Seasoned

Rahanna Bisseret Martinez was a contestant on Top Chef Junior, and she’s cooked at some of the best restaurants in the world, including Dominique Ansel Bakery, Chez Panisse, Broken Spanish, Emeril's and Tartine Bakery. Rahanna is the author of the cookbook, Flavor + Us. And she’s still in college! Producers Katrice Claudio and Tagan Engel talk with Rahanna about her book, her busy life and her love of food from all over the world.

And, we meet a New Britain family who turned their lawn into a pick-what-you-need garden for their community.

GUESTS:

• Rahanna Bisseret Martinez: Chef and author of Flavor + Us: Cooking for Everyone (@rahanna.bisseret.martinez)

• Kristianna Smith and Mike Saraceno: Curators and cultivators of a take-what-you-need garden in New Britain, Conn. (@ourgardennb) You can donate books to the garden's book box through Possible Futures.

FEATURED RECIPES:
Concha Scones
Dry-Fried Green Beans
Tie-Dye Berry Paletas

LEARN MORE: 
Listen to Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm talk with Khalilah Brown-Dean about how Black Americans are reclaiming their relationship with nature on an episode of Disrupted.

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Katrice Claudio, Stephanie Stender, Meg Fitzgerald, Tagan Engel and Sabrina Herrera.

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

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Seasoned, we’re thinking about ways coffee spurs connection and builds community. You’ll hear stories about two very different coffee experiences.

Producer Katrice Claudio talks with Elijah Hilliman, the co-founder of Semilla Cafe + Studio in Hartford. Semilla is a coffee shop, but it’s also a neighborhood living room serving as a creative space “rooted in intention and reclamation” for Connecticut’s BIPOC and LGBTQIA communities.

Plus, Producer Tagan Engel attends an Eritrean coffee ceremony hosted by her dear friend Farha Abubaker. We get to know Farha and the traditions behind each part of the ceremony.

And, listeners shout-out J. René Coffee Roasters for both the excellent coffee and the mission behind its sister coffee bar, Victus Coffee. Listen to our interview with owner and coffee expert, J. René Martinez.

GUESTS:

• Elijah Hilliman: Co-owner of Semilla Cafe + Studio

• Farha Abubaker: Formerly a chef and journalist, currently a teacher in New Haven, Conn.

LEARN MORE:
Read Ayannah Brown's story, MAROON Series by Semilla Café + Studio in Hartford is generating a new scene of CT music artists. The song at the close of our first segment was "Real Small Change" by local jazz and R&B quartet, Mixed Company.

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Tagan Engel, Katrice Claudio, Stephanie Stender, Meg Fitzgerald and Sabrina Herrera.

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

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, we get the scoop on some of the state’s best ice cream shops from two people devoted to local ice cream. We talk with Craig Behun, the ice cream lover behind the Instagram @cticecreamtour and Shahan Kukreja of Micro Creamery. For years, Craig’s been posting about his adventures trying ice cream shops all over the state. And Shahan takes the micro brewery concept and applies it to ice cream. You’ll find more than 70 local ice creams in the shop. Plus, Sweet Claude’s in Cheshire is an ice cream shop we love; get to know its owner Kelly Anne Pearce. And finally, Dr. Steve Zinn, UConn professor in the Department of Animal Science talks about the cows we have to thank for the milk used in the excellent ice cream served at the UConn Dairy Bar (@uconndairybar).

GUESTS:

• Craig Behun: Ice cream lover, creator of @cticecreamtour
• Shahan Kukreja: Co-owner of Micro Creamery in Woodbridge and Milford, Conn. (@microcreameryofct)
• Kelly Anne Pearce: Owner and ice cream maker, Sweet Claude’s in Cheshire, Conn. (@sweet_claudes)
• Dr. Steve Zinn: UConn professor in the Department of Animal Science in the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources (CAHNR); previously department head of Dept of Animal Science

Learn More:
Watch UConn's cows step up to the Voluntary Milking System to be milked.

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Tagan Engel, Stephanie Stender, Katrice Claudio, and Meg Fitzgerald, with help from Sabrina Herrera on Social.

