Author: John Fladd

The Weekly Dish 26/5/14

• Doughnuts! The NH Doughnut Co. has opened a new store in Concord at 89 Fort Eddy Road (715-5097, nhdoughnutco.com). It is open Tuesday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays, from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• Mac & cheese & giving back: Mr. Mac’s Macaroni and Cheese, 497 Hooksett Road in Manchester, is partnering with Harbor Care to donate $2 for every “Classic All American Mac” purchased in May to efforts to end homelessness among veterans, according to a press release. Last year’s similar Mac Gives Back May initiative provided a donation of $3,000 to support local veterans in need, the release said. “Funds raised will help Veterans facing housing challenges, including assistance with rental application fees, security deposits,and emergency housing support,” the release said. See mr-macs.com to see the menu. See harborcarenh.org for more on Harbor Care.

• Cookie dough two ways: The martini/cupcake pairing for May at the Copper Door (15 Leavy Drive, Bedford, 488-2677, or 41 S Broadway, Salem, 458-2033, copperdoor.com) focuses on cookie dough. A Cookie Dough Martini will be made with Dough Ball cookie dough whiskey, whipped vodka, chocolate liqueur, a splash of cream and a cookie dough garnish for $14.75. A Cookie Dough Cupcake will combine a brown sugar cupcake with cookie dough filling, caramel frosting, mini chocolate chips, a chocolate cup, and a mini chocolate chip cookie garnish for $12.

• Puttin’ on the spritz: There will be a spritz-making class at Tuscan Market (Tuscan Village, 9 Via Toscana, Salem, 912-5467, tuscanbrands.com) Saturday, May 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. Craft and enjoy three specialty cocktails made with Grey Goose Vodka, Guests will serve themselves while learning the art of the perfect spritz. Additional food and beverages will be available throughout the class. The cost is $59.60 through the Tuscan Market webpage.

• Batch cocktails: NH Liquor & Wine Outlet, Store #50 (Willow Spring Plaza, 294 DW Highway, Nashua, 888-0271, liquorandwineoutlets.com) will host a Monday Funday Cocktail Class – Pre-Batch Cocktails with Broken Shed Vodka, Monday, May 18, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Shake up your Monday with an exclusive cocktail class led by David Bean, the renowned mixologist from Jamison’s of Hampstead. You’ll dive into the world of Broken Shed Vodka while learning the art of crafting elevated cocktails using fresh, all-natural, seasonal ingredients. The cost is $12 per person through Eventbrite.com.

• Viking Feast: Harper’s Eden Catering (35 Manchester Road, Derry, 416-0509, harperseden.com) will host a Viking Feast at The Rugged Axe (377 S. Willow St., Manchester, 232-7936, theruggedaxe.com) Tuesday, May 19, from 6 to 9 p.m. It’s the perfect chance to hang with friends, enjoy tasty dishes and throw some axes. Don’t miss this unforgettable feast filled with laughter and good times. Tickets are $71.21 at harperseden.com/event-calendar.

• Wine and lighthouses: Join LaBelle Winery Derry (14 Route 111, Derry, 672-9898, labellewinery.com/labelle-winery-derry) Wednesday, May 20, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. for a Sip and Paint class with a skilled instructor from Heart Studio. You will create an acrylic painting on canvas of a lighthouse at sunset scene. You may choose to add on a glass of LaBelle wine and/or a cheese plate to help with the creative process. Tickets start at $64 through the LaBelle website.

• Blooms, Bottles, and Buttercream: Wine on Main (9 N. Main St., Concord, 897-5828, wineonmainnh.com) will host an evening of flower arranging, desserts, and wine tasting Wednesday, May 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. Ashley from Savvy Sweets & Treats returns with more delicious goodies. Meanwhile, flower expert Ambra Kash will show you how to arrange your own springtime bouquet with flowers fresh from the farmers market. As you work, enjoy a wine tasting featuring four wines from around the world. Tickets are $103.22 through the Wine on Main website.

