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Lifestyle
This Trendy Treat Is Rolling Into Spotlight As Sweet Complement To Christmas Cookies This Trendy Treat Is Rolling Into Spotlight As Sweet Complement To Christmas Cookies
This Trendy Treat Is Rolling Into Spotlight As Sweet Complement To Christmas Cookies Move over gingerbread and sugar cookies — sesame balls are quietly making their way onto holiday dessert tables this year.  Traditionally found in Chinese, Vietnamese, and other Asian cuisines, these golden, chewy orbs are earning a buzzworthy reputation as a standout complement to classic Christmas sweets. Known as Jian Dui in Chinese cuisine and Bánh Cam in Vietnamese culture, sesame balls are made from glutinous rice flour, stuffed with sweet fillings like red bean or lotus paste, and fried to perfection.  The result? A crispy exterior coated in toasted sesame seeds, with a sa…

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by Joe Lombardi
Lifestyle
NJ Chef's Beloved Family Dishes Win On Buddy Valastro's New Holiday Cooking Show NJ Chef's Beloved Family Dishes Win On Buddy Valastro's New Holiday Cooking Show
NJ Chef's Beloved Family Dishes Win On Buddy Valastro's New Holiday Cooking Show An East Brunswick chef will bring a cooking award home for the holidays after appearing in a new culinary competition series. Maricel Gentile was named a holiday champion on "Buddy's Holiday Recipe Rumble", a competitive cooking show hosted by Hoboken native Buddy Valastro, who's also known as the "Cake Boss." The series started streaming on Hulu on Friday, Dec. 6. Gentile is the owner of a culinary school called Maricel’s Kitchen. The cooking studio on Main Street specializes in Filipino dishes and other Asian cuisines. Gentile, her husband Paul, and their youngest son Paul…

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by Chris Spiker
Obituaries
Clifton Pizza Icon Jerry Scotto D'Abbusco Dies, 91: 'Walked The Pipeline For Best Pizza Around' Clifton Pizza Icon Jerry Scotto D'Abbusco Dies, 91: 'Walked The Pipeline For Best Pizza Around'
Clifton Pizza Icon Jerry Scotto D'Abbusco Dies, 91: 'Walked The Pipeline For Best Pizza Around' A Passaic County community is mourning the loss of the man behind one of the area's most popular pizzerias. Gerardo “Jerry” Scotto D’Abbusco, who owned and operated Scotto’s Pizzeria in Clifton for 46 years, died on Thursday, Nov. 29. He was 91 years old. Born in Monte di Procida, Italy, Jerry served in the Italian Navy and worked as a Merchant Marine before immigrating to America through Ellis Island, his obituary on the Shook Funeral Home website says.  In opening Scotto's, Jerry created a beloved community hub, which closed upon his retirement in 2016. Scotto's announced Jerry's d…

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by Cecilia Levine
Lifestyle
Meet Al Roker In North Jersey Meet Al Roker In North Jersey
Meet Al Roker In North Jersey If you live in Bergen County, Al Roker will be appearing in your neck of the woods. The weatherman for “The Today Show” will be signing copies of his new cookbook “Al Roker’s Recipes to Live By,” along with his daughter, co-author Courtney Roker Laga at Books and Greetings in Northvale on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 4 p.m. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Al Roker (@alroker) The book features 100 recipes straight from the Roker household, including sunrise burritos, shrimp and grits with bell Peppers and bacon, smothered chicken, coffee-…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Mugshot Released, Services Set For Popular Cook After Deadly Bergen County Hit-Run Mugshot Released, Services Set For Popular Cook After Deadly Bergen County Hit-Run
Mugshot Released, Services Set For Popular Cook After Deadly Bergen County Hit-Run The mugshot of the 29-year-old Kearny charged in the deadly hit-and-run that killed a cook at a popular Route 17 restaurant last week in Lyndhurst has been released. Steven G. Novillo-Cabrera was behind the wheel of a 2020 Honda Civic when he struck George Arnold, 57, as he was trying to cross Ridge Road at Milton Avenue around 9:50 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Novillo-Cabrera also tried to repair the vehicle to hide his involvement in the crash, police said. He was lodged in the Bergen County Jail pending an appearance in Bergen County Superior C…

