Filtering by Category: Ingredients

Island Life Cocktail Recipe via The Whelk's Jeff Marron

Ingredients Features Cocktails Recipe Bar

Jeff Marron July 16, 2014

Jeff Marron is the new Barman and director of all things cocktail related at The Whelk & Le Farm.

I like to work closely with the kitchen staff at The Whelk in Westport. The talent in that room is outstanding. I'm always trying to learn something new from them. A couple of months ago, they came to me with with a bottle of coconut white balsamic vinegar from a cool local oil and vinegar store called Olivette in Westport & Darien. It smelled and tasted delicious. As I like to get inspiration from the people around me, I asked Chef Lazlo what the vinegar reminded him of. He said that it reminded him of vacation and suntan lotion.

Vacation and suntan lotion. Okay. Well, what vacation and suntan lotion bring to my mind are Pina Coladas, Margaritas and delicious rum drinks. Somehow, I wanted to put all of those drinks in one glass. I wanted to put summer in a glass, in other words.

The base of the Island Life cocktail is an expansion on a Rum Old Fashioned which satisfies my craving for summer rum drinks. The aromatics of the foam are what bring all of the other flavors and memories together. Between the grapefruit and orange bitters that tie into the fresh lime juice and lime zest lies the coconut white balsamic vinegar. No one particular flavor stands out. They all play well together.

Blueberry Season in CT: Here's Where To Pick Your Own

Ingredients Local Farm kids activity Kid Friendly

CTbites Team July 11, 2014

Strawberries are wrapping up their season in CT, but those beautiful blues should be ready to pick in a matter of days. If you're looking for a fun family friendly activity, here's a great guide to CT farms that offer "Pick Your Own" blueberries. Make sure you call the farm before you head over as picking schedules vary daily.

Olivette Opens in Westport: Ultra Premium Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar

Ingredients Features

CTbites Team July 09, 2014

The olive oil craze continue with the announcement that Olivette is opening a second tasting room at 24 Railroad Place in Westport. Akin to its sister in Darien, the second location will also offer the freshest, ultra-premium, extra virgin olive oils from around the world and authentic balsamic vinegars from Modena.

The grand opening is scheduled for Thursday July 17^th from 4-7PM and guests can sample a wide variety of full line of olive oils and vinegars while enjoying light refreshments. “We are very proud to offer our customers exclusive products of superb quality. One of the many outstanding olive oils we carry was recently named one of the top 10 extra virgin olive oils in the world. It is a thrill to be able to offer such delicious, high quality products to our customers” said Alina Lawrence, owner of Olivette. The philosophy of Lawrence is to provide only the finest artisanal products that are never mass produced, and a “culinary experience that delivers unsurpassed sensory and health benefits to its customers.” Guests are always encouraged to taste before they buy and discuss food pairings and recipes with the staff.

Friday Froth: New Beers From Jack's Abbey And OEC Brewing

Ingredients Brewery Friday Froth Beer

James Gribbon July 04, 2014

Few sensations enliven the mind like eye-catching novelty. Our minds have evolved such a predilection to find the next new thing, it's a compulsion. This is why slot machines are addictive even though they're so repetitive: there's something new every time. The new glass house is made of screens. Status, tweet, pin... tap, tap, tap.

It's easy to read about how this river of information which flows to us has made Americans indistinguishable from the couches which we permanently inhabit, but I think this is losing sight of the fact that rivers are also a means of transport. Ideas are hardly stationary. This week, let's take a look at a few novelties which have arrived on the Connecticut beer scene, and see if we can get some wheels turning.

Jack's Abbey launched just three years ago up in Massachusetts and has seemingly been winning awards ever since. The company is run by Jack, Eric and Sam Hendler, scions of an ice manufacturing family, whose Hendler Farms supplies man of the ingredients found in their beers. The brand name comes from Jack (who earned a degree in brewing in '07) and his wife, Abbey - whose name worked out pretty well as a reference to monkish beer brewing traditions. I started off with their Mass Rising Imperial Pils.

