A New Year at Casa Dante

www.casadante.com       See us on    FACEBOOK  or Casa Dante Facebook Dear Friends, A wonderful holiday season has just passed. Christmas Eve dinner was delightful, and New Year's Eve was a BLAST! (Our back dining room was transformed into a nightclub. See photos on our Casa Dante Facebook  link ) Now, we are resolved to eating well and exercising! Right? We have so many different & wise choices to help you achieve your healthy goals; fresh fish, scrumptious fruits, well-prepared vegetables and unique foods. We will be featuring items such as farro and quinoa grains that are satisfying, nutritious and healthy. We're planning a "Wines of Antinori" dinner at the end of February, and Valentine's Day information will be posted next week on our site. Don't let your resolve wither! Come in and let us treat you to fine, healthy foods without the worry ( and stay away from the cannoli, if you can ).  Happy New Year! Dom & Toni Marino Proprietors Casa Dante 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 January 7, 2011   Jazz Night           The Don Carter Trio        Saturday January 8, 2011    "Dominique & Julian"   back for an Encore after last week's fabulous New Year's Eve Bash. ( I 'm surprised they still have their voices! )

Healthy Italian     (New Year's Resolution Stuff!) Whole Wheat Penne with Chicken & Veggies This is a great way to enjoy a healthy pasta dish. Italian seasoned chicken is baked then added to a delicious tomato sauce. The best part is a skinless chicken breast contains only 1.5 grams of fat and only .5 grams of saturated fat. It also contains 24 grams of protein which is great if your looking to build muscles and stay lean. The healthy sauce that is used for this whole wheat Penne with Chicken and Veggies dish is full of fresh vegetables to accompany the tender seasoned chicken. Enjoy! Chicken �  1 pound of whole wheat penne pasta �  4 boneless skinless chicken breasts �  1 tsp of dried basil �  1 tsp of dried oregano �  1 tsp of dried thyme �  1/2 tsp of salt �  1/2 tsp of ground black pepper Sauce �  2 Tbls of light extra virgin olive oil �  1 small yellow onion, chopped �  1 carrot, diced �  1 celery, diced �  3 cloves of garlic, chopped �  8 baby portabella mushrooms, sliced �  1 zucchini, diced �  1 15oz can of diced tomatoes �  1 15oz can of tomato sauce �  8 fresh basil leaves, chopped �  1/2 tsp of salt �  1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper �  2 cups of broccoli florets PREPARATION �  Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees �  Season the chicken with the dried basil, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. �  Slightly grease a baking dish with olive oil. �  Place the chicken in the dish and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until chicken is cooked through, �  Remove the chicken from the oven and place them on a cutting board to rest for about 10 minutes. �  Cut the chicken into diagonal slices and set aside. �  While the chicken is baking make the sauce. �  Heat the oil in a large pan and saut� the onions, carrot. celery, garlic, mushrooms and zucchini for 3 to 5 minutes. �  Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce. �  Add the basil, salt and pepper. �  Cook the sauce for 20 to 30 minutes. �  Add the broccoli florets and cook another 15 minutes �  In 6 quarts of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Around 8 to 10 minutes. �  Drain the pasta and place it back in the pot. �  Add the tomato mixture and the chicken to the pot and toss. Serves 4 people Did you know?  one - The world record for eating cheesecake is 11 pounds eaten in nine minutes  by Sonya Thomas, who weighs 105 pounds. two -  The smaller the size of a berry, the sweeter its taste three - Popcorn has been around for 6,000 years. four -  The "special sauce" in a Big Mac is actually thousand island dressing. five -  If you could eat only one vegetable for the rest of your life, eat spinach; it's one of the highest ranking vegetables as far as overall antioxidant capacity, yet so versatile in recipes. six -  Whenever a recipe for cake or muffins calls for oil, applesauce can be substituted. seven -  The first breakfast cereal ever produced was Shredded Wheat eight -  The average person eats almost 1500 pounds of food a year nine - Aunt Jemima pancake flour, invented in 1889, was the first ready-mix food to be sold commercially. ten - The first Oreo was sold in 1912.

