Connecticut Chefs and One Bartender

By Amy S. White

As the winter chill settles in, there’s nothing quite like the comforting warmth of a home-cooked meal to brighten the shorter days and long nights. Winter also ushers in the holiday season, a time for gathering, celebrating and, most importantly, sharing delicious food. Whether you are looking for a weeknight meal or a holiday dish, there’s always room to spice up your table with new ideas. And who better to turn to for inspiration than local chefs who know how to turn seasonal ingredients into soul-soothing dishes? We reached out to some of the best culinary talents in Connecticut to discover their go-to winter recipes—those treasured dishes that they turn to when they want to embrace the cozy, rich flavors of the season. These recipes will bring a touch of local flair and warmth to your winter table and magic to your holiday menu. Try them separately or make all of them for a truly memorable meal.

Main Dish
Chef Lise Jaeger grew up in Redding. She studied at Johnson and Wales and worked in several Connecticut restaurants—including the acclaimed vegan/vegetarian ION in Middletown—before focusing her efforts on instructing others in culinary skills. She has been a chef instructor at Capital and Manchester Community Colleges and, for a time, led popular weekly culinary classes at the Shop Rite supermarket in Manchester. For 25 years now, Chef Jaeger is the owner of Chef For Hire, LLC, a full-service catering company that specializes in small parties and intimate dinners. This unique catering service uses fresh, whole foods cooked with innovative and classic techniques to create scrumptious feasts for her clients’ eyes and taste buds. Chef Jaeger draws inspiration from her extensive travels and many geographical cuisines to please guests with a unique flair. She shares her roasted stuffed pork loin with dried fruit and brie, a centerpiece dish for any winter feast. “This dish was always a favorite of my dad’s,” says Chef Jaeger. “He would request it for Christmas Eve dinner.”

Roasted Stuffed Pork Loin with Dried Fruit and Brie
Recipe courtesy of Chef Lise Jaeger, Chef for Hire, LLC (ctchefforhire.com)

Ingredients:
3-4 pounds boneless pork loin roast
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion diced
1 stalk celery diced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 6 ounces package assorted dried fruits (or a combination of craisins, apricots, dried apples and raisins)
¼ cup dry white wine
2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs
¾ pounds cold brie cheese, cut into cubes
3 tablespoons Montreal seasoning mix
3 carrots roughly chopped
2 small onions, roughly chopped
½ cup low sodium chicken stock

Directions:
Butterfly the pork loin to create a cavity for the stuffing. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Place olive oil and garlic in a medium sauté pan. Cook onions on medium high heat. When the onions start to slightly sizzle, add the garlic, celery and thyme. Sauté for 2-4 minutes until onions are translucent. Add fruit and sauté another minute. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Cook for one more minute and remove from heat. Place the breadcrumbs in a medium bowl. Add the fruit mixture to the breadcrumbs and toss to incorporate. If the mixture seems dry, add a bit more olive oil. Allow the mixture to cool slightly. Add the diced brie to the mixture, making sure that it is incorporated throughout the stuffing. The stuffing should hold together when pressed in the palm of the hand. If not, add a bit a water to moisten it.
Stuff the roast with stuffing in the center of the roast. Make sure that the stuffing goes right to the ends of the roast. Drape the inner most side of the butterfly towards the center, wrap the other flap of the butterfly toward the first. There should be an inch or more overlap of the two flaps. Tie with butcher’s twine. If the stuffing should squeeze out of the ends, just tamp it back in. Season all sides of the roast with Montreal seasoning. Add the rough chopped carrots and onions in a shallow roasting pan. Place the roast seam side down on the vegetables. Place the ½ cup of chicken stock in the bottom of the pan. Bake the roast 350°F for 35 minutes or until the roast reaches an internal temperature of 155°F. Remove roast from the pan allow to rest tented with foil. Discard vegetables but keep the roasted pan as you will need it to prepare the sauce (recipe below).
Prune Port Demi-Glaze
Recipe courtesy of Chef Lise Jaeger, Chef for Hire, LLC

Ingredients:
1 large shallot, minced
4 sprigs fresh thyme tied together with butcher’s twine
1 cup low sodium chicken stock
3 cups port wine, divided
¾ cup pitted prunes
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour

Directions:
Place the minced shallots, thyme, chicken stock, two cups of the port wine and the pitted prunes in a saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce the liquid by two-thirds. Remove the thyme stems from the sauce and strain. Return the reduction to the saucepan. Place the pork loin’s roasting pan over a burner and deglaze the roasting pan with the additional cup of port wine over high heat. Scrape up any stuck bits from the pan. Pour this mixture into the reduced liquid. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Whisk in the flour allowing it to cook for 1-2 minutes on a medium high heat. You have just made a roux! This will be the thickener for your sauce. To ensure a lump-less sauce, add the roux to the sauce through a fine mesh sieve. The sauce should be whisked immediately. Heat the sauce on light simmer for 5-7 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve over or alongside slices of the roast pork loin.

First Side Dish
Chef Tom Kaldy grew up in South Windsor but, after attending the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., his interests took him to Las Vegas to work under some of the best chefs in the nation; then he came back again. He has been the chef of several of the top restaurants in the Greater Hartford area but has now embarked on a new journey with TechniK Hospitality, LLC. TechniK offers consultation for both culinary development and operational management to help establishments increase consistency, efficiency and profitability. As a consultant, Chef Kaldy works to create a personalized plan for each individual operation, utilizing proper systems and, yes, technique. One of his favorite winter snow-day recipes is sweet potato gnocchi with mushroom-ginger ragout, which he shares here.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Mushroom-Ginger Ragout
Recipe courtesy of Chef Tom Kaldy, TechniK Hospitality, LLC
Ingredients for the gnocchi:
2 pounds whole sweet potato, preferably medium sized
12 ounces ricotta cheese
1 large egg
¼ cup brown sugar
1 ounce salt
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch ground fennel seed
1 pinch ground ginger
1 drop vanilla extract (optional)
2¾-3¼ cups all-purpose flour

Ingredients for the ragout:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound shiitake and cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chopped ginger root
1 teaspoon finely chopped anchovies (optional)
6 sprigs fresh thyme
½ cup chopped chives
2 ounces white wine
8 ounces sweet marsala wine
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons salt
¼ cup diced butter, kept cold
Pomegranate seeds & goat cheese (optional garnish)

Directions for the gnocchi:
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place whole sweet potatoes onto a sheet pan and bake for about 40-55 minutes or until a skewer runs through them easily. Allow to cool until they can be handled. Remove the skin and put the sweet potato into a large mixing bowl. Add the ricotta, egg, brown sugar, salt, spices and vanilla to the sweet potato and mix well until thoroughly incorporated. Begin to add the flour slowly. When the dough begins to come together, remove from the bowl and finish working gently by hand to form a soft dough ball. The dough will be a bit sticky until rolling out into flour. Separate the dough into manageable quantities and roll out to strips of desired thickness. Using a knife or bowl scraper, cut gnocchi into roughly ¾-inch pieces and lay out in a single layer on a floured pan. Refrigerate or freeze if desired.

Directions for the ragout:
Heat a large sauté pan on high until the pan is very hot. Add the olive oil and then immediately add the sliced mushrooms, and chopped garlic and ginger (and anchovies, if using), stirring constantly as the mushrooms begin to cool the pan down for about 5-8 minutes. Add all of the thyme and most of the chives (save a few chives for garnishing). Remove the pan completely from the heat and deglaze with the two wines. Carefully return the pan to the burner and cook for about another 2 minutes (liquor may ignite!). Stir in the Dijon, salt and cook the sauce down by half. Turn the pan to medium heat and begin to add the diced butter, one or two pieces at a time, whisking well until melted before adding the next pieces until all the butter has been added.

To finish and plate the dish:
Bring a large pot with about a gallon of water to a boil, adding about ¼ cup of salt to the water. Cook the gnocchi for about 3-6 minutes or until tender and fully cooked. Using a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the water. Add gnocchi to the ragout with a touch of the pasta water, if needed, for consistency. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and/or crumbled goat cheese and chives. Serve promptly. Enjoy!

