This Week at Casa Dante

 

www.casadante.com       See us on    FACEBOOK  or Casa Dante Facebook Dear Friends: As we exit summer ( sorry!) we will be heading into our busiest season.  Watch dates for events and holidays. A sad farewell for now to our longtime friend and manager Dan Roorda. ( see "Happenings" below ). He's moving on to greener pastures and  will be missed. If you gotten to know Dan over the years, write him a note and we will forward to him. Julian &  Dominique are "on" this Saturday night. As you may know, they're very popular here so please book your reservation now. Check our schedule below for entertainment, food, wine, funny quotes and surprises. See you at Casa Dante! We'll stop by your table! Dom & Toni Marino Proprietors Reserve a spot on Open Table or call direct. Casa Dante 3.5/4 stars Star Ledger 2010, Wine Spectator Award 2009, 2010 & 2011, Best Italian in NJ by AOL, Top three Italian Restaurant 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 Rooms for small or large parties up to 140. Valet parking. Entertainment this weekend!    The Bob Wylde Trio ...great Friday night Jazz    Friday August 19, 2011              Saturday August 20, 2011  "Julian & Dominique "  Saturday promises to be a treat. These two keep the house rockin' while our waiters bring you the best Italian food around.  See the full entertainment schedule at www.casadante.com/entertainment

Happenings at Casa Dante     We wanted to wish Dan Roorda, our longtime manager, sommelier, bartender and occasional house musician,  goodbye and best of luck in his new venture. Dan will be spending his time commuting between work in NYC and Florida. I know many of you have interacted with Dan over the years. We will certainly miss his skills, knowledge, charm and wit. However, Dan promises to officiate our future wine dinners and tastings ( I'll hold him to that promise!) Please join us in wishing him  a fond farewell and well deserved success & happiness!          Remember that we are closed Sunday's through August.                           Believe it or not we are getting ready for the holiday season and taking advance reservations for our annual New Years Eve Bash. Our entertainment bookings are not completed yet, but if you've been here for past celebrations you know its always a blast. We will announce the bookings on this newsletter very soon. Because of limited space I hope you take advantage of this early notice for our regular attendees. Remember Thanksgiving Day celebration, Christmas Eve   Holiday Parties welcomed. Plenty of room for large groups. Valet parking in our lot.    Great & Healthy Recipe Mediterranean Chicken Salad This is a great summer dish. Easy to prepare and delicious from Epicurious. A great Labor Day treat for your guests. 6 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons tarragon vinegar 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard 3 cups diced cooked chicken (from one 3-pound purchased cooked chicken) 1/2 cup orzo (rice-shaped pasta; about 3 ounces) 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes (about 10 ounces) 1 6-ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pitted Kalamata olives 1/3 cup dried currants 1 1/2 tablespoons drained capers print a shopping list for this recipe preparation Combine oil, vinegar, tarragon, lemon juice, and mustard in small bowl; whisk to blend. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. Place chicken in medium bowl. Mix in 1/4 cup dressing. Cook orzo in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Rinse under cold water to cool; drain well. Transfer orzo to large bowl. Stir in remaining dressing and toss to coat. Add chicken mixture, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives, currants, and capers. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper and serve.   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 -- If you have a quote you think worthy, please email to me at info@casadante.com with your name and I will approve, post it here and give you mention   Did you know?  In a survey conducted in 1951 of the U.S. Armed Services banana cream pie was the favorite dessert.  Rice pudding was the least liked. Fig Newton�s were created in 1891 by the Kennedy Biscuit Works in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts.  They had named many of their other cookies for nearby towns and almost called it the "Fig Shrewsbury" before Newton won out. When KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) first translated its advertising slogan "finger lickin� good" into Chinese, ti came out as "eat your fingers off". According to The Great Food Almanac by Irena Chalmers, the last food that Elvis Presley ate was four scoops of ice cream and six chocolate chip cookies. Approximately 40 million pounds (nearly 90 percent) of the nation�s lobster supply is caught off the coast of Maine. Lollipops were first made in New Haven, Connecticut in 1908 by George Smith.  They were named after a race horse of the time, Lolly Pop. During Prohibition years when alcohol sales were banned by the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1920-1933) wine growers would put large labels on their grape juice that stated "Warning: Will Ferment and turn into wine." and then proceeded to give detailed instructions of what NOT to do so the grape juice would not accidentally turn into wine! In total there have been 37 different kinds of  animals in animal crackers since 1902.  The current crackers are tiger, cougar, camel, rhinoceros, kangaroo, hippopotamus, bison, lion, hyena, zebra, elephant, sheep, bear, gorilla, monkey, seal and giraffe. The apple is the official state fruit of Rhode Island. The White Horse Tavern in Rhode Island, built in 1673 is the oldest operating tavern in the United States. The first Dunkin Donuts and the first Howard Johnson�s were both in Quincy, Massachusetts. Apples are more efficient than caffeine at waking you up in the morning The average chocolate bar has 8 insect legs in it. Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Coca-Cola was originally green. In Japan, the average number of eggs eaten each year by one person is 347. Splenda is 600 times sweeter than sugar. In the 1950's a McDonald�s hamburger, fries, and coke had about 600 calories. Today you can get a quarter-pounder, super-sized fries, and a 42 oz coke along with 1550 calories. Linguine literally means, "little tongues". Peanuts are an ingredient in dynamite. Pearls melt in vinegar.