Chimichurri Burger with Roasted Sweet Potato Fries via Marcia Selden Features Catering Recipe Marcia Selden Catering September 03, 2013 September might feel like the beginning of fall to some, but to many others it means the return of the nightly back to school dinnertime dilemma, and the sentence that sends chills through many parents; the dreaded “I’m hungreeeee, what’s for dinnerrrr?!” Our mouth-watering chimichurri burgers are a sure-fire way to please everyone at the family table. If you can’t wrap your arms around making home-made sweet potato fries, use the frozen ones, we won’t tell! Enjoy this perfect weeknight recipe for Chimichurri Burger with Roasted Sweet Potato Fries. Read More
Front Porch Cocktail Recipe via Saugatuck Grain & Grape Ingredients Features Cocktails Entertaining Recipe Jeff Marron August 28, 2013 I like making (and drinking) this cocktail. Maybe it's because that you can't tell how bitter the Sibila Amaro is. It adds just the right amount of complexity to cut through the sweetness of the preserves. The Domaine Canton adds an underlying ginger spice while the Plymouth Gin and Carpano Antica Vermouth tie everything together. I like to call this kind of cocktail a "think or drink" cocktail. You can either think about every sip, analyze it and pull the flavors apart or just sip it on your front porch on a beautiful Summer day while watching the grass grow. Read More
The Chelsea: Gazpacho Meets Mozzarella & Tomatoes Recipe Ingredients Features Entertaining Recipe Matt Storch August 20, 2013 The Chelsea in Fairfield boasts a vibrant pub scene and some pretty tasty fare. Chef Matt Storch who oversees the kitchen with Jeff Spence (also from Match Restaurant) says, "There's a lot of love in every dish." Given the season, we were feeling the love for this classic mashup: Gazpacho meets Classic Mozzarella & Tomatoes. Enjoy this dish while tomatoes are still in season, because unless you are canning those beauties, the harvest time for local vipe ripened tomatoes is coming to a close in September. Enjoy a little bit of The Chelsea in your kitchen. Read More
Recipe: Late Summer Tomato Tart via Marcia Selden Features Catering Entertaining Recipe Marcia Selden Catering August 15, 2013 Late summer offers some of the best produce of the season! For those of you who garden, you may be finding yourself with a bumper crop of plump sweet tomatoes. Here’s our recipe for a delicious tomato tart. Don’t let the word tart intimidate you, it’s deceptively easy to make, and absolutely perfect for a picnic at the beach or at home with friends. Read More
Thali's Chef Prasad: A Lesson in Spice @ Clarke Culinary Center Features Restaurant Cooking Classes Education Kitchen Gear Sarah Green August 06, 2013 A lesson in spice, a lesson in life - a cooking class with Prasad Chirnomula is both. Purely charming and ridiculously modest, Chef Prasad (of the Indian restaurants THALI and THALI TOO and of the former Oaxaca in Westport) recently taught a group of eager foodies some very important secrets regarding the art of cooking Indian at Norwalk's prestigious Clarke Culinary Center. Clarke offers the best in high end kitchens and top quality appliances as well as wonderful cooking classes where top notch chef Gods let a small groups of mortals watch and learn. So we came, we saw, we watched and we ate. But it wasn't just food that Chef Prasad cooked up- it was more like the creation of a warm, breezy sunset. Chef Prasad created a palate of color. Read More
Gazpacho Recipe: South End In New Canaan Features Chef Talk Recipe CTbites Team August 01, 2013 Gazpacho is one of those summer treats that allows a chef to combine vibrant seasonal flavors with a unique personal touch. Every bowl of gazpacho is different, and Chef Nick Martschenko of South End in New Canaaan does a wonderful job marrying texture, taste and a little heat. This sweet and spicy version combines the sweetness of the tomatoes with a little spiciness from finely diced jalepeno peppers. He then finishes this delectable recipe with grilled shrimp. Enjoy! Read More
Best Places to Grab a Picnic or To-Go Meal in Fairfield County CT Features Restaurant Picnic April Guilbault July 25, 2013 A tisket, a tasket...a lovely picnic basket. Or possibly just a simple, perfect, brown bag lunch. A lunch wrapped to eat by the seashore (sand not included), one to eat while lounging on a blanket in the grass listening to an outdoor, evening concert or one stuffed into a backpack for your long, summer hike. What is it about eating en plein air that is so fabulously enjoyable? Whatever your destination, here are a few suggestions for acquiring the perfect to-go meal.... Share your favorite To-Go spots by leaving a comment below: Read More
Sono Baking Co's French Blueberry Tartlets Features Bakery Chef Talk Recipe Dessert CTbites Team July 18, 2013 Welcome to Throwback Thursday...We brought this recipe out of the archives right in time for blueberry season. Enjoy! Sweet! Berries are back in season and we've got the perfect way to celebrate the booming berry harvest: fresh fruit tarts. We asked John Barricelli of Sono Baking Company for his favorite recipe as he knows a few things about tarts. Piled high with fresh blueberries, these individual fruit tarts offer a sweet, creamy custard surprise in the center. Try making these with raspberries or strawberries, or an assortment of berries. Each tartlet uses very little pastry cream, so you’ll have some left over, which can be used as a garnish and served alongside the tarts. Read More
