New Years Eve Bash and Christmas Eve Dinner at Casa Dante

www.casadante.com       See us on    FACEBOOK  Dear Friends: Happy Holidays! If you've attended our past New Years Eve parties, or if you are an email recipient, I have allotted 40 spaces in our New Years Eve Bash, through next week, just for you!  There will be all day dining for lunch and early "regular" dinner, then the party starts at 8:30 with additional seating in the front-room. Closed circuit TVs will carry the sights and sounds of our entertainment as well as Times Square ball drop. Call in now at 201-795-2750 and get on the reservation list. This years party will be "Grand" and you get to see me in a tux!   In the meantime, check out our entertainment schedule for this weekend and other goodies below! Stay Well Dom & Toni Marino Proprietors Casa Dante Christmas Eve December 24th, Dinner will consist of the traditional fish offerings as well as many regular menu choices. A quiet, comfortable evening for those celebrating this holiday. New Years Eve Bash celebration is booking now. Please reserve your places. Last years party was grand, even in the throes of this "great recession" and all indications are that  this year's  will be a blast. Julian and Dominique will be entertaining us all night long. See our website or  Call for details or  reservations, please Casa Dante's 40th New Years Eve Bash! Live Entertainment, Fabulous Dinner Menu, Dancing, Champagne Toast, Hor's Doeuvres, NYE Party Favors,  Cocktails, Closed Circuit TV's front and back rooms, and lots of fun!  !   And, of course, we will be available for large or small parties all season long. Call for information or reservations. We will do our best to make your holiday season memorable and fun! 3.5 stars Star Ledger, 2010 Wine Spectator Award, 2009 & 2010 Wine Enthusiast Award 2009, Best Italian in NJ by AOL, Top three Italian inNJ, Inside Jersey Magazine Check out the specials and discounts below and join our  FACEBOOK  fan page. www.casadante.com/entertainment or other events at www.casadante.com/events Entertainment this week!       Friday December 10, 2010     Bryan Benninghove smooth jazz & sax stylings     Saturday, December 11, 2010   Danny Heise  Pop & Standards singer, keyboardist,       See the entire live entertainment schedule on www.casadante.com/entertainment  for November & the New Years Eve Bash and scroll down here for recipes, tid-bits and other"happenings" at Casa Dante! James Beard Award We are currently campaigning to get our Chef, Gregg Freda, nominated for a prestigious James Beard Foundation Award to honor his passion for food and this industry. Gregg has been heading the direction of the cuisine in Casa Dante for five years. Prior to our establishment Gregg was the Executive Chef at Panico�s Italian Restaurant in New Brunswick. His culinary accomplishments have been numerous and noted. We would like to have his extensive experience and excellence recognized by the James Beard Foundation. As such, I implore you to kindly take the time to write in his name along with Casa Dante�s in this easy form at the JBF website. Just register and vote. There are only a few weeks left for nominations. You will be honoring an individual who truly deserves the recognition of his peers and patrons!

Healthy Italian   Holiday Maple Walnut Cake   ( Delicious!) Reminiscent of a British sticky toffee pudding, this cake gets its moisture from dates; toasted nuts and maple give it an intoxicating fragrance. 12 servings Active Time: 45 minutes Total Time: 2 hours Ingredients Cake 1 cup chopped pitted dates, (6 ounces) 1/2 cup boiling water 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts, (see Tip), divided 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 large egg 3/4 cup pure maple syrup, preferably dark amber (Grade B) 1/4 cup canola oil 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 2 teaspoons cider vinegar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract Glaze 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup 1 teaspoon cider vinegar 3/4 cup gently packed confectioners' sugar 1-2 teaspoons water, if needed Preheat oven to 325�F. Coat a 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Place dates in a small bowl. Pour boiling water over them to soak. Let cool to room temperature. Process whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, 2/3 cup walnuts, baking soda and salt in a food processor until the walnuts are completely ground and the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a medium bowl; make a well in the center. Puree the dates and soaking water in the food processor until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add egg, 3/4 cup syrup, oil, butter, 2 teaspoons vinegar and vanilla and process until smooth and creamy. Scrape the date mixture into the well in the dry ingredients and stir together gently until just combined. Transfer to the prepared pan. Bake the cake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Run a knife around the edges to loosen the cake, if necessary, and remove the sides of the pan. To glaze cake: Carefully lift the cake from the pan bottom and place on a cake stand or serving plate. Whisk maple syrup, vinegar and confectioners' sugar in a small bowl. Add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if necessary to make a spreadable consistency. Spread the glaze evenly over the top of the cake, then decorate with the remaining 1/3 cup walnuts. Tips & Notes Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 5 up to 8 hours ahead. Glaze and decorate the cake (Step 6) when ready to serve. |Equipment: 10-inch springform pan Tip: To toast chopped walnuts: Cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes. Nutrition Per serving: 342 calories; 16 g fat (4 g sat, 4 g mono); 28 mg cholesterol; 48 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; 3 g fiber; 136 mg sodium; 201 mg potassium. Nutrition Bonus: High omega-3s. Did you know?     The Word "Salary" Comes From "Salt!" Salt, our oldest preservative, was extremely rare in the past. So rare, in fact, that it was often used as pay. Imagine...earning a couple of tablespoons of salt for a hard-days work. Today, salt is so common that restaurants give it away for free, and packaged food contains so much that it's far too easy to eat too much salt (salt is also known as "sodium").

quote of the week   "Researchers have discovered that chocolate produces some of the same reactions in the brain as marijuana. The researchers also discovered other similarities between the two but can't remember what they are."Matt Lauer (on NBC's Today Show).   If you want to contribute a quote send it to me at info@casadante.com    Please write "quote" in the subject line. If you want to contribute an original article or thought ( relative to our industry please) write me and I will approve and post.    If you haven't voted for your top restaurant in New Jersey  you can do so at Zagat . Sign up for free and give your best restaurants a click ( I hope we're among them ). Voting ends soon, so please take a moment to support us! For those of you just getting around to thinking of the Holidays...they're here!  Call if you need reservations for a great meal on Thursday. Casa Dante first opened its doors in 1971. We are in our 40th Anniversary year  and our celebration is under way. New Menu items, Bigger Wine Dinners, Unique Wine Tastings, Great Holiday deals, a Fantastic New Years Celebration! Stay tuned for more news........ Extra Specials for email group only ...we want you to take advantage of us!  We are offering a 10% discount on parties up to eight on Monday through Wednesdays for the month of December 2010. This is only for email  or Blogger customers! Just print this and bring it along. You must be in our database, so make sure you are included by calling or emailing your request.  Mondays through  December 2010...half price on bottles of wine up to $200 in our award(s) winning wine list.  Just come in and order dinner.  ( This one is really catching on....Monday evenings are becoming a big wine night here.) The above deals are for email customers only and may not be combined with any other offer.  Heres a tip.....Google " Casa Dante" and check out web coupons and deals we have out there! Im trying to help you have a great meal, and save money too! Remember that we deliver larger office orders on weekdays throughout Jersey City and closer vicinities. Call 201-795-2750 for details! If you are a fan of  Casa Dante, the best way to get the word out is on the internet! You can help us improve Casa Dante's online visibility on the youth dominated internet. Please review us on on any of the following sites and keep tried and true institutions like ours in play. Thanks for your help!  Zagat, Urban Spoon, Yelp, Open Table, Citysearch  See this broadcast anytime on Blogger.com