On the heels of a sold-out January class schedule, Scratch Baking in Milford has expanded their class offerings for February to include Croissant 101, Artisan Breads I & II, Treats for your Sweet, Valentine's Day, Breakfast Pizza & Quiche Basics. To reserve your spot, call 203.301.4396 or email Scratch.
Croissant 101 OFFERED: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH & REOFFERRED FEBRUARY 26TH from 6-9PM Croissants are one of the most awarding pastries to make. Learn the in’s and out’s of croissant making in this three-hour class. We will demonstrate how to mix croissant dough and laminate croissant dough and then for the best part, hands-on croissant making. You will learn how to make croissants, pain au chocolat and the very popular monkey bread. Don’t worry, you will be getting a goody bag with these pastries for tomorrow’s breakfast.. that is if you can wait that long!
The other day, we finally made Molasses-On-Snow Candy from The Little House Cookbook. And let me tell ya that nothing enlivens a snowy New England day like playing with molten sugar!
Last winter, books from the Little House series dominated our bedtime reading. I don’t recall reading them as a child so I was enjoying them as much as the kids were. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s retelling of her childhood transported us back in time.
Given our heartfelt connection to the Ingalls family, it’s unclear who likes the whole idea of making foods out of the Little House Cookbook more, me or the girls. Either way, they did a spectacular job making molasses candy. Nobody had to go to the hospital with third degree burns. Another successful day of parenting!
Every year, I buy one of those boxed gingerbread house kits and my kids and I go at it. We glop it together with that glue-like petroleum by-product substance that they call icing, we decorate with the stale jelly beans and mini gum balls they provide, and we call it a day. It’s fun and the kids enjoy it. Do yours? If so, head to the Stamford Museum and Nature Center (SM and NC) this month and next to see how the pros do it. “Visions of Gingerbread: The Sweetest Architects”is the name of the exhibition that the museum is presenting as both a showcase for local bakers and as a fundraiser for the SM and NC.
Come on down to the 5th annual Blues, Views & BBQ Festival this weekend, September 1st and 2nd.
This event celebrates food, music and family with an exciting line-up of bands, craft beer, barbecue and cooking events, ribs and pie eating contests as well as fun for the whole family. And let's not forget the CTbites Chef Demo Tent on Sept 1st, where 6 top Fairfield County chefs will demo recipes and serve up tasty vittles all day long.
Food vendors include:Bobby Q's Bodacious BBQ, Winnie's Jerk Chicken & Fish-Caribean Cuisine, Blue Lemon Restaurant, Dave & Jerry's Hot Dog Trolley-Beef Hot Dogs, French Fries & Fresh Squeezed Lemonade, Bar Q BBQ -Beef Brisket, Smoked Chicken Wings, Melt Mobile -Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Wild Bill's Olde Fashioned Soda, Rolling Cones Ice Cream, Rita's Italian Ice. Aurora's Gypsy Cafe-Desserts, Kettle Corn
Tasti D-Liteopened in NYC 20 years ago as a low-calorie alternative to ice cream and quickly snowballed into a frozen dessert mecca with a cult-like following. At their Fairfield location, Tasti D-Lite is bringing their 100+ flavors and all natural ingredients to our community offering health-conscious individuals a dessert that is indescribably delicious. Made with the finest ingredients including real dairy and no artificial sweeteners, Tasti D-Lite is lower in calories, sodium, carbs and sugar than ice cream and leading frozen yogurt brands.
What makes Tast D-Lite such a guilt-free indulgence? Here's the scoop:
On Sunday, June 10, 2012, NOON – 4 PM, Rizzuto’s, located in the Saugatuck community of Westport, has teamed up with The Ferrari Club of America and FIAT of Larchmont for a day-long event filled with Italian food, wine, and cars.
The event takes place during the Formula 1 Grand Prix Du Canada race, which will be shown on 2 large screen HD TVs. Race car fans can take a virtual lap around the track in a GoSimRacer Race Car Simulator. Kids feeling the need for speed can race through an on-lot GoGo-Kart track presented byGrand Prix New York Racing. Rizzuto’s is pulling out all the stops with classic Italian dishes and an Italian wine tasting. San Pellegrino will be keeping things cool and Rizzuto’s will be grilling outdoors this year, preparing sausage and pepper wedges and meatball sliders.
