Stephen Fries Online

February 23rd, 2010

Some of the recipes that I mentioned in my travel column on Sunday will appear in Wednesday's (2/24/10)Food Section of the New Haven Register. 

I have been filming segments for cookbookslive.com Check it out.  

Mark your calendar for Sunday, April 18, 2010: The 2010 Iron Chef Elm City Competition.  The three chefs have been chosen.  Look for details soon.

The first Culinary Walking tour of 2010 of downtown New Haven will be on Saturday, April 24, 2010. Call 203-777-8550 for reservations.

February 17th, 2010

I have been busy on the food scene!  I spent a weekend in Providence, R.I.getting a feel for the culinary highlights of the city. Mike Ritz, is indeed an ambassador of Providence.  He really knows the hidden spots for any foodie and is proud of the city's offerings.  A tour of Johnson & Wales Culinary School and the Culinary Museum is a must for any foodie. I will be working on a column for the New Haven Register focusing on the food scene of Providence. The Hotel Providence is a great boutique Hotel in a central location.

I spent the past weekend in NYC at the Roger Smith Food Writers' Conference. It was an informational packed weekend. The sessions were facilitated by many prominent cookbook authors, food writers and scholars.  These are the sessions I attended:

Fight and Flight: the Newspaper Food Section of the Future
A discussion of the evolution of food writing as newspapers take on the challenges of a very new day. The effect of RSS feeds; blogs; recipe websites; Twitter; the Food Network; and the turn away from print, on content, style, format, and even survival.

Cookbooks and the Cyber-Age?
This panel examined the current state and highly uncertain future of cookbook publishing. Panelists considered how shifting patterns in home cooking and restaurant dining are altering people's expectations of cookbooks.  They  discussed the impact that television has already had on the American cookbook audience as well as the radical changes being brought about by new phenomena such as cyber-publishing, culinary websites, blogs, and online recipe searches.

From Websites to Blogs to Facebook
Food writing has progressed from tiny triangular marks impressed in clay tablets, stored in heaps in Mesopotamia, to much tinier magnetic impressions stored somewhere "out there" in cyberspace. Changes in the medium may change the message, but the goal is the same: writers want readers to experience their work—what's different is that readers get to respond to writers more directly than ever before. Like it or not, food writing is not likely to change back to the one-directional medium it once was.

The Art and Craft of Recipe Writing
This workshop covered recipe writing and editing fundamentals; the importance of recipe testing and proper note taking; style sheets; developing a personal voice; headnotes; "editorial testing" techniques; copyright, plagiarism and ethics. 

A highlight for me was meeting Irena Chalmers whose work and books have been an inspiration to me. She truly has worn many hats in the food industry. Irena was honored to do a segment with me for my cookbookslive.com web channel. The focus of this segment was her new book: Food Jobs, 150 Great Jobs for Culinary Students, Career Changers and Food Lovers. 

Look for my food column in the New Haven Register on Wednesday, February 17, 2010. A very interesting soup recipe is waiting for you. On Sunday, my column on the Hidden Gems of Florida will appear in the Travel Section of the New Haven Register. Check out the on-line slide show too.

January 20th, 2010
January flew right by!  My trip to Florida to finish my story on the hidden gems of Florida was great, although very cold, weather-wise. While there, I found out that Suzanne Jones, a  food writer for the Sun Sentinel for 16 years was retiring.It was Suzanne's column that inspired me to start writing my column for the New Haven Register. A farewell luncheon was going to be held while I was in Florida, so I needed to attend and get to meet this lady who sparked my interest in food writing. Take a look at my picture with Suzanne.  It was interesting to find out that she worked for Cuisinart in Greenwich, CT for 12 years. I was so pleased to get to meet her! A great unexpected part of this trip.

Plans were made to attend and cover Savor The Avenue in Delray Beach,which will be held in March, an event that was modeled after Park City's Savor The Summit, which I attended and wrote about in June of last year.

This past week I had dinner at Altastrada located at MGM Grand at Foxwoods. If you haven't been there, put it on your list of places to dine. This restaurant is one of Michael Schlow's restaurants. Thomas Holland, the General Manager and PJ Waters, the pastry chef were most welcoming and shared their backgrounds with me. The dozen or so courses served were prepared using old Italian tradition with a modern flair.  Ashley, was a superb and professional server. Her attention to detail made it an experience I won't soon forget. Look for more about this visit in an upcoming column. I am going make a return trip and hopefully meet Michael, who also hails from Brooklyn, NY

By the way, check out the special promotion at Altastrada on Feb. 16, 2010 which includes dinner with wine pairings, hotel accommodations and more.
860-312-ALTA

I will be going to Providence, RI at the beginning of February to scout out the food scene there.

