Maple Sugaring Activities in Connecticut for Winter 2023 (via CTVisit) Features Kid Friendly Local Farm kids activity Maple Sugaring CTbites Team January 23, 2023 This just in from CTVisit.comThe end of January and throughout March is the maple sugar season in Connecticut! Cold nights and warm, sunny days are necessary to provide good sap yields. Local sugar makers and their many loyal customers eagerly await this annual rite of spring. Visit a local sugarhouse or attend a maple sugar festival to see firsthand how maple syrup is produced! Adopt-a-Tree: Maple Syrup ProgramNew Canaan Nature Center, New Canaan; kicks off on February 4 and runs through March.All ages and families are welcome to learn about and participate in the entire syrup-making process.Tap-a-Tree Maple Sugaring ProgramAmbler Farm, Wilton; February 4, program runs through mid-MarchLearn the science and history of maple sugaring by being a hands-on part of the process. You can come out to the Farm to collect sap from your tree. See the sap get boiled down the sugar shack and then get your own bottle of Ambler Farm Dark Maple Syrup to bring home.Read the complete list of activities on CTVisit.comThis just in from CTVisit.com… Read More
The Prospector Theater: Ridgefield's Mission Driven Movie Theater & Gourmet Popcorn! Features Ridgefield Movie Food kids activity Snacks Oliver Clachko June 22, 2022 “80% of adults with disabilities are unemployed,” cites Sam Burkhardt, manager of The Prospector Theater. “It’s really difficult for many of them to find work.” “And COVID only exacerbated that,” adds manager James Mase, “with 1 in 5 workers with disabilities being laid off, compared to 1 in 7 in the general public.” Thankfully, the Ridgefield movie theater offers a haven for developmentally and intellectually disabled adults seeking work, with a mission to provide “competitive and integrative employment” for adults with special needs.But that’s not all….wait till you try their homemade gourmet popcorn! Read More
Guide to Kids Cooking Classes & Camps in Connecticut (2022 Edition) Features Cooking Cooking Classes Kids kids activity Kids Cooking Classes Guide Education Highlight April Guilbault April 05, 2022 Feels like we were all just stuck home together and dreaming of getting OUT and low and behold, now we can! Let’s start with getting those kiddos some cool stuff to do once school lets out. Let’s hear it for cooking camps! To learn (in a fun way) about food, where it comes from, what the heck we can do with it, and yummm, how it tastes-what could be better? Follow it with some parent-kid trips to your local farms or farmers’ markets, and lookie there, you’ve just filled the calendar a bit for the summer months. Here’s to brilliant and tasty new discoveries! Read More
Cook with Jacques Pépin & Friends Vol 2 On Sale March 9th! Features Cooking Virtual Cooking Classes Recipe Recipe Video Cookbooks Homepage CTbites Team February 25, 2021 The latest Video Recipe Book from the Jacques Pépin Foundation features over 40 culinary luminaries and will be available March 9th. After a successful Vol. 1 release, The Jacques Pépin Foundation, (JPF) an organization that enriches lives and strengthens communities through culinary education, proudly debuts Cook with Jacques Pépin & Friends: Vol 2. This Video Recipe Book features over 40 lauded chefs across the country including Marcus Samuelsson, Ingrid Hoffmann, Michael Voltaggio, Rick Bayless, Michael Symon, Carla Hall, Diego Galicia, Traci Des Jardins, and, of course, Jacques Pépin.Each dish and drink featured in Cook with Jacques Pépin & Friends includes a personal, instructional video as well a printable recipe. The Video Recipe Book is available to all JPF Members, and in addition to Vol. 2., members can access Vol. 1. Combined, nearly 100 recipes and more than 12 hours of video instruction live on the Membership site. Every JPF Membership directly supports community-based culinary training programs nationwide that provide pathways to individual empowerment, better health and employment. Membership starts at $40 per year. Read More
