Author: John Fladd

Style and substance at Fire & Ice

Chili Cook-Off offers demonstrations of creativity

By John Fladd

[email protected]

For the past nine years the Amherst Lions Club has raised money for its community-based projects with a Fire and Ice Chili Cook-Off. Joan Ferguson is one of its coordinators.

“This is our ninth annual chili event,” she said, “and the idea has been to provide a community event in the middle of winter when everybody is asking when spring will come. There’s the chili, which is the fire, and the ice is making your own ice cream sundae.”

Ferguson said the cook-off has become something of an Amherst institution.

“We think we have it down in terms of planning, at this point,” she said, “but, you know, there’s always something we can do better. For example, during Covid we did something radically different. We videotaped competitors going before judges and making their presentation. And then we filled the recipes online. And that year we were able to get really prestigious judges because the restaurants weren’t open.”

The 2025 Fire & Ice event will take place Friday, Feb. 7, in the Souhegan High School Cafeteria. Competitors submit crockpots of their chili to be judged. Judges will circulate around the room, to each table, and judge the submissions on taste, smell, heat, creativity and presentation. Attendees will pay to sample and eat the different chilis.

Amherst Chief of Police Anthony Ciamoli will be one of this year’s judges. He said he loves chili but really looks forward to judging entrants’ creativity and patience.

“Being a layman, I was really excited [last year] to see some of the work that people put into their presentation and different kinds of chili,” he said. “Some were sweet, some were hot, and some of the people truly prepared their little stations. They had turned their areas into small vignettes. One was a dinosaur scene. It was really cool. They take a lot of pride in it. That’s a reason to make sure that we take each [submission] seriously.”

Dan DeCourcey, owner of the Up in Your Grill Food Truck (493-3191, upinyourgrill.com), is another chili judge. He thinks first impressions are important.

“You’re always going to start off with how it looks,” he said, “so the presentation, right? Then you’re looking at the product itself. In a contest like this one, the presentation is important. When you walk up [to a station] there could be a little story written on the side or, you know, they have garnishes out or, you know, different things and you’re kind of getting the first impression. If there’s a really interesting story, like … I don’t know, it’s great-grandma’s secret recipe from, you know, Mississippi that is now a family guarded secret and sought after by everyone. It just adds to the fun.”

Joan Ferguson said the chili submissions themselves have been extremely creative in past years. “We’ve had venison entries,” she said. “We’ve had beef, we’ve had chicken, and of course we’ve had vegetarian. We have very hot chili recipes and we have pleasant chili recipes. One [chili] will take the top of your head off and will be one that everybody finds savory. Don’t ask me what people prefer because the pots usually go home empty.”

Chief Ciamoli agreed. “Everyone has had different bases,” he remembered. “There was one table that I remember last year that actually had a vegetarian chili. Then there was your standard ground beef and some that had brisket. So it’s really neat to be able to try all the different styles. Some have some fruit in it to soften things. There’s work that goes into it.”

Ciamoli has a double involvement in this year’s cookoff. In addition to judging, the Amherst Police Department will be submitting a chili (which he will not be allowed to judge). He said his officers feel surprisingly motivated. “I was shocked because when I brought it up with them I said, ‘I think we should do something brisket-based,’ and then all of a sudden one of our officers I never hear from is like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold the phones! I want in, man!’”

Amherst Lions Club 2025 Fire and Ice Chili Cookoff

When: Friday, Feb.7, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Where: Souhegan High School Cafeteria, 412 Boston Post Road, Amherst.
Tickets: To purchase tickets, contact any Amherst Lion or purchase online. Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for students ages 7-12, free for children ages 6 and under, $40 for a family of four or more.
There is no fee to enter a chili. Competitors must register by Feb. 4.
Visit the Amherst Lions Club website at e-clubhouse.org/sites/amherstnh.

The Weekly Dish 25/01/23

• Just opened: Evviva Trattoria Bedford, a Massachusetts-based chain restaurant featuring locally sourced, modern Italian cuisine served in a family-style atmosphere with a full bar serving beer, wine and specialty cocktails, has opened a site in Bedford at 5 Colby Court (471-3205, evvivatrattoria.com). It opens at 11:30 a.m. seven days a week and closes at 8 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and at 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, according to the website. Evviva also has a location in Rochester, N.H.

• Wine expo: The 19th Annual Winter Wine Spectacular will take place at the Doubletree Expo Center (700 Elm St., Manchester, 625-1000) on Thursday, Jan. 23, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. This event is the culmination of New Hampshire Winