Packet Magazine April 2015

PMfineliving.com

April 2015

Dinner is Served

When it comes to restaurants, Hopewell is happening

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April 2015

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That Personal Touch: Visiting area boutiques

Breaking Bread for a Cause: Trinity Church’s One Table Cafe

Spruce Up for Spring: Making things pretty at home

On the Cover: From left: Aaron Philipson of the Blue Bottle Café, Will Mooney of The Brothers Moon and Tom Grim of Nomad Pizza are three of the culinary masters who have made Hopewell a major dining destination. See Bernadette Suski-Harding’s story on Page 17. Cover photo by Phil McAuliffe. | Packet Magazine | April 2015

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Contributing Writers KEITH LORIA SALLY STANG STEPHANIE VACCARO PATRICK WALSH NICOLE M. WELLS

PHIL MCAULIFFE Staff Photographer

JOE KANASKA MINERVA TRINIDAD Art & Design LET US KNOW! Packet Magazine welcomes your feedback, suggestions and story ideas about notable people and places, trendy hot spots and upcoming events happening in the Princeton area.

Contact us: E-mail: astoeckert@centraljersey.com Mail: 300 Witherspoon St., Princeton, NJ 08540 Telephone: 609-874-2159 © 2015 the Princeton Packet Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by Packet Media Group 300 Witherspoon St. Princeton, NJ 08540 To advertise: 609-874-2193 pmfineliving.com

| Packet Magazine | April 2015

What’s New Read all about the area’s latest happenings

By Keith Loria

Springing Into Fresh Ideas

Small World Coffee is now offering food selections, such as a burrito featuring kale, egg and guacamole.

Small World Coffee Expands To Lunch People in the area know when they want a great cup of coffee, all they need to do is hop into one of Small World Coffee’s locations, sit down and enjoy a relaxing escape. Now, one can enjoy some lunch as well at Small World’s Nassau Street café, located at 254 Nassau St. “We have been offering a short made-to order breakfast menu at the Nassau location since it opened in 2006. Our Pile Driver egg-andbacon sandwich and our breakfast burrito have been very popular,” says Jessica Durrie, owner of Small World Coffee. “A lot of customers were asking us to extend our hours for our grill menu, so it made sense to add some lunch items.”

Matt Poles, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, was hired as chef, and he’s brought a philosophy that fits well with Small World Café: “good food need not be fussy; all it requires is the right combination of a few quality ingredients.”

“Matt has a lot of great ideas for the food we offer and he understands our style of service and the need for the menu offerings to match

our quick service,” Ms. Durrie says. “He believes that it is best to use great ingredients in simple combinations to bring out the most flavor.

He is also great at training our kitchen staff to consistently create high-quality dishes.”

The kitchen now offers a made-to-order grill menu serving from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with lunch offerings that include a pulled pork lunch burrito and a sweet potato and kale lunch burrito with a variety of house-made toppings (such as its “Raisin Hell” salsa, house-made guacamole, citrus slaw, and honey chipotle sauce).

“It is just pure and simple food that is nourishing and tastes good made by people who care,” Ms. Durrie says. “We have a wonderful symbiotic relationship with Nassau Street Seafood and the Blue Point Grill. Since our business is primarily daytime and their business is primarily nighttime, the outdoor seating area has become a hub of local neighborhood activity from morning to night creating a wonderful retail ecosystem.” pmfineliving.com |

The Look of Lavender Looking for a special gift for Mother’s Day, an anniversary or just something to brighten up your home? If so, the Hidden Spring Lavender Farm in Skillman is the perfect place to go.

“We opened for a short time last year, and we’re adding more plants and products and are expanding our business for 2015,” says owner Steve Voorhees. The store will have its grand opening April 25 and be open initially weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The store, located at 890 Route 601, is owned by Steve and Marie Voorhees, who have boarded horses and grown hay at Dream Valley Stables LLC since 2003. The couple started planting lavender in 2013 in fields not suitable for growing hay. Their first batch consisted of six varieties of lavender totaling 2,000 plants. The couple restored a cow barn on the farm into a shop, and added a copper still to distill lavender oils.

“We decided to open a shop to sell lavender and related products,” Ms. Voorhees says. “There aren’t many lavender stores in the area and this type of product, flower and farm are unique to the area.”

The store offers items for aromatherapy, dream pillows, silk creams, oils, wreaths, bouquets and gift baskets.

“All unique items that you won’t find anywhere else,” Ms. Voorhees says. “You may find something similar at Bed, Bath & Beyond, but it doesn’t have 100 percent essential lavender oil in it, and it’s just not the same.”

Today, the couple has nearly two acres of land devoted to lavender and in 2015 will add an additional 1,800 plants.

Looking ahead, Ms. Voorhees says the store will eventually sell special Christmas holiday products, and adds that the store may expand its hours.

“We have great gifts for moms, grandmothers and even dads,” she says. “Our gifts are hand-made and are as unique as we can be with lavender.”

For more information, visit hiddenspringlavender.com.

Hidden Spring Lavender Farm offers dream pillows, silk creams, oils, gift baskets and more.

| Packet Magazine | April 2015

Nursing Home Coming to Lawrenceville A contemporary approach to nursing home living, based on the Green House model developed by Dr. Bill Thomas, is headed to the area with the opening of Morris Hall Meadows at Lawrenceville.

According to Darlene Hanley, president and CEO of Morris Hall Meadows at Lawrenceville, the nursing home embraces three core values: a meaningful life, empowered staff, and a real home.

“This is a new way for providing long-term care services to seniors. We wanted to give more options to people in our community,” she says. “This is a very evidence-based but different model of care, de-institutionalizing nursing home care.”

Morris Hall Meadows says that its residents will live in “real” homes, which offer privacy and comfort not Morris Hall Meadows promises its residents will have a real home when it opens in June. usually found in traditional nursing home settings. There are 10 single-level homes with private bed-and-bath suites overlooking important,” Ms. Hanley says. “The care team devotes themselves to knowing each individual and their families with the aim of providing the landscaped grounds.

“The model is centered around the elder in the home really having the utmost care and attention.”

Morris Hall Meadows’s philosophy encourages multi-generational a lot of independence to set the rhythm of their day,” Ms. Hanley says.

“We focus on community, compassion and comfort for every individual, exposure, so it’s child friendly and supports the idea of parties and in an environment that provides outstanding physical and emotional festivities with the family.

Additionally, residents will have access to a vast array of services, support, and spiritual care.”

Residents will start their day whenever they like, get served breakfast further complemented by the therapy resources of St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center. on their timetable and control the pace of the day.

Morris Hall Meadows at Lawrenceville is scheduled to open this June.

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What’s In Store Where to buy and what to buy

By Nicole M. Wells Photos by Mark Czajkowski

That Personal Touch Make a visit to an area boutique during your next shopping spree

W

Necessities for the Heart owner Georgette Keenan in her Bordentown City location.

hether you’re searching for that on-trend accessory, or looking for something distinctly original, there’s sure to be something in store for everyone at these area boutiques.

Reminiscent of a bygone era, the iron rings hanging from the front of the steps outside Flutter Boutique in Pennington (20 South Main Street, Pennington, 609-737-2236) recall the days of horse-drawn carriages, as they invite you to tie up a parking space with your modern-day horsepower and be inspired by fashion.

Bathed in cool neutrals with occasional pops of color, the interior of Flutter sparkles with a glittering array of jewelry, as its fashion racks wrap you in texture and the words of influential women paint bold strokes across the walls.

Store Owner Linda Martin says Flutter is as much about dressing up the outsides of women as it is about caring for their insides.

“As much as I love fashion, I wanted it (the store) to be a platform for doing other things,” Ms. Martin says. “My passion is really supporting and celebrating women, in terms of how they feel about themselves, their self-esteem, building their confidence.”

Mothers and daughters can visit the store together and can each find something for their individual styles, as the store stocks merchandise for women from 16 to 60-plus, Ms. Martin says.

