Thursday, January 09

Penne Rigate Salsa di Pomodorini

Penne Rigate Salsa di Pomodorini

Ever eaten a bowl of spaghetti or a slice of basic pizza with the kind of tomato sauce that makes the pasta or dough sing? One in which the flavor of the tomatoes is pronounced. You get that naturally sweet taste with a lingering savoriness? That’s the kind of tomato sauce I dream of, one that few home cooks, chef or restaurateurs master. The secret to such sauces is a quality tomato, minimally processed. In

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2020 Food Writing Class at Gateway in New Haven starts 1/23/2020

2020 Gateway Community College Food Writing Class

Have you been tempted to tell your food story?  Do you follow the food news as closely as some watch MSNBC or CNN? Addicted to Chopped? Active in the food justice movement? An avid reader of cookbooks and food memoirs? If any of these describe your interest in food, consider joining me at Gateway Community College this semester. Our 2020 Food Writing Class at Gateway in New Haven starts 1/23/2020. For the past six years,

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Tuesday, July 31

Emerite + Almonds: Summer Salad Combination

Emerite and Almonds

Harciots verts fines, the French call them, the thinnest, finest and earliest green beans of summer.  Today I picked the first green haricots from our Connecticut garden, a French variety called emerite.  Although green beans will dominate in a few weeks, right now we relish a plate of salad greens topped with emerite and almonds. The distinguishing characteristics of this pole bean variety are length and girth, or lack thereof.  These beans are straight, long

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Monday, June 04

Trap Fishing, A Sustainable and Ancient Fishery

North Fork Seashore in Autumn

Want to know where your fish comes from?  If you shop local along the Connecticut Shoreline, your fish might be hauled into Point Judith, Rhode Island.  And it may well be caught by trap fishing, a sustainable and ancient fishing technique still practiced off the Rhode Island shore.  I was introduced to this fishery last week at the New Haven Documentary Film Festival where David Wells showed his beautifully shot film on the fishery. His

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Thursday, May 03

Jambon de Bayonne

Jambon de Bayonne Green Almonds

You adore prosciutto di Parma. You’ve tasted jamón Iberico.  But have you heard of French jambon de Bayonne? It makes up the third star in the trinity of exquisite single-origin dry-cured hams from Europe. Christine Chesanek, owner of Fromage Fine Foods in Old Saybrook, Connecticut brought some into her shop for me.  (She sliced the ham for the plate of jambon de Bayonne pictured here into translucent pieces.) It is made by Delpeyrat, which has been

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Tuesday, December 26

What’s for Dinner in 2018?

Tinned Imported Wild Mushrooms 2

Is hummus the new salsa? Plant-based foods are what’s for dinner in 2018.  That’s my prediction and I’m sticking to it. Venerable restaurant consultant Michael Whiteman predicts that plant-based dining will be the restaurant trend of 2018. What’s taking restaurateurs so long?  Home cooks know to eat their veggies. Here’s my take on vedge centric food trends in 2018 and beyond.  I cannot wait to get cooking. Mighty Mushrooms Delicious and complex plant-based cooking will

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Wednesday, December 20

Story Telling with a Focus on Food

Priscilla Martel, Food Writing Class

In 2015, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum initiated a living exhibit called Your Story, Our Story. The project tells the history of immigrant families through objects passed down through the generations. Originally a hands-on project with NY City school kids, Your Story, Our Story is now open to anyone as an ever-evolving online exhibit. Students in my Food Writing class at Gateway Community College and I will use this project to jump start the

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Monday, December 04

Maple-Glazed Goat’s Cheese, Caramelized Squash, Toasted Pepitas

Maple-Glazed Goat’s Cheese, Caramelized Squash, Toasted Pepitas

If you’re looking for an unexpected holiday appetizer, consider this Maple-Glazed Goat’s Cheese, Caramelized Squash, Toasted Pepitas. The slightly warmed cheese with its light gloss of maple syrup pairs well with the sweet flavors in the squash. See the recipe here or continue reading. In November, Jason Sobocinski introduced a group of us to some newer ways to entertain with French goat’s cheese. Jason, the owner of Caseus in New Haven, created a lovely spread

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Tuesday, April 18

Spring Awakening

Spring Sunset

We are calling this Spring Awakening, my students and I. Gone are the gray days of winter says Carolyn. As I traveled here today, says Annette, each side of the street in Cheshire was covered with snow-covered trees, the blossoms fooled me.  And the traffic picked up says Jose, a sign spring break is over. The security guards at Gateway Community College sport short sleeved shirts for the first time observes Joe.  The colors invigorate

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Thursday, January 05

2017 Food Writing Class Starting at New Haven’s Gateway Community College

Pike Mousse Quenelles de Brochet

Nothing beats food as a catalyst to ignite a writer’s urge to tell a story.  Remind me of my last holiday meal and I’m off thinking of what we ate, how we cooked it, who shared the meal and who did the cleanup.  This Christmas the power went out for four hours as it did the Thanksgiving before.  In each instance, we came up with a way to salvage the meal and now I have solid tips on

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"Let no man fancy he knows how to dine
Till he has learnt how taste and taste combine."

-Horace, Satires, 2.4

They're here!

 

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