Summer Grilling Tips from Saugatuck Craft Butchery

Ingredients Features Butcher Chef Talk Education Grilling

Ryan Fibiger July 03, 2014

Craft Butchery is an old-fashioned shop with modern-day ideals (not to mention beautiful new digs). It carries only pasture-raised, organic meat from small farms located within a 150-mile radius of Westport. They sell premium beef, pork, lamb and poultry from animals that have never been given antibiotics, hormones, steroids or animal by-products. These guys know a thing or two...or three...(well, actually Ryan has 5 tips here), about grilling.

Owner and head butcher Ryan Fibiger helps us make the most of his offerings with tips on grilling perfectly.

1. Keep it simple. When it comes to grilling high-quality, pasture-raised meats, less is more. Stick with just a salt rub on our steaks and burgers. Pepper, garlic, spice rubs and oils can burn, so use only if you’re cooking at a lower temperature.

Connecticut's Best Dairy Farm Ice Cream: 2014 Edition

Ingredients Restaurant Road Trip ice cream Best of CT Kid Friendly Dessert

Lou Gorfain June 22, 2014

With summer finally here, we have updated and expanded our annual roundup of the best dairy farm ice cream in Connecticut.

You can’t get closer to farm fresh ice cream than tasting it at farm. Not only do you see the cows, you whiff them, and that aroma is part of the authenticity of the experience, if not the charm. Sure, these farms aren’t close by. But WTD. They’re “Worth The Drive” And worth the lick: usually the freshest, creamiest, and most flavorful retail ice cream available in Connecticut.

While Chocolate and Vanilla remain cash cows, dairy farms also offer a greater array of flavors than you’ll find at parlors or in the supermarket freezer case. In fact, farmers have begun to rival restaurant chefs for sheer inventiveness and culinary dairying-doo.

So, for your and your family’s guilty or innocent pleasures, we submit our favorite cow-to-cone ice creams …

Secrets of a Supermarket: The Science of Selling

Ingredients Features Specialty Market

Lou Gorfain June 20, 2014

There exists an arcane branch of psychology dubbed “Supermarket Science." To uncover the secrets of how and why we buy our groceries, researchers treat a supermarket floor as a behavioral lab. They track such factors as our route through the store, our eyeball movement in the aisles, even our conversation at the checkout counter. As a result, nothing in a supermarket is there by happenstance.

So how much does a supermarket play the customer? Encourage you to buy more?

To find out, we asked Robert Reinisch the manger of Stamford's Fairway market to candidly talk about his store’s selling strategies. We chose Fairway not only to take advantage of Reinisch's openness and passion to do well by his customers, but also because it’s a food-centric supermarket. No banks, no pharmacy, no kitchenware, not even a loyalty card (another window on your personal buying habits.)

We asked Robert about the first axiom of Supermarket Science: “The more time spent in the store, the more money spent in a store.”

"Absolutely we want the customer to spend as much time as possible here," Reinisch allowed. "Our average shopping trip lasts about an hour."

Wow, that's 50% longer than the national average of 40 minutes. What’s Fairway’s secret? Appealing to a customer’s basic emotions.

Friday Froth: Sweet, Sour and Stout

Ingredients Friday Froth Beer

James Gribbon June 13, 2014

You're hungry, but you sit there, getting hungrier, because you don't know what you want to eat. Spoiled for choice, you end up ravenous and choosing the closest, quickest option for an ultimately unsatisfying resolution. An Italian combo sub is good, but Thai would have been better. Barbeque usually hits the spot, but enchiladas suizas are what you were really craving. Sometimes having fewer options can lead to happier conclusions. This week I'm going to give you a few options in three categories, and hopefully it will make your decisions a little easier the next time you're faced with a giant wall of six packs, or a tap list with fifty options.