Having previously lived in Pennington, Ms. Martin says she has always loved the historic house Flutter calls home.

With floorboards original to the house, and a now decorative fireplace dominating one wall, the house’s history has been preserved and augmented by Flutter’s light and airy décor.

“The atmosphere is very relaxed, it’s very comfortable, it’s not pressure to sell,” Ms. Martin says. “In fact, to the contrary: I tell every associate who works in the store (that) we’re here to help people if they want our help. To assist them, not to sell.”

Before she decided to open her own store, Ms. Martin worked pmfineliving.com | 11

Step into Necessities for the Heart to find out what boutiques are all about.

in human resources for The Children’s Place and Macy’s department stores.

Free gift wrapping and free alterations are some of the extra touches that Flutter offers, and Ms. Martin has been known to deliver merchandise to customers who are unable to pick it up in person.

With its three-year anniversary coming in June, the emphasis on old-fashioned customer service seems to be working well for the store.

“Everyone has a story I believe, their own story to tell,” Ms. Martin says. “I want people to come in and to feel good and comfortable and enjoy the shopping experience.”

The boutique was also named Business of the Year in January by the Pennington Economic Development Commission.

“We don’t have boutique prices and we don’t have a boutique attitude here,” Ms. Martin says. “And customers really appreciate that.”

However fashion speaks to you, there’s a Necessities for the Heart to help with the translation, according to Owner Georgette Keenan.

Ms. Keenan owns three NFTH stores — in Allentown, Point Pleasant Beach and in Bordentown City — each of which caters to a different clientele.

While the Allentown store has a more eclectic feel to it and Point Pleasant Beach is frequented by more corporate types, the Bordentown store (204 Farnsworth Avenue, Bordentown, 609-298-0664, www.necessitiesfortheheart.com) is designed to appeal more to the SoHo set.

“It’s been such an amazing experience for me,” Ms. Keenan says, sitting in her Bordentown store. “I’ve always been in retail and when I decided to open my own store, I opened in Allentown in a 350-square-foot room selling tea and tea pots.”

After 12 years at home, raising her two children, Ms. Keenan says she recognized that she was in danger of becoming a socalled “helicopter mom” and opened her first store to get out of the house.

Initially calling the company Wisteria, after her mother’s favorite vine, Ms. Keenan says the name holds special meaning for her.

“I grew up dying for that Wisteria tree to bloom so we could 12 | Packet Magazine | April 2015

have tea under it,” she says. “But after I did more research on it, I found out that it (Wisteria) means a hardy, beautiful vine and I said, ‘That’s what I want for my business! I want it to be beautiful but I want it to be hardy, I want it to have substance.’”

As the women’s accessories took over and the tea and home décor began to take a backseat, the Wisteria imprint faded into Necessities for the Heart.

Stopping by her favorite specialty store at age 15, to ask if she could sweep the sidewalks, Ms. Keenan has been working in retail ever since.

“I just am so lucky I found my niche early,” she says. “It’s never the same day after day. The fact that you can be creative in a quirky kind of way really can work to your benefit.”

Small business always depends on local community support, but it’s all the more important for Necessities for the Heart, with the juggernaut of online shopping as competition.

“I don’t know what we would do without the community support that we get,” Ms. Keenan says. “You can’t put a price tag on the feeling that you get from the people who make the difference.”

In addition to her customers, who make the difference between being in the red and being in the black, Ms. Keenan says she also depends on the 23 people she employs across her three stores.

“You can’t have three stores and not depend on your team,” she says. “I’ve just been so fortunate over the years. It makes a big difference when I can walk away.”

Being a small-business owner means you can develop relationships with customers. Unlike with larger stores, the smaller nature of the business allows for a level of personalization and familiarity that can transcend generations.

“Some of my customers I remember walking in holding their mother’s hand and now they’re driving up with kids of their own. It’s unbelievable.” Ms. Keenan says. “This is what keeps an independent shopkeeper going.”

Blazing a trail through the boutique scene in the late 1990s, Ms. Keenan says that her company brought two brands together in a way that hadn’t been done before.

“Back then, we were pioneers because you either were countryish gifts — Vera Bradley — or you were a little more jewelry, pishy-poshy — Brighton,” she says. “You very rarely saw Vera

Top: The perfect bag is sure to be found at Botari. Bottom: Find a fun and colorful bag at Botari in Princeton.

Left & Middle Top: Clothing and jewelry are for sale at Flutter. Middle Bottom: Looking for jewelry? A boutique such as Necessities for the Heart might have just what you’re looking for. Right: Flutter owner Linda Martin in her store in Pennington.

and Brighton in the same store.”

Belied by its architecturally classic facade, Botari (63 Palmer Square West, Princeton, 609-430-3031) is a kaleidoscopic experience of colorfully unusual fun that is anything but square.

Stepping into the shop, one can’t help but note the novelty of rubber chicken purses sharing brightly lit shelf space with designer handbags in the Princeton University colors of black and orange.

“We try to pick something that’s a little different or a little unique,” Store Manager Kelly Jung says. “I know everybody has Michael Kors but when we order Michael Kors, we try to order something department stores and other stores wouldn’t have.”

A 2007 graduate of Rutgers University, with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering, Ms. Jung says she discovered after graduating that she wasn’t cut out for a career in the biomedical engineering field.

“I’m such a people person,” she says. “I hate sitting in the lab and counting how many cells. I couldn’t stand my cubicle, so, not for me.”

With her mother’s toy store Morning Glory already established in the Princeton business community, Ms. Jung says serendipity came calling in the form of vacant real estate, while she was trying to plan her next move.

“There was an empty store next to my mom’s toy store so my mom was like, ‘Kelly, why don’t you open a store?’” she says.

“That’s how it all started.”

Taking her mother’s advice, Ms. Jung launched women’s clothing boutique Niko Niko on Nassau Street.

At 3 years old, Botari is a direct offshoot of Niko Niko and owes its existence to the success of its parent boutique.

“Niko Niko was getting so crowded because we had clothing, we had bags, we had everything,” Ms. Jung says. “So we were like, ‘Maybe we need a purse shop.’”

An only child who came over from South Korea in the ninth

grade to study, Ms. Jung says her mother couldn’t stand the distance between them and slowly moved to the U.S. to be closer to her. When asked what she enjoys most about the boutique, Ms. Jung says, “I’m learning something new every day and it’s just fun.”

Though the tiny space permits limited additions, Botari will soon be stocking more luggage, Ms. Jung says, pointing out a luggage set that was Italian-designed and Japanese named. The company that makes it is based in California.

Botari focuses on purses because having a great bag can instantly turn simply shabby into downright chic, Ms. Jung says.

“A purse can be a statement piece, like shoes too,” she says.

“Even though you’re wearing your dress for $20, if you can find a nice purse, you can always make the whole look really nice.”

Always connecting with customers, Ms. Jung says that her choices about what merchandise to carry in the store are based on customer recommendations.

Of course, a little local pride never hurt anybody either.

“What I like about Princeton is they try to shop local,” Ms. Jung says. “A lot of nice customers come in and support our business.”

Other boutiques in the area include Kiki D’s at Village Shoppes at Montgomery in Skillman (1378 Route 206, Skillman, 609430-4600, www.kikidresses.com), which offers special event and formal occasion dresses, as well as wedding party wear and accessories, such as shoes and handbags, according to the boutique’s website.

A favorite among celebrity parents, children’s boutique Toobydoo has stores across the county, including one in Palmer Square (59 Palmer Square West, Princeton, 609-430-8300, www.toobydoo.com). The company designs for babies, boys and girls, with the guiding principles being design, function and fun.

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14 | Packet Magazine | April 2015

Favorite Things Hey, where’d you get that?

By Sally Stang

Stepping Into Spring Let sleeping dogs lie

Fun for owl

Unique droolery store

I grew up in a family that loved dogs.

