Filtering by Tag: Recipe,Sushi

Chef Bill Taibe's Cider Braised Turkey Legs Recipe

Features Holiday Thanksgiving Recipe Comfort Food

Bill Taibe

We pulled this recipe from the files circa 2011. Enjoy.

For many people, the best part of the Thanksgiving turkey are the legs. The dark meat is more richly flavorful and for those who are in this camp...why bother with the breast? Chef Bill Taibe has come up with a solution for turkey leg lovers everywhere...Cider Braised Turkey Legs. Braising vs baking makes the meat literally fall off the bone. Enjoy.


Chestnut Stuffing with Leeks and Apples from The Parsley Thief

Features Thanksgiving Recipe

katie vitucci

Carry on brave Thanksgiving cooks. Roasted chestnuts in a bottle are quite pricey.  Although time consuming, you can save money by roasting your own (which we suggest).  However, if you prefer to go the quick route, bottled chestnuts can be found in most specialty grocery stores. Enjoy this recipe for Chestnut Stuffing with Leeks & Apples c/o The Parsely Thief.


Sweet Potato Pie Recipe from Latin Chef/ Author Leticia Schwartz

Recipe Features Recipe Thanksgiving Holiday Pie Dessert

Leticia Schwartz

Ok, I’m all about healthy cooking. The proof is in the book, Latin Superfoods. But this time of year is a little special! Let’s dig right into this Sweet Potato Pie, adapted from Gourmet Magazine. Go ahead and celebrate the old-fashioned way with family and friends.

Growing up in Brazil, such a tart was not in the habits, and in fact it took some time for me to get the liking of it. But after 20 years of living here, let me tell you, I’m hooked! And Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays since it’s all about food, friends and family!


Candied Kabocha Squash Recipe: Chef Emily Mingrone of Tavern on State

Features Recipe Recipe Holiday Thanksgiving Cooking Entertaining

CTbites Team

For the next two weeks CTbites will be featuring a series of Thanksgiving recipes from local CT chefs. Some of these recipes will be family favorites, or dishes the chefs cook in their own homes. Others will grace the holiday menus found at your local restaurant. One thing is certain. They will all be delicious and worthy of a seat at YOUR table. Our second in this series comes from Chef Emily Mingrone of Tavern On State. Enjoy her recipe for Candied Kabocha Squash.


Polenta Holiday Cookies Recipe from Chef Silvia Baldini

Features Recipe Recipe Dessert Holiday Cookies Entertaining

Silvia Baldini

Crispy, crunchy, polenta cookies. The recipe was kindly gifted to me by my MIL Elisabetta. They have become a welcome tradition in my family. We make them a couple of weeks ahead of the holidays and keep them fresh in metal tin, lined with parchment paper. The mix of polenta and potatoes starch gives them a melt in your mouth texture. I like to dust them with a light coating of powder sugar and I enjoy them as treat with tea or when my sweet tooth requires a fixing.


Fried Green Tomatoes with Burrata & Figs Recipe

Recipe Recipe

Liz Rueven

While juicy ripe tomatoes are on the wane, autumn provides an opportunity to experiment with firm green tomatoes. Don’t overlook these gems when you see them in the market. Once battered and fried, they’re a perfect canvas for arranging all sorts of cheeses, fresh figs and a swirl of balsamic glaze.

Serve one of these compositions as an appetizer or a light lunch and watch your guests thrill to one of autumn’s underrated fruits.

Thank you to Patti Popp, farmer at Sport Hill Farm in Easton, CT and Lori Cochran Dougall, Director of Westport Farmers’ Market, who introduced me to the wonders of green tomatoes.


Yom Kippur Savory Mushroom Cheese Kugel Recipe

Features Recipe Holiday Recipe Noodles

Liz Rueven

Yom Kippur*, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, is a day of fasting and praying. When the longest day of the year ends (at least for those who haven’t eaten for 25 hours) family and friends gather around a casual buffet that often includes a sweet noodle kugel. Sure, there are bagels and cheeses, cucumber salads and fresh fruit. But it’s the kugel everyone goes for first.