How about something fruitier to start? A drink almost like a punch, or a cocktail you'd get at a tiki bar? One answer to sate this need is Birrificio del Ducato Frambozschella. This is an Italian beer made with fresh raspberries and lactic acid, then aged in wooden barrels. It pours a deep, dark ruby red, and had almost no head at all as it was poured for me. You'll be able to smell the pH from four inches away and it's sour, but it never threatened to turn my face inside out.

Fresh Nation Enables Home Delivery for Westport Farmers' Market

Ingredients Features CT Farms Farmers Market Home Delivery Local Farm Farm Fresh

CTbites Team June 11, 2014

Fresh Nation, the online marketplace for farmers markets, and Westport Farmers’ Market announced they have formed a strategic partnership to provide online shopping and home delivery. Fresh Nation will operate an online storefront for the Market, providing local consumers with the ability to place an online order from many of their favorite Market vendors and receive same day home delivery from a Fresh Nation personal shopper.

Fresh Nation delivers fresh food direct from farmers markets to consumers, by bringing local farmers markets together into a convenient online shopping destination, enabling farmers and food makers at the markets to reach new customers who do not normally make it to the market. The company employs trained food shoppers to go the markets and personally fill customers’ online orders. After receiving orders from Fairfield County residents for Thursday delivery, Fresh Nation fills these orders at the Westport Farmers’ Market and drives them directly to customers’ homes.

“We are committed to bringing the freshest and best foods from the Westport Farmers’ Market to all members of our community,” said Lori Cochran

Dad’s & Grad’s Ultimate Grilled Pizza Party w/ Recipes from Marcia Selden

Ingredients Features Grilling Holiday Recipe Kid Friendly

Marcia Selden Catering June 10, 2014

Time to celebrate your special Dad (June 15^th ~ Father’s Day) or your fabulous Grad! There’s no better time to fire up the grill and throw a party. We've got a great salad to start… our grilled romaine with a blue cheese and bacon vinaigrette.

Another one of our favorites things to make, at Marcia Selden Catering, are grilled pizzas. The varieties are endless. It’s a little different and who doesn’t love pizza! This is a rare treat.

As for the pizza, if you don’t want to make your own dough, most stores sell great pre-made dough to make it real simple. Buy (from a good salad bar) or make lots of the toppings.

The best way to set yourself up for success is to arrange all of the toppings in bowls on a table by the grill. Guests can simply choose their toppings and grill up the pizzas on the spot.

An Exclusive Look @ The New OEC Brewing in Oxford (Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores)

Ingredients Brewery CT Beer Oxford Beer

James Gribbon June 05, 2014

You read it here first back in April, and now CTbites is bringing you an absolutely exclusive first look at OEC Brewing, days before the grand opening party this Saturday. The party, by the way, is open to everyone, and will take place at 7 Fox Hollow Rd., Oxford, CT, from noon to 5p.m. We have the tap and bottle list for the event below.

As a reminder, OEC stands for Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores, a bit of muddled Latin roughly translating to the "Order of Eccentric Boilers," and is the work of Ben Neidhart and Jie Yu. Ben designed the name, logo, and all associated labels and artwork as a bit of a spoof on medieval guilds and secret societies, and framed examples of this art can be found decorating the walls of OEC's combined brewery and tasting room.

The Grounds

2014 Guest Chef Lineup @ The Westport Farmers' Market

Ingredients Chef Farmers Market Local Farm

Stephanie Webster June 05, 2014

Already love the Westport Farmers' Market? Here's another reason to feel good about shopping local. Market Director, Lori Cochran has announced an outstanding "Guest Chef" Lineup for 2014. Mark your calendars people as the guest chefs will conduct classes and demos from 10:15 to 11:00 a.m. every Thursday. I don't know about you, but some of my favorite chefs in Fairfield County are on this list. Don't miss your chance to meet and greet the people who make your mouth water.

The Westport Farmers Market will be held every Thursday from 10-2 at the Imperial Avenue Parking Lot.

Read on for the complete Guest Chef Program Schedule:

Port Chester Hall & Beer Garden is Now Open!

