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
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
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
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
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
Ninety+Cellars: Premium Wine for Less Ingredients Features Wine Chat Deanna Foster October 12, 2010 Most of us like name brand products - especially when it comes to food. How often do we drive to different grocery stores to buy our favorite coffee or coveted snack item? Occasionally, I’m tempted to buy a store brand or private label option, attracted by the value and the hope it will taste as good as the name brand I trust, but past disappointments make me skeptical, and more often than not, I move on to the usual suspects to fill my market basket. I admit, my brand loyalties run deep, so I was particularly skeptical when CTbites decided to review 4 bottles of a new discount wine, branded under the label Ninety+Cellars. Yes, images of another Two Buck Chuck sprang to mind, but after our tasting and some research, I am convinced that the Ninety+Cellars is a distinctive label in its own right and it is now available in CT. Read More
Skillet Eggs & Potatoes from "The Parsley Thief" Kids Bites Features Recipe Breakfast Kid Friendly katie vitucci October 07, 2010 Katie Vitucci is a Norwalk resident and the Founder of The Parsley Thief, a blog about food and family. When I was a child, my grandmother's fried potatoes were one of my most favorite things in the world. She cooked them in a cast iron skillet, with nothing else but some oil, until they were perfectly crisped. Then, she would fry an egg on top. Whenever I wasn't feeling well, this is what she would make me...the ultimate comfort food. I recently made some for my kids. They are not potato fans...but, they do like french fries & these are so crispy, they don't taste like typical home fries, which sometimes have a mushy texture. They taste like french fries. They loved them!! So, this has become one of our "Breakfast for Dinner" options. This dish can be modified to suit your taste. Add some garlic, onion, bell or hot peppers...anything. I highly recommend using a cast iron skillet, as it does such a great job of browning the potatoes. Skillet Eggs & Potatoes Read More
This Week In Wine: Dierberg Chardonnay Ingredients Features This Week In Wine Kathleen Hall October 06, 2010 The Dierberg winery is located in the Santa Maria Valley, the northern-most wine appellation in Santa Barbara County in Central California. The Valley tends to be cool and foggy with breezes from the nearby Pacific Ocean, resulting in a gentle ripening of the grapes. Fermenting the wine in larger oak barrels – as opposed to smaller oak barriques -- enables the wood flavors to become well-integrated without becoming heavy-handed. Dierberg Chardonnay is a perfect example of the shift in California winemaking towards a more restrained use of oak in Chardonnay. Flavors of golden pear, lemon custard, vanilla and warm spices. Read More
This Week @ The Westport Farmer's Market: Chef Nicole Features Ask Chef Nicole Recipe Liz Rueven October 05, 2010 Chef Nicole Straight will present two autumnal dishes to shoppers at the Westport Farmers Market on Thursday October 7th, between 10-2. Balsamic macerated figs with sweetened ricotta (recipe below) is a welcome alternative to baked fruit desserts at this time of year. Straight’s simple and flavorful preparation is assembled in two easy steps. She allows plump, glossy figs to be front and center, accented by the creaminess of sweetened, whole milk ricotta. Her second presentation will be a fall twist on bruschetta. Now that tomato season has sadly wained, Straight concocts an equally appetizing combo of eggplant, apples, butternut squash and onions with honey, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, cayenne and paprika. She hits all of the taste buds in this colorful and nutrient packed assemblage of the season’s highlights. The chef will source all of her veggies, onions, honey and figs from the market that morning. She often turns to SONO BAKING CO. for her bread and will use their baguettes to support her veggie laden topping on Thursday. Read More
Reheated: This Week's Top Food News in CT & Beyond Features Restaurant News Amy Kundrat October 05, 2010 Reheated is a weekly round-up of bite-sized food news in Connecticut and beyond. In Connecticut... Plan your meals around SoNo restaurant week now through October 8. Info CTbites.com SoNo Chef Shootout at Clarke Showroom on Oct. 7. Via CTbites. The Westport Food Revolution hosts a Green Halloween costume swap at Whole Foods Market in Westport on Thursday. Oct 7th. Info. GreenHalloween.org The 5th annual Harvest Tasting fundraiser on Oct. 9 featuring 60 wines at Darien's Equinox Club. Via. NicholasRoberts. Author Coleman Andrews will be speaking in CT Oct 8 @ RJ Julia in Madison, Oct. 14 @ New Canaan Library & Oct 28 @ Old Greenwich Library. Read More
