A Family Meal for CT Bloggers Restaurant Bloggers Events Amy Kundrat August 19, 2010 Nicholas Roberts Gourmet Bistro in Norwalk served as the Fairfield County back-drop for a gathering of over twenty food writers, several courses of food and wine and an abundance of foodie conversation on a recent Thursday evening. More akin to a restaurant's family meal than sybartic ritual, these blogger gatherings mimic our restaurant muses shared meals before the evening's storm, than mere navel-gazing. Our gatherings offer an outlet to talk shop and let it all hang out within the comfort of our own kind, fellow food writers who can be a notoriously solitary (and at times) picky bunch. And naturally we'll choose to do so in some of our favorite Connecticut establishments. It's a tough job but somebody’s gotta do it. Read More
Chef Nicole: Salmon Nicoise Salad w/ Dijon Vinaigrette Features Ask Chef Nicole Chef Talk Nicole Straight August 18, 2010 Nicoise salad has always been one of my favorite salads. The classic combination of textures and flavors is ideal for any lunch gathering with friends. Although the standard preparation calls for seared tuna, I like to change things up by occasionally and go with salmon atop my bed o' greens. Using salmon is an easy way to add delicious lean protein to your diet while getting Omega 3 fatty acids and vitamins B-12. This salad is surprisingly easy to make but the finished product will have you looking like you've been in the kitchen for hours. Read More
A CTbites Reading List for Food Lovers Features Cookbooks Amy Kundrat August 16, 2010 Whether you are spending dwindling days of summer off the grid with nothing but time, or eagerly awaiting the day when back-to-school means reclaiming a few hours of your day, this list was made for you. These aren’t cookbooks. That’s another list for another time and a different skill set. This list spans our favorite chef memoirs, food essays, travel stories, and food industry gossip with a few recipes thrown in for good measure. While not required reading, these books promise to inspire, touch and provoke some of our own enjoyable memories and meals. Read More
The Gray Goose: Classy Comfort in Southport Restaurant American Southport Comfort Food Lunch Sarah Green August 15, 2010 I've always enjoyed getting GOOSED. Now, I can get goosed whenever I want to and it won't even make my husband jealous. In fact, I'm sure he'll enjoy getting GOOSED too at THE GRAY GOOSE, a tasty new lunch and dinner spot in Southport. The menu is classy, interesting and full of simple creative dishes, prepared with skill by executive chef Tom Carney (previously of Spazzi in Fairfield.) The restaurant, which formerly housed The Wine Knot, is situated in a charming, 100 year old building, creating an idyllic spot for restaurant developer Kevin McHugh, (previous co-owner of Little Pub in Ridgefield, Match, and the Loft Martini Bar in Sono) and his business partner, Tommy Febbraio. With fresh and inviting decor, McHugh and Febbraio have utilized reclaimed materials to create old wood floors, exposed beams and stone fire places (inside and out) and added modern lighting to juxtapose and to induce a crisp new feel. Read More
What's New @ The Westport Farmers Market Ingredients Liz Rueven August 14, 2010 Chef Cecily Gans, Main Course Catering, will present arugula salad with fresh fruit vinaigrette on August 19 between 10-2, at the Westport Farmers’ Market. Always the communicative and generous instructor, she will provide hand outs of her recipe and tips on composing summer salads. As a chef who has touched so many young hearts in Westport, she will surely be greeting lots of her former students and their parents as they stop by to taste and visit. Ask a sampling of student at Staples High School in Westport, which class they loved the most, or hoped to enroll in but couldn’t get into because it was oversubscribed, and many will say it was CULINARY ARTS, taught by Cecily Gans. Read More
Chef Talk: Vodka Infusions @ The Fez Features Chef Talk Cocktails Stamford Amy Kundrat August 13, 2010 Combine and steep. Wait. Taste. Wait some more. Taste. Shake. Pour. Savor. Pat yourself on the back. This week's concoction will take a bit more patience than your average cocktail. In addition to the unusual ingredient list, plan ahead as little as 72 hours to a fortnight in order to create your own imaginative vodka infusion inspired by Fez, Stamford's newest North African fusion hot spot. Sampled during our recent restaurant review, this cocktail's unique ingredient list (including dill, cucumber and garlic) make this savory infusion one of the most interesting cocktails of the season. The Fez: Vodka Infused with Dill & Garlic Read More
