Food Porn: Apple Tart Recipe Ingredients Features Cookbooks Food Porn Recipe Tina Rupp October 04, 2012 CLICK ON IMAGE ABOVE TO LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY Tina Rupp is a professional food photographer who works with Food & Wine Magazine and Weight Watchers and also photographs many cookbooks and national print ads. Today just after this tart came out of the oven, I FINALLY realized why I bake and don’t really cook. I burned applesauce. Who does that? The running joke between me and my husband is that I can burn just about anything I cook: eggs, toast, fishies for my daughters and then today it was applesauce made from all of the extra apples I sliced for the shoot. It finally hit me. When I bake, I have a timer! When I cook on the stovetop, no timer! Eureka moment for sure. Thankfully, my husband is an amazing cook, beef bourguignon, the works. Nice balance with all the baking I do and fortunately I can also make a mean salad. No timer needed. Read More
Rhubarb Kitchen: Cooking School, British Style, in Darien Features Restaurant Cooking Classes Darien Education Dessert Melissa Roberts September 26, 2012 As if on cue, the day I attended class at the Rhubarb Kitchen, a cooking school with an emphasis on all things British, the sun disappeared and the weather turned appropriately overcast and drizzly. A perfect backdrop for learning about the delights of the very English ritual of Afternoon Tea. But first, a little about the women who run this show. Rebecca Binks (aka “Becs”) grew up in Kent and learned the highlights of English food from her grandmother, mom, and eight aunts. A former banker and world traveler who has lived in France and Spain, Becs landed in New York City where she met Lisa McMullan. Lisa, an Irishwoman, grew up surrounded by lush farmland and her culinary path is inspired by a true farm to table experience. Lisa practiced as an optometrist, but her love of food always lingered in the background. Read More
Saugatuck Craft Butchery Classes & Events Features Butcher Cooking Classes Education CTbites Team September 06, 2012 The kids are going back to school, and so should you! Lead by example and take one of Saugatuck Craft Butchery's fall/winter classes. They are offering their usual Butchery 101 classes, as well as a special Holiday Edition. All registration is now done online, so visit the Craft Butchery website to reserve your spot. See below for details on all available classes. They are also conducting pig butchering demonstrations- unlike the classes this is not hands-on, but it is still a great way to watch and learn as our butchers walk through the basic anatomy of a pig, artfully carving it into primals, then individual cuts. Read More
What's in Season: Peaches Ingredients Features Recipe Dessert Tina Rupp August 29, 2012 This week I went to Bishop's Orchard in Guilford. Accompanied by my 9 month old, we "both" went peach picking for the first time. She plucked the leaves that we're tickling her face as I maneuvered under the branches with her on my left hip, while I picked one peach at a time with my right hand. It was just like apple picking although the peaches weren't ripe enough to eat off the trees. I let them ripen on the counter for a few days then they at last became soft, sweet, juicy and camera ready. Read More
John Barricelli's "The Seasonal Baker" Cookbook in Stores August 21 Features Bakery Chef Talk Cookbooks Recipe Deanna Foster August 14, 2012 The most appealing aspect of John Barricelli’s new cookbook “The Seasonal Baker: Easy Recipes From My Home Kitchen to Make Year-Round” is the reassuring conversational tone of his introductions and tips, which are not just sprinkled, but dolloped throughout the book. The title is a mouthful, but accurate, with the emphasis on the home kitchen. If you want to recreate the multi-layered Chocolate Ganache Cake or Crème Brulee Tartlets from the Sono Baking Company’s repertoire, go to John’s first cookbook of the same name. The Seasonal Baker is a go-to resource of thoughtfully selected and approachable recipes, both sweet and savory, meant to be prepared in a home kitchen. They will dazzle the diners, and not daunt the baker. The book is well organized, dividing its 135 recipes into 9 clear sections from Muffins, Quick Breads and Breakfast Treats through Crisps, Cobblers and Other Fruit Spoon Desserts to the savory Tarts, Quiches, Pastas and More, and finally Focaccia and Pizza on the Grill. With few exceptions, the recipes are designed for everyday baking and John’s heartfelt introduction sets you up for all you will encounter in the book, essentially a mash-up of food and family. Read More
Sono Baking Co: 5 Tips for Perfect Pie Dough Ingredients Features Bakery Norwalk Recipe Dessert Stephanie Webster August 07, 2012 Pie baking is a both a science and an art, and John Barricelli of Sono Baking Company knows all the tricks. John has been baking the old fashioned way at Sono Baking Company since the very beginning, no short cuts, just fresh ingredients and skill that comes from a lifetime covered in flour. As part of our Invites program, John Barricelli hosted two "Pie & Dough Making" classes for aspiring bakers. Guests arrived donning aprons and toting rolling pins. Here's what we learned: 5 Tips for Perfect Pie Dough Tip #1: Calibrate your oven's temperate & make sure that your oven is level. Read More
