10 Questions with Chef Arik Bensimon of Napa & Co.

Chef Arik Bensimon started cooking at the age of 11 at his Aunt and Uncle's restaurant, Pasta Prego, on 45th and 5th Avenue in New York City. He has been in the kitchen ever since and there's no place he'd rather be (other than a yoga studio). As Napa and Company's Executive Chef he has created a menu that spans the culinary globe while staying close to the farm. Passionate and surprisingly understated, Chef Arik recently sat down with CTbites to answer a few questions about what makes him tick. 

If you had unexpected guests arriving at your home for dinner in 1 hour, what would you whip up? Pasta. I always have really good buccatini in the house and a can of really good tomatoes. I'd probably do a salad to go with it…with fresh greens and I love shaved fennel. 

What is the last dish you cooked for yourself? Whole grilled Bronzino with olive oil and lemon juice. I was cooking at my mother's house.

What are your guilty pleasures in terms of food? Cereal. Kashi (any kind) with almond milk is da' bomb.

Click to read more ...

Brewing Beer With Jon Vaast Of Dressing Room

In 2006 Dressing Room restaurant was created as a collaboration between actor Paul Newman and chef Michael Nischan. Both men could fairly be called food policy activists, and their desire was to create what they called a Homegrown Restaurant, focusing on American heirloom food made from local, organic ingredients. Dressing Room's name stems from its location, adjacent to Newman's Westport Country Playhouse, but one of its staff, chef Jon Vaast, was kind enough to invite CTBites into his home instead to show us how the 21st century gent practices the ancient art of home brewing.  

[A note before we begin: as much as I enjoy beer, I had never before actually made it. I enjoy driving, but if I attempted to build an overhead valve engine there would inevitably be sundry and possibly vital bits left lying on the garage floor when I was done. Luckily, brewing has significantly fewer chances to produce flaming wreckage, but I apologize ahead of time to for anything I may leave out.] 

Click to read more ...

Food Porn: White Truffles Class w/ Chef Matt Storch

CLICK ON ABOVE PHOTO TO LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

The white truffle. Available for only a few months a year, this buried treasure is sold for $2500 a pound and is one of the most sought after ingredients on the planet. They are elusive, hidden underground. No longer sniffed out by pigs who had the audacity to occasionally eat them, the white truffle hunters have been replaced by the more trust-worthy canine. Their complex delicate taste is revered be chefs and diners everywhere, but you can only find white truffles in one place...the Piedmont area of Italy...and Fairfield County.

October-early December is white truffle season, and in celebration of these sublime fungi, Chef Matt Storch of Match Restaurant hosted a 12 course White Truffles Cooking Class at Clarke Culinary Center in Norwalk. Each course featured raw shaved white truffles (added at the last possible moment to preserve the taste of their ethereally earthy flesh). The smell alone could have kept the foodie in me satiated for days. Food porn warning: Browsing this photo gallery will make you hungry. 

Click to read more ...

Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup

leFarm's Cider Braised Turkey Legs

Roasted Pumpkin & Squash Soup via The Dressing Room

MATCH'S Luscious Whipped Potatoes

Napa & Co's Chestnut Corn Bread & Foie Gras Stuffing

Butter & Herb Roasted Turkey with Madeira c/o Fine Cooking

Bread Pudding w. Bourbon Pecans & Butterscotch

Thanksgiving Shout Out: Best Dish? Worst Dish?

The Boathouse's Autumn Harvest Apple Contorno

Click to read more ...

11 Questions w/ Chef Matt Storch of Match Restaurant

If you had unexpected guests arriving at your home for dinner in 1 hour, what would you whip up? Grilled Ribeye or Chicken Thighs with sautéed veg and caramelized onions or possibly a garden salsa of some sort, avocado, plums, jalapeño, toasted corn…always some nice crusty bread

What is the last dish you cooked for yourself? Lunch is a pasta with sour cream and cottage cheese..(old family favorite)  My wife and I had (see above) for dinner the other night

What are your guilty pleasures (in terms of food)? Hamburgers, hot dogs, and French fries

What ingredient could you not live without? Salt, Bacon, Olive oil, Eggs...sorry couldn’t decide

Click to read more ...

