Invites Recap: New Nordic Dinner at Chocopologie c/o Fritz Knipschildt

So what happens when creative and innovative chefs are given the chance to create a special dinner inspired by their homeland, Denmark and The World’s Best Restaurant, NOMA of Copenhagen??

Well…a 10 Course “New Nordic” Dinner with Fritz Knipschildt of Chocopologie presented by CTbites Invites, turns into a true culinary happening. I lost count, but 10 courses turned into 16 courses, each paired with local wines from CT, Upstate NY and Long Island and beers from local breweries; Southport Brewing Company and City Steam of Stratford. 

But first a little food history as Fritz explained the evening ahead.  In November 2004, on the initiative of the Danish chefs René Redzepi and Claus Meyer of the then newly opened NOMA restaurant, chefs and food professionals from all the Nordic countries met in Copenhagen to discuss how best to develop what they called the "New Nordic Cuisine." In particular, they sought to emphasize the need for what they described as "purity, simplicity, and freshness" as well as increased use of seasonal foods. Restaurants were encouraged to develop traditional dishes making use of ingredients benefitting from the local region's climate, water, and soil.

As Fritz stressed, this cuisine was taking the farm-to table movement one step further, by foraging the earth for unique flavors and ingredients by using fresh herbs, moss, edible flowers and burnt hay to enhance the flavors of each dish.  

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Invites: Celebrate CT! An Evening of Craft Beer & BBQ @ Bar Q

Join Bob Le Rose (of Bobby Q's) and CTbites for an evening celebrating "CT's Own!" Enjoy Craft beers from local CT breweries and 4 course dinner of CT BBQ as only BarQ can prepare it on Tuesday 2/26 7 to 9 pm for $40 per person. Buy tickets.

Taste and enjoy an authentic dinner of four courses of original CT BBQ, a dessert of Snickerdoodle Bacon Ice Cream Sandwich, all while washing it down with delicious beers from three local Connecticut micro-breweries, Half Full, City Steam and Two Roads Breweries. 

Menu includes:

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Invites: Passover Cooking Class @ Tabouli Grill

Join Chef/Owner Judith Roll for a 2 hour Pre- Passover "behinds the scenes" cooking class and lunch at Tabouli Grill in Southport on Wednesday February 13 from 10 am-12pm.

Learn how to make traditional Passover dishes like Bubbe's brisket with dried plums and carrots and matzo farfel with wild mushrooms ...even how to make you own matzo... and matzo ball soup! and then enjoy a lunch of your creations! SIGN UP HERE. 

Passover is March 25- April 2, so this gives you time to practice and perfect the menu!

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CTbites Invites LAST MINUTE Holiday Gift Ideas!

“Twas the night before Christmas, and all thru the house…you suddenly realized you were short a gift for your loving spouse! ”

Even with Macy’s open round the clock till Christmas, who wants to brave the crowds and fight the holiday traffic?

CTbites Invites is offering you LAST MINUTE Holiday Gift Ideas that you purchase online thru our CTbites Invites website and then insert into a holiday card or stuff in the stockings “hung by the fireplace with care” for future use!

Choose from the following gift items: $100 gift certificate good for dinner at five of our favorite restaurants: Barcelona (all six CT locations), BONDA, Da Pietro’s , Match, The Chelsea

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Invites: Hurricane Sandy Benefit Dinner @ Oaxaca Kitchen

Join CTbites and Oaxaca Kitchen in Westport for a special evening on Thursday 11/29 7:30-9:30 to benefit Connecticut Food Bank for $55. A special 5 course menu presented personally by Chef Prasad Chirnomula includes signature OMG Margarita and Sangria & $20 of each ticket will be donated to Connecticut Food Bank's Hurricane Sandy Virtual Food Drive. 

Chef Prasad will be on hand to explain the inspiration for both of his top rated restaurant concepts, Thali and Oaxaca. He will discuss his methedology and use of authentic spices as well as the similarities between his Mexican and Indian influences. 