Ingredients Restaurant Beer Garden Port Chester Beer

CTbites Team May 27, 2014

This just in from the folks at PORT CHESTER HALL:

After undergoing a full renovation and transformation into the first ever food hall, beer pavilion and garden in one venue, Port Chester Railroad Station is proud to announce the opening of PORT CHESTER HALL & BEER GARDEN.

The Hall will be pouring 12 unique craft beer selections, created by Kelly Taylor, Director of Brewing for Port Chester Hall (in addition to Houston Hall and Flatiron Hall in Manhattan). These specialty beer styles include English, Belgian, German, and American, however all use mostly American ingredients. In addition to the proprietary beer selection, the Hall is serving imaginative cocktails by the in-house mixologist, as well as top shelf spirits and a variety of wines.

The station's historic architecture, originally designed in 1890, was preserved and retooled with vintage lighting, seating, and century-old murals. The Pavilion combines the original railroad steel design with communal wood tables and a towering stone fireplace.

“Hey Bartender” Documentary Screening May 29 in Westport

Ingredients Food Movies

CTbites Team May 20, 2014

Ever had a fantasy about becoming a bartender, if only for a night? Or wondered about the lives of those who shake, stir and pour?

Now is your chance. The 92-minute documentary, “Hey Bartender” gives you an insider’s look into the lives and dreams of bartenders, and explains the lure of the bar that goes beyond the drinks. Steve Carpentieri, owner of Dunville’s Restaurant in Westport, is featured in the film. You’ll hear from some of the world’s most renowned bartenders, glance back to the Prohibition era, and see the rise of the classic cocktail era and its aftermath today. The film premiered at the prestigious SXSW Film Festival.

Time: 7.30pm Date: Thursday, May 29

Place: Christ and Holy Trinity Church, 79 Church Lane, Westport.

Cost: Tickets are $10 at the door or online at: westportcinema.org

OEC Brewery Opens In Oxford

Ingredients Brewery CT Beer Oxford Beer

James Gribbon April 24, 2014

Ben Neidhart of Beverage United International, importer of vanishingly rare and obscenely delicious beers from Europe, Africa and Asia, has announced the finalization of his brand new brewery, OEC Brewing, which will open its doors alongside B.United's headquarters facility in Oxford. A public grand opening party will take place on Saturday, June 7th, at noon.

B.United imports have appeared numerous times in Friday Froth, and I had a chance to tour the facility last year as part of their Nepenthia event. BU has consistently been years ahead of the curve in barrel aging beers in creative and exotic ways as part of the ongoing experiment they call Zymatore, and OEC, while a separate entity, will be able to benefit from the other facilities on site.

The new brewery, called OEC, for Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores or "Order of Eccentric Boilers" (they know their Latin is less than perfect), gives the mad scientist Neidhart family a chance to bring creations wholly their own to the market, along with a tasting room which will feature six taps of OEC beers, B.United imports, and at least one of the ultra-rare Zymatore barrel aged special brews.

Spring Wine Picks: Austria's Hopler Vineyards, Gruner Veltliner +

Ingredients This Week In Wine Wine Chat Wine Tasting

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson April 24, 2014

It seems as though everyone loves a good Riesling for springtime and summer sipping. Last year, New York City was just one of the regions to participate in a “Summer of Rieslings” with a number of selections on the High Line and in restaurants. Germany is revered for its remarkable versions of the varietal.

However, a lesser-celebrated varietal promises to satisfy all of your desires as the warmer weather approaches. Gruner Veltliner, a national grape of Austria, shares Riesling characteristics, but has lighter, crisper, and fresher tones than its counterpart. On Friday March 28, Fairfield County hosted Christof Hopler, a respected winemaker and owner of Hopler vineyards in Austria. He presented a selection of his delicious wines to an eager room of wine enthusiasts at South End Restaurant in New Canaan.

The Farmer's Cow 2014 Farm Tours: Meet Your Local Farmers!

