The early part of the year can be a bit of a food doldrums following the festive whirlwind of the holidays, but I'm here to tell you it doesn't have to be. Beginning on January 15/16 for eight weeks, Scratch Baking in Milford can bake you a loaf of bread paired with a spread through their Loaf of the Week Club. Think of it as a New Year's Resolution you may actually keep.
Equal parts surprise and deliciousness, Scratch Baking's Loaf of the Week Club offers "Loafers" (Loaf of the Week members), a freshly baked loaf of bread that is creatively paired with a spread. The loaf reveal is made at the beginning of each weekend, often in an email with a recipe from Scratch. Several of the loaves I experienced last year were revalatory (I'm looking at you, Ethiopian Rosemary Honey Bread and you, Jalapeño Cheddar Country Loaf), and all were comforting and delicious.
This year you can join the Loaf of the Week Club yourself, or gift it for the holidays (or I recommend both). To sign-up, email Scratch at writeus@scratchbakingct.com or call, 203-301-4396.
The Downtown Milford Farmer's Market will be hosting a Kid's Day featuring the characters Anna and Elsa from the animated movie Frozen, sponsored by Sensitive Care Pediatrics Dentistry in Milford, CT.
When: Saturday, August 1st
Where: Downtown Milford Farmer's Market 58 River Street, Milford, CT
What: Carnival-like experience for kids of all ages - Live appearance from Disney's Anna and Elsa - Face Painting - Balloon Animals - Games and Raffles - Kid's Clothing and Accessories Market begins at 9am - 1pm Kids activities begin at 9:30 -1
The newly revitalized Downtown Milford Farmers Market will be operating every Saturday all spring and summer, located at 58 River Street 9am- 1pm. It will boast a variety of specialty local vendors (vendor list can be viewed below). In addition to fresh produce, tasty treats and artistic treasures, Market Masters Lesli Flick and Alex Malaspinas of Scratch Baking will be distributing a market specific recipe each week to excite your taste buds and liven up your weekend cooking. “Our daytime market will provide a shopping experience for the entire family,” Flick, owner of Milford’s Scratch Baking, said.
Amidst the hum of CT based vendors in this stylized farmers market setting, patrons will also enjoy live music, interactive events and entertainers, as well as prepared foods. From flowers to free-range meats, this year’s market has set it's sights on outstanding pleasures for the palate and the people.
THE winter CSA for your bread box is BACK with Scratch Baking's Loaf of the Week club. Beginning on January 9, 2015 for 8 carb-filled weeks, Scratch Baking in Milford is kicking-off their third annual "Loaf of the Week" club. Participants, or "loafers," receive a surprise bread and spread each week, paired with a recipe.
Scratch Baking's manager Alex Malaspinas chalked the success of the program up to Scratch's community-minded approach:
The new Downtown Milford Farmers' Market, led by Market Master and Scratch Baking Manager Alex Malaspinas, will be open every Saturday, now through October 11, 2014 from 9 am to 1 pm. The market is located at 58 River Street in Milford, CT and is easily accessible by train as the lot sits adjacent to the Milford train station. Featured vendors include Scratch Baking, Vaiuso Farms, Rose's Berry Farm, Lisa's Soaps, Dash N' Drizzle, Calandrelli Kettle Corn, Tasty Good Eats, Chiropractic & Wellness Center of Milford, Autumn Rose Flower & Gift Shop, Maple View Farm, and more as the season gets underway.
If you can't make it into Scratch Baking in Milford, Alex also shared the bakery's special events schedule this summer:
There are some ingredients in this world that, when you add them to anything, they pretty much make it spectacular. Bacon, for example. It would probably make a sneaker taste good. “Air” is another ingredient. Air-a bizarre ingredient on an episode of Chopped? No. Air, as in fresh air. Eating outside. Have you noticed that when you eat a lobster roll outside on a deck overlooking the ocean, it makes you happy? Or eat a grilled burger at a picnic table on a warm summer evening? Or sip a frothy cappuccino at a sidewalk cafe? What is the common ingredient here? Fresh air. Good food combined with a hefty dose of the outdoors.
And lucky for you, we’ve put together a long list of our favorite eateries (40+) that have lovely outdoor dining spaces.
If we missed an outdoor venue you frequent, please share your find below.
Beginning on January 31, 2014 for 8 weeks, Scratch Baking in Milford will be kicking-off their second annual "Loaf of the Week" club. Participants, known as "the loafers," receive a surprise bread and spread each week, paired with a recipe. Think of it as a winter CSA for your bread box.
"It really is alot of fun and honestly it is perfect for winter time when you just want to curl up and fire up that crockpot," said Lesli Flick, Scratch owner and baker.