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by Cecilia Levine
Obituaries
Bergen County Hairdresser Danielle Hickman Dies Suddenly, 38, Survived By 10-Year-Old Daughter Bergen County Hairdresser Danielle Hickman Dies Suddenly, 38, Survived By 10-Year-Old Daughter
Bergen County Hairdresser Danielle Hickman Dies Suddenly, 38, Survived By 10-Year-Old Daughter Support is on the rise for the daughter of a Bergen County mother who died unexpectedly this month. Danielle Hickman, of Park Ridge, died suddenly on Sunday, Sept. 22, her obituary on the Becker Funeral Home website says. She was 38 years old. Danielle attended Park Ridge High School, Bergen Community College and Parisian Beauty Academy, her obituary says. The proud owner of Trend Setters II on Washington Avenue in Dumont, Danielle was passionate about her business and enjoyed long walks and cooking her obituary continues. Those who survive her include her 10-year-old daughter Ca…

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by Cecilia Levine
Lifestyle
Meet Tamron Hall In North Jersey Meet Tamron Hall In North Jersey
Meet Tamron Hall In North Jersey Tamron Hall, the Emmy-award winning talk show host, wants you to have fun in the kitchen. The former “Today Show” anchor and host of “The Tamron Hall Show” is signing copies of her new cookbook “A Confident Cook: Recipes for Joyous, No-Pressure Fun in the Kitchen Hardcover” on Wednesday, Sept. 4 at Bookends in Ridgewood at 4 p.m. The book is a collaboration between Hall and her good friend, chef Lish Steiling. The two met while working at the “Today Show” The cookbook aims to teach aspiring chefs how to select the tools you need, how to stock your pantry, and how to cook for one, two, or …

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by Sam Barron
Lifestyle
Drummer Turned American Dream Mall Executive Chef Competing On 'Chopped' This Week Drummer Turned American Dream Mall Executive Chef Competing On 'Chopped' This Week
Drummer Turned American Dream Mall Executive Chef Competing On 'Chopped' This Week John Thomas doesn't have any stories about cooking with his nonna. He doesn't have a degree from any fancy culinary school, and his childhood dream was never to become a professional cook. And yet, the 35-year-old Clifton dad landed himself a pretty sweet gig as the executive chef of Gameroom Eats at the American Dream Mall. This week, he'll be going up against some of the best chefs in the region on Food Network's "Chopped" cooking competition, for a chance to win $10,000. Thomas' episode, called "Celtuce Setbacks," airs Tuesday, Aug. 13 at 8 p.m. John Tashiro "Cooking was never my fi…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Inmate Charged With Selling Former Star HS Wrestler Fentanyl That Killed Him: Prosecutor Inmate Charged With Selling Former Star HS Wrestler Fentanyl That Killed Him: Prosecutor
Inmate Charged With Selling Former Star HS Wrestler Fentanyl That Killed Him: Prosecutor A 28-year-old Paterson man who had been jailed on weapons offenses has been charged in the overdose death of a 26-year-old Bergen County man in 2023, authorities said. Vashawn A. Davis sold Tyler Kallensee, of Oradell, the fentanyl that killed him on Sunday, July 23, 2023, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Kallensee was found by officers responding to a 9-1-1 call reporting an unresponsive man in a private home. Kallensee was pronounced dead at the scene, and indicators of a possible drug overdose were noted, Musella said. Thus began a year-long investiga…

