Chef Matt Storch will be at The Westport Farmers' Market June 22nd serving up this delicious Vietnamese dish, Bun Thit Nuong Cold Noodle Salad. This is an amazing delicious cold refreshing dish for a hot summer day. If you can't make it to the market, you can enjoy this great recipe at home be following the directions below.
Every week at Clarke, New England's Official Sub-Zero & Wolf Showroom and Test Kitchen in South Norwalk, the staff exemplifies how these extraordinary appliances can enhance your life. The Wolf Convection Steam Oven offers features that can only be appreciated by actually cooking on it. Here's a recipe for Mini Carrot Cakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, which was recently prepared by Chef John Craig at Clarke SoNo to illustrate some of the hidden features (convection humid mode) of this extraordinary appliance. If you own a convection steam oven...do try this at home!
This recipe for Mini Crab Cakes comes just in time for Memorial Day entertaining. Thank you Marcia Selden Catering! We don't know about you, but we like a crab cakes loaded with fresh crab meat and not a lot of extra filler. This one fits the bill. Enjoy these are your next party...or just dinner for two.
Chef Jes Bengsten of Terrain Cafe in Westport is the guest chef at the Westport Farmers' Market this week. She will be showing lucky shoppers how to make a beautiful and healthy dish, Stuffed Roasted Beets with Kale & Carrot Slaw. Don't worry...you'll also get a taste. This is the perfect farewell to the cooler months as we move forward towards summer.
Chef Anthony Kostelis will be one of the many guest chefs at The Westport Farmers' Market for the 2017 summer season. The complete lineup will be released shortly. In the meantime, Chef Kostelis has shared one of the recipes he will be demoing at the market, Kohlrabi & Radish Salad with Goat Feta and Zesty Breadcrumbs, made with local ingredients from CT farms. When you create this salad at home we encourage you to seek local purveyors at a farmers' market near you.
Kohlrabi and Radish Salad with Goat Feta and Zesty Breadcrumbs
Serves 2
Prep time: 20 minutes
Marcia Selden has created a great variation on the classic ‘mai tai’ cocktail. It’s perfect for spring and the bruléed top gives it a unique flavor profile. If you are sadly lacking a sterno brulée gun, and can't borrow one from your neighbor, feel free to drink this one straight up without the flourish.
After nine years, EMBODY FITNESS GOURMET has a new location in Darien, at the Palmer’s Market Shopping Center (380 Heights Road). This is one of three Embody grab-n-go healthy organic locations; the others residing in New Canaan and Westport.
Embody is our go-to spot for protein shakes, juices, and salads. In Darien, they have also started serving Intelligentsia coffee--one of the top coffee roasters in the country. Embody's menu embraces all forms of lean proteins and nutrient dense vegetables and fruits in their menu creations, many of which pair well together allowing customers to mix and match items for an entire day's worth of nutrition. My personal favorite...The Almond Buzz, a perfect combination of almond butter, almond milk, bananas, cacao and protein powder.
What is “electric Italian?” It is defined by well executed small plates, wood fired pizzas, and perfectly rendered cocktails, all to be found at Olives and Oil in New Haven. The menu is overseen and curated daily by Executive Chef and recent ’40 under 40’ winner John Brennan, who cooks traditional Italian cuisine in a funky retro location. Superb visuals, food, and of course cocktails await you. Olives and Oil was gracious enough to invite me in to sample a few of their cocktails recently.
We enjoyed a perfect Aperol Flip (recipe and tutorial below) as well as a classic Negroni Sbagliato - with a house pressed ice cube for JUST that finishing touch. Bartenders don’t ALWAYS give up their cocktails secrets, so enjoy making this at home or try it the next time you’re in New Haven.
Cataplana is a Portuguese seafood dish originating in the southern region of Portugal in Algarve, and it is about as traditional a Portuguese dish as you can get. It uses a copper cooking device also called a Cataplana which unique to the Algarve region. If you don’t have this vessel you simply can use a pan with a lid.
This dish we are going to make is a variation using a fresh fish like Halibut, littleneck clams, and Spanish chorizo. Cataplana is perfect for making this dish because it efficiently contains the flavor and heat of the contents in the dish to provide a uniquely flavored and scented dish, simply without any fuss.
We couldn’t be happier that spring is here! Savor the season with this light and yummy Fennel-Pear Salad. It's packed with flavor and just takes a few minutes to prepare.
Mushrooms are one of the few natural sources of vitamin D and they promote immune boosting functions by increasing production of antiviral proteins. Some of my favorite mushrooms are Shiitake. They are simply delicious and they taste particularly divine in this, always fool-proof, oven roasted lemon and parsley chicken one-tray recipe. It takes 35 minute in the oven and minimal prepping. Even my children, those little rascals always poo-pooing mushrooms, after falling from their chairs laughing when they heard the word SHIITAKE, gobbled these ones down!