My mother spoiled our first puppy to a ridiculous degree — I don’t think Lucky’s feet touched the ground for the first six months. Mom cooked chicken livers for his dinner and threw him birthday parties and humiliated him when she made him wear a sweater in the cold.

Lucky’s only restriction was my mother’s expensive couch. Going on that couch was verboten! (Actually, I was not allowed on it either.) Our dog would stare at her from the throw rug near her feet, but no amount of plaintive “puppy dog eyes” would change her mind. However, if Mom had seen this cute rug by Laura Megroz, she would surely have bought it for him to assuage her guilt. This durable Sweet Dreams rug, featuring a snoozing black lab, is 31 inches, hand-hooked, non-slip, and made from 100 percent New Zealand wool.

Friends kept telling me “This store is so you, Sally.” If by “you,” they meant funky, eclectic and flea market-y, they were right.

When I walked into Ebb in Hopewell, I was immediately smitten. I saw great jewelry, feathers, shells, botanical prints and so much more, all jammed together in cluttery, eye-catching displays.

Ebb also carries a variety of Laura Zindel’s ceramic platters, vases, cups, pitchers covered with fabulous flora and fun fauna, like these cute owls. She also illustrates deer, squirrels, birds, rabbits, roosters, sea creatures, fruit and vegetables, snakes and bugs — just about every creature you can think of.

All of these illustrations are in blackon-white ceramic backgrounds. These are functional works of art and need to be treated with care. Hand-wash only, no microwaving.

I love to drool over jewelry! One day, while walking around Hopewell, I wandered into a captivating jewelry store called Beth Ann Designs. Instead of Seminary Avenue, I misread the name of the street as “Serendipity Avenue” which I thought, later, was… well, serendipitous!

What a happy surprise this store is. The talented jeweler, Beth Ann Judge, not only creates all the stunning earrings, pendants, necklaces and bracelets sitting inside the cases, but can whip up any design you have in mind, with hundreds of loose gem and semi-precious stones to choose from. Beth Ann also works in gold, silver, copper, enamels and tries not to repeat her designs. She always adds a bit of serendipity to her work too, something “extra” — a tiny accent gem, for instance — which is what makes her work so special.

Blue Raccoon

Ebb

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20 Seminary Ave., Hopewell 609-466-6467; bethannjudge.com

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A Sleepy Little Borough with a Big Appetite With plenty of wonderful dining spots, Hopewell is the place where people eat and meet

By Bernadette Suski-Harding Photos by Phil McAuliffe

From left: Will Mooney of The Brothers Moon, Aaron Philipson of the Blue Bottle Café and Tom Grim of Nomad Pizza have helped to create Hopewell’s restaurant row.

F

ourteen years ago, when Chef Will Mooney opened The Brothers Moon, he took a major leap of faith investing in a sleepy little town.

There were two pizza places then (Sansone’s, which is now Antimo’s, and Vincenzo’s/Franco’s), a pub (Hopewell Valley Bistro & Inn) and a breakfast place (Rose and Chubby’s). Two miles up the hill, in the township, was Hillbilly Hall. That was all.

Chef Will’s new restaurant, at the center of the borough, near the intersection of Broad Street and Greenwood Avenue, would be the first of its kind, with a farm-to-table menu created around ingredients that were, for the most part, locally sourced.

“It was scary and exciting. Risky. But, I believed it to be a sure thing,” he says.

His gamble paid off, earning him a nickname, the Godfather of Hopewell. Today, Hopewell is “quite a happening place. It’s not sleepy Mayberry anymore,” Chef Will says. There are art galleries and specialty shops (children’s toys and books, handmade

jewelry, antiques and more), and clustered mostly along Broad Street, a United Nations of eclectic eateries — 16 and counting — that’s come to be known, informally, as Restaurant Row.

The Brothers Moon: Wholesome Food, Locally Sourced Even as a boy, Will Mooney had a refined palate. His father, an actor in NYC, often brought home goodies (scones, meats and cheeses), and the basement of their East Brunswick home was almost never without a stock of homemade sausage, thanks to a family friend with a pig farm. His mother, an opera singer, performed with a company in Austria, so Chef Will and his brother spent their first three birthdays in Vienna and Graz.

Maybe it was the exposure to international flavors at such a young age, or to the unbeatable freshness of home-grown vegetables cultivated by his dad, or the fact that his mother cooks a mean meat sauce that he still asks for today, and his dad pmfineliving.com | 17

Photos courtesy of The Brothers Moon.

From left: Hopewell’s restaurant scene began to take off when Will Mooney opened The Brothers Moon in 2000. Mr. Mooney’s food and the design vision of his wife, Beth Ann Judge, helped make the restaurant the success it is.

a chicken paprikash, but if there’s one thing Chef Will knows, and loves, and wouldn’t want to live without, it’s food.

Beets were a mainstay of his dad’s garden, and found their way into Belgian endive salad, which Chef Will always loved, and eventually rediscovered at a café in Boulder, Colorado, where his parents now live. A variation is on his menu, alongside his alltime favorite first course, a goat cheese and caramelized onion tart served with an arugula salad with balsamic vinaigrette.

We’re snacking on a warm platter of the tart as we chat in the dining room before the evening rush. Chef Will, as his staff and patrons address him, has a direct manner and an easy way of speaking. He is confident in his ability as a chef, but not cocky.

We’ve only just met, and the conversation flows easily, jumping from topic to topic the way good friends might. There’s a lot of laughter.

As we share the tart — which is fabulous, by the way — I learn that with the exception of brief stints pumping gas and delivering paint, cooking is all he’s ever done, all he’s ever wanted to do.

He lives three blocks from the restaurant, in a home he and his jeweler wife, Beth Ann Judge (proprietor of Beth Ann Designs), bought 19 years ago. She too is a fabulous cook, Chef Will says, and a brilliant designer. The dining room’s new look — contemporary and organic — is her doing. She sanded and stained the wood paneling in complementary shades of brown, and fashioned the metal light fixtures from sheet trays left behind when a previous tenant, a bagel baker, went out of business.

But it’s the menu that grabs me. Changed six to nine times a year, to incorporate whatever’s fresh at the farms (about 90 percent of what Chef Will uses comes from local farms, which keep him well supplied from the end of April through the beginning of December), the menu might, during peach season for example, feature peach gazpacho, grilled peaches and chicken, or peach buckle.

18 | Packet Magazine | April 2015

There’s no shortage of ideas. After a quarter-century in the kitchens of top restaurants on both coasts, Chef Will has finetuned a couple thousand recipes.

And still (still!) he’ll take suggestions from diners. If a patron isn’t grabbed by what’s offered on the menu that day, the wait staff knows to suggest using the menu as an inspiration board and come up with the right combination of ingredients.

He’s already thinking about the spring menu, which will likely feature asparagus, fiddlehead ferns and baby leeks. And overall, his menu will be a bit healthier this year: Less flour, more whole grains and beans. Fewer simple carbs, like pasta and potatoes, and more complex carbs to sustain the body longer. Better fats (avocado and coconut oil), more olive oil and less butter, more hard cheeses instead of soft. A regular, who has diabetes, swears

by Chef Will’s menu and says it’s the only place he can eat out and feel healthy the next day.

Working in hospitality is Chef Will’s life. “This,” he says, “is what I get to do. How awesome is that? I get to do this every day.

Most nights when I leave this place, I still thank it. I thank this place for being here, for letting me do my thing.”

Before I leave, a member of the wait staff brings me two bags of food. I’m blown away by the chef’s generosity, and when I mention it over the next couple days to friends who know him, or of him, not a one is surprised.

There are three first courses, three main courses, three desserts, and for good measure, one snack. For the next several days, we’ll sample Belgian endive with roasted beets, toasted hazelnuts, goat cheese and lemon dressing (my husband’s favorite); goat cheese and caramelized onion tart with arugula salad (my favorite); and a cod cake served citrus-dressed mixed greens (all three of us fought over this one).