quote of the week   "People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas." ~Unknown   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.      Casa Dante  40th Anniversary since 1971.  We would love your participation. If you have a story, photo or just a blurb of a memory involving Casa Dante, please forward it for inclusion in this section. Send it to info@casadante.com   Looking forward to hearing from you! Extra Specials for email group only ...we want you to take advantage of us!  We are offering a 10% discount on parties of four ( minimum, please!)  to eight guests on Monday through Wednesdays for the month of January 2011. 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  January 2011...half price on bottles of wine ( no price limit) 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

This Week & the Holiday Season at Casa Dante

www.casadante.com       See us on    FACEBOOK Dear Friends: Happy Holidays! If you haven't made plans for Christmas Eve and New Years Eve, Now is the time! We will be offering many Christmas treats ( see Desserts ) and New Years Eve surprises. We will both be guests ( if that's possible ) at both occasions and hope to see you there. New Years Eve will be a blast!   See you soon! Dom & Toni Marino Proprietors Casa Dante Christmas Eve December 24th, Dinner   come in for a quiet and traditional Fish Dinner or just order off our regular menu. Bring your loved ones and feast yourselves on a Casa Dante Christmas Eve meal. 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. 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  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!  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 17, 2010     Danny Bacher smooth jazz & vocals of one of our favorites     Saturday, December 18, 2010     Vintage with Ron & Mike   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!

