Mama’s Boy. Peaches. Gates. Probably a few others I’ve omitted. And currently, Tequila Mockingbird in New Canaan. Yeah. There’s a chance you’ve sat at one of Justine Bassani’s bars somewhere in Fairfield County. An acclaimed bartender that’s won competitions and has had her fair share of limelight in magazine articles, Justine is pretty open about her own struggles with alcohol—she’s been sober for a while now—and although she’s still in the bartending game, she’s been pretty busy outside of the industry.
Executive Chef Eren Polat and his wife Nigjar invite you to their newest restaurant, Sofra Turkish Grill a cozy neighborhood restaurantin Waterbury, Connecticut. The restaurant, which opened in late July 2023, has been drawing healthy crowds from Cheshire to Fairfield. No stranger to the restaurant world, Chef has over 25 years of experience in prominent restaurants in Turkey and Greece before opening his own Eren’s Grill in Fairfield. He opened Sofra to be closer to home and his family.
Chef hails from Adana, Turkey’s fourth largest city, located in the south where the Seyhan River meets the Mediterranean. One of the oldest cities in the world, it’s a major agricultural area and known for its distinctive cuisine, specifically the “Adana Kebabi,” a unique dish comprised of hand-minced meat prepared with a special knife called a Satir that closely resembles a machete. Authenticity is paramount as Chef remains true to his roots using the skills and techniques so prevalent in his country. So determined is he to do this, that many ingredients are imported directly from Turkey, some from Adana specifically.
Chef and TV personality Silvia Baldini is publishing an upcoming book in September titled: LesDames d’Escoffier New York Cookbook: Stirring the Pot, The History Press, an imprint of Arcadiaon September 18th, 2023.
Compiling recipes, advise and stories from 61 of the most influential and accomplished women in the food and wine world, Baldini share their remarkable stories and their personal recipes for everything from simple weekday meals to spectacular party dishes.
Proceeds from sales benefit Les Dames d’Escoffier New York’s Scholarship Fund.
Get ready for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to cook with CHEF ROYALTY with our friends at Wholesome Wave!
Jacques Pépin is the author of more than 30 cookbooks, host of 13 PBS television series, winner of numerous James Beard Awards, painter, and culinary educator. On March 23rd, 2023, he will also be a Sous Chef, with YOU.
Here at CTBites we LOVE eating good food - and we are here to tell you about an incredible opportunity to COOK great food with Celebrity Chefs. Our friends at Wholesome Wave have cooked up a very cool event to support their mission - they’ve lined up Celebrity Chefs Rocco Dispirito, Elizabeth Falkner, Michel Nischan, Sean Sherman, JJ Johnson, and Sherry Yard to prepare a 6-course meal and are offering our readers a chance to cook alongside them as Sous Chefs! Sound too good to be true? Nope!
All you have to do is donate $100 to Wholesome Wave and you’ll be entered to win the opportunity to be a Sous Chef to the stars!
Chef Jamie Bordonaro’s “day” job is Sous Chef at Millwrights Restaurant in Simsbury Connecticut, but over the past six years, Bordonaro has been working on a project of his own, in all of that “free” time one has as a chef. Jamie recently finished the publication of a cookbook titled, “Pursuit of Passion,” and as you can imagine, he is more than a little excited to finally be able to share the fruits of his labor with the public.
The cookbook is a personal narrative and compilation of Bordonaro’s cooking techniques, flavor profiles, and skills that he acquired throughout his culinary career. But it is so much more than that, and is grounded in purpose that relates to one’s own inner drive and the importance of creating opportunity within yourself to follow your passion.
The last two weeks have been a whirlwind for the author/chef and New Canaan resident whose new book is a gorgeous example of what great food and community can do; it can honor and inspire. She has done just that in an homage which highlights 45 immigrant women from across the country, including six living here in Connecticut, and their special connection to their native culture.Heirloom Kitchen shares 100 recipes beginning from Gass’ native Italy, several in Europe, Africa, Asia, Central & South America and the Middle East.
Vinnie Penn has been a Connecticut media staple for decades, but he's never been someone who you'd necessarily think about when it comes to the Connecticut food scene. Well, that's changing now. Vinnie's got a brand new book out called Route One Food Run where he travels up and down Route One to try the best places you can grab some grub. Ken Tuccio talks to Vinnie about how the book came to be, his love for the world of food and what he's learned during this process. Listen here.
Classically trained pastry chef, baking expert, cookbook author, and baking instructor Abby Dodge is a Fairfield, CT native on a mission to “bake the world a better place one recipe at a time.” She is a long-time contributing editor to Fine Cooking magazine, founding its test kitchen. In addition to her contributions in print, Abby is also leads a baking boot camp called “Cakes and Pies” you can enroll in on Craftsy.com, and an avid blogger where she hosts the online community #baketogether..
I had the pleasure of interviewing Abby on the occasion of the release of her tenth and latest cookbook called The Everyday Baker. You won’t want to miss her advice for home cooks on baking during the holiday season (advice I am promising myself to heed this year!), which is transcends baking and is really applicable to all things in life.
If you have questions for Abby, she has graciously agreed to answer your baking questions left in the comments section below.