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

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Richard Myers and Shawn Joseph are on a mission. This hour of Seasoned, get to know the farmers behind Park City Harvest in Bridgeport. Aside from keeping their farm productive and making candles, teas, and pikliz from their crops, the entrepreneurs are authors, too. Seasoned producer Tagan Engel tours the farm with "Farmer Rich" and "Farmer Shawn" and cooks a recipe from their book, Grow to Eat: A Vegetable Growing Guide/Cookbook.

Plus, we’re sharing some highlights from Where We Live’s recent episode Exploring Connecticut Wine Country.

GUESTS:

• Richard Myers: Horticulturist/farmer and co-founder of Park City Harvest in Bridgeport, Conn. (@park.city.harvest.llc) (@park_harvest)
• Shawn Joseph: Horticulturist/farmer and co-founder of Park City Harvest

From the Where We Live feature:

• Alice Feiring: Journalist and Writer; Author, The Feiring Line
• Leeanne Griffin: Food and Consumer Reporter, Hearst Connecticut
• Ryan Winiarski: Owner, Priam Vineyards
• Patty Rowan: Winery Manager, Hopkins Vineyard

BONUS LISTENS:
Shawn Joseph mentioned Huneebee Project in New Haven. Listen to the episode where we talked with its founder and two teenage beekeepers.

Leeanne Griffin talks with the owners of restaurants that have stood the test of time on an episode of Seasoned.

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Tagan Engel, Stephanie Stender, Katrice Claudio, and Meg Fitzgerald, with help from Sabrina Herrera on Social. The wine segment was produced by Katie Pellico for Where We Live.

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

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This June, two women made James Beard Award history. Chef Sherry Pocknett is the first Indigenous woman to earn a James Beard Award (Best Chef, Northeast). And chef, food writer, and author Illyanna Maisonet is the first Puerto Rican to earn a James Beard Award. Illyanna won in the “Emerging Voice” category for her book, Diasporican: A Puerto Rican Cookbook.

This hour, Rachel Sayet, an Indigenous educator and member of the Mohegan Tribe, talks with Sherry, who is a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, about her restaurants Sly Fox Den Too, which is in Charlestown, RI., as well as the restaurant she hopes to launch in Connecticut. Sherry also describes what it felt like to win the James Beard Award.

And, producer Katrice Claudio talks with Illyanna, who received her medallion during the James Beard Media Awards ceremony on June 3. Illyanna talks about culinary school, the cultural influences that make up Puerto Rican cuisine, and her approach to cooking Puerto Rican food—her way.

GUESTS:

• Sherry Pocknett: James Beard Award-winning chef/owner of Sly Fox DenToo. She is the first Indigenous woman to win a James Beard Award.
• Illyanna Maisonet: James Beard Award-winning food writer. She is the first Puerto Rican woman to win a James Beard Award and the first Puerto Rican food columnist for a major newspaper in the United States, the San Francisco Chronicle. Her newsletter is on Substack and her first book is Diasporican: A Puerto Rican Cookbook.

FEATURED RECIPES: 
Pernil
Tostones
Arroz Chino Boricua

LEARN MORE: In her segment, Sherry mentioned farmer Jeremy Whipple. He’s the director of Mashantucket Pequot’s Meechooôk Farm, where they make what Sherry calls “the best maple syrup in all the land.” CT Public's Patrick Skahill featured the farm in a series about BIPOC farmers.

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Katrice Claudio, Stephanie Stender, Meg Fitzgerald, Tagan Engel and Sabrina Herrera. Our interns are Stacey Addo and Carol Chen.

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

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve wanted to hook chef Reneé Touponce for an interview for a long time! She’s the executive chef at Oyster Club and The Port of Call, a nautical-themed cocktail lounge and restaurant in Mystic. She’s also the Connecticut Restaurant Association’s “Best Chef” of 2022 and a James Beard Award-nominee. She joins us to talk about her approach to cooking seafood and how it serves as a creative muse.

Plus, Valentine Thomas, a professional spearfisherwoman, ocean conservationist, and sustainability-focused cook, discusses her book Good Catch. She’ll share tips for grilling fish and explain why we might want to eat more of it.

And, Carolyn Wyman, author of The Great Clam Cake and Fritter Guide offers her picks for Connecticut’s seafood shacks making the tastiest clam cakes and fritters.

