Readers, Diners, New Quarantine Couch Potato-Turned-Chefs! Tune into our new IGTV Weekly Series COOK THE BOOK.
On Wednesday July 1st @8PM, join trained chef and beloved Connecticut Cookbook author, Anna Francese Gass (Heirloom Kitchen 2019) & Guest Chef Emily Mingrone from award winning Tavern On State, as they cook Emily’s recipe for Chicken & Dumplings from our recently released CTBites e-cookbook: Connecticut Chef Recipes for Restaurant Relief
Readers, Diners, New Quarantine Couch Potato-Turned-Chefs! Get Ready to tune into our new IGTV Weekly Series COOK THE BOOK.
Join trained chef and beloved Connecticut Cookbook author, Anna Francese Gass (Heirloom Kitchen 2019), as she makes her way one through some of the most delicious recipes in the recently released CTBites e-cookbook: Connecticut Chef Recipes for Restaurant Relief
Starting this Wednesday June 24th @8PM Gass + a weekly featured Guest Chef will bring the book alive and further whet your appetite and drive to get in the kitchen. This week
So, grab your aprons, your whisks, and the new e-cookbook (should we still plug here? for fun, great food, and to continue supporting our state’s wonderful restaurant industry.
If you’re missing in person cooking classes or simply want to spice up your usual repertoire, Connecticut caterers, chefs, restaurants, shops, and bartenders have the perfect solution: virtual classes! Want to bake a cake? Mix up a cocktail? Cook a savory meal? Get private instruction? Do it as a group? There are opportunities for all of it! Here is a guide to virtual experiences in Connecticut.
Episode #2 of our new Chefs At Home series is here…and It’s a good one. Chef Anthony Rinaldi, formerly Exec Chef at Kawa Ni in Westport, currently the Chef for Greenwich Country Day School, has been having some fun in his kitchen with this recipe for the Ultimate Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie. This guy knows his way around a kitchen. Those kids at Greenwich Country Day are darn lucky….Enjoy!
In addition to blazing trails with restaurants (Thali, INDIA, Indian Kitchen) Chef Prasad has begun to make his fans swoon on a more intimate level with a regular cooking school series. What a special treat. I recently went to one of his Sunday classes and came away with a whole new passion for Indian cuisine. And believe me, I’ve already been a giant fan for years. (Jackson Diner, Queens anyone? I lived in Jackson Heights for ten years).
Join the culinary professionals that lead the kitchens of Westport restaurants Terrain Cafe and Amis at Stamford Museum & Nature Center as they show you the joys of sourcing and cooking with the best in seasonal and sustainable ingredients. From salads and appetizers to entrees, pastas and desserts, this six-part series (January 27 through March 9.) takes you through the methodology of creating show-stopping dishes as you also learn how to source the best ingredients right in your own backyard.
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.
You’ve arranged to keep the kids busy all summer long with camps and lessons, sleepovers and maybe a bit of volunteer work here and there, but what about some fun for YOU? Those kids shouldn’t get all the fun. And because we are, eh-hem, adults, learning a few new things alongside that good time is always a welcome bonus. Cooking classes are a unique way to have a memorable evening. You can go solo, with a friend or a group. Choose the flavors or the skills you are interesting in knowing more about. Then walk away with a full belly, new information and probably a few laughs under your chef’s apron. What the heck are you waiting for? Remember too, these are great gift ideas as well. Friend with a birthday during the summer? Treat them! It’s like dinner out but so much better. Pencil in some time for yourself this summer and treat yourself..like a kid.
Here is our Guide To Adult Cooking Classes in Connecticut.
Hot summer days and you don’t feel like cooking. The stove, oven, even the grill…it’s all so hot. But hold on a minute there, maybe *you* don’t have to! With a little foresight (read: now), your kids can learn to cook this summer, get inspired and whoa-oh, looks who’s not in the kitchen anymore?! Beyond your parental joy, though, kids will enjoy learning cooking skills, whipping up some pretty cool menus from around the globe and even having a cooking competition or two just to test their mettle. Just be sure to sign up your aspiring chefs soon, these classes and camps fill up quicker than hot grease will jump out of a pan!
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.
We are only a few short weeks into this brand-spanking new year, and TVs are blaring with eating program ads, magazine covers are screaming about how to “Lose 10 lbs. in a week!” and gyms are overflowing with people running for their lives on treadmills (Run, Forrest, Run!). Naturally, the CTBites answer to the holiday indulgences? EAT! Ok, ok…eat…HEALTHILY! Our fair state is brimming with amazing grocers, restaurants, and speciality stores that can help you get back on track after a season of going full-tilt boogie with the eating and drinking. The best part is that everything is so delicious and interesting. Branch out this year and try some new flavors and foods…goji berries, Matcha, Cauliflower pizza crust (wha!), Jackfruit! Dive in and explore. Here are some venues that will help you do just that. One more note: We fully realize that due to the sheer amount of noteworthy establishments, we are not able to list them all here. Please refer to our past Healthy Eats roundups for more listings and also, please chime in with places that you know and love. The more the merrier!
