Geese, Tortoise, and Gorilla in the Tree of Life at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom

The Classics Remixed : Coconut Rice Pudding with @SuccessRice #recipe

Rice Pudding is comfort food at its best. This twist on the traditional deli favourite uses coconut milk to warm the soul. It a really simple favourite recipe that is the ideal dessert after a spicy meal or served alone mid-afternoon when I'm feeling a bit homesick for San Diego.

Ingredients:

Torrey Pines State Reserve in La Jolla California 

1 1/2 cups cold unsalted cooked Success rice

3 cups whole milk

1/2 cup well stirred canned unsweetened coconut milk

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract    

                    

Simmer rice, milk, coconut milk and salt uncovered in medium (2 or 3 quart) heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Stir frequently until thickened, about 40 minutes. Stir in vanilla extract, serve warm.

________________________________________________

I've actually used non-fat milk as well as lactaid milk and have had positive results. The pudding was not as thick with these adjustments but it was still oh so delicious.

Make sure you are using coconut milk. I have heard stories of people who have used Cream of Coconut which is a canned sweetened product used often for making pina coladas - yuk!

Turbinado sugar, also called Raw Sugar is my sugar of choice. This minimally processed sugar comes from the same plants as the white sugar to which so many of us are accustomed but is brown in colour and many, including me, can taste the difference. My personal preference is Sugar In The Raw which obtains all of their sugar from Hawaii. I like the idea of supporting domestic agriculture and as well as preventing more land in the Aloha state from turning into condo farms.

Best Bets for New Year's Eve: Escape | Montclair NJ

Chef Bryan Gregg will be celebrating New Year’s Eve with a 3-course dinner. 

Note that guests are welcomed to bring their own wines.

When: Wednesday December 31, 2014. Cost: $68/person plus tax and gratuity.

 Starters

Tartar of local beef, yolk, black truffle Beets, oxalis, chicken skin, charred onion, sorrel Charleston risotto, crustacean cream, baby herbs Potato brioche, truffle purée, uni, watercress pistou Smoked cream, Caspian Osetra caviar, corn chive madeleine Warm lobster salad, parsnip milk, fennel pollen, ice lettuce

Mains

Beef, foie gras, charred turnip, hay Black bass, kale, black garlic, crab crème Lamb, cauliflower, currant, Brussels leaves, sorghum Rabbit, truffles, brioche, carrots, charred leek Chicken, celeriac, thigh dumplings, dill weed Scallops, squash, porcini, pecan miso

Desserts 

Chocolate, hazelnut, butterscotch Buttermilk pie, cranberry, walnut, coffee cake Cheese plate with garnish

Reservations for this special evening can be made by phone at (973) 744-0712.

 Escape Montclair 345 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair, NJ 07042

Best Bet For New Year's Eve: Boozapalooza 2014/15! |Fairfield

Jersey Artisan Distilling, Highlands Dinner Club and Blue J Syrups bring you Boozapalooza 2014/15!

As 2014 comes to a close, we at JAD want to celebrate with you all that we have accomplished this year and all we have planned for 2015. What better way to ring in the New Year than with some great rum cocktails, amazing food and music at Jersey's first new distillery to open since Prohibition! You have all been part of the awesomeness, so we want to start the new year with you.

Tickets include: All you can drink cocktails & beer Extensive appetizers provided by the fabulous minds at HDC (including rumors of a Busted Barrel infused roast pig) Music, Champagne toast, A JAD t-shirt & glass A whole night of fun times! The party will kick off around 9 and go until we can't party any longer.

2014 has been awesome & we can't wait to raise a glass with you to start 2015 right!

Tickets are $60,00, $25,00 for Designated Drivers. Tickets are available now on Eventbrite.

Jersey Artisan Distilling

32b Pier Lane West 

Fairfield, NJ 

Best Bets For New Year's Eve : Terre A Terre | Carlstadt

Terre a Terre, the Garden State's highly praised Farm-to-Table restaurant in Carlstadt, Bergen County still has a few spots available for New Year's Eve. Featuring a special menu, live music, and local wines Terre a Terre celebrates all the best of the Garden State. What better way to start 2015.

Since opening in October of 2013, Terre a Terre has received praise from media on both sides of the Hudson proving that great food prepared passionately is still everyone's favorite dish. New Jersey Monthly awarded Chef Todd Villani's restaurant three and a half stars, the first time a restaurant has receive such a high rating in a very long time.

