Jersey Girl Cafe

The Hamilton Squares at the Jersey Girl Cafe in Hamilton, NJ made the pleasure centers of mah brain light up like Christmas ornaments. Rice Krispie treats with peanut butter cups, a layer of peanut butter and smothered in chocolate. Oh mamma!

For lunch I had an excellent Brie turkey pannini with berry mayo. The berries were just the right amount of sweet and balanced perfectly with the savory turkey and creamy cheese. Bread was grilled just enough for a satisfying crunch. I hate when the bread is so hard it makes the sandwich filling squish out on the first bite. Not the case here - it was pannini nirvana.

Check out this fun and tasty spot. Unless you don't like good food, fair prices and excellent service that is. In that case - stop reading my blog!

- DK

Go Naked!

A miracle has happened. My junk food loving family is eating something good for them. Something I can eat even when I'm not having a cheat meal.

There's less than 2 dozen locations and we're lucky enough to have one in our town. The crust is a mix of 10 grains and seeds - cheese is part skim and toppings are hormone & antibiotic free. And it tastes good! It's not just my foodie nutball self who thinks so, my picky 6 year old and meat lovin' hubby like it too. It's not exactly the same flavor as the local pizzerias, more like an artisan crust in a trendy high end place. But affordable.

The whole ad campaign of "Go Naked" is a lot of fun too. They have it on T shirts and those rubber bracelets. Of course, my daughter was delighted they were giving the bracelets away for free so she has several different colored pieces of rubber that say "go naked". Can't wait for that call home from school.

Anyway, if a Naked Pizza opens near you, give 'em a try. It's nice to see a reinvention of a standard and if we foodies don't support innovative concepts like this, all we'll be left with is more hockey puck fast food burgers. {shudder}

My new favorite toy!

I love this salt and pepper grinder from Crate & Barrel! It's so rare I find something that is exactly what I want it to be. I knew I wanted a device that not only ground peppercorns but salt too. It had to be electric so it could be used one handed with the "clean" hand while cooking. Adjustable grind size and and easy to refill would be great bonuses.

This little baby delivers every on every one of those details. AND the adjustable grind is a dial, not a click so it adjusts to the exact size needed. I replaced the white sea salt that came in it with Himalyan pink salt from Trader Joes. Oh, the way the pink salt tastes on popcorn...

  

I had been looking for a grinder like this for a while and didn't notice it on the top shelf of the kitchen gadgety section of the store. I'm 5'4 and top shelves thwart me on a regular basis. But my hubby at 6' has no such issues and is an all too willing lackey in my foodventures.

The black part is rubbery so it's non slip and all I have to do it push the silver tab on top one way for salt and the other way for pepper. It's like I've died and gone to a perfectly seasoned heaven.

-DK