My next column appears in the New Haven Register on Wednesday,
February 3,2010 The feature will be Delia, the Viking Appliance Dealer of New England and their culinary forum.

I hope you have had the chance to check out cookbookslive.com where I bring my favorite cookbooks to life.  For now, bon appetit!

Photo Courtesy: Marty Lee 

January 7th, 2010
Cookbookslive.com is live! The first segment appeared on Tuesday.  Keep checking in for new videos, bringing cookbooks to life with my take on some great books. 

My newest column in the New Haven Register came out today, January 6, featuring the well respected Union Leage Cafe's recipe for Pan-roasted salmon with ragout of Brussels Sprouts, bacon, pearl onions and Pommery mustard sauce. Sounds soooo good! Also highlighted in the column is a book to help with many people's New Year's Resolution regarding their eating. The title of the Book is Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat. Check this book out in the Cookbook of The Month section of the website. It is also featured on www.cookbookslive.com.

I have been busy scheduling my "On The Food Scene with Steve" visits and working on other food related projects.

If you have a soup recipe that you would like to share with the readers of my column, please send it to me, you could win a cooking class at Delia, the Viking Center located in Walingford, CT. For those of you who are not familar with Delia, you should check it out!

Heading out soon to do a story on the hidden gems of Florida! 

Best wishes to you in the New Year and Happy Cooking!

December 28th, 2009
In early January I will be visiting the Seagate Hotel, a brand new boutique hotel in Delray Beach Florida and their Restaurant The Atlantic Grille.
I am looking forward to doing a travel story on this spectacular property,  meeting with the chef, and capturing some great recipes to bring back to you.

In April, I will be attending the 44th Pillsbury Bakeoff in Orlando, Florida. One of the finalists is from Connecticut!

In May I will be a keynote speaker at Cookbook University in Nashville, Tennessee. I will also be filming some segments for cookbookslive.com

Stay tuned for more!

December 17th, 2009
Earlier this week I had a great time assisting at the cookie swap class at Delia, the Viking Appliance Distributor and culinary studio in Wallingford. Twelve cookie recipes were prepared by the paricipants.  The group I worked with prepared macaroons, white chocolate macadamia nut cranberry cookies and Italian sugar cookies.Check out Delia's line-up of cooking classes that begin in February. I have been busy scheduling the food events I will be attending in the new year. I am also getting ready to launch cookbookslive.com
My best wishes to you for a healthy and food-filled New Year!

December 9th, 2009
I recently spent a couple of days in Vero Beach, Florida and stayed at the Vero Beach Hotel and Spa. What a great location! I was most impressed with Cobalt, the signature restaurant at the resort.  Chef Brad prepared a delectable tasting menu, which was served in a dining room so close to the ocean, I got the sensation of being on a cruise.  Take a look at this video segment I filmed at Cobalt with Chef Brad: Click Home.

Costa d'Este, a resort  right down the street, owned by Gloria and Emilio Estefan is the home to Oriente Cuba, their signature restaurant. Sous Chef Raymond prepared an authentic Cuban inspired dinner.
He presented me with the book Estefan Kitchen where the Estefan's share their heirloom recipes.

I will be writing an article for the New Haven Register highlighting these
experiences as well as some recipes from these restaurants..Please watch for it.

Speaking of heirloom recipes, check out my column in today's (December 9) New Haven Register, featuring heirloom recipes.   

Happy cooking and Best wishes for Happy Holidays!

November 24th, 2009

The holiday season is here and to help you with some ideas for food gifts your friends and relatives will enjoy check out my column in the New Haven Register tomorrow (11/25, 2009).  If you missed the hard copy, just go to the column archives on this site, or you can go to www.nhregister.com and type my name in the search bar.

As I write this blog, I am in Florida doing another segment for "On The Food Scene With Steve." For now, it's a "secret" location that you will want to visit when I share it with you. On Thursday, I will be preparing Thanksgiving dinner for my family, traditional food with some twists on the standards.

The holiday version of my Culinary Walking Tour of historic downtown New Haven is approaching, (Monday 12/7/09 6:15 pm, $69) You won't want to miss it. Some new stops and surprises await. For reservations please call 203-777-8550

My best wishes to all of you for a Happy Thanksgiving and Holiday Season!
Good eating!

