News
To a young buy growing up on the Jersey Shore, Memorial Day meant one thing ...
SUMMER’S COMING!!
In a beach community, you basically have three months to make your money for the season — between June and August — and the Memorial Day weekend was the unofficial kick-off of the summer season.
The lifeguard boats and stands were brought out of storage and prepped for the season, the amusement piers in Atlantic City — The Steel Pier, Steeplechase Pier and Million Dollar Pier — got a fresh new coat of paint, and all of the kids were looking to see what new rides were being built. We looked at the summer schedule for The Steel Pier to see who the headliners were going to be that summer, and we all started to look for our summer jobs.
Some of my favorite summers were when I worked at The Steel Pier and yes, as much as it is hard to believe, I actually was a ... gulp ... dancer for a summer on “SummerTime at The Pier” with Ed Hurst. We had a DJ who played the hits of that summer and some of the acts who played the pier came on the show and lip-synched their hit(s) as we early-teens danced in front of the TV cameras. Think smaller version of “American Bandstand.” SummerTime at the Pier was shown in the South Jersey/Philadelphia markets and syndicated to New York, Cincinnati, Washington, Atlanta and San Francisco. To be on that show was the bomb!
The Steel Pier was built back in 1898, opening with Annie Oakley as the star attraction. It quickly became known as “The Nation’s Showplace.” Stretching more than a half-mile out at sea from The Atlantic City Boardwalk, it literally was an amusement park over the ocean with two movie theaters, The Marine Ballroom and at the end, an outside water-show amphitheater which featured high-divers and yes, The World Famous High-Diving Horse (which became the basis of a Disney movie, “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken”). Let us not forget the Diving Bell, which dropped to the ocean floor on the side of the Pier, though most days you could not see more than a foot past the windows. For a young teen, it was the best place on earth!
When I think of some of the bands that played The Steel Pier, I am still amazed! Some of the “regulars” that played almost every summer there for 4-6 days in a row, two shows a day, were The Beach Boys, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition. Back in the heyday of Atlantic City, Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, The Ziegfeld Follies, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra. In the ’60s and early ’70s, Chicago, The Supremes, The Allman Brothers Band and The Rolling Stones. The Beatles were supposed to play there until the owners realized that even the Steel Pier could not hold the crowds that were at other venues the Beatles played the summer of 1964. So it was moved to the Atlantic City Convention Hall and Aug. 30, 1964; my dad took his 11-year-old son to see the Beatles — dad was cool, sometimes.
Yeah. Memorial Day meant something!
Nowadays, it also means the beginning of barbecue season. Pull out your Weber, clean the grill, stock up on charcoal and mesquite and char some meats!!
Both this week’s Foodie Questionnaire and Site of the Week are from a writer friend of mine, Claire Walter, based out of Boulder. Claire’s new Web site, www.milehighonthecheap.com , is a great resource for savings when you are out on the Front Range, so be sure to check it out!
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Claire Walter, freelance writer
blogger (http://culinary-colorado.blogspot.com ) and partner www.milenighonthe cheap.com
What is your most vivid memory of “family” food while you grew up?
My Austrian grandmother was a dynamite baker. Her apple strudel was the best ever. She had one white cotton sheet that she would spread over the kitchen table, sprinkle w/flour and begin stretching the strudel dough. She did it by rote. She died when I was 15, and I never have dared tackle it.
When you realize that you were a “Foodie?”
When the word become popular.
Why did you become a “Foodie?”
I don’t think there was any intention. I like good, from-scratch food — whether I make it or others do. I don’t go to chain restaurants, and I don’t buy prepared foods. I’d rather make something simple than use a so-called “convenience food” made in a factory.
Who/what was your major influence in becoming a “Foodie?”
Growing up in a family whose roots were European. My grandmother baked, but my mother always cooked. She’d come home after work and put a simple meal on the table — and it was never from a package or baked in a casserole.
What advice do you have for those who dream of one day becoming a cook (foodie)?
To be a cook, just start cooking. Take a few classes. Don’t beat yourself up if something doesn’t work or a dish disappoints. To become a chef, go to culinary school and then apprentice at the best restaurant possible.
We are still looking for more “Chef/Foodie” questionnaire! E-mail me and I will reply with one!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Lee is the founder and owner of Decadence Gourmet Cheesecakes and Catering. He can be reached at decadencecheesecakes@mindspring.com or via decadencecheesecakes.com.
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Bourbon Marinated Steak
1 3/4 pound top sirloin steak
1/2 cup bourbon
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup dry red wine
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp. fresh ground pepper
Place steak in deep dish, combine remaining ingredients and pour over steak. Allow steak to marinate for 4 to 5 hours. Remove steak and grill over hot charcoal or gas grill, baste often with marinade. Cook steak to medium rare (or desired doneness).