This summer Terre à Terre became the first Meadowlands area restaurant to have received certification as a 2 Star Certified Green Restaurant® from the Green Restaurant Association (GRA), a national nonprofit organization that helps restaurants become more environmentally sustainable.

Call Terre a Terre at (201) 507-0500 to reserve your space TODAY. 

Word on the street is that there are only four spots left. 

Terre à Terre – translated as down to earth – is Chef Todd Villani's food venture where he showcases his passion for an authentic farm to table experience, which starts with fresh, local ingredients. The dining experience is authentic…food prepared just as nature had intended

Terre a Terre is at 312 Hackensack Street Carlstadt, NJ 07072. (201) 507-0500.

Christmas Tree Curbing : An Annual Green Tradition

There are Trees waiting on the curbside for the trash hauler or mulchers to pick them up. If it is not illegal to go curbing (i.e. taking things from the curb that are meant to be discarded/recycled) why not grab one or two like I did ?

With hand clippers I took off the branches the trees so they can be used on top of the planting beds in the garden. They will actually serve several purposes :

- first they will hold the leaves and other top mulches in place over the course of the winter

- they will help shade the soil on warmer days to prevent the freeze-thaw cycles that can disturb bulbs, seeds, and plants

- the garden beds will look better with greens on them

- over the course of the winter, most of the needles will fall off the branches and become mulch and slowly decay into the soil

- come spring the remaining branches will find themselves chopped up to become mulch and compost

- berries love the boost of soil acidity from evergreen branches as do broadleaf evergreens like Azaleas and Rhodedondrons

- even if there is snow on the ground, placing the branches in the garden now will still work, as the snow melts the branches will eventually make their way to soil level

( so get out there, and go curbing for trees! )

Winter at the Ramsey Farmers' Market

The non-profit Ramsey Farmers' Market welcomes market goers from far and wide every Sunday through March from 10M-2PM at the Eric Smith School located at 73 Monroe St., Ramsey, NJ.

 

More than 30 farmers and food purveyors offer fresh, seasonal, local produce and products including organic and responsibly grown vegetables and fruits, artisan breads, gluten free baked goods and prepared foods, pasture raised antibiotic and steroid free meats, gourmet olive oils and balsamic vinegar, free range eggs, milk in glass bottles, made on site guacamole, gourmet nuts and dried fruits, fresh fish directly from the Hampton Bays, homemade pastas, sauces and soups, gourmet stuffed breads, spices, handmade pet treats, green juices, hand crafted soaps and body products, and much more.

 

The Ramsey Farmers' Market also accepts donations of non-perishable food products which are delivered to the Center for Food Action in Mahwah and also accepts WIC and SNAP vouchers. Gift certificates are always available. The Ramsey Farmers' Market is sponsored by the Ramsey Historical Association and supported by the Borough of Ramsey. Visit www.ramseyfarmersmarket.org or call 201-675-6866 for more information. Ample parking available.

 

Thank You Santa! Loving My #DisneySide

Baboon in the Tree of Life at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom

Disney's Live Action Cinderella Comes To Theaters March 13, 2015

"Ella, you have more kindness in your little finger than most people posses in their whole body"

Cinderella: "They're made of glass?" Fairy Godmother: "And you'll find they are really comfortable"

"Where there is kindness there is goodness, and where there is goodness there is magic"

Cinderella in in theatres March 13 2015. 

Rhino in the Tree of Life at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom

Cascada Covers Wham's "Last Christmas" #musicmonday

Mickey's ONCE UPON A CHRISTMASTIME Parade 2014 Multi Angle PANDAVISION - Very Merry Christmas Party

Cocktail Whisperer Warren Bobrow at Watchung Booksellers 12/19

On the heels of his wildly successful Apothecary Cocktails, the Garden State’s favorite mixologist, latest book, "Whiskey Cocktails: Redisovered Classics and Contemporary Craft Drinks Using the World’s Most Popular Spirit" is already a best seller. The best part: he'll be at Watchung Booksellers in Montclair NJ tonight (12/19) at 6pm signing copies of his book and offering samples of his mixological magic. "Whiskey Cocktails" was just listed as one of the best gifts this season by Huffington Post.