Make the Perfect Pie with Fritz Knipschildt

"Making the perfect pie is an art."

Master Chocolatier Fritz Knipschidlt, owner of Café Chocopologie in South Norwalk uttered these words that inspired his upcoming October 20 class at Clarke Culinary Showroom. 

"This is the time of year that everyone starts thinking about pies and baking. The holidays are coming, and thoughts turn to Thanksgiving and what to make for dessert to serve after the turkey," continues Knipschildt, who will share his secrets of creating fabulous pies during his class at the The Clarke Culinary Center on Thursday, October 20th from 6-8PM.

Pre-registration for this and Clarke's impressive fall class line-up are required and can be done online at www.clarkeculinarycenter.com or by calling 800-842-5275, ext. 206. 

Click to read more ...

10 Questions with BSF Owner Kory Wollins

One of the ultimate comfort foods, the Hamburger, has obtained main stream culinary acceptance during the past few years as evidenced by the inclusion of gourmet hamburgers on many restaurant menus and recently established restaurants dedicated to these gastronomic delights. On the forefront of this trend, Kory Wollins followed his dream and opened his first Burgers, Shakes & Fries on Delavan Avenue in the Byram section of Greenwich in 2007.  The first time I entered the Greenwich location and spoke with Kory, we had an in-depth conversation about his product, his ambitions and our mutual love for great hamburgers. Years later I still thoroughly enjoy the BSF hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and shakes at the Greenwich and Darien locations, and I have watched the passion that Kory brings to each of his restaurants. 

Click to read more ...

Kids Review: Stir It Up by Ramin Ganeshram

Rebecca is a 7th grader at The Unquowa School in Fairfield, CT. She loves to read, write, draw and cook. This is her review of Ramin Ganeshram's new book, Stir It Up. [Note: Don't miss the great recipe for Coconut Dark Chocolate Cookies below.]

In Stir It Up by Ramin Ganeshram, the thirteen year old main character, Anjali, causes quite a stir when she chances losing some of the most important things in her life.

Anjali loves to cook; she loves working in her family’s roti shop. Her dream is to have her own Food Network cooking show by the age of fifteen. On the other hand, her father wants her to take an entrance exam to get into the prestigious Stuyvesant High School in New York City.

Click to read more ...

Back to School with Clarke Culinary Showroom

Summer is winding down and school is nearly back in session. With that sobering news I decided to take it upon myself to reprogram the negative connotation with this time of year and embrace the classroom.

Clarke Culinary Showroom has a terrific line-up beginning late summer and into fall with new classes and a couple of new yet familiar faces such as Prasad Chirnomula of Thali and Michel Nischan.

Clarke's classes are known for their small class size which encourages an intimate atmosphere and the ability for guests to get up close and personal with the chefs. For a chance to win two tickets to a class of your choosing vote in Clarke's contest called "Vote for your Favorite Chef." The full list continues to change daily, so check-back soon as Clarke add classes, chefs and details:

Ice cream and Lollipops with Fritz Knipschildt on August 25; Tuna: Head to Tail with Matt Storch on September 1; Scandanavian Cooking with Fritz Knipschildt on September 15; Hors d'oeuvres with Chef Rui Correia on September 14; A Lesson in Spice with Prasad Chirnomula on September 29; A Special Night with Michel Nischan on October 6; Fritz's Favorite Pies With a Twist with Fritz Knipschildt on October 20; A Night with Chef Rui Correia and Portugese Cooking on October 27; The Freshest Ingredients with Michel Nischan on November 3; The Bounties of the Fall Market with Matt Storch on November 10; and A Winner's Class: The Art of Cooking with Root Vegetables with Fritz Knipschildt on November 17.

Click to read more ...

Tour India with Thali's Chef Prasad Chirnomula

10 Questions w/ Matt Stanczak of Stanziato's in Danbury

Matt Stanczak is chef and owner of Danbury's two-year-old Stanziato's Wood-fired pizza. Trained at the Culinary Institute of America, he has worked for the last decade as both a private chef and for restaurants in New York City and Westchester but now, and thankfully for us, he calls Danbury home.