• Lavender mocktails: Local Street Eats (112 W. Pearl St., Nashua, 402-4435, local-streeteats.com) will host Love of Lavender: a Mocktail Workshop, Wednesday, May 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. This will be a floral mocktail class in collaboration with Fortin Gage Flowers (86 W. Pearl St., Nashua, 882-3371, fortingage.com). The cost is $45 at local-streeteats.com/events.

Kiwanis carnival for kids

Where to find your garden additions

Get new flowers and greenery for the growing season at area garden clubs and garden enthusiasts plant sales. Because the club members are the ones selling the plants, you can get some planting advice along with your new annuals and perennials. Here are a few sales slated for the next few weeks. Know of a plant sale not mentioned here? Let us know at adiaz@hippopress.com.

• Garden Club of Deerfield will hold its plant sale on Friday, May 8, from 3 to 6 p.m. and Saturday, May 9, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Deerfield Town Hall on Church Street, according to a post on the club’s Facebook page.

• The Amherst Garden Club will hold its plant sale on Saturday, May 9, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Wilkins School, 80 Boston Post Road in Amherst, according to amherstgardenclub.org/plant_sale.

• The Colonial Garden Club of Hollis will hold its sale Saturday, May 9, from 9 a.m. to noon at Lawrence Barn, 28 Depot Road, according to hollisgardenclub.org.

• The Friends of the Audi and Concord’s General Service Department will hold their Perennial Exchange on Saturday, May 9, at 9a.m. to noon at the Concord City Auditorium, according to theaudi.org.

• The Rye Driftwood Garden Club will hold its sale on Friday, May 15, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday, May 16, from 9 a.m. to noon, at Goss Farm, 251 Harbor Road in Rye, according to ryenhgardenclub.org.

• The Nashua Garden Club will hold its sale on Saturday, May 16, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Nashua Historical Society, 5 Abbott St. in Nashua, according to a post on the Nashua Garden Club’s Facebook page.

• The Bow Garden Club will hold its plant sale on Saturday, May 16, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Bow Community Center, 2 Bow Center Road, according to the club’s Facebook page.

• The Goffstown Garden Club will hold its plant sale on Saturday, May 16, from 8 a.m. to noon in the Goffstown Commons, according to their Facebook page.

• The Milford NH Garden Club will hold its annual plant sale on Saturday, May 16, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Community House Lawn, according to milfordnhgardenclub.org.

• The Candia Garden Club will hold its sale on Saturday, May 16, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the Masonic Hall, 12 South Road in Candia, according to a post on its Facebook page.

• The Windham Garden Club will hold its sale on Saturday, May 16, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 61 Kendall Pond Road in Windham, according to a post on the club’s Facebook page.

• The Bedford Garden Club will hold its plant sale on Saturday, May 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Educational Farm at Joppa Hill, according to bgcnh.org/plant-sale-2026.

• The Hooksett Garden Club will hold its annual plant sale on Saturday, June 6, from 9 a.m. to noon (or sellout) at the Hooksett Public Library, 31 Mount Saint Mary Way in Hooksett, according to hooksettnhgardenclub.org.

• The Derry Garden Club will hold its plant sale on Saturday, June 6, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Robert Frost Farm, according to the club’s Facebook page. See derrygardenclub.org.

• The NH Audubon’s McLane Center, 84 Silk Farm Road in Concord, will hold a Pollinator Fest & Native Plant Sale on Saturday, June 6, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to nhaudubon.org.

• The Merrimack Garden Club will hold its annual sale on Saturday, July 18, at the American Legion on Baboosic Lake Road, according to merrimackgardenclub.org.