Training dates: Saturday, February 11th from 11am - noon and Sunday, February 12th from 12:30 - 1:30pm.
In this extremely popular program, your family will learn the science and history of maple syruping by being a hands-on part of the process. You will choose a tree at the Farm and hang your bucket that will collect sap. We will boil down the sap in our sugar shack and send each family home with their very own bottle of Ambler Farm maple syrup. Enrollment Limited: This program sold out quickly in previous years so please do not wait to sign up. The number of trees at the Farm is limited, so we are unable to accommodate late requests or wait lists. Classes are $60 per family if members, $65 for non member family. Register here + more information.
Middlebrook Maple Syrup Program
This 6 week program runs from early February through mid-March. Students in grades 6-8 will meet after school on Thursdays until 4:10. They will tap over 50 trees
A holiday tradition returns to the Stamford Museum & Nature Center on November 12th with Visions of Gingerbread III: The Sweetest Architects exhibition. Visions of Gingerbread is a tribute to architectural confections that truly make your jaw drop. Created by some of the area’s finest bakers, these edible wonders will display the chefs’ extraordinary creativity and gingerbread skills. It is the Museum’s desire to elevate these creative structures to the art form they so truly are, and put them on proper display. Last year, CTbites jumped on board and created an entry (much sleep was lost). This year, CTbites will help judge the winner.
Local area restaurants from Norwalk to Fairfield will engage in a culinary battle for the area's best chili on Saturday Oct. 29th from 11:30am - 3:30pm at the Unitarian Church in Westport.Admission is $6 for adults, $5 seniors (60+) and $2 kids (5-17).Unlike most competitions, everyone is a judge and can sample and vote for their favorites.
The competition is expected to be 'hot' as the list of restaurants include chili cook-off veterans as well as restaurants you might not expect to see in this type of contest.Chef Pietro Scotti of DaPietro's in Westport is always up for a culinary challenge and will be entering a traditional as well as a "creative" entry.Chef Chris North of Rowayton Seafood will be cooking up a seafood chili, and Chef Troilo ofNicholas Robert's Restaurantin Norwalk will throw down with his special recipe.
Tokeneke’s annual Pumpkin Carnival will take place Saturday, October 15th from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The rain date is October 16th. For over forty years, Tokeneke’s Pumpkin Carnival, held at the Tokeneke Elementary School on Old Farm Road, has been an annual tradition for families in and around Darien. The Carnival features attractions for all ages, including a haunted house, rides, games and crafts, rock climbing, bouncy castles, a bake sale and raffle prizes. In addition, food will be provided by Burgers, Shakes & Fries, Upper Crust Bakery & Café, and Heights Pizza.
Got kids? Like pancakes? And bacon? And all things farm-y and fun?
Come on down to an old-fashioned “Pancake Breakfast & Pop Up Farmers' Market," a family event at Wakeman Town Farm (134 Cross Hwy, Westport) on Sunday, October 2 from 9 a.m.-noon. It's a fun, fall $5 Pancake Breakfast and Pop-Up Farmers' Market on the farm, featuring an array of local vendors and craftspeople selling everything from artisanal foods to handmade crafts from an eclectic assortment of local vendors. (Rain or shine.)
In addition to a country farm breakfast with pancakes, nitrate-free bacon and fresh maple syrup and coffee and juice, sponsored by Christie’s Country Store and Graze Delivered, there will be a host of local vendors and craftspeople selling their wares in a festive, farmers' market atmosphere.
The 11th Annual Ambler Farm Day is Sunday, October 2, 2011, 12pm-4pm at Ambler Farm, 257 Hurlbutt Street in Wilton CT. This is a wonderful local family friendly event celebrating the Fall harvest with a hay maze, farm animals, children's crafts, live music and more. (Plus, you will want to visit your local pumpkin patch early this year. We hear the rains were tough on crops and pumpkins may not be as plentiful) Below is a full list of activities. Grab the family and head on over.
And now a word from our 10 years old food critic....
Hey kids, guess what? Want to win a free Mac Daddy’s T-Shirt? Mac Daddy’s will give the first 10 kids to correctly guess the amount of macaroni boxes used to fill the pan on the wall (described below) a free t-shirt Contest ends on November 20th. Mention CTbites to enter.
