Year: 2024

In the kitchen with Maggie Prittie

Maggie Prittie calls herself a chocolate sommelier; “sommelier” in French translates to steward. She teaches people how to taste, pair and source fine single-origin chocolates, and teaches them the history, art, science and culture of chocolate. She has created, produced and customized chocolates for pastry chefs throughout southwest Florida. She has led more than 350 local wine and chocolate pairings. She has made chocolates for the directors of the Louvre Museum, the Salvador Dali Museum, the Ringling Museum, Sting, and Yo-Yo Ma, and on the set of a Food Network series. She studied under renowned chocolatiers Ewald Notter and Anil Rohira. She is a member of the FCIA (Fine Chocolate Industry of America). Originally from New Hampshire, she recently moved back to the state to share her knowledge as an educator, sales representative, and recipe developer with World Wide Chocolate in Brentwood.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

Aside from the normal appliances, a convection/toaster oven, wooden and rubber spatulas and parchment paper.

What is your favorite local eatery?

Totally depends on my mood. Never fast food!

What celebrity would you like to see eating your food, and why?

Giada De Laurentiis. She is genuine and not pompous.

What is your favorite thing to make?

I love challenging myself with developing new recipes all the time, like Pistachio Spaetzle or developing a good espresso chocolate chip cookie recipe.

What is the biggest food trend in chocolate right now?

The biggest trend presently is just acquiring cocoa. The prices are skyrocketing and will keep rising. Single origin, farmer awareness, craft chocolate seems to be on the radar and hopefully will be more trendy.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

Grilled domestic lamb with pistachio spaetzle. For dessert, Ritz Carlton chocolate cake with chocolate panna cotta frosting and a drizzle of bourbon caramel sauce.

Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
From the kitchen of Maggie Prittie

Wet ingredients
1 cup browned unsalted butter
½ cup dark brown sugar (firmly packed)
¼ cup light brown sugar (firmly packed)
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons vanilla paste (Prova)
2 room-temperature eggs
2 Tablespoons Prova Arabica Colombian Coffee Extract

Dry ingredients
2½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cornstarch (adding cornstarch helps to make chewy cookies)

Chocolate chips
2½ cups Domori 75% Venezuela Wafer
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine them.
Brown butter, then let cool to room temperature (I let it cool in the bowl of the KitchenAid mixer).
Using the whipping utensil of the mixer, whip butter until soft, almost fluffy.
Slowly add all wet ingredients, adding separately, add eggs one at a time. Whip until well-mixed and almost fluffy.
Slowly add dry mixed ingredients into wet ingredients. I add them ¼ cup at a time.
Add chips once all dry is incorporated. Do not overmix.
(Adding the wafers while mixing does break some of them up.)
Bake on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet at 325°F for 10-12 minutes.
Let cool on rack.

Featured Photo: Maggie Prittie. Courtesy photo.

Taste of the Towns

Nashua Center fundraiser with food

Nashua Center will present its 21st Taste of the Towns event at the Sheraton Nashua on Thursday, May 2, at 6 p.m.. Eighteen area restaurants, caterers, brewers and distributors will present food and drink as varied as Thai food, baked goods, Mexican dishes or vodka.

Taste of the Towns is the Nashua Center’s signature fundraising event of the year. Proceeds go to support the Center’s mission to provide high-quality specialized care and support to small children and young adults with developmental difficulties in the greater Nashua area.

“Everyone involved in the event is very proud,” said Nashua Center’s Director of Development, Maryanne Gordineer. “We’re so proud of the vendors who come back year after year, and for them this is a way of connecting with the community and giving back.”

Gordineer described the event as a way for like-minded people to network with each other and chat in a relaxed, celebratory atmosphere.

“It’s a memorable experience,” she said. “It’s just fun!” Gordineer said there are usually more than 300 guests who attend the event and circulate around, socializing and tasting samples from the participating vendors: “I like to think of it as dinner by the bite.”

In addition to its role as a fundraiser, Taste of the Towns is a way to bring attention to the Nashua Center and the work it does for the Nashua community. Established in 1973, the organization helps people build fulfilling lives as part of the community. In the case of very young children, this can take the form of early intervention services to help families identify developmental challenges and give them support. For young adults with special needs, it might be helping them experience post-secondary education, whether it’s attending classes, getting vocational training, or just experiencing an aspect of college life like using a school’s gym facilities or cafeteria. The Center helps provide adult day services or residential services for other clients.

“It’s all about inclusivity,” Gordineer said. “We facilitate independence and community participation.”

Tickets for Taste of the Towns cost $75. They usually sell out quickly, Gordineer said.

For Gardineer, who started with the Nashua Center shortly before last year’s event, it was an introduction to New England foods. “I’d never had a lobster roll before!” she said, adding that it was a revelation.

