Halloween Recipes Kids & Adults Will Love, via Marcia Selden Catering Kids Bites Features Holiday Recipe Marcia Selden Catering October 09, 2014 Halloween is around the corner, and in honor of this ghoulish holiday, Marcia Selden Caterers have created the perfect menu plan for your Halloween party. These dishes are both adult and kid-friendly, and are simple time-saving delicious meals that will leave you plenty of time for dress-up. This is the first in our series, and really... what defines the real joy of Halloween more perfectly than eatable severed body parts? Enjoy receipes for: Bloody Brains (Dumplings with Sesame Chili Oil); Bat Sh*t Crazy Wings- Honey BBQ Glazed Chicken Wings; Bloody Fingers in a Blanket; Devil on Horseback (Bacon Wrapped shrimp Skewers with Blue Cheese Dip); & Worms in Dirt- Hijiki Salad. Read More
Dinner w/ Amy & Stephanie @ Artisan Restaurant in Southport to Talk About Our Cookbook ....And Eat! Stephanie Webster October 08, 2014 We often say "join us" here at CTbites, but on Wednesday, October 15th 6:30 PM, we really mean join US as Amy Kundrat & Stephanie Webster sit down at the beautiful Artisan Restaurant in Southport to talk about our new cookbook, Fairfield County Chef’s Table. We won't just be talking...you get to enjoy a special meal prepared by Executive Chef Frederick Kieffer (who will also be there to chat). ARTISAN is one of the featured restaurants in Fairfield County Chef’s Table. Make your reservations now for pre-paid tickets by calling 203-255-7756 Ext 501 or email: FairfieldUBookstoreEvents@gmail.com. Event Cost: $50 includes a sit down dinner and 1 copy of Fairfield County Chef’s Table along with book talk by author, photographer and chef. Additional ad-ons are available: 2nd dinner for $25, additional book for $22. Prices include tax & gratuities. Open cash bar will be available. Read More
Best of Wines Recap: Greenwich Wine + Food Festival 2014 Ingredients Features Greenwich Wine + Food Festival WIne Wine Tasting Emma Jane-Doody Stetson October 07, 2014 The Greenwich Wine + Food Festival feels a lot like a rock concert. People from across the state come by bus, train, cab, and car to Roger Sherman Park. This year marked the 4th year of the festival. Although I have attended the event for the last three years, it never gets old. Each year, Greenwich Food + Wine evolves with new guests and changing formats. This year, the first thing I marveled at was the organization. The number of demonstrations and participants had definitely increased, but guests were evenly distributed throughout the grounds. As wine correspondent, I enjoyed the food (understatement!) but focused on the wines and drinks served that day. Wine is central to the festival; demonstrations not only include the best chefs, but also revered mixologists and sommeliers. Here are my selection for some labels to watch: Read More
2014 Greenwich Food & Wine Festival: Best Eats of Culinary Village Restaurant Greenwich Wine + Food Festival Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger October 07, 2014 This year’s Greenwich Food and Wine Festival was held from Thursday through Saturday, September 26-28, with the final day the beneficiary of a breathtaking location overlooking the harbor, temperatures in the 80s, and a cloudless sky. With the main tent offering liquid libations and food, other areas emitting smoke as the precursor to burgers, pork and ribs, a grass parking area for numerous food trucks and the CTbites' Blogger Lounge shadowing the main stage where Alabama would perform in the evening, it was ripe for a perfect culinary adventure. I arrived early to wander through the main tent, stopping at each of the booths to have a quick chat with the chef and sample their creations. From crudo to bisque to steak, some were delicious and deserve special mention. These were the favorites: Read More
Behind the Scenes @ Fresh & RIPE: Connecticut's Craft Juice Movement Ingredients Features Special Dietary Needs Specialty Market New Haven Amy Kundrat October 07, 2014 We are in the midst of a craft food and beverage movement. Craft cocktails, craft beer, craft butchers, so why not craft juice? The New Haven-based FreshBev Craft Juicery, best known by its RIPE bar juice and Project Fresh product lines, is seeking to define the craft juice movement, one cold-pressed bottle of fresh vegetables and fruits at a time. I had the opportunity to visit the New Haven factory (read: I was nosy and curious, so I invited myself over) to meet the folks behind the juice, taste some juice, and was excited to find a Connecticut business succeeding in the emerging and highly competitive juice market. First a little history. In 2008, frustrated by the abundance of preservative-laden shelf-stable cocktail mixers, founders Michel Boissy and Ryan Guimond took to their kitchen to create a natural and fresh juice for cocktails, beginning with everyone’s favorite cocktail staple, the margarita. Read More
