A trip to the turkey farm, deals on wild shrimp and wine at Whole Foods

The Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff calls itself the only live market in Bergen County.

The market, established in 1948, sells naturally raised capons up to 12 pounds and turkeys up to 40 pounds.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

There is something special about getting your Thanksgiving turkey at the only live market in Bergen County.

Today, on a beautiful fall afternoon, we drove the 10 miles out to the farm on Goffle Road in Wyckoff, even though I no longer eat turkey, and my wife and other members of the family prefer drumsticks, thighs and other parts.

Two weeks before Thanksgiving, the small farm store was crowded with workers taking phone orders or waiting on a steady stream of customers.

Turkeys are free range, fresh killed and raised without antibiotics -- or "approximately one level down from organic," according to the farm's website.

We called ahead for large turkey drumsticks ($1.69 a pound), large turkey thighs ($2.69 a pound) and turkey necks ($1.99 a pound).

At the store, we also picked up 3 pounds of cleaned chicken feet ($1.99 a pound).

A flier in the store advertises a 3-course Thanksgiving Dinner at Chakra Restaurant in Paramus on Nov. 24, when one of the entrees will be Brandy-Maple Brined Goffle Farm Turkey with cornbread stuffing ($49 per person).

Besides turkeys (stuffed and unstuffed) and chickens, Goffle Road Poultry Farm sells fresh-killed quail, rabbit, goose, and duck, plus chicken and duck eggs (the latter are $1.25 each). 

The retail store stocks Uncle Dougie's barbecue and wing sauces from Chicago ($5.95 for an 18-ounce bottle). The Sweet Luv'n Small Batch Barbecue Sauce we bought is made with honey and dark-brown sugar, not high fructose corn syrup.

The poultry houses and live processing shed appear to have more solar panels than I saw in previous years.

Details

Goffle Road Poultry Farm, 549 Goffle Road, Wyckoff; 201-444-3238. Closed Sundays. 

Website: Live Poultry Market

On Tuesday, wild-caught Gulf Shrimp were on sale for $12.99 a pound at Whole Foods Market in Paramus. Thanks to a tip from a reader, I found a coupon for $5 off a $25 purchase on the store's app, which I downloaded to my smartphone. That worked out to about $10.80 a pound on a purchase of 2.05 pounds.

The shrimp are previously frozen, but that doesn't affect the taste. At 16 to 20 per pound, 2 pounds of shrimp provide generous servings for three people with leftovers. A fish-counter employee gladly deveined them for me.

Shrimp with pasta

Wild shrimp deserve a great pasta and sauce, so when I brought home more than 2 pounds of them on Tuesday, I went into the cupboard for a package of Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Capellini from ShopRite and a bottle of Trader Giotto's robust Puttanesca Sauce. 

I usually use bottled marinara, adding red wine, extra-virgin olive oil, anchovies, dried herbs and seasonings, including garlic powder, black pepper and red-pepper flakes.

But Trader Joe's mildly spicy Puttanesca can stand on its own. Ingredients include anchovy paste, capers, black and kalamata olives; garlic and red-wine vinegar.

I used about 12 ounces of the 16 ounces of whole-wheat capellini, which take only 3 minutes to cook, so I prepared the shrimp first as I brought the unsalted pasta water to a boil.

I sliced unpeeled garlic, sauteed the slices in olive oil until they were fragrant, and added a few ounces of leftover Victoria Marinara to the non-stick pan.

The 2 pounds of deveined shrimp, marinated in fresh lime juice and a little sea salt, filled the 12-inch pan in one layer, and after a few minutes in the simmering sauce, I flipped them over and cooked them until they curled up and turned pink. 

I drained the pasta, added it to the bubbling sauce, and dinner was served.

At Whole Foods in Paramus, inexpensive bottles of red wine have been moved out of the main wine section and now are displayed inside the Bergen Town Center mall entrance, above and below.

I bought six bottles of cabernet, tempranillo, shiraz and carmenere priced from $3.99 to $6.99, and got a 10% discount at the register. Whole Foods gives you a 20% discount on the purchase of 12 bottles.