Taste of the Towns
When: Thursday, May 2, at 6 p.m.
Where: Sheraton Nashua, 11 Tara Boulevard, Nashua
Tickets: $75 at nashuacenter.org
Participating vendors:
Bellavance Beverage Co.
Bistro 603
Friendly Toast
From the Barrel Brewing Co.
Graceful Baking
Imported Grape
K’Sone’s Thai Dining & Lounge
Liquid Therapy
Live Free Distillery
The Peddler’s Daughter
Prestige Beverage Group
Shorty’s Mexican Roadhouse
Smokehaus Barbecue
Tara House Grill
Thon Khao
Tito’s Handmade Vodka
You You Japanese Bistro
Woodman’s Artisan Bakery

Featured Photo: Courtesy photo.

How do you blend spices?

Derry company shakes up flavor combos

The name of the Sal Terrae Spice Company came from owner Meredith Touma’s daughter, who was studying Latin at the time.

“It means ‘Salt of the Earth,’” Touma said. “To be the salt of the earth means to be excellent; to try your hardest, but not to be perfect.”

Derry-based Sal Terrae (salterraespiceco.com, 548-1490) specializes in producing spice blends made from ingredients sourced from around the world. As an example, za’atar, a traditional Middle Eastern mixture, has sumac as a core ingredient. Sumac, a deep red, intensely tart spice, is extremely popular in other parts of the world but difficult to find and source here in the United States.

“My husband is Lebanese,” Touma said, “and I send him home several times a year to bring high-quality sumac back with him.”

Touma started her business during the Covid lockdown. She said it was an outgrowth of her personal values. At the time, she was a stay-at-home mother of four and had made a commitment to always serve homemade meals.

“I wanted to teach my children to not be scared of new cultures or flavors,” she said. “During shut-down, [a lot of] people were eager to explore new things while they were stuck at home. Suddenly, there was a market for new flavors for them.”

The spice blends Sal Terrae sells vary from the traditional, like za’atar, to new blends that Touma has developed herself.

“The Beach Blend is the most unusual blend that we make,” she said. The blend, which includes smoked paprika, oregano, ginger and cloves, was developed with seafood in mind.

“It was partly inspired by Old Bay,” she said. “It’s a classic, but it seemed like it was missing something. It needed some smokiness and depth.” The smoked paprika adds a bittersweet quality that complements the savory flavors of fish, like salmon.

“It [Beach Blend] has a little sourness to it,” she said. “That acidic quality helps bring some of the more subtle flavors to the surface. That’s why they always tell you to cook your salmon with slices of lemon on top.”

That sourness plays a background role in some of Sal Terrae’s other spice blends, such as, surprisingly, the Sugar and Spice blend. Because it has a similar color to the “warmer” ingredients, it’s visually appealing and rounds them out. Traditional baking ingredients like ginger and cloves make sense. Three types of cinnamon are exciting to spice nerds and seem like a natural in this kind of blend. The cardamom is a little surprising, but welcome. And then there’s the subtle background sourness from the sumac, which brings the other flavors into sharper focus.

According to Touma, turning the traditional concept of “warm” or “cool” spices on its head provides her a lot of room to introduce her customers to different ways of cooking and new flavor profiles. Indian and Middle Eastern cooking traditionally use mace, cinnamon and cloves in savory dishes, while most American cooks use them in sweet applications. By focusing on what sorts of profiles she wants to create, Touma puts together nontraditional combinations that give her customers new ways to appreciate their favorite foods.

“Even as the owner, I’m still learning something all the time from my own spice blends,” she said. “None of our blends are going to be completely perfect for everyone, but everyone can find one that is perfect for their taste.”

Touma said today’s cooks have resources that allow creativity that past generations couldn’t take advantage of. “They were largely limited to cookbooks or word of mouth,” she said. Today, if someone wants to try a new ingredient or to cook something completely new to them, they can look up options on the internet. This is exactly the role she hopes that Sal Terrae’s spice blends will play — being able to play with food traditions, without being locked into them.

Featured Photo: Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 24/04/18

News from the local food scene

By John Fladd
[email protected]

• Paint and Sip Night: Paint and drink wine in a relaxed, convivial atmosphere. Wine on Main (9 N. Main St., Concord, wineonmainnh.com, 897-5828) will host Paint and Sip events with art facilitator Andrea Stetson on Thursday, April 18, and Friday, April 19, at 6 p.m. These events are open to adults 21 and older. Every $50 ticket includes all materials, instruction and wine tasting. Register via Wine on Main’s website.

• Springfest: To Share Brewing Co. (720 Union St., Manchester, tosharebrewing.com, 836-6947) will hold its second annual Springfest celebration Saturday, April 20, from 1 to 9 p.m. The brewery will observe the arrival of spring and the release of its Festbier Spring Lager with bratwursts, sauerkraut and more. There will be stein-holding competitions at 2 and 6 p.m., and live music with Upright Dogs from 5 to 7 p.m.

• Foraging: Learn how to identify select wild edibles — mushrooms, berries, greens or even trees — via a slideshow and in-person samples to see and feel. The Hooksett Library (31 Mount Saint Mary’s Way, Hooksett, discover.hooksettlibrary.org, 485-6092) will host “From Field to Table: Foraging and Identifying Wild Edibles,” a presentation by Emily Makrez, owner of F-Word Farm and educator on all things fermenting, farming and foraging-related, on Wednesday April 24, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free, but registration is required via the Library’s website.

