A New Source of Scrumptious, Simple Recipes

Crazy delicious pasta e  fagioli,
courtesy of Chef Silvio Suppa.

Wish you knew how to cook up a fantastic marinara sauce? Think making fresh pasta from scratch is absolutely out of your league? Longing for amazing recipes that require only simple ingredients?

As I've learned in recent weeks, some of the dishes I'd always assumed could never be part of my repertoire are, in fact, deceivingly simple. Where did I learn this? Cooking classes.

No, I'm not talking about stressful, pricey lessons that for last weeks on end. No, you don't have to spend extra cash on kitchen supplies. And no, you certainly need not possess Iron Chef-like skills.

I'm talking a single two-hour weeknight outing that will prove to be fun, delicious, and educational - not to mention it's a lovely way to acquire some unbelievable new recipes while coming upon the revelation that cooking up some really great food is shockingly doable.

Today's Stefcations Highlights:

• What You'll Find: Several options for fabulous, user-friendly cooking classes.
• Where You'll Find it: Two of my latest finds include the Viking Center at 4 Laser Lane in Wallingford, Conn., and Martino's Italian Market  at 948 Terryville Avenue in Bristol, Conn.
• When to Go: Check their websites for upcoming class schedules, prices, and other details - Find Martino's classes here and the Viking Center's here.
• What It'll Cost: Usually around $60 a person, although you can find deals - like I did! - on LivingSocial, Groupon, and other deal-of-the-day websites. 

Relish This: Blackie's Hot Dog Stand - Cheshire, Conn.

Oh. So. Good.

Perhaps it's the refreshingly rare birch beer fountain soda. Or the bold, distinctive spice of their famous homemade hot pepper relish. Or those familiar red countertops and the wonderful lack of pretense.

Whatever it is, my summer days are never complete without a visit to Blackie's Hot Dog Stand in Cheshire, Conn.

This fine establishment has been serving up simple, yet consistently fabulous burgers and dogs for 84 years now. So let's just say that they know what they're doing.

Today's Stefcations Highlights:

• What You'll Find: Old-school hot dog and hamburger stand that has stood the test of time.
• Where You'll Find it: 2200 Waterbury Road, Cheshire, Conn.
• When to Go: Every day throughout the year, except Friday. Open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. from January through March and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. April through December.
• What It'll Cost: A couple of bucks apiece. Cash only!

May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor - Connecticut Wine Trail

The time is ripe for drinking.

Spring is in the air.

Sadly, I'll be missing out on these next two weeks of late April here in Connecticut, when things finally start to turn green. Not so sadly, I'll be away for a few weeks on vacation abroad. (Future posts on London and Paris to come!)

In my absence, however, I urge you to take full advantage of one of my favorite and most fabulous Connecticut activities: the trusty Connecticut Wine Trail.

It's back! Many of Connecticut's wineries are opening back up for the season, offering tastings, tours, and ideal places for a picnic. As of May 1st-ish, visit any of the wineries that belong to the official Wine Trail and pick up your Connecticut Wine Trail Passport.

Enjoying one of the bottles
we won at Priam Vineyard!

For every winery you visit on the trail between May and November, you can ask the folks there for a stamp on said passport. Collect at least 16 stamps, and you can then enter a ridiculously amazing raffle, which typically includes TWO Grand Prize winners who will enjoy a two-week trip to Spain (amongst many, many other prizes).

Just this past year, I won third prize myself - several free bottles of wine from Priam Vineyard in Colchester, Conn.! We just enjoyed one of the bottles (Jeremy River White, deeelicious) this past weekend, in the beautiful 80-degree weather.

Rumor has it that a mere 1,600-ish oenophiles actually complete the Wine Trail challenge and bother to hand in their completed passports each year. When there are roughly 30 prizes to give away, that seems like some damn good odds, in my opinion.

Of course, I have my favorites. Here are just a few recommendations:

Baja's: Bordering on Brilliance - Orange, Conn.

The utterly fantastic carnitas plate,
found in Orange, Conn., of all places.
(Tortillas not shown.)

You may recall that I’m a huge fan of San Diego – where fresh, authentic, delicious Mexican food can be found at a moment’s notice, whether it’s at the fabulous restaurants in Old Town or among the most random of food trucks by Ocean Beach.

Unfortunately for me, Connecticut is not known for its Mexican cuisine. Living in central Connecticut, I often lament the fact that finding decent Mexican fare remains a never-ending challenge.

Hence, this is why I will happily take a 45-minute drive down to Orange, Conn., for the best Mexican food I’ve found yet in this state.

Cavalry Brewing Tour and Tasting

Sadly, Hurricane Irene ruined our long-awaited plans to attend Vermont's annual Mount Snow Brewers Festival this Labor Day weekend.



Happily, however, beer - free, very good beer, mind you - can be found right here in Connecticut, at Cavalry Brewing in Oxford.

Cavalry's Nomad Stout. Serious beer.

For absolutely nothing, you can walk right into this brewery on Fridays or Saturdays (call first, just to be sure they're not out making a delivery) and ask the two brewmasters and their trusty border terrier, aptly named Mash, for an informal, yet informative tour and a tasting.

Not only will you not be disappointed, you'll be shocked to have found such a great outing and such memorable beer without having to pay a dime. Granted, if you loved the beer as much as we did, you'll be more than willing to take your wallet out before you leave and buy a few cases of your favorites to take home.

Hang with the Champs at the New Haven Open

My very first guest blogger, features editor Marisa Nadolny at The Day - a daily newspaper based in New London, Conn. - is taking the reins today here at Stefcations. She was lucky enough to check out the New Haven Open earlier this week, a tennis tournament held every August in - you guessed it - New Haven, Conn. Interested in tickets? The tournament runs through this Saturday if you still want in.

Be sure to check Marisa out via her blog, "Fear No Recipe," or on Twitter @TheMDesk. A smart and fabulous writer by day, she's also my own personal Twitter guru and, by night, harbors a secret talent as a ridiculously good RockBand drummer. She does not disappoint!

Unlike my colleague Stef, I’m what nice people would call a homebody and what mean people call a shut-in. My Hobbit-like tendency to prefer a quiet evening at home with Netflix is only trumped by truly spectacular food and fun.

Watch the pros from surprisingly good seats
at this week's New Haven Open.
(Photo by Marisa Nadolny.)

The New Haven Open (Pilot Pen, once upon a time; the Volvo-something-or-other even further back) is one of those spectacular events that gets me off my duff. World-class tennis players come to the always-fab city of New Haven for two weeks at a delightfully intimate venue at Yale.

This is no exhibition. These players are on their way to the U.S. Open, and they are most definitely in it to win it.

Nice Wine ... Without the Niceties?

Sipping wine in so-called Paradise.

The latest stop in my ongoing quest to obtain at least 16 stamps in my Connecticut Wine Trail passport was a winery newly added to the trail this year. Open only since this past May, it's called Paradise Hills, located in Wallingford, Conn., just down the road from the surprisingly impressive scenery of Gouveia Vineyards. At first glance, Paradise Hills has got all the key elements you'd think would make for a fantastic winery experience.

The problem was not the wine. It was the tasting experience, which, frankly, kind of sucked.