Visions of Gingerbread @ The Stamford Museum

CTbites is proud to be this year's media sponsor for the 2nd annual "Visions of Gingerbread: The Sweetest Architects" exhibit at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center.  Opening November 6th, this show will feature unique and amazing gingerbread creations by many of your favorite bakers. Check out the lineup: CakeSuite, Sugar & Olives, DiMare's Pasty Shop, SoNo Baking Company, Karin Krumpelbeck, and (are you sitting down?) CTbites will be working on an entry. (If you are a baker and want to help team CTbites, contact us!) 

Here's the best part...You can bring one of these incredible edibles home to your family. These sweet structures will be put up on the silent auction block, with proceeds going to the Museum's educational programs.

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Great Programs for Kids & Adults @ Ambler Farm

Don't miss these spooky, educational, & tasty activities @ Ambler Farm. 

Fright Night: Friday, October 29 & Saturday, October 30 

Drop off the kids (grades 3-5) for haunted activities and frightful (and not so frightful) storytelling. Those who were present last year are still talking about the ghost dog who frequents the Farm! Creepy sights and mysterious sounds abound when the moon rises at Ambler Farm. Refreshments included. Enrollment limited. 

Haunted Halloween Ride, Guessing jar to win the Farm's largest pumpkin, Games, if you dare play... 

Launch the Trebuchet: Sunday, November 14 

If you've been to Ambler Farm Day, you've probably fired the apple slingshots, taken a hay-ride or two, and witnessed pumpkins flying through the air. If the pumpkin-launching trebuchet has intrigued you, now's your chance to get a closer look at this medieval-inspired machine. 

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Sweet Stuff: Halloween Candy Bark

My girlfriend and I were thumbing through our monthly cooking mags and we both noticed the cover picture of a very decadent looking Halloween themed candy bark.  I thought, “ this looks like fun, but I can do better than that!”  So off I went to our local grocery store that is stocked with bins of interesting looking sweets and nuts.  10 mini bags later, here’s what I came up with!  Alas, it's not healthy, but Halloween only comes once a year, and it's a great activity for a kids Halloween party.  The making is (almost) the best part of this recipe!

Halloween Candy Bark for Kids

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Ambler Farm Day Is This Weekend!!

Bishop’s Orchards: A Fruitful Roadtrip to Guilford

Yes, we can squeeze the peaches before we buy them in the supermarket and cherry-pick the basket we like at the farmer’s market, but there is nothing more satisfying than standing under a a tree limb full of ripe peaches. There is a tangible joy in choosing one, reaching up to feel the soft fuzz against the firm fruit and inhaling it’s perfume as you gently twist it from its stem. This was our experience yesterday and not one person in our party of 8 put their first picked peach in a bag.  Bishop’s Orchards in Guilford can offer you this experience 4 times over, as their orchards are currently yielding peaches, apples, pears and raspberries.  Bishop’s is a straight shot up Rt. 95N  (exit 57; take a right) and the 45 drive is well worth it.

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CT Taste Organic Festival 2010

Save the Date. Join CT National Organic Farming Organization to celebrate the 10th annual TASTE! ORGANIC CT 2010 on September 19th at Manchester Community College from 10 am to 4pm.

Experience the only LOCAL & ORGANIC festival in Connecticut offering a farmer's market, fresh prepared food, live music, sustainable vendors, artisans, free workshops and free kids activities!

Head Chef, John Turenne is busily sourcing the finest and freshest ingredients from Connecticut Farms to be on the event's menu. Three local celebrity chefs are designing recipes that will showcase our local and organic food. Chef John Turenne, fresh from his recent TV stint with “The Naked Chef” Jamie Oliver, will be cooking and running the NOFA Food Booth show.

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CT Berry Picking is On!!

What says summer better than fresh local berries? Berry picking is a great activity for kids of all ages, and we in CT are lucky to have beautiful family friendly farms right around the corner.

Here are a few "Pick Your Own" local farms where your family is sure to enjoy a wonderfully sweet day. Also, if you want to preserve your harvest for year round enjoyment, Analiese Paik of The Fairfield Green Food Guide has some great tips on freezing this summer's bounty.  

One of the things I look forward to every summer is heading out to the local farms to pick berries.There are a couple of great farms in Southern CT that are not over run with the NY crowd, and I will share them with you if you promise not to tell too many others… -Nicole Straight. Read More.

A Moveable Feast: Skinny Pines Brick Oven Pizza Truck

The green Dodge pick-up truck slowly backed into my narrow, curved driveway with the 6 x 13 foot trailer leading.  A dome shaped, brick pizza oven was mounted on the open trailer by some ingenious contraption that prevents it from being jostled and toppling off in a crumbled mess of mortar.  Jeff Borofsky, chef/owner of SKINNY PINES, a portable wood fired oven catering company,  was bringing the party to my home. A group of lucky CTbites contributors and other Fairfield County food producers were due to arrive in 90 minutes.  I was beginning to wonder if the party would be ready for these friends with their discerning palates and voracious appetites. 

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Cows Not Cars at the Creamery: Wells Hollow Farm

These days, going out for a cone often means visiting a scoop shop situated along a well-traveled roadway and eating your favorite flavor in a parking lot - think Carvel at 7 pm any summer evening. Small, mom and pop type ice cream stands are a rare and serendipitous find that usually require a lengthy drive into the country.  But we’ve found an exception to this rule: Wells Hollow Farm in Shelton is a quick trip up Route 8 (to exit 12) and provides a surprisingly bucolic backdrop to your ice cream experience.  

A working farm since the late 1800’s, Wells Hollow Creamery is located in a large red barn shared with 6 cows (although I was corrected when I asked for verification: 4 cows and 2 calves) and a whole bunch of chickens and roosters – I didn’t ask how many.  With 30 hard-packed flavors to choose from,

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How To Make Grilled Pizza

With warmer weather on its way, it's time to clean up that grill and bring on the 2010 grilling season. And really...doesn't everything taste just a little bit better on the grill? Even pizza....

If you've never made grilled pizza, you'll be amazed by how simple it is. Chef Nicole throws down some serious pie in her step-by-step video, and she's got tons of great tips. We've gone with Prosciutto, smoked Gouda, and arugula for our toppings, but feel free to dream up any accompaniment you wish. 

If you decide to make you own pizza dough vs. picking one up in the store, Chef Nicole has a great recipe for homemade dough. Happy cooking!

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