On The Job – Charles Keith

CO-Owner of The Rugged Axe

Charles Keith co-owns The Rugged Axe (377 S. Willow St. in Manchester) with his wife, Melinda Asprey.

Explain your job and what it entails.

I am the owner and operator of The Rugged Axe. We have private parties, scheduled parties, we do events here, so day-to-day operations. I also do the back-of-house inventory, accounting, scheduling, all that stuff.

How long have you had this job?

We opened almost three years ago. In June it will be three years. My wife and I built it ourselves. I have a daughter that works here full-time, another son that works here part-time, and I have my mother coming in, doing some of the artwork.

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

I sold computers and software for 18 years for a local IT company, sitting in a cubicle, on the phone all day long. My son was in the Coast Guard at the time. We went down to Florida to visit him. He wanted to go ax throwing, I had never done it, he’d never done it. So we spent a couple hours throwing axes and as I’m doing that I’m quickly realizing, doing the math in my head, this is a pretty decent business to be in. On the flight home I wrote a business plan, told my wife all about it … I had to present that a hundred times to her. On the 101st time she said, “either do it or don’t,”… so we found a spot, we built it out and within about five months we were open and going.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Logo T-shirt and jeans. So pretty casual, comfortable.

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

Probably coming up with innovative ideas to attract the customers in the door.

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

How many hours I was going to work. You always think, well, you know, I can get this done, we’re only open 40 hours a week, a few hours in the back of the house, rest of the time I’m on the floor working with customers. It slowly turns into all the time. You work all the time. I didn’t quite realize that at first. After three years you really get a handle on it, you can manage your time a little better.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

Most of the time people just think you’re talking to customers, throwing axes and having a good time. I’m an accountant, I’m an advertiser, I’m a builder, I’m an artist. … I don’t think people realize going into business for yourself you’ve got to be a jack of all trades.

What was your first job?

I stocked beer and wine and bread and milk for my dad at a supermarket. Him and my grandfather owned a supermarket, a small one.

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

Don’t give up and you are only as strong as your weakest link. — Zachary Lewis

Five favorites
Favorite book: Cujo from Stephen King
Favorite movie: Rocky
Favorite music: Led Zeppelin, all day long
Favorite food: Hamburgers
Favorite thing about NH: You get a little of everything in New Hampshire. I like that. You get the mountains, the ocean, the fall, good summers, the beaches. I think the diversity of things to do in New Hampshire, I like that, yeah….

Featured photo: Charles Keith and Melinda Asprey. Courtesy photo.

Kiddie Pool 24/04/18

Family fun for whenever

Earth Day at the Museum

• The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; 742-2002, childrens-museum.org) will hold an Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 20, with sessions from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. The planned activities include Earth-friendly crafts, planting, a scavenger hunt and more. Reserve spots online for a session in advance; admission costs $12.50, $10.50 for seniors.

Art camp!

• The Currier Museum of Art’s (150 Ash St., Manchester) April Vacation Art Camp: Sailors and Sea Monsters runs Monday, April 22, through Friday, April 26, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Currier’s exhibit “Stories of the Sea” is the impetus behind this camp, which will include a variety of exciting multi-media art-making experiences, guided museum tours and gallery activities, according to their website. Three cohorts will be composed of kids ages 6 and 7, ages 8 to 10 and ages 11 to 14. An exhibition of their artwork will be held Thursday, April 25, at 3:45 p.m. Registration is $375 for non-members, $337.50 for members, with tuition discounts available, and all art materials will be provided, according to the website. Visit currier.org or call 518-4922.

Teddy bears!

• Manchester City Library (405 Pine St., Manchester) is hosting its annual Teddy Bear Picnic on Tuesday, April 23, at 11:30 a.m. Participants will gather with their teddy bears in the children’s room and then, when everyone is ready, parade through the library and out to the side lawn for a picnic, according to the website. Participants should bring their own bag lunch and beverage to enjoy at the picnic. At noon Mr. Aaron will be on the south lawn for a foot-stomping concert, according to the same site. Registration is not required. Call 624-6550, ext. 7628.

Experiment!

• Later that same day, Tuesday, April 23, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Manchester City Library will host Elementary Experiments. This activity is for anyone in grades 1 through 6 and includes activities and crafts with a STEAM focus (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math). Participants can join in at the library or watch the video online; this week’s theme is food science. If you want to attend in person, register in advance so there are enough supplies. Elementary Experiments takes place in the Winchell Room. To register, visit manchester.lib.nh.us or call 624-6550, ext. 7628.

No small parts!

• Shakespeare for Youth, a nonprofit homeschool theater group that rehearses in Nashua and Milford, has four performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Amato Center (56 Mount Vernon St., Milford), on Friday, April 26, and Saturday, April 27, at 2 and 7 p.m. on both days, according to their website. This is the group’s third year of performing Shakespeare’s works with a cast made up of kids approximately ages 6 to 18 from all over New Hampshire and Massachusetts, according to a press release. Tickets online are $6 for individuals, $5 for seniors, and $25 for family tickets for parents and up to four kids. Call 399-9609 or visit bit.ly/sfytix.

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