Author: John Fladd

In the kitchen with Tara Bartilucci

Owner/Baker, Big Trees Baking Company

“I make sourdough bread, which I sell at some local stores and at the Canterbury Farmers’ Market,” Bartilucci said. “I have always loved baking; my mother and I baked growing up. Two years ago in 2023, when I moved to Canterbury, I decided to not buy store-bought bread anymore for the year and it turned into a little obsession. So I went to my farmers market board with bread samples and asked if they wanted a vendor. They … brought my bread around to all the other vendors to try it and everyone was so warm and welcoming. They wanted me to come back the next week to start selling, so I went home and got my watercolors out, made my logo that night and I’ve been selling at the market ever since.”

What is your must-have kitchen item?

My bench scraper. It’s a CDK bench scraper and it’s the larger size. It’s pretty much an extension of my hands. It helps me cut the dough, shape the dough, and transfer the dough. It does absolutely everything.

What would you have for your last meal?

Honestly, bread. I make bread and eat it all the time, but I do truly love bread that much. The other day we actually had an old-world sourdough with a friend around our countertop talking and we put sesame oil, avocados and sesame seeds on it and it was absolutely delicious.

What is your favorite local eatery?

I really enjoy Curry Leaf [in Concord]. I love their Malai Kofta. It’s absolutely delicious.

Who is a celebrity you would like to see eating your bread?

I guess more of a celebrity in the baking world would be James Bridges. He’s in charge of a lot of sourdough Facebook groups and Sourdough Geeks (sourdoughgeeks.com), which is a whole website and group devoted to sourdough baking. He does a lot of classes and education. He’s absolutely incredible at what he does.

Have you given your sourdough starter a name?

I have. Its name is Pineapples. When you start making a sourdough starter it smells like dirty socks at first, but after a while it gets this very yeasty fruity smell because it’s a little more on the acidic side as the good bacteria wins out. It reminded me of pineapples and that name just stuck.

What is a baking trend you see in New Hampshire right now?

Sourdough. Everyone’s making bread from home. People are really embracing that. And I think recognizing how important the farmers markets are and being able to bring their food to those and expand that local market.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

Anything with tofu and veggies. I’ve actually been putting tofu in the air fryer lately, just plain. And then it creates this little bit of crisp on the outside and almost gives it a subtle flavor to it. You have to use extra-firm tofu.

What do you put on your bread?

I use a lot of jam. Lindon Garlic Farm [in Gilmanton] makes a black garlic jam with blueberries or strawberries that is absolutely incredible.

What is a good resource for someone who is just learning to make their own sourdough bread?

There are a few people I would look into, actually. Tom Cucuzza, who does the Sourdough Journey (thesourdoughjourney.com), is a good one to start with. I like things in word form instead of video, and he does that well. And then there’s Maurizio Leo (theperfectloaf.com). He has a blog, he has books, he has everything. He’s very, very clear. He was an engineer prior to becoming a baker, so he kind of combines that scientific and artistic element of sourdough. Finally, the Sourdough Geeks Facebook group (facebook.com/groups/sourdoughgeeks) is a really good resource. You do have to look — I think the biggest thing is to look at people’s, the people that comment on your posts and give you advice, look at what their bread looks like and decide if it’s what you want yours to look like.

Featured Image: Tara Bartilucci. Courtesy photo.

Finding your way to beer

A new map will make it easier to explore NH breweries.

Road-trip enthusiasts who like to follow a theme have a new tool available to them, and it starts and ends with beer.

CJ Haynes is the executive director of the New Hampshire Brewers Association (334-603-2337, nhbrewers.org). The New Hampshire Beer Trail is one of her pet projects. She said it has been through several iterations.

“The Beer Trail started actually several years ago,” Haynes said, “when the Association started back in 2014. It’s been reimagined as a paper copy, it went to an electronic copy (which was a mobile app), and then after a while we asked ourselves how we could re-envision it. The brewers got together to put together a booklet that offers discounts at each of the member breweries. Most of them have opted in to be in the trail and so there’s exclusive discounts at each of the locations that are participating in the booklet.”

The idea of the booklet, she said, is to help fans of New Hampshire breweries visualize where they are located and plan trips to them.

“You go and you get a stamp and you enjoy a beer in each of their locations,” she said. “There are more than 65 [breweries] in the booklet.” There are many different options for beer-drinkers to plan day trips, she said. “There are multiple because several areas throughout the state have different [options]. For example, Londonderry/Derry has five or six you can go to. The Littleton area has some, Portsmouth has some. There are little pockets of brewing all over. The Conway area has some great ones. So you can add adventure to each of those locations. So say you go for a hike or you’re kind of making a weekend of an adventure.”

The Beer Trail booklet has a page devoted to each brewery, Haynes said. “Each page features a little blurb about the brewery and then their social media information, their address, their phone number, and then it offers the discount. Of course, there’s always fine print that you need to read because some exclusions apply at various locations. Then, in addition to that, we have QR codes in the booklet that will bring you directly to our — the NH Brewers Association’s — website, which will then give you the map of everything, so you can plan your route. But it also gives you the breakdown of [other ways to filter the information] — for example, which locations are dog-friendly. And then you can click, ‘I’m looking for the dog-friendly ones.’ And it makes it a little easier to navigate.”