Cook The Book: Tune In On CTBites Instagram Live July 1st with Chef Emily Mingrone of Tavern On State Events Recipe Cooking Cookbooks Education Instagram Live Recipe Video Stephanie Webster June 28, 2020 Readers, Diners, New Quarantine Couch Potato-Turned-Chefs! Tune into our new IGTV Weekly Series COOK THE BOOK.On Wednesday July 1st @8PM, join trained chef and beloved Connecticut Cookbook author, Anna Francese Gass (Heirloom Kitchen 2019) & Guest Chef Emily Mingrone from award winning Tavern On State, as they cook Emily’s recipe for Chicken & Dumplings from our recently released CTBites e-cookbook: Connecticut Chef Recipes for Restaurant ReliefTune In on @CTBITES INSTAGRAM LIVE!! Read More
Chefs At Home: Chia Seed Pudding Recipe from Chef Anthony Rinaldi Recipe Features Recipe Recipe Video Chia Breakfast Kids Kid Friendly kids activity Stephanie Webster June 25, 2020 Episode #4 of our Chefs At Home series is here…and it’s a heathy, simple and delicious recipe you can make all summer long. Chef Anthony Rinaldi, formerly Exec Chef at Kawa Ni in Westport, currently the Chef for Greenwich Country Day School, has been having some fun in his kitchen with this recipe for the Chia Seed Pudding. This recipe has 15 grams of protein and is easy enough for any kid to make themselves! Get your kids cooking and enjoy! Read More
Cook The Book: Recipe Demos On Instagram Live Every Wednesday with Cookbook Author Anna Gass Features Events Cooking Cookbooks Education Recipe Recipe Video Celebrity Chef Kristin L. Wolfe June 20, 2020 Readers, Diners, New Quarantine Couch Potato-Turned-Chefs! Get Ready to tune into our new IGTV Weekly Series COOK THE BOOK.Join trained chef and beloved Connecticut Cookbook author, Anna Francese Gass (Heirloom Kitchen 2019), as she makes her way one through some of the most delicious recipes in the recently released CTBites e-cookbook: Connecticut Chef Recipes for Restaurant ReliefStarting this Wednesday June 24th @8PM Gass + a weekly featured Guest Chef will bring the book alive and further whet your appetite and drive to get in the kitchen. This weekSo, grab your aprons, your whisks, and the new e-cookbook (should we still plug here? for fun, great food, and to continue supporting our state’s wonderful restaurant industry. Read More
Tim Cabral of Ordinary Makes A Martinez Cocktail on The History Happy Hour Features Recipe Recipe Recipe Video Cocktails Bar Mixology Stephanie Webster May 28, 2020 In this week’s History Happy Hour 21st century New Haven bartender Tim Cabral demonstrates The Martinez, the father of the Gin Martini.Here’s a little history…In the mid-19th century barkeeps evolved into mixologists, creating unique cocktails and codifying those long in existence. The most famous of these new-breed bartenders was Jerry Thomas who, as a young man, trained in New Haven and went on to own saloons all over the country. He also penned a world-famous bar tending guide with recipes that is still in use today.Among the drinks Thomas is said to have developed is The Martinez, a mix of vermouth, gin, bitters and maraschino which he included in his guide. Over time, a version featuring gin, vermouth, and an olive was developed into the modern-day Martini. Read More
Chefs At Home: Ultimate Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie Recipe from Chef Anthony Rinaldi Features Recipe Recipe Recipe Video Dessert Cooking cookie Kid Friendly kids activity Homepage CTbites Team April 22, 2020 Episode #2 of our new Chefs At Home series is here…and It’s a good one. Chef Anthony Rinaldi, formerly Exec Chef at Kawa Ni in Westport, currently the Chef for Greenwich Country Day School, has been having some fun in his kitchen with this recipe for the Ultimate Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie. This guy knows his way around a kitchen. Those kids at Greenwich Country Day are darn lucky….Enjoy! Read More
Chefs At Home Recipes: Pantry Pasta from Chef Arturo Franco-Camacho Recipe Features Video Recipe Recipe Video Pasta Chef Talk Homepage CTbites Team April 18, 2020 In our NEW “Chefs At Home” Cooking Series, we asked local CT chefs to help our readers find cooking inspiration in every day pantry items. Executive Chef Arturo Franco-Camacho of Geronimo Tequila Bar & Southwest Grill (Fairfield and New Haven) and Shell & Bones Oyster Bar and Grill (New Haven) has a wonderful recipe for Pantry Pasta to kick off this series. Enjoy! Read More