Barcelona Chef Proto: Hanger Steak w/ Truffle Vinaigrette Features Chef Talk Recipe Video Recipe CTbites Team August 02, 2012 Truffle fans, listen up. Barcelona Restaurant has begun importing the "good stuff." Teaming up with an international purveyor of this Italian culinary treasure, Barcelona is now offering private label white truffle oil and truffle shavings (slivers, packed in juice). Wondering what to do with these fabulous fungi? Frank Proto, Executive Chef at New Haven's Barcelona Restaurant has just the recipe: Truffle Vinaigrette, using black truffles and white truffle oil. This vinaigrette is delicious on hanger steak as presented in the recipe above, but really, what wouldn't truffle vinaigrette be good on? These exotic woodland delicacies are available to food enthusiasts through Barcelona’s already active “marketplace” on their web site. Read More
Sprout Creek Farm, Sixpoint Brewery & Whole Foods Launch "Point of Origin" Cheese Features Cheese Beer Amy Kundrat June 29, 2012 Beer and cheese can make an ideal pair. Sipping a quality brew with the right cheese can elevate and complement the respective flavor profiles as any cheesemonger or brewer would tell you. But Beer IN cheese? Leave it to Sprout Creek Farms, Sixpoint Brewery and Whole Foods Market to create this perfect symbiosis in the ale-washed “Point of Origin” cheese. Conceptualized by Chris Manca, Specialty Products Coordinator for Whole Foods Market's Northeast Region, "Point of Origin" is "grassy, with a whiff of malt that does not announce its presence too boldly," explains Manca, who also helped name the cheese "Point of Origin." Read More
Aux Delices Opens in Westport: Great Food for Busy People Features Restaurant Prepared Food Specialty Market Westport Breakfast Take Out Lunch Kid Friendly CTbites Team June 17, 2012 Back in Greenwich it was more than 10 years ago that I first walked into Greg Addonizio and Debra Ponzek’s tiny yellow-and-blue striped jewel of a café, Aux Delices. I went there almost every day, unable to resist their lemony ginger tea, inspiring desserts and gourmet take-out items. After I moved to Westport, I literally dreamed about their unbelievably decadent chocolate cake. Now, at long last, my dreams have come true. Aux Delices, which in French means “all the delicious food in life,” has opened a new location...in Westport, centrally located at 1035 Post Road East. With an airy, relaxed French brasserie ambience of copper fixtures, colorful chalkboard menus, and an outdoor patio, it’s the perfect instant getaway. And, while the service is quick and easy, the food however, is anything but fast food-like. With the exception of a few imported specialty items, drinks and cheeses, all foods and pastries are baked on-site, prepared by culinary institute-trained chef Ponzek, who describes her own cooking as “quality, healthy food for busy people.” Read More
Taste and See Cupcakes in Milford Features Restaurant Bakery Milford Kid Friendly Dessert Cindy Hartog June 14, 2012 Is Taste and See Gourmet Cupcakes in Milford worth a 30-minute drive from Westport? The answer is a resounding “yes”! Recently, I’ve diagnosed myself as cupcake obsessed. There are worse obsessions, right? Through mail order, vacation excursions, and day trips, I estimate I’ve tried more than 50 cupcake purveyors. With complete honesty, Taste and See is my winner. Read More
Video: Matt Storch Demos Pea Carbonara w/ Poached Egg Features Chef Talk Entertaining Recipe Video Recipe CTbites Team June 08, 2012 When eggs and bacon come together with pasta, it's all good. When Chef Matt Storch of Match Restaurant demos said dish, it's even better. This is exactly what went down during a recent video shoot, where Storch did a trial run for his entree selection at the CT Chefs' dinner at the James Beard House. Storch's carbonara has a seasonal twist that sets it apart from the classic dish. Instead of mixing the eggs into the pasta, he uses fresh peas and pea shoots to create a puree that serves as the sauce, while gently resting a poached egg atop before serving. This is a great entree to make at home. Watch and learn... Read More
Sticky Balsamic Ribs via The Parsley Thief Features Entertaining Recipe katie vitucci May 26, 2012 Looking for a great recipe for your Memorial Day BBQ? No joke, these are the best ribs ever! After asking my husband what he thought of them, he swallowed his bite & replied, "This may be the best thing I've had in my entire life". But, this is coming from a man who loves him some ribs...anyway, anyhow. Like all good ribs, these require time, but very little effort. Once they are done marinating & slow cooking in the oven, the grilling part takes about 5 minutes. The perfect thing when you are having company & don't want to be in the kitchen when your guests are there. This recipe will be a summer regular for us. Read More