For a great side dish, serve with our “Drunken Corn!” E-mail me for that recipe!
SUMMER’S COMING!!
In a beach community, you basically have three months to make your money for the season — between June and August — and the Memorial Day weekend was the unofficial kick-off of the summer season.
The lifeguard boats and stands were brought out of storage and prepped for the season, the amusement piers in Atlantic City — The Steel Pier, Steeplechase Pier and Million Dollar Pier — got a fresh new coat of paint, and all of the kids were looking to see what new rides were being built. We looked at the summer schedule for The Steel Pier to see who the headliners were going to be that summer, and we all started to look for our summer jobs.
Some of my favorite summers were when I worked at The Steel Pier and yes, as much as it is hard to believe, I actually was a ... gulp ... dancer for a summer on “SummerTime at The Pier” with Ed Hurst. We had a DJ who played the hits of that summer and some of the acts who played the pier came on the show and lip-synched their hit(s) as we early-teens danced in front of the TV cameras. Think smaller version of “American Bandstand.” SummerTime at the Pier was shown in the South Jersey/Philadelphia markets and syndicated to New York, Cincinnati, Washington, Atlanta and San Francisco. To be on that show was the bomb!
The Steel Pier was built back in 1898, opening with Annie Oakley as the star attraction. It quickly became known as “The Nation’s Showplace.” Stretching more than a half-mile out at sea from The Atlantic City Boardwalk, it literally was an amusement park over the ocean with two movie theaters, The Marine Ballroom and at the end, an outside water-show amphitheater which featured high-divers and yes, The World Famous High-Diving Horse (which became the basis of a Disney movie, “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken”). Let us not forget the Diving Bell, which dropped to the ocean floor on the side of the Pier, though most days you could not see more than a foot past the windows. For a young teen, it was the best place on earth!
When I think of some of the bands that played The Steel Pier, I am still amazed! Some of the “regulars” that played almost every summer there for 4-6 days in a row, two shows a day, were The Beach Boys, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition. Back in the heyday of Atlantic City, Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, The Ziegfeld Follies, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra. In the ’60s and early ’70s, Chicago, The Supremes, The Allman Brothers Band and The Rolling Stones. The Beatles were supposed to play there until the owners realized that even the Steel Pier could not hold the crowds that were at other venues the Beatles played the summer of 1964. So it was moved to the Atlantic City Convention Hall and Aug. 30, 1964; my dad took his 11-year-old son to see the Beatles — dad was cool, sometimes.
Yeah. Memorial Day meant something!
Nowadays, it also means the beginning of barbecue season. Pull out your Weber, clean the grill, stock up on charcoal and mesquite and char some meats!!
Both this week’s Foodie Questionnaire and Site of the Week are from a writer friend of mine, Claire Walter, based out of Boulder. Claire’s new Web site, www.milehighonthecheap.com , is a great resource for savings when you are out on the Front Range, so be sure to check it out!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Claire Walter, freelance writer
blogger (http://culinary-colorado.blogspot.com ) and partner www.milenighonthe cheap.com
What is your most vivid memory of “family” food while you grew up?
My Austrian grandmother was a dynamite baker. Her apple strudel was the best ever. She had one white cotton sheet that she would spread over the kitchen table, sprinkle w/flour and begin stretching the strudel dough. She did it by rote. She died when I was 15, and I never have dared tackle it.
When you realize that you were a “Foodie?”
When the word become popular.
Why did you become a “Foodie?”
I don’t think there was any intention. I like good, from-scratch food — whether I make it or others do. I don’t go to chain restaurants, and I don’t buy prepared foods. I’d rather make something simple than use a so-called “convenience food” made in a factory.
Who/what was your major influence in becoming a “Foodie?”
Growing up in a family whose roots were European. My grandmother baked, but my mother always cooked. She’d come home after work and put a simple meal on the table — and it was never from a package or baked in a casserole.
What advice do you have for those who dream of one day becoming a cook (foodie)?
To be a cook, just start cooking. Take a few classes. Don’t beat yourself up if something doesn’t work or a dish disappoints. To become a chef, go to culinary school and then apprentice at the best restaurant possible.
We are still looking for more “Chef/Foodie” questionnaire! E-mail me and I will reply with one!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Lee is the founder and owner of Decadence Gourmet Cheesecakes and Catering. He can be reached at decadencecheesecakes@mindspring.com or via decadencecheesecakes.com.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Bourbon Marinated Steak
1 3/4 pound top sirloin steak
1/2 cup bourbon
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup dry red wine
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp. fresh ground pepper
Place steak in deep dish, combine remaining ingredients and pour over steak. Allow steak to marinate for 4 to 5 hours. Remove steak and grill over hot charcoal or gas grill, baste often with marinade. Cook steak to medium rare (or desired doneness).
For a great side dish, serve with our “Drunken Corn!” E-mail me for that recipe!
