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.
Ahh...harvest time. So many veggies, so little time before they spoil. Wondering what to do with that bumper crop of gorgeous organic tomatoes and gigantic squash from the garden? Don’t let them go to waste! Instead, come to the Wakeman Town Farm on Saturday, September 8th from 9am-12pm, and learn how to can and preserve your harvest to enjoy all winter. During this three-hour workshop, you’ll learn the basics of canning and how to make both delicious jam and tomato sauce. You’ll even be able to take a few jars home to stock the pantry! Cost is $35 if pre-registered, $40 at the door. Wakeman Town Farm, 134 Cross Highway, Westport. Space is limited; please register early.
White Gate Farm in East Lyme, CT, a favorite eastern Connecticut farm stand and Dinners on the Farm venue, is unveiling their new commercial "Farm Kitchen" and a series of cooking classes featuring talented Connecticut chefs.
The series will officially kick off this Friday at White Gate Farm for what they are calling a "Grand Unveiling" on August 24 at 7 pm ($10 per person). The evening will feature a preview of the hands-on kitchen and farm-fresh hors d'oeuvres, wine and chef's presentations. They will also unveil the full season of classes, dates and participating chefs this evening.
Truffle fans, listen up. Barcelona Restauranthas 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.
Interested in showing off those latte art skills? Or perhaps you just want to learn the basics and sip your way through a fun evening. Either way you are in luck. Espresso NEAT in Darien is hosting their inaugural Thursday Night Throwdown (TNT) Latte Art Competition on July 12. A $5 buy-in will get you into the evening's event. This first event of the season is a customer invitational (everyone is invited). Prizes and sponsors to be announced.
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...
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.
Live from CTbites global headquarters, Chef Matt Storch of Match Restaurant launches the CTbites Chef Demo Video series. Watch and learn people.
Matt Storch's recipe for Pomegranate-Orange Braised Boneless Beef Short Ribs With Pea Puree takes a classic winter dish and re-imagines it for spring with vibrant fresh peas. Get great tips as you watch Chef Storch review the basics of braising in this beautiful dish.
If you have a chef or recipe you would like to see on CTbites, let us know.
The expert butchers at Craft Butcherywill be kicking off 2012 with a comprehensive butchering curriculum. Owners, Ryan Fibiger (seen above) and Paul Nessel will be providing both hands-on butchery experience as well as lecture and demonstration segments. For cooks and eaters who are serious about their meat, these butchering classes are designed to give attendees an up close look at the techniques that are use to break down pork, lamb or beef into their individual cuts.
"Butchery 101: Swine" will be held on January 10th and 24th (more information below), but Craft Butchery is happy to customize these classes and demonstrations to create a more consumer or professional chef-focused discussion based on your level of interest. Classes can be done on a half or whole pig, lamb or side of beef. It provides the chance to really experience all aspects of how an animal is butchered and the audience will take home a lot of Craft Butchery's excellent meat. Boys night out anyone?
Fairfield County Foodieis a local blogger who is passionate about her food. She had me at "It’s no fun going out with folks who only ever order salads." Here is her recap of our recent CTbites Invite: Da Pietro's cooking demo & lunch event.
I laughed, I learned and I ate scrumptious food all in one afternoon.
Today I attended a fabulous, intimate event organized by CT Bites and Da Pietro restaurant in Westport: A cooking demo and lunch with Chef Scotti. I found out about it through “CT Bites Invites” that I had signed up for. Man! Am I glad I did!
The moment I entered the restaurant, I noticed all the happy smiling faces. Everyone was simply delighted to be there … after all, who wouldn’t be delighted to spend an afternoon with Chef Scotti?
The white truffle. Available for only a few months a year, this buried treasure is sold for $2500 a poundand is one of the most sought after ingredients on the planet. They are elusive, hidden underground. No longer sniffed out by pigs who had the audacity to occasionally eat them, the white truffle hunters have been replaced by the more trust-worthy canine. Their complex delicate taste is revered be chefs and diners everywhere, but you can only find white truffles in one place...the Piedmont area of Italy...and Fairfield County.
October-early December is white truffle season, and in celebration of these sublime fungi, Chef Matt Storch of Match Restauranthosted a 12 course White Truffles Cooking Class at Clarke Culinary Center in Norwalk. Each course featured raw shaved white truffles (added at the last possible moment to preserve the taste of their ethereally earthy flesh). The smell alone could have kept the foodie in me satiated for days.
And now a word from our 10 yrs old food critic....