What do you think of when you think of macaroni and cheese? A small box of Kraft mac and cheese? Well… now I think of Macdaddy’s Macaroni and Cheese Bar, an amazing macaroni and cheese restaurant with at least 20 different kinds of macaroni. I had thought that Macdaddy’s was going to be bigger than it was (they can seat about 25 people) but that didn’t mean it wasn’t good. Macdaddy’s is a quick service restaurant (which means that you order at a counter and they bring the food to your table).
Prepare to get sticky at Ambler Farm's Honey Bee Jamboree, September 17, 2011 10:00 am - 3:00 pm. This event is being presented by the Backyard Beekkeepers Association with a bevy of family friendly activities include hive observation, honey tasting, honey extracting, candle roll ing, honey ice cream making, face painting, children's activities, bee products and more. All of these bee encounters will be led by the master beekeepers of the Backyard Beekeeper Association.
On Saturday September 17, 2011 from noon - 3pm three dozen of Saugatuck's finest restaurants, shops and galleries will be opening their doors and inviting the community to come and sample their offerings. Walk the streets of Saugatuck Center and enjoy sampling some of the area's restaurants, caterers, and liquor stores. Participants include: The Boathouse, CakeSuite, Tarry Lodge, Julian'sandSaugatuck Grain & Grape. Plus...Ryan Fibiger of Craft Butchery will be demonstrating how to butcher a pig in front of his shop (opening soon) at 1:00 pm. And it's not just food. Retailers will offer kayak rides, gym work outs, fly fishing lessons, Environmental tips, discount coupons and martial arts demonstrations - all free. Come see what's going on in Westport's Saugatuck area. See below for complete event details:
On September 1st, the Connecticut Food Bank (CFB) begins its "Hunger Action" month and the CTbites team is asking your help. Food is our passion and we thank our lucky stars that we are privileged to dine at the fabulous restaurants of Fairfield County and blog about truffle chips, sous vide lamb belly and Marscapone cheese cake. Last week I volunteered at the CFB's mobile pantry where we gave out bags of onions and carrots to too many CT residents whose stars are not so lucky. But the CFB is making a difference and so can we.
According to Nancy Carrington, the Food Bank's president and CEO since 1984, over 400,000 CT residents are "Food Insecure." That means that they are not sure where they are getting their next meal. Over 50% of these people are above what the government considers the income threshold which would allow them SNAP funding (formerly known as food stamps.) In the state with the highest per capita income (2010), that is surely 400,000 hungry residents too many. Right???
Nothing says “Summer” like ice cream. I make a lot of ice cream – more than we can eat. I make really great ice cream, if I do say so myself. So when my sister-in-law asked for an “award winning” ice cream recipe, to use in her local agricultural fair, I was happy to oblige. I haven’t won any actual awards, but if you follow my instructions, you’ll appreciate my confidence. Although Eleanore skipped the contest, she said she wished she had entered, if only because the entries all required detailed recipes and, as you will see, mine is nothing if not detailed.
The key to a great ice cream is its base. I almost always make fruit ice creams. While different fruits require different treatments and benefit from different supplemental ingredients, the base doesn’t vary.
I use a basic Cuisinart one-and-a-half-quart ice cream maker that only costs about $50. If you like ice cream, it’s the best $50 you will ever spend
Camp Fine Dining is a two week camp for teenagers that will run this August led by Paul Desiano, Chef and Owner of Cello (formerly Plate) located in Copps Hill Plaza in Ridgefield.
In the first week, Camp Fine Dining will focus students on basic skills including knife cuts, butchering, sauces, and pasta making. By the second week, the students and Chef Desiano will brainstorm a 5-course tasting menu. The class will spend the first week preparing and the program will conclude with the students cooking that menu for their families.
Dates and time: August 16 -18, August 23 – 25 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
On the heels of a sold-out January class schedule, Scratch Baking in Milford has expanded their class offerings for February to include Croissant 101, Artisan Breads I & II, Treats for your Sweet, Valentine's Day, Breakfast Pizza & Quiche Basics. To reserve your spot, call 203.301.4396 or email Scratch.
