Q & A With Christy Colasurdo - Author of "The Connecticut Farm Table Cookbook"-

CTbites contributor Christy Colasurdo recently wrote The Connecticut Farm Table Cookbook, and we caught up with her to get the scoop about the book she calls “a celebration of food and farms”.

CTbites

So, first of all, your new cookbook is beautiful. As a photographer, I have to say that I was impressed by the images.

CC

Thanks! Coming from you, that is high praise! We were lucky in that Tracey, my co-author, had written the first book in the series, The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook, and she was able to tap into a talented young photographer named Oliver Parini to shoot for this book as well. In addition, we struck gold when we met Winter Caplanson, executive director of the Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market (and a darned good photographer herself). Winter created a contest where photographers went out and shot at various Connecticut farms and fisheries in hopes of landing a photograph in the book. I was blown away by some of the images that they submitted, and many of these gorgeous shots figure prominently in the book. The only bummer is that we couldn’t use images from each and every shoot!

CTbites

Having worked on a book myself (Fairfield County Chef’s Table) with Amy Kundrat, I know that it’s a lot of work. Tell me a little about your process.

CC

Well, writing the book was a labor of love, and we were able to divvy up the work according to our interests. Tracey is a skilled cooking instructor, so she worked on taking all the recipes and testing and tweaking them so that the home cook can easily make them at home. With over 150 recipes, it was a big job. I got to do what I do best, which is ferret out, visit, and write about the farms and the restaurants. I tried hard to put together a good mix of restaurants, food producers, farmers' markets, and farms. It was really fun to feature many of the local farmers and chefs whom I know and love. These guys work tremendously hard, and they deserve a little love and recognition.

CTbites

One of the things that I think is so cool about The Connecticut Farm Table Cookbook is that it touches on both high-end restaurants and smaller joints with no fanfare.

CC

Yes! I tried hard to mix it up. I recognize that the terms “farm-to-table” and “locavore” are overhyped and overused, and often seen as snobbish, but we aren’t snobs, and we love a good dive. I set out to focus on a variety of restaurants and farmers that are in the trenches trying to do the right thing, not just four-star farm-to-table venues. I tried to give props to places like the Westport Farmers’ Market, whose director takes great pains to ensure that all her vendors are the real deal: There are no jobbers, no GMOs, no BS. We chose both James Beard Award-winning restaurants, of which we have quite a few of in our midst, as well as neighborhood cafes, lobster shacks, and pizza trucks that partner with small farmers to bring us the best of the best. People in all parts of Connecticut really enjoy knowing that a restaurant is serving milk from Connecticut cows or eggs raised at a neighbor's farm. It makes us feel good when we can say that our first corn of the season came from an Easton farmgal named Patti Popp. Food is so much tastier when you know the people behind the plates.

CTbites

The book hit the stands in June, and we notice that you have quite the Tour on your website, Connecticutfarmtablecookbook.com.

CC

Yes!  For us, it’s all about word of mouth, and we feel that the best way for people to find out about The Connecticut Farm Table Cookbook is for us to get out there and meet people and have them sample some of our recipes, and dish with us about their favorite farms and eateries in person. So, we’ve been hitting the farmers’ markets, retailers, like Terrain, Stew’s, and Back 40 Mercantile in Old Greenwich, bookstores large and small, gourmet food and wine shops, and other fun venues. We’re participating in a bunch of farm dinners and fun food-inspired events with demos and samplings.

CTbites

Any parting thoughts?

CC

It was no mean feat tracking down busy farmers and chefs who don’t keep office hours. But, we did it, and we’re excited that the book hit the stands just as the farm season started heating up. We’re lining up a lot of fun events, one of which—Farm-to-Trumbull—is taking place at Gilbertie’s Herb Gardens Farm in Easton on Sunday, August 9 at 3 p.m., featuring Chef Dean James Max, of Parallel Post Restaurant. The details: Instead of a sit-down dinner, this Sunday afternoon event will feature food stations and bars offering cocktails sponsored by Fishers Island Lemonade; brews by DuVig Brewing Company; and wine pairings and signature craft cocktails presented by mixologist Greg Genias aka “BootlegGreg.”  Attendees can sample from numerous chef’s stations serving small bites and dinner entrees ripe with the region’s finest local seasonal ingredients; enjoy an all-you-can-indulge dessert bar; and take home a personally autographed copy of The Connecticut Farm Table Cookbook.  Look for locally sourced ingredients – seafood from Norm Bloom & Son in Norwalk, meats from Ox Hollow Farm in Roxbury and greens from Gilbertie’s. For tickets and information, contact: Nancy Quinn at Fairfield U Bookstore at 203.255.7756 ext. 501