Last year, Scratch's Loaf of the Week baked fresh loaves of brioche paired with a cinnamon raisin butter, ciabatta with pesto, and rosemary focaccia with a lemon curd. The cost to become a Loafer is $65 for 8 weeks of breads and spreads.
As food writers, photographers, and chefs, we have the pleasure of eating a lot of really great food. Fairfield County has experienced something of a restaurant explosion over the past year, as new chefs move in and move on, and menus expand. We've endeavored to expand our coverage beyond those borders, seeking to cover more of the state and sharing those experiences that are worth seeking out. Instead of coming up with a top ten list ourselves, we asked the CTbites extended family to share some of their most memorable meals and dining experiences this past year.
"My Signature Dish" is a new CTbites column featuring a rotating cast of chefs, and the dishes that define their cooking style, or simply make them happy to fire up the stove.
Jodi Bernhard hardly hesitated when choosing her signature dish at Fortina, Christian Petroni’s "casually hip" Italian restaurant in Armonk. Her eyes gleaming, she said, "It's our Pork Braciole." Braciole, hip?
If you grew up Italian, you probably hold memories of Braciole near and dear. This classic rolled, stuffed meat roast, usually serves as centerpiece for those sprawling homemade Italian dinners that lazily linger across Sunday afternoons into evening. Braciole invokes home. And family. Instant Nostalgia.
Ok, so how does a chef modernize a memory? Autograph a treasured family photo?
“That is the gist of our approach at Fortina,” Jodi explained. “ We try to not stray too far from ‘mom's’ version, but still make it a restaurant dish with our stamp on it. We are true to simplicity and flavor.”
The notion of putting “Mom’s dish” on Fortina’s playful, hip menu was Christian’s, one of the restaurant’s owners. (Patroni and and Jodi once cooked together at Barcelona in nearby Greenwich.) Though she and Christian work as collaborators, the task of “restaurantizing” this homey meal was largely up to Bernhard.
Cooking with wood fire has a preternatural, almost primal appeal. You could argue that as cavemen, it was our first foray into comfort food. The intense heat and smoke has the power to transform otherwise unassuming ingredients. The six-month old Fortina in Armonk, begins with this deceptively simple ethos–Italian food, cooked simply, in wood fired ovens–and elevates it with a thoughtful culinary execution and a familiar, if familial, disarming vibe.
“There is a complexity to the simplicity,” said Rob Krauss, one of Fortina’s three partners along with John Nealon and Christian Petroni, nailing what makes the restaurant’s cuisine tick. I’m fairly certain Krauss is also referring to the restaurant’s team, an extended family of sorts that works equally hard at the food as they do cultivating the culture at Fortina
More than the sum of its wood-fired parts, Fortina relies on the culinary prowess and Italian heritage of partner and Executive Chef Christian Petroni, formerly of Barcelona Greenwich, as both muse and ringleader. “My background is Italian, I grew up spending summers in Ponza. One of my favorite restaurants is Peasant. As a young cook, Frank de Carlo was an inspiration as a chef. I was intrigued by cooking in wood ovens. There is something about it that is so gratifying. It’s a beautiful thing.” Along with chef de cuisine Jodi Bernhard, formerly of Barcelona, the kitchen has the creative chops responsible for its daily printed menu.
Fairfield county residents will be soon crossing the border (passports not required)-- into Upper Westchester County's suburb of Armonk, after this week's opening of Fortina. Chef Christian Petroni, recently Executive Chef of Greenwich's Barcelona Restaurant, is joined by John Nealon, ex-GM of the same provenance and Nealon's childhood friend, Rob Krauss as business partners. Both Nealon and Krauss originally hail from Westport. Petroni, a local himself, is also co-owner of Cooked & Co., in Scarsdale.
Recalling the many memorable meals he had eaten during his time spent in Italy, Petroni's vision was to bring Italy's simple authentic flavors, cooking methods and presentation to the dishes he serves at Fortina. This vision is executed with the help of 2 wood burning ovens imported straight from Naples, Italy which serve as a focal point in the main dining room. In fact with the exception of just a few menu items, everything is cooked in these fiery hearths...even a pasta dish or two! (And you should hear Petroni when he speaks of his ovens...like a proud new Papa )
“How adventurous do we want to be?” Maria asks. “On a scale of one to 10?” She’s poring over the menus at Lao Sze Chuan and says it’s so authentic, some of these dishes aren’t found in Chinatown in New York City. Diced rabbit with peanuts. Hot and Sour eel with cellophane noodles. Pork intestines with blood cake.
“We have to have frog’s legs,” she says. “And the clams.” She starts making a list.
Donna and Mark’s list is already on their ipod. They’ve been looking at Lao Sze Chuan’s menu online since three in the afternoon. Maria passes me her list. Yes, the spicy ox-tongue and tripe is on it and I’m happy not to make more decisions. The menus – two of them, the main large, multi-plastic-paged booklet and the additional four page menu of Szechuan specialties -- are overwhelming. Pages and pages of intriguing descriptions like “Silky fowl with black mushrooms and bamboo shoots in casserole.”