Three days after review, Brigantine Seafood doesn't open for lunch

Brigantine Seafood Eatery & Market on Lincoln Avenue in Hawthorn was closed on Monday afternoon a little after 1, even though the hours posted on the door list lunch as starting at noon, below.

There was no answer when I called the restaurant's phone number, but the owner called me later in the day to apologize. I could see tables set with napkins, forks and knives, and wine glasses, but the place was empty and dark.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I was looking forward to a lunch of fresh seafood, served in generous portions, at Brigantine Seafood & Eatery in Hawthorne after I read a review of the place in the newspaper on Friday.

But when I drove there on Monday with my wife and brother-in-law, the restaurant was closed and it was a little after 1 in the afternoon.

I called the restaurant's phone number, and left a message.

Later in the day, the owner called to apologize, explaining he had to attend to his wholesale fish business, preventing him from opening the restaurant at noon.

What an excuse.

Back in the car, I called Goffle Road Poultry Farm in nearby Wyckoff, placed an order for fresh, naturally raised turkey parts and then drove there to pick them up.

At least our outing wasn't a total loss.

 A sign at Brigantine Seafood Eatery teases passers-by.

One of our favorite places to shop for food.

Would you pay $40 for one ostrich egg?

At Whole Foods Market in Paramus on Thursday, shoppers were offered samples of scrambled ostrich egg.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

I do a lot of gawking when I'm in Whole Foods Market in Paramus -- and not just at the prices.

On Thursday, I saw a California-raised ostrich egg for sale in the produce department.

I wouldn't pay $39.99 for such a huge egg. Would you?

I loved the big-yolk duck eggs sold at Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff, but stopped buying them when the price shot up to about $2 an egg. 

At Whole Foods, a cook offered samples of scrambled ostrich egg. He said the yolk was bigger than his fist.

Guess what? It tasted like a chicken egg.

It's a fish-eat-fish world.

At the fish counter, I gawked at the heads of a grouper and a monkfish displayed on a bed of ice.

The monkfish (at right in the photo) came from Barnegat Light, one of New Jersey's premier fishing ports.

Fresh, wild-caught coho salmon fillet was $16.99, compared to the $10.99 a pound my wife paid on Wednesday at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

I bought frozen, antibiotic-free chicken backs and necks for $1.29 a pound and frozen, organic chicken feet for $3.99 a pound (all for soup).

Put the turkey farm on your shopping list

Slow down for antibiotic-free turkey.

Editor's note: It's time to get ready for Thanksgiving.

How do you know the holidays are just around the corner?

Clementines show up in the supermarket after a long journey from Spain, and it's time to visit the Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff.

The buildings may be covered with solar panels, but turkeys, chicken and other poultry are raised the old-fashioned way: without harmful antibiotics or animal by-products.

Thousands of Thanksgiving turkey shoppers walk through this door.

We serve turkey parts to guests on Thanksgiving, rather than a whole, big-breasted bird, so this morning I called in an order for 6 legs, 6 thighs, 6 wings and 6 pounds of turkey necks.

I'll probably be eating homemade shrimp and pasta, plenty of salad and wine.

When I stopped in to pick up the order around 3 this afternoon, I also bought an 18-ounce bottle of Uncle Dougie's Wicked Good No-Fry Wing Marinade for $5.95 or 50 cents more than last year.

My bill for the fresh-killed turkey and marinade was $49.15, but I passed on a guilty pleasure, big-yolk duck eggs, now $1 each.

The poultry farm also sells wild turkeys. 

It's the kind of friendly place where an employee gave lollipops to the children of two Japanese housewives who were waiting for their fresh-killed poultry.


Goffle Road Poultry Farm, 549 Goffle Road, Wyckoff; 201-444-3238. Web site: Gobble, gobble

At the Paramus ShopRite on Tuesday, the price of tangerines was a guessing game, but on Wednesday, a sign told shoppers they were five for $1.99.

Clementines from Spain were $4.99, a discount of $2.

   

The ShopRite in Paramus on Wednesday had a good buy on a 5-pound box of Spanish clementines for $4.99, and continued to offer Golden Pineapples for $1.99 each.

Jerry's Gourmet and More in Englewood.

