Weekend Kitchen

Weekend Kitchen Weekend Kitchen is a small ecclectic kitchen shop in the quaint village of Essex CT. Please visit o

Weekend Kitchen is a small eclectic kitchen shop and cooking school in Essex CT. Also the home of Green Grape Press bespoke letterpress printing.

Paella Party!Saturday, September 12 | 6:30–10:00 PM | Cost $95Chef Dani RocheThere's a reason our Paella Party has becom...
08/21/2026

Paella Party!
Saturday, September 12 | 6:30–10:00 PM | Cost $95
Chef Dani Roche

There's a reason our Paella Party has become one of Weekend Kitchen's most anticipated events of the year!

We have a handful of spots left for this fun evening! Join Chef Dani Roche under the Weekend Kitchen tent for an evening filled with incredible food, laughter, and the aromas of one of Spain's most iconic dishes. Paella is far more than a recipe—it's a celebration. Traditionally cooked outdoors and shared with family and friends, it's a meal that brings everyone together around the pan.

As the evening unfolds, you'll watch Chef Dani demonstrate the techniques that transform simple ingredients into something truly spectacular. Learn how to build layers of flavor beginning with a deeply savory broth, choose the perfect rice, and carefully add each ingredient at just the right moment. The magic of paella is all about patience—allowing the rice to absorb every bit of flavor without stirring, creating the coveted socarrat: the crisp, caramelized layer of rice at the bottom of the pan that paella lovers consider the ultimate prize.

While the paella slowly cooks over the flame, we'll enjoy homemade pico de gallo with fresh tortilla chips, great conversation, and plenty of stories from Chef Dani. Then, we'll gather around the pan to enjoy generous servings of perfectly cooked paella, finishing the evening with Dani's famous homemade flan.

Bring your friends, your appetite, and your favorite take-home container—there are always delicious leftovers. And, as Dani likes to remind everyone…

"Don't forget your stretchy pants!"

Sign up here- https://www.weekendkitchenct.com/collections/frontpage/products/6-24-paella-party-with-chef-dani

You know when you are away from a place you love for a while and you return to it- you fall in love all over again? The...
08/17/2026

You know when you are away from a place you love for a while and you return to it- you fall in love all over again? The memories all flood back in one hard hitting blow. I’ve been going to nantucket since I was in high school… first as a vacation, then lived a summer between my masters and PhD… then to visit Dave while we dated. I went two weekends a month from UConn to the island for 7 years! In January and February the boat often has to crunch through ice to get to the dock. One summer I spent working at the scallop farm as a volunteer (2nd photo of building at brand point). Helping maintain the tiny scallops they hoped to farm (I think oyster farming is much easier). There’s nothing happier than a baby scallop and all its little blue eyes. Now, I go to visit my cousins and check our little cottage we bought many years ago. It’s was a great visit! Hanging out in Madaket with my cousins- far from the crowds in town. Taking the bus to town was awesome- so convenient! Going to the beaches, that are unlike any other on the planet… surf on the ocean side and calm and quiet on the harbor side- I had a wonderful swim (or float) at Mr Rogers beach (I am afraid of the waves). I learned the “old lady lay back” to start the swim (I think I qualify now-lol). I love walking through town admiring the flower boxes that are spectacular- one better than the next. The salt air and cool nights make them flourish! I can put all the same plants into my antique urns and never do they come close to flourishing. As much as things change… they also stay the same. The sky, the light, the smell of the ocean- I get why nantucket has been over run with “influencers”… I don’t have to like it, but I know there are still quiet peaceful sandy roads I can run far from the bustle of town… and think someday I’ll spend more time there!

Last night we learned all about plant pigments including my favorite carotenoids (my PhD thesis topic). These potent an...
08/17/2026

Last night we learned all about plant pigments including my favorite carotenoids (my PhD thesis topic). These potent antioxidants are the colorful reds (lycopene-tomatoes and beets), oranges (beta carotene- carrots), yellows (lutein and zeaxanthin-corn) and blue anthocyanins (blueberries and red cabbage). We paired all the colors with homemade pita bread and some Mediterranean grilled chicken- it was all super yummy! The weather was perfect to sit out under the tent! More classes being posted this week!

It’s been a minute since I was on Nantucket- I’ve been going to the island since I was a kid (we are talking the 1970’s)...
08/07/2026

It’s been a minute since I was on Nantucket- I’ve been going to the island since I was a kid (we are talking the 1970’s). Met my husband there (1993) … got married there (1999)… lots of great memories with family and friends. I see all the posts about the “influencers” and what they are doing to a once quaint and quiet oasis in the sea. It will be interesting to see first hand… meanwhile I will enjoy a lovely ferry ride from New Bedford. A little breezy on deck but at least im outside and not in the lab!

What a fantastic afternoon of cooking together and learning about Mediterranean cooking with Jeremy Rock Smith. Simple ...
08/01/2026

What a fantastic afternoon of cooking together and learning about Mediterranean cooking with Jeremy Rock Smith. Simple ingredients cooked intentionally produces the best flavors. Focus on the freshest ingredients…veggies and legumes. Add animal proteins as a side dish… lots and lots of olive oil! Thanks Jeremy for another crazy fun class!