GUESTS:

• Reneé Touponce: Executive Chef at Oyster Club and The Port of Call in Mystic. (@reneetouponce)
• Valentine Thomas: Author of Good Catch: A Guide to Sustainable Fish and Seafood with Recipes from the World’s Oceans (@valentinethomas)
• Carolyn Wyman: Author of The Great Clam Cake and Fritter Guide: Why We Love Them, How to Make Them, and Where to Find Them from Maine to Virginia

FEATURED RECIPES:
Fish Puttanesca
Oysters, Three Ways
Corn Chowder

LEARN MORE:
Reneé Touponce shouted out a trio of local seafood sources who’ve given her a deeper appreciation for the ingredients she cooks with every day:
Sea Well Seafood (want to see a monk fish?)
Will Ceddia – Sixpenny Oyster Farm (@sixpenny_oysters)
Suzie Flores – Stonington Kelp Co. (@stoningtonkelpco)

Listen to Will and Suzie talk about ocean farming in Connecticut in an episode from Seasoned's archive.

In her segment about spearfishing and seafood, Valentine Thomas referenced this recent study about the connection between seafood consumption during pregnancy and IQ.

Want to go on a clam cake crawl? Here are Carolyn Wyman’s picks for the best clam fritters in Connecticut:
Deary Brothers/Mike’s Stand in Putnam
Hank’s Dairy Bar in Plainfield
Johnny Ad’s in Old Saybrook
The Lobster Shack in East Haven
Sea Swirl in Mystic

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Katrice Claudio, Stephanie Stender, Meg Fitzgerald, Tagan Engel and Sabrina Herrera. Our interns are Carol Chen and Stacey Addo.

Dive into all of the nautical themed stories airing this week on Connecticut Public's original talk shows by visiting ctpublic.org/nautiweek.

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

 

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you smell smoke? It’s our annual live episode celebrating all things grilled, smoked, and barbecued. The pitmaster behind Hindsight Barbecue in Waterbury and West Hartford is our guest for the hour. Plus, local pitmaster Darryl Thomas of Thomas' Smokey Pit Stop in Manchester shares the inspirations behind his recipes and answers your barbecue questions too.

Where is your favorite barbecue joint in the state? Are you a fan of Kansas City, Carolina, Memphis or Texas-style barbecue? We’re gonna make a case for a thing called Connecticut-style barbecue because the pitmasters in our state are on fire.

We want to know where you’re getting your pulled pork, ribs, brisket, smoked sausages, and burnt ends. If it’s covered in sauce or piled high on a tray with slaw and a side of cornbread, we want to hear about it.

GUESTS:

• Jeff Schmidt: Co-owner of Hindsight Barbecue in Waterbury and West Hartford, Conn. (@hindsightbbq)
• Darryl Thomas: Owner/pitmaster of Thomas' Smokey Pit Stop, Manchester, Conn. (@thomassmokeypitstop)

Cookbooks that'll up your BBQ game:
Rodney Scott's World of BBQ by Rodney Scott
Franklin Smoke: Wood. Fire. Food. by Aaron Franklin
Thank You for Smoking by Paula Disbrowe
Ed Mitchell's Barbecue by Ed and Ryan Mitchell with Zella Palmer

Further reading on the history of barbecue:
Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue by Adrian Miller
From Barbycu to Barbecue: The Untold History of an American Tradition by Joseph R. Haynes

Listener shout outs:
Dog Watch, Mystic, Conn.
Ricky D's Rib Shack, New Haven (Want to see 70 sisters enjoying Ricky's BBQ? Go to Ricky D's Instagram page)
Taino Smokehouse, Middletown and Meriden, Conn.
Sub Edge Farm, Farmington and Avon, Conn. (Not a BBQ shout out, but a local pasture-raised beef, pork, and poultry shout out)

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Stephanie Stender, Tagan Engel, Katrice Claudio, Meg Fitzgerald and Sabrina Herrera. Gene Amatruda was our technical producer. Our interns are Stacey Addo and Carol Chen.

