Zaatar Meatballs via Jeanette's Healthy Living Features Middle Eastern Recipe CTbites Team May 12, 2011 Today, I tried a new spice called zaatar (or za'atar) in a meatball recipe. Meatballs are popular with my kids, and an easy way to introduce new spices to them. Zaatar, a Middle Eastern spice, is a mixture of sumac (which has a lemony taste), thyme and sesame seeds. Zaatar is not a strong spice, but it has a nice tang from the sumac. Traditionally, zaatar is mixed with olive oil and baked on a flat bread called manakeesh bi zaatar. It is also eaten with labneh (a strained yogurt), bread and olive oil for breakfast. In the Middle East, zaatar is believed to have health advancing properties, including making the mind alert and the body strong. I found a recipe for meatballs using zaatar Read More
Vegan Desserts, Sumptuous Sweets for Every Season Features Cookbooks Special Dietary Needs Vegetarian Recipe Liz Rueven May 11, 2011 Perhaps one of the keys to the bold flavors and exciting range of vegan desserts presented in Hannah Kaminsky’s latest cookbook, VEGAN DESSERTS, SUMPTUOUS SWEETS FOR EVERY SEASON, is that she insists that there aren’t any disclaimers about her recipes. “Each dessert must be delicious, bold and beautiful, not just for a vegan dessert but for ANY dessert.” It is for that reason, that Kaminsky’s latest book will appeal to a wide range of home bakers including those concerned with reducing fat and sugar, vegans and vegetarians, and Kosher bakers (always on the prowl for non-dairy desserts) alike. Read More
Arogya Tea in Westport Ingredients Local Artisan Special Dietary Needs Specialty Market Tea And Coffee Liz Rueven May 10, 2011 Photography by Pam Zaremba Woodsy, flowery and herbal scents wafted towards the entrance of AROGYA as I sought shelter from the cold drizzle of the damp, spring day. Part tea boutique, part apothecary, AROGYA is committed to providing the ultimate tea drinking experience to novice and devoted tea connoisseurs alike. There were two contemporary glass teapots filled with steaming liquid on the reception desk. I made a bee line for the golden hued warmth, placed both hands around the handsome ceramic cup that was offered to me and inhaled the deep, earthy flavor of Pu-erh. The knowledgeable and friendly woman behind the counter explained that I was drinking organic Yunnan Pu-erh tea leaves combined with organic ginger. She proclaimed it to be the perfect warming anecdote to the chilly damp day. She was correct. Read More
Local Find: You & Me Cookies Ingredients Bakery Local Artisan Dessert Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger May 05, 2011 Every so often the fine art of sampling in grocery stores uncovers a delicious new product. While shopping last week in Fairway Market in Stamford I stumbled across a local business, You&Me Cookie, that is creating three scrumptious versions of old-time favorite cookie recipes: the original Chocolate Chip, a Cranberry and Dark Chocolate Chunk, and a modern version of an old-fashioned Oatmeal Raisin. I sampled and loved all of the varieties. With one bite I knew I had an obligation to let our readers know that You&Me Cookies are now available in Fairfield County. After two years of successfully selling through specialty stores in Westchester County, co-owners Heather Mahland and Kyle deLasa have expanded their distribution with the addition of Walter Stewarts in New Canaan, and Plum Pure Food, Starlight Café at the YMCA and Caffé Bon in Greenwich. Read More
Honey "Tasting" @ Red Bee Apiary May 29th Ingredients Local Artisan Local Farm Weston Dessert Stephanie Webster May 05, 2011 On May 29th, Beekeeper and Honey Sommelier, Marina Marchese of Red Bee Apiary will be leading a "Honey Tasting" at her apiary in Weston. Guests will learn how honeybees make this liquid gold we call honey, how location and nectar source determines a honeys color and flavor and how honey is harvested and extracted from the hive. Red Bee honey tastings are formal, white linen events where guest are treated to a tour of Red Bee Apiary, a honeybee talk then gather at farmhouse style tables to taste and evaluate artisanal honeys. Participants will be encouraged to engage their curiosity through discussions while learning about the many types and styles of unique nectar sources. Each menu is a carefully orchestrated "Tasting Flight" of seven single-origin local honeys Read More
CurryOmCurry's Lamb Mince With Spinach (Keema Saag) Features Cooking Classes Recipe Indian Stephanie Webster May 04, 2011 Local Chef Preeti Sikri has made Indian cooking accessible to the home cook with her ongoing series of classes, CurryOmCurry. Indian cuisine seems daunting to prepare due to the number of seemingly exotic ingredeints, but Preeti recommends just a few basic spices to get started. These are: Cumin seeds, ground coriander, cayenne powder, Garam Masala, Turmeric and Salt. All of these are available (and then some) at Norwalk's new Indian Grocery Superstore, Patel Bros. Enjoy this recipe for Keema Saag or Lamb Mince with Spinach in your house. Read More