From the publisher:

Grab your bow tie and a rocks glass, because we’re talking all about one of the most classic – and classy – spirits. Whether you like bourbon, scotch or rye, whiskey’s diverse and complex taste will be your new go-to drink for parties, gatherings, or evenings in your study with a roaring fire. Whiskey can be an intimidating drink to the uninitiated. Most folks may not be able to drink it straight. We’ve got you covered. The Cocktail Whisperer, Warren Bobrow, author of Apothecary Cocktails (Fair Winds Press) incorporates some of the best whiskeys into hand-crafted cocktails that bring out the subtle notes and flavors of any good bourbon or scotch. Whiskey Cocktails features 75 traditional, newly-created, and original recipes for whiskey-based cocktails. This wonderfully crafted book also features drink recipes from noted whiskey experts and bartenders.

About Warren Bobrow: 

Warren Bobrow is the Garden State's own Cocktail Whisperer. When he isn’t postulating about the good, bad and the ugly of cocktail bars in NJ for the best local food sites, he is the Food and Drink Editor of the Wild River Review located in Princeton, New Jersey. Like a good bartender who hears everything but shares little, Warren is not one to boast of his accomplishments. But that’s not going to stop us.

 He writes for the “Fabulous Beekman 1802 Boys” as their cocktail writer. (Klaus, The Soused Gnome). He was one of 12 journalists world-wide, and the only one from the USA to participate in the Fête de la Gastronomie 2012 in Burgundy. Warren co-judged the Iron Mixology competition at the Charleston Wine and Food Festival (2012), was # 30 in Saveur Magazine’s 100 in 2010, for his writing about the humble Tuna Melt. Warren has published over four hundred articles on everything from cocktail mixology to restaurant reviews to travel articles. His first book, Apothecary Cocktails is now in its second printing and another book is in the works! The best thing about Warren? He does mixology for groups and private lessons- ask! You may find him on the web at CocktailWhisperer.com

Watchung Booksellers is at 54 Fairfield Street in Montclair NJ, right next to the Tiny Elephant Cafe.

Koala in the Tree of Life at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom

Best Bet: Gingerbread House Kit at @TinyElephantNJ | Montclair NJ

Gingerbread houses. Spiced dough. Puffy white icing. Candy ornaments and decorations. In the era of pinterest everyone has several of them on a board with the intention of embracing their inner Frank Lloyd Wright with a hint of Father Christmas to surprise their guests.

Then the realization of how much work is needed- especially when it comes to rolling the dough the exact depth, then cutting it precisely, and getting the whole bloody thing off the baking pans intact. Regardless what teachers may have told you about Scrooge and "Bah Humbug," there are reports that the phrase was actually created by a Mom in Pasadena. We may never know.

What we do know is that Tiny Elephant Cafe in Watchung Plaza Montclair has taken much of the work and stress out of making gingerbread houses with their Gingerbread House Kits.

Baked daily in their kitchen these houses are FRESH. Sure there are kits for sale at various retailers and supermarkets, but they were baked and packaged months ago. Plus most of them cost more than the ones at Tiny Elephant.

The Tiny Elephant Gingerbread House includes a partly assembled Gingerbread House, Icing, Piping Bag, and Decorations. And it all tastes really good.

Given how close we are to Christmas it is best to call Tiny Elephant in advance to make sure there is a kit for you. If there is not one immediately available, word on the street is that they pan to keep baking houses to meet demand. (Perhaps the headline should have read "Quickly Built Affordable Houses In Montclair")

54 Fairfield Street Montclair NJ 07042 973.774.7252

Tiny Elephant - Big Santa | Sunday December 21 | Montclair NJ

Candle Safety Tips for the Holiday Season

The holiday season is upon us and with it come the risks of candle fires. The Montclair NJ Fire Department has already responded to a number of candle fires this season.

The National Fire Protections Association (NFPA) reports that an estimated 10,630 home structure fires are started by candles each year. On average 29 home fires started by candles are called in every day across the country. The fires have approximately 115 deaths, 903 civilian injuries and resulted in over $418 million in property damage.

Below is important information about safe ways to use candles in the home. Please review it.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Candle Safety Tips from the NFPA:

Candles may be pretty to look at but they are a cause of home fires — and home fire deaths. Remember, a candle is an open flame, which means that it can easily ignite anything that can burn.

·         Blow out all candles when you leave the room or go to bed. Avoid the use of candles in the bedroom and other areas where people may fall asleep.

