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CT Bartenders Share their Margarita Recipes for National Margarita Day!

Recipe Features Cocktails Holiday Bar Recipe Homepage

Stephanie Webster

Oh yes it is! My favorite day of the year, National Margarita Day, has arrived. Those who know me, know that when I sidle up to the bar, those working on the other side need not even ask for my order. It's always the same...and it's always a Margarita. Truly, it's the perfect cocktail, and just right for every season. Plus, tequila has been proven to actually have health benefits. Lime, tequila's most trusty companion, is bursting with Vitamin C which we all know helps us recover from illness. Anejo tequila, made from 100% agave, is known to help reduce bacteria and relieve sore throats, and agave helps to fight diabetes. There are so many reasons to embrace and celebrate the Margarita. Do it right with these recipes from local bartenders including: El Segundo, Mézon, Geronimo Restaurant & Tequila Bar, Barcelona, Bartaco, Marcia Selden Catering and Festivities. 


Cheesemonger Subscription Box Launches From Fairfield & Greenwich Cheese Co.

Ingredients Features Cheese Delivery Service Home Delivery Gift Guide

Stephanie Webster

Fairfield & Greenwich Cheese Company have introduced a subscription cheese box service that curates small batch, artisan and traditional cheeses and delivers them, freshly cut, to the doorsteps of food lovers across the nation.

Cheesemonger Box will curate a selection of small batch and traditional American and European cheeses for monthly home delivery, launched this winter as the first cheese subscription service of its kind.

Founders Laura Downey and Chris Palumbo, co-founders and owners of Connecticut cheese shops Fairfield & Greenwich Cheese Company, are launching the service with the goal of “spreading the cheese love across the country” and empowering customers to “become the expert” on artisan cheese. 


CTBites On The Boat: Grace & Darkness Oyster Stout Release And Oyster Roast At Half Full Brewery, Jan. 21

Features Ingredients Beer CT Beer Brewery Seafood

James Gribbon

We'd left the dock in South Norwalk in utter darkness to harvest oysters in one of the oldest, most productive oyster fisheries in America. Jordan Giles of Half Full Brewery in Stamford shucked a few on the steps of the Grace's pilothouse and handed one to me. The Copp's Island oyster had been at the bottom of the Sound minutes ago.

The "Why" is tripartite: I've always loved oysters (and can apparently add them to skiing and air travel on the list of things I'll wake up at an evil hour for), I had never been on an oyster boat, and Half Full brewery will host their second ever Grace&Darkness oyster stout can release and oyster roast on Sunday, January 21 at noon. These oysters were to be the main attraction.


Snow Day Recipes: I Have to Feed You All Day?

Features Recipe Pizza kids activity Recipe Kid Friendly

Marcia Selden Catering

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. 


Gingerbread Recipes for Gingerbread Houses & Cookies via Sweet Lisa's

Recipe Features Holiday Recipe Kid Friendly kids activity Kids Bakery Dessert

Stephanie Webster

'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


Holiday Bar Cart Tips + Poinsettia Spritz Cocktail Recipe (sponsored post)

Recipe Holiday Cocktails Recipe Catering Entertaining

CTbites Team

The Holidays are here...time to entertain. A well-stocked bar cart is an essential ingredient in any successful holiday gathering.  Here's some tips from Festivities Catering to ensure that your holiday entertaining is festive, fun  and filled with style.  

Holiday Cocktail Cart Tips:

1. Create a "signature" drink that can be made in batches.  Have some pre-made in pitchers that can easily be poured into glasses as guests arrive. We suggest a Poinsettia Spritz Cocktail. 

Poinsettia Spritz Cocktail Recipe: 3/4 cup vodka, 1 1/2 cups cranberry juice, 2 ounces St. Germain, 3/4 cup prosecco, cranberries & rosemary for garnish.  Serves 6.


Stew Leonard's Christmas Cookie Milk Back For The Holidays

Ingredients Features Holiday Specialty Market Ingredients Kid Friendly Kids

Stephanie Webster

Stew’s Christmas Cookie Milk will be back in stock at at all Stew Leonard's stores in Connecticut this week.  This is the second consecutive year they’ve sold this special milk. 

Stew Leonard's Christmas Cookie Milk is sweet, creamy milk that has the same flavor as a sugar cookie that’s been dunked in milk.  It comes straight from award-winning dairy farms in upstate NY and is free from artificial growth hormones (rBST) and antibiotics.  This milk goes from the farm to each of our stores in as little as 24 hours. 

Stew Leonard's Christmas Cookie Milk is available only for a limited time and is sold in a ½ gallon glass container for $5.99.  


Maple Praline Pumpkin Pecan Pie Recipe via South End's Chef Martschenko

Recipe Recipe Thanksgiving Dessert

Stephanie Webster

While many of our readers have family traditions when it comes to Thanksgiving, we, at CTbites, feel it is important to add a newcomer to the recipe box each year. For 2016, we offer you a classic developed by South End's Chef Nick Martschenko. His recipe for Maple Praline Pumpkin Pecan Pie may become your family's go-to dessert. If you decide to cook this in your home next week, let us know what you thought.  

