If it’s September, it must be Glendi

Greek food worth the wait

By John Fladd
[email protected]

If you wanted to throw a world-class Greek food and culture festival, you’d need to start with a ton and a half of lamb shanks, half a dozen giant gale-proof tents, and an army of steely-eyed church ladies.

George Skaperdas is the President of the board of directors at Saint George’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral (650 Hanover St., Manchester, 622-9113, stgeorgenh.org) and the Chairman of Glendi, Manchester’s largest food and culture festival. He is in charge of everything from renting tents and arranging permits to ordering a seriously gigantic amount of fresh lamb. He said that even in Glendi’s 45th year it remains a logistical challenge.

“The planning for this really starts in February,” Skaperdas said, “even though we laugh and say it starts the Monday after Glendi’s over, with getting the permits, making sure we got the insurance, reserving the tents, the porta-potties, all of that. And then starts the real nitty-gritty. What do we have to order for supplies and all that? Some of the cooking starts taking place in the middle of summer so we can freeze it, and then it’s not completely cooked through. The lamb shanks start being cooked Thursday before Glendi and we start braising them at 5:30 in the morning on Friday morning so they’re ready for everybody to go, for everybody to have their lamb shanks.”

The amount of food to prepare for Glendi is staggering.

“We’ve got almost 2,500 pounds of lamb shanks,” Skaperdas said, “almost 1,700 pounds of lamb kabobs. I don’t even know how many pounds of chicken — you know, the half chicken, the marinated chicken that we do? There’s 200 spanakopitas [Greek spinach and feta pastries], thousands of meatballs, stuffed grape leaves, and stuffed peppers. It’s just astounding how much food we go through.” After a moment of thought, he clarified that by 200 spanakopitas, he meant 200 18- by 26-inch sheet pans of spanakopitas.

Glendi has been a fixture of Manchester’s culture since 1980.

“Before that, it was just a little harvest bazaar,” Skaterdas remembered. “It was done for the church, and [we’d] make a few dollars here and there to help with whatever ministries and things that the church needed. Then all of a sudden, it just started growing. So in 1980, the decision was made to have Glendi — Glendi means a good time — and it’s just grown leaps and bounds. The city of Manchester expects us to have Glendi now, and it’s a great time for everybody, just good food and great times. And an awful lot of work.”

In this year’s official program, Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais called Glendi “legendary” and wrote that it is an excellent representation of the city’s Greek population: “The Greek community has a proud, prominent heritage here in Manchester and Glendi is the perfect showcase for Hellenic culture.”

Gov. Sununu was also effusive. “St. George’s is known far and wide for the pride it takes in Greek heritage and the hospitality that the parish shows to all who visit,” he wrote. “Throughout the years, the members of St. George’s have treated my family with incredible kindness, and I thank them for always making us feel so welcome.”

Of course, there are many people who come to Glendi every year for Greek music or dance, or crafts, but essentially there are two main camps of Glendi fans: the pastry enthusiasts, and the lamb buffs.

The most popular pastries, especially with children, are loukoumades: hot, fried dough balls that are soaked in syrup and covered with cinnamon and powdered sugar. Other popular cookies and pastries include kataifi(shredded phyllo dough mixed with walnuts and syrup), koulourakia (sweet butter cookies), finikia (honey-dipped walnut cookies) and at least two varieties of baklava. Skaperdas’ favorite is a dessert called galaktoboureko. “It is layers of phyllo with like a custard in between, just, it’s like heaven on earth, that stuff,” he said dreamily.

In the other camp are Glendi attendees who wait all year for the lamb.

How tender or tough a cut of meat is is determined by how much an animal exercised it before making its last great sacrifice. Tenderloin, for example, is a cut of meat that comes from the center of an animal, and because it has never had to work very hard it is extremely tender. One of the hardest-working muscles in many animals is the shank — the muscles around the shin bone. Lamb shanks are one of the most eagerly awaited dishes at Glendi, but to make them moist and tender, they must be cooked “low and slow” for 12 or more hours. “It takes more than a couple of hours to make sure that they’re nice and soft and tender,” Skaterdas said. The shanks are braised in Pappou’s sauce. “You know, ‘Pappou’ means grandfather in Greek. Every grandfather has his secret recipe for a sauce and all that and the different spices that go into it.” By the time the shanks are served, they are fall-off-the-bone tender.

The lamb kabobs and chicken are grilled over charcoal.

“I don’t know what the exact number is,” Skaterdas said, “but I think that we can have 16 skewers [of lamb] per machine. And there’s two machines, where you stack all the charcoal in the middle and it rotates the skewers around so it’s getting a nice even cook on it. The pit guys just do an amazing job marinating them and having them ready to go. It is pumping out food and the kitchen is pumping out food. Every once in a while we get behind. But we’re very fortunate that people are patient. Sometimes they’re waiting in line up to 45 minutes to get into the food tent to get food. But it’s worth it; the food is worth it.”