Haynes said the new Beer Trail map will make its debut at the Association’s annual Brewers Festival in June.

“This year in celebration of our 10th anniversary of the New Hampshire Brewers Festival, we paired it with the launch of the Beer Trail map. We’re offering the New Hampshire Beer Trail Base Camp Festival, which will be June 28 at Tuckerman Brewing [in Conway]. There will be 40 breweries at that event and they’re all part of the Beer Trail, so you can kind of get a sampling of the Beer Trail in one spot and then you can go out and grab your booklet.”

The booklets will be available for purchase online and in a few physical locations, Haynes said. “We’ll launch the sale starting in June, so we’ll have them available on the NHBA website in the middle of June. People can order them direct and then they’ll actually be also available in several of the locations. But we’ll also have some available for purchase right at some of the breweries. So, if you don’t want to order online, you can visit one of the locations that will have them for sale.”

NH Beer Trail
NH Beer Trail Guides will go on sale in mid-June and cost $30 each. They will be valid through December 2026. Visit nhbrewers.org/nh-beer-trail.

Featured photo: Tuckerman Brewing Co. Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 25/05/22

News from the local food scene

• New Works: The Works Bakery Cafe (1000 Elm St., Manchester, 877-641-4787, workscafe.com/locations/manchester-nh) has opened a new location in Manchester. This popular chain is known for its house-baked bagels, sandwiches and lunch bowls. It is open daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

• Seeking gardening volunteers: The Nashua Soup Kitchen (2 Quincy St., Nashua, 889-7770, nsks.org) is looking for gardening volunteers. Since 2015, the Soup Kitchen and Shelter has harvested thousands of pounds of produce in large raised beds to serve in the kitchen and supply to families via the food pantry. The staff is looking for volunteers to maintain the beds throughout this growing season. Contact the Soup Kitchen for details or to volunteer.

• Mochi and wine: For a limited time Averill House Vineyard (21 Averill Road, Brookline, 244-3165, averillhousevineyard.com) is offering wine and mochi pairings. Each guest will enjoy a customized flight of six of Averill House’s wines. Every pour is paired with one of six chewy Mochi Gummies in flavors like strawberry, mango, tangerine, sour watermelon, yuzu, and peach — all vegan, gluten-free and gelatin-free. The cost for this tasting is $35.

• Pancakes: Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral (650 Hanover St., Manchester, 622-9113, stgeorgenh.org) will hold a pancake breakfast immediately following the Divine Liturgy (approximately 11 a.m.) Sunday, May 25. Tickets are $10, free for children under 12, and will be sold at the Cathedral’s coffee hour, or through the church office.

Guava & Goat Cookies

These cookies are adapted from a recipe in Bodega Bakes by Paola Velez. The idea of cheese in a cookie might be somewhat revolutionary to traditionalists, but fruit and cheese go well together.

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter

1 cup (200 g) brown sugar

1/3 cup (66 g) white sugar

Zest of 3 limes

1 egg

2 2/3 cups (370 g) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ cup (120 g) soft goat cheese

1 cup diced guava jam (240 g, about half a tin) – Guava jam is really popular for Caribbean people, especially Cubanos. It comes in a very short, very wide tin. Look for it near the fruit cocktail at your supermarket. You don’t have to dice it very finely, maybe chunks half the size of your thumb.

Beat your butter, sugars and lime zest with your mixer. Start at a slow speed, then bring it up to Wicked Fast, and beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy. Add the egg to the butter mixture, and beat it on high for another minute or so.

If you have a kitchen scale, place your mixing bowl with the butter/egg mixture on it, then add the dry ingredients: the baking soda, baking powder and flour. Otherwise, mix the dry stuff in a medium bowl, then add it to the mixture, about a third at a time. Beat everything until it comes together.

Add the goat cheese and guava jam, and mix for just a few seconds, until the guava breaks up a little. If there are still streaks of goat cheese, rejoice and do a goat cheese dance. If not, don’t worry; these cookies are not a reflection on your character.

Chill the cookie dough for at least half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. If you are a rational person and don’t own that many baking sheets, you’ll have to slide the parchment or mats off the baking sheet between batches.

Place six golf-ball-sized balls of dough on each baking sheet per batch, about 2 inches apart. This should make a total of 18 cookies. There would almost certainly be more cookies than this, but we both know that you’re going to eat some of the dough during this process. Flatten them slightly, then bake for 15 minutes or until they look toasty on the edges.

Conveniently, these cookies take about 15 minutes to cool.