Tequila: Worth A Serious Sip Ingredients Cocktails Specialty Market Jeff Marron May 03, 2011 Tequila is the worst thing you can do to the end of a great evening. It is the party ender, the last nail in the coffin. That's what we all think about the national spirit of our southern neighbor, Mexico. I'm not quite sure how Tequila landed "closer" status but I believe it deserves a revival. Tequila needs to get promoted to "first string." Whether it's an old classic like the Tequila Sunrise, a new cocktail like the Mexican Car Bomb, or you're drinking it neat, there's a flavor for everyone. Read More
Local Fromagerie Hosts Cooking Channel Special Ingredients Specialty Market Stephanie Webster April 29, 2011
Friday Froth: Scattershot Spring Ingredients Beer James Gribbon April 29, 2011 Spring in New England is pretty unreliable. A foggy morning can burn off into a sweltering afternoon and then plummet right on down to a cold evening. It's like a cat that doesn't know whether it wants to be inside or out. The scattershot nature of the season is still an absolutely joy as the plants reach out once again for the sun's warmth the same way we escape the confines of our homes to take advantage of the longer days and newly multi-hued outdoors. We're going to look into an equally haphazard selection of beers this week and see what we can see. Read More
La Paloma: A Cinco de Mayo Cocktail c/o Boxcar Cantina Features Chef Talk Cocktails Recipe Amy Kundrat April 28, 2011 If anyone knows about how to celebrate the upcoming Cinco de Mayo, it's Boxcar Cantina in Greenwich. We asked the New Mexican restaurant, whose commitment to local & sustainable food brings them as both vendor and customer to weekly farmers' markets, to share a recipe for the holiday. Not only did they give us the recipe for the tempting cocktail seen here, but also a bit of a history lesson. Read More
Friday Froth: The Devil's Advocate Ingredients Beer James Gribbon April 22, 2011 "O thou invisible spirit of wine, if thou hast no name to be known by, let us call thee devil." -William Shakespeare Every once in a while you have to let the Devil out: take a vacation from civilization and get back to human nature, permit rules made by somebody else to slide by and let your glands do the talking. Sounds fun, doesn't it? Spending all your time trying to be good is just living under the thumb of what you consider to be bad, anyway. Most of us spend enough time crying with the saints - this week it's time to laugh with the sinners. Read More
Mango Sorbet via The Parsley Thief Features Recipe Kid Friendly Dessert katie vitucci April 20, 2011 This time last year I posted about my addiction to Champagne mangoes..also known as Ataulfo mangoes. These differ from traditional mangoes in that they are brighter yellow in color, have a smoother texture & are sweeter. I love mangoes in general, but this variety is truly something special. They have a super smooth texture & are very sweet. I saw them at the grocery store last week, in season once again & I bought a bunch. I bought so many that I couldn't eat them all before they became overly ripe...so soft I had no idea what to do with them. I was going to dice & freeze them to add to my "smoothie bag"--My smoothie bag is where I add fruit that has ripened too much to eat, but will still be great in smoothies. But, this time I decided that these mangoes needed something special. I decided to make some mango sorbet. Read More
The Best Movie Popcorn in Fairfield County Ingredients Restaurant Comfort Food Best of CT Kid Friendly Lou Gorfain April 19, 2011 YOU’LL LAUGH. YOU’LL CRY. YOU’LL MUNCH. Forget the sliders at Butterfield 8 or the pepperoni pizza at Remo’s. The tastiest treat along Stamford’s Bedford Avenue could be the popcorn served at the Avon Theater. Like its magnificent art-deco neon marquee, Avon’s popcorn is iconic. Always fresh, these tiny cumulus clouds lightly coated in pure butter, melt in your mouth and stir remembrances of times past: double features, dark balconies and stolen kisses. Popcorn may be the main profit maker at every movie house in Fairfield County, but there’s a lot of disparity, especially between chains and independents. The popcorns served by three independents get my nominations for Best Performance by a Popcorn. Read More
Harvest to Heat Cookbook: A Farm-to-Kitchen Journey Ingredients Features Cookbooks Farm to Table Farmers Market Recipe Deanna Foster April 19, 2011 Cookbooks used to be written for those who loved to cook or for those who needed to cook. Today’s food-centric culture has added breadth and depth to the genre. Food lovers and home cooks look to chefs not just for instruction, but for inspiration. “Harvest to Heat, Cooking with America’s Best Chefs, Farmers, and Artisans” by Darryl Estrine and Kelly Kochendorfer goes one step beyond, showcasing the local farmers, ranchers and artisans who serve as muse to those esteemed chefs. The result is a celebration of the symbiotic relationship between farmers and chefs and the masterpieces created by their combined efforts. Read More