White Truffle and Honey Brussels Sprouts with Candied Bacon

Recipe courtesy of Chef Zachary Shuman, executive chef at Butchers and Bakers, Farmington CT

Ingredients:
3 pounds brussels sprouts
1 cup honey
¼ cup white truffle oil
6 slices thick cut bacon
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
¼ cup cooking oil of your choice

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. While the water is coming to a boil, prepare an ice bath by placing eight cups of ice and eight cups of water into a large bowl; set aside. Cut the brussels sprouts in half, then blanch them in the boiling water for 4-5 minutes, or until soft. Remove the sprouts and immediately shock them in the ice water until they are cool. Remove them and set them aside on a towel to dry. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the honey and truffle oil and set aside. Lay the bacon out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle it with the brown sugar and kosher salt. Bake for 15-18 minutes on 350F until candied and crispy. Allow the bacon to cool, then crack it into pieces. Heat the cooking oil in a large sauté pan. Add the brussels and sauté, stirring occasionally, until brussels are seared and golden-brown. After 5-8 minutes, add the truffle honey mixture and stir to coat. Remove the brussels from the pan and place them in a serving bowl. Garnish with the candied bacon and serve.

Third Side Dish
Chef Ben Dubow grew up in Wilton and studied at the Connecticut Culinary Institute. Chef Dubow’s expertise in the food industry has spanned over two decades, including time working in the kitchen at such local favorites as Blue Plate Kitchen and Burton’s Grill, and as the executive chef at the acclaimed Bistro on Main in Manchester. He also worked as a sales consultant for Sysco, where he provided guidance to restaurant owners and chefs throughout the state. Currently, Chef Dubow is the executive director for Forge City Works, a nonprofit organization that provides job training and food access through sustainable social enterprises, using food to empower people to improve their lives. The restaurant Fire by Forge in Hartford in one of the enterprises of Forge City Works.

Chef Dubow offers his holiday green bean salad, saying, “Cooking at the holidays is all about timing and managing oven space. So, I make it easier by doing a green vegetable as a cold—served either chilled or at room temperature—side dish. Plus, the added advantage is that it is a fresh, bright, light contrast/compliment to everything else going on in the meal!” Another bonus? They can be made a day ahead.

Chef Ben’s Holiday Green Bean Salad
Recipe courtesy of Chef Ben Dubow, executive director of Forge City Works, Hartford
Ingredients:
1½ pounds fresh green beans
1 bulb fresh fennel, including fronds
Seeds from 1 pomegranate
½ cup Italian parsley, chopped
¼ cup shallot or onion, finely diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¾ cup Pomegranate Dijon Vinaigrette (see recipe below)

Directions:
Wash and trim green beans. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. While the water is coming to a boil, prepare an ice bath by placing eight cups of ice and eight cups of water into a large bowl; set aside. Add the beans to the boiling water and blanch them for 90 seconds. Remove the beans and immediately shock them in the ice water until they are cool. Thinly slice the fennel bulb and chop the fronds. Combine the green beans, fennel slices, fennel fronds, pomegranate seeds, chopped parsley and diced shallot (or onion) together in a large bowl. Toss to mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dress with the pomegranate Dijon vinaigrette (recipe below) to taste, and toss to coat. Reserve, chilled, until ready to serve cold or at room temperature.

The Cocktail
Gary Crone is a 30-plus-year veteran of the hospitality industry who has worked in various restaurants and bars throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Currently, he spends his days working for Mine Hill Distillery in Roxbury, and weekends behind the bar at Antoinette’s at Nouveau Monde, a cozy, hidden cocktail bar in Sandy Hook. He says his favorite thing to do when the season turns colder is to make a cranberry, spiced simple syrup. He uses it with Mine Hill Bourbon and fresh apple cider to create a drink he named after a line from the Bob Seger song, “Night Moves.”

With Autumn Closing In
Recipe courtesy of Gary Crone, Mine Hill Distillery, Roxbury, and Antoinette’s at Nouveau Monde, Sandy Hook

Ingredients:
½ ounce cranberry spiced simple syrup (recipe below)
2 ounces bourbon
2 ounces apple cider
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake well and strain into a glass. Serve over ice or warm it to serve hot.

Cranberry Spiced Simple Syrup:
Ingredients:
1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups water
Mulling spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, star anise), to taste
Directions:
Place all of the ingredients in a large pot. Simmer over low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the cranberries are cooked through. Strain through a sieve so that all is left is the syrup.