I pass Maria’s list to my husband, who glazes over at the sight of her tiny script of five appetizers and 11 entrees. He passes it to Donna and Mark. They cross-reference against their i-Pod list, and add a couple dishes to the feast. Yes! The pig’s ear.
There’s nothing like dining with the right group of people at the right place, and our crew of 10 is excited about our adventure to the commercial belly of Route 1 Milford to see if Lao Sze Chuan makes the most authentic Szechuan cuisine in Connecticut.
How does Plan B in Milford celebrate its 1-year birthday? With a cake? NO! This meat-loving restaurant celebrates with BACON!Bacon Week runs from September 10th - 16th at Plan B Burger Bar in Milford. John Brennan, the executive chef was nice enough to invite me to come opening night. I alerted my cardiologist. Armed with a big appetite and an open mind, I brought my bacon LOVING husband Marc along to help me taste everything on the menu. The meal began with the 3 signature drinks- all made with bacon infused bourbon. Plan B prides itself on its bourbon selection, and I’m a fan. I tried the bourbon straight and it was really nice, with just a hint of the bacon- nothing overpowering.
Plan B Burger knows that everything is better with bacon. Hence, in celebration of their one Year Anniversary, Plan B Milford presents “Bacon Week,” Monday September 10-Sunday September 16th. This bacon bounty includes a full menu of bacon inspired savory and sweet treats including everything from “The Divine Swine” aka “Drop Dead Burger,” (100% ground bacon burger topped w/ thick sliced bacon, bacon aioli, bourbon bacon red onion jam, and a fried egg all sandwiched in between a grilled cheese) to Bacon Candy Bars and Bacon infused Bourbon cocktails. Did I mention the Bacon Cotton Candy? There's one for the ages. The full menu is below, but if you love pork like I love pork, I'd say make your way over to Milford.
Many have described me as a Plan B Burger Bar addict! As a professional chef, most people assume I am a food snob, only interested in 5 Star dining venues. This is not the case. When I eat out, I am looking for quality and ambiance. Ambiance can mean elegance but it can also mean, as in this case, just plain fun! While Plan B’s special Prohibition event was all about the past, it is important to note that the Plan B Burger Bar's everyday menu shines with top notch natural beef burgers (veggie, portabella, salmon, and chicken versions are available too), salads, fun starters, a great assortment of fries, and weekly specials.
If you have never been to Plan B Burger Bar before, last week’s Pre Prohibition Dinner would not have been an accurate introduction. Their Pre Prohibition Dinner was a forage into a new land. It was more of a Five Star dining experience, with expertly plated food and service, and even more unique top-notch drinks.
Is Taste and See Gourmet Cupcakes in Milford worth a 30-minute drive from Westport? The answer is a resounding “yes”! Recently, I’ve diagnosed myself as cupcake obsessed. There are worse obsessions, right? Through mail order, vacation excursions, and day trips, I estimate I’ve tried more than 50 cupcake purveyors. With complete honesty, Taste and See is my winner.
Biagio’s Barone’s is reinventing the wheel. Literally. His GotChef gourmet food truck, which is parked on the Eastbound side of the Milford, CT Metro North Station, is turning the mobile canteen concept on its head. From Monday through Friday, 11:00am-8:00 pm, and Saturday 3-7pm, Chef Biagio and his crew offer up-all natural, creative, delectable cuisine out of his neon yellow restaurant-on-wheels.
You won’t find the typical taco, BBQ-grilled cheese-Belgian waffles-cupcake food truck fare on the GotChef menu. His selections, which vary with the season and change daily, are comparable to anything you can find in an upscale Italian bistro. Some of the recent chalkboard specials include: Capesante Farcito (Stuffed Scallop with Lobster, Shrimp, Sweet Bread Lemon Stuffing in a Scallop Shell, drizzled with Lemon Gremolata), Homemade Pumpkin Gnocchi, Slow Roasted Short Ribs--served over a mushroom truffle risotto, Wild-Grilled Salmone Agrodolce-- topped with a pineapple Sweet and Sour sauce and served over balsamic glazed green beans, and an Osso Bucco
Chances are pretty good that if you’ve ever lusted after a baked good in Fairfield County, Lesli Flick of Milford's newest bakery Scratch Baking may have literally had her hands on it. Scratch is a beacon of baked goods, opening in a cozy space adjacent to the Milford train station just this past weekend with seasoned pastry chef Lesli Flick at its helm.
Flick has been moving steadily north since attending culinary school in Manhattan, beginning her baking trajectory on the upper east side and then (thankfully for us) moving to Connecticut.