Beer & Chili Challenge @ Mohegan Sun Ingredients Events Beer Stephanie Webster August 11, 2010 Chefs are always talking about wine pairings, but for all of you who prefer a cold one to a glass of vino, here's your chance for sample some of the best beer CT has to offer. The Craft Beer & Chili Challenge will be held at The Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday, August 22 from 12-4 p.m. What's better than 100's of beers & dozens of chilis? Really, nothing, but if you require added appeal, attendees will get to vote for their favorites as they crown the best official beers and chilies in Connecticut. Chili will range from from hearty and meaty, to hot and spicy, to vegetarian, and everything in between, so there's something for every eater. Participating breweries include… Read More
4th Annual Shoreline Wine Festival Ingredients Events Wine Chat Stephanie Webster August 11, 2010 Wondering what to do this weekend? Why not join the party at the 4th Annual Shoreline Wine Festival? Saturday, August 14th • 12 noon to 7pm Sunday, August 15th • 12 noon to 6pm Come and celebrate over 10 Connecticut Wineries and sample the fruits of their labor. Enjoy food from local restaurants. Meet and sample products from local businesses. Enjoy and purchase crafts from local artisans. Expand your knowledge of food and wine at seminars offered by local experts. Enjoy all of this while listening to the sounds of live music from renowned bands around New England. Location: Bishop's Orchards Farm Market & Winery 1355 Boston Post Road, Guilford Read More
CT Best of Pizza Featured on "Slice" Web Site Restaurant Pizza New Haven Kid Friendly Stephanie Webster August 10, 2010
CT Taste Organic Festival 2010 Ingredients Kids Bites Events Organic kids activity Kid Friendly Stephanie Webster August 09, 2010 Save the Date. Join CT National Organic Farming Organization to celebrate the 10th annual TASTE! ORGANIC CT 2010 on September 19th at Manchester Community College from 10 am to 4pm. Experience the only LOCAL & ORGANIC festival in Connecticut offering a farmer's market, fresh prepared food, live music, sustainable vendors, artisans, free workshops and free kids activities! Head Chef, John Turenne is busily sourcing the finest and freshest ingredients from Connecticut Farms to be on the event's menu. Three local celebrity chefs are designing recipes that will showcase our local and organic food. Chef John Turenne, fresh from his recent TV stint with “The Naked Chef” Jamie Oliver, will be cooking and running the NOFA Food Booth show. Read More
LeFarm Goes Underground with "Souterrain" Restaurant Events Farm to Table Westport Farm Fresh Underground Dinner Stephanie Webster August 08, 2010 Last Sunday harkened the beginning of a fresh new culinary offering in Fairfield County…a dining experience without walls and without rules. It represents the next generation of the "family" table, bringing people together with just their love of food as the communal bond. Is your interest piqued? It should be. When you make THIS reservation, you won't have an address. You definitely won't know what's on the menu. But you will know one thing for sure…this surprise dinner party is going to be extraordinary because Bill Taibe of LeFarm gastronomic fame is the man behind "Souterrain." For those of you who need brushing up on your High School French, underground dining has finally made its way out of the urban centers and into Fairfield County. Read More
What's New @ The Westport Farmers Market Ingredients Liz Rueven August 07, 2010 A taste of the Mediterranean will arrive at the Westport Farmers’ Market on August 12 when Chef Pedro Garzon steps away from Cafe Manolo to present chilled gazpacho to shoppers. As the summer’s steamy weather continues, we welcome the opportunity to eat our soups chilled and avoid turning on the stoves. Chef Garzon will be demonstrating his method of preparing this summer treat on the spot. He will use a simple, traditional, Andalusian recipe, sourcing perfectly ripe tomatoes, firm cucumbers, brightly colored peppers, mild onions and garlic from the vendors that morning. SONO bakery will provide the bread which will be blended into the raw vegetable soup. Read More
Chef Nicole: Blueberry Peach Crumble? Crisp? Betty? Features Ask Chef Nicole Chef Talk Recipe Dessert Nicole Straight August 06, 2010 One of our family’s favorite summer traditions is going blueberry picking. We always pick way to many berries and come home wondering what we’re going to do with them. This recipe for Blueberry Peach Crumble is always at the top of our list. Fresh blueberries freeze beautifully. Simply wash, and freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet before transferring to a ziplock bag. I’ve been asked over the years what the difference is between a crisp and a crumble. After some research, I found these general definitions, but the truth is you will not find a universally agreed upon answer. Whatever you call it, this dessert is simple, summery, and delicious! Read More