Porktoberfest 2014 @ Saugatuck Craft Butchery...A Piggy Photo Recap Butcher Events Oktoberfest Stephanie Webster October 06, 2014 Saugatuck Craft Butchery's 2nd annual Porktoberfest came and went this past Sunday in Westport, with great weather, epic pig action and plenty of beer from New England Brewing. People lined up to grab photos and gawk as each beautiful Berkshire pig was lifted out of its Caja China roasting box. Austrian tunes played, kids ate s'mores and a generally good time was had by all. Thanks to Saugatuck Sweets for the seasonal desserts as well as the newly opened Garelick & Herbs for some tasty sides. Enjoy the photos and see you next year. Read More
Q's Restaurant: Vietnamese PHO & BBQ in Norwalk Restaurant Chinese Delicious Dives Norwalk Soups Vietnamese Sarah Green October 05, 2014 What's PHO lunch today? As autumn quietly slinks in, there's nothing like a truly authentic PHO to ease us into the chill that awaits. Head on over to Q's Restaurant at 172 Main Street in Norwalk (the old Valencia Luncheria spot) for the real McCoy. Recently opened (about 3 months and counting) and charmingly tiny, Q's is the love child of husband and wife duo Charles Eaton and XiaoNing Liu. Eaton, a Vietnam Vet, met Liu (a native of Old Nanking Province in China) while he was serving a tour of duty in Asia. Together, they have brought a small menu featuring Pho as well as other Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine to their wee, little kitchen. Read More
Cast Your Vote in Connecticut Magazine Readers' Choice Restaurant Awards CTbites Team October 03, 2014
Weekly Nibble: Mark Bittman, Oktoberfest Parties, Chowdafest & More Upcoming Events Emma Jane-Doody Stetson October 03, 2014 Westport Restaurant Week returns October 5 – 19! Many of Westport’s beloved restaurants offer prix fixe menus for lunch and/ or dinner. Napa & Co invites you to take a “trek through South Africa” on Monday, October 6. They will give you tastes from producers like Hamilton Russel, Boekenhoutskloof, Stark Conde, Spice Route, Southern Right and Kanonkop paired with 3 small plates. $55pp (plus tax and gratuity). Sugar & Olives will teach you to make HORS D'OEUVRES IN A PINCH on Wednesday, October 7. The menu includes rosemary flatbread, quinoa and black bean galettes, polenta "fries," and beef sliders. $80pp, 7-9pm. On Wednesday October 8, The Spread in Norwalk will hold an Oktoberfest celebration. Chef Carlos will prepare a 5-course meal that transcends the usual brast and wurst... And it even includes beer pairings! $55 per person, reservation required. Author and New York Times columnist Mark Bittman will have a conversation with the Director of the Yale Sustainable Food Project on October 8, 2014 from 6 to 7 pm. Read More
13 Pumpkin Treats & Cocktails To Enjoy This Fall in CT Features Restaurant Holiday Kid Friendly Emma Jane-Doody Stetson October 02, 2014 Fall is officially here… and nothing embodies the season as perfectly as the pumpkin! Many of CT’s best restaurants, eateries, and specialty stores are celebrating the arrival of autumn with pumpkin-inspired treats. For fun for the whole family, Chips serves up pumpkin pancakes; Ferris Acres Creamery is serving "Pumpkin Pie" ice cream (pie crust included); while the over 21 crowd can sip on homemade pumpkin vodka at Darien Social, or a Spiced Pumpkin cocktail at Napa & Co. Darien Social, (Darien): Housemade Pumpkin Vodka SONO Baking Company, (Westport, Norwalk, Darien) Pumpkin Cookies, Pies & muffins SBC, (Milford, Branford, Southport) Pumpkin Crème Bruleé Ferris Acres Creamery, (Newtown) Ice cream specials include: Pumpkin, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pumpkin Cookies and Cream - with crushed Oreos, Pumkpin Pie, Oh Snap - pumpkin w/ crushed ginger snaps Stew Leonard’s, (Norwalk, Danbury, Newington) Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt The Schoolhouse, (Wilton) Kabocha Squash Soup Fresh Market, (Westport) Pumpkin Salsa Read More
Westport Restaurant Weeks October 5th - 19th...Now w/ Cocktails! Restaurant Restaurant Week Westport CTbites Team October 01, 2014 Westport Restaurant Week is here again...now with 2 weeks! It just keeps getting better, so get out of the house and let one of these great restaurants do the cooking for you. Each of the participating venues will be offering a Prix Fixe meal, and this year, there is a flexible pricing program to further enhance the experience. Lunches will be $15, $20 or $25, Dinners $25, $30 or $35 and Brunch, if offered starting at $20, its up to each restaurant to set their fixe. Also new this year is the addition of Specialty Cocktail venues. So enjoy a pre dinner drink or a night cap at one of these fine establishments. VIEW THE FULL LIST OF PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS BELOW. Just click on a name or logo to see what is being offered. Read More
