New Haven is about to get their very own Donut Crazy. On Thursday, October 27th, Donut Crazy New Haven will be opening at 290 York Street, with an opening party from 2-5 pm.
For those unfamiliar with the Donut Crazy menu, readers should take note that while they offer the traditional breakfast dounghnut you've come to expect at a shop bearing this name, the key word here is "Crazy." These outrageously delicious doughtnuts are straight out of your ultimate food fantasy (or mine, anyway). Creative varietals including: French Toast (Glazed donut sprinkled with cinnamon and powdered sugar drizzled with vanilla and maple icing); PB&J, (filled with grape jelly, topped with smooth peanut butter and chopped peanuts); and my favorite September special, Pumpkin Pie with pumpkin pie filling, spiced icing and shortbread crumbled cookie dip.
And doughnuts aren't all Jason Wojnarowski, Donut Crazy founder, has to offer. They will also be serving ON TAP nitro coffee, cold-brew coffee, iced teas and chocolate milk using Arethusa Farm’s milk and Shearwater's fair trade Coffee. In addition, they will be serving made-to-order breakfast sandwiches, also available on a glazed donut if you dare! For folks who prefer something more savory, they will have bagels & lox and avocado toast. The bakery team also makes muffins and sconces from scratch and will continue to surprise guests with some really special confections.
Kids and Summer vacation: No homework! No school! No tests! The beach! Playing with friends! Sleeping in! More friends! Camp! Baseball games! Swimming! Fun! Fun! Fun!
Parents and Summer vacation: WHAT DO WE DO WITH THE KIDS?!
Rest easy. Chill. We have some ideas that you will benefit from in more ways than one. Day classes, culinary camps, learning about where food comes from and then what the heck to do with it-you’re little (or big) foodie will be in their element. With any luck, junior will be able to make *you* a back-to-school breakfast by the end of the Summer. Ohhhh, yeahhhhh.
Choose your week, choose your cuisine. Proceed to cook and eat your way around the world. Well, in an almost-Anthony-Bourdain kind of way. At AMG Catering in Wilton, traveling the world is the theme for the summer cooking sessions that will introduce your “Chefs in Training” (CITs for those in-the-know) to a wide array of dishes. These hands-on classes will have the CITs working in a professional kitchen and learning cooking skills that will have them creating “Street Food”, “Regional Dishes” from across the U. S, and a variety of “Small Plates”. The junior chefs (ages 10-15) will top it all off with a cooking competition on the last day. Watch out, Food Network. A word of note: these kitchens are not allergy-free kitchens. Everything and anything (nuts, shellfish, dairy) is cooked here. Cost is $475 per week, $900 for two weeks, or $1350 or three weeks.
Have you ever had a Boston creme donut, filled and glazed fresh to order, just for you? So the chocolate glaze is still beautifully wet and shiny, like an object of edible art when it’s passed your way?
Or perhaps you’d prefer a cannoli donut, filled to order, then dusted with powdered sugar and topped with a flourish of ricotta cream. This is just the place to get them. And, whoa, the aroma alone will draw you in, straight from the roadside trailer where they’re made fresh each day.
An air horn sounds as a truck rolls by on Route 81 in Higganum on a Tuesday morning. Owner Jeff Blaschke and I wave from the bright orange picnic tables. “That happens a million times a day,” he says with a smile. Open just five weeks, Redneck Gourmet Donuts is putting Higganum, Connecticut on the map. “We have approximately a thousand customers on a Saturday and Sunday, each day. Maybe a little bit more on Sunday.”
Happy National Doughnut Day. Yes, it’s a recognized national holiday, and CT has great doughnuts for sweettooths ready to celebrate. Here are places serving delicious ones...if you have a suggestion for a shop we missed, please let us know below.
I recently headed over to Donut Crazy’s newest location in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport with Jessica Grutkowski, owner of the Buzz Truck, who shared that she will be adding this local vendor to her offerings. While I fully admit I have never met a donut I didn’t like, these aren’t your typical donuts; they’re indulgent and decadent, and enormous!
As you step inside you’ll notice how physically different this donut joint is. Most don’t share a space with a Vietnamese restaurant, which in this case is the recently opened Nom Eez. So I asked Jason Wojnarowski, founder of Donut Crazy about this curious new home and this most unusual pairing, because as I saw it, Pho and donuts don’t necessarily go hand in hand. Wojnarowski, a builder by profession, was hired by Matt Storch (owner of Nom Eez) to renovate Match a couple of years ago. What resulted was not only a friendship but the current Pho-Donut partnership.
