stem and stein jan 2013

Tour &Tasting at

CricketHill

3rd Annual

GrapeAdventure

A WonderlAndof Beer

PerfeCT PAirinGof food & drink

CookinG WiTH Wine & Beer

Bring inthis adthrough1/31/13and receivea free winetasting& glass.

1Stem & SteinJanuary 2013

2 Stem & Stein January 2013

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Saturday, Feb. 16th4:30-8:30PM

The Morrisown ArmoryMorristown, NJ

Mark and Pam

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year!

Welcome to our sixth issue of Stem and Stein magazine . We’ve had a lot of fun bringing you this magazine over the last six months while visiting breweries, wineries, and many other events. (It’s not such a tuff job.) As we look forward to two thousand thirteen we plan on making some improvements and upgrades in our magazine and website. We appreciate all you comments and look forward to seeing you while we are out and about this upcoming year.

Until Next time,


CONTENTSStem & Stein January 2013

The 3rd Annual Grape Adventure• 04

PerfectPairing

• 8

CricketHill Tour

& Tasting• 16

Wonderland of Beer• 11

PUBLISHERSMark Ruzicka & Pam Mazalatis

EDITORBarbara Kolb

LAYOUT & DESIGNMcNabb Studios

www.mcnabbstudios.com

PHOTOGRAPHYMark Ruzicka & Kieran

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSJimmy Vena, Dr Audrey Cross,

Kevin Celli, Eric Wormann, Pam Mazalatis& Mark Ruzicka

– STEM & STEIN –PO Box 699 Lake Hopatcong, NJ 07849

Phone: 973-663-6816 • Fax: 973-663-6378www.stemandsteinnj.com

Stem & Stein is published monthly and reproduction of content is not permitted without the express written approval of Mark Ruzicka. Publisher assumes no financial responsibility for errors in ads beyond the cost of space occupied by error, a correction will be printed. Publisher is not liable for any slander of an individual, or group as we mean no malice or individual criticism at any time, nor are we responsible for the opinions or comments of our columnists, and promises, coupons, or lack of fulfillment from advertisers who are solely responsible for content of their ads. Publisher is also to be held harmless; from failure to produce any issue as scheduled due to reasons beyond control; all suits, claims, or loss of expenses; this includes, but is not limited to, suits for libel, plagiarism, copyright infringement and unauthorized use of a persons name or

photograph. Publisher does not promote excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages.


In November, Stem & Stein was invited to The 3rdAnnual Grape Adventure which is held at Six Flags,Jackson, New Jersey. The original date was Nov. 3rd & 4th,however due to superstorm “Sandy” they had to postponethe event until Nov 10th & 11th. At this event, they featured13 Wineries from New Jersey. They also had food and craftvendors on the grounds. It was nice to get a bite to eat, abottle of wine and enjoy the music of Acoustic Road. Unfortunately, due to the weather this year they had tocancel the Safari package with the Giraffes that is alwaysenjoyable. We at Stem & Stein were lucky enough toexperience this in 2011. With the Safari package, they drove usthrough the Safari where we were let out to experience the Giraffesup close. There was a wine tasting available while you enjoyed the viewsand fed the Giraffes along with learning about some other animals and seeing the babies. Since they were forced to cancel the visit with the Giraffes for the safety of the animals they put together something else for everyone to enjoy. There was a animal showcase indoors where they took out animals for you to see and learn about. We were able to pet some of these animals. To tell you the truth, some I would not want to touch, but that is just my preference. From what we hear next years Safari will be better than 2011. We suggest this as something for your to do list for 2013. I missed the Giraffes in 2012, however it is comforting to know they have the animals safety in mind. Thank you for having us and we look forward to coming to your next event.

BY PAMELA MAZALATIS


Photography of event 2011 and 2012 by Mark Ruzicka


boardwalk, have me longing for the caramely pecan

goodness of this gooey treat.Beer for breakfast you say? Relax, it’s a European thing.

Shepard’s Pie: With the same traditional

spirit as brewmasters have instilled in this beer, what could have more British

backbone than this classic peasant dish? A cottage pie

PERFECT PAIRINGS(NJ Style)

FOOD & DRINK JIM MCGRADY

CAPE MAY STOUT

Cape MayBrewing Company

This English-Style sweet stout is another winner

from CMBC. The roasted malt and barley may appear as dark as a

moonless midnight, but the mellifluousness of this milk stout is like liquid silk. It is akin to having a growler of sweetened espresso. This

smooth selection pairs well with anything chocolate, creamy desserts and soft cheeses, dark meats and game birds. Here is what

I love with this luscious libation:

Chocolate Covered Pretzels :

Sweet stouts scream for chocolate and my palate craves the perfect union of salt and sugar. Either

white or dark, these hand-dipped treats are simply

scrumptious.