le Farm's Summer Market Salad Recipe Features Farm to Table Local Farm Recipe Farm Fresh CTbites Team July 16, 2013 Chef Arik Bensimon of le Farm embraces the summer growing season with this simple recipe inspired by a recent trip to the local farmers' market. Thinly shaved vegetables with varying weights and texture are drizzled with a light take on a classic Caesar dressing. (You'll want to save this recipe for use year round.) Chef Bensimon has left off the quantities on the main ingredients as there are no wrong answers here, and he recommends any raw vegetable that is to your liking as the summer harvest rotates through. Enjoy this wonderful Summer Market Salad Recipe from le Farm. Read More
Aye Cukarumba! Cocktail Recipe from Barcelona Restaurant Ingredients Features Cocktails Recipe CTbites Team July 09, 2013 Last Spring, CTbites ran a cocktail naming contest with Barcelona Restaurant. The drink in need of a name would debut on Barcelona Restaurant's Cocktail Menu, and has become one of their classics...the Aye Cukarumba! Yes...that is the name, not an exclamation. With zesty citrus, lightly sweet St. Germain, and a dash of Hellfire Bitters, this drink has it all going on, and now you can make Barcelona's Aye Cukarumba! cocktail in your home. Here are the ingredients for this unique and excellent addition to any party...or forget the party, and just make one for yourself tonight. Read More
Seasonal Strawberry Recipes from Festivities Catering Features Cocktails Recipe Dessert CTbites Team June 13, 2013 Throwback Thursday: Seasonal Strawberry recipes originally posted June 2012 Wondering what to do with the 10 pounds of strawberries your family picked over the weekend? Festivities has some great ideas for you. Whether you like your berries boozy, savory or sweet, here are three seasonal strawberry recipes to suit every palate: Strawberry Sangria, Balsamic Macerated Strawberries with Sweetened Ricotta, and Strawberry, Basil and Goat Cheese Bites. Enjoy the complete recipes below: Read More
The Bedford Posts' Pork Chops w/ Grilled Cherries & Wild Mustard Greens Features Chef Talk Holiday Recipe CTbites Team May 25, 2013 Despite the inclement weather this year, Memorial Day weekend always harkens the launch of grilling season. Chef McMillan, of The Bedford Post in Bedford, NY is no stranger to a fiery hearth, so we've asked him to ring in the season with a recipe from the restaurant. Chef McMillan recently conducted a series of grilling themed dinners at The Bedford Post and as a locavore, he and his staff have taken to foraging the property for ingredients to use on their menu. Hence the use of Wild Mustard Greens and Nasturtium seen in this recipe for Pork Chops with Grilled Cherries, Wild Mustard Greens, and Nasturtium Leaves. Happy Grilling! Read More
Raus Coffee to Debut New Drink at Westport Farmers Market Ingredients Features Restaurant Coffee Farmers Market Amy Kundrat May 21, 2013 Raus Coffee will debut its newest iced espresso drink, the Roman Navel, at the opening of the Westport Farmers’ Market on May 23. The new drink was inspired by a trip to Seattle’s Café Vita, where Raus Coffee founder Donny Raus became smitten with the Medici, an espresso-based chocolate and orange drink. The success of the flavor combination compelled him to recreate it using his own approach. The Roman Navel is the third product in Raus’s award-winning espresso product line. Donny and I met recently at the soon-to-open Steam Coffee Bar in Westport, so he could give me a sample of this newest obsession. So I had a baseline, I also grabbed his other two iced espresso-based drinks, the Roman Kiss and (my old personal stand-by) the Cold Roman. Read More
Lesser Evil Snacks: Empty Calorie Free Chips & Popcorn Ingredients Features Kid Friendly Nancy Kleeger May 17, 2013 The fabric of our snacking society has changed dramatically over the last decade, due in part to the hoards of information about making smarter food choices infiltrating our nutritional radar: in the home, in the stores and even in the cinema, with movies like "Supersize Me", getting the message across to Americans that we all should take note of what we are feeding ourselves, and especially our children. This revolution of smarter eating has no doubt been the catalyst to an all out healthy snack war between battling companies, each one trying to outdo the other. Just stroll through any snack isle and you will see lots of clever marketing and claims to the "new, new" trendy food item that promises you and your kids extra brain power AND shiny, healthy, hair for life . The proclamations that adorn these boxes and bags are now so familiar to us all I can ask you to close your eyes and recite them with me: No trans-Fats, Gluten Free, No Cholesterol, Whole Grain....you know them all! This is what Malcolm Gladwell means by " TheTipping Point."-- everyone is now jumping on the bandwagon to be on trend. There are a bevy of beauties in this category, so many, that the choices can become overwhelming. How do you choose? Read More