K is for Killer Local Cookies, Baked in LeFarm's Kitchen, Sold Around CT Features Dessert Deanna Foster September 30, 2014 Consider the cookie. For many of us, it was likely our first dessert – if you can consider a zwieback cookie a dessert (but what do infant palates know?). Through the years they become our ‘quick-grab’ to satisfy a sweet tooth, or our ‘go-to’ when we want to bake something home made. For Kelly Clement, eating and baking cookies was all of the above, until baking also became her physical therapy. For years, Kelly baked cookies as a hobby that satisfied her own sweet tooth, and made her visits to family and friends deliciously anticipated. When she was sidelined by a misdiagnosed knee injury, physical therapy included all the usual grueling exercises, with one exception: her physical therapist ordered her to stand in the kitchen, and bake. Read More
Napa & Co. Offers Fall Wine Series Restaurant Education Wine Dinners Wine Tasting CTbites Team September 29, 2014 Napa & Co. continues its Fall Wine Series, offering overviews of several distinct regions of the world from California to South Africa. The brainchild of Sommelier and Owner Mary Schaffer, the series will feature guest speakers, wine tastings plus a few selections by Chef Adam Truelove. To reserve your spot to any, or all, of these events contact Napa & Co. at 203-353-3319 or e-mail them at info@napaandcompany.com Monday, October 6th - A TREK THROUGH SOUTH AFRICA. Enjoy exceptional selections from producers Hamilton Russel, Boekenhoutskloof, Stark Conde, Spice Route, Southern Right and Kanonkop paired with 3 small plates. $55pp (plus tax and gratuity) Monday, October 20th - SPANISH INQUISITION! The exceptionally deep wines of Rioja will be the centerpiece of the evening. Enjoy 6 wines and 3 small plates. $50pp (plus tax and gratuity). Read More
Shake Shack's Shacktoberfest Menu On Tap October 3-12 @ Westport & New Haven Restaurant Holiday Westport New Haven Burgers CTbites Team September 29, 2014 The best of the wurst is almost here! Shake Shack’s 9th Annual Shacktoberfest is on tap from Friday, October 3rd through Sunday, October 12th.As is the case every autumn, Shake Shack’s highly anticipated Oktoberfest-inspired festival celebrates good food, drinks and friends—the Shack way! Get ready for special-edition biers, bratwursts, burgers, and frozen custard treats at both Westport & New Haven locations. Shacktoberfest is the only time of year to snag a commemorative Shake Shack Bier Stein for $10.00 (25 oz.). Filled to the brim with your choice of Brooklyn Brewery’s brisk, malty Oktoberfest beer or their very own ShackMeister Ale, the hefty glass stein is yours to keep and just $7.00 to refill throughout Shacktoberfest. Read More
Chef Geoff Lazlo to Open a Place of His Own w/ Focus on The Farm Stephanie Webster September 28, 2014 Geoff Lazlo, former Executive Chef at The Whelk in Westport, is heading back to his hometown of Greenwich, CT to open a place of his own. The restaurant will be located in the former Lolita Cocina space on Mill Street in Byram and will reflect the type of cooking he has done at esteemed venues such as Gramercy Tavern, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and The Whelk. Often seen walking into his kitchen with something freshly picked from his home garden, Geoff will continue to feature produce from local farms on the menu, but also bring the farm into the physical space and the surrounding neighborhood. With a strong focus on locally-sourced, seasonal American cuisine, Lazlo hopes to push this concept one step further by partnering with the Back 40 Farm in Washington, Connecticut. Read More
An Evening with Mark Bittman at Yale on October 6 Restaurant Author Chef Talk Amy Kundrat September 28, 2014 Photo c/o MarkBittman.comMark Bomford, Director of the Yale Sustainable Food Project will lead a conversation with author and New York Times columnist Mark Bittman on October 8, 2014 from 6 to 7 pm. The talk will take place at Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona, 1 Prospect Street in New Haven. This event is hosted by the Yale Sustainable Food Program. The talk is being hosted in conjunction with the release of his new book, How to Cook Everything Fast: A Better Way to Cook Great Food, Bittman is speaking at Yale and will be on-hand following the talk to sign books. Read More