Orange Muffins with Grape-Nuts

From the 1930 Calumet Baking Book

  • 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 2/3 cup (132 g) sugar
  • Zest of two oranges
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • ¾ cup orange juice — perhaps from the oranges you just zested.
  • 1 cup (114 g) Grape-Nuts cereal — At some point in your youth you probably tried the dry, gravel-like cereal that comes in a very small box and its appeal was lost on you. Interestingly enough, the older you get the better the Grape-Nuts get. You find this listed as an ingredient in a surprising number of recipes starting in the 1930s. Presumably, Grape-Nuts were new, exciting, and a social signifier of some kind?

Mother’s Day is one of the three or four days of the year when non-mothers decide to make a big deal about cooking breakfast for the mom of the house. Muffins are a good choice, because they are easy, hard to mess up, and don’t leave the kitchen looking like a combat zone.

This is a good recipe to make with even young children. It’s super straightforward. The key is to measure all the ingredients out ahead of time. Most of us have the image of the joy of intergenerational cooking with children. In point of fact, even very young kids like the idea of cooking but have the attention spans of coffee-addled squirrels. The act of measuring out ingredients is indescribably tedious to them, whereas turning on a mixer and adding ingredients one at a time will take about 11 minutes — the length of a Bluey cartoon.

Preheat your oven to 375°F, and put muffin liners in 12 muffin tins.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Set it aside.

In your mixer, cream the butter, sugar and orange zest together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, then beat in the eggs, a little at a time.

When everything has mixed together thoroughly, add half the flour mixture (turn your mixer to its slowest speed to avoid poofing yourself with flour), then half the orange juice, then the rest of the flour, then the rest of the orange juice.

Remove the bowl from your mixer, and stir in the Grape-Nuts.

Divide the batter between the 12 lined muffin tins, then bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

Let cool 10 to 15 minutes, then eat with butter or topped with ice cream.

Featured photo: Orange Muffins with Grape-Nuts. Photo by John Fladd.

Strictly fudge, many flavors

Fudge following grows from grandma’s recipe

Dorothy O’Rourke runs a small candy company called Granite Bay Fudge.

“I had a plan,” she sighed. “Originally, I liked the name the New England Fudge Company, but it turns out the New England Fudge Company is actually already a company. In New York. Somebody did not do a good job checking on things. New York is not in New England! I was horrified to discover that the name I really liked was gone. So Granite Bay came out of Granite State and Bay State. I try to hide the fact that I grew up in Massachusetts, but I consider myself a New Hampshireite. That’s how we ended up in Granite Bay.”

O’Rourke strictly sells fudge, but in an impressive variety of flavors.

“At this point, I just hit 19 types,” O’Rourke said. “I get a lot of questions from people. I actually had somebody recently who asked me about dill pickle fudge and I’m going to turn that one down, hard. I’m not a believer in the weird. I’m not making jalapeno fudge and, no, I’m not making bacon fudge. Those are not what I consider fudge flavors. But on the other hand, I’ve had a lot of people asking for fruit-based fudges. Until just recently, chocolate-raspberry was my most recent, but I had a woman reach out to me and told me that she likes orange fudge. I’d never made orange fudge, but I just test drove that one, and so that’s our most recent. We do listen to requests. I added maple-walnut and chocolate-walnut. Maple and maple-walnut became huge sellers. I did not realize — I’ve lived in New Hampshire now since the mid-’80s and I had no idea how big Maple Weekend is in this state. It is huge and apparently I’m going to need to really ramp up and make a lot more maple and maple-walnut fudge this coming year because it sells at an insane rate.”

O’Rourke has found customers can be very particular about fudge.

“What I have discovered is that there are different types of fudge,” she said. “There’s the New England or American version of fudge, which is what I make. It’s the creamy version of fudge. But there’s also Scottish fudge. Scottish fudge is cooked to a higher temperature. It is a brittle, drier fudge; it’s very, very granular. We had a lot of people [at shows] asking us about our fudge and giving us some sort of funny looks. And what we realized as they tried our samples is that they were looking for that other type of fudge.”

And don’t ask O’Rourke about penuche.