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Napa & Co. CTbites Invites Recap...The Importance of Pairing

Owner Mary Schaeffer, with new chef Leonardo Marino, guided thirty lucky diners on an evening of off-the-menu dishes and signature wine pairings for CTbites Invites latest event at Napa & Co. on September 27. An exceptional five-course seasonal pairings menu served to showcase the breadth of the restaurant's food and wine program, the new talent in the kitchen, and some of fall’s best seasonal flavors such as fig, squash and chestnut. Guests even got to take home a bottle of Toast, a sparkling white wine Napa & Co. commissioned for the restaurant.

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Invites: 5 Course Latin American Wine Dinner @ Brasitas

Join BRASITAS owner, Jaime Guerrero and Norwalk manager, Fabio Rojas, for an all inclusive special dinner and wine pairing featuring Latin Fusion cuisine on October 23rd from 7:30-9:30 pm at Brasitas Norwalk. This event is $70. VIEW FULL MENU HERE. 

Chef Parra will introduce each dish, while Fabio will expertly pair each course with wines from the extensive wine list at Brasitas, featuring wines from all over the world including Argentina, Chile and Spain. 

MENU:

Crema de Calabaza y Coco, a roasted pumpkin-coconut and lemongrass bisque, toppped with toasted pepitas and maple syrup.

Followed by Ensalada con Higos Rellenos; Garrotxa cheese stuffed Black Mission Figs wrapped in Jamon Serrano.

Lechon con Pozole; Slow roasted suckling pig, red chile Pozole, Avocado, Crunchy Cabbage and Tortilla "Polenta."

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CTbites Invites Fall 2012 Lineup

CTbites Invites is back from summer break with an exciting lineup of insider culinary events and food experiences including Wine Dinners, Cooking Classes, and themed dining events at Napa & Co, Chocopologie, Brasitas, Bernard's, Nicholas Roberts Gourmet Bistro, and SoNo Baking Company. Keep a eye out for these happening in the next few months.

For those not yet familiar with our Invites series, CTbites partners with chefs and restaurants all over Fairfielld County (and beyond) to bring our readers innovative culinary-minded events, with behind-the-scenes access and exclusive experiences on some of the most interesting culinary happenings in the region.  This past year we hosted over 40 Invites with over 1000 “foodie” attendees! We believe life is too short for bad food. 

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Invites Recap: "Happy Hour" @ Dressing Room

As you enter Dressing Room, it is the perfect combination of elegance and charm that attracts you.  When you sit down, it is the warmth that settles you in.  After you have eaten, it is the substance and quality that relaxes you into a food inspired ‘coma.’  Once you have left, it is the overall magnanimity of the Dressing Room restaurant that will entice you back.

Recently, CT Bites sponsored an event at the Dressing Room, known as “Happy Hour on the DR Patio.”  The evening was used to promote that which head chef/owner Michel Nischan has set as his restaurants overarching ideal, comfort.  From the specialty cocktails, to the stunningly made hors d’oeuvres, this is the type of happy hour that I would be a regular at.

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Invites: 4 Course Italian Wine Dinner @ Da Pietro's Restaurant - $85

Join Chef Pietro Scotti for a very personal all inclusive dinner event at Da Pietro's Restaurant in Westport, CT on Tuesday August 21 from 7:30-9:30 pm for $85.

Whether a romantic dinner for two, or a night out with friends, the intimate nature of Da Pietro's lends itself to a very special evening. MORE INFO HERE

Chef Pietro will introduce the evening with one of his specialties: Home Made Mozzarella rolled with Prosciutto di Parma and Baby Arugula over Cannellini Bean Salad. 

Paired with a Prosecco di Umbria, you will enjoy this starter as he returns to the kitchen to prepare an amazing menu to include Fresh Pasta stuffed with roasted eggplant, mushrooms and ricotta cheese, and a main entree of Filetto di Maile, Medallions of Pork finished with Port Wine and Shitake Mushroom Sauce. 

Italian wine, specially selected by a favorite winemaker, will enhance each course and the evening will finish with a dessert of Tarta di Pera, Pear Tart will Vanilla Sauce and your choice of coffee or tea.

Named Best of the Gold Coast for 3 years in a row, here is your opportunity to see and taste first hand the delicious dishes at Da Pietro's!