The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History will host Talks and Tastings, three events in conjunction with the current exhibition Big Food: Health, Culture and the Evolution of Eating. These events, part presentation and part tasting, will be held on Sundays, September 30, October 28 and December 2.
September 30: Spice of Life: Boosting Flavor Profiles and Healthy Eating
October 28: Oncology Nutrition
December 2: Nutrition for Young Children
Admission to the Museum is free, but advance registration for these events is required. The Peabody Museum is located at 170 Whitney Avenue in New Haven, CT.
As if on cue, the day I attended class at the Rhubarb Kitchen, a cooking school with an emphasis on all things British, the sun disappeared and the weather turned appropriately overcast and drizzly. A perfect backdrop for learning about the delights of the very English ritual of Afternoon Tea.
But first, a little about the women who run this show. Rebecca Binks (aka “Becs”) grew up in Kent and learned the highlights of English food from her grandmother, mom, and eight aunts. A former banker and world traveler who has lived in France and Spain, Becs landed in New York City where she met Lisa McMullan. Lisa, an Irishwoman, grew up surrounded by lush farmland and her culinary path is inspired by a true farm to table experience. Lisa practiced as an optometrist, but her love of food always lingered in the background.
The kids are going back to school, and so should you! Lead by example and take one of Saugatuck Craft Butchery's fall/winter classes. They are offering their usual Butchery 101 classes, as well as a special Holiday Edition. All registration is now done online, so visit the Craft Butchery website to reserve your spot. See below for details on all available classes.
They are also conducting pig butchering demonstrations- unlike the classes this is not hands-on, but it is still a great way to watch and learn as our butchers walk through the basic anatomy of a pig, artfully carving it into primals, then individual cuts.
School is back in session, and I don't mean the kind that requires boarding a yellow school bus. I'm talking about an education involving terms like bloomy, soft-ripened, blue-vein, washed-rind, and brined or full bodied, flowery or peppery. Ridgefield's 109 Cheese & Wine Shop's Spring/Summer class schedule is out with a full offering for any level of wine, craft beer & cheese appreciation. These classes expertly led by owner, Monica Brown, a wine and cheese connoisseur who, along with her experienced team, is dedicated to bringing a curated selection of the best products from around the corner to around the world to 109.
Wakeman Town Farm is giving local backyard chicken fans something to cluck about! Announcing the First Annual Wakeman Town Farm Chicken Coop Tour, in which local chicken coop owners in Westport and lower Weston will open their unique henhouses to the public.
Wakeman Town Farm threw down the gauntlet to local chicken-keeping aficionados. We asked: Who wants bragging rights for building the Hautest Henhouse...the Cadillac of Chicken Shacks...the Coop De Ville? The result is Wakeman Town Farm's First Annual Chicken Coop Tour, Saturday, May 5 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., a fun-filled afternoon touring approximately 15 chicken coops in Westport and Weston and enjoying a casual After-Tour Sundae back at the farm, with ice cream generously provided by The Farmer's Cow!
Millstone Farm has just announced a few more workshops going on at their beautiful 75-acre working farm in Wilton, CT. For those unfamiliar with Millstone, heir focus is on rebuilding our food community through small scale agriculture, educational activities, and events. Millstone raises pastured heirloom breed sheep, pigs, and poultry, and grow vegetables for their CSA, local chefs, and family owned markets. They do wonderful events and workshops with top chefs and guest speakers. Here is the spring lineup including "Backyard Composting" and "Foraging & Cooking with Wild Edibles."
Andrew Hoenig is the Beverage Director at the Ginger Man, located in Norwalk CT.
So winter came and went. Actually, it never really got here, did it? And I bet you’ve got a few “big” bottles of winter beer left over. What to do, what to do…I have a suggestion that involves not drinking that leftover beer. There are many beers out there that will last for years to come, some improving with age, much like a fine wine. So start a vintage beer collection!
Let’s clear up any confusion about when in the life cycle is the best time to drink your beers. Truth is, it entirely depends on the style of beer. Lagers and Pilsners demand freshness, as do any light bodied and low alcohol ales. Traditionally you are encouraged to drink these beers within the first 3 months of their life. Most hoppy beers will lose their best bright citrusy aroma and bitter flavor characteristics over time, yielding a relatively flat tasting beer behind. So, if you get your hands on some Ithaca Flower Power IPA bottles, drink ‘em up!
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
It must have been good karma to take over the former Wave Hill bread kitchen in Wilton, because the AMG Cooking School, which opened it’s doors in July, has truly found the right ingredients for success.
Alison Milwe-Grace and her partner, Olivia Savarese, are not new to cooking having run a catering and event planning business for years. When the professional kitchen space at the old Wave Hill Breads came on the market, they saw an opportunity and jumped at the chance to open a cooking school. They have been hosting both adult and kids classes ever since.
The good friends added their own personal touch to the space. Gone are the wooden bread racks and flour dusted floors. A cozy candlelit living room and dining area serves as the entrance, while the kitchen features a huge work area complete with famous chef quotes on chalkboards to serve as inspiration.
For this article, CTBites spoke with many of Fairfield County’s top chefs, butchers, and professional knife sharpeners. These pros were very blunt about the knives used in most home kitchens: they are dull. Especial fancy “trophy-ware.”
“A cook with a dull knife,” suggests Fairway’s top butcher Ray Venezia, “is like a sharpshooter with a water pistol.”