Like almost all their brethren, the G&G cookies are excellent with a glass of cold milk, especially when they are warm. There is a background flavor of limes, and small pops of guava, especially when the cookies have cooled. The goat cheese adds a savory quality to the operation. If you are brave, you might want to use an especially tangy goat cheese.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

In the kitchen with Nick Provencher

Executive Chef at The Birch on Elm (968 Elm St., Manchester, 836-1958, birchonelm.com)

“I started by cooking in high school. It was just a part-time job at Nadeau’s sub shop, but I started there, learned a lot of speed, and did that for money,” Provencher said. “I played golf in college but when I came home for summers or ever needed to make money, I always worked in kitchens. It’s kind of my second love behind golf, and eventually after college I dove more into this industry because it’s fast-paced and kind of chaotic, which I like. I really threw myself into it, which started in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where I worked for four to five years before coming out to Manchester to help my executive chef at the time open the Foundry. I met the ownership of Birch through that and we started that in 2016 and I’ve been there ever since,” he said.

“I think my philosophy is to keep food outwardly simple while simultaneously having a level of complexity that showcases whatever season we are in, using different techniques and flavors from all around the world.”

What is your must-have kitchen item?

I like a good set of plating spoons. No matter where I am, if I’m doing off-site cooking or at the restaurant, I always make sure I have a little versatile group of plating spoons that I can use. They’re like slightly larger than tablespoons, but you can maneuver them and get your plating just right. Some of them are slotted, in case you need to get rid of excess moisture or liquid.

What would you have for your last meal?

The last one ever would probably have to be like huge rib-eyes and lobster tails. Simple. If I’m going out, that’s probably what I’m going out with.

What is your favorite place other than The Birch to eat out at?

I think someone that has come in alongside of us and helped push the city’s [food scene] forward that I’m really impressed with is probably Evolution. I love what they’re doing there. We’re very happy to have them a block over and help us make this a food destination as much as possible.

Who is a celebrity you would like to see eating at The Birch?

Chef-wise, it would be hard to pass up getting either just shown out for Gordon Ramsay or, if you got yelled at by him, I feel like it would in some way be a weird honor. I came up in more cutthroat, old-school kitchens. I wouldn’t be new to getting chewed out a little.

What’s your favorite thing on your menu?

I’m really proud of our rabbit lasagna. We make all the pasta — well, we make everything in house — but pasta is one of my true loves when it comes to cooking. So we have handmade pasta sheets laid with a velouté that we make from the braising liquid of the rabbit we cook. Housemade ricotta’s layered in there and then a bunch of fresh-grated Parm and all of the braised rabbit meat layered up with our homemade pasta.

What is the biggest food trend you notice in New Hampshire right now?

Honestly, it’d be hard to not say food trucks. I feel like every which way I look, people either I know or am associated with seem to be opening pop-up kitchens and food trucks. If they’re doing well, it’s almost like if they asked me, I’d be like, ‘Hey, keep the truck, man. Your overhead’s low, the variables are minimal. You can control everything.’ Once you get inside four walls, things get a little different.

What’s your favorite thing to cook at home?

If I’m cooking at home, if I have a whole day to cook, I’ll probably be simmering some type of sauce, braising some type of meat and making homemade pasta. I love it.

Featured Image: Nick Provencher. Courtesy photo.

Greek food summer kickoff

Nashua church festival brings gyros and more

By John Fladd

jfladd@hippopress.com

Saint Philip Greek Orthodox Church in Nashua will hold its annual Greek Food Festival this Friday, May 16, and Saturday, May 17, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Expect classic Greek dishes as well as full meals, including dolmathes, spanakopita, pastitsio, gyros, roasted chicken and juicy marinated lamb and chicken-slow cooked over an open fire. In years past, there have been an entire range of Greek pastries, including baklava and loukoumades hot from the fryer. Everything is homemade using original family recipes.

Lamb shanks made their debut at last year’s Festival. Because shanks come from a hard-working part on a sheep — the calf and shin muscles — they are not flame-grilled like shish kebabs, which use more tender cuts of lamb. The shanks are stewed in tomato sauce for hours, until they are fall-off-the-bone tender. Think of them as a sort of Greek pot roast. Traditionally, gyros have also been a bestseller at the St. Philip Food Festival.

This event kicks off the area’s Greek and Mediterranean food festival season. For the St. Philip congregation it is the culmination of almost a year’s worth of preparation. Groups of parishoners put in weekends of work together throughout the year to make large batches of Greek dishes to be frozen and ready to be cooked this week.

“If we get enough people, we can usually finish up each dish in two days,” said co-chair of the event Marcy Mazur when she spoke to Hippo last year. “We have ample commercial freezer space, so we devote a weekend to making each dish. It’s time-consuming. There are 30 sheets of phyllo in each pan of spanakopita and I don’t even know how many pounds of spinach and feta.” Because making phyllo from scratch is incredibly difficult and time-intensive, even by Greek yia-yia standards, the St. Philip ladies use commercial phyllo. “We don’t make our own phyllo, and we don’t grow our own grape leaves,” Mazur said.

Vine 32 Wine and Graze Bar

Where: Bedford Square, 25 S. River Road, Bedford, 935-8464, vinethirtytwo.com
Hours: open Tuesdays through Thursdays 5 to 9 p.m., Fridays 4 to 10 p.m., Saturdays 2 to 10 p.m., and Sundays 2 to 6 p.m.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

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