Stanczak’s contemporary take on on the classic Neopolitan pizza is one of the most outstanding in the state. His puffy charred crusts, devotion to local ingredients and seasonality as well as his nightly specials with their intuitive pairings have made me literally pound the table in delight.

1. If you had unexpected guests arriving at your home for dinner in one hour, what would you whip up?

This time of year I'm definitely thinking a fresh Guacamole....Avacodos from my favorite Latino bodega, Lots of freshly squeezed Lime Juice, Onion, maybe a chopped up jalapeno, sea salt, and lots and lots of cilantro! Simple, Fresh, Delicious.

2. What is the last dish you cooked for yourself?

Click to read more ...

Chef Gabrielle Hamilton is Coming to Stamford

Gabrielle Hamilton, chef/owner of the highly successful Prune restaurant in New York’s East Village, and author of the memoir "Blood, Bones & Butter" will be appearing in Fairfield County on July 20th. Chef Hamilton will be doing a 15-20 minute reading from her book at 6pm at the Harry Bennett Branch of the STAMFORD CT library, followed by Q & A and book signing. If you have not yet added this tome to your summer reading list, listen to what her colleagues have to say about this remarkable work: 

Magnificent. Simply the best memoir by a chef ever. Ever." —Anthony Bourdain

"I will read this book to my children and then burn all the books I have written for pretending to be anything even close to this." —Mario Batali

Details: Wednesday, July 20th. Stamford Library, Harry Bennett Branch, 115 Vine Road, Stamford, CT

Cocktails: Sangria Flora c/o Barcelona's Gretchen Thomas

We are pleased to introduce a new CTbites contributor, Gretchen Thomas, the Wine & Spirits Director for the Barcelona Restaurant Group. She supervises the largest Spanish wine program in the United States, managing 200 labels from 11 countries, and acts as the lead mixologist for The Barcelona Restaurants. 

Summer months bring lots of outdoor cooking opportunities. As an avid BBQ host, I know that the simpler the menu, the easier it is to relax and enjoy the fun. Firing up the grill and throwing on the hotdogs and burgers is always a cinch, but planning the beverages can often be a frustrating element.

An extremely simple and delicious recipe for Sangria Flora crossed my desk a year ago and it has become a necessary staple at all my backyard gatherings, right up there with the yard games and bug spray. It was introduced to me by the founder of St. Germain, an Elderflower liqueur that is prominent at every real cocktail bar in the country. The recipe was created by the company and its simple – St Germain, dry white or rose wine, and chopped fresh fruit.

Click to read more ...

Nicholas Roberts' Whole Wheat & Porcini Fettuccine

Nicholas Roberts Gourmet Bistro is a restaurant with a lot of heart and some really well prepared food. On a recent dinner excursion, we stumbled upon a seasonal pasta special that I knew wouldn't stay on the menu for long, and yet I could envision myself craving it on a weekly basis. I considered lobbying for a permanent spot on the NRGB menu, but some meals are more ethereal in nature. Instead, Chef Rob Troilo handed the recipe over to CTbites to enable future enjoyment in our own homes. If you don't want to make your own pasta, go buy it fresh, and take advantage of the beautiful asparagus currently available at our local Farmers' Markets. Let us know how you like Nicholas Roberts' House Made Whole Wheat & Porcini Fettuccine with Artichokes & Asparagus. 

Click to read more ...

Chef Talk: Tuscan Oven's Limonata Cocktail

Meeting a friend for an overdue gabfest, I found myself at Tuscan Oven in Norwalk for cocktails.

Just as I was about to order the requisite martini, I spied a cocktail that whispered summer. The Limonata.

If you find yourself in denial about the cool indecisive weather, or perhaps you'd like to be transported to a sunny afternoon on the Amalfi Coast, this Tuscan Oven cocktail may be just the thing.

The Tuscan Oven Limonata

Click to read more ...