Traditional Jewish Chicken Soup Recipe Via Kosher Like Me Blog

Recipe Recipe Holiday

Liz Rueven

Sure, on Jewish holidays, we love to eat symbolic foods* like apples dipped in honey and moist round challah on Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year. But somehow, most families I know begin the feast with glistening chicken soup. 

Symbolic? Maybe only in the sense that it is an undisputed classic that signal the beginning of a family gathering. 

Traditional Eastern European chicken soup is very basic, with a plump 3.5-4 pound chicken (or chicken parts), one quartered onion, sliced carrots, celery, parsnips, and fresh dill and salt, at the heart of the aromatic, slow simmered broth.

Consider this a foundational recipe, ripe for playing with, if you’d like to add some personal touches.


Pokéworks Opening in West Hartford September 21

Restaurant Openings Sushi Fast Casual Take Out Japanese Lunch West Hartford

Stephanie Webster

Get pumped West Hartford foodies. On Sept 21st, Pokéworks, the much beloved, healthy, fast-casual poke restaurant, will be opening its doors. The new spot is going into Corbin Collection (across from Westfarms mall) located at 1445 New Britain Avenue, and brings a fresh take on Hawaiian-inspired poke bowls and burritos with a convenient and customizable menu. (Check out our review for the Pokéworks Westport location here.)


Norm Bloom & Sons' Grilled Oysters Recipe via Chef Matt Storch

Seafood Recipe

CTbites Team

After eating these Grilled Oysters at the recent Fork It Over fundraiser for The Westport Farmers' Market, we decided this recipe had to be shared. Norm Bloom and Sons is based in Norwalk and they provide locally and sustainably farmed oysters for many of the restaurants in the CT area and beyond. This recipe, inspired by Norm Bloom & Sons' Oysters was created by Matt Storch of Match Restaurant, and is one you'll go back to time and time again. It's a classic that complements the natural brininess of the oysters perfectly, and everything is just better when it's grilled. 

Norm Bloom & Sons' Grilled Oysters


Summer Strawberry Gelato with Waffle Cones Recipe from Sugar and Olives

Features Recipe Dessert

CTbites Team

It’s summer, and that means the local CT Farmers’ Markets are bursting with color and flavor. Lucious strawberries are readily available at the Westport Farmers Market (or at a market near you), but they go fast so be sure to grab your pint. If you make it home without eating all of your berries in the car, try this great recipe for Strawberry Gelato from Jennifer Balin, owner of Sugar & Olives.


MIKU Sushi Opens in Greenwich-World Class Seafood at the Top of the Ave

Restaurant Sushi Openings Greenwich Lunch Seafood Homepage Japanese

Lou Gorfain

K Dong is beaming.  Not because his newly minted MIKU Sushi Restaurant in Greenwich has just opened to strong word-of-mouth and packed houses.   Nope, his delighted smile is the result of a diner’s one-word reaction to the Tuna Tartare: 

                                                   “Ethereal.”

That diner is me and I am quite impressed… as well as surprised. In most restaurants, TT has become a boring culinary meme — over sauced, over spiced, and overworked. K Dong’s version is totally understated.  Garnished with micro greens, the crimson slices crown a mound of vividly green avocado, which sits on a gossamer of Yuzu and a whisper of wasabi.  Rather than overwhelming the delicate flesh, like so many tartares, the sauce and spice enhance the pristine flavor of the Bluefin.   Yep, this dish is, indeed, “Ethereal.” 


Pokéworks Opens In Westport: Hawaiian Poké Bowls & Burritos for All!

Restaurant Openings Westport Seafood Sushi Lunch Asian Hawaiian

Maddie Phelps

Those who loved a bowl or burrito packed with fresh meat, rice, and veggies were nothing short of devastated when Chipotle closed its Westport location this past winter. Thankfully, I can be the bearer of some good news for those who are still heartbroken. There’s a new place in town with plenty of fresh meat, rice, and veggies galore for any burrito or bowl you desire. And this time, there’s a Hawaiian twist to it.