Cake, bacon, and cinnamon; these are the words that my nose told my brain as soon as I walked into the kitchen at Aux Delices. I was so delighted that I was going to be cooking a scrumptious meal and not trying something that a professional chef created.
The cooking class that I went to was instructed by Lynn Manheim. She is also the cooking school director. The first recipe that we made was scones. Most of the ingredients were out on the table but the sugar and the flour were in two big bins. Mrs. Manheim shows everyone exactly how to do each step and how much of each ingredient to use. She will wait for everyone to finish one step before she goes onto the next, and if you need some help Mrs. Manheim will always give you a hand (especially if you’re grating butter like I was).
I recently had the pleasure to sit down with Ramin Ganeshram to talk about her cookbook; her newly released Stir it Up! a novel written for young adults, as well as her involvement in the community.
But before you start reading...In Stir It Up! heroine Anjali Krishnan enters a video cooking contest for a shot at a reality cooking competition show on Food Network. She does such a good job she makes it to the finals. If you have a young aspiring chef in your family, check out Ramin's video contest below.
Ramin, who grew up in Brooklyn, New York, was greatly influenced by the cultures of her Iranian mother and Trinidadian father. The marriage of two different heritages and lifestyles would result creating in new traditions; food was one of them. Ramin explained, “We had access to Middle Eastern markets growing up, but all Middle Eastern ingredients are not the same.
Master ChocolatierFritz Knipschidlt, owner of Café Chocopologie in South Norwalk uttered these words that inspired his upcoming October 20 class at Clarke Culinary Showroom.
"This is the time of year that everyone starts thinking about pies and baking. The holidays are coming, and thoughts turn to Thanksgiving and what to make for dessert to serve after the turkey," continues Knipschildt, who will share his secrets of creating fabulous pies during his class at the The Clarke Culinary Center on Thursday, October 20th from 6-8PM.
Pre-registration for this and Clarke's impressive fall class line-up are required and can be done online at www.clarkeculinarycenter.com or by calling 800-842-5275, ext. 206.
The Silo, one of the region’s preeminent Cooking School, is offering area residents a chance to meet and learn from one of the culinary world’s greats – Celebrity Chef Sara Moulton. She’ll be teaching two demonstration classes at The Silo on Friday evening, November 4 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. and on Saturday morning, November 5 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Silo Cooking School is located at Hunt Hill Farm, 44 Upland Road in New Milford, CT.
The Friday, November 4 evening class, Friday Family Dinner with Sara Moulton, will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The menu will consist of Panko Scallops, Breakfast for Dinner Pizza, Celery and Parsley Salad, and Grape Crumble.
Summer is winding down and school is nearly back in session. With that sobering news I decided to take it upon myself to reprogram the negative connotation with this time of year and embrace the classroom.
Clarke Culinary Showroom has a terrific line-up beginning late summer and into fall with new classes and a couple of new yet familiar faces such as Prasad Chirnomula of Thali and Michel Nischan.
Clarke's classes are known for their small class size which encourages an intimate atmosphere and the ability for guests to get up close and personal with the chefs. For a chance to win two tickets to a class of your choosing vote in Clarke's contest called "Vote for your Favorite Chef." The full list continues to change daily, so check-back soon as Clarke add classes, chefs and details:
Ice cream and Lollipops with Fritz Knipschildt on August 25; Tuna: Head to Tail with Matt Storch on September 1; Scandanavian Cooking with Fritz Knipschildt on September 15; Hors d'oeuvres with Chef Rui Correia on September 14; A Lesson in Spice with Prasad Chirnomula on September 29; A Special Night with Michel Nischan on October 6; Fritz's Favorite Pies With a Twist with Fritz Knipschildt on October 20; A Night with Chef Rui Correia and Portugese Cooking on October 27; The Freshest Ingredients with Michel Nischan on November 3; The Bounties of the Fall Market with Matt Storch on November 10; and A Winner's Class: The Art of Cooking with Root Vegetables with Fritz Knipschildt on November 17.
Camp Fine Dining is a two week camp for teenagers that will run this August led by Paul Desiano, Chef and Owner of Cello (formerly Plate) located in Copps Hill Plaza in Ridgefield.
In the first week, Camp Fine Dining will focus students on basic skills including knife cuts, butchering, sauces, and pasta making. By the second week, the students and Chef Desiano will brainstorm a 5-course tasting menu. The class will spend the first week preparing and the program will conclude with the students cooking that menu for their families.
Dates and time: August 16 -18, August 23 – 25 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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. 