Glendi
When: Friday, Sept. 13, and Saturday, Sept. 14, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 15, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Food service will end at 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Where: Saint George’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 650 Hanover St., Manchester
Additional parking will be available beginning at 5 p.m. Friday at the McDonough School near Derryfield Park, with free shuttle service to the Festival.
Glendi will be held rain or shine.
More: stgeorgenh.org

The Weekly Dish 24/09/12

News from the local food scene

New tiki bar: What The Pho! (836 Elm St. in Manchester), described on its website whatthephorestaurant.com as an “Asian Noodle Bar & Bamboo Tiki Bar,” had its ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 16. The food has an East Asian focus, including pho (a spicy Vietnamese noodle soup), noodle bowls, rice bowls and banh mi sandwiches. Beverages include tiki drinks, specialty craft cocktails, local craft beer and wine. Reservations and takeout orders can be placed over the phone; online ordering will be available soon, according to the website.

Oktoberfest: To Share Brewing (720 Union St, Manchester, 836-6947, tosharebrewing.com) will hold its annual Oktoberfest Saturday, Sept. 14, from 1 to 9 p.m. Celebrate the release of To Share’s October Altbier, with special food, branded dimpled mugs and draft specials, a stein-holding competition and more.

Ice cream and the arts: The Friends of the Audi will host their 34th annual season-opening Gala, Arts Fair and Ice Cream Social, Sunday, Sept. 15, at 6 p.m. at the Concord City Auditorium (2 Prince St., Concord, 228-2793, theaudi.org). This will be a free, ticket-less, fun family event. Enjoy Arnie’s Ice Cream and visit displays of the area’s exciting arts groups, and don’t forget to take a chance on the $2,000 Gala raffle. Visit the Auditorium’s website.

Old blue eyes: Fulchino Vineyard (187 Pine Hill Road, Hollis, 438-5984, fulchinovineyard.com) will host a five-course Sinatra Wine Pairing dinner, Sunday, Sept 15, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Chris Jason and Joelle Rhigetti and the nine-piece Sinatra Live Big Band perform classic favorites from Sinatra to Dean Martin and more. Tickets are $189 through the Vineyard’s website. Space is limited.

Buzz buzz: Tuscan Market (Tuscan Village, 9 Via Toscana, Salem, 912-5467, tuscanbrands.com) will host a class Thursday, Sept. 19, from 6 to 8 p.m.: Espresso Martini, Coffee Cocktails & Dessert. Mixologist Anthony Pino will bring participants through cocktail basics while teaching how to make a classic espresso martini along with other coffee cocktails. A dessert will be paired with the martini. A server will be available to take orders from the full menu. Tickets are $85 and available through the Market’s website.

On The Job – Louisa Amirault

owner of Vintage 101


Louisa Amirault owns and operates Vintage 101 (292 Route 101 in Amherst), which curates a unique selection of vintage and antique decor, furniture and other accessories for purchase. Visit their Facebook page or call 930-6583.

Explain your job and what it entails.

Basically I sell vintage, antique and unique items.

How long have you had this job?

Since March 23 of this year.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

I started out just kind of fixing up and making over old furniture. From there I got into other beautiful old things. Then, with the things that I was able to rescue, I wanted to share them. I had an antique booth for two years at the Milford Market. I needed more space so I opened the shop.

What kind of education or training did you need?

Actually, I had a degree in business and for 20 years I did web design and hosting. I found that I liked more hands-on creativity and that’s how I got into fixing up furniture.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Business casual.

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

The most challenging thing for me is having to be in one place for a long period of time. Where I’m the only one working I can’t just leave to take a 10-minute break … but when the day is busy it just flies right by. I have a lot of nice old books I’ve kept myself entertained with.

What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your career?

That there would be an adjustment period for me to kind of get used to being stuck in the store all the time … being the only employee … but I’m getting better. I had my own business before for 20 years but I could make my own hours.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

The value of the antique and vintage items. To me it’s so special to save these items. People come in and they’re like, ‘They don’t make anything like this anymore,’ and they get it. But some people don’t and I wish more people understood how good this furniture is, how long it lasts, how durable it is. Some of the dishes I have are from the early 1800s … [and they’re] made so well and with so much care.

What was your first job?

My first job ever was when I was 16. I was a waitress at a breakfast place. I liked it.

What is the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

Just to do something that you enjoy and then it doesn’t feel like work. Having just a little bit of creativity in my job where I can hand-pick the items and I can set up the little vignettes, that gives me joy.