Pokéworks, a Hawaiian restaurant whose business took the country by storm upon opening in 2015, recently made its debut in Westport’s Compo Acres Shopping Center. The original founders sought to bring a taste of Hawaii to the public through poké, which is the diced raw fish that is considered one of the main dishes of native Hawaiian cuisine. Committed to offering the freshest of seafood, Pokéworks also emphasizes their sustainable practices and efforts to preserve the world’s oceans in a time when many are not.


Red Chilaquiles in a Roasted Tomato & Guajillo Pepper Sauce Recipe by Lorenza Arnal

Recipe Recipe

Stephanie Webster

Chilaquiles are a quintessential Mexican breakfast, usually served after long parties to take care of hangovers. Like enchiladas, they originated as a way to repurpose tortillas. The tortillas are fried and cut into triangles or squares, and are covered in sauce, melted cheese and a variety or toppings such as chicken, meat, eggs, crema, avocado and onions. When we arrive in Mexico to visit our family we most often start by eating chilaquiles. The server always asks if you want them verdes (in green tomatillo sauce) or rojos (roasted tomato sauce). I always go for the red ones, and when they ask if I would like that with chicken or with egg on top, I always respond “las dos cosas por favor…. “


Recipe: Zaragoza's Mixologist, Christine Short, Makes A Bobby Burns Cocktail

Features Recipe Recipe Video Recipe Cocktails Education

Kristin L. Wolfe

Here's Christine Short from Zaragoza's in New Milford giving us a very smooth and silky Scotch Cocktail called the "Bobby Burns." This special drink is named after beloved Scottish poet Robert Burns, who is most notable for the poem which now makes up the lyrics for our favorite New Year's ditty, Auld Lang Syne. Short was recently a finalist for the CRAZIES Awards as Best Bartender in Connecticut, sponsored by the Connecticut Restaurant Association. and just one of five nominated in the state. Cheers!


Don't Miss Chef Jeff Taibe's Monthly Bushido Pop-Up Dinner at Taproot in Bethel

Restaurant Bethel Japanese Organic Local Artisan Sushi Pop-Up Dinner Homepage

Andrew Dominick

When Jeff Taibe opened Taproot in the second half of 2017, our Amy Kundrat summed up this Fairfield County gem beautifully. “Creative, seasonal, down-to-Earth, and hyper-local” (because damn near every ingredient comes from Connecticut farms) are all words she used. That summation is dead-on accurate. 

And yeah, you should run there. I wish I listened to her closing sentence and didn’t wait so long for a stellar culinary experience. Bethel isn’t THAT far, and Taproot is worth the drive. When I did go, I deserved the ribbing. “Hey, man! It only took you a f*cking year to get here!” Taibe joked. 

From the shareable, addictive apps, to carefully crafted cocktails, and braised pork cheeks that flaked apart with a slight twist of my fork, it was my favorite meal in Connecticut in 2018. 

All of the above is a well-deserved shout-out, but I’m not giving you a Taproot update. I’m dishing on the restaurant’s one-Sunday-per-month mood swing called “Bushido.” 

Bushido, as you can probably surmise, is a Japanese pop-up concept. The birth of Bushido is a story in itself. 


Fortina Pizza Debuts "Fortina At Home" Meal Kits!

Features To-Go Meal Kit Cooking Recipe Italian

Andrew Dominick

If you follow Fortina Pizza or chef/owner Christian Petroni on Instagram, chances are you thought about hitting that “skip a shipment” in your Blue Apron settings for something a little more local and a lot more restaurant quality. 

Petroni’s wood-fired restaurants known for their Neapolitan pizza, pasta dishes, and tasty Bronx Italian grub just got in the meal kit game in the middle of February when they launched Fortina At Home.