Seasoned

This week on Seasoned: Tips to avoid lunchbox burnout! Renee Kohley, author of The Little Lunchbox Cookbook, is our guest. Plus, we talk with Lonnie Burt, the head of food services for Hartford Public Schools, about the Farm-to-School program and the “Cafeteria as Classroom” concept. And kids weigh in on the lunches they love.

Robyn Doyon-Aitken and Catie Talarski produced this show.

Guests:

Renee Kohley – Author of The Little Lunchbox Cookbook

Lonnie Burt - Senior Director for Hartford Public Schools Food & Child Nutrition Services

Get the Recipes:
Healthy Vegetable Soup
Chicken Salad Pinwheels
Back-To-School Fall Harvest Soup
5-Ingredient Chicken Nuggets

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Aarón Sánchez is an award-winning chef, TV personality, and philanthropist. He’s currently a judge on MasterChef and MasterChef Junior on Fox. He’s also the author of two cookbooks and his memoir, Where I Come From: Life Lessons From a Latino Chef, is out in paperback now. We talk to Aarón about some of those lessons, his mentor chef Paul Prudhomme, and how his bicultural identity informs decisions he makes in and out of the kitchen. And we talk with Carlos Baez, a local chef passionate about global street food. Carlos is executive chef and partner at The Spread in South Norwalk and El Segundo in South Norwalk and New Haven.

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken and Catie Talarski.

Guests:

Aarón Sánchez – Author of Where I Come From: Life Lessons From a Latino Chef

Carlos Baez – Executive chef and partner at The Spread in South Norwalk and El Segundo in South Norwalk and New Haven, Conn.

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Step outside. Connecticut is ripe ground for wild food. This week on Seasoned, a poignant conversation with one of the best-known foragers in the country, chef Bun Lai. Plus, we search for edible plants and berries and find a gorgeous chicken of the woods mushroom with the founder of the Connecticut Foraging Club. And, consider us starstruck—we also talk with the 81-year old amateur mycologist from Hartford who has a species of mushroom named after her.

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken and Catie Talarski.

Guests:
Chef Bun Lai – Chef and pioneer of the sustainable food movement. He’s currently hosting culinary and educational experiences at Miya’s in the Woods in Woodbridge

Amy Demers – Founder of the Connecticut Foraging Club

Connie Borodenko – Mushroom forager, discoverer of the species amanita borodenkoae

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We’re taking a deep dive on how to prep and cook seafood with David Standridge, executive chef of The Shipwright’s Daughter in Mystic. You’ll get advice for buying fresh seafood at the market, as well as tips for grilling, roasting, and searing fish like a pro. Plus, local cookbook author Mike Urban shares some of his favorite fish markets and seafood shacks in our region.

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken and Catie Talarski.

Guest:
David Standridge – Executive chef at The Shipwright’s Daughter in Mystic, Conn.
Mike Urban – Yankee magazine contributor and author of The New England Seafood Markets Cookbook

Featured Recipe: David Standridge’s Tuna Bolognese

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This program originally aired on June 17, 2021.

Thirsty? Let’s taste the drinks of summer 2021. Sommelier Erin Swain shares her top rosé picks and Robert Simonson of The New York Times explains the allure of mezcal and shares recipes from his new book, Mezcal + Tequila Cocktails. Plus, Chef Plum tastes the award-winning gin at Fifth State Distillery, because a G&T is always a summer classic.

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email at [email protected].

Robyn Doyon-Aitken and Catie Talarski produced this show.

Guests:

Erin Swain – Sommelier, based in New York; currently at La Fin Kitchen & Lounge in Montauk (@SurfingSomm)

Robert Simonson – Author of Mezcal + Tequila Cocktails: Mixed Drinks for the Golden Age of Agave

Bridget and Rob Schulten – Owners and Spirit Makers of Fifth State Distillery in Bridgeport, Conn.

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Nothing quite says summer like a beautiful ripe tomato, and in our region, we love our tomatoes. This week on Seasoned, we talk to husband-and-wife tomato farmers Trout and Jennifer Gaskins about growing their many varieties of tomatoes. We also talk to horticulture scientist Harry Klee about his mission to sequence the genomes of hundreds of tomatoes in order to breed flavor back into the fruit. Plus, the chef and owner of Tony D’s in New London shares a family recipe.

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email at [email protected].

Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, and Carmen Baskauf produced this show.

Guests:
Trout and Jennifer Gaskins – Farmers/co-owners of Farming 101 in Newtown, Conn.