·         Keep candles at least 12 inches away from anything that can burn.

·         Think about using flameless candles in your home. They look and smell like real candles.

If you do burn candles, make sure that you...

·         Use candle holders that are sturdy, and won’t tip over easily.

·         Put candle holders on a sturdy, uncluttered surface.

·         Light candles carefully. Keep your hair and any loose clothing away from the flame.

·         Don’t burn a candle all the way down — put it out before it gets too close to the holder or container.

·         Never use a candle if oxygen is used in the home.

·         Have flashlights and battery-powered lighting ready to use during a power outage. Never use candles.

Candles and Kids

·         Never leave a child alone in a room with a burning candle.

·         Keep matches and lighters up high and out of children’s reach, in a locked cabinet.

FACTS:

·         December is the peak time of year for home candle fires.

·         Roughly one-third of home candle fires started in the bedroom.

·         More than half of all candle fires start when things that can burn are too close to the candle.

Seahorse and Eagle in the Tree of Life at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom

The 11 September Memorial, Eagle Rock, West Orange NJ

Over the last few days, my photo of the 11 September Memorial at Eagle Rock has been getting a great many views on flickr. Taking a moment to reflect on the memorial seems appropriate this time of year. We're all caught up in the commericalization of the holiday season and forget that there are some people who have wanted something for the past several Christmases that no amount of money will buy.

Royal Icing Recipe - The Stuff That Makes Christmas Sugar Cookies So Good

Royal Icing is that sweet colorful piped icing that dries hard and makes sugar cookies look so good.

The original Royal Icing was made with egg whites and powdered (confectioners) sugar however with so many cases of crazy illnesses being attributed to raw eggs using meringue powder is the best way to go. Meringue Powder can sometimes be found in grocery stores during "cookie baking season" and its almost always in foodie oriented stores such as Whole Foods. Craft stores with a cake decorating section often sell meringue powder as well.


ROYAL ICING

Ingredients:

4 Cups Confectioners Sugar (this is usually one box)

3 Tablespoons Meringue Powder

6 Tablespoons Water

Method :

The easiest way to prepare royal icing is to combine all of the ingredients in a stand mixer at the lowest speed using a padle attachment.

I have found that adding the sugar and merignue powder first, allowing those dry ingredients to combine and distribute works best. Add the water a little at a time, stopping the mixer and scraping down the sides of the bowl from time to time.

This will produce a sweet but fairly flavorless white icing that is ready to be piped.

Vanilla essense (extract) or any other flavoring can be added. Its often a nice surprise to add some peppermint extract to the royal icing that will be used to decorate candy cane shaped cookies.

Food coloring can be added as well.

The Maccabeats - All About That Neis - Hanukkah

The Maccabeats are an a cappella group based in New York's Yeshiva University know for their unique covers of popular music rewritten with lyrics reflecting the traditional Jewish experience. They've been around for several years and in that time performed around the world to audiences of all faiths who find their craft both entertaining and inspiring.

The latest song is "All About That Neis" with music inspired by "All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor. Happy Holidays!

. @ParagonTap and Table Hosts Benefit for Food Bank @CFBNJ

Paragon Tap and Table in Clark NJ will host a benefit for the Community Food Bank of New Jersey on Thursday December 18 2014.

Chef Eric Levine is known in some circles for culinary skills, in others for his business acumen as the Executive Chef at Morris Tap and Grill and Paragon Tap and Table, but he's known everywhere for his service to those in need. Whether the battle is cancer or hunger, Eric always seems to be leading the charge. This week is no different as his newest restaurant in Clark hosts a benefit for the Community Food Bank of NJ on Thursday Dec 18 2014.

Make your reservations now for dinner seating before it's too late!

Prizes -including Gift Certificates, growlers & more! Special Glass Etching offered Holiday Beer & Cheer T-shirts available for sale

Ways to help Community Foodbank of NJ: Percentage of proceeds from the following will be donated!

Ramstein has generously donated a keg of Winter Wheat. 

ALL PROCEEDS TO CFBNJ!! 

PLUS!!

-Special Menu for the night-

-Special Cocktails for the Evening 

-Holiday Beers

$1 for every draft and $3 every growler sold donated of the following!

Anchor Christmas, Breckenridge Christmas,  Skyfox Christmas, Great Lakes Christmas, Troeg's Mad Elf

$2 donated from every sale of the following bottles!!