Zachary Lewis

Five favorites
Favorite book: Lately I’m very much into the Jane Austen books. Pride and Prejudice, I know that’s kind of girly, I can’t help it.
Favorite movie: Signs
Favorite music: I like all kinds of music but I mostly like ’90s alternative rock like Radiohead, Live, Bush.
Favorite food: Lately I’m really into Indian food.
Favorite thing about NH: The diverse landscape. Everything about the geography is just perfect.

Featured photo: Louisa Amirault. Courtesy photo.

Kiddie Pool 24/09/12

Family fun for whenever

Indoor and outdoor fun

• Auburn will hold its 31st annual Duck Race on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 2 p.m. as part of 2024 Auburn Day, which runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Auburn Village on Hooksett Road. Winning ducks get their ticket-holders prizes — from $1,000 for first prize through $25 for 6th through 10th place. The day will also feature an apple pie contest, a cookie baking contest for kids, a small petting zoo, music by Ray Zerkle, the Pinkerton Marching Band, a New Hampshire National Guard Black Hawk helicopter, food trucks, children’s games and more. See auburnhistorical.org.

• Friends of Benson Park’s third annual Family Fun Day will take place Saturday, Sept. 14, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Benson Park (19 Kimball Hill Road, Hudson, friendsofbensonpark.org). Cub Scouts Pack 21 and Girl Scouts Troop 12070 will be in attendance, as will Balloons by Michelle, UFO Party Rental and the Carriage Shack Farm Traveling Petting Zoo with their fuzzy animals. Participants will enjoy music from SNHUG, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, and Let’s Play Music soloist Aryanna Cabrera throughout the day.

• The Granite State Fair at 72 Lafayette Road in Rochester will run Thursday, Sept. 12, through Sunday, Sept. 15, and Thursday, Sept. 19, through Sunday, Sept. 22. Find a ride list with height requirements at granitestatefair.com. One-day tickets cost $10 per person through Sept. 11, or $12 per person Sept. 12 and beyond (children 8 and under get in free).

Pelham Old Home Day is Saturday, Sept. 14, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 3 Main St. in Pelham. The day will include music, fitness demonstrations, dance and martial arts demonstrations, food trucks (meat pies, poutine, hot dogs, fries, chicken fingers, ice cream, beverages and desserts), a pancake and sausage breakfast at the Church Fellowship Hall, crafts and goods vendors, a white elephant yard sale, a 5K road race, kids’ games, touch a truck, a cornhole tournament, a grand parade, a performance by the Windham Community Band, a penny sale raffle and more, according to pelhamoldhomeday.org.

Especially for the littles

• The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St., Dover, childrens-museum.org, 742-2002) will hold Toddlerfest, its annual celebration of the littlest museum-goers featuring special activities and events, Tuesday, Sept. 17, through Sunday, Sept. 29. A visit to the museum requires online reservations.

• Different Drummer Farm (55 South Road, Candia, differentdrummerfarm.com ) wants Granite Staters to pack up their picnic baskets and favorite teddy bear or other stuffed friend on Sunday, Sept. 15, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for their Teddy Bear Picnic. Children can enjoy petting and feeding the farm animals, creating teddy bear crafts, going on a bear hunt or wagon ride, a storytime put on by Ballet Misha, a family photo at the photo op spot, and an optional pony ride. A limited amount of picnic basket lunches are available in advance. There will be sweet treats, teddy bear gifts, souvenirs and additional food at the snack bar. Tickets are $50 for a family of three or more, or $20 per individual ticket. The rain date is Sunday, Sept. 22.

Especially for the pups

• The Humane Society for Greater Nashua will hold its Wags to Whiskers Festival Saturday, Sept. 16, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Anheuser-Busch Brewery (221 DW Highway, Merrimack, 595-1202, anheuser-busch.com/ breweries/merrimack-nh). It will be a day of fun, featuring vendors, food trucks, demos, games and raffles. There will be an adoption tent on site with puppies. Visit hsfn.org/wags-whiskersfestival. Tickets are $15 for adults 21 and up, $12 for ages 17 to 20. Ages 16 and younger attend free.

Treasure Hunt 24/09/12

Hi, Donna,

I have a rattan chair made by the Wakefield Rattan Co. out of Wakefield, Mass. The chairprecedes the merge with Hayward Furniture Co. As you can see by the label the pattern date is April 1877. After much research all I know is that it is called a double back chair. But that is about all, except for the information on the label on the bottom of the chair. Can you tell me more about the chair and its value?

Jane

Dear Jane,

You made my job easy on your chair. The research you have done on your Wakefield chair is correct. It was before the merge in the late 1800s into Hayward Wakefield. The value on most Hayward or Wakefield items, and even Hayward Wakefield items, is high as long as there is no damage and the item is close to original condition. They were a leading company in rattan furniture and then went on. I found values all over the place. The more elaborate the design the higher the value. So I think it’s safe to say yours would be in the $700+ range to a collector. Nice treasure!