November 10th, 2009
This past weekend was a busy weekend of food, drink and fun! On Friday, I had dinner at Bespoke. I had the pleasure of eating with owners Suzette and Franco. The chocolate and banana dessert was most heavenly.If you haven't tried it, put it on your list!The ambiance and food are worth the trip. On Saturday, we had great weather for the culinary walking tour I led.  Guests on the tour hailed from CT & NY! After a few hours of winding down from the tour,  dinner at Heirloom, the restaurant at the sleek and contemporary Study Hotel at Yale was a welcome retreat. The pork chop served over sweet potatoes was a great fall inspired dish.  The place was packed with lots of energy. 

On Sunday, the first annual Elm City Signature Cocktail Competition which I produced along with Global Entertainment and Media was held at the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale. The winning drink was mixed by bartender Steve Bayusik from BESPOKE. The signature cocktail is called The Intermezzo.  The People's Choice (Rocher Inspired Hot Chocolate) went to Leviena Vasques from BAR 19 located the Omni. Bar 19, located at the top of the hotel offers spectacular views of the Elm City along with a cozy and intimate environment.   

The winning recipe will appear in my column next Wednesday, Nov. 17, in the New Haven Register.  All of the recipes will appear on my website soon.

Thanks to Mike Lapitino from WPLR who emceed the event.  Our celebrity judges included Patrick Ferrucci, entertainment editor from the New Haven Register, Desiree Fontaine from WTNH, and cookbook authors Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough and TJ Gallagher from the Wine Thief. 

At the opening reception, great food and drink were provided by Atticus Bookstore Cafe, Bru Room at BAR, Calabro Cheese, Dryden & Palmer, Foxon Park Beverage, The Gracious Gourmet, St. Germain and the Wine Thief. Thanks to the Omni for being the host location...their staff went all out to make sure all went well.  Thanks to the Greater New Haven Convention & Visitors Bureau who helped coordinate the event. Some of the proceeds will benefit a scholarship for a Gateway Community College Hospitality Management Student. 

Thanks to all of the competitors, including John Ginetti of 116 Crown, Matt Lender of BAA, Nicolai Hebert of Bentara, Amanda Platt of Dolci, Sean D'Adio of Heirloom, Juan Carlos of Ibiza, and Shawn Ruggerio of Leon's.

After the competition I had dinner at BASTA with Bruce and Mark. The "Italian Sunday Dinner," I ordered was one of the best meals I have eaten. Most comforting and memorable.  Claire and Frank, owners of the restaurant sent over fresh ricotta drizzled with local honey and dried cranberries topped with almonds. The city was bustling with activity for a Sunday night with it being the first night of restaurant week.

Early Monday morning my phone rang at 3:45 AM, YES 3:45 AM. Who could it be? FOX 61 was on the line, could I come down at 5:00 am to talk about restaurant week which is  going on in New Haven through Friday?
Jump forward  one hour, I am standing in the middle of Broadway in downtown  New Haven doing live segments on FOX 61 with Jeff Valin. Restaurant week offers  $29 three-course pre-fix dinners at twenty-nine of New Haven's best restaurants and lunch menus for $16.38 (the year New Haven was found) 

Check out my column tomorrow (Wed. Nov. 11)in the New Haven Register....great recipe for Maine Crabcakes from Heirloom.

The Cocktail Competition:

October 27th, 2009

October 14th, 2009
Last week I attended a demo cooking class at Delia in Wallingford, CT and watched Chef & Owner  Arturo Franco Camacho  of Bespoke in New Haven prepare some fabulous dishes.  If you haven't eaten in his retaurant yet,
plan a visit. 

Over the weekend I went to Amherst Massachustts and stayed at the Campus Center Hotel right on the University of Massachusetts campus.  The renovation was impressive.   Of course, while in Amherst I had to eat at Judies, one of my favorite restaurants.  Known as the home of the popover, Judie has created a restaurant that has been a tradition in Amherst for 33 years.  Her attention to detail and creativeness makes this a place you won't forget. Pay a visit and I am sure you will return again and again. Make sure you say hello to Judie since she loves meeting her guests.