Much like a gun slinger out of the Old West, this modern-day Paladin has Knives and Will Travel. He carries his complete cutting arsenal in a sleek case … but all that's inside are just two gleaming Victorinox Forshner rosewood knives -- a 6" boning blade and a 12" cemeter – a steel and whetstone.
Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven will host “Let’s Dish: A Feast of Food Talks”on Thursday, March 22 from 5:30-8:30pm. Three distinguished culinary experts will be on a panel to enlighten attendees with stories of the trials and tribulations of being in the culinary business, moderated by a fourth culinary specialist. These four women includeCarole Peck, owner of Good News Café in Woodbury, CT, Missy Robbins, Executive Chef at A Voce in NYC, Cynthia R. Bigelow, president of Bigelow Tea Company, and Bonnie Leblang, food writer and internationally syndicated columnist.
Similar to my omnivorous approach to food, I’ve been known to devour almost anything when it comes to food in print. And although I love any and all food magazines, my allegiances bend toward the recipe-driven and away from the trendy and overly-styled. It’s nice to know that some serious time has been logged in someone else’s kitchen before amateur hour and its inevitable chaos, commences in my own.
Firmly in the category of “not afraid to get their hands dirty,” Fine Cookingmagazineis one of those few who are dedicated to the act of cooking. Their meticulous seasonally-driven recipes reflect a dedication to process and a glimpse into their tireless recipe testing. So when I learned their headquarters and test kitchen also happened to be firmly inside our Fairfield County borders at Taunton Press in Newtown, CT, it only became a matter of time before I invited my CTbites-self for a tour and taste.
This just in from The Fairfield Green Food Guide: 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
Saturday, March 17: 12pm – 2pm
Tim LaBant, Chef and owner of The Schoolhouse at Cannondale Restaurant provides a comprehensive how-to on carving a full pig. We’ll also discuss benefits of the different cuts of meat, and how best to prep and cook them.
Fairway Market'sMaster Butcher Ray Venezia, Seafood Director Captain Tony Maltese, Cheesemonger Steve Jenkins, Produce Specialist Peter Romano, and Master Roaster Benny Lanfranco will be offering up their expertise and FREE samples on Saturday January 28, 2012 from 11 AM to 3 PM at their Stamford store (699 Canal Street).
Learn the fundamentals of buying cheese, cook the perfect porterhouse, or get coffee roasting tips from this talented group of Fairway experts. See the full demo schedule below:
The expert butchers at Craft Butcherywill be kicking off 2012 with a comprehensive butchering curriculum. Owners, Ryan Fibiger (seen above) and Paul Nessel will be providing both hands-on butchery experience as well as lecture and demonstration segments. For cooks and eaters who are serious about their meat, these butchering classes are designed to give attendees an up close look at the techniques that are use to break down pork, lamb or beef into their individual cuts.
"Butchery 101: Swine" will be held on January 10th and 24th (more information below), but Craft Butchery is happy to customize these classes and demonstrations to create a more consumer or professional chef-focused discussion based on your level of interest. Classes can be done on a half or whole pig, lamb or side of beef. It provides the chance to really experience all aspects of how an animal is butchered and the audience will take home a lot of Craft Butchery's excellent meat. Boys night out anyone?
Fairfield County Foodieis a local blogger who is passionate about her food. She had me at "It’s no fun going out with folks who only ever order salads." Here is her recap of our recent CTbites Invite: Da Pietro's cooking demo & lunch event.
I laughed, I learned and I ate scrumptious food all in one afternoon.
Today I attended a fabulous, intimate event organized by CT Bites and Da Pietro restaurant in Westport: A cooking demo and lunch with Chef Scotti. I found out about it through “CT Bites Invites” that I had signed up for. Man! Am I glad I did!
The moment I entered the restaurant, I noticed all the happy smiling faces. Everyone was simply delighted to be there … after all, who wouldn’t be delighted to spend an afternoon with Chef Scotti?
Camp Fine Dining is a two week camp for teenagers that will run this August led by Paul Desiano, Chef and Owner of Cello (formerly Plate) located in Copps Hill Plaza in Ridgefield.
In the first week, Camp Fine Dining will focus students on basic skills including knife cuts, butchering, sauces, and pasta making. By the second week, the students and Chef Desiano will brainstorm a 5-course tasting menu. The class will spend the first week preparing and the program will conclude with the students cooking that menu for their families.
Dates and time: August 16 -18, August 23 – 25 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Looking to learn how to write about food or start a blog? Why not learn from a master? Corinne Trang is an award-winning author of several books including Noodles Every Day (2009), Curry Cuisine (2007), The Asian Grill (2006), She was dubbed the “Julia Child of Asian Cuisine” by the Washington Post, and has written for numerous publications including Saveur, Food & Wine, Relish, Cooking Light, and Bon Appetit.
Now is your chance to study with Corinne Trang in a very intimate setting. Here are the details:
The holiday season is rapidly approaching (for some it has already past), and as we seek out the perfect gift for that special someone, I offer up the gift of culinary knowledge. Whether your recipe repertoire needs a little spicing up or you are just looking for some tips and tricks from a pro, these cooking events are both fun and educational. Plus, in Fairfield County we are lucky to have access to a variety of chefs with serious pedigree.
Avoid the malls. These outstanding Fairfield County cooking classes are all you need: Sono Baking Co.'s John Barricelli, Match's Matt Storch, Chocopologie's Fritz Knipschildt, Barcelona or Brazilian, there is something for every cook--including some great holiday classes for kids. Your friends and family will thank you (and this year they'll mean it).