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.
No partridges and pear trees in our version, but there were....
12 Frosted Cookies...11 Drinks-a-Drunk...10 Dips-for-Dipping...9 Ice-Cold Cocktails...8 Trays of Hors d’oeuvres...7 Festive Brunches...6 Company Dinners...5 CooooookieTraaaaays (everybody sing)!...4 Cheese Straws...3 Baked Hams...2 Yule Logs...and (finally)...1 Healthy Meal for MEEEEE!!
Time to get back on that wagon, everyone. And thankfully, you have us to help you do it! Happy 2016 to you and may it be filled with good eats and good health! And ok, a good organic wine or beer now and then.
Here are 15 Healthy Restaurants, Juice Bars, Organic Market & Food Trucks across the state of Connecticut.
Vegetarians and vegans and clean eaters rejoice, The Stand Juice Company has opened its 3rd location and is now open in Westport.
Carissa and Mike Hvizdo are passionate about what they do and passionate about the plant based juices, snacks, sandwiches and baked goods they serve at The Stand. Their commitment to “providing good food and a better earth using the land to do so,” has paved the way to their newest and 3rd location.
Mike and Carissa met at a farmer’s market. They will tell you that their connection was profound - brought together by her passion for living life off the land and Mike’s first-hand experience with conquering a rare blood disease through natural healing methods, which ultimately led to him earning his holistic educator certification and his work with the Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, FL.
The Stand Juice Company, whose mantra is, Life, Fueled by Plants, is about to open its third location in Westport, CT.
Carissa and Mike Hvizdo, are the life force behind Fairfield County’s feel-good The Stand Juice Company. The Stand has been serving up plant based juices, snacks, sandwiches and baked goods since 2005. The business has flourished over the last 10 years and the duo’s standing within the local sustainable food community is palpable among industry jocks, farmers, and loyal consumers.
The excitement surrounding The Stand Juice Company’s newest location at 1200 Post Road East in Westport only further celebrates the enjoyment and healthful benefits people have been experiencing since Carissa and Mike first made their mark in the organic juice world in 2005 with their original location on Wall Street in Norwalk.
After six weeks of overdoing the bubbly and those cheesy hors d’oeuvres (sooo good), ‘tis time to turn that calendar page and welcome all things cleaner and leaner. 2015 is here, with new delights to entice us and healthy flavors and dishes to keep our immune systems fueled, our skin glowing, and our bellies from bulging. This year, as you treat your body well, will cauliflower be the new kale? Will that little green nut, the pistachio, reign supreme with its antioxidants, vitamins and protein? There are so many ways to treat our bodies well and, luckily, we have found a great offering of area resources that will satisfy our tastebuds and help keep our bodies healthy. Happy New Year!
Here are 18 Places to Eat Healthy in Connecticut for 2015: Juice Bars, Restaurants, Organic Markets, Food Trucks & More!
Owners Jeffrey and Cai Pandolfino have taken Green & Tonic from a delivery service to a plant-based dine on-the-go favorite with three Fairfield County locations and now a fourth location in downtown New Canaan location at 5 Burtis Avenue. Green & Tonic will offer their unique brand of organic cold-pressed juices, nutritional cleanse programs, meal plans, superfood smoothies, as well as a full menu of prepared foods including salads, side salads, wraps and soups all made fresh daily. The New Canaan store will also debut the new expanded breakfast menu, healthy kid-friendly snacks and a new store design. Green & Tonic hopes to engage the community in discussions about health & wellness "healthy happy hours", bringing in health professionals to address topics like nutrition strategies, natural remedies, sports nutrition, children’s health, and integrative health therapies.
You just did it all this holiday season. And by that, I mean...cookies became a food group. Mixing, stirring and shopping had you working your “muscles” (how to polish something, right?). Real exercise resided in the back seat, crammed in between boxes and bags and wrapping paper. Your sanity was also wedged in there, too, now that you think about it. Thank goodness that a new year is upon us because you weren’t quite sure you could take another week, chaotic and fun as it may have been. And yes, there was much good in the holiday season...but it’s all....tiring. So now, after the decadence and gluttony, let’s reset. Recharge. And for the love of Pete, put down that cookie.
Here we offer, as your first gift of the New Year, some great resources, including juice cleanses, yoga joints and healthy eats, to get your body and mind back on track and ready for action in 2014!