Tips for Great Grilled Cheese from Chef Jason Sobocinski of Caseus Features Chef Talk kids activity Lunch Kid Friendly CTbites Team May 07, 2013 King of the Grilled Cheese, Jason Sobocinski is the owner and founder of New Haven's innovative cheese-centric gastropub and cheese shop Caseus Fromagerie Bistro. Here are his tips for the perfect Grilled Cheese sandwich. The crispy and the melty are no more typified than in America's greatest culinary accomplishment, the Grilled Cheese! Who thought up such a wonderful combination, to put bread to butter then heat with cheese till melted? Pure culinary Genius. The first signs of what we know as the Grilled Cheese sandwich surfaced around the 1940's. Sliced white bread was used often with cheese melted open faced called cheese toasties in England and was a popular dish to make in U.S. Naval galleys. These toasted melted precursors of what we now know where easy to make and super satisfying...did they come from the English Welsh Rarebit or the French Croque Madame? I'm not sure, but I do know that now more than ever this nostalgic sandwich has become increasingly popular and more and more refined. Is it because it's simplicity and comfort evoking qualities? Again, not sure but I know how to make a seriously great GC and here are some of my tips and stellar condiment suggestion to bolster your next crispy melty endeavor! Read More
Take a Test Drive: The Wolf Convection Steam Oven (sponsored post) Features Kitchen Gear CTbites Team April 02, 2013 Cooks have long appreciated the way steam cooking preserves nutrients and keeps foods moist. Restaurant owners have relied on commercial convection steam ovens for years. Now Wolf makes convection and steam accomplish delicious feats that are impossible for other ovens. At Clarke, New England's official Sub-Zero showroom and test kitchen in South Norwalk, CT, you can see this incredible appliance in action. Witness a pound of dry pasta, a cup of water, chopped vegetables and stewed tomatoes placed on a shallow tray turn into the most delicious meal you've ever eaten...in a matter of minutes...without pots, colanders or any mess. Imagine putting a carton of a dozen eggs in the oven (with the carton!) and within ten minutes having perfect hard-boiled eggs. Forget to defrost your dinner steaks? Go from freezer to table creating a succulent, juicy filet mignon in little more than a half-hour. The Wolf Gourmet modes allow this oven to actually sense the size and type of food you place inside and cook it to perfection; many times without timers and recipes. Read More
Easter Eats: Grilled Lambsicles with Mint Pesto Features Holiday Recipe Jennifer Spaide March 31, 2013 Jennifer Spaide of Simplicious is constantly coming up with elaborate menus for her holiday celebrations that put my cooking to shame. When she tweeted about this one, I simply had to have the recipe. Grilled Lamb Chops are one of my favorite dishes, and when paired with this healthy and light Mint Pesto, they become the perfect Easter entree. Enjoy this beautiful dish. Happy holidays! Grilled Lambsicles with Mint Pesto Read More
Debra Ponzek's The Dinnertime Survival Cookbook Features Cookbooks Kid Friendly Stephanie Webster March 31, 2013 Debra Ponzek, owner of Aux Delices Fine Foods, knows a few things about getting food on the table. She cooks for her family and has a successful catering and restaurant business with locations in both Westport and Greenwich. Ponzek’s fourth cookbook The Dinnertime Survival Cookbook, comes out on April 1st 2013 as an answer to the age old question, What’s for dinner? “You write different cookbooks at different times in your life,” says Ponzek. “I have kids and the question of what will I serve for dinner is a constant.” To approach this mealtime conundrum, Ponzek has written her book with the organizing principle of,” What do I feel like eating tonight?” The Dinnertime Survival Cookbook is divided into basic mealtime genres such as: "Everybody Loves Burgers", "Pasta & Beyond", "On The Slow Side" for braises, "If You Love Chicken", as well as "Breakfast For Dinner" (my personal favorite). The concept is to take an ingredient your family enjoys and expand on what you already know. “I found that people tend to make the same 5 of 6 dishes every week,” states Ponzek. “I hope that people will be inspired by the recipes in The Dinnertime Survival Cookbook and find that they are simple enough to add these to their repertoire.” Read More
Spring Workshops at Millstone Farm in Wilton Ingredients Features Cooking Classes Education CTbites Team March 01, 2013 Millstone Farm's spring workshops series has been announced. These events range from Pig Carving 101 with Chef Tim LaBant of The Schoolhouse to Raising Backyard Chickens with Millstone’s Master Farmer, Annie Farrell. You'll want to check these out. Pig Carving 101 with Chef Tim LaBant Saturday, March 23: 12pm – 3pm Cost: $50, RSVP to f2f@schoolhouseatcannondale.co Back by popular demand! Join us for a hearty lunch and an up close and personal workshop on how to carve a whole pig, lead by Chef Tim LaBant of The Schoolhouse at Cannondale. Read more... Raising Backyard Chickens Saturday, April 6: 1pm – 4pm Read More
elm Restaurant Events: Whole Hog, Cheese Tasting & More Features Restaurant Events CTbites Team February 26, 2013 Chef Brian Lewis and his staff at elm Restaurant in New Canaan are pleased to announce the following events during March, in conjunction with many Fairfield County Artisans. Some of the unique culinary experiences include: The Whole Hog Dinner with Craft Butchery of Westport, Localvore Cuisine, and A Cheese Primer & Feast with local expert Erin Hedley. View the complete calendar of events below: Read More
