Author: John Fladd

Lime Custard Cake

By John Fladd
jfladd@hippopress.com

½ cup (1 cube) butter, melted

1¼ cup (250 g) sugar

4 eggs, separated

zest of 3 limes

¼ cup (4 Tablespoons) fresh squeezed lime juice

2 teaspoons dehydrated lime juice powder (optional) – available online, dehydrated citrus powders let you bump up citrus flavor in a recipe without throwing off your moisture content

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup (65 g) all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1¼ cup (300 ml) evaporated milk

Heat oven to 325°F.

Butter a 9-inch spring-form pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Measure and set aside all your ingredients. This is something restaurant cooks call mise en place, or “meez.” If you’ve ever watched a cooking show and wondered why everything looks so effortless, takes five minutes, and the kitchen on set doesn’t look like a war zone, it’s because an intern has already found all the ingredients, prepared them, and set them aside, so the chef isn’t running around with her sleeve on fire shouting, “HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY BE OUT OF BUTTER!!??” If you haven’t done this before, try it. It’s a game-changer.

Whip the egg whites into stiff peaks. Set aside.

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture is light in color and fluffy.

Mix in the lime zest, lime juice, lime juice powder and vanilla. Add the flour and salt, and mix until everything is incorporated. Drizzle in the evaporated milk and mix everything together.

Stir 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the mixture to lighten it, then gently fold in the rest, one half at a time, until the batter is light and mousse-like. (Not moose-like; if that happens, something has definitely gone awry.)

Spoon the batter into your spring-form pan, and bake it for 50 to 55 minutes, until the top is slightly golden but still a little jiggly if you shake it.

Let the cake cook completely in the pan before removing it. It might collapse in on itself a little, and lose some volume, but it will still be beautiful.

Serve in small slices — it’s very rich — with glasses of seltzer over crushed ice. Eat it listening to “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess. You’ll be able to tell your child — even an eye-rolling teenager — that their daddy is rich, and their momma’s good-looking, and mean it.

Featured photo: Lime Custard Cake. Photo by John Fladd.

In the kitchen with Daniel MacCrea

New Culinary Director, Pats Peak Ski Area (686 Flanders Road, Henniker, 428-3245, patspeak.com)

“Culinary’s something I kind of fell into,” MacCrea said. “I was working at a hotel when I was like 16 or 17. I was actually a busboy. And then something happened where one of the cooks was on vacation … and one cook got let go, and one guy just kind of stopped showing up. I looked at the executive chef and said, ‘Hey, you can come get me; I can fill in a few shifts.’ That was kind of how I got started. … I did some chain restaurant work. I worked in elder care as a culinary director for Expected Living for about eight or nine years. That was actually really rewarding. Then … I was the executive chef at Great Wolf Lodge for about three years before I took this Pats Peak job. I graduated high school, but then never really went to culinary school because I was already working and in the field doing it, and I love what I did, and I just wanted to work and move up the ladder and progress that way.

Do you have a particular culinary point of view or a philosophy in the kitchen?

I do. I mean, I honestly think it’s not about me; it’s really just about whatever my guest wants. I try to cater to anyone and everyone. I really got into cooking for people with allergies and specific kinds of needs. I started really in health care, but then I expanded it when I was at my last job at Great Wolf Lodge. For me, it’s just all about guest satisfaction. If I can make somebody happy with my food, I’ve done my job.

What’s your must-have kitchen item?

Other than the very obvious, like just a good quality chef’s knife, I feel like oregano is my secret ingredient. I add oregano to a lot of dishes. I just like fresh herbs. I think if you have fresh herbs in general, you’re going to be better off. Fresh herbs, I think they elevate just about every dish.

What do you think is the most important skill in the kitchen?

For me, the most important skill is really being able to interact with a lot of different kinds of people. People skills are huge. You’re interacting with people from all different backgrounds, all different walks of life, all different personalities, and to be able to get the most out of those people that work around you I think is just so important

What would you have for your last meal?

I’d probably just have like a nice steak, like a nice T-bone or porterhouse, cooked medium rare, with something like creamy mashed potatoes and garlic green beans on the side.

What’s the best dish that you ever ate at a restaurant?

I was in Chicago — I think the place was called Gibson’s Italia. It was all family style, but literally everything I tried on that table was amazing — great steak, great pasta, great everything. We were at a leadership course thing, it was like a long weekend, and this woman was local to Chicago and she was taking us to all these places. I mean she’s walking up to these restaurants, no signage, no nothing, you wouldn’t know it was a restaurant unless you lived there. The service was incredible. The food was incredible.

Who’s a celebrity you’d like to see eating your food?

I’d be terrified, but I would love to have Gordon Ramsay eat my food. Although I admit I would be absolutely terrified, but, I mean, he’ll tell you like it is.

What’s your favorite dish to put on a menu?

When I’m planning a menu, I like to have some barbecue items. I love pulled pork, I love smoked brisket. I just like smoked meats. It’s a lot of the kind of weird cuts that way back when people didn’t appreciate them, and then we started making them into fantastic meals and I just love that.

What’s your favorite cookbook?

I’ve read a lot of cookbooks. I don’t know if I have an exact favorite one. I know they’re not actually cookbooks, but I like anything by [Anthony] Bourdain. I love that stuff. The cookbook I go to the most is literally a culinary textbook from Johnson & Wales. I just sort of picked that up, and it’s just amazing. It’s so easy to use, it has everything you could want. Right now, I’m reading about smoking.

What’s a big new food trend that you see?

There’s a lot of stuff I think that is trending, but hot honey is huge right now. I also think people are trying to get back to basics. I think overdone dishes with a million ingredients are kind of a way of the past. I think simple dishes, simple flavors, just good quality fresh ingredients is kind of on the rise. And I love that.

What’s your favorite thing to cook at home?

I like to cook a lot of Asian-fusion food. I like to make orange chicken and Szechuan chicken, things like that. I like to make simple meals that I can make really quick that are really flavorful. Really, my wife’s pretty picky, so anything that I can get her to eat and say is good is huge for me.

Featured Image: Daniel MacCrea, New Culinary Director, Pats Peak Ski Area. Courtesy photo.

Cute Coops

By John Fladd
jfladd@hippopress.com

In May, the New Hampshire Farm Bureau Federation held a statewide Chicken Coop Contest.

“People love chickens,” said Leandra Pritchard from the Farm Bureau Federation, “especially our backyard farmers. We knew we would probably reach a good amount of people with a chicken coop competition. A lot of the backyard farmers like to put their creativity to work, and they take good care of their chickens because they love their eggs and [practice] good animal husbandry and taking care of their animals. We wanted to celebrate that.”

In partnership with the Northeast Organic Farmers Association (NOFA) and Osborne’s Farm and Garden Center in Concord the Farm Bureau Federation invited New Hampshire chicken enthusiasts to send it photos of their coops. There were three categories: Most Likeable by a Chicken, Best Reuse of Existing Materials, and Best Youth-Built.

The winner in each category won a prize package of a Farm Bureau membership, a NOFA membership, a grain certificate and a chicken care basket. “And a sign that they can put on their cupola,” she said.

Pritchard, who raises chickens herself, pointed out that while raising chickens is fun and emotionally rewarding, it involves a lot of work. People shouldn’t make the decision of keeping a coop lightly, she said.

“Chickens need fresh water every day. They need plenty of good feed and they need their roosting boxes filled with fresh bedding. You have to check on them at minimum once a day, but I’m sure more people do more than that because they’re not going to produce good eggs for you unless you have proper water and food for them.”

This year’s contest winners with descpitions according to the Federation:

Best Re-Use of Existing Materials: The Cluck Wagon by Ted West This won for its durable, mobile design built largely from repurposed parts, housing up to 25 chickens with features like a gravity-fed waterer, a predator-safe ramp, and a circus wagon flair.

Best Youth-Built: Feather Fort by The Paone and Lebel Family This winner features kid-led construction with classic wood framing, T1-11 siding, asphalt shingles and a charming Dutch door.

Most Likeable by a Chicken: The Compost Coop-oration by Liz Barbour This won for its integrated coop, run and “chunnel” system that lets chickens safely roam and compost garden waste. It also offers features like heated water, a poop bench and a sand floor for happy, healthy hens.

A home for the bread

Woodman’s Artisan Bakery takes its farmers market success to its own shop

By John Fladd
jfladd@hippopress.com

Bill Woodman makes bread — a lot of bread.

“We rotate the breads every day,” he said, “probably a good 12 to 14 potential varieties of breads that we can offer from types of sourdough, German rye, baguettes, Italian semolina with sesame seeds — that’s a nice one — a German flaxseed rye called leinsamenbrot. That’s a hearty, hearty bread. Leinsamenbrot means flaxseed bread. So with rye flour, it’s a much denser bread.”

But what Woodman, the owner of Woodman’s Artisan Bakery in Nashua, really dreams about is panettone, a tall, round loaf of enriched Italian bread.

“Right now,” he said, “the unicorn, so to speak, is probably the Italian panettone. There’s a baker in Italy — we follow him on social media — I’ve dabbled a little bit in trying to make a panettone, but I’m too busy to actually focus on it the way it needs properly. But to be able to get a nice, proper Italian panettone like he makes, with a nice open, airy crumb from the sourdough, to be able to use the exact sourdough culture, you know, it’s a pasta madre, I believe they call it in Italian. It’s like a drier starter dough and it’s like wrapped up in a towel, so it partially dries out on the outside of the actual starter dough. And it’s supposed to impart these different finer nuances into the bread. But to be able to get that, it’s something that would be very unique and very special. You just don’t see around here very often or at all. You get the stuff in the grocery stores around Christmastime, but it’s definitely not the same thing.”

Woodman started his business by selling bread at area farmers markets.

“We started at Salem [the Salem Farmers Market] on Sundays,” he said. “We started there, trying to figure out if there is a demand for breads. We make European-style artisan breads and pastries — croissants, Danishes and German pretzels. After about a season, we had picked up business, so we decided to do the winter season. At that point we picked up a couple more farmers markets for the winter season. Business picked up a little bit. You started to see your regulars coming more and more. And then the following year came and we just decided to go all in. We picked up six markets a week, so there was no sleep for me whatsoever. And it kept going from there.”

Woodman recently opened a storefront bakery in Nashua. The bakery offers sandwiches and coffees, but the main focus is on bread.

“We tell people our breads are real bread,” he said. “The pastries are real pastries, and what we mean by that is that our sourdough for instance is flour, water and salt. So it’s real ingredients, real breads. We have a lot of people who are gluten-sensitive who can eat a lot of our sourdoughs and not get sick not have a reaction. They can eat our croissants and Danishes because the flour that we use in those products comes from France and it has a lower protein content, so they can eat those and have no reaction as well.”

Woodman was approached by an importer who introduced him to French flour.

“The sales rep came in and introduced himself,” Woodman said, “and started telling us a little bit about what the product was. He had explained the company is out of France, and they sell through his company here. If we were interested, a sales rep as well as a baker would come for a couple days, work with us and teach us about the products. I thought it was a great opportunity for my staff and myself to learn about something new. And so we said, sure, let’s give it a try, so they came in and we started working with it.” It was a game-changer, Woodman said.

Woodman’s Artisan Bakery

Where: 4 Sunapee St., Nashua,
Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
More: 718-1694, woodmansartisanbakery.com
During the summer, Woodman also sells his bread at the Concord Farmers Market on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to noon, at the Bedford Farmers Market on Tuesdays from 3 to 6 p.m., and at the Salem Farmers Market on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Featured photo: Woodman’s Artisan Bakery makes traditional European style breads. Photo courtesy Bill Woodman.

The Weekly Dish 25/06/12

News from the local food scene

By John Fladd
jfladd@hippopress.com

• Noodles at Nash: The Lucky Lantern Noodle Restaurant has opened at The Nash Casino (Pheasant Lane Mall, 310 DW Highway, Nashua, thenashcasino.com). It is one of three sit-down restaurants in the casino. As its name suggests, the restaurant specializes in Asian and Asian-inspired dishes, particularly those with noodles. It is open seven days a week, from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

• Harpoon in NH: Harpoon will open its first brewery and pub in New Hampshire on Sunday, June 15. The brewpub will be located at 215 Canal St., Manchester, in the Queen City Center. In a June 5 press release, the Harpoon parent company said the new location will include an experimental brewery, restaurant, tap room, private event space, and an outdoor beer garden. Visit harpoonbrewery.com.

• Two great tastes: There will be a chocolate and wine pairing event at Wine on Main (9 N. Main St., Concord, 897-5828, wineonmainnh.com) Thursday, June 12, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Chocolate expert Maggie Prittie will guide participants through tasting four single-origin chocolates alongside four complementary wines. Tickets for this 21+ event are $39.19 through eventbrite.com and include chocolate and wine samples as well as a lesson on the history of chocolate and how to taste it.

• Better than breakfast in bed: Celebrate Father’s Day with a “Dad and Me Pizza Cooking Class” at Uno Pizzeria & Grill (15 Fort Eddy Road, Concord, 226-8667) on Saturday, June 14, from noon to 2 p.m. This is an interactive cooking class where dads and the kids can bond over making deep dish pizza from scratch. Chefs will guide participants through every step from preparing the dough to adding favorite toppings. Adult tickets are $44.52 and children’s tickets are $12.51 through eventbrite.com.

• Order online for this food fest: Starting Sunday, June 15, Temple B’nai Israel (210 Court St., Laconia, 524-7044, tbinh.org) will accept orders for its annual Jewish Food Festival. Dozens of types of traditional Jewish dishes will be available for drive-thru pickup on Saturday, July 19, and Sunday, July 20. Orders will be accepted at tbinh.org/shop-page through Monday, July 7.

A Boy and His Blender

By John Fladd
jfladd@hippopress.com

I really wanted a serious blender.

Not one of the relatively inexpensive ones from a big-box store. Not a cool, chromey, vintage one that would be at home in a diner. A serious blender, the type you can watch chew up hockey pucks and Barbie dolls on the internet.

My wife tried to deflate this ambition with logic — namely, why would I want to do any of these things, particularly grinding up hockey pucks? “We are not spending $500 on a blender,” she informed me in a tone that would not allow for any argument.

An hour later, after some internet research, I informed her that we could buy a reconditioned professional blender for a relative bargain of just over $200. I took the jar on my dresser that I had been dropping change into for the past year to change-counting machine at the bank. It made short work of my jar of change and returned two British pounds, $1.40 in Canadian change, two buttons and almost $300 in Blender Money.

Upon returning home, I informed my wife that we would have to pick up a change-of-address form at the post office.

“Why’s that?” she asked.

“Because we’re moving to Blender Town, Baby!” I replied, waving a wad of cash in the air.

I subsequently bought a red Vitamix blender and named him Steve.

This was Steve’s project this past weekend:

Fluffy Lemonade

  • 1½ cups of ice cubes
  • Zest of one lemon
  • ¼ cup (2 ounces) fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • ¼ cup (2 ounces) heavy cream
  • ¼ cup (2 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
  • ¼ cup (2 ounces) London dry gin

Combine all ingredients in your blender (Steve).

Blend on low speed, until the ice stops rattling around, then really put the spurs to the blender, and whip the mixture up for 30 seconds or so, until it is light and fluffy in texture.

Pour into a Collins glass and drink with a straw, while your digital assistant plays “Mr. Blue Sky” by the Electric Light Orchestra. Hold up your glass, as in a toast, and gently clink it against the rim of your blender jar. Your blender will smile to itself contentedly.

Given that some of the ingredients — I’m looking at you, condensed milk — are pretty heavy, this is a beautifully light and delightful blender drink. It’s super lemony, but not too sour. The gin hides in the background. The overall drink is lightly sweet, and super refreshing.

Featured photo: Amanda’s Savory Cheesecake. Photo by John Fladd.

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