Dr. Harry Klee - Professor for the Department of Horticultural Sciences at the University of Florida. Dr. Klee led the team whose research on producing a tastier tomato was published in the journal Science.

Anthony D’Angelo – Chef/owner of Tony D’s in New London, Conn.

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Summertime is the time when we crave healthy, juicy, cooling foods. . .and the fresher, the better! This week on Seasoned, we’re celebrating the foods of summer and talking with local author, Terry Walters. Terry’s books include Clean Food, Clean Start, and her latest, Eat Clean Live Well. Terry explains what clean eating means to her and offers advice about eating seasonally for optimum health. There’s no better way to see what’s in season than walking through a farmers’ market, so we head to the West End Farmers’ Market in Hartford and talk to the farmers, bakers, and shoppers about what to eat right now.

Robyn Doyon-Aitken and Catie Talarski produced this show.

Guest:

Terry Walters – Author of Eat Clean Live Well

Featured Recipes:
Grilled Pineapple Salsa
Golden Beet and Blackberry Salad
Grilled Sweet Corn with Spicy Rub

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Have you seen Fresh, Fried & Crispy on Netflix yet? Connecticut’s own Daym Drops has gone from YouTube star to Netflix star, and his new show is as addictive as the fried food he critiques. This hour on Seasoned: The man we all love to watch eat and hear his hot takes on fried food. Got a question for Daym about his new show? Maybe you’d like to know which fast food spots, greasy spoons, and burger shacks he recommends in our state. No one is as passionate about chicken sandwiches as Daym. And when a dish is good, he’ll let ya’ know. Got a local restaurant or food truck to recommend? Tell Daym where he needs to eat next. We’re live with the state’s most enthusiastic foodie. 

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email at [email protected].

Robyn Doyon-Aitken and Catie Talarski produced this show.

Guest: Daym Drops – Host of Fresh, Fried & Crispy on Netflix; Connecticut-based unconventional food critic/content creator

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When we think about our most prized local foods, honey is at the top of the list. This week on Seasoned, Marina Marchese of Red Bee Honey in Weston teaches us how honeybees make honey through their amazing coordination and communication. We also talk to Sarah Taylor, the founder of Huneebee Project, a social enterprise bringing beehives to community gardens and vacant green spaces in New Haven. Bee Instructor Sophia Lafargue and two teen beekeepers in the program share their experiences working with bees and making honey. Finally, two pros share a few delicious ways with honey, including of course, a classic Bees Knees cocktail.

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email at [email protected].

Robyn Doyon-Aitken and Catie Talarski produced this show.

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of our favorite parts of making Seasoned, is YOU, our listeners. Once a month, we open up the phone lines and talk with you about food stuff you’re passionate about: apple picking, barbecue, breweries, ice cream. This week on Seasoned: A look back at fun and informative moments from a year of live shows. You really do give the best recommendations. And, you ask great questions, too.

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email at [email protected].

Robyn Doyon-Aitken and Catie Talarski produced this show.

GUESTS: (All guests joined us previously on live shows)

Michele Ragussis – Private chef and a frequent judge on “Beat Bobby Flay.” Michele is also the founder of Chefs For Disaster Relief.

Amy Traverso – Senior food editor at Yankee magazine, co-host of Weekends with Yankee, and author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook: The Classic Guide to Cooking and Eating Apples

Colin Caplan – Author of Pizza in New Haven and producer of Pizza, A Love Story. Colin is also an owner of Elm City Party Bike and owner/culinary tour guide at Taste of New Haven.

Tyler Jones – Master brewer, Black Hog Brewing, locations in Oxford and New Haven, Conn.

Alisa Bowens-Mercado – Owner and brewer, Rhythm Brewing Co. in New Haven, Conn.

Leeanne Griffin – Food reporter at Hearst Connecticut Media (@LGriffinCT)

Christian Stevenson (aka DJ BBQ) – Author of Fire Food: The Ultimate BBQ Cookbook and The Burger Book.

Myron Mixon – Four-time world barbecue champion, restaurateur, and the author of several barbecue cookbooks. His latest is BBQ&A with Myron Mixon. Myron was inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame in Kansas City in 2013 and he is currently the Mayor of Unadilla, GA.

Brian Kaywork – Instructor at The Culinary Institute of America. (Brian Kaywork is fondly remembered by the team at Seasoned)

Patti Popp – Farmer and owner of Sport Hill Farm in Easton, Conn.Eliza Florian – Owner and ice cream maker at Grassroots Ice Cream in Granby, Conn.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.