On the way back from Amherst, I went to Foxwoods, not to gamble but to attend the kickoff of The Celebrity Chef Sundays where TV Food Network Star Tyler Florence opened the series.  He prepared Halibut and Cioppino with San Francisco Sourdough which looked delicious, while entertaining an audience of over 1,000.  I had the opportunity to interview Tyler for an upcoming column.

Anxious to see my travel column in the New Haven Register about the Mohonk Mountain House, I made sure to pick up a copy on the way home.  Check out the video too.

I love hearing from all of you so keep on writing to me!

September 28th, 2009

So many food events are happening. Last night I had the pleasure of meeting cookbook authors Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough who presented a great cooking class at Delia in Wallingford. They sure are hilarious and also make some great tasting food.  Check out their repertoire of 20 cookbooks, yes 20! If you haven't yet checked out Delia's cooking classes, you've got to.  Their kitchen studio is fantastic.  Check them out at www.deliainc.com  Mention my name and receive 20% off of a class.
My column in the New Haven Register on September 30, 2009 features the food scene at the last stop of my summer food trip, Salt Lake City. 
Check out my debut travel article in the New Haven Register on Sunday, October 4, 2009.  It is a spectacular place to visit!.

Cafe Vincenzo, the student run restaurant at Gateway Community College, where I am Hospitality Management program coordinator  is open for the fall series of dinners held on Thursday evenings. Call 203-285-2269 for reservations

Happy Fall!

September 2nd, 2009

Last week I attended the Food & Wine Festival at Pilot Pen. It was a foodies dream, 18 of New Haven's best restaurants, all under one roof! Each chef prepared an appetizer and dessert.  I have attended food events throughout the country and this event is one not to be missed when it returns next year. Matt Scott, Sonia Baghdady and Desiree Fontaine, from WTNH were rubbing elbows with the guests.  Jacques Pepin, one of America's favorite chefs,who is from Madison was on hand to pose for photos and chat. Check out the photos!

I also spent some time at Ultimate Foods in New Haven, where Nancy Wekselbaum, owner of The Gracious Gourmet  produces her line of tapenades and spreads. I was fascinated how the process works. Check out these photos.

Today, marks my one year anniversary of my debut New Haven Register Food column.  Check out my column in today's paper.

8/19/2009
What great people I met at this past Saturday's Culinary Walking Tour of downtown New Haven. People came from New York, Southport, Stamford, Westbrook and Newtown.Check out the photos of participants from the July and August tours.  The September 26 tour is half filled already so reserve your place early by calling 203-777-8550.

I am looking forward to attending the Pilot Pen Food & Wine Festival next Wednesday.  I will be at the evening session. If you come, be sure to stop and say hello to me.

For now, enjoy the summer that finally arrived!

August 10th, 2009
Hello again!  I have been busy writing the segments for my New Haven Register column covering the food scene of  my recent trip out west.  Check out the column on Wednesday August 12th which highlights "Savor Boise", Idaho's Premiere Food & Wine Event and some of the people I met.

I am looking forward to meeting the participants of the culinary walking tour scheduled for
Saturday, August 15.   There are a few spaces still available, so come on out!  I hope to see you there!

July 21, 2009

After all of the rain we have experienced recently, New Haven seems to have come to life as I encountered this past Saturday while leading a culinary walking tour downtown. People were dining alfresco at the coffee shops and restaurants. Early arrivals for the concert on the green were enjoying the long-awaited summer weather. People were seeking refuge from the sun rather than the rain!  Everyone was happy just people-watching as they cooled themselves with frosty drinks. Participants on the tour who haven’t been to the city for a long time embraced the vibrant atmosphere and said that they would be back much sooner to experience the food scene in New Haven. I was delighted that four of the participants who traveled all the way from New York were impressed with our small city.  One even said that the pizza at BAR which was one of the stops on the tour was better than pizza in NY! All of our stops were gracious in welcoming our tour guests. Yesterday’s group was so much fun, I can hardly wait to meet the participants on next month’s tour. Come out and enjoy the great restaurants and food scene in New Haven!

