  As you can tell from our clothes, it was still warm out when we visited Sweet Waters Steak House in Westfield for the first time.  This post has been sitting in the "edit" queue for a while!  But we did have a lovely afternoon lunch there, and it was worth noting before the year closes.

The atmosphere in this place strikes a nice balance: homey and welcoming, but a step above super casual dining.  Just right for a special meal that doesn't feel too stuffy.

We decided to split two appetizers and one main course so we could sample a few different flavors.

NUESKE'S SLAB BACON

Pan Seared, Maple Glaze

CRAB CAKE

Colossal Crab Meat, Bell Pepper, Scallion, Lemon Zest, Honey Dijon, Arugula,

Goat Cheese, Toasted Almonds, Champagne Vinaigrette

FILET MIGNON

Served with One Side (we chose creamed spinach)

All the dishes were delightful!  Exactly what you'd hope for in a local steakhouse.  We would certainly recommend it!

Thanksgiving: Turkey a la Grill Master

This year's Thanksgiving meal was pretty epic because... ROTISSERIE TURKEY HAPPENED!  Yes, you read that right.  Grill Master DJ cooked the turkey with our grill's rotisserie and it was AMAZING.

We did the usual brining process the night before, and then carefully secured the turkey to the rotisserie pole to make sure the wings weren't flapping down with each turn.

 

DJ gets a lot of credit for his determination because the weather that day was a bit dreadful.  No snow or rain, but the windchill factor made it feel like sub-zero at times.  He equipped himself with a good puffy vest and a nip of whiskey in his groomsman flask from Josh.

 

All was going according to plan until DJ looked out the window and noticed smoke was no longer streaming out from the wood chips.  

 

When he went to investigate, he discovered that the wind had actually blown out the fire.  Ummmm... yeah.... we hadn't accounted for that in any of the planning.  After a moment of panic and wondering whether we'd have to stick the turkey in the oven after all, we recruited some creative help from Toto and the two of them created a MacGyver hack to save the day: 

A random piece of plywood, some cinder blocks, and the grill cover created a tent to block the wind from the flames and we were back in business.  Though it took a bit longer than anticipated, it was definitely worth the wait!  The turkey was juicy and had a wonderfully smoky grilled flavor.  

 

We hope that we'll always be able to use this method to prepare our turkey, but now also learned the lesson that if it's a windy day we'll have to stick to the oven to minimize stress.

And as for the rest of the meal, we went with traditional sides.  We tried to use recipes that were simple to prepare the day before so on the actual Thanksgiving Day we just had to reheat everything so we could focus on the turkey.  These all wound up being a hit!

• Easy Creamy Mashed Potatoes
• Crazy Good Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese
• Slow Roasted Green Beans with Sage 
• "Simple is Best" Dressing (Thanksgiving stuffing)

After a few years of hit-or-miss Thanksgiving meals, we were really pleased with how everything came together this time around.  Holiday victory!

Crockpot Turkey Pumpkin Chili

One of our go-to food blogs is Table for Two.  When we're bored of everything we normally make, it's one of the first places we check for some fresh ideas.  During a recent cold spell, Mel was searching for some great slow cooker soups and this one caught her eye:  Crockpot Turkey Pumpkin Chili.

This recipe hit all the marks for a good crock pot recipe for us: minimal prep work, maximum flavor.  It even looks yummy before it's cooked! 

We wound up sharing some with DJ's parents, and they enjoyed it as well.  Definitely will keep this recipe in our collection for cold weather comfort food.

Slow-Scrambling Eggs from Chrissy Teigen's Cravings 2

Though Mel has been taking a step back from social media lately, one of her favorite celebrities to follow has always been Chrissy Teigen.  We tried a few recipes from her first cookbook, Cravings, and enjoyed them.  So when Cravings 2 was released, Mel treated herself to the purchase to enjoy some fun new recipe ideas alongside Teigen's trademark witty write-ups.

Cravings 2 has tons of great savory dishes to try, but interestingly enough the first thing we wound up trying was a side-bar tip for Slow Scrambling Eggs.

It's a simple, straight-forward technique that just requires a bit of patience.

On a morning when one has the extra time, it is quite fun to watch the eggs slowly come together.

And the end result is indeed delicious.  The eggs are fluffy and flavorful.  Definitely a technique we will continue to use when we're enjoying a leisurely breakfast.