WARNING: researchers have found that once your brain’s nefarious

neurotransmitters have been activated by these addictive

nibbles, they are nearly impossible to turn off.

Monkey Bread: I usually take my breakfast

breads with coffee. But memories of my mornings

on the Ocean City


Ice Cream: Have you ever been to The Bent Spoon in Princeton?

(omg) I cannot resist plopping a scoop of their mocha ice cream in the

middle of my pint glass and enjoying a luscious sweet

stout float. Beer and ice cream. The two things that without, life would be rendered

meaningless.

MEADOW’S EDGE RED

Natali VineyardsCape May Courthouse

loaded with Welsh lamb and root veggies, is not just the lord of leftovers, it is the

consummate comfort food. And a perfect pairing for growler of smooth stout.

Donkey Cheese: Ass cheese?

I find opulence interesting. This is the most expensive cheese in the world valued at up to a “caviar-priced”

$700 per lb. “Pule” is only made from the milk of a

minuscule family of Serbian donkeys. It is white and

crumbly, similar to Spanish manchego, and it would be a perfect pairing, if I could get any…but I can’t right now. Why? because tennis star

and famous cheese-hoarder, Novak Djokovic has bought up all the current supply for himself! I guess eccentric

extravagance is alive and well in the formerly socialist state.

This is a big bold red table wine and one of the best reds

I’ve yet to taste from NJ. From their website:

“Meadow’s Edge, Made from very ripe grapes from New

World vines. Your Grandpop (Nonno) might have made them this way from similar grapes during Prohibition

when home wine-making was still legal. But unlike “Nonno” we use the best cultured yeast

science can provide. This is a “strong” wine with a

lasting finish.”I received this bottle just

before the Holidays, so it made it onto my bountiful Christmas

dinner table. I am a big fan of complex assertive wines

that love fat and protein and I fed my family plenty of that.

Check out what I made:

Goose:Goose is a classic Christmas

dish. After all the presents were


JIMMCGRADYExecutive Chef/Managing Partner at Maggiano’s Little ItalyRestaurantReality.biz

opened, I popped the big bird in the oven to cook while I took my family to see the “Hobbit”. It turned out spectacular! (the bird, not the movie)… if I do

say so myself. Geese have “soft fat” which renders at a very low temp and is perfect for

slow roasting (don’t forget the rosemary). This all dark meat fowl was so rich and fatty and

this wine was truly the perfect pairing.

Kind of gave me goosebumps!

PRIME RIB:We also had to have some beef, right? There is nothing more

special at Christmas than a perfectly cooked slab of roast beef. Not difficult to do at all.

Get a 12-14lb. rib-eye, properly

MOJAMA:I love cured fish

(I also made gravlax). Not too many fish preparations will stand up to this wine, but

this dry-cured “tuna prosciutto” will. Sustainability is the

buzz word in my world and preservation of fresh local food is crucial. Sliced paper thin and

served on a butterycrispy crostini.

I wish I could tell you about all the rest of the menu, but we’ll

save that for another day.

season, roast to 125 degrees and let it rest, that’s it. The only

way to ruin it is to cut into it too early, don’t touch it! 20 minutes will be fine.

BRAISED VEGGIES:

Ok, so now what to do with all this precious rendered goose and beef fat? Ahh, time for

some braised veggies. I’ve got brussel sprouts, red cabbage,

carrots, leeks, sweet potatoes….all good healthy choices. Not when I got done with them. But, oh how delicious! They say you can’t trust a skinny

chef? Well you can’t trust a fat one either.

Don’t forget the butter too.


Today it seems that every beer drinker looks forward to the fall. This year nearly every brewery had their own take on either an Okto-berfest beer or a pumpkin ale. Some beer drinkers prefer higher ABV pumpkin stouts, some prefer hoppy pumpkin porters, some prefer spiced

pumpkin brown ales. Some beer drinkers like tradi-tional German style Oktoberfest beers while others prefer a sweeter spiced American-style Oktoberfest. No matter which variation on the styles you prefer, most of this year’s fall sea-sonal beers fell into one of those two broad categories: Oktoberfest or Pumpkin Ale. This year’s batch of winter seasonal beers is a different story. If you ask five people what their favorite winter seasonal beer is, they may name five different beer styles. While most tend to have a huge malt presence, some of the most popular winter seasonal beers are IPAs, pale ales, and hoppy barleywines. This winter, there is something for everyone. If you are looking for some-thing hoppy, there is a great selection of big IPAs and pale ales to choose from. Saranac Big moose Ale is an easy to drink Ameri-can Pale Ale with plenty of citrusy hop flavor and aroma. Lagunitas Brown Shugga is a hoppy Ameri-can Strong Ale that resulted from a botched attempt to brew Lagunitas Old GnarlyWine Ale with brown cane sugar, which creates a fantastic mix of hop bittering and malty sweetness. Sierra Nevada Cel-

A WinterWonderland of Beers

By Eric Wormann

ebration Ale is a fresh hopped American IPA that has been a winter staple for thirty years. The most popular traditional winter style is the Winter Warmer. An English style, Winter Warmers tend to be dark in color, occasionally spiced, sweet and malty with a low hop presence. Anchor Christ-mas Ale is brewed with a secret recipe that, along with the tree on the label, changes every year. Sly Fox Christmas Ale is great for those who like spiced wassail style, as it is brewed using ginger, clove, all spice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Harpoon Winter

Warmer is one of the longest-running American-brewed win-ter warmers with cinnamon and nutmeg dominating every aspect of this beer. If you are into bold, dark stouts, there are plenty of choices this winter. Terrapin Moo-Hoo Choco-late Milk Stout tastes exactly like it sounds: a milk stout flavored with cocoa nibs and shells from Olive and Sinclair Chocolate Company. Boston Beer Company’s newest beer is Samuel Adams Merry Mis-chief, a gingerbread stout featur-ing dark roasted malts, a touch of wheat, and spices like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and ginger. Evil Genius Beer Company, a young brewery based in Pennsylvania that

contract brews out of Cooperstown Brewing Compa-ny, has a unique chocolate oatmeal stout called Pure Evil, brewed as an oatmeal stout that is conditioned with their own homemade chocolate syrup. This winter’s beer selection has something for everyone, so whether you like hitting the ski slopes, building a snowman, or curling up by the fire, you’re bound to find a new beer to love this season.


COOKING WITH WINE & BEERDream Weaver

Wheat BeerTroegs Brothers Brewing Co

Hersey PA

Historically, before the invent of refrigeration and rapid trans-port of fresh food ingredients , winter was a period of time when people survived on root vegetables, cellar storable veg-etables (such as cabbage) and if lucky cured or smoked pro-teins. Of course, in our life time these restrictions didn’t limit our choice of foods but because of culture and family traditions most families still have seasonal favorites. The English, Irish and Scot-tish all share some version of “bubble and squeak”, a hearty winter dish, made in its most simple form, of potatoes and cabbage. I used Dream Weaver Wheat Beer to cook my bubble and squeak along with Smoked Ham Hocks to produce a hearty, carbo fueled dinner.

Smoked Ham Hocks withBubble and

Squeak

2 smoked hocks that are small on bone and big on meat

CHEF JIMMY VENA

Rinse of the hocks (there may be some salt crystals on the outside)Thin Slice 1 large OnionPlace the onion and hocks with 2 bottles of Dream Weaver Wheat beer in a cover pot and boil for 15 minutes.Add 2 cups of sliced green cab-bage to the potAdd 2 large baking potatoes that have been washed and sliced Add 1 cup of water.Cover and boil approx ½ hour.All liquid with be gone and the potatoes and cabbage will be soft.Remove the hocks. Keep asideAdd ¼ stick butter and table grind black pepper to the veg-etablesMash the veggies, add some fresh chopped parsleyServe the hocks over your “Bubble and Squeak”Goes great with horseradish and a cold Wheat beer!


Old York Cellars

CabernetSauvignon

The first full week starting on a Monday in December is “Shot Gun” or “Deer Week” in New Jersey. It’s the only 7 days of the year when a hunter (who has already downed a doe) can shoot at Buck with shotgun. This year I took the invitation to spend the week with the men at the Ozark Sportsmen’s Club, a private lodge in the Jersey Pine barrens since 1951. Unseasonably warm and rain or snow free it was a record setting year for the club, downing 38 Bucks The club members share all the roasts, chop, stew and eventual sau-sage and jerky that come from the Bucks but the hunter who actually downs the deer gets the “back strap” from it. The backs trap is the loin that runs from shoulder to hind along both sides of the back bone.

Although its often referred to as the “filet” it is not the “filet mi-gnon” tenderloin piece. It is lean and tender, cooks and eats like a pork “filet mignon” tenderloin. For those of you not fortunate enough to have a friend to get some fresh venison from try D’Angelo in Philly, PA www.dangelobros.com. Marinade whole Back Strap for 24 Hours in3 pieces caramelized ginger½ cup Agave or Honey1 cup Old York Cellars Cab. Sav¼ cup Virgin Olive Oil2 tablespoons Brazilian BBQ Beef Rub spice1 tablespoon minced garlic Remove from Mari-nate and keep aside Roast back Strap in pre heated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes For the gravy½ stick butter and 3 ta-ble spoons full flour…cook until light brown and smells like hazelnutsAdd ¾ cup beef stockAdd the strained marinateBring to boil and reduce and cook 15 minutes Let meat sit 5 minutes before slicing and serve with the Old Cellars Gravy

ChefJimmy


Driving away DWIs Alcohol & Gasoline Don’t Mix

How much you can “hold” is determined by: amount of alcohol you drink (A); rate at which you drink it (.015xH); your weight (W) and your sex(R). The Widmark formula calculates Blood Alcohol Concentration:%BAC = (A x 5.14 / W x R) - .015 x H Go to our website for an explanation of this formula and an example of how it works:www.VillaMilagroVineyards.com/alcohol-test.html

To avoid intoxication, eat before and while you drink. Food in your stomach slows the rate at which alcohol is absorbed. Drink a glass of water for each alcoholic drink. This will help avoid dehydration which contributes to hangovers. Pace yourself to the 1 oz per hour rule. Above all, remember that alcohol and gasoline don’t mix! And, by the way, when you sit on the porch at Villa Milagro

to enjoy great wine and views but don’t consume that entire bottle of wine – cork it and put it in the trunk of your car. NJ’s fine for an open container in the passenger compartment is $200. Cork it, store it and save that $200 for your return trip to our winery to buy great wine!’

WINE & HEALTH AUDREY CROSS, PHD, JD

Dr. Audrey Cross, a renowned nutritionist who owns Villa Milagro Vineyards with her husband, Steve Gambino, will provide monthly reviews of wine & health issues for Stem & Stein. Next month – Does drinking cause breast cancer? www.DrAudreyCross.com & www.VillaMilagroVineyards.com

New Jersey is tough on drunk drivers – very tough. Judges have little sympathy for drivers who are buzzed, tipsy or stone cold drunk. More than 25,000 people are arrested each year in New Jersey for “DWI” – “driving while intoxicated.” Penalties are stiff – see http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Violations/dui.htm Drunk drivers cause around 600 fatalities per year in NJ. Beyond fatalities, victims are disabled, maimed, disfigured and hospitalized because someone got behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated. How do you get drunk? Alcohol is absorbed by the stomach and small intestines directly into the blood stream. The body attempts to eliminate it by increased urination (which is why Brits call being drunk “pissed”) and through the breath (which is why breathalyzers work). Your liver breaks it down – but this takes time – up to 1 hour to break down 1 oz of alcohol. Roughly, a 12oz beer, 5oz wine or 1 ½ oz of hard liquor is an ounce. These routes are slow so alcohol can build up quickly. Your first drink may relax and loosen you up. The next may begin to impact your judgment. By the third drink functional changes may occur in your speech, vision, eye-hand coordination, body coordination, reaction time, etc. Here’s how it goes:

Blood Alcohol Symptom 0.08 or > illegal to operate vehicle 0.05 first euphoric effects 0.10-0.15 functional signs of intoxication 0.30 stupor and coma


The holiday season is upon and I am sure we all have a day or two between Christmas and New Year’s Eve when you just don’t know what to do with yourself. I felt just that way this past week so I decided to head over to Cricket Hill Brewing in Fairfield. Every Friday night from 5:00 to 7:00 pm they hold brewery tours and beer tastings. It was a nice diversion from the holiday schedule and a chance to talk to Cricket Hill owner, Rick Reed, and get caught up with the latest happenings at the Cricket Hill brewery and enjoy a few their beers. I stopped first to talk to Cricket Hill doormen, Chuck and Tony O, who were pleasantly surprised at the turnout considering it is the holiday season. Then I went to meet Rick Reed and find if anything new is happening at Cricket Hill Brewing. I grabbed one of my favorite beers, Cricket Hill Hopnotic, and found Rick talking with beer

photographer, Sean Noach, whowas showing Rick his latest ink,

a tattoo of the Cricket Hill logo. Ihad a chance to talk to Rick about

some new plans they have forCricket Hill. Rick said, “We are

adding some new beers for next yearand took on a new distributer in

New York making their beer availablein the five boroughs of New York.

After talking with Rick for a while itwas once again time for everyone’s

favorite part of the evening when Rickclimbs up on the platform and starts his

rant. This time he told everyone aboutsome things that are going to happen at the

brewery in 2013, and how his hopes of a Giants/Steelers Super Bowl are over. No matter whathe’s talking about whether it be football or the

evil mass produced commercial beer companies, it’s always funny.

CRICKET HILLTOUR & TASTING

BY MARK RUZICKA


Cricket Hill brewery is located at 24 Kulick Road in Fairfield, New Jersey and is open for tours and tastings every Friday from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. You can also find them on the web at www.crickethill brewery.com.

You can check out one or more of these rants on You Tube or Cricket Hills website, however I recommend you go see it in person. You wont be disappointed.


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stem and stein jan 2013

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stem steinjanuary

issue of stem

stein magazine

contentsstem stein

new jersey

wonderland of beer

happy new year

rdannual grape adventure