Clown Shoes Reindeer Games, Schlafly Special Release Christmas, Corsendonk Christmas Ale ,Rogue's Santa's Private Reserve, Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Paragon Tap and Table

77 Central Ave Clark NJ 07066

(732) 931-1776

Tiger and Porcupine in the Tree of Life at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom

Caldwell Restaurant Week Announced For August 2015

Caldwell Restaurant Week will run from from Sunday, August 9th through Sunday, August 16th, 2015. Most of the borough's restaurants will join the fun with special prix-fixe menus that showcase the culinary diversity of this West Essex community. Caldwell's restaurant and food scene has been a well guarded secret in the Garden State but after the success of the first Restaurant Week in August 2014 all of that has changed.

The idea of a summer restaurant week sounds a bit contrary because "everyone goes on vacation in the summer" but how many of know anyone who summers for the entire season? Organizers understand that most Caldwell residents, as well as those of surrounding communities are still in town, yet very few special events are planned. Schools, churches, even civic organizations go on hiatus. With longer days making evening strolls before and after dinner possible a summer restaurant week made perfect sense. Bloomfield has been doing summer restaurant weeks for years and 2014 proved that Caldwell can do it too.

Best BYO: Xunta Tapas Espana

Caldwell Restaurant Week will showcase the diversity of dining scene with the cuisine of Spain, Italy, France, Japan and of course several variations and spins on American favorites in the spotlight. By the time August rolls around the variety is sure to be even greater! We already know that local favorites Xuntas Tapas, Angeloni's, and Dough will be participating. There is also a new place opening up this summer right in the center of town - that owner is excited to be a part of this event

Did you know that the readers of Suburban Essex Magazine just voted Xunta Tapas as the best BYO? With the support of the Caldwell Merchants Association and Cloverleaf Tavern supporting all the BYOs #caldwellnjrw 2014 was great - 2015 will be even better! August 9 to 16 plan to be here!

Did you know that President Grover Cleveland was born in Caldwell? There is so much to discover here. Details of Caldwell's first restaurant week will be shared as the event approaches. In the meantime like Caldwell Restaurant Week on Facebook and follow on twitter at @CaldwellNJRW

Manatee in the Tree of Life at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom

What Disney Park Do You Belong In? For Me It's Animal Kingdom #disneyside @disdining

I am a hippie at heart. Nature and animals are my thing and I love an adventure! Have fun on Kilimanjaro Safaris before checking out It's Tough To Be A Bug, deep in the Tree of Life. Don't forget Expedition Everest and meeting some new friends at Camp Minnie Mickey! Take the quiz today on DisneyDining.com and find out what park you belong in today!

What Disney Park Do you Belong In?

Words We Love: Immaculate Conception

–noun
In the Roman Catholic Church, the dogma of the unique privilege by which the Virgin Mary was conceived in her mother's womb without the stain of original sin through the anticipated merits of Jesus Christ.

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is marked on 8 December which always seems to be a point of confusion for some Roman Catholics and non-Catholics alike as it falls just 17 days before Christmas. (how can there be a conception and then birth a little more than a fortnight later?). Immacualate Conception refers to the conception of Mary, the Blessed Virgin, who is often called the Immaculata, especially in art.

The Feast of the Annunciation (25 March) marks when Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary. 25 March falls exactly nine months prior to Christmas.

The Church of the Immaculate Conception in Monclair NJ is named in honor of Blessed Virgin.

Estelle Photobombs The @MontclairPopUp

Local entrepreneurs, Selma Avdicevic (owner of Woolly Boo) and Helene Richman (owner of brandhelene) kicked off the Holiday 2014 Season of the Montclair Pop-Up this week. Being the chick around town Estelle had to check things out just as she did last year.

The Montclair Pop Up is located at 28 South Fullerton Avenue in Montclair Center near Villalobos.

Major Potential Public Art Space Remains Unused In @MontclairCenter NJ

Don't you just wish the powers that be in Montclair would work with the building owner to create a mural akin to the World Famous Montclair Rooster for this space?

Orangutan in the Tree of Life at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom

#ThrowbackThursday The Old Canal Inn Fire In November 2014 @TheOCI_NJ

The Old Canal Inn suffered a fire on November 15 2014 that destroyed the kitchen and part of the dining room. While it will be months before that portion of this local landmark reopens, the historic bar reopened at noon on Saturday Nov 22.