“We tell people, ‘If you’re looking for penuche, you’re talking to the wrong person.’ I do not make penuche; it does not fit the family recipe. It needs to be made differently. We tell people to go hunt down other people if they’re looking for penuche fudge. My fudge, the original chocolate recipe, was my grandmother’s recipe. It was handed down by word-of-mouth. It is not written down. I was told I was not allowed to write it down. I worry sometimes that my memory might go, but at this point I make it enough that everything is memorized.”

At this time, Granite Bay Fudge does not have a website or a storefront. O’Rourke depends on her fans hunting her down at events where she is a vendor. They usually find her through social media.

“I have Instagram and Facebook posts,” she said, “but word-of-mouth has been an interesting thing. It turns out I’ve got followers. It’s been an interesting experience having people reach out to me to say, ‘Where is the next show? We really need more of your fudge.’”

“I have fudge groupies.”

Granite Bay Fudge
Fudge groupies can follow Granite Bay Fudge @granitebayfudge on Instagram, or search for it by name on Facebook.

Featured photo: Bonne Richards, owner of Bonne the Baker. Courtesy Bonne Richards.

No gluten, no problem

Bonne The Baker wants to give you better options

Bonne Richards has had some memorably bad gluten-free baked goods.

“I saw a gluten-free pizza yesterday that made me cry,” she said. “It was so clearly awful. I was at a meeting on the other side of the state and someone sent out for pizza and the gluten-free thing looked like it was made of Play-Doh. It was probably better to eat the box it came in.”

After baking professionally for many years, Richards has made the move to open her own gluten-free bakery.

“I’ve been in the business for a long time,” Richards said. “I was Michael Buckley’s original pastry chef at Michael Timothy’s back in the ’90s. And I’ve been working for different people and running farm bakeries, then went out on my own a couple of years ago just doing some wholesale accounts in the area. After listening to customers tell me, ‘Please, please open your own place,’ I decided to jump in and do it finally. It will be a gluten-free, dairy-free, plant-based bakery and retail market in Nashua.”

Richards’ goal for Bonne the Baker is to be a resource for customers who follow a specialized diet and, like her, have been disappointed with the choices available to them.

“It will probably break down to something like 70 percent sweet baked goods,” she said, ”and the other portion will be savory. You know — muffins, some Danishes, pastries. I’ll have some bread. Of course things like whoopie pies and cupcakes, all kinds of stuff. I’m going to do a lot of plant-based items. I have a big vegan and vegetarian following so I’m going to have a grab-and-go section that will have fresh salads, grain salads, greens, a lot of protein balls, vegan cheeses and things like vegan salamis that are hard to get.”

Richards remembers when gluten-free baked goods like that disappointing pizza were the norm. “Back in the day, at the beginning of gluten-free, the flours weren’t right,” she said. “Nobody really had a good formula for making eggs that weren’t eggs, you know what I mean? [Ingredients like that] have come such a long way and the procedures have taken a while to catch up with them. I can’t tell you how much I’ve thrown out perfecting my recipes. I’ve finally gotten to the point where I hear my favorite compliment pretty often: ‘ I cannot tell that this is gluten-free and there’s no eggs in this or dairy.’ So I’m pretty proud of that.”

Richards said the new space is promising.

“It looks so good!” she said. “I’m like, ‘Oh my god, it’s looking even better than I thought it was going to look like. It’s a fabulous space. It is so beautiful. I lucked out finding it. The City of Nashua has been so good, I can’t even tell you. And the comment out of the deputy health inspector was, ‘We want you in business’.

Richards’ original plan was to open for business on May 1, “but with paperwork, there are always issues,” she said. “I finally got my food licence. Now, we start baking and stocking the shelves and putting up my sign. The new plan is to have a soft opening on Saturday [May 9], and then the grand opening is going to be that Wednesday, May 13, which is my mother’s birthday, and she’s not here anymore, so even though it’s a Wednesday I’m going to call it Mother’s Day all weekend.”