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

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We look at foraging from two perspectives in this episode of Seasoned. What approach do chefs take when foraging? Chef Plum forages for fiddleheads in northwestern Connecticut along the Housatonic River with chef Chrissy Tracey. She explains why she believes foraging is sacred. After their harvest, the chefs head back to Chrissy’s kitchen to sauté the fiddleheads in garlic and lemon. And, Seasoned contributor/producer Tagan Engel talks with Chris “Painted Turtle” Harris about how he, as an herbalist and elder in the Mohegan Tribe, approaches a forage in the forest.

GUESTS:

• Chrissy Tracey: Forager, private chef, content creator, and recipe developer. Her first cookbook, Forage & Feast publishes spring 2024
• Chris Harris Painted Turtle: Herbalist, Pipe Carrier and member of the Council of Elders for the Mohegan Tribe

FEATURED RECIPE: Tagan Engel's Foraged Berry Hand Pies 

LEARN MORE:
Mohegan Medicine Woman Gladys Tantaquidgeon’s book, Folk Medicine of the Delaware and Related Algonkian Indians influenced Chris’s approach to foraging. Gladys co-founded the Tantaquidgeon Museum in Uncasville in 1931. Tour the museum to learn more about the Mohegan people.

Chris also credits herbalist and educator Lupo Passero and the class he took at Twin Star with deepening his knowledge and understanding of wild plants and herbs. Follow along as Chris takes a walk in the woods with Regan Stacey of The Forest Therapy School, stopping along the Four Directions to offer prayers and explain the meanings behind the Four Directions.

Want to become part of a foraging community? Listen back to our conversation with Amy Demers, founder of the Connecticut Foraging Club. Amy was recently featured in a CT Public story highlighting New England foragers.

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Tagan Engel, Katrice Claudio, Stephanie Stender, Meg Fitzgerald, and Sabrina Herrera.

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

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seasoned producer Katrice Claudio speaks with food writer and cookbook author Nicole A. Taylor about her book Watermelon & Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations. Plus, get to know chef Macarena Ludena Jimenez of Coracora in West Hartford. Connecticut Public reporter Maricarmen Cajahuaringa sits down with Macarena to discuss the cultural importance of Peruvian food and celebrate the restaurant’s recent James Beard Award nomination in the “Outstanding Restaurant” category. And, we’re cheering Chef Plum on ahead of the 2023 regional Emmy Awards ceremony. His series Restaurant Road Trip is nominated for three awards.

GUESTS:

• Nicole A. Taylor: Author of Watermelon & Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations
• Macarena Ludena Jimenez: Head Chef and CEO of Coracora in West Hartford, Conn.

FEATURED RECIPES:
Southern-ish Potato Salad
Miso Bloody Mary

LOCAL SHOUT OUTS:
Looking for Black-owned food business to support? Check out Katrice's picks for food and drink lovers who also want an experience:
The Art of Yum
Semilla Cafe + Studio
The Social House

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Katrice Claudio, Stephanie Stender, Meg Fitzgerald, Tagan Engel and Sabrina Herrera. Maricarmen Cajahuaringa contributed to this episode.

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

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three of the state's best mixologists join Chef Plum in studio to talk about seasonal drinks, both spirited and zero-proof, as we slide from spring into summer. Guests make, taste, and give the backstories of cocktails from their bar menus they're most excited about right now.

GUESTS:

• Tim Cabral: Restaurateur and a co-owner and bartender at Ordinary in New Haven and Bar Piña in Hartford. His new restaurant Gioia opens this summer in Wooster Square, and he’s also a founder of New Haven Cocktail Week.
• Jade Ayala: Bar Manager and Beverage Director at both Oyster Club and The Port of Call in Mystic.
• Justin Morales: Founder of Up N’ Down Rock and Bourbon and the general manager and a hospitality instructor at Fire By Forge in Hartford.

DRINKS INSPIRATION:
We have several “drinks of summer” from recent cocktail cookbooks that our producers pored over! There are Blueberry Lemonade Margaritas, a Blackberry Faux-jito, Moscow Mule Popsicles and drinks in “cocktail pouches” from Trap Kitchen’s Street Cocktails book...lots of fun recipes you might want to try for a party or a night in.

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Katrice Claudio, Stephanie Stender, Meg Fitzgerald, Tagan Engel and Sabrina Herrera.

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: [email protected].Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.