Healthy Italian Pesto Sauce Recipe What is pesto? Pesto comes from the verb �pestare� that means pound on, referred to the pounder where ingredients were put inside and then pounded with a pestle This basil pesto recipe originates from Liguria (Italian region). This homemade pesto doesn't need a specific shape of pasta, even if it's easier to mix short shapes. In Liguria they usually make pesto using troffie, but you can use penne or similars. Otherwise you never make a mistake choosing spaghetti. Ingredients (4 people): � 4 cups of pasta � a hand of fresh basil leaves � about 3 table spoons of grated parmesan or pecorino cheese � extra virgin olive oil � 2 tablespoons of pine nuts � a clove of garlic � salt Difficulty: very easy Time: the necessary for boiling the water and cooking the pasta (about half an hour or less) How to prepare: Put the water to boil and begin to put the basil leaves into your mixer, add the garlic, the pine nuts and the grated parmesan. As it mixes, add extra virgin olive oil until it becomes a cream. When the water boils, add salt and the pasta and set your timer for the time needed for the kind of pasta you�re cooking (usually it�s written on the package). About 2 or 3 minutes before your pasta is done, take 2 or 3 spoons of the boiling water and add to your pesto. It helps it to become more creamer and easier to mix. When the pasta is done, mix your sauce with pasta. It�s done! This pesto sauce recipe is also a heart healthy recipe (you have only raw and unsaturated fat), other than easy and tasty! Buon appetito! Pine nuts Durum wheat pasta Parmesan cheese Extra virgin olive oil Did you know?  Here are some interesting food facts about items we use often at Casa Dante Chicken The chicken is a descendant of the Southeast Asian red jungle fowl, first domesticated in India around 2000 B.C.   Chickens and turkeys are known to cross-breed, these breeds are known as "Turkins".  There are more chickens than people in the world.  Chicken meat is a good source of the mineral selenium that is an infection-fighting anti oxidant.  Chicken contains lysene which is an anti viral amino acid. It also contains good amounts of vitamin B3, B6 and potassium.  Chicken is a useful source of protein if the skin is removed.   Chickpeas Chickpeas are also known as Garbanzo Beans. They have a nutty flavour.  They need lengthy cooking and are used in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking. They are high in fibre and  flavonoids, keeping the digestive system healthy and lowering cholesterol. They are rich in Vitamin E and zinc so they help fight infection and they promote healthy cell growth. Chicory Chicory is a perennial herb that is grown for its leaves and its roots. The roots are roasted and ground into a coffee like substitute.  There is a salad version of chicory  which is often called endive.  It has a slightly bitter taste so it is best mixed with other salad greens.  In natural medicine it is sometimes used to treat gout and rheumatism. It is also used as a digestive stimulant. Chilies Chilies contain more vitamin C than an orange.  They stimulate the production of endorphins, which are chemicals that make us feel good.  Chilies are also great decongestants that help open blocked sinuses. Chives Chives are the smallest members of the onion family but they have a much milder flavour.  They are spoken about in the plural term because they grow and are used in clumps or bunches. Chives are popular household herbs and can be chopped finely and used as a flavour or as a garnish. Because they belong to the onion family they are naturally antiseptic and they are said to aid the digestion. Cinnamon Cinnamon comes from the inner bark of a small evergreen tree. As the bark dries out it curls into long quills.  The quills are then cut into cinnamon sticks or ground into cinnamon powder.  It is a very old spice and is suspected of being used back in 3000 BC in Egypt.  Cinnamon is a symbol of good luck in the Far East. Cinnamon implants a warm rich flavour to both desserts and to savoury recipes.  Cloves Cloves are the dried un-opened flower buds of the evergreen clove tree.  Cloves are native to Indonesia.  They are frequently used in baked recipes and in particular in Christmas cooking.  They are also used in pickles and preserved foods.  Oil of cloves is both antiseptic and anaesthetic and is used to treat toothache. Coconut Early Spanish explorers called them coco, which means "monkey face" because the three indentations (eyes) on the hairy nut resembles the head and face of a monkey.  Nearly one third of the world's population depends on coconut to some degree for their food and their economy.  Coconut is highly nutritious and rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It is classified as a "functional food" because it provides many health benefits beyond its nutritional content.  If you are really interested in further information on the medicinal aspects of coconut this site is well worth checking out - Coconut Research Centre Coriander Ground coriander is a spice made from the seed of the Cilantro plant which is an annual herb.  The seeds can be dry roasted and ground.  Coriander is one of the main ingredients in Indian curry powder.  Fresh coriander leaves can also be eaten but they have a very different taste to the seeds.  Both coriander seeds and leaves were used in medieval times to disguise the taste and smell of rotten food. Corn - Sweet Corn is also known as maize and it belongs to the grass family of plants.  We are mainly accustomed to the yellow variety but corn can also be blue, red, black and multi coloured.  Humans have cultivated corn for over 10,000 years. Corn can not only be eaten as corn on the cob but it can be processed into cornflour, corn syrup, grits and popcorn. It is also used in the manufacturing industry for products that are not edible such as for cardboard and for bio degradable containers.  It is also needed for the manufacture of alcohol and ethanol. Couscous Couscous is made from semolina, flour, salt and water.  It is a form of pasta.  It is a staple food in north African countries and is popular in the Middle East.  Couscous is now widely available in shops in a pre-steamed (and then dried) version. This means it takes virtually no time to cook.  Boiling water is poured onto it and in less than five minutes this pasta is ready to eat - a very fast and healthy food.  It is seasoned with various items depending on where in the world it is being eaten.  Couscous takes on the flavours of whatever food it is cooked with.  It is generally eaten hot but is equally delicious when served in salads.  It can also be used in desserts.  It is a low fat complex carbohydrate. Cucumbers It is thought that cucumbers were cultivated as far back as 10,000 BC.  Cucumbers contain vitamin C, vitamin K and potassium.  If cucumbers are pickled most of their nutrients are removed. Cumin Cumin is a flowering plant that produces a compact, tiny fruit that holds one seed.  the ground seed is mainly used in Indian and Mexican cuisine but also is used in the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Asia.  It has a slightly bitter-sweet taste.  Cumin aids digestive problems so it is good to eat at the same time as beans.

quote of the week   "�The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook�       Julia Child   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.    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 January 2011. 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 in  January 2011...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