Maple Praline Pumpkin Pecan Pie Recipe


Brown Dog Fancy Organic Ketchups and Mustards: Killer Condiments! (sponsored post)

Features Ingredients Ingredients Specialty Market Local Artisan Homepage

CTbites Team

When Connecticut food adventurer Kyle Rothschild can’t find an ingredient he likes, he makes his own. That led him to his latest venture: Brown Dog Fancy, a line of organic ketchups and mustards that shake up traditional notions of what makes a great-tasting condiment and marinade

Timing is everything in a kitchen, and Brown Dog Fancy’s arrival to the local food scene couldn’t be better.  Cooks, and the people who eat their food, have demanded organic, high-quality, and ethically sourced poultry, meat, and fish for years. Yet, far less attention has been paid to the condiments that accompany them.

“We spend so much time buying responsible and sustainable main ingredients, but then we marinate or top them with condiments that are full of fillers and words I cannot begin to try and pronounce. I want to know what’s in my food, and I think other people do, too,” says Kyle, who began making condiments for weekly beach barbeques that he and his wife, Sarah, hosted for friends near their Stamford, CT, starter home.


Sweet Maple Mustard Roast Pork Tenderloin Recipe via Local Food Rocks

Features Recipe Recipe Holiday Bloggers Thanksgiving

CTbites Team

This tangy yet sweet maple mustard roast pork tenderloin recipe brings together seasonal flavors in an easy-to-make-meal, perfect for a Sunday family dinner (or holiday entrée).

This Sunday pork roast idea came about thanks to Avon Prime Meats in Avon, CT. This local market packs a lot into it's 4,500 square feet. Front and center is their meat counter. They sell only Prime (highest grade of beef) or Premium Choice meats.

Many of the meats they carry are traceable to the farm of origin. They also work with local farms offering local, grass fed and all natural meats as well. Sepe Farms, Blue Slope Farms, and Cream Hill Farm are among their local farm partners.


Donut Crazy Launches the “Cruffin” Croissant-Muffin Hybrid

Ingredients Features Bakery Dessert Kid Friendly Breakfast Doughnuts New Haven Shelton Westport Bridgeport Homepage

Stephanie Webster

Donut Crazy, a local, family-owned eatery specializing in unique donut flavors (lovingly called Dailies & Crazies), announced a tasty new menu item called the “Cruffin.” The croissant-muffin crossover is the company’s way of celebrating the first sugar-filled year of its New Haven location near Yale University. The “Cruffin” will be available at all Donut Crazy locations for $4.25, starting on Friday November 3, weekends only and while supplies last. 

The “Cruffin” has quickly become the food world’s newest bakery obsession, much like the “Cronut” before it. The buttery, flaky pastry is shaped like a muffin and filled with different flavors. Donut Crazy plans to offer coconut, dulce de leche, chocolate mousse, and pumpkin. More exciting flavors to come!


Stew Leonard’s Delivered To Your Door with Instacart

Features Ingredients Home Delivery Delivery Service

Stephanie Webster

Family owned and operated Stew Leonard’s today announced Stew’s Fresh Delivery Powered by Instacart, the technology-driven, nationwide on-demand grocery delivery service.  Starting Wednesday, November 1, 2017, same-day grocery delivery service will be available to 365,000 households within a 20-30 minute drive of Stew Leonard’s farm fresh food stores in Norwalk, Danbury, and Newington, Conn. as well as in Yonkers, Farmingdale, and East Meadow, N.Y.

Customers who sign up for Stew’s Fresh Delivery by February 1, 2018 using code stewsexpress will have free delivery on orders over $35 for up to a year.    


Southern Connecticut Wine Company Invites You To Make Your Own Wine

Features Ingredients Education Cooking Classes WIne Wine Tasting Vineyard Wallingford

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

In 2016, Forbes Magazine claimed to have discovered the “secret to happiness.”  “Spend money on experiences, not things,” they told their readers.  CNN took it one step further.  “That's in part because the initial joy of acquiring a new object, such as a new car, fades over time as people become accustomed to seeing it every day…,” they reported.  “Experiences, on the other hand, continue to provide happiness through memories long after the event occurred.”

Those looking to invest in a meaningful experience can find a solution tucked away in Wallingford, just off the highway, but hidden from view.  Southern Connecticut Wine Company, located in an unassuming garage-like building behind the railroad tracks, affords people the unique opportunity to create their own wine over the course of a season.  I had the chance to be an honorary co-op member for the day and witness a little bit of what they have to offer.


Stew Leonard’s Announces Limited Edition Apple Pie A La Mode Milk

Features Ingredients Dessert Kids Kid Friendly

Stephanie Webster

Stew Leonard’s Apple Pie Milk a la Mode celebrates the season with the flavors of crisp fall apples and Stew Leonard’s dairy-fresh vanilla ice cream. It comes straight from their award-winning dairy farms in upstate NY and is free from artificial growth hormones (rBST) and antibiotics.  This milk goes from the farm to each of their stores in as little as 24 hours. Stew Leonard's Apple Pie Milk a la Mode will be available starting on October 30 for a limited time.  It is sold in a ½ gallon glass container for $5.99. 


Quinoa Paella with Shrimp, Chorizo & Chicken Recipe via Marcia Selden

Recipe Features Recipe

Marcia Selden Catering

Take a break from the classic paella, and mix up your healthy grains with Marcia Selden's recipe for Quinoa Paella with Shrimp, Chorizo + Chicken. We appreciate a one pan meal and this dish has great rich flavor from the chorizo and saffron.  Interesting food fact: Coming from the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus, it takes 75,000 blossoms or 225,000 hand-picked stigmas to make a single pound which explains why it is the world’s most expensive spice. Enjoy this recipe and send us feedback.