Classes at Ridgefield's 109 Cheese & Wine

Ridgefield's best source for artisinal cheese and wine, 109 Cheese & Wine has recently expanded its footprint and education offerings. The shop, located at Ridgefield's Marketplace, has posted an impressive and fun line-up of events throughout the summer. Advance reservations are recommended as class size is limited, call 203-438-5757.

Exploration into Italy: Cheese and Wine 

Friday, May 17 @ 7pm, $55
Explore a great evening of Italian Cheese and Wine, their relationship and how to pair them. Class will start with some wonderful small bites and a glass of Prosecco, then continue with a tasting and comparison of 5 cheeses and wines. Something sweet will end this evening.

Sarah Wine Bar & 109 Cheese and Wine Dinner Sunday 

May 19 2013 at 5:30 pm
Special Guest Henryk Teraszkiewicz, Director of the Woodcock Nature Center
Menu

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Coffee Cupping at Ross Bread in Ridgefield May 23

Erin Meister, champion barista and Counter Culture Coffee representative, will host a cupping at Ross Bread on May 23 at 6 pm. This event is free, but space is limited. Email info@rossbread.com or stop by the bakery to sign up.

From Ross Bread: "To challenge and expand our coffee-tasting palates, we'll explore the diversity of flavors from coffees within Central and South America by comparing two coffees from each region, from neighboring countries: Honduras and Guatemala, and Colombia and Ecuador.

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Best Brunch Restaurants in Fairfield County

...is something wonderful to be seen. In between daily meals one and two is something very delightful for you. How Dr. Suess-y, eh? Wedged in-the-between is the one and only: Brunch. With a capital B, thank you very much. Brunch is divine. You can roll out of bed late and into a perfectly wonderful, relaxed meal that begs to be savored. It lingers beyond the lunch hour and helps you cruise effortlessly into dinner. 

“There is no sincerer love than the love of food” says a quote that I stumbled upon recently. I think that is pretty darned accurate, especially when it comes to this meal. Here, for you, is a collection of some lovely spots to help you turn this noun into a verb...so go forth and brunch! 

Did we miss one of your favorite Brunch spots? Let us know...

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The CakeBox Opens "Swoon" Gluten Free Bakery in Ridgefield

The Cake Box Expands and Relocates, Swoon Takes Over:  Gluten free gourmet treats and cupcakes to live for...

As a mother of a child who has Celiac disease and cannot eat any gluten or wheat, I’ve struggled with finding cakes and desserts that actually taste like the real thing. I’ve found some good options at local markets but need an occasional splurge for a special event or party, or just because. Thankfully, there is good news if you’re in Fairfield County: a new gluten-free, nut-free bakery has opened. Soon after Cake Box of Ridgefield moved to its larger location, the same team opened Swoon.

Cake Box owners Robert Byrnes and Jordan Gregory, whose bakery is known for its variety of gourmet cupcake flavors and custom cakes, decided to open a gluten-free and nut-free bakery when Cake Box outgrew their Copp’s Hill Marketplace location. They explain, “We have been making gluten-free treats for customers that requested them. Now that we have a dedicated gluten-free and nut-free location, and can offer our customers the highest guarantee of no cross-contamination with other ingredients that may be problematic for them.  Which means they can relax and enjoy a cupcake like everyone else!”

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Ridgefield Chef Swap: Bernard Boisseau & Jeff Taibe

Chefs Bernard Bouissou of Bernard's Restaurant, and Chef Jeff Taibe of Southwest Café will join forces in the kitchen for two, five-course wine dinners in October. Southwest Café owner Barbara Nevins and Bernard's/Sarah's Wine Bar co-owner Sarah Boisseau will host these festive evenings.

The classically trained French chef Bernard Boisseau will be embracing hatch chilies, cooking alongside Southwest Café's chef Jeff Taibe for Southwest's annual chile-centric Harvest Wine Dinner on Tuesday, October 2, 2012. Two weeks later on Sunday, October 21, Chef Jeff Taibe will be cooking in the kitchen at Bernard's, teaming up with Bernard for a dinner upstairs at Sarah's Wine Bar, for a contemporary French evening with a twist! Both evenings are $65 per person for 5 courses with 5 wine pairings (tax and gratuity is additional).