 At Jerry's in Englewood, I picked up 2.2-pound boxes of La Santa Maria Fine Iodized Sea Salt for 99 cents each.
 

I added Jerry's assorted Italian olives and whole garlic cloves to a salad.

Another great item at Jerry's are assorted Italian olives and whole garlic cloves for a low $3.99 a pound (410 S. Dean St.; 201-871-7108).

I stopped there on the way home from Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, where I volunteer on Wednesdays and pick up a vegetarian soup and salad from the Garden Cafe.

At home, I added Jerry's olives, manchego cheese and smoked Alaskan wild salmon to turn the salad into dinner, and poured myself a glass of red wine.

A snack of smoked wild salmon, whole-grain mustard and reduced-fat cheese.

 

I eat Costco Wholesale's Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon year-round, not just at the holidays.

The price for a 1-pound package of the preservative-free salmon, in two sealed portions, has held steady at $15.39.

At Fairway Market in Paramus, smoked farmed salmon is nearly $30 a pound. 

I also add this wild salmon to my open-face egg-white omelets with manchego or reduced-fat sliced cheese, or eat it out of hand with sliced cheese and Trader Joe's Whole Grain Dijon Mustard.
 
 

Waitress, there's a bug in my salad

Image via Wikipedia
Hotel Caesar's in Tijuana, Mexico, built for Italian-born Caesar Cardini, a restaurateur who moved to Mexico and is commonly credited with creation of the lovely Caesar Salad.

Editor's note: Today, I describe a return visit to Amici Family Restaurant in Bergenfield, preparations for Thanksgiving, and free-range, grass-fed Australian beef.

If you go to Amici Family Restaurant, a BYO that serves big portions at reasonable prices, it makes sense to share dishes to keep the final bill down.


We tried that Saturday evening, but ran into a couple of problems with sanitation and food in a busy dining room, and I'm not sure we'll return.


We started with a well-dressed, family style Caesar Salad, combining two portions at $6.95 each, but the romaine lettuce was cut into confetti-like strands that were hard to eat. 


We loved all the grated cheese, but not the over abundance of croutons.


A bigger problem was the tiny bug my mother-in-law found as she ate her first serving of the salad. When she put it aside, it fell, jumped or flew to the floor, and she couldn't find it again.


My wife and her mother also shared two menu items, an appetizer of Jumbo Lump Crab Cake ($8.95) and an entree of Red Snapper Amici with vegetables  ($17.95), plus a side order of linguine in tomato sauce ($6.95).


They loved the large, moist crab cake and all the crab used in it, but found the thick fish fillet tough, even chewy, as if it had been frozen, precooked or overcooked. My wife said it wasn't red snapper. I tried a piece and agreed.


I also ordered an entree from the regular menu, Zuppa di Pesce in a fra diavolo sauce, but chose the gluten-free penne instead of regular linguine ($17.95).


I loved the spicy tomato sauce, the delicious, fresh-tasting shellfish, scallops and shrimp; and my first gluten-free pasta, which was cooked al dente -- all served in an oversized soup bowl. 


Service was terrific. The restaurant has added at least two servers to handle the crowds that responded to a favorable review in the newspaper, and the dining room was full when we left around 6:30.


We told our waitress about the fish, but not the bug. When I looked over the bill at home, I didn't see a charge for the salad we had shared.


Amici Family Restaurant, 127 S. Washington St., 
Bergenfield; 201-374-1996. BYO, off-street parking.


Thanksgiving meal


We drove to Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff on Friday to pick up the fresh-killed turkey I ordered over the phone, and left with a few other items.


The turkey, raised on vegetarian feed and without antibiotics, weighs just under 14 pounds at $2.39 a pound, bigger than the 10-12 pound bird I had ordered. 


We also asked for eight split turkey wings ($16.65) and a half-dozen duck eggs ($1.25 each). Duck eggs have really large yolks, but at this price, I probably won't buy them again.


An 18-ounce bottle of Uncle Dougie's Chicago-Style Chicken Wing Marinade -- a wickedly spicy sauce that's great with turkey wings, too -- was $5. 49.