Located on the Bloomfield/Nutley  border, the Old Canal Inn was saved from being a total loss because of the swift efforts of the Bloomfield and Nutley Fire Departments. The first paying customer after the fire was a Bloomfield Firefighter. The Conca Brothers were ready to put that beer on their own personal tabs tab but he insisted to pay $10 for that one beer to help the business recover.

That story, and so many others from this period of restoratin, tell so much about the type of place the OCI is: people coming together in good times for a beer, and coming together to support each other in the not so good times. It is always like that at the OCI.

While it will be several months until the "New Old Canal Inn" reopens the restaurant portion, but the organizers at Bloomfield Restaurant Week were proud to announce that the OCI was the first restaurant to sign up for the August 2015 event. The Old Canal Inn will indeed come back bigger, better, and more bad-ass than ever before.

 

The Old Canal Inn
2 East Passaic Ave Nutley, NJ 07110

Type of Cuisine: Pub Food

Price Range: $$

Phone: 973) 284-1272

Alcohol: Full Bar

Dresdner Stollen Is Back At Montclair Bread Company

There’s the old Christmas joke that there is only one holiday fruitcake and it is passed from family to family every year. Not true. There are 1,487 American-style fruitcakes in all existence, and they are passed around from family to family every year. (really people, if you are going to share a suburban legend make it plausible!) But today’s not about American fruitcake, it’s about the German variety: Stollen.

There are some things that the Germans do better than Americans: building luxury cars, incredible rail systems, of course Stollen. There are fruit cakes called “stolen” available in some markets this time of year but other than a name and shape, these carb filled blobs have about as much to do with the German tradition as those Volkswagens that were built in the old VW factory in Westmoreland PA (remember that debacle? Ugh!) The great news for this holiday season is that Rachel Crampsey once again brought back the Dresdner Stollen based on the authentic recipe and the results are ausgezeichnet!

Historically Advent, the nearly month long Christian Season just before Christmas, was marked with fasting in preparation of the birth of the Christ Child. The season was not that different from Lent in that its end was marked by a feast of gastronomic proportions. The original 15th Century Stollen was a staple of that season and reflected the lack of flavor that is associated with dishes from these seasons of fasting. Once Saxony became a Protestant state things began to change – filled with dried fruits, drenched in butter, and covered in sugar the Dresden Stollen came to symbolize the sweetness of the Christ Child. The stollen even bears a slight resemblance to a tightly swaddled infant. (and no, this is not the origin of the Spiritual “Sweet Little Jesus Child” but kudos on the musical tangent!)

So what makes Dresden Stollen so different from the one available in the supermarket for $5? Well, only Stollen from Dresden can be called “Dresden Stollen” – just as only bubbly from the Champagne region of France can be called Champagne, everything else is sparkling wine. Semantics aside, the preparation of Stollen following the Dresdner tradition makes all the difference. As a sweet risen bread, most American recipes forget about some of the science that goes into the rise which results in a hard, dense loaf. Despite knowing this secret, and knowing that Rachel knows this secret, I will not share it. All I can tell share is “OMG – I had five of these Stollens last year and plan to have many more stashed away for Weihnachten this year.” They have a great keeping quality so picking a few up now is the best way to guarantee you have them on the big day.

There are some secrets of the Montclair Bread Company that can be shared. The recipe is an authentic Dresden Recipe. Instead of using purchased candied peel, the entire Crampsey family joins in the process of peeling and candying fresh fruit (so there is none of that gummy green stuff and none of that chemical preservative taste). Sweet butter is used throughout the preparation, shortening would be cheaper, but Stollen is about authenticity and flavor. And finally the sugar – confectionery sugar has become the standard for store bought stollen but they did not have that powdered stuff in the 15th or even 19th century so Rachel rolls her stollen in sugar crystals that actually sparkle just a bit on a table illuminated by candlelight.


Since purchasing the Montclair Bread Company in 2012, the Crampsey's have revitalized one of the township’s best known brands and turned it into a bakery that now embraces European traditions and is as good as the best bakeries in San Francisco and Portland. Go for the stollen, and come back for the baguettes, pretzel bread, and jammies!

For 2014 the Dresdner Stollen at Montclair Bread Company is $18.50.

113 Walnut Street

Montclair NJ 07042

(973) 509-2525

Bat in the Tree of Life at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom