A Thanksgiving Day Guide to Take-Out or Eat-In Feasts Features Catering Holiday Thanksgiving CTbites Team November 16, 2010 Thanksgiving is the most anticipated and sometimes the most daunting meal of the year. But, in the end, it is all about food, friends and family. Depending on the number of guests in your party, there are several options for celebrating the holiday that don't involve slaving away in the kitchen for days. We often get asked for resources that allow diners to opt out of preparing a do-it-yourself feast in favor of a catered event or a restaurant meal. Others may use a lifeline and choose to order a few dishes to supplement their home cooked menu. Here are a few resources for those who would prefer to get a little assistance or just make a reservation. Restaurant Reservations Read More
Thanksgiving Guide: Buying a Local Turkey Ingredients Features Holiday Local Farm Thanksgiving CTbites Team November 09, 2010 Thanksgiving is a wonderful harvest feast and there’s no better way to honor the spirit of the holiday than celebrating with a locally raised turkey. Locally grown turkeys are highly coveted and in short supply, so anyone looking for a local turkey from a nearby farm should place their order immediately. Fresh and frozen broad-breasted whites and Heritage turkeys are available for purchase directly from the farmer, but lucky for consumers, you don't have to go to the farm to pick it up. Here are the best local resources for buying that perfect centerpiece to your Thanksgiving meal. Read More
Smokey Potato Leek Soup c/o chat N chow Features Soups Recipe Comfort Food Lauren fister November 09, 2010 I had the AC on just last week and now it's time for the heat. It's also time for blankets, fires and soups! A friend brought back some bacon fresh from a smoke house up in Vermont. I wanted to make something that would complement the flavor so I came up with a Smokey Potato Leek Soup and it was fantastic. I ended up eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner since it was sooo good & simple to make! Read More
Whole Foods Market Re-Opening Party in Westport Ingredients Events Special Dietary Needs Specialty Market Stephanie Webster November 06, 2010 For anyone who shops Whole Foods Market's Westport location, you've likely noticed a bit of work underfoot. Renovation has been going on for months to transform Westport's Whole Foods into their classic prototype, no longer bearing any resemblance to the Wild Oats from whence it came. The facelift is complete and in honor of this "re-opening" Whole Foods Market will be hosting a celebration on Wednesday, November 10th from 4:00pm-8:00pm at the newly renovated store located at 399 Post Road West in Westport. Whole Foods Market will offer storewide holiday tastings, turkey carving demonstrations, door prizes, and live music from local singer/songwriter Bern McWain. 5% of the total sales for the day will be donated to The Connecticut Food Bank. Read More
Overnight Steel Cut Oats c/o Healthy Living Blog Features healthy Recipe Breakfast Kid Friendly CTbites Team November 04, 2010 Steel cut oats are the holy grail of breakfast food, but to achieve optimal texture and taste, they require about 45 minutes of cooking time…time most of us don't have in the morning. To solve this problem, cooks (like Mark Bittman) have developed recipes for "overnight" oatmeal reducing am cook time to a scant 10 minutes. This recipe from Jeanette's Healthy Living blog delivers a nutrient and flavor packed meal for everyone in the family, and although Bittman's version is pretty good, Jeanette's has a few extra ingredients that speak to me. Read More
This Week In Wine: Viñedo de los Vientos Dessert Wine Ingredients Features This Week In Wine Kathleen Hall November 04, 2010 Served at leFarm in Westport, Viñedo de los Vientos “Alcyone” is a wine worth sampling. An Uruguayan dessert wine made with the Tannat grape, you'll experience luscious flavors of cocoa-dusted black raspberries, vanilla bean and exotic spices. Intense and rich without being cloyingly sweet, this wine is positively addictive. Pair with molten chocolate cake, pour over vanilla ice cream, or sip on its own as a fantastic liquid dessert! Read More
Thanksgiving Cooking Class w/ Chef Pietro Scotti Ingredients Features Cooking Classes Italian Stephanie Webster November 03, 2010
Belgique Chocolatier Opens in New Canaan Ingredients Kids Bites Restaurant Specialty Market New Canaan Kid Friendly Dessert Liz Rueven October 31, 2010 Chocoholics pay attention! Next time you have that hankering for serious chocolate, run over to treat yourself and your best friends to the extraordinary Belgian style, hand filled, preservative free chocolates at Belgique Chocolatier. Belgique is familiar to some chocolate lovers in Fairfield County who have enjoyed the chocolates, fine pastries and ice cream at Susan and Pierre Gilissen’s first location in Kent, CT. After searching for a storefront in Fairfield County, they landed on a jewel of a space set back from Elm St. in New Canaan. This location opened in mid-September and is 100 % about the chocolate. Before opening in Kent in 2001, Chef Pierre Gilissen served as Executive Chef and Manager at the Residence of the Netherlands Ambassador to the U.S. in Washington, D.C. There, he prepared all meals, receptions and teas for the Ambassadors, their families and up to 1,000 guests. His passion for chocolates began during his years there. Read More
Gingerbread Contest: Part 1 Ingredients Kids Bites Education Events Stephanie Webster October 29, 2010 The phrase that keeps going through my head as I painstakingly roll out sheets of fondant to recreate wood siding for the CTbites entry in the Stamford Museum's Gingerbread Exhibit is "What was I thinking?" I'm a professional eater, not a professional baker. Knee deep in food dye and frosting, I am so far out of my element, I could be in another country. Obstacles aside, team CTbites is up for the challenge, and driven by the desire to raise money for Stamford Museum's educational programs, we embrace our inner cake decorator. (And thank you Michele Klem of CakeSuite for not screening my distress calls.) Day 1: After a 1 hour planning session with our staff baker and contributor Deanna Foster and our own Chef Nicole, we decide to go with a local CT farm stand theme. Fruit, veggies, grass…with the added bonus of a structure that only requires three walls. How hard could this be? Read More
Prosecco Apple Fizz from Sugar & Olives Features Chef Talk Cocktails Recipe Amy Kundrat October 29, 2010 Our recent CTbites lunch at Sugar & Olives began, as they always should, with a crisp seasonal cocktail. The Prosecco Apple Fizz, a fresh taste of the fall in a champagne flute greeted each guest. We were hooked and thankfully, Sugar & Olive's Jen Balin was happy to share the recipe. With Thanksgiving around the corner, this crisp and elegant cocktail may just be the perfect start to any holiday gathering. Read More
Sesame Crusted Tuna w/ Wasabi Creme Fraiche Features Asian Ask Chef Nicole Seafood Recipe Sushi Nicole Straight October 28, 2010 When Chef Nicole came over with her sushi grade tuna claiming that she was going to make that great Sesame Crusted Tuna appetizer I tend to gravitate towards on any sushi menu, (and she was going to prepare the whole dish in under 5 minutes), I was dubious. If you watch the video below you will bear witness to the simplicity of this recipe and you will have a new go-to menu item for any dinner party or gathering. These days, sushi grade tuna can be found at many local fish mongers. We like Fjord Fisheries, but if you live in Westport, the Double L Farm Stand is now getting shipments of tuna and salmon every Thursday from Boston and it is spectacular! Sesame Crusted Tuna w/ Wasabi Creme Fraiche Read More
Calcutta Kitchens: Home-Style Indian Ingredients Farmers Market Indian Sarah Green October 26, 2010 Move over Jack and Diane- Here's a little ditty about Aditi. Aditi Goswami, that is. She's the diminutive heart and soul of Calcutta Kitchens, a phenomenal one woman cooking company where taste and quality are anything but small! Aditi, born in Calucutta and raised in a house full of women - aunts, cousins, etc - was an only child, surrounded by and learning from a loving family where cooking food was not just a means to feed but more a way of life. She now lives in Fairfield County and her goods have solely been available at Farmers' Markets across Ct, NY and NJ. All that is changing with the launch of Calcutta Kitchen's product lines at the new Fairway Market in Stamford. Her fabulously flavorful sauces, vegetables, and soups are a hit wherever she purveys and there's good reason for that. All Ms. Goswami's ingredients come fresh from local farmers' markets and everything she sells is always vegetarian and most often vegan. Cooking for Aditi is much more than a job -it is an art form, it is a way of life, and it is Ayurvedic. Huh? Read More
Ghoulishly Delicious Wines to Drink this Fall Ingredients Holiday Wine Chat JoAnn LoGiurato October 25, 2010 It’s autumn, the leaves are turning crimson and sienna, and there’s a chill in the air. This is the time of year that I look forward to making stews, comfort foods and slow-cooked meals. It’s also my favorite weather for cracking open some hearty, full-bodied wines. I love to curl up next to the fireplace with a good book, a bowl of chili and a fantastic glass of wine. With Halloween (one of my favorite days of the year) just around the corner, I’ve made some suggestions for wines to drink this fall and perhaps while you’re handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. After all, the kids can’t have all the fun!! Ghoulishly Delicious Wines Sokol Blosser Evolution A fantastic aromatic white wine made from 9 different grapes, this is like the “kitchen-sink” of blended wine, and, is oh so tasty! The wine expresses a creamy, yet lively palate of pear, spice and dried fruit. Read More
Great Programs for Kids & Adults @ Ambler Farm Ingredients Kids Bites Events Holiday Local Farm kids activity Kid Friendly Stephanie Webster October 22, 2010 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. Read More
Sweet Stuff: Halloween Candy Bark Kids Bites Features Holiday kids activity Recipe Kid Friendly Dessert Nicole Straight October 21, 2010 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 Read More
Sport Hill Farm: Caring for the Land & the Community Ingredients Kids Bites Easton Local Artisan Local Farm Organic Farm Fresh Jessica Ryan October 21, 2010 Sustainable, seasonal, local, organic, and green might be popular phrases these days among the media and the masses, but to those who truly care about where their food comes from, whether they contain pesticides and want to support their communities, these are very powerful words indeed. By buying locally, seasonally and organically, the consumer never has to worry about food recalls. More importantly, the consumers know not only where their food comes from, but get to know their farmers by name. These are the people who also truly care about the future of their children and of children for generations to come… These are the people who truly care about preserving the world around them. Patti Popp of Sport Hill Farm is just this type of person. Read More
Thai Coconut Curry Lentil Soup c/o Healthy Living Blog Features Asian Soups Thai Recipe Comfort Food CTbites Team October 20, 2010 Jeanette Chen is a resident of New Canaan. Her Healthy Living Blog is dedicated to promoting a healthy lifestyle through good nutrition. Lately, I've been craving both Thai coconut curry soup and lentil soup. Perhaps, it's because I wanted to relive the heady bowl of Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup I had for lunch last week when it was wet and dank outside. There is something warming and completely comforting about spicy Asian noodle soups. Thick lentil soups have also been on my mind, as it's getting cooler out, calling for heartier fare. These two comfort foods inspired me to come up with a recipe for Thai Coconut Curry Lentil soup. Read More
SoNo Chef Shoot-Out Crowns a Winner Ingredients Events Amy Kundrat October 15, 2010 “The secret ingredient is ... ROOT VEGETABLE!” And with that, the first ever iron chef-style competition was kicked off at the Clarke Culinary Center in South Norwalk. The event pitted two of the neighborhood’s most well known chefs, Fritz Knipschildt of Cafe Chocopologie and Knipschildt Chocolatier against Matt Storch, chef and partner at Match who have collectively been serving up some of South Norwalk’s best meals for over 22 years. This event was an unforgettable evening of inventive food, chef personalities and culinary surprises that will stand as one of my favorite food moments this year. Read More