In the past, we've ordered only turkey drumsticks, thighs and wings from the farm, but this year, we needed a whole turkey to serve white meat to my mother-in-law.


At nearly 14 pounds, I don't think it will fit into our electric rotisserie, so I asked my wife to pick up a turkey roaster while she was shopping at the mall on Saturday morning.


I gave her a J.C. Penney circular, and she came home with a Philippe Richard-brand, 2-piece, nonstick steel roasting pan for $18.89 -- with a mail-in rebate of $10.


Of course, it's made in China, which doesn't have a great record for food safety, but I hand-washed the pieces and put them away for use on Thursday.


On the way to the farm on Friday, we stopped at Whole Foods Market in Paramus for a fully cooked, naturally raised Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked Ham to serve with the turkey ($7.99 a pound), but could find only a drug-free Wellshire Farms Virginia Baked Deli Ham ($6.99 a pound).


Then, I couldn't find the credit card I had used, so returned to the store on Saturday. I didn't find the card, but did find the Niman Ranch ham, which is raised without antibiotics, growth hormones or animal by-products. 


Beef from Australia


The ShopRite circular is advertising Nature's Reserve Boneless Rib Eye Roasts from Australia at $5.99 a pound under the words "All Natural, Free Range, Grass Fed."


For several months now, I've been trying to get updated information on how cattle and sheep are raised in Australia, especially those destined for export.


At ShopRite, Costco Wholesale and elsewhere, Australian lamb often is labeled in the store, and the words "All Natural" and "Grass Fed" don't appear on the labels.


ShopRite is the only North Jersey supermarket I know that sells Australian beef, and it's marketed under the Nature's Reserve label, but the words "Grass Fed" don't appear there, either.


I've been referred to the Web site of Meat and Livestock Australia, a ranchers group, and have found extensive discussions of cattle and sheep being raised on pasture, including the methane gas released by grass-eating animals.


Here's is a link to the Web site: Grazing and Pasture Management

Off to the turkey farm we went

Image via Wikipedia

Turkeys and solar panels at a farm in Virginia.

When I called the Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff on Monday morning, I was told it wasn't taking phone orders the week of Thanksgiving, and that I'd have to come in.


The big draw here is chicken, turkey, ducks and other poultry that are raised naturally and sold fresh shortly after they are killed -- not frozen or shrink-wrapped. The turkeys picked up Tuesday were killed the night before, though at less busy times of the year, customers can walk in and ask for a fresh-killed bird.

The farm is hemmed in by homes and businesses, and the short drive along Goffle Road from the highway passes through Hawthorne and a bit of Ridgewood before you enter Wyckoff. 


I arrived Tuesday morning, a couple of hours after the 8 a.m. opening, and found a parking space right away, joining a steady stream of customers heading for the small store, past others emerging with white plastic bags sagging under the weight of turkey.


I walked in and placed my order for turkey parts with a man who had deformed fingers. He typed on a computer keyboard: six thighs, three drumsticks, three wings and four pounds of turkey neck, cut into 2-inch segments. Parts are $1.89 a pound.

As for not being able to call ahead, the man said what else could customers expect when the farm had to fill 1,500 orders.


I grabbed bottles of Uncle Dougie's "world's most dangerous" barbecue sauce and "Chicago-style chicken wing marinade" ($5.25 each) off the shelf and waited for my name to be called.

I looked over the frozen case, with venison, bison, rabbit and other exotic meats, and farm-made turkey products, and the egg case, with chicken and big-yolk duck eggs, which I've enjoyed sunny side up in the past.


In about 20 to 25 minutes, I was back in the car. Backing out of my space, I looked up at the the long building that houses the store and noticed for the first time the roof is covered with solar panels. Way to go.


I imagine that if you've put off visiting the farm until today, the wait will be very long and the small store will be very crowded.

Goffle Road Poultry Farm, 549 Goffle Road, Wyckoff. www.gofflepoultry.com

Search for ingredients

My wife and I had to visit three supermarkets on Tuesday to find all the ingredients we need for the carrot-fennel soup we'll be serving on Thanksgiving.


My wife found bags of Earthbound Farm organic carrots at H Mart in Englewood ($1.99 for two pounds), and bought three. We need five pounds of carrots for the soup.