Mimi Sheraton, award-winning author and former restaurant critic for The New York Times, will be at the Westport Public Library on Saturday, February 28 to discuss her new book, 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List.
Sheraton's appearance will be a conversation with Matt Storch, chef and owner of Match Restaurant.
About Mimi Sheraton
Mimi Sheraton is a journalist, restaurant critic, lecturer, IACP and James Beard Award–winning cookbook author, and the woman about whom famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten declared, “Her knowledge knows no bounds, her glossary of flavors is ultimate. Her opinion is like gold.” The former restaurant critic of the New York Times,
Photo c/o MarkBittman.comMark Bomford, Director of the Yale Sustainable Food Project will lead a conversation with author and New York Times columnist Mark Bittman on October 8, 2014 from 6 to 7 pm. The talk will take place at Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona, 1 Prospect Street in New Haven. This event is hosted by the Yale Sustainable Food Program.
The first thing I noticed when I walked into Eren’s Grill was the neatness and precision of the refrigerator case. Platters of perfectly aligned kebabs await the grill. Bowls of bright-red-hued eggplant-tomato salad and pale, fluffy humus. Glistening rows of dark-green stuffed grape leaves. Then Eren, a young man wearing chef’s white’s embellished with the Turkish flag, stepped out from the open kitchen and proudly started telling me about his fresh and homemade food.
Fairfield’s new and only Turkish restaurant is a small joint in a strip mall. With just a few tables, it does a lot of take-out and catering. Whether eat-in or take-out, it’s a welcome addition to the Tunxis Hill section of Fairfield, a neighborhood that could use more good food. And the food here is good: fresh and full of flavor. Ottoman cuisine has a long and noble history, and Eren – who was head chef of the Athens’ Tike, an international group of Turkish restaurants in places like London, Cyprus and Kiev -- for 8 years -- is proud to put his signature on it. “I want to play a little,” he says.
Tamar Adler, a former editor at Harper’s Magazine and former cook at Chez Panisse and Prune will visit The Aldrich on Sunday, September 9 at 3 pm. Tickets are $10 each or free for members.
Adler has written a series of essays which, as Alice Waters states in the foreword to Adler’s book, An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace are “...teaching people not just how to cook but how to love to cook.”
Katie Workman, author of the new hit cookbook The Mom 100 Cookbook is coming to the Westport Public Library on Thursday, May 10 at 10:00 a.m.
Katie Workman is the founding editor in chief of Cookstr.com and a mother of two. In The Mom 100 Cookbook she delivers solutions to the 20 most common cooking dilemmas that every modern mom faces, providing recipes and tips for parents who are so baffled by their kids’ food preferences that mealtime has become a minefield.
Katie Workman will talk about her new cookbook The Mom 100 Cookbook, answer questions from the audience, and give a book signing.
Ok mothers...here's what people are saying about this new compendium:
“One of the best cookbook authors of her generation.” — BOBBY FLAY
“These are the 100 recipes everyone needs!” — INA GARTEN
Last spring we told you about Bereket, an tiny authentic Turkish eatery tucked behind a gas station in Bridgeport. This fortuitous find primarily offered takeout, but if you were lucky enough to get one of the 3 small tables, you were served food worthy of an Ottoman emperor. While we loved hiding out behind the Citgo station, we were pleased to hear that owner Selahattin Cinar had moved his very reasonably priced menu and talented cooks to a much larger space in Blackrock (the old Helados Vazquez). With an upgraded interior worthy of the excellent fare, Selahattin can now focus on the customer experience...and a more gracious host you've never seen. Warm up your car for a quick departure to Bridgeport.
This weekend the town of Old Lyme will host the Midsummer Festival, a two-day celebration featuring concerts, exhibitions, and a heavy dose of Connecticut food, farms and food writers this Friday, July 30 and Saturday July 31 in the town’s historic district.
In addition to concerts, exhibitions and workshops for kids, the Midsummer Festival boasts a great-line up for gourmands, which is where we gladly come in, beginning with an en plein air market featuring Connecticut grown produce and products. On Friday evening, Dinners at the Farm will be serving picnic dinners out of their “Chuckwagon” for $25 a person and will be back at it on Saturday serving breakfast and lunch in an outdoor cafe on Saturday for Festival-goers.
It's been 24 hours since I left Bereket, a tiny hole in the wall Turkish restaurant located behind a Citgo station on Bridgeport's Main Street. As I write this I wonder, is it too soon to go back?
Bereket has been dubbed by people in the know as Fairfield County's best kept secret, and I finally understand what all the fuss is about. Mind you, this place is not fussy. Hidden beside of the gas station's mini mart, Bereket's small dining space has only 3 tables and boxes of Turkish beverages and pantry staples lining the walls. But what this single room Turkish delight lacks in ambiance, it makes up for in the quality, freshness, and flavor of the food.
Owner Selahattin Cinar has been in business for 6 years, and chats with customers while holding court in the kitchen preparing a steady stream of take-out orders. He greeted us warmly as we walked in, and we were relieved to find that he spoke enough English to answer questions and help us navigate their extensive menu. When we asked what was good, we were led to a display case filled with cold mezes (appetizers) and kebabs awaiting the heat, and simply told,it's all good. And it was.