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Terra Sole: Ridgefield's Hidden Gem

Tucked behind one of Fairfield County’s most charming Main Streets, Terra Sole in Ridgefield beckons. If the weather cooperates, a 70-seat outdoor patio is your best bet. A steady weekday lunch crowd belies this restaurant’s not-so-best kept secret–a weekday prix fixe Italian lunch.

Pietro Polini, the owner along with wife Lana, is a constant welcoming presence at the restaurant that pulls its culinary influences from the entire length of Italy. You’ll often find Pietro attentively scanning the dining room and patio and recommending dishes and wines to diners. Although he hails from Northern Italy, he and his family have owned restaurants from Puglia to Rimini.

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Southwest Café in Ridgefield Turns 25

Southwest Café in Ridgefield will be celebrating their 25th anniversary this month. They kick off the festivities as host their 6th annual Southwest Cafe Margarita 5k on Aug 4, 2012. (Trust me, it's a blast. I've run it in the past and the relatively flat course and festive evening crowd makes it a fun race).

In addition to the race, the restaurant invites all for an evening of music and their signature southwest fare. Inspired by the anniversary, Southwest is doing 25 nights of giveaways through August 25. For every 25th person to walk in the door, you can expect prizes such as a free margarita to free lunch for the month of August.

And a fixed price $25 new mexican entree, chocolate decadent cake and classic margarita for aug & sept Monday through Thursday evenings. For more information about these events and to register, visit www.southwestcafe.com

[Photograph courtesy of Todd Brown]

The CTbites and 109 Cheese & Wine Road Trip Giveaway

From the coast of Maine, to the island of Nantucket, to the beaches of Long Island ... who doesn’t love a great summer road trip? As we downshift into the slower and warmer final weeks of summer, CTbites wants to know, what are some of your favorite road trip destinations?

Comment on this post sharing one or more of your favorite summer road trip destinations for a chance to win a picnic basket from 109 Cheese and Wine filled with cheese, wine and charcuterie from the Ridgefield wine shop. 

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Lamb Bacon with Chef Paul Desiano

A fixture in Ridgefield's marketplace, Cello Restaurant seems to be in a perpetual state of experimentation. The last dining experience I had there was at an East meets West Sake dinner (Paul is Italian and his wife is Japanese) where their mult-course menu blended their native cuisines, pairing them with wine and sake. Running into Paul at The Marketplace (a group of artisan gourmet food and craft shops) in Ridgefield one afternoon, the conversation turned to his latest passion for the interesting cuts of meat he is procuring from Craft Butchery in Saugatuck. Although I was intrigued to share a 36-hour Confit of [Pork] Jowel, it seemed a bit ambitious for the majority of home cooks who may not yet have sprung for a sous vide supreme. So we settled on sharing his recipe for lamb bacon. Paul pairs this to the jowl dish which is served with a rosemary parsnip puree and braised red cabbage.

Chef Paul Desiano's Lamb Bacon Recipe

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Mycophilia: Talk, Tasting & Book Signing @ The Aldrich

In the new book Mycophilia: Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms, Eugenia Bone, food writer and frequent contributor to Saveur and Food & Wine tells the story of how her mother went into labor with Eugenia in a restaurant in Florence while eating tagliatelle with truffles. Tables were hastily cleared for Eugenia’s birth and thus began her lifelong affinity for mushrooms.

Bone, who is also the co-president of the New York Mycological Society, will be reading from her new book at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum this Sunday, March 4 from 3 to 5 pm in Ridgefield, CT.

A book signing, wine reception, and wild mushroom tasting will follow, including a tasting of truffle fontina risotto balls, wild mushroom crostini, and cheese and charcuterie platters featuring black truffles, generously provided by No.109 Cheese & Wine. To RSVP for this event or request more information, please contact Lise Sharfin, lsharfin@aldrichart.org, 203.438.4519, extension 26, during regular Museum hours.

The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is located at 258 Main Street in Ridgefield, CT. More information at aldrichart.org/events.

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