But she couldn't find fennel or dill for the garnish, and the oranges we need for zest didn't look good. The story was the same at Shop Rite in Englewood.


So, later in the day, I went to Whole Foods Market in Paramus and found a small fennel bulb, a bunch of dill and two navel oranges.


Now, looking over the receipts, I realize I misunderstood my wife when she called from the Korean supermarket. She found dill, but not fennel. What will I do with all that dill?

Carrot-fennel soup

The recipe for this healthy soup comes from the Stony Hill Inn in Hackensack, and I found it in a magazine published by Hackensack University Medical Center.

By Joe Preziosi
Stony Hill Inn, Hackensack

Ingredients

5 lbs. peeled carrots (sliced)
1 small bulb of fennel (sliced)
5 cloves of garlic (sliced)
2 Spanish onions (sliced)
zest of 2 oranges
4 tbsp. olive oil
2½ gallons water
2 cups milk (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
2 sprigs dill (chopped)

Directions

• Put the olive oil, onions,
and garlic in a large stockpot over

medium-high heat. Sweat until onions
are translucent.
• Add fennel and a couple of pinches of
salt. Continue to cook until fennel is
slightly wilted.
• Add carrots and water. Bring to a boil.
• Reduce to a simmer and cook until
the carrots are tender but not mushy
(about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on
the slice of the carrots).
• When carrots are soft, add milk
(optional) and orange zest. Puree in a
blender at medium speed until smooth.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Spoon soup into bowls and add dill
before serving.

Six months without meat

Image via Wikipedia


























I'm not sure what I expected, but going without meat for six months hasn't resulted in anything dramatic -- except a sense of relief from not always having to worry how the poultry, beef, pork and lamb were raised before I got to them in stores.

My overall cholesterol dropped only four points -- to 176 -- probably because I started eating much more full-fat cheese than before. In the last month or so, I've switched to low-fat cheese and plan to resume eating aged Parmigiano Reggiano (photo), which is made with skim milk.  

I don't think I saved money, because the seafood I substituted for meat often cost more, including Costco's wild sockeye salmon and farm-raised prawns from Vietnam that weigh about two ounces each (eight to a pound) and cost a small fortune.


Do I feel better? Yes. But I can't separate the effects of going to a gym five mornings a week for the past two months or so, and the lighter feeling of not being weighed down by meat.


I've always loved salads and grilled vegetables, and I've been eating them more frequently and incorporating greens and vegetables into sandwiches and frittatas or just eating them on their own.


Last Sunday, I picked up fresh mustard greens and two heads of arugula at the Tenafly farmers' market.


One morning, I quickly blanched the mustard greens, then poured some extra-virgin olive oil and Costco egg whites into a 10-inch, nonstick frying pan. When the eggs set on the bottom, I added the mustard greens, sliced beefsteak tomato and low-fat cheese; sprinkled on some salt and finished the frittata under the broiler. (Preparation tip: Chop greens into bite-size pieces to make frittata easy to portion and eat.)


Today, I made a breakfast sandwich with grilled eggplant and carrot, baked wild salmon with herbs straight from the fridge, cheese and fresh arugula, spreading toasted 100% whole-grain bread with Dijon mustard. Outrageously good.


A friend who is a faithful Costco food shopper invited me over for a lunch the other day and served me items from the warehouse store: A Greek salad with anchovies and crumbled cheese, and a fruit salad with mango, strawberries and other fruit. We had an appetizer of spicy hummus and  drank coffee and seltzer.


For the last few weeks, I've wanted to add antibiotic-free poultry back into my diet -- Readington Farms chicken from ShopRite and turkey parts and duck from Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff.

But I haven't done that yet, secure in the knowledge there are so many other good things to eat that don't involve meat.

Back to the Wyckoff turkey farm

It took two phone calls and an 18-mile round trip to exchange the bird that was standing in for the heritage turkey I had reserved for our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.

The Narragansett turkey I brought home today from Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff  (a cooked one is shown in the photo)  weighs 13 pounds and cost $90.50 -- about $40 less than if  I had mail-ordered it from Heritage Foods USA, but its bigger than the 8-10 pound bird I asked for in a conversation with the owner yesterday afternoon.