July 7th, 2009
I just got back from my whirlwind trip to Savor the Summit in Park City, UT and Savor Idaho in Boise, ID!  Then I continued on to Sun Valley, Jackson Hole, WY, and Salt Lake City, UT.  I knew my schedule was going to be packed with interviews with local chefs, and boy was it amazing!  I met so many great foodies like me, from restaurant owners to Sundance Film Festival officials.  Hearing about the event ahead of time made my mouth water, but actually being there was truly surreal--after a terrible drive to New York (complete with this lackluster New England weather) and getting on a long plane ride, western American hospitality met me at the airport in Park City, which was bathed in bright sunshine and surrounded by beautiful western mountain peaks.  Stacey Carroll, the Account Executive for the Park City Restaurant Association, met up with me at my hotel, the Timberline Lodge of Park City (which is absolutely amazing - go visit).  The following morning, it was breakfast right in my hotel room, almost enough for thirty people!  That night, Savor the Summit was the highlight - picture a dining table fit for a thousand people, outside along the town strip!  My host was the restaurant 350 Main, where chef Michael LeClerc, a Waterbury CT native, presented a five course dinner under the stars.  Just my luck - it was the first clear night in a month!  The next morning I went horseback riding at Park City, got to see the off-season freestyle skiers at the Olympic Park, and traveled up the ski-lift to have lunch at the Deer Valley Resort.  Nothing compares to dining after a scenic trip up a beautiful mountain!  The next day, after a great car-ride into Idaho, I attended Savor Idaho where the beautiful botanical gardens welcomed visitors to Boise's food scene.  There, I met another CT restaurant owner who owns the Cottonwood Grill and I also met Donya Marie, the maker of authentic chocolate barbeque sauces and rubs - being a chocoholic, I was hard-pressed to come out of there without spending a fortune!  I also met the potato farmer that was the largest supplier of potatoes for Pringles and Cracker Barrel.  How cool!?  Then I traveled to the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, founded in 1936, where I met the food and beverage director of the hotel who had gotten me into a tasting dinner at Trail Creek Cabin right at the resort.  What a treat - believe it or not, my favorite thing there was the meatloaf!  (Not that the other items weren't great, but this meatloaf was out of this world!)  Later in Salt Lake City, I got to dine at Bambara at the Hotel Monaco, which is a converted bank, complete with a kitchen neatly placed behind the old teller-stations in beautiful marble.  It was so great, and the fourteen-course meal was eclectic and delicious.  At Jackson Hole, I met Gavin Fine, owner of three restaurants that range in theme from barbeque to upscale gourmet at the beautiful Teton Village Resort.  All in all, I think I discovered that the west is not just a meat-and-potatoes kind of scene - the chefs are highly-trained, skilled in innovation and fresh with new culinary ideas, not to mention most if not all of them ski!  Fish was even more prevalent on most menus than beef!  So if you get a chance to head out to these scenic American states anytime soon, drop by these great restaurants and tell them Stephen Fries sent you.  Tell me ahead of time, and I'll even go with you!  (Just don't take me back to the chocolate barbeque store!). 

Until next time, keep eating!

June 16th, 2009

BBQ season is here and I am amazed at all of the BBQ books available. One that I recently reviewed, The Big Book of Barbecue Side Dishes, by Rick Browne, I thought was unique since it has only recipes for the side dishes to go along with the main BBQ dish, many which can be made on the grill.   My next column in the New Haven Register which publishes on June 24, shares a recipe for one of my favorite vegetables, usually thought of for Thanksgiving....Sweet Potatoes.  Try it out and you might think of this healthy vegetable throughout the year. 

June 3rd, 2009

Welcome to my first blog entry!  This past Monday I had the opportunity to participate in a demonstration cooking class at Delia, which is a distributor of Viking stoves with a tv-worthy kitchen studio that was absolutely fantastic!  All the lighting and flat-screen tv's were very impressive.  I took a cooking class presented by Chef Jason Ruocco, the owner of Taste Restaurant and Lounge in North Haven, CT.  The class was "Spring into Summer," with light fare and a great puree of asparagus soup that I'll share with you (it was delicious!):

Ingredients:

3bu (bu=bunches) Asparagus, 3 idaho Potato (peeled and diced), 1lge onion (diced), 5 stalks celery (diced), 3 sprigs thyme, 2 tbsp butter, 8 cups water

Method: Sweat (cook without color) on a LOW heat - onions, celery, potato and asparagus in a large Stock with lid for at least 20-25 minutes.  Allow to cool slightly and puree.  Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.  Garnish with lemon cream (1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 lemon zest and juices).

There's two more classes this season that I won't be going to, but you should try to attend - June 8th 6:30-8:30 and June 15th 6:30-8:30 with different themes.  $60/pp.  Call 800-356-3803 x328 for more information!

Look out for my new article Wednesday June 10th.  Let's just say get ready to fire up the BBQ!  Til next time, Bon Appetit!