bringing you the taste of local food.
-
Text
Meet Jacques Pepin at Taste of the Nation New Haven at the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale
What event will showcase samplings from 40 restaurants, many from the top echelon of Connecticut’s culinary scene, as well as wine and spirits from 20 craft beverage vendors? And where can you meet the legendary chef and author Jacques Pepin of Madison?
Jacques, the honorary chef chair, will be honored with a lifetime achievement award from Taste of the Nation for his continued support and advocacy for No Kid Hungry. To see the rest of this column go tohttp://nhregister.com/articles/2013/05/17/life/doc51928d49114db352861355.txt?viewmode=fullstory
To see my food and travel column archives, please go to
Tim Cipriano, Event Chair and Michael Morand, Event Honorary Chair
-
Text
Another Elm City Iron Chef jewel in Chef Prasad Chirnomula’s crown
In the most exciting race ever, the sixth annual Iron Chef Elm City Challenge of the Champions April 28 crowned Chef Prasad Chirnomula of Thali, Thali Too and Oaxaca Kitchen, the champ. Proceeds from the competition, which I produced for Gateway Community College and Visit New Haven, benefit scholarships for culinary arts and hospitality management students at the college.
The sold-out audience enjoyed the showdown at HADCO, the Viking Center of New England, in Wallingford. The secret ingredient for this year’s cook-off was Torrington-based Holly’s Oatmeal. Chef Prasad and competitors, Arturo Franco-Camacho of Waterhouse, Tacuba and Seawich Sandwich Shop in Branford and Ben Gaffney of Atticus Bookstore-Cafe in New Haven, quickly got into action, making appetizers, entrees and desserts. To see the rest of this column and Chef Prasad’s entree recipe, please click on this linkhttp://www.nhregister.com/articles/2013/05/07/life/doc51897baa62bd6857622975.txt?viewmode=fullstory
To see my food and travel column archives, please click on this link
-
Text
Cooking for CASA serves up an evening of nibbling at Amarante’s in New Haven
Please join me at Amarante’s Sea Cliff, 62 Cove St., New Haven, at 6 p.m. May 8. This seaside spot with unparalleled views of New Haven and spectacular sunsets is the backdrop for the 12th annual Cooking for CASA.
My good friend, cookbook author and restaurateur Claire Criscuolo and I are honorary co-chairs of this event, which will showcase many of your favorites from Amarante’s Sea Cliff, Basta Trattoria, Caseus, Chabaso Bakery, Claire’s Corner Copia, Fig Cooking School, Fresco, Gelato Giuliana, Katalina’s bakery, Union League Cafe, Michael’s Downtown, Sage American Grill & Oyster Bar, Savin Rock Roasting Company, York Noodle House and The Soup Girl. Wine tasting is presented by Mt. Carmel Wine & Spirits in Hamden.Tosee the rest of this column and Katalina’s cupcake recipe, please go to this link
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2013/05/01/life/doc5180ea36650e3262761792.txt?viewmode=fullstory
To see my food and travel column archives, please go to
-
Text
One man’s trash is another’s ‘Magic of Florida Celery’
Collecting vintage recipe pamphlets is a hobby of mine and provides me with inspiration for this column. It seems as if the warm weather is taking some time to welcome yard sale season, causing me to be behind in my never-ending search for these gems of culinary literature.
During the winter months, I get my “fix” scouting eBay and visiting used book and thrift stores. The photography and food styling of years past are as interesting as the recipes within these publications.
When warmer weather finally arrives, we begin to change our eating habits from hot soups and hearty food to salads and lighter fare. I thought “The Magic of Florida Celery,” published by the Florida Celery Exchange, a pamphlet I purchased online during the winter, was timely.To see the rest of this column and recipes, please click on this link
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2013/04/23/life/doc5176eddcc7220875880874.txt?viewmode=fullstory
To see my food and travel column archives, please click on this link
-
Text
Bisque for those who can’t get to Chef Geoff’s in Georgetown
Found: Louise Montanaro of East Haven wrote, “I was visiting my friend in D.C., and we ate at a restaurant near her home in Georgetown, Chef Geoff’s (www.chefgeoff.com). I had butternut squash soup, and I’d like to know what was used for seasoning. I think it was nutmeg, but I’m not sure. Can you help me with the recipe?”
Louise, the Executive Director of Food and Beverage for Chef Geoff Universal Wil Going, sent the recipe, photos and a bit about Chef Geoff Tracy, who is from West Hartford and attended Choate in Wallingford. He graduated from Georgetown University in 1995 with a degree in theology. It was at Georgetown that he met Norah O’Donnell, whom he went on to marry in June of 2001. She is the co-host of “CBS This Morning.” To see the rest of this column and recipe, please click on this linkhttp://www.nhregister.com/articles/2013/04/16/life/doc516d9dd9d8781083443648.txt?viewmode=fullstory
To see my food and travel column archives, please click on this link
-
Text
April brings us New Haven Restaurant Week, Iron Chef, Worth Tasting tours and more
People love food, watching food television and attending food events.