It turns out the original order taker didn't hear me say "heritage turkey" and put me down in the computer for one of the farm's broad-breasted white turkeys, which are raised on vegetarian feed and without antibiotics. That's the one I picked up Tuesday.

I heard an employee refer to the heritage turkey as a "wild turkey" with a gamier taste, and in fact, my turkey is labeled "wild turkey," but it's farm raised and not one of the really wild turkeys I have seen near the Palisades. The label also says it's free range and raised without steroids, antibiotics or animal by-products.

Still, that's a lot of turkey for our family of three. Just this week, we argued over why my wife wanted to prepare another dinner, rather than eat leftover whole fried whiting and parts from a 5.6 pound chicken we roasted with fingerling potatoes and dried apricots. Stay tuned.

See earlier post, "Thanksgiving food and wine run."

Turkey drumsticks, custom-ground coffee

The crowds are building at the Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff, where we stopped to pick up turkey parts I ordered over the phone and to reserve a heritage turkey for Thanksgiving. All of the birds sold here are raised on a vegetarian diet and without antibiotics.

As a special treat, I also got six duck eggs -- which are yolkier than the ones from chickens -- because we have been using egg beaters for about a year now to help keep our cholesterol down. For the eggs, three turkey drumsticks, three thighs, three wings and four pounds of turkey neck, I paid a total of $26.80. (549 Goffle Road, Wyckoff; 201-444-3238. www.gofflepoultry.com)

Our next stop was Fairway Market in Paramus, because I had run out of their custom-ground coffee. I picked up three pounds of dark- and medium-roasted beans, ground Turkish style, for $4.99 to $7.99 a pound, several dollars below anything available at Starbucks.

But I noticed some of the Fairway sale items weren't all that they seemed. The store is selling three one-pound containers of Campari tomatoes for $5 -- a good buy -- but these were not herbicide-free. Jumbo white shrimp from U.S. waters are $5.99 a pound, which is a good price if they were wild-caught, which they are not.

I did indulge myself with the purchase of a wedge of Spanish fig cake with nuts. However, it seemed pricey at $8.99 a pound.  (Fairway Market, 35 E. Ridgewood Ave., Paramus; 201-444-5455. www.fairwaymarket.com)

Getting my ducks in a row for Thanksgiving

We love Thanksgiving and we're already planning for the holiday, the first time in several years that we're going to roast a whole bird. But we won't be having one of those industrial broad-breasted turkeys, bred to have acres of white meat. (See earlier post, "What do people see in white meat?")

We usually go to the Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff a week before the holiday and pick up turkey drum sticks, thighs and wings, plus a bottle of Uncle Dougie's spicy, Chicago-style wing marinade. The turkeys, ducks, quail, geese, and chickens and capons (both up to 8 pounds) are raised on a vegetarian diet without antibiotics. I also like the fresh duck eggs sold there.

This year, we plan to buy a heritage turkey, which was developed in the United States and Europe over hundreds of years. The Narragansett variety sold in Wyckoff will be going for $5.95 a pound (live weight) and the bird we get will weigh 8-10 pounds after gutting and cleaning. Compared to the ungainly, tasteless, broad-breasted white turkey, the Narragansett is an athlete with flavorful meat.

This week, I received a roasting pan large enough to accommodate a 25-pounder. I ordered the rectangular  Graniteware black-and-white enameled roaster and cover from Cooking.com.


I plan to roast the turkey with spaghetti, Syrian-style. The bird will be seasoned with salt, allspice, cinnamon and Aleppo pepper and baked in the oven, covered, for about 45 minutes. Then I'll remove the turkey and mix the spaghetti, boiled separately, with bottled sauce and the turkey juices (fat), and season it with allspice and cinnamon. The pan then goes back into the oven, uncovered, until the turkey is done and the pasta has a little crust on top.

I'll probably serve it with a big salad, mixed vegetables, baked or mashed sweet potatoes and a nice red wine, such as malbec from Argentina or pinot noir from California.

Here is the link to the poultry farm's Web site:
http://www.gofflepoultry.com/