Bonne The Baker
Where: 2 Cellu Drive, Nashua, 669-4200, bonniethebaker.com
When: soft opening Saturday, May 9, and grand opening Wednesday, May 13.
Hours: open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sundays 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Featured photo: Bonne Richards, owner of Bonne the Baker. Courtesy Bonne Richards.

The Weekly Dish 26/5/07

• French wine, French dining: There will be a wine dinner, “La Belle Saison: A French Wine & Culinary Experience,” Thursday, May 7, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Murphy’s Taproom & Carriage House (393 Route 101, Bedford, 488-5975; 494 Elm St., Manchester, 644-3535, murphystaproom.com). Organized by Wine Not Experiences, this dinner is inspired by the fresh energy of spring in France, featuring elegant French wines thoughtfully paired with a creative seasonal menu. Tickets are $150 through winenotexperiences.com.

• Wine and love stories: Averill House Vineyard (21 Averill Road, Brookline, 244-3165, averillhousevineyard.com) will host “Pouring Over Pages: A Romance Book and Wine Pairing Event” on Saturday, May 9, from 6 to 8 p.m. This event brings together books, wine and playful fun for a memorable literary wine tasting experience. Sip delicious local wines while exploring four swoon-worthy novels, play flirty games, win prizes, and connect with fellow book lovers in the scenic vineyard setting. General admission tickets are $49.87 through the Averill House website.

• Mother’s Day tea: The Culinary Playground (16 Manning St., Derry, 339-1664, culinary-playground.com) will host a Mother’s Day Tea on Sunday May 10, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Students will make a batch of berry tea cakes ​and compose their own tea sandwiches, ​then sit to dine in the kitchen. Tea, coffee and juice will be served. The cost is $65 per person at culinaryplaygroundnh.com/adults.

• A high-end Mother’s Day dinner: The Bedford Village Inn (2 Olde Bedford Way, Bedford, 472-2001, bedfordvillageinn.com) will host a three-course prix fixe Mother’s Day dinner on Sunday, May 10, with seating times from 2 to 7 p.m. The cost is $85 per adult and $45 per child. Visit bedfordvillageinn.com/bvi-holidays/#mothersday.

• A wine-filled Mother’s Day: Averill House Vineyard (21 Averill Road, Brookline, 244-3165, averillhousevineyard.com) will host a Mother’s Day high tea brunch and wine pairing Sunday, May 10, with seatings at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tickets are $59 through the Averill House website.

• An artsy Mother’s Day: Arts Alley (20 S.Main St., Concord, 406-5666, artsalleyconcordnh.com) will host a Mother’s Day brunch buffet called “A Toast to Mom” Sunday, May 10, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This promises to be a “relaxed and memorable afternoon filled with great food, cocktails, and time together” according to the Arts Alley website. Tickets are $55 per adult and $20 per child.

• A gardeny Mother’s Day: Birch Wood Vineyards (199 Rockingham Road, Derry, 965-4359, birchwoodvineyards.com) will host a garden-inspired brunch Sunday, May 10, with flavors, flowers and seasonal dishes. There will be three seating times. Adult tickets are $70 and children’s tickets are $30 through the Birch Wood website.

• A small-plates Mother’s Day: Fulchino Vineyard (187 Pine Hill Road, Hollis, 438-5984, fulchinovineyard.com) will host a six-course small-plate dinner Sunday, May 10, from noon to 3 p.m. Indulge in a carefully curated selection of gourmet small plates surrounded by vineyard views. Adult tickets are $60 each, children’s meals $25, through the Vineyard’s website.

• Cake and countesses: LaBelle Winery Amherst (345 Route 101, Amherst, 672-9898, labellewinery.com) will host a Bridgerton-inspired cake decorating class Wednesday, May 13, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. An instructor will guide you through adding beautiful icing decorations to your own 5-inch mini cake. You can add on a glass of LaBelle wine and a cheese plate to enjoy during class. You will take your cake home with you. This class starts at $74 through the LaBelle website.

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