Chef Silvia Baldini of Strawberry & Sage has released a wonderful new E-cookbook, “Room at the Table; Recipes from the Heart.” The cookbook is a collection of family recipes donated by ‘New Canaan Democrats’ members, friends, community leaders, and legislators. It’s a cookbook about the joy and benefits of sharing delicious meals with others. It is also about building a bigger table that welcomes and includes our friends and neighbors, embraces our diversities, and celebrates our expansive attitudes and values of compassion and care for everyone.
Contributors to the project include: Senator Kamala Harris—vice-presidential candidate, Chef Marcus Samuelsson— award-winning chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, philanthropist and food activist, judge on Chopped, Gloria Steinem— Activist, author, Feminist…and oh so many more.
What is it about fire? For most of human history, cooking over an open fire was the only way to cook a meal. Now, fire is just one technique in a chef’s culinary toolbox, but is one whose process and taste feel nostalgic, beautiful, and pure.
Enter the master of all things FIRE, Chef Dan Sabia, whoestablished Wood Fire Food catering and events in 2018 with a desire to cultivate deeper connections between food producers and eaters by blending his passion for design, Argentinian open fire cooking, community, and localized food, to transform the dining experience. His mission has always been to create an immersive and interactive experience where diners cultivate connections to their food, the chef, and each other. And now Chef Sabia is taking it one step further.
In the Covid era, where events and live cooking classes have been all but eliminated, and indoor dining remains at reduced capacity, Sabia is bringing a new dining experience to CT, with all the comforts of HOME.
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.
When food trucks in Connecticut started to become more prevalent, there was one I remembered well. The name “Fryborg” definitely stood out, and the fact that they specialized in hand-cut fries didn’t suck either. I first stumbled upon Fryborg around the time Two Roads Brewing Company opened in Stratford, so that “stumble” was a real one after multiple pints in the brewery’s upstairs tasting room. It was then that Fryborg’s bacon, egg, and cheese fries and their marinara-laden pizza fries perfectly complimented my buzz. If I had to render a guess, I’m not in the minority on similar experiences.
Zaragoza’s tapas bar opened in New Milford in April 2016. The CTBites crew covered them a few months before their official opening and shared owner Artie Praino’s anticipation of a long-time dream come true after years in the deli business. Now, two and a half years later, they are a much beloved, popular spot for delicious, creative plates and cocktails.
Fully informed by several Zaragoza regulars that I was sure to be delighted, my belly gurgled for a new tapas experience. I’ve had the pleasure of going to Spain a few times, so, admittedly, morsels from those adventures like ceviche, calamari, and chorizo propelled me to the restaurant with little hesitation. I was eager to taste what their twist on the classics would be.
Connecticut Magazine's Mike Wollschlager reports on a new Italian find in Milford.
You don’t have to be Italian to truly appreciate an authentic Italian meal. Conchi and Vicente Contreras, natives of Ecuador and owners of Rustica Ristorante, are proof positive you don’t have to be Italian to prepare one, either. The wife-and-husband, do-it-all duo behind the successful restaurant in Chester opened a second Rustica location last October on Boston Post Road in Milford.
“Fresh ingredients bursting with flavor” is a description that can apply to anything on the menu, which is meticulously planned and executed. The selections change with the seasons, but when a dish proves to be a major hit with customers, it will stay.
Vicente and Conchi came to the U.S. in the mid-’90s and began working at Paci Restaurant, which at the time was a new eatery at the Southport train station. Paci was their entry into Italian cuisine. It was also their education. “I worked all the positions in the restaurant,” Vicente says.
More exciting CT openings! Beloved Chinese restaurant Lao Sze Chuan, whom you may know from their immensely popular Milford location, has finally opened their doors to their second CT location, Gingko. Lao Sze Chuan's new Fairfield restaurant is located at 923 Post Road and is hands down, the best place to go when craving authentic Szechuan cuisine in CT.
Lao is part of a small chain started by Chef Tony Hu, who made a splash in Chicago with four Chinese restaurants devoted to the concept of “gourmet authentic Szechuan.” The Tony Gourmet Group, now has restaurants all over the world. The menu is extensive and includes everything from Hot Oil Dumplings to Diced Rabbit with Peanuts, and Hot and Sour Eel with Cellophane Noodles.
When The Port opened its doors in Westport recently, crafting a dining experience for all ages was part of the goal. “I’ve always wanted to open a restaurant, a neighborhood spot where locals can enjoy food that is approachable and comfortable,” said owner Sal Augeri. Connecticut is home to an array of esteemed restaurants, but sometimes it’s hard to find a place where kids will also feel at home amid all the gourmet eateries. Fortunately, there are a number of places where adults and children alike can enjoy a delicious meal out. These restaurants offer kid-friendly dishes, atmospheres, and even specials. Did we miss one of your favorite kid-friendly spots? Let us know below.
To celebrate National Lobster day on June 15 — the perfect kickoff to summer — we’ve highlighted our top picks for hot lobster rolls that we’ve tried and tested over the years. The simple yet perfect dish of buttery lobster meat stuffed in a bun is best eaten in its classic presentation — with a side of melted butter, cole slaw and possibly even French fries.
The 2017 edition features all of our past favorites plus new additions from southeastern Connecticut where views of the Long Island Sound enjoyed with your meal add to the summertime ambiance.
We don't have to be behind the wheel for food trucks to drive us crazy! Mobile eateries continue to take the state by storm, offering curbside versions of favorite restaurant dishes and original creations from talented chefs who would rather take their cuisine on the road. We told you about food trucks worth the visit in Fairfield County. Now, CTBites presents our annual list of outstanding food trucks (and carts!) in New Haven, Hartford and beyond.