Donna Welch has spent more than 35 years in the antiques and collectibles field, appraising and instructing. Her new location is an Antique Art Studio located in Dunbarton, NH where she is still buying and selling. If you have questions about an antique or collectible send a clear photo and information to Donna at [email protected], or call her at 391-6550.

Fall gardening chores

Never make mulch volcanoes

By Henry Homeyer
[email protected]

Despite some hot sunny days, fall is fast approaching and it’s time to start thinking about cleaning up the garden and putting it to bed. No, I am not suggesting you cut back all your perennials or pull all your vegetable plants. But October, the time most gardeners put the garden to bed, may be cold and rainy. We even got 5 inches of wet snow one October. So get started!

Let’s look at the most neglected area: the vegetable garden. By October many gardeners are sick of weeding, so they pick their peppers, pull the carrots and quit. I recommend cleaning up each bed as soon as all the food has been harvested. So far I have pulled my garlic and dug my potatoes. Each time I took half an hour or so to weed the bed, cover it with old newspapers (four to six pages) and then covered that with 4 to 6 inches of straw. That way, next spring, weeds and grasses won’t take over beds while the soil is still too cold and wet for planting vegetables.

The leaves and stems of any vegetable that showed signs of blight should be treated with care: Instead of putting the diseased plants in the regular compost pile, put them in a separate pile, one that will not be used to produce compost. Spores are the “seeds” of disease and can survive most composting. Squash family plants often have fungal diseases, as do tomatoes and potatoes.

Your flower beds need weeding, too. If you don’t use an edging tool to create an impenetrable canyon around your flower beds, it is important to pull creeping grasses and vines like ‘Creeping Charlie’ that have probably been sneaking in all summer. Use a good weeding tool to go down deep when you weed. I like the CobraHead weeder best. (www.cobrahead.com). It is a curved single-tine cultivator that can get below weeds so you can pull from below as you tug on the tops. It can tease out long roots of things like goutweed.

Once Jack Frost visits, you can cut back any annuals to the ground. If you pull them, you leave a bare spot for wind-borne weed seeds to settle in and wait for spring. And on slopes, leaving loose soil exposed is likely to allow hard rains to wash away some of your good soil. You can pull the roots of those annuals when you plant more next summer.

I use three methods for minimizing weeding each year in my perennial beds. The best is to just fill every square foot of each bed with plants you love. Groundcovers like barren strawberry or foam flower will spread and fill in around the peonies and coneflowers – even if they are shaded by them. With time, most perennials create bigger clumps until weeds are shaded out and new airborne seeds don’t easily find a place to thrive.

The next alternative is to mulch those bare spots around existing plants with chopped autumn leaves. Chopped leaves break down more quickly than chopped branches or bark mulch. They provide organic matter to feed the soil organisms, enriching the soil. They also provide a soft landing and good places to hide for caterpillars that are ready to make their cocoons that become butterflies and moths. This fall think about running your lawnmower over the leaves on the lawn and either using a bagger, or raking them up. You can spread them this fall, or save in a pile to use in the spring.

Since I rarely have enough leaves, the third alternative for keeping down weeds is to buy finely ground bark mulch in bulk. For big gardens like ours it would be expensive to buy mulch in bags, but for around $50 a scoop of a front end loader, I can get a pickup truck load from my local sawmill or garden center.

I recommend buying a natural-colored bark mulch. The orange or black mulch has been dyed with chemicals, and I don’t want them in my garden. Hemlock and cedar are probably the longest-lasting bark mulches but hardwood mulch may be better for your plants and the soil. Never apply more than a couple of inches of bark mulch on your beds — otherwise moisture from short rains will not seep through to water your plants. And NEVER make “mulch volcanoes” around your trees — they will rot the bark and eventually kill the trees.

When your perennials look bedraggled it’s time to cut them back. But I leave flower stalks with seeds that birds can eat in winter. These include purple coneflower, black-eyed susans, Joe Pye weed, sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ and anything else that would feed the birds.

You can cut back your perennials with your hand pruners, but I find it slow and tedious. I prefer to use a harvest sickle or even a serrated steak knife. These allow me to grab a handful of stems and slice right through them all. You can use a string trimmer to work even faster, or even a lawn mower, I suppose.

By the way, if you haven’t cut the tops off your Brussels sprouts yet, do so today. This will keep the plants from getting taller, and they will instead produce big, fat “sprouts.” I did it much earlier than usual this year, and I am already getting nice big sprouts. Kale is very frost hardy, so I will leave mine alone, just harvesting what I need for smoothies or soups. It can last until Christmas in the garden.

So enjoy the warm and sunny days of September to get a jump-start on your fall cleanup. And read a good book by the woodstove on those cold, gray, drizzly days of October.

You can reach Henry at [email protected].

Featured image: Photo by Henry Homeyer.

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