Bobby Flay Is Coming To Stew's Ingredients Features Cookbooks Events Stephanie Webster October 04, 2010 ARE YOU READY FOR A THROWDOWN? Meet bestselling author and Food Network royalty, Bobby Flay, at Stew Leonard's on Saturday, October 30 at 11:00 a.m. WHAT: Bobby Flay, bestselling author and Food Network star, will greet fans and sign his brand new cookbook, BOBBY FLAY’S THROWDOWN! More Than 100 Recipes from Food Network’s Ultimate Cooking Challenge at Stew Leonard’s in Norwalk Saturday, October 30 starting at 11:00 a.m. Twenty lucky fans will win a reserved place at the front of the line to have their book signed. Fans can submit their entries online or the ballot box at any of the Stew Leonard’s stores in Norwalk, Danbury, Yonkers, and Newington. Read More
Great Gear: Navigating The Cook’s Nook Ingredients Features Kitchen Gear Norwalk Specialty Market Deanna Foster October 01, 2010 The Cook’s Nook in Norwalk couldn’t be more aptly named. Twisting through its adjoining rooms, filled to capacity, brings you from one alcove and surprising find to another. As you step into the door, you are faced with a navigation decision: the room straight ahead or to the right? It’s not the last time you’re made to choose, but take heart, there are no bad choices here. Like being lost in the streets of Paris, winding your way from one enchanting street to the next, your shopping experience is more adventure than errand. Read More
CTbites Shout Out: What's Your Favorite Cookbook? Ingredients Features CTbites Shout Out Stephanie Webster September 26, 2010
Chef Nicole: Chicken w/ Wine, Mushrooms & Pine Nuts Features Ask Chef Nicole Recipe Nicole Straight September 23, 2010 Chef Nicole Straight of Time To Eat! is back with another great solution to the weeknight dinner dilemma. So many mouths to feed...so little time. Here is a great one pan recipe that the kids can help prepare (if they're done with their homework). Enjoy this quick and easy recipe for Chicken With White Wine, Mushrooms & Pine Nuts. Read More
This Week In Wine: Jelu Pinot Noir Ingredients Features This Week In Wine Kathleen Hall September 22, 2010 Jelu Pinot Noir is from the Patagonia region in Argentina. Patagonia may be better known for its majestic mountain range than for wine growing, but the cool climate found here is especially suited to the fickle Pinot Noir grape. The Jelu vineyards are located at high elevation which enables the grapes grown there to retain their bright acidity and supple fruit flavors as they slowly ripen. Medium-bodied with flavors of black cherry, ripe raspberry and a hint of savory herb. Smooth tannins and fresh acidity makes this wine simple but satisfying Read More
Food Writing 101: Write Your Appetite w/ Corinne Trang Features Asian Cooking Classes Education Stephanie Webster September 15, 2010 Want to learn how to write about food from an award-winning cookbook author? Corinne Trang has written numerous cookbooks & has been dubbed the "Julia Child of Asian cuisine." She has published in Food & Wine, Health, Cooking Light, and Saveur. If you ever wanted to write a cookbook, start a food blog, review a restaurant, or write a food memoir, join Corinne Trang for a FREE workshop on food writing. She'll guide you through your first short food piece starting with describing your favorite food, learning to create a recipe and a story around it. Space is limited, RSVP and be sure to bring your favorite fruit and vegetable! Thursday, Sept. 30th is Corinne's Free Workshop: "Write Your Appetite" @ 7:15pm, Writers' Room, 252 Post Road East, Westport. Read More
Rosh Hashanah Recipes from Tabouli Grill Features Holiday Mediterranean Middle Eastern Recipe Stephanie Webster September 01, 2010 The Jewish holidays are around the corner, and with the kids just barely back to school, it seemed as though we could all use a little assist with the Rosh Hashanah menu this year. Next week? Really? Judy Roll of Tabouli Grill in Stamford has come to the rescue with three great recipes to fill out your holiday table. Here's what's on the menu: Cumin Roasted Cauliflower with Yellow Raisins and Toasted Pine Nuts, Bubbe’s Brisket, and Kasha Varnishke. If you really just don't feel like cooking, Tabouli Grill is also happy to do the work for you as you can see in their Rosh Hashanah Package below. Read More