The main courses are braised beef short rib with creamy polenta and roasted asparagus (my daughter’s favorite); olive oil-

sautéed shrimp with Yukon gold potatoes, asparagus, cabbage, red peppers and Tabasco aioli (my favorite); and sautéed salmon with roasted beets, asparagus, scallion, roasted potatoes and beet gastrique (my husband’s favorite).

The desserts are crème brûlée, a mainstay of the menu since the very beginning, and with good reason: It’s divine, and my daughter’s new favorite; a new menu item, lemon cheesecake with lemon curd and raspberry sauce (my favorite); and a rosemary nut tart with berries, cream and white chocolate sauce (my husband’s favorite.)

The snack is a plate-sized chicken quesadilla (delicious!), which are available in the to-go case on Tuesdays and some Fridays.

Every single item we’ve sampled is something we would undoubtedly eat again, but the one that really gets us with its brilliant simplicity is the cod cake. It’s served with a side of something neither of us can identify by taste. At first, I think it’s pasta, but the bite’s not right, so I email Chef Will and learn that it’s celery root julienned so thin and brined for a few hours, then tossed with caper mayonnaise. He’s been making it for more than 16 years, and I hope, I pray, he never stops.

The Blue Bottle Café: Finding Inspiration in Far-Flung Locales About five years after The Brothers Moon opened, Rory and Aaron Philipson, the husband-and-wife team behind The Blue Bottle Café, brought their version of farm-to-table dining to Hopewell.

Five months later, they were nearly burned out. That’s when a college professor of Rory’s cautioned them against working themselves silly. “He suggested we learn to pace ourselves, take a break, regroup and do it again,” says Chef Aaron.

The first vacation was in Las Vegas because they were afraid they “would sleep through a great trip if we didn’t go somewhere very exciting.” Since then, they’ve shut down the restaurant twice a year, in January and July, and traveled to such culinary goldmines as Morocco, Portugal, Aruba and Hawaii. They’ve also stayed closer to home, traveling to Florida, South Carolina, the Poconos, the Outer Banks and Ohio.

That last wasn’t as much for the food as for the fun.

“I am a huge roller coaster enthusiast, and Sandusky, Ohio, is home to the best roller coaster park in the country,” Chef Aaron

Aaron and Rory Philipson brought their version of farm-to-table to Hopewell when they opened the Blue Bottle Café.

says. “Plus, we had just bought our Mini Cooper and wanted to stretch its legs.”

When the Philipsons opened their restaurant, Hopewell wasn’t yet the culinary scene it is today. “It was basically Will Mooney and Soup Du Jour,” Chef Aaron says. Watching Hopewell grow gastronomically was “very cool to watch. I think the big reason this happened is the lack of liquor licenses. The clientele is here, but without a bar, the chefs really have to try harder.”

And try harder the Philipsons do. “We try to keep reinventing and improving the Blue Bottle Café, and people notice that.

For instance, my new goal is to get out every single possible GMO. It was very hard to find a clean canola oil, and the cost of GMO-free flour is almost double the commodity stuff, but it’s worth it,” Chef Aaron said. “The lamb is certified hormone and antibiotic free. It makes a difference.”

Because I need to take the food home, the Philipsons choose for me something that travels well and reheats beautifully. I have containers of Chef Aaron’s signature gnocchi, served two ways. In one, the gnocchi is dressed with mushrooms, spinach and caramelized red onions, deglazed with sherry, and accented with touches of mushroom puree and cream. In the second, it’s in a ragout of braised lamb. I suspect, the moment I taste it, that the lamb is cooked very slowly; complexity and richness like this don’t happen when the process is rushed. Turns out I’m right.

“The lamb braises for four and a half hours in veal stock, wine and vegetables, and after the meat is tender, there’s another two hours of preparation, between picking the meat off the bones, to stewing it with mushrooms, tomatoes, more wine, more mire poix,” says Chef Aaron.

The gnocchi is Chef Aaron’s signature dish, and his Achilles’ heel, all in one, Chef Rory tells me. pmfineliving.com | 19

There’s a cuisine for everyone in Hopewell from Thai food at Da’s (above) to pizza at Franco’s/Vicenzo’s, courtesy of owner Franco Lettieri (below).

“In early June 2006, a writer from ‘The New York Times’ opened an excellent review with a paragraph about Aaron’s gnocchi. Then, that same New Year’s Eve, she talked about it again with her best-of-the-year wrap up,” she says. As a result, “it has become a dish that people expect to see on the menu, no matter what.”

Still, the chef’s creativity seems to know no bounds. The menu includes such first courses as sous vide farm egg with smoked salmon, American caviar butter sauce and a housemade crumpet; and black bean, quinoa and vegetable cake with broccoli walnut pesto. Featured entrees — obviously influenced by the couple’s world travels — are pan-roasted golden tilefish with red curry, butternut squash, coconut broth, sweet potato and bok choy; and coriander-dusted sea scallops with roasted fennel, black rice, orange zest and carrot ginger broth. (We don’t sample these items, only the gnocchi.)

For dessert, Chef Rory has selected for us a decadent tart. The base is hazelnut shortbread cookie, pulverized and moistened with butter and formed into a shell, and filled with roasted hazelnuts and chocolate ganache. It’s served with Frangelico Crème Anglaise and hazelnut ice cream, though since I’m taking our order home, Chef Rory has wisely omitted the ice cream. Even without, it’s divine, everything you want in a special dessert.

Nomad Pizza: Neopolitan-Style Crusts Topped With Seasonal Ingredients When Tom Grim, aka Teddy, first became obsessed with making pizza, he lined his kitchen oven with bricks and tried to bypass the safety mechanism that keeps ovens from exceeding 20 | Packet Magazine | April 2015

500 degrees.

“Ovens self-clean at 800 degrees, but you can’t open and close the door when it’s that hot, so I broke the glass,” he said, smiling at the memory. “That’s when I put a wood-fired oven in my kitchen.”

By this time, he’d been dabbling in bread and pizza making for several years. When he perfected his technique, he took his skill on the road. Literally.

“I started with a pizza truck, and I built it to cater parties.

We still do that, cater about 200 parties a year, graduations, weddings, etc.,” he says. “We did that for two years, but needed a commissary. We were working out of my house. There was flour everywhere, and it was illegal anyway.” He’s laughing as he tells me this story.

“We were only going to be open a few days a week, but we got crazy busy. We opened another day, and then another day. Now we’re open six days a week.”

I’m there to chat with him, and to take pizza home for our family movie night, but he persuades me to stay because he believes his pizza really tastes best fresh out of the oven. Since it’s a Friday night, I don’t mind that our 7-year-old will be out past her bedtime, so I call my husband with the change in plans and they drive over to join me.

It’s Restaurant Week in Hopewell, so we order the special: Salad, pizza and dessert, all for $20. With three of us eating, we order two of everything: Caesar and arugula salads, a Romanstyle Margherita pizza (that crust isn’t on the menu, but Teddy, as his staff call him, has raved about it, so when I ask for it, he’s happy to oblige), and the Neopolitan-style crust (thicker and denser) topped with Italian tomatoes, spicy sausage, fresh mozzarella, basil and caramelized onions. Dessert is the house classic: Nutella-topped pizza.

For a little slice of heaven, try Franco’s/Vincenzo’s Pizza or one of Hopewell’s other pizza destinations.

We’re at the communal table, and from where I sit, I’ve got a clear view of the blue beehive oven in the corner of the cooking area; Nomad is spelled out in white tile. Shipped intact from Naples, the 3,000-pounder is lined with brick, and heats to 800 degrees. It flash cooks a pizza to perfection in 90 seconds.

Teddy stands near it, where he’ll be most of the night, putting in one pizza after another. By the end of a typical evening, he’ll have cooked between 180 and 300 pies using ingredients that are either homemade or imported from Italy, and dough that has risen slowly for three days.

It’s what makes Nomad’s crusts sweeter and more complex.

“Dough that’s used too soon has no flavor, like cardboard,” Teddy tells me.

Serious about providing the best, most authentic pizza experience possible, two years ago Teddy closed the restaurant for two weeks and took 15 staffers on a 10-day, expenses-paid trip to Naples.

“I wanted the staff to see pizza as Italians do, and better understand what we are trying to do at Nomad,” Teddy says.

“We ate pizza every day. Pizza in Italy is spectacular. A trip to Italy many years ago is what inspired me to make pizza in the first place.”

While there, they visited their tomato and flour suppliers, and the farms where their Parmesan and mozzarella di bufala are produced.

Like some of the restaurants they visited in Naples, Nomad keeps its menu uncomplicated: Salad, pizza and dessert.

“We have special pizzas every night, but we keep it simple.

Want to do one thing and do it well,” he says.

The night we’re there, the specials include spinach and fig pizza for dinner, and apple and almond paste pizza for dessert.

The menu also has regular favorites, like shiitake mushroom and caramelized onion pizza with mozzarella di bufala.

Seasonally influenced menus mean you can expect garlic scape pizza in spring, and pesto, corn and heirloom tomato pizzas in summer. In winter, kale pizza makes an appearance alongside citrus salad.

The keep-it-simple approach works.

The Caesar salad we order is devoured by my husband and our daughter, who has two helpings, anchovies and all, and flashes a smile and thumbs up at Teddy. I get most of the baby

arugula salad to myself. Dressed with housemade lemon-thyme dressing and garnished with wood-fire roasted pecans, cherry tomatoes and goat cheese, it’s summer on my plate. Wow. The pizzas, too, are delicious — just the right balance of sweet and spicy for the sausage pie, and just the right ratio of cheese to sauce for the margherita. And, because we’re saving room for dessert, some of each pizza makes the ride home with us.

Teddy asked earlier if our daughter’s ever had Nutella pizza.

She’s never even had Nutella, that I know of, so I can’t wait to see her reaction. I spy Teddy watching too, and a smile erupts on his face when he sees her eyes glaze over. We can’t finish this pie either, so we pack it for home and… …break it out for breakfast the next morning. It’s great cold or at room temperature with a piping hot cup of freshly brewed coffee. The regular pizza is great cold too.

Nomad seats about 30 people inside, and another 30 outdoors.

They don’t take reservations, and it’s not unusual to wait 30-45 minutes for a place to sit. I notice several families waiting; not one complains.

That’s Not All, Folks

Elsewhere in Hopewell borough, a wide array of restaurants is on hand to please every palate. There’s Brick Farm Market, Antimo’s Italian Kitchen, China Wok, Sweet Grass (tucked behind Boro Bean), Hopewell Valley Bistro & Inn, Jack & Charlie’s 23 (for ice cream), Da’s Thai Kitchen, The Peasant Grill, Paint The Roses Tea Room & Café, Franco’s/Vincenzo’s Pizza, Village Express (Indian-to-go) and Michael’s Deli. A couple miles outside the borough, there’s Hillbilly Hall.

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Breaking Bread for a Cause Sharing fine food at Trinity Church’s One Table Café dinners

By Bernadette Suski-Harding | Photos by Rebecca Nowalski

O

nce a month, at Trinity Church of Princeton, something magical occurs.

In the small kitchen, a volunteer chef from a local restaurant plates gourmet dinners as church volunteers, clad in white shirts and black pants, run the finished plates into the room next door, transformed for the evening into an elegant space whose coffered high ceiling and wood-paneled walls convey the ambiance of an English dining club.

The tables, dressed with crisp white linens, china, silverware, stemmed glassware, candles and fresh flowers, will soon seat guests of various cultures and all manners of dress — from jeans and sneakers to designer dresses and suits and ties. A few women wear Sunday hats. Some are obviously moneyed; others obviously not.

When the tables fill and the festivities begin, Trinity’s PierceBishop Hall, alternatively a gathering place for AA meetings, fund-raisers and private events, will pulse with barely contained glee.

The occasion on this particular evening in January is the fifth anniversary celebration of One Table Café, which began, simply

enough, with the Rev. Paul Jeanes III’s drive to live, more fully, God’s word here on earth.

One Table Café dinners are held the third Friday of every month, except August and December, and feature a gourmet meal from a local restaurant, and a thoughtful presentation on a topic of importance to the community. Guests make a donation of their choice, allowing many people to enjoy a meal from a restaurant they normally couldn’t afford. The donations go to area charities.

Friends greet friends, some old, some new. Entertainment is provided by William D. Carter III, a divinity student at Princeton Theological Seminary and minister of music at the First Baptist Church of Princeton. He will provide an eclectic mix of gospel, spiritual, rock and opera. And the noise — silverware tinkling against glassware, plates clattering in the kitchen, conversations shared across tables, all layered atop live music — makes it difficult for people to hear their neighbors.

At the center of it all, a smile lighting his face and a microphone he barely needs in his hand, the Rev. Jeanes, Trinity’s pastor, will remind the crowd of 168 diners why they are here. pmfineliving.com | 23

“At the heavenly banquet, there is one table at which all of God’s children feast,” the Rev. Jeanes says. “There is not a white table and a black table, a gay table and a straight table. There isn’t even a Democratic or a Republican table. All of God’s children sit and feast at that one table because every living, breathing, walking person on this planet is a child of the living God.” Punctuating his impassioned speech with a fist punching heavenward, this Episcopalian minister’s efforts are met with the sort of euphoria traditionally associated with full-on Baptist revivals: Clapping hands, stamping feet, nods of agreement, murmurs of mmm-hmm, and cries of woo-hoo and amen.

It’s cacophonous mayhem.

It’s joyous beauty.

It’s supremely well deserved.

When he first broached the idea of One Table Café, the Rev. Jeanes met with some resistance, but soldiered on.

Today, One Table Café is a cornerstone of Trinity’s community outreach. The dinner is provided gratis by a circulating roster of restaurants: Terra Learning Kitchen, North End Bistro, Witherspoon Grill, Olives, Teresa’s, PJ’s Pancakes and Pasta, Salt Creek Grill, Mediterra and Blue Point Grill.

Patrons pay as much or as little as they choose, leaving their donations in white envelopes unobtrusively set at each table.

The proceeds, after expenses, are divided among a number of charities, including Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, Mercer Street Friends, Bread for the World, and the Episcopal Relief and Development Fund.

Referring to the band’s inspirational opening cover, the Doobie Brothers’ “Takin’ It to the Streets,” the Rev. Jeanes tells the crowd, “We need to love one another, yet we find excuse after excuse after excuse after excuse to alienate, to set aside. God says ‘all these tables are my table.’ What would God say here? He would say ‘It’s no good if it stays here.’ We come to have a nice meal, make new friends, have good food and good wine, but if it stays in this room, it doesn’t do what it needs to do.

“We must get out there, on Mercer, on Witherspoon, on Nassau, on Chambers,” he continues, his voice growing more excited and

the crowd responding in kind. “We must take it to the streets.

We are one table, sisters and brothers, and we must sit together, dine together, work together, laugh together, cry together and pray together. And we must, we must, take it to the streets!”

‘A Wonderful, Holy, Crazy Ride…’

Tonight’s capacity crowd is an eclectic mix: Volunteers and diners who haven’t missed a gathering in five years, and others who are attending for the first time. They are young and old, able– bodied and needing assistance, and representative of different faiths. They come from Trenton and Princeton, Montgomery and Bordentown, and places in between.

They’ve gathered here in a sort of holy communion, pedigrees or lack thereof checked at the door, to celebrate the simple idea that in God’s eyes, every one of them is equal.

Bottles of wine pass back and forth as glasses are filled, toasts are made and conversations are shared.

After a dinner of arugula salad with strawberries and goat cheese, followed by meltingly tender short ribs and mashed potatoes, and midway through a dessert of bread pudding studded densely with chocolate chips, a spontaneous burst of applause, accompanied by the clank of silverware against glass, encourages the Reverend to exclaim, “What a wonderful, holy, crazy ride it’s been!”

Then he takes a few moments to thank tonight’s sponsor, Witherspoon Grill, and remind diners that without all the sponsors, One Table Café wouldn’t be possible. He encourages everyone to patronize the restaurants that provide these meals as way of giving thanks, and informs the crowd that tonight’s proceeds, after expenses, will go to the Crisis Ministry.

When Chris Graciano, the executive chef from Witherspoon, and his assistant general manager, Laura Estey, step into the dining room for a quick introduction, half a dozen people crowd round for photos, causing a light show of flashing bulbs and cell phones to erupt. The applause is intense, with more than a few tables’ worth of people standing up.

Then it’s back to dessert, taking selfies with neighbors, and carrying on conversations. As the band plays, a few people begin

Rev. Paul Jeanes founded One Table Café five years ago.

Volunteers Heidi Currier, from Cranbury, and Denise Shipper, from Princeton, put the finishing touches on dessert.

24 | Packet Magazine | April 2015

Top Left: Rev. Paul Jeanes and Laverne Snead of Trenton dance during the dinner. Top Right: Paula Beiger, from Hamilton, passes bread to Grace Asagra Stanley, from Princeton. The friends are regulars at One Table Café dinners. Bottom Left: Volunteer Judy Walker helps 7-year-old Grace Merryfield of Princeton get some food. Bottom Right: William D. Carter III entertained the crowd.

to dance, tentatively at first, more exuberantly as the evening progresses.

The voice of the singer, so strong and full, so clear and pure, fills the room with a joyful sound. People sway in their seats, eyes closed and pointed heavenward; a few sing quietly along.

They’re not trying to compete with the voice — it’s unspoken but understood that matching this voice is simply not possible — but joining in a communal outpouring of love and happiness.

Near the evening’s end, during a rousing performance of the Pharrell Williams song “Happy,” nearly everyone in the room is dancing. A conga line grows in number as it winds its way around the room, the pastor, naturally, an enthusiastic participant.

‘We Need A Healthy Community…’

A few weeks before the anniversary dinner, I talk on the phone with Rauol Momo, of the Terra Momo Restaurant Group. I’m curious to know what would inspire restaurateurs to take on such a momentous responsibility, and I’m speaking to him because he’s been part of it since the very beginning.

Born in New York City, one of five children of immigrant parents, Mr. Momo is sensitive to his humble beginnings.

“For us,” he tells me, “it’s about reaching out to people.” When the Rev. Jeanes and a committee of volunteers first broached the idea of One Table Café to Mr. Momo, he lost no time signing on to help them research, design and build it. Now, Momo chefs (from TeresaCaffe, Mediterra and EnoTerra) take turns cooking dinners when a Momo restaurant is up.

“The bottom line is we need a healthy community,” Mr. Momo says. “Otherwise, the other bottom line doesn’t matter so much.”

It was Mr. Momo who encouraged the One Table Café committee to host a midsummer dinner.

“The dinners used to shut down in May and start up again in September, because a lot of volunteers were away,” he said. “But there are a lot of people who don’t have that privilege.”

For more information, go to www.trinityprinceton.com. pmfineliving.com | 25

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Spruce Up For Spring It’s time to make things prettier inside and outside the home

By Keith Loria

The right flowers can add a little color to your home.

W

ith the brutal winter behind us, now is the perfect time to start thinking about spring cleaning and getting your home and yard in shape for the warmer weather headed our way.

“Springtime is still not the right time for people to work outside in the decorative scheme of things,” says Marc Goldman, a design expert at Paint Barn Flooring and Decorating Center (4018 Quakerbridge Road, Trenton, 609-587-0900, thepaintbarnnj. com). “They won’t be painting their house or staining their deck or anything, but it gives them the ability to get out of the house, away from those same drab walls they’ve been seeing all winter, and start envisioning a new start for their house.

“Now, they can start planning all the things they have been

thinking about all winter long.”

That’s why the store has had a run on people starting to buy and talk with designers about new carpeting, floor coverings and paint.

“Spring gives them the ability to open up the windows when they paint, and add a freshness to the home with a new carpet smell,” he says. “Many people will be re-doing the inside of their home and so this is the time to get a start on the process.”

Mr. Goldman says the store carries a full line of eco-friendly premium products, including Aura, Natura and Regal Select interior paints in more than 3,500 colors. While Gullford Green is the color of the year at the store, he’s seeing people more interested in gray so far this spring. pmfineliving.com | 27

“Gray is the new neutral color, the new beige, people are gravitating towards it and there are so many different shades — from your pewters to your blue grays — and they are very popular,” he says. “We can’t even keep those color chips on the racks because people are snatching them up.”

Turning to the yard, one doesn’t need a green thumb to make their lawn looking top-notch either. It’s easy to add flowers to the outside of the home and create a beautiful color scheme.

Flowers can either be put directly into the ground or arranged in planter’s boxes, which are rectangular and sit easily on a porch in a sunroom or on a windowsill.

Flowers that are most manageable are marigolds, pansies, snapdragons and alyssum. You can purchase them in trays of six for under $5 in most gardening stores. Marigolds are a bright yellow and vivid orange. Pansies are a variety of dark purple to pale violet. Snapdragons are taller and range from pink to blood red. Alyssum is used to fill out between the plants and have tiny white or purple flowers on a bed of green.

You can also add shrubs to your lawn, planting a mixture of interesting bushes with architectural form and texture, which will add year-round ornamental value.

With five convenient hardware locations, including stores in Yardville, Mercerville, and Princeton, Yardville Supply and Smith’s ACE Hardware offer a large selection of wholesale and retail masonry and landscaping supplies.

Mike Corley, building material manager for Yardville Supply, says he is expecting lots of small jobs being done by the homeowner this spring as activity is just picking up.

“It’s just a thought process right now. People woke up after daylight-savings and looked at their yards and said to themselves,

‘We need to do something about this,’” he says. “That means plenty of rakes, shovels, fertilizers, mulch, and pavers flying off the shelves.”

One tip Mr. Corley has for people is not just to throw new mulch on top of old mulch, which he says is done often. “You need to shovel it up, throw it out and bring in some new fresh mulch,” he says.

When the calendar turns to spring, many people start thinking about doing those projects that they have put off for a while.

Things like painting, replacing bathroom fixtures, sanding kitchen cabinets, staining the deck, re-grouting the bathroom, etc.

If you’re looking to do some of these do-it-yourself projects, Montgomery True Value, 1325 Route 206, Skillman, is the perfect place to pick up some spring sprucing tools. The store offers plenty of painting supplies, hardware, hand tools, power saws, plumbing fixtures and all you need for the lawn and garden.

Spring is also the time many people consider adding some new life to the home with new furniture and accessories. The Luxe Home Company, located at 126 Village Boulevard, Princeton, offers a great selection of designer rugs, lamps, chandeliers and furniture to help one transform their home into the space they have always dreamed of.

Experienced designers at the store can help someone choose the items that are best for them and their home, capitalizing on their relationships with the finest manufacturers and innovative local craftsmen.

So, get your “spring” on and start sprucing up your home.

Spring is a busy time for people to pick out new carpeting.

Adding flowers is an easy way to add a color scheme to your landscaping.

28 | Packet Magazine | April 2015

Spring is here and it’s time to get to those outdoor chores.

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Good Taste The finer side of dining Story and photos by Faith Bahadurian

Flip It! The wonders of upside-down cakes

A red grapefruit upside-down cake made by the author.

N

o, we’re not discussing real estate deals here. Instead, we’re talking about upside-down cakes, the ones baked with caramel and fruit at the bottom, then flipped out of the pan to serve with the fruit on top.

As a teenager, I couldn’t get enough of my Aunt Alice’s classic pineapple upside-down cake so she finally typed it out on a recipe card for me, commenting, “I think it needs nothing but a good cup of coffee!” She was a strong-minded career woman

30 | Packet Magazine | April 2015

who also knew her way around the kitchen.

