Caseus - Cheesy Goodness in New Haven

I love local spots when I'm any city around the world. Meaning to say, I try to avoid global and national chains (e.g., Starbucks). I want to see and taste what the locals are doing.

In New Haven, one of these local spots is Caseus, a local cheese shop and bistro. It's local popularity has expanded to the trendy food truck, as well. Caseus is a cool, chill place to eat outdoors when the weather is warm and sunny, or indoors in a tavern-like atmosphere. If you're in the mood for some cheesy goodness, this is the place to go.

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The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album.

Italy is Eataly!

The most anticipated destination for our family trip to New York City was Eataly. Established by Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich, Joe Bastianich, and Oscar Farinetti. These Italian-loving geniuses creating one of the coolest food markets! It's a market for fresh ingredients (fruits, vegetables, seafood, meats), for fun Italian goodies (homemade nutella!), for a snack (some salumi and wine in the afternoon - why not!), for a variety of meals (pizzas, pastas, seafood, vegetables), for drinking (beers, wines, espressos), for desserts (gelato and panetonne!), and so much more.

This place was like our Disneyland, our "happiest place on earth". In the course of a week, we visited Eataly four times to shop and to eat. I highly highly recommend this place if you love food, especially Italian food!

Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.

Linguine alle Vongole at Home

I love when a night's dinner menu is created spontaneously in a grocery because of the freshness of the day's ingredients. Walking through Whole Foods can be so inspiring. At the seafood counter, we saw there were some great looking fresh Manila clams. We had to get it. It was so fresh (as in, if you hit the shell a little, the muscle would move inside) that we had to eat it for dinner that night. So what to make with fresh clams? Linguine alle Vongole!

With a tomato, some garlic, parsley, and delicious white wine, the clams were tossed in and steamed to open. Then we mixed in the cooked linguine. The result: A flavorful pasta with dimensions of flavor from the clam juice and the white wine.

To cap the meal, we enjoyed a cheese course, thanks to the great cheese selection at Whole Foods. And, of course, it was paired with some port which is a fantastic way to balance and heighten the experience of a cheese plate.

Place your cursor above "Notes" to read a little more about each picture.

Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.

Spanish Birthday Dinner

For my brother's birthday, my mom made a special Spanish menu for dinner.

The Wine Pairing
Cabernet Sauvignon, Beringer Private Reserve, 1994
Paired so well with the meats.


Fideos
Noodles (for long life) was a must. Typically Fideo noodles are shorter, but we made them longer for the birthday celebrant. It turned out to be a nice length.



Cocido
Madrileno (from Madrid, Spain) winter stew. It's a recipe from my mom's side of the family.
Vegetables
Cabbage, Leeks, Green Beans

Sweet Potatoes

Meats
Chicken, Chorizo, Morcilla, Spare Ribs, and Short Ribs



Sauce
A homemade tomato sauce to compliment the dish.

Soup
The broth from the meats and vegetables is so full of flavor!


Cheese Plate
Mitica Drunken Goat, Manchego El Trigal, Sini Fulvi Sottocenere with Truffles, English Cheddar, Mitica Capricho de Cabra
The goat cheese were delicious with their smooth bold tastes.