The holiday season is coming fast. The search for the unique gift for that special person can be easier this year. Give them a memorable experience that is both fun & useful. Sign them up for a cooking class at The Schoolhouse at Cannondale Restaurant in Wilton CT. Chef Tim LaBant & his staff will be sharing their years of experience each Tuesday evening beginning in February, through March. You'll also savor the finished culinary delights with wine pairings after the class. Classes range in topic from Winter Braising to Fish Cookery to Knife Skills.
The schedule and focus for each evening is as follows:
As announced in The New Canaanite, New Canaan’slocal news website, Donut Crazy has announced its third location and will open in New Canaan, hopefully by the end of the year.
With two location up the Merritt in Stratford and Shelton, the donut shop that features creatively conceived donut combinations named “Cherry Bomb,” “Cannoli,” “Maple Bacon,” the holiday "Noggin Donut" (Eggnog custard filled, rum flavored frosting, sugar, whipped cream topping, with a pinch of nutmeg) and the “Fat Elvis” (Bavarian cream center topped with peanut butter bacon banana chocolate honey), Donut Crazy will occupy the space that formerly housed the Sweet Shoppe and Merle Norman Cosmetics at 4 South Avenue.
A gourmet doughnut shop with two locations in upper Fairfield County is preparing to serve its savory treats at the former Sweet Shoppe space on South Avenue, mostly recently Merle Norman Cosmetics.
Yes, it’s a recognized national holiday, and CT has great doughnuts for sweettooths ready to celebrate! Here are places serving delicious ones. Thank you, readers, for your contributions!
The Garden of Ideas, the outdoor community center and garden sanctuary in Ridgefield, is hosting a series ofmonthly cooking demonstrations and workshops from May through November with Chef Susie Buckley.
Each class will focus on how to make the most of the seasonal produce, using the bounty of their CSA as a way to highlight the intersection of food, nature, art and science within each workshop. Classes welcome all ages (kids from 8 years and up, and adults) and will feature fresh farm produce, focusing on basic cooking techniques, "nibbles, tastes, and recipes, included." View the complete class schedule below:
Saugatuck Grain + Grape is going to be holding a series of wine education classes. Classes will be held every other week this spring. The series will cover everything from "Introduction to Wine Tasting, Lexicon, and Labels" to "The World Through Rosé Covered Glasses" as they dive into specific varietals. For those who don't know Mimi and her team, there will most definitely be fun, food and some bad wine jokes in every session.
Classes will be led by Mimi McLaughlin and Jon Carr, the newest member of the SG+G team. There will be nibbles prepared by Mark Hepperman, their in-house chef, so your tummy and taste buds will be happy in a multitude of ways.
Below is a break down of the syllabus, cost and dates. Please call the store to reserve your spot.
Who wouldn't love a culinary-themed weekend getaway that is about an hour away (maybe two for those of you up in Litchfield County)?! The Saybrook Point Inn & Spa is kicking off a series of weekend getaways focusing on different cuisines from around the world centered on the Inn's restaurant, Fresh Salt, and led by its Executive Chef Leslie Tripp. Kicking off this series of three events is Italian Winter Holiday from January 30 to February 1, followed by a Taste of New England on February 20 - 22 and a Tour de France on March 6 - March 8.
Aux Delices' 2015 Winter/Spring Kids & Adult Cooking Class Schedule has just been announced. Aux Délices offers cooking classes for adults and children at their professional catering kitchen in Stamford. Classes are generally held on Wednesday evenings for adults and Sunday afternoons for children. Classes are hands-on for children and both participation and demonstration for adults.
Their focus is to teach easy, interesting and seasonal food preparation, utilizing a variety of cooking techniques. The chef instructors are from Aux Délices, as well as from well-known restaurants in Fairfield County and New York City. Lynn Manheim, the Cooking School Director does an incredible job engaging and challenging both children and adults, while teaching students the basics of cooking along the way.
View the complete schedule below...For more information, click here.