Try as I might, I never thought my sugar-and-butter base caramelized as nicely as hers, and to this day that is the biggest challenge for me when it comes to baking upside-down cakes.

But some recipes use a cast-iron skillet, so you can get a jump on that part of the recipe before sliding the pan into the oven. Just be sure the skillet doesn’t have garlicky or oniony residue from savory foods you may have cooked in it.

When it’s time to flip, be careful of splatters from hot sugary liquid. Once the fruit stops bubbling, run a spatula around the edges to be sure the sides will release. Then place a cake plate (with a bit of a lip in case of juicy overflow) over the baking pan.

Use hot pads to pick up the cake pan and cake plate. Holding them firmly, flip them over in one motion. Do it with conviction and don’t hold it up any higher than you need to. Then set plate and pan down on the counter and carefully lift off the pan.

The upside-down cake is a cake for all seasons. Nearly any fruit works, fresh or frozen, or even reconstituted dried fruits. If you use canned fruit, be sure to drain well. Finely chopped herbs like lemon thyme or rosemary can be nice additions, too. The recipes here start with winter citrus and progress to spring rhubarb and fall pears.

Blood Orange or Red Grapefruit Upside-Down Cake Adapted from numerous sources. 8 servings.

I found many versions of this recipe, attracted by the combination of citrus and cornmeal (or, occasionally, almond meal), including a spectacular version made with candied blood orange, rind and all, at www.notquitenigella.com. Choose your favorite citrus, the deeper red in color, the better, and use a very sharp knife for slicing it. — F.B. 2½ sticks unsalted butter ⅔ cup light brown sugar 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 3 medium blood oranges or 1 large red grapefruit ¾ cup fine cornmeal ¾ cup all-purpose flour 1½ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup granulated sugar 4 large eggs, at room temperature ⅓ cup sour cream or plain yogurt

A recipe card for a classic pineapple upside-down cake, given to the author by her aunt.

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter. Add brown sugar and lemon juice; stir until sugar melts, about 3 minutes. Scrape mixture into bottom of prepared pan.

Grate 1 teaspoon zest from fruit, then slice off the tops and bottoms of fruits. Stand each on end and slice away the rind and pith, top to bottom, following the curve of the fruit. Slice crosswise into ¼ inch thick wheels, discarding seeds. Arrange on top of brown sugar mixture in a single, tight layer.

In a large bowl, whisk together zest, cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, cream remaining 2 sticks (1 cup) butter with granulated sugar. Beat in eggs, one a time, then beat in sour cream and vanilla. Fold in the dry mixture by hand.

Scrape batter into pan over fruit. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 to 8 minutes, then run a knife around edges to loosen it. Carefully invert onto a platter and cool completely before serving.

Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake Liberally adapted from The New York Times (Melissa Clark) and other sources. 8 servings.

The original recipe called for a springform pan and buttered parchment paper, plus a buttered baking sheet under that. But since the cake is flipped over in the intact pan after baking, I’ve specified a regular non-stick pan instead. You could also do this in a cast-iron skillet, giving the rhubarb, butter, brown sugar and cornstarch a quick sauté before adding the batter. — F.B. 1½ pounds rhubarb, rinsed and sliced into 1/2-inch cubes (about 4 cups)

A pear-gingerbread upside-down cake, fresh out of the oven.

pmfineliving.com | 31

2 teaspoons cornstarch

Spoon the batter over the rhubarb, covering all of it. Smooth out the top.

1½ cups granulated sugar, divided ½ cup light brown sugar 2½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, more to grease pans 2 cups cake flour 1¼ teaspoons baking powder

Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until top is firm to touch and a toothpick stuck in middle comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Run knife around the cake, place a plate on top of the pan and turn it upside-down.

Pear-Gingerbread UpsideDown Cake

½ teaspoon fine sea salt Zest of 1 lemon, grated

Adapted from Bon Appétit Fast Easy Fresh, Barbara Fairchild, John Wiley & Sons (2008). 8-10 servings

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 large eggs

¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter

⅓ cup sour cream

1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar, divided

2 teaspoons lemon juice Heat oven to 325°. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch nonstick cake pan.

In a medium bowl, mix rhubarb, cornstarch and ½ cup granulated sugar.

Mix the brown sugar and ½ stick butter in a saucepan over medium heat until smooth and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Pour mixture into cake pan, let it set for a couple of minutes, then spoon in rhubarb and any juices.

Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt.

Whip 2 sticks butter in a mixer for 2 minutes, using paddle attachment if using a stand mixer. With your fingers, blend the remaining 1 cup sugar with lemon zest until the mixture is uniform in color. Cream together with the butter at mediumhigh speed until it is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl halfway through.

Add vanilla and mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the sour cream, then the lemon juice. (It’s OK if it looks curdled.) With mixer on low, add flour mixture, ½ cup at a time, until well combined. Scrape down the bowl in between additions.

3 Anjou pears, peeled, halved, cored, cut crosswise into 1/3inch-thick slices ⅔ cup mild-flavored molasses (i.e. not “robust”) 2 large eggs ¾ cup ginger preserves (such as Robertson’s) 1½ cups self-rising flour 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9 x 9 x 2-inch nonstick baking pan. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat.

Transfer ⅓ cup butter to small bowl. Whisk ½ cup sugar into remaining butter in saucepan until blended (mixture may be grainy). Spread butter-sugar mixture in prepared pan; slightly overlap enough pear slices to cover mixture. Dice enough remaining pear to yield 1 cup.

With electric mixer, beat molasses, reserved ⅓ cup butter, and remaining ½ cup sugar in large bowl to blend. Beat in eggs, then preserves. Beat in flour and pumpkin pie spice; stir in diced pears. Spread batter over pears in pan. Bake about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until tester inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Invert cake onto platter, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Faith Bahadurian blogs at http://njspice.net (also Twitter @ njspice).

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32 | Packet Magazine | April 2015

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pmfineliving.com | 33

On The Block Buying...selling...just looking

By Stephanie Vaccaro

A Former Home for Lindbergh...and Cows There are lots of stories behind this Lawrenceville home

280 Cold Soil Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

(Princeton mailing address)

W

hen owner Nick Carnevale and his family moved to the estate at 280 Cold Soil Road in 1985, once home to famed pilot Charles Lindbergh, they did so because the property offered them so many options.

Agent: Ermelinda Carnevale Gloria Nilson & Co. Real Estate 609-921-2600 33 Witherspoon Street Princeton, NJ 08542

The current owners added a pool house and landscaping elements to the pool area.

34 | Packet Magazine | April 2015

“We wanted a place where we could raise animals and raise the kids but still stay local,” says Mr. Carnevale, an architect who also wanted space for woodworking and working on cars. “It facilitated a lot of my needs right there and then.”

The family made the short trek from Princeton to its new home that sits on almost 13 acres in Lawrence Township. The property is equipped with a number of buildings in addition to the main home. In total, it now has nine bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms.

“It’s really a bucolic setting with the main house and the cottage,” Mr. Carnevale says, adding the property has a dairy barn that he converted to a house.

Although the actual date is unknown, Mr. Carnevale says that the original structure of the home was constructed sometime between 1750 and 1800. That structure — comprised of a large room with a walk-in fireplace and a beehive oven, with a staircase that went up to a bedroom — remains. “Then I would say about 100 years later they added on the front wing, which is all timber framing, and then later they added on the kitchen wing,” Mr. Carnevale says. “It has a lot of characteristics from that era. It really appealed to us. And being an architect, it had a lot of room where I could make changes without any problem with zoning requirements or setbacks.

“And then I added on my office and the library, and then I added a laundry room and redid the kitchen a little bit with a bumped out octagon kind of a shape breakfast room.”

Mr. Carnevale reused the cabinets, fixed what needed to be fixed and finished them, so that they could keep with the style of the original house. The kitchen has a wood ceiling, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, including a Dacor stove and an Electrolux refrigerator. And it opens up to a family room that has a number of built-ins for the television, as well as open and closed shelving for storage.