Prunes, chickpeas and ginger combine their forces in to this crammed with hearty flavors slow cooked pot, a perfect combination for a jolt of much needed energy to help us sustain our daily actions.
Prunes for fiber, chickpeas for nutrient-rich energy, ginger as an antioxidant and a generous amount of fork tender bits of beef; this pot is a darling at my house on wintery Sunday family dinners, when warmth and restoring strength are very much a necessity. Let’s put power back in to the right hands and the force of sustenance in to our family bellies.
Coconut fans get ready to find a new favorite treat. Made from shredded and desiccated coconut, this is deeply flavorful and almost "healthy." Warning: This fudge is so deliciously decadent that you may not be able to stop eating it.
We’re slightly obsessed with this recipe for Falafel Waffles. They have tons of flavor, lots of color and are a fun and unexpected surprise at any gathering. Whip out that waffle iron and get cooking.
Come clean. Celeriac is downright intimidating. Just what is that knobby-looking thing and how does one cook with it? Fear not, celeriac is not the province of chef menus only. Armed with a few facts and a killer recipe, you’ll want to run, not walk, to the Westport Winter Farmers’ Market this weekend to pick up the root and impress your friends and family.
Let’s start with what it is. Celeriac (Apium graveolens var. rapaceuem), is a species of celery in the family of plants that includes parsley, carrots, anise, and parsnip. Like many of its cousins, celeriac is a root vegetable that is often harvested during fall when the vegetable is sweetest. Indeed some species can remain underground throughout winter with mulch and protection; this is the reason it is often plentiful at winter farmers’ markets. While the root is most-often harvested when it is about 4 – 5 inches round, smaller bulbs can pack a more sugary punch. And the vegetable can be stored for 4 to 6 months at 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit once purchased.
Celeriac is delicious sliced and eaten raw but – as Chef Silvia Baldini demonstrates below
It’s been a warm autumn, and while we’ll all hope the same for the upcoming winter season, we know it just won’t last. Chilly temperatures are inevitable and let’s face it, your puffy coat, skully, and gloves may not cut it. You need something else to warm up your soul, something that will always be there for you at various bars in lower Fairfield County…Cocktails.
I recently visited my favorite bars around the county to seek out the best seasonal cocktails. While this is MY list, I did try my best to switch up the flavor profiles and the spirits used, otherwise they’d be all bourbon and whiskey based, or it would be a list of Old Fashioneds and Sazeracs. There are some clear liquors involved, as well as warm beverages and seasonal flavors such as apple, cinnamon, clove, and even carrot.
I tried my best to include every city or town up 95 from Greenwich to Westport, but that wasn’t the end result. I wanted to go further north but this “research” would’ve stretched into another season. I found that Norwalk and Westport had the most seasonal stuff going on when it comes to booze, so don’t be offended if your favorite bar in your neighborhood didn’t make it. It doesn’t mean I didn’t like it, I just simply met my quota for this list, and my liver told me to “just stop already.”
Hopefully this helps with your drinking adventures, and hopefully you have some cold weather cocktail suggestions at your most frequented haunts, because we’re all always looking to warm our souls with good libations.
Fall is the right time to get your squash on, and acorn squash is one of our favorites. Choose acorn squash that is heavy for its size, with a hard skin free of blemishes. Marcia Selden pairs this with the sweetness of a little maple vinaigrette, bringing out the flavor in the already desert-like squash. Enjoy this recipe for Acorn Squash Salad with Maple Vinaigrette.
In our ongoing hunt for the perfect Thanksgiving dessert, we sought out Chef Susanne Berne, who is, quite simply, one of the finest pastry chefs around. When she is not imagining treats for Match Restaurant, she is developing new ideas for Donut Crazy's doughnut lineup. She has shared her recipe for Ginger Cake with Poached Pears, Dark Rum Zabaglione and Cinnamon Whipped Cream. Enjoy!
It’s ‘pho’ sure that we love a big bowl of pho, especially now that it’s getting cold. You can add just about any ingredient or flavor profile you like. Our version is full of yummy fall flavors filled with roasted root vegetables and spices that pack a delicious punch. Enjoy!
October is pumpkin season and whether you are into carving or cooking with these emblems of autumn, there is no shortage of DIY recipes. A quick Pinterest search will have you drowning in drinks or challenging your creativity, but fortunately for foodies in the Westport area, we have Sue Smith, owner of Prime Health Style, to keep us grounded.
Sue’s recipe below for vegan pumpkin custard is simply divine. And what better place to pick up your pumpkins than at the Westport Farmers’ Market? Open from 10 to 2 this Thursday at 50 Imperial Avenue, stop by to pick up items for Sue’s recipe, visit with nearly 40 vendors, and stay for the chef demo and other activities (listed after Sue’s recipe).