If you're still looking for the unique gift for that special person. Give them a memorable experience that is both fun & useful. Sign them up for a cooking class at The Schoolhouse at Cannondale Restaurant in Wilton Ct. In fact, sign up with them. Chef Tim LaBant & his staff will be sharing their years of experience each Tuesday evening beginning in February. You'll also savor the finished culinary delights after the class. The schedule and focus for each evening is as follows:
February 3...Winter Braising and knife skills February 10...Appetizers and ingredient pairing guidlines February 17...How to prepare our most favorite soups and stocks February 24...Duck cookery and grain preparation March 3...Fish cookery; wet and dry cooking methods.When to use each method
Chef Pat Pascarella of Bar Sugo in Norwalk announced that he will conduct a new series of cooking classes beginning in Jan 2015! For those readers who have visited Bar Sugo and enjoyed his great meatballs, pastas and entrées, these classes will give the secrets for creating some of these delicious dishes at home.
There are currently six scheduled classes:
Fresh Pasta Workshop – Saturday January 24th at 11:00am
Mama's Kitchen: Meatballs 101 – Saturday February 7th at 11:00am
Art of Braising – Tuesday March 3rd at 7:00pm
Pizza Workshop – Tuesday April 7th at 7:00pm
Farmer's Harvest & Feast – Saturday May 16th at 11:00am
Cooking with Seafood - Tuesday, June 2nd at 7:00pm
Mild and milky, smooth and silky: any way one stretches it, people love fresh mozzarella! And in this hands-on crash course, participants will learn to make it at home. On November 15th, from 10:30 -noon, Chef Pietro will explain coagulation as how milk turns from fluid to firm curds. Then, participants will roll up their sleeves to turn curds into the beautiful balls that are known as fresh mozzarella. Taste several samples of fresh cheeses (think mozzarella, burrata!).
Local Chef Pietro Scotti, of DaPietro's in Westport will teach the ins and outs tof making fresh mozzarella and burrata in this Saturday Cheese-Making Workshop at Wakeman Town Farm. To register, simply email wakemantownfarm@gmail.com and provide the name and number of people in your party. Class is $45 per person, and limited to 12. Respondents will be notified of acceptance into the workshop and will pay at the door.
A Rare Opportunity to Learn Truffle Making from the Master!
When Master Chocolatier Fritz Knipschildt opened his artisan chocolate business, Gourmet magazine named his mouth-watering classic truffle, "One of the Top Three Truffles in the World!"
In this hands-on class, you will work side-by-side with Fritz to create his award-winning truffles. You will discover the secrets of the ingredients and participate in creating the creamy ganache. Learn why 71% Ecuadorian single-bean dark chocolate is the key to this delightful treat and experience the delicious changes you can create by adding herbs and spices to the ganache and cocoa powder.
You'll taste as you go and enjoy a glass or two of Fritz's favorite wine while you prepare these heavenly treats. And, of course, you'll take home samples and the recipe to allow you to create these for your family and friends!
Fairfield Cheese Company classes are back in session and school has never been this delicious. Whether you are a cheese novice looking for a anintroduction to the basics, or a cheese-aficionado seeking to expand your knowledge on a specific variety, they've got the class for you.
I jumped at the chance to attend one of these sessions back in October and spent some time with owners Laura and Christopher who lead these entertaining and informative evenings. If you would like some background on Fairfield Cheese Company, check out our review, "Cheese 101."
With wine pairings from Harry's Wine & Liquor, this is the perfect way to break out of that dinner-and-a-movie date night rut.
What to do with your overly bountiful harvest? Millstone Farm has a few ideas. How about canning, pickling and preserving those gorgeous veggies and fruit? Seems daunting? Not at all. Just sign up for one of the workshops below...
Canning & Preserving Tomatoes Sat. Sept. 27: 10am – 1pm Join Annie Farrell and others at Millstone Farm and learn how to preserve yoursummer tomatoes so they can last you all winter long. Learn the basics of canning, freezing, and methods of storing tomatoes. Come prepared to chop, cook, can, and taste. We will use water bath method, and discuss pressure canning. We will tour the farm if time and weather allow. Up to 20 participants. $30 per person.
A top secret doughnut recipe, a father and son business, and a dozen or so different types of doughnuts and New York-style bagels mean that mornings in Georgetown just got that much better, thanks to the arrival of Uncle Leo’s “Not Just” Coffee and Doughnuts.
Norwalk residents Leo Spinelli III (age 22) and his father Leo Spinelli, Jr., recently opened Uncle Leo's in the heart of Georgetown, at 19 Main Street, in the former Swirl Ice Cream location. The shop is a second coming for the father and son and the familiar Spinelli surname, who previously owned Spinelli’s Not Just Bagels in Norwalk that closed in 2009.
New Haven is about to get their very own Donut Crazy. On Thursday, October 27th, Donut Crazy New Haven will be opening at 290 York Street, with an opening party from 2-5 pm. 