Ferris Acres Creamery: From Cow to Cone Restaurant Newtown ice cream Kid Friendly Dessert Amy Kundrat August 04, 2010 On any given evening, cars line the street, a herd of cows gently moo, and families stand in line to enjoy a 150+ year old farms’ ice cream confections at Ferris Acres Creamery in Newtown. If the Creamery were a character in a movie, it would be straight out of central casting. I can almost hear the talent scout now. “Yeah, we're looking for a quaint dairy farm nestled in a bucolic town on a quiet country road. A friendly herd of cows would be great, yeah.... and let’s toss in some green rolling hills and make sure there are plenty of smiling families standing by.” Ferris Acres Creamery has been attracting such smiling families and ice cream-avores who are attracted to the farm's location and the playful variety of over 30 flavors, many of them locally inspired including Cow Trax (peanut butter ice cream with caramel swirls and mini chocolate chips) Route 302 Moo (chocolate ice cream with swirls of fudge and chocolate chips), the M.J Rell (mint chocolate chip with green sprinkles) Stony Path (their version of rocky road) and my personal favorite Elvis’ Dream (vanilla ice cream with chunks of bananas, peanut butter swirls and chocolate chips). Read More
Get Close to the Source: The Easton Farm Tour 2010 Ingredients Easton Education Events Local Farm Farm Fresh Stephanie Webster August 03, 2010 Don't miss the second annual Easton Farm Tour. This celebration of Easton's local and sustainable farming community is a self-guided tour taking place on August 14 from 10am to 2pm. This free event begins at the Easton Firehouse Green on Sport Hill Road (Route 59) where visitors will sign in and receive a copy of the beautiful Easton Farm Map – “Easton is a Farmers’ Market.” This great guide will serve as your road map and pass to enjoy the many farming delights that Easton has to offer. Gilbertie’s, Sport Hill and Sherwood Farms are a few of the highlighted destinations. Skinny Pines – the Easton-based wood-fired pizza truck - will be on site with their mobile wood-fired oven, using locally sourced Easton produce. Who doesn't love that? Come have lunch, listen to music and learn where your food comes from. Read More
Chef Talk: Barcelona's Blood Orange Margarita Ingredients Features Chef Talk Cocktails Spanish Recipe Amy Kundrat August 02, 2010 Everybody loves a good adult beverage. This fairly safe assumption has inspired this recent Chef Talk mini-series focusing exclusively on uncovering and sharing some of Fairfield County's best cocktails. You're going to need to break out the shaker with this first cocktail, the Barcelona Blood Orange Margarita. The margarita is one of the most popular picks at the restaurant known for a bustling happy hour and hearty Spanish tapas menu in its four locations in Fairfield County and now an outpost in your house. Cheers! Read More
Omanel: Authentic Home-Style Portuguese Restaurant Bridgeport Portuguese Lunch Leticia Schwartz August 01, 2010 Leticia Schwartz is the author of The Brazilian Kitchen. She knows a thing or two about Portuguese cooking. This is her first review for CTbites. If I could transport a restaurant to different country, I would. Growing up in Rio de Janeiro, a city that lives and breaths Portuguese culture, I savored the Iberian fare. There, I could literally dine on a different salt cod dish every day of the year. These days, however, for reasons that bear no explanation, Portuguese food in Brazil has become synonymous with "expensive food." Fortunately, I have found a way to satisfy my Iberian cravings locally. Located in Bridgeport CT, just off route 8, Omanel offers all the dishes I grew up with – traditional Portuguese cooking -- with zero fuss. The menu here is identical to the "expensive" menus in Rio, but the prices couldn't be more different. Rio deserves a restaurant such as this. In fact, the venerable Mark Bittman once said "The food can blow you away." Read More
Dining & Music @ Old Lyme's Midsummer Festival Restaurant Author Old Lyme Road Trip Shoreline East Amy Kundrat July 29, 2010 This weekend the town of Old Lyme will host the Midsummer Festival, a two-day celebration featuring concerts, exhibitions, and a heavy dose of Connecticut food, farms and food writers this Friday, July 30 and Saturday July 31 in the town’s historic district. In addition to concerts, exhibitions and workshops for kids, the Midsummer Festival boasts a great-line up for gourmands, which is where we gladly come in, beginning with an en plein air market featuring Connecticut grown produce and products. On Friday evening, Dinners at the Farm will be serving picnic dinners out of their “Chuckwagon” for $25 a person and will be back at it on Saturday serving breakfast and lunch in an outdoor cafe on Saturday for Festival-goers. Read More