Ingredients CT Farms Local Farm Farm Fresh

CTbites Team April 23, 2014

The Farmer’s Cow announces its 2014 Farm Tour schedule and invites visitors to come out to the country and meet the farmer’s that bring you real local Connecticut milk and dairy products.

Locally sourced food is one of the hottest trends in the 2014 culinary forecast according to a recent survey by the National Restaurant Association. But what is local? The Farmer’s Cow milk comes from the contented cows of six real local Connecticut family-owned dairy farms, not from six other states. “Real local” means our farm fresh products get to you faster and that means greater nutritional value and a smaller carbon footprint.

“If you can visit the farm, then you know it’s real local,” said Robin Chesmer, Managing Member of The Farmer’s Cow.

"We invite families to see first-hand what life is like on a working dairy farm and learn about how we are working to save Connecticut farmland and sustain farming as a way of life.”

The 2014 Farm Tour schedule includes events in every season – winter, spring, summer and fall. Each tour is unique and celebrates a different aspect of what it means to be “real local.” Visitors can meet the cows and calves, learn about dairy farming and sample The Farmer’s Cow milk, ice cream and beverages. Hosted by The Farmer’s Cow farm families, all events are free and fun for all ages.

In case of inclement weather, please check The Farmer’s Cow Event and Facebook pages for updates.

All events are free and no reservations are required.

View the full Farm Tour schedule below:

Friday Froth: Seasonal Spring Beer...A New Crop

Ingredients CT Beer Friday Froth Beer

James Gribbon April 18, 2014

Dark beers and dark nights are falling away. Fresh life is shouldering its way through the crusty ground, and new batches of lively, energetic spring seasonals are seeing the light of day for the first time in brewery tasting rooms across the country. Spring time is for beer lovers.

The season lends itself to saisons, the ancient staple of farmers and field hands in need of relief during the planting and cultivation of new life. Stillwater Artisinal Ales is celebrating the arrival of fresh, new life with the release of its Debutante American Farmhouse Ale. This saison, brewed with a combination of spelt and rye, and accented with a blend of heather, honeysuckle, and hyssop, is actually a collaboration between Stillwater and Belgian beer specialists The Brewer's Art, of Baltimore.

2014 Guide to Fairfield County Farmers' Markets via FGFG

Ingredients Features Farmers Market

CTbites Team April 15, 2014

The spring/summer season brings many things: rain, blooms, a high pollen count, and vastly improved temperatures. The onset of warmer weather also means that farmers from all over our fair state will begin to harvest and sell the fruits of their labor at The Fairfield County Farmers' Markets. Sure, there were a selection of dedicated year-round markets this year which kept me deep in kale and root vegetables, but summer brings vibrant colors and flavors we can only imagine in the winter months. Perhaps, you already have a favorite, but the list of farmer's markets expands every year due to growing demand. Here's the roundup you need to stay in the local loop.

Analiese Paik of The Fairfield Green Food Guide has the ultimate Guide to Fairfield County's Farmer's Markets. This cheat sheet is all you need to enjoy beautiful local produce, baked goods, and prepared foods all summer long. Let the season begin!!

Sun Winefest's Wine Review: What To Buy & Try

Ingredients This Week In Wine Wine Shop Wine Tasting

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson April 08, 2014

The annual Mohegan SunWineFest caters to a variety of interests. Restaurants, artisans, winemakers, and distributors unite in the sprawling Convention Center to deliver an epic weekend. However, wine lies at its heart; it is a “wine” fest after all! I enjoyed all of event’s facets, but as CTbites' wine correspondent, I paid careful attention to the hundreds of bottles presented. I researched the offerings ahead of time, questioned the representatives, and- of course- tasted the bounties to bring you a full report on which wines reign supreme.

Check out my full report on: The Rise of Sauvignon Blancs, Is Oak a Joke?, Hail a Cab, Pleasing Pinots, Behold the Blend as well as a few other wine and spirit highlights.