Big News @ Wave Hill Breads: New Location...New Bread! Ingredients Bakery Local Artisan Specialty Market Breakfast Valerie Albarda April 14, 2011 When husband and wife team Margaret Sapir and Mitch Rapaport first began delivering their signature bread to farmers markets in 2005, it was with a signature bread crafted from one recipe. Not that this has been a bad thing. Their Pain de Campagne is what started it all and has brought them the recognition they receive to this day. Now, in addition to the fabulously addictive three-grain country loaf that we all know and love, Wave Hill Breads is proud to announce the launch of two new breads for your dining pleasure (+ spoiler alert...come May, you can dine in their new bakery/cafe in Norwalk). But first, let's talk about these magnificent loaves.. Read More
A History of Connecticut Wine: Vineyard in Your Backyard Ingredients This Week In Wine CTbites Team April 13, 2011 It wasn’t until 1978 that the state of Connecticut passed the Winery Act that allowed owners and winemakers to be able to have their own places to make the wine. Nowadays, there are over 30 wineries throughout the state alone, which made University of Bridgeport English professors Amy Nawrocki and Eric D. Lehman interested in pursuing the idea of writing a book on this subject matter. Their new book; “A History of Connecticut Wine: Vineyard in Your Backyard” was released on March 18 and published by The History Press out of Charleston, SC. The volume, which is the first in depth publication on this topic, talks about history of CT wine before and after the Winery Act was announced, while also answering the question why people should go to these local wineries and taste wine. Read More
Patel Bros. Indian Grocery Superstore Opens in Norwalk Ingredients Norwalk Specialty Market Indian Gayatri Batra April 13, 2011 I walked into the supermarket, mouth agape - I felt like Alice in Foodland! It was a 10,000 sq feet epicurean trove of gastronomy, nostalgia, delectable aromas and MORE all rolled into one. Finally an ethnic supermarket in Fairfield County. Patel Bros is a family owned grocery store chain that has established itself as a destination for Indian Groceries in North America. With over 35 stores across the country – it is called the Walmart of Indian Groceries, where you get a phenomenal range from the subcontinent at the best price possible. Their motto is “Celebrating Our Food… Our Culture.’ And it sure does. It is like having my own kirana store, times ten, right here in Norwalk! Read More
Easter & Passover Eats in Fairfield County, CT Ingredients Features Restaurant Holiday Breakfast Dessert Stephanie Webster April 12, 2011 Easter & Passover are just around the corner, and we've been vigilantly scoping out interesting holiday sweets & savories, restaurant reservations, and catering tips to share with you. Here are a few nibbles to get you started on your holiday planning, but this is just a sampling. If you have come across an holiday event or product find, please let us know by posting a comment below. What's Easter Without Chocolate? Belgique Chocolatier in New Canaan is Easter central with 3-feet high chocolate rabbits weighing in at approx. 23 pounds. They also make smaller sizes, as well as chocolate nests with chocolate/hazelnut speckled eggs, chocolate hens and chicks, chocolate eggs to fill with chocolates, bunnies pulling carts with chocolate eggs, etc. Read More
Homemade Matzo c/o Tabouli Grill's Judy Roll Features Holiday Recipe Judy Roll April 12, 2011 Chef Judy Roll of Tabouli Grill has been making matzo for her family for years because nobody should be made to suffer through the "cardboard-y" boxed brands. This recipe differs from the classic version as she brushes the matzo with olive oil and then sprinkles with sea salt and za'tar. Hey..why not? It's amazingly simple. Try it in your home this Passover. Read More
Chef Talk: Lolita Cocina's Blanco Sangria Features Chef Talk Cocktails Amy Kundrat April 07, 2011 The Blanco Sangria is a take on the classic red sangria with citrus and brandy. From Lolita: "We start with white wine and build up all the flavors we imagined would be present in the ‘perfect white sangria’. A little vanilla from vanilla vodka, a nice floral- honeyed component from Lillet Blanc and a touch of citrus from Citronage – a bracing orange liqueur. To play up our summertime ideal, we add ripe peaches, lychees, pineapple and grapes. Over ice, it makes you forget you are in CT, but rather on the Mexican Riviera, feet in the sand." Read More