Turning Sap Into Syrup At Ambler Farm's Tap-A-Tree Program Ingredients Features Farm to Table Local Farm Ingredients kids activity Kid Friendly Natalie Levitt February 24, 2020 It was a warm February morning and my son and I joined a group of families as we gathered at Ambler Farm in Wilton, CT to kick off the maple sugaring season. We were greeted by Program Director Kevin Meehan and received an introductory lesson on how to tap a maple tree. Most of us stood in awe as the sap started to drip out of the tree upon tapping it. Many cheered with excitement for what was about to begin was a fantastic winter farming adventure and a great lesson in farm-to-table. We then received our buckets from Assistant Program Manager Jennifer Grass and proceeded to carefully select our “Giving Trees” on the farm. We hung our buckets on the trees and captured photos to commemorate the day. (Our tree was number 42 and pretty far from the sugar shack! It was an adventure after all!) Then we waited. We waited a week. During that week, many of us wondered just how much sap we would find in our buckets when we returned to the farm. Read More
Half Full Winter Beer Garden Returns for 2019 (via Hey Stamford!) Events Pop-Up Bar Stamford Holiday kids activity Hey Stamford! November 08, 2019 This just in from Hey Stamford!One of our favorite winter experiences of 2018 was Half Full Brewery’s Winter Beer Garden. Well, I’m thrilled to say that the Stamford-based brewery announced yesterday that this pop-up experience will return, this time for the entire month of December! The Half Full Winter Beer Garden will once again be located in Mill River Park just opposite the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Skating Center and will feature an enclosed bar serving (of course) Half Full beer, cider and wine. The Half Full Winter Beer Garden is part of Mill River Park’s Winter Wonderland programming line-up, built around the Skating Center (opening for the season on November 18). From Thanksgiving until New Year’s, the park will offer plenty of winter fun, including crafts, DJ Nights, and more! Read More
Recipe: Zaragoza's Mixologist, Christine Short, Makes A Bobby Burns Cocktail Features Recipe Recipe Video Recipe Cocktails Education Kristin L. Wolfe April 04, 2019 Here's Christine Short from Zaragoza's in New Milford giving us a very smooth and silky Scotch Cocktail called the "Bobby Burns." This special drink is named after beloved Scottish poet Robert Burns, who is most notable for the poem which now makes up the lyrics for our favorite New Year's ditty, Auld Lang Syne. Short was recently a finalist for the CRAZIES Awards as Best Bartender in Connecticut, sponsored by the Connecticut Restaurant Association. and just one of five nominated in the state. Cheers! Read More
Guide To Kids Cooking Camps & Classes in Connecticut for 2019 Features Cooking Cooking Classes kids cooking party Kids kids activity Summer Camp April Guilbault March 28, 2019 Hot summer days and you don’t feel like cooking. The stove, oven, even the grill…it’s all so hot. But hold on a minute there, maybe *you* don’t have to! With a little foresight (read: now), your kids can learn to cook this summer, get inspired and whoa-oh, looks who’s not in the kitchen anymore?! Beyond your parental joy, though, kids will enjoy learning cooking skills, whipping up some pretty cool menus from around the globe and even having a cooking competition or two just to test their mettle. Just be sure to sign up your aspiring chefs soon, these classes and camps fill up quicker than hot grease will jump out of a pan! Read More
Video: How To Make A Sazerac Cocktail with Mixologist Craig Ventrice Podcast Video Recipe Video Recipe Cocktails Bar CTbites Team February 27, 2019 Here’s a little boozy teaser for our next CTbites Hot Dish Podcast episode featuring mixologists Craig Ventrice & Dimitrios Elias Zahariadis. Learn How To Make A Sazerac Cocktail as we do some “Day Drinking with Mixologists.” LISTEN TO THE FULL PODCAST EPISODE HERE: https://simplecast.com/s/54ee8396 Read More
Afternoon Tea at Alice in the Village Tea Shop, Mystic Restaurant Tea And Coffee Lunch Kid Friendly kids activity Mystic Dessert Breakfast Bakery Homepage CTbites Team October 18, 2018 Adding a bit of whimsy into the Olde Mistick Village shopping center and amping up its already kid-friendly atmosphere, let yourself go into the looking glass at the recently opened Alice in the Village tea shop and café. The completely decked out exterior is replete with faux floral window frame and the beloved doorknob from the 1951 animated Disney film Alice in Wonderland. And is this uber-theme continued on the inside? Of course!Step inside and you will find an enchanted tea house split roughly into three sections: Eat Me!/Drink Me! to go orders, an Alice-themed shop, and tea room. In addition to Alice in Wonderland collectables and kitsch, the shop section stocks an excellent selection of Harney and Sons teas. The bright green walls and sage green ceilings are decorated with hanging playing cards, pictures from Alice in Wonderland scenes, and flying books. My favorite décor element is the life size bottom half of Alice hanging down from the ceiling—any child who loves Alice in Wonderland would love a visit to Alice and the Village simply to see the décor. Read More
CT Guide To Kids Cooking Classes & Summer Camps Features Cooking Classes kids activity Kids Education Summer Camp kids cooking party Homepage April Guilbault May 23, 2018 “MOM! MA! Mommmmmmm… “What?!” “I’m bored.” Oh boy.Have you heard this lovely little conversation often during the summer months? Kids young and old let that horrifying phrase fall from their lips at an astounding rate. Are you just cringing thinking about how you will derail these declarations for 10 weeks? Well, now you can consider yourself informed and prepared to battle the cries of blahs and beat the little buggers at their own game! We’ve got some tasty ideas so that you can wave goodbye to boredom, and say hello to a creative and fun summer (not to mention, delicious). Maybe your kids will even treat you to a meal or two along the way. Maybe you’ll get the last laugh this summer…Here are 14 Kids Cooking Classes & Summer Camps. Read More
Han Restaurant in West Hartford: Traditional Chinese Hot Pot Restaurant Asian West Hartford Chinese Kid Friendly kids activity Lunch Ramin Ganeshram February 08, 2018 Like its sister restaurants SHU in West Hartford and Fairfield, Chef Xinyu Huang HAN is a study in authentic Chinese cuisine, this time focusing on Huo Guo—hot pot—a popular eating experience throughout China.For the uninitiated—as I was before visiting HAN—hot pot is a method of table-side cooking best described as Chinese-style “fondue” in which meats, vegetables, seafood and even eggs are poached in well-flavored broths before eating. Unlike fondue, which simply coats bread or fruit in cheese or chocolate respectively, diners actually cook their food in the hot pot. Read More
Snow Day Recipes: I Have to Feed You All Day? Features Recipe Pizza kids activity Recipe Kid Friendly Marcia Selden Catering January 04, 2018 Snow day: You’re rudely awakened at some ungodly hour by your phone informing you that yes, indeed, there is no school today. Two thoughts run through your mind, “Great, I get to go back to sleep”, followed immediately by a more frightening thought, “I have to feed them all day?!” Relax, we’ve got you covered even if you didn’t brave the market the day before to properly stock up on supplies. First things first, make yourself a cup of coffee, it’s going to be a loooong day. Second, assess what you have in the house. Assuming you have some eggs, why not make these fun eggs in a cup to start the day? Then you can kick them out to shovel the driveway knowing at least they’re fueled up. This is a great recipe because you can use whatever you have laying around to mix into these egg-mom-muffins, get it?! Follow up with our recipes for: Kitchen Sink Stir Fry & Simple Pizza Dough. Done...You've made it. Read More
Gingerbread Recipes for Gingerbread Houses & Cookies via Sweet Lisa's Recipe Features Holiday Recipe Kid Friendly kids activity Kids Bakery Dessert Stephanie Webster December 22, 2017 'Tis the season, but when you get tired of shopping, take a break with your family, and enjoy some leisurely holiday baking. Sweet Lisa’s Exquisite Cakes has mastered the art of gingerbread (as you can see above), and they have been kind enough to share their recipes for Gingerbread Cookie Dough as well as a special (slightly more structurally sound) Gingerbread for Houses. It's a fine line when it comes to gingerbread.If you decide to embark on a house of your own, please share it with CTbites and send us a photo. Read More