The home has wide-plank pine floors throughout, lots of natural light and views that look out onto the property’s scenic surroundings.

“One of the interesting features is that Lindbergh rented this farm for a year while his house was being built in Highfield,” Mr. Carnevale says. Anne Morrow Lindbergh, his wife, wrote a book called Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead documenting the early days of their marriage where, Mr. Carnevale pointed out, she describes living in the home. “We have an arial photo of Lindberg’s plane out in the pasture,” Mr. Carnevale says. “When he’d come in he’d have his wife take the car and put the front headlights on in the pasture, and he would land his plane. There’s a picture of his plane in front of the kitchen.”

The property was also owned by Professor Henry Woods and was once run as a dairy farm that achieved global fame. “It’s been published in many magazines,” Mr. Carnevale says. “It’s also in a textbook because one of his cows gave so much milk it won a worldwide prize. The farm was a showplace because his family was very wealthy.”

“It has an in-ground swimming pool, which I resurrected,” Mr. Carnevale said of the 51- by 28-foot swimming pool. “I built the pool house that goes along with that. There’s lots of landscaping that I’ve done, several patios.”

The property is very appealing Mr. Carnevale says, “because it has so much flexibility in terms of zoning.” The property is zoned as: day school, church, farm stand, and residential. And when he

converted the dairy barn into a home he had it subdivided so that it can be sold separately.

“The other appealing factor is that when you buy a property that’s existing, the rules and regulations are a lot more lenient than when you start from scratch. You pay less for your building permits, the zoning is more lenient. Being so close to Princeton and to Trenton and the mass transit —it’s an ideal spot.”

Years ago the family had horses. “Somebody who likes horses can have horses,” Mr. Carnevale says. “They could... have the caretaker in the cottage, have the dairy barn as a guest house.

They could sell it. There’s a lot of things that can be done.”

A working farm adds to the rustic atmosphere at 280 Cold Soil Road.

pmfineliving.com | 35

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On the Vine Pouring and pairing wines near and far

By Patrick Walsh

Viognier: As Beautiful as Spring Itself

The famous terraced plots of Viognier in Condrieu (left). For a great springtime wine, try Domaine Georges Vernay Viognier.

sked what varietal reminds me most of springtime, I’ll immediately answer: Viognier. Ah, those delicate honeysuckle notes, the violets, the intoxicating peach and apricot — Viognier seems like a distillation of blossoms borne on a zephyr.

It’s hard to believe that so much joy in a glass nearly vanished from our collective palate. By the early 1980s, all the Viognier in the world amounted to less than 60 acres planted in France’s northern Rhone Valley. More than anyone else, Georges Vernay, the now legendary winemaker and owner of the domaine of the same name, revived the almost extinct grape.

In 2007, I visited Domaine Vernay and had the pleasure of tasting all their wines — magnificent Viognier bottlings and sublime Côte Rôtie — with Georges Vernay’s son-in-law Paul Amsellem, who now runs the vineyard with his wife, Christine. Seeing the terraced plots of Viognier perched high atop cliffs like eagles’ eyries, it was easy to understand why farmers in the region had all but given up on growing this grape. Fortunately, worldwide demand for complex white wines other than Chardonnay has led to robust Viognier plantings on several continents.

And Viognier is every bit as elegant and complex as Chardonnay; with its wonderfully lush heft, intensely floral aromatics, and subtle minerality, Viognier delights your olfactory as much as your tongue. It’s one of those wines that’s so gorgeous you’d almost be happy enough just to keep your nose buried in the glass.

Personally, I rank Viognier second only to Riesling as my favorite white varietal.

The most renowned Viognier comes from Condrieu, an appellation in the northern Rhone Valley. There is another nearby

appellation also made of 100 percent Viognier, Chateau-Grillet, which is the sole vineyard in its designation, what the French call a monopole. These are some of my absolute favorite wines, but Condrieu (never mind Chateau-Grillet!) isn’t a cheap date. Then again, if Condrieu was a woman it would be Catherine Deneuve.

Fortunately, affordable Viognier is grown in other Rhone appellations, as well as many regions around the world, including California, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, and even Bucks County.

But you don’t even have to go Pennsylvania to pick up great Viognier. Some of my favorites are right here in Princeton, so to speak.

CoolVines on Spring Street offers a lovely, affordable Viognier – — 2013 Domaine Les Grands Bois — at $18 per bottle. CoolVines also stocks intermediate and special-occasion offerings from one of the most respected producers in the northern Rhone, Yves Cuilleron. His 2013 Cave Yves Cuilleron “Les Vignes d’a Cote” at $29 delivers all the concentrated aromatics and fruit you’d expect; his 2013 Condrieu “Le Petite Cote,” $66, exceeds expectations, even at that price. Quite simply, it’s spectacular.

A staff favorite at Public Wine on Witherspoon Street is the 2012 Domaine De Viranel, a Vin de Pays de Cessenon for $20 a bottle from southeast France’s Languedoc region.

Whatever Viognier you buy, pair it with appropriately rich and complex foods, especially seafood. Easygoing examples complement poultry dishes nicely, especially chicken prepared in cream sauces or Asian spicings. Viognier is also a great match for turkey.

A “Friday or Saturday night Viognier” deserves the richest bounty of the sea — I’m thinking mahi-mahi, halibut, tuna steaks, swordfish, fresh crab legs, and, of course, lobster.

Or just two glasses on a picnic blanket on a sunny afternoon. pmfineliving.com | 37

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Health Medication safety tips for children and adults Prescription and over-the-counter medications can save lives and help people of all ages manage certain conditions. When used correctly and under the guidance of a physician, medications are largely safe. It’s when medicines are used off-label, shared or taken in error that reactions and injury can occur.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and their Healthy Children Organization warns that more than 7,000 children visit hospital emergency rooms every year for problems related to medication errors. Children are not the only ones in danger.

Adults can make mistakes with their medications as well. For example, seniors who may be managing several different types of medications can inadvertently cause dangerous drug interactions by mixing the wrong pills.

Pharmacists work diligently to help prevent medication errors. However, the general public can also do their part. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy offer these medication safety tips. · When a new medication is prescribed, ask the doctor to explain more about it, including its intended purpose and any common side effects to be expected. · Make sure your doctor knows about all the medications you are taking, including non-prescription products, herbal remedies, dietary supplements, and vitamins.

Some medications do not mix with seemingly innocent ingredients. Keep a running list of any medicines you take so you can easily and accurately share this information with your physician. · Question anything that you do not understand. Check the prescription for dosing information. For refills, make sure the refill information conforms to the original prescription strength.

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· Fill all prescriptions at the same pharmacy and develop a rapport with the pharmacist so that potential drug interactions will be flagged. Pharmacists are well versed in medications and may be able to inform you as to the safety or risk involved in taking an over-the-counter product at the same time that you are on a prescription. · Many pills look the same. If you are confused and taking multiple medications, keep medications in the original packaging and double-check the labels before taking any medications. · Use the right dosing tools. A spoon from the kitchen is not accurate for measuring out a teaspoon of medication. · If you take multiple medications, use a pillbox to keep pills organized. The box makes it easier to manage medications and serves as a reminder if you have or have not taken a medication on a given day. · Store medications as instructed on the label. The bathroom medicine cabinet may not be an ideal place to store medications, as bathrooms get damp, and that can compromise the integrity of the pills. Also, bathroom cabinets are readily accessible by all, including kids. It’s better to store drugs out of sight and reach of children. Keep dangerous medications locked away. · Routinely discard expired or unneeded medications. Medicine take-back programs for disposal are a good way to remove medicines from the home and reduce the chance that others may accidentally take the medicine. · Consult with a doctor before beginning or ending medication.

Medicines play important roles in personal health. When used correctly, medications are assets, but caution should always be taken to ensure safe usage and storage of any medications.

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