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
Mexican National Keeps Mom's Memory Alive With New Kosher Restaurant In Hackensack Mexican National Keeps Mom's Memory Alive With New Kosher Restaurant In Hackensack
Mexican National Keeps Mom's Memory Alive With New Kosher Restaurant In Hackensack Elmer Jimenez spent years working in kosher catering after immigrating from Oaxaca, Mexico to Teaneck in 2007.  What the dad of five noticed was that the Jewish community had plenty of kosher food options from around the world. What he couldn't find, though, was kosher Mexican food. So, 34-year-old Jimenez opened a spot of his own: Blue Star Cafe in Hackensack, a kosher Mexican restaurant under the Rabbinical Council of Bergen County. "The Jewish community will eat anything, like Italian or Indian," said Jimenez. "But they don't have kosher Mexican here and the challenge for me …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
NJ Navy Vet Who Received Pig Kidney Transplant, Heart Pump Dies After 47 Days NJ Navy Vet Who Received Pig Kidney Transplant, Heart Pump Dies After 47 Days
NJ Navy Vet Who Received Pig Kidney Transplant, Heart Pump Dies After 47 Days Lisa Pisano, the 54-year-old New Jersey resident and second-ever recipient of a pig kidney and mechanical heart, has died. Pisano received the heart pump on April 4, and eight days later, got the pig's kidney. She lived with it for 47 days, as reported by the New York Times, before her death on Sunday, July 7. Lisa Pisano. NYU Langone Health A U.S. Navy veteran and doting grandmother, Pisano was born in Lakewood but lived in Ocean Gate and Bayville, according to her obituary on the Mastapeter Memorial Home website. Her obituary remembered her as a "hero to the medical communit…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Twin Rutgers Grads, 23, Killed In Crash Were Each Other's Closest Friends, Obituaries Say Twin Rutgers Grads, 23, Killed In Crash Were Each Other's Closest Friends, Obituaries Say
Twin Rutgers Grads, 23, Killed In Crash Were Each Other's Closest Friends, Obituaries Say Services have been finalized for a pair of 23-year-old twin brothers killed in a Vineland crash. John and Patrick Mahoney, both of Washington Township, died in a collision on Tuesday, June 4 at Union and Mays Landing Roads, as previously reported by Daily Voice.  Police said John was driving a Toyota Yaris when he failed to yield to a Ford F-250 operated by an 81-year-old, which caused the crash. The Yaris driver was hospitalized as a precaution. Obituaries on the Egizi Funeral Home website for John and Patrick remember the two as being each other's closest friends and greatest advoca…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Jersey City Police Lieutenant's Cremation To Follow Saturday Funeral Mass Jersey City Police Lieutenant's Cremation To Follow Saturday Funeral Mass
Jersey City Police Lieutenant's Cremation To Follow Saturday Funeral Mass She devoted her life to those in need and put others first. She was "the glue that held her family and friends together." And at only 44 years old, Jersey City Police Lt. Marina Angelica Ugolini is gone far too soon. Ugolini died Tuesday evening, May 28. The 19-year department veteran, who was promoted to lieutenant six years ago this month, worked in the city's North District. Ugolini was an alumnus of Jersey City Medical Center and Ambucar EMS who "took pride in helping people by devoting her life to serving those in need," her obituary says. "She transported the first medical …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Events
Meet Celebrity Chef Tyler Florence In North Jersey Meet Celebrity Chef Tyler Florence In North Jersey
Meet Celebrity Chef Tyler Florence In North Jersey Tyler Florence is ready to help you become a grill master. The celebrity chef and host of numerous Food Network shows will be signing copies of his new book "American Grill: 125 Recipes for Mastering Live Fire" at Bookends in Ridgewood on Wednesday, May 29 at 6 p.m. In the cookbook, the host of "Tyler's Ultimate" shows off his love of American comfort food and teaches aspiring cooks how to char, caramelize and marinate to perfection, according to a synopsis. The cookbook tells people how to make the perfect steak, grill vegetables, fruit and fish, according to a synopsis.  The cookboo…

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by Sam Barron