I love these solar lights! We’ve sold them in the shop for years… and I’ve never thought to mention them. But they add ...
07/16/2026

I love these solar lights! We’ve sold them in the shop for years… and I’ve never thought to mention them. But they add so much wonderful ambiance to the yard. At night they come to life! The sun 🌞 was so jealous it decided to be an orb too- lol!

I’m doing my second ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet this week. It’s a kit format with 5 days of carefully researched and ...
07/14/2026

I’m doing my second ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet this week. It’s a kit format with 5 days of carefully researched and formulated meals to keep your body in a fasting state while having small amouns of food. Day 1 (today) has about 1100 calories. As the week goes on the calories decline. Tomorrow my body will enter ketosis afted using up all my stored glucose today. Day 1 wasn’t so bad… a little hungry but doable.

The first time I did the fast,I honestly had one goal: to see if it would help my hand eczema. After struggling with painful, inflamed, itchy hands for nearly a year, I finished the five days… and my eczema cleared. I couldn’t believe it. That doesn’t mean it will work for everyone, but it was enough for me to want to do it again.

So what is a fasting mimicking diet?

Think of it as putting your body into “maintenance mode.” When nutrients are plentiful, your cells are busy growing, dividing, and building. During a fasting mimicking diet, the body senses that resources are limited and temporarily shifts priorities. Instead of focusing on growth, it conserves energy, increases cellular quality control, and breaks down old or damaged proteins and cell components so they can be recycled into new ones later. This is called autophagy.

When you begin eating normally again, the body switches back into growth mode. That transition—from maintenance and recycling back to rebuilding—is thought to be one reason fasting mimicking diets are being studied for healthy aging, metabolic health, immune function, and reducing chronic inflammation.

As someone with a background in nutritional biochemistry and immunology, I find the science fascinating. As someone who lived with miserable hand eczema for nearly a year, I’m equally interested in what I experienced personally.

I’ll share how this round goes over the next few days!

A little morning walk through the gardens…
07/12/2026

A little morning walk through the gardens…

Last night’s cooking class almost didn’t happen.A 9-town boil water alert had us wondering if we could pull it off with ...
07/12/2026

Last night’s cooking class almost didn’t happen.

A 9-town boil water alert had us wondering if we could pull it off with tubs of prepped water. Should we postpone? Restaurants were closed, everyone was on high alert, and our guest instructor, Maria Vita Villaggi · Italy Slow Travel & Tours , had traveled to share the beautiful summer recipes of her home region of Campania, Italy (where she and her husband also lead culinary tours).

After lots of back-and-forth, we decided to move forward, giving everyone the option to attend another class if they preferred. Nearly everyone embraced the adventure! I had even changed all of the recipes from raw to cooked to be extra safe. But thankfully we didn’t need to change a thing!

Then, just one hour before class began… the boil water alert was lifted. Full steam ahead!

The evening couldn’t have been more perfect—a beautiful July night, comfortable enough to dine outdoors under the tent. Maria’s infectious enthusiasm, her love of her region, and her joy for teaching drew everyone in. It was one of those rare classes where strangers instantly connected, conversations flowed effortlessly, and no one wanted the evening to end.

Thank you, Maria Vita Villaggi · Italy Slow Travel & Tours, for another magical evening of transporting us to Italy through food, stories, and friendship. 🇮🇹❤️

SummerCooking ItalianCuisine ConnecticutEvents CulinaryExperience

Today would have been my brilliant mom’s 93rd birthday. ❤️ It’s been nearly 19 years since she passed, yet somehow it st...
07/04/2026

Today would have been my brilliant mom’s 93rd birthday. ❤️ It’s been nearly 19 years since she passed, yet somehow it still feels like yesterday.

She helped me start Weekend Kitchen as my “Wednesday Girl” some 20 years ago! She could talk to absolutely anyone (a trait I definitely did not inherit 😂), and she was endlessly creative. She baked, sewed, painted, printed on her letterpress, built incredible things from yard sale junk, and taught me to see beauty where others might not-the worn patinas and chips/repairs that give character. She made framed art out of colored zeroxes and could fix anything with a roll of contact paper- who needed the pool guy to fix the liner! Imperfection was perfection in her eyes-.
While I don’t think I inherited quite the same level of artistic talent (I’ll leave that to my incredibly creative brother), I inherited her curiosity, determination, and appreciation for creating something meaningful.

Today, in part because of my mom, my professional scientific career has taken me into cancer research. Small cell lung cancer—the disease that took my mom so quickly—remains one of the hardest cancers to treat. But we’ve made remarkable progress in other cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer, through precision medicine. The company I work for is currently developing a therapy in Phase 1 clinical trials with potential applications in non-small cell lung cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, head and neck cancer, and ovarian cancer. Every day I walk into the lab, I think about my mom and how quickly cancer stole her from us. It reminds me why the work matters and why I hope that someday we’ll be able to say these diseases have truly effective, durable treatments.

Happy Heavenly 93rd Birthday, Mom. ❤️

And I hope there aren’t any fireworks up there… because we both know you were never a fan.

Address

16 Main Street
Essex, CT
06426

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 5pm
Tuesday 11am - 5pm
Wednesday 11am - 5pm
Thursday 11am - 5pm
Friday 11am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm
Sunday 12pm - 5pm

Telephone

+18607671010

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