The Naptime Chef: Local Chef Fits Great Food into Family Life Features Cookbooks Recipe Kid Friendly Jessica Ryan May 09, 2012 When Kelsey Banfield became a mother she quickly learned that organization was necessary to successfully run a household. Babies are unpredictable in their needs and they can easily wreak havoc on the day’s plans. A fussy baby needs tending to. Clutter piles up, as does laundry as well as those lists of things we need to accomplish. Many of us have been there and our babies are much older. While we can better organize our days, we’re still incredibly busy and there never does seem to be enough time in our day. So while Kelsey utilizes her daughter’s naptime to get things done, those of us without napping children can carve out some time during the day where we can do the same, whether it be morning, afternoon or evening. Whether we have newborns, active toddlers or busy teenagers with heavy schedules, Kelsey’s approach to fitting great food into our lives is one that can be adapted by us all, and you can share her secrets in her new cookbook, "The Naptime Chef, Fitting Great Food into Family Life." Read More
Sweet & Simple® Cookies...Baked Locally, With Love Features Restaurant Local Artisan Fairfield Kid Friendly Dessert Margie Treisman May 03, 2012 Cookies are, by definition, hard to resist. Fairfield resident Michelle Jaffee has made resistance even more difficult with her new line of cookies, Sweet & Simple, adorable in their individual cellophane wrappers, brown and white labels and retro daisy logo. What’s more, the label proclaims, they’re “baked with love.” We at CTBites like to support the local, entrepreneurial spirit. (Plus – let’s face it -- we don’t hate eating cookies.) So we set out to sample the sweets. Read More
Foodie Fridays @ Sport Hill Farm in Easton Features Cooking Classes Easton Education Farm Fresh CTbites Team April 25, 2012
MOM 100 Cookbook Author @ Westport Public Library Features Author Cookbooks Education Kid Friendly CTbites Team April 18, 2012 Katie Workman, author of the new hit cookbook The Mom 100 Cookbook is coming to the Westport Public Library on Thursday, May 10 at 10:00 a.m. Katie Workman is the founding editor in chief of Cookstr.com and a mother of two. In The Mom 100 Cookbook she delivers solutions to the 20 most common cooking dilemmas that every modern mom faces, providing recipes and tips for parents who are so baffled by their kids’ food preferences that mealtime has become a minefield. Katie Workman will talk about her new cookbook The Mom 100 Cookbook, answer questions from the audience, and give a book signing. Ok mothers...here's what people are saying about this new compendium: “One of the best cookbook authors of her generation.” — BOBBY FLAY “These are the 100 recipes everyone needs!” — INA GARTEN Read More
10 Questions w/ Dressing Room's Chef Jon Vaast Interview Chef Talk Stephanie Webster April 17, 2012 Jon Vaast is the talented chef at Dressing Room in Westport. He may be young but he has been in the kitchen for most of his adult life. Here are a few things you likely didn't know about this Fairfield County chef. If you had unexpected guests arriving at your home for dinner in 1 hour, what would you whip up? I would run to the store and grab some strip steaks, some vegetables in season, got to make some mashed potatoes either roasted garlic or caraway, along with a few bombers of craft beer. What is the last dish you cooked for yourself? Made some duck ragout with spinach linguine after lunch service today. What are your guilty pleasures in terms of food? I’m a sucker for a burger and fries. What ingredient could you not live without? Farm fresh eggs Read More
Video: Napa's Chef Arik Bensimon Demos Roasted Sea Bass w/ Polenta & Mushrooms Features Chef Talk Entertaining Recipe Video Seafood Recipe CTbites Team April 12, 2012
Lamb Bacon with Chef Paul Desiano Features Ridgefield Recipe Amy Kundrat April 04, 2012 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 Read More
AMG Cooking School in Wilton: Learn While You Eat Features Cooking Classes Education Wilton kids cooking party Recipe ellen bowen March 23, 2012 It must have been good karma to take over the former Wave Hill bread kitchen in Wilton, because the AMG Cooking School, which opened it’s doors in July, has truly found the right ingredients for success. Alison Milwe-Grace and her partner, Olivia Savarese, are not new to cooking having run a catering and event planning business for years. When the professional kitchen space at the old Wave Hill Breads came on the market, they saw an opportunity and jumped at the chance to open a cooking school. They have been hosting both adult and kids classes ever since. The good friends added their own personal touch to the space. Gone are the wooden bread racks and flour dusted floors. A cozy candlelit living room and dining area serves as the entrance, while the kitchen features a huge work area complete with famous chef quotes on chalkboards to serve as inspiration. Read More