The New Haven region seems to welcome spring with a plethora of food happenings. My spring rendezvous begins with Worth Tasting’s first culinary walking tour of the season at 10:45 a.m. April 20, which I will host. In three-and-a-half hours, guests will visit nine eateries in downtown New Haven.
The event gives a great perspective of the food culture of New Haven for only $59. Reservations for this tour or the other scheduled dates (June 8, July 27, Sept. 21, Oct. 19, Dec. 7, $69 for this one) can be made by calling 203-777-8550 or 203-415-3519. Go to www.newhavenregister.com to see a previous tasting tour.
Elsewhere, join the bike riders at the Rock to Rock Earth Day celebration, 1-3 p.m. April 20 in East Rock Park’s College Woods. Bun Lai of Miya’s will cook off against Avi Szapiro of the newly opened ROIA at 1:30 p.m. There will also be a “food truck rodeo” featuring some of the city’s best outdoor vendors. More at www.rocktorock.org.To see the rest of this column with information about Restaurant Week and Iron Chef Elm City, please click on this link.
www.nhregister.com/articles/2013/04/09/life/doc516470883e0f9201340799.txt?viewmode=fullstory
To see my food and travel column archives, please click on this link.
-
Text
‘Souperlative’ - that’s one way to describe Jessica Hazan’s Soup Girl in Hamden
Found: Jackie Chorney of Hamden wrote, “I have found myself addicted to enjoying the delicious soups made by Hamden’s The Soup Girl (1242 Whitney Ave., www.thesoupgirl.com). She is tempting me to eat healthy and try new foods that are so good.
“My favorite soeup is her gumbo soup. Could you try and see if she would share this yummy recipe?”
Jackie, get out your soup pot, because Jessica Hazan, the owner, was delighted to share this recipe called Tony D’s Gumbo.
Jessica says it is named after a customer who asked for gumbo all the time. She was hesitant to attempt one, so Jessica asked her “foodie” friend Josh for a gumbo recipe. Gumbo is now a best seller among the 80-plus rotating soups in her repertoire To see the rest of this column and recipe, please click on this link.www.nhregister.com/articles/2013/04/02/life/doc515b3cb21f2cb072584732.txt?viewmode=fullstory
To see my food and travel column archives, please click on this link.
-
Text
Sorry, Wallingford, it s time to share Half Moon Coffee and Grille Cafe with the rest of us
Found: Annette Bailey of North Haven wrote, “Were you ever able to get Half Moon’s recipe for their vodka sauce? It is the best I’ve ever tasted.”
Annette, thanks for your patience. I know you have written to me twice for this recipe from Half Moon Coffee and Grille Cafe, www.halfmooncafegrille.com, 50 North Main St., Wallingford.
In addition to gourmet pizza, pasta and paninis, the menu board is filled with full dinner specials. The day I visited to watch the recipe being prepared, these selections caught my attention: sweet potato Florentine soup; pappardelle with scallops in a lemongrass sauce; pan-roasted, mint-crusted Chilean sea bass; smoked salmon wrap with arugula, sun-dried tomato, roasted pepper, artichoke, goat cheese and house dressing. Chef Stefano Panno, who is from Italy, prepares regional Italian and Mediterranean dishes to order using the freshest ingredients. To see the rest of this column and recipe, please click here.To see my food and travel column archives, please click here.
-
Text
Make a few more holiday memories with ‘Passover Made Easy’
I know spring is around the corner when ads for gefilte fish, matzah, ham and Peeps appear.
Passover, which coincides with Easter this year, begins at sunset on March 25 with the first Seder and ends April 2. Easter is on March 31.
Although they are different spring holidays, both include meals that celebrate tradition and bring back memories.
As a child, when my dad pulled up in his Volkswagen bus with the corrugated boxes of Passover dishes that had been stored at his business, in my mind, Passover began. They arrived at home a couple days before the holiday, where they would remain until my mother unpacked them on the morning of the first Seder. To see the rest of this column and recipes, please go to http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2013/03/12/life/doc513f8bd9cdcbc405126735.txt?viewmode=fullstoryTo see my food and travel column archives, please click here.
-
Text
Milford cook’s chili created quite a stir at Savin Rock contest in West Haven
Congratulations to Garry Richetelli of Milford who won the ninth annual Savin Rock Fireworks Committee’s Chili Cook-Off. Proceeds from the event support the July 3 fireworks display in West Haven.
Richetelli, a real estate developer who enjoys cooking, attended the competition five years ago as a spectator. He decided to enter his chili recipes the past four years, placing second two years ago.
He was determined to win and that he did. I asked him what made his chili this year so special, and he said, “It was the homemade Texas spicy sausage he bought at Joe’s Missing Link Sausage Company in Milford.”
The chili prepared by Richetelli and cousin Michael Pickerstein, his “sous chili cook,” had the perfect taste, texture and heat, according to one of the judges, Ned Leginsky, a culinary instructor at Gateway Community College. To see the rest of the column and the recipe, please go to .http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2013/03/05/life/doc51365266d938b788839132.txt?viewmode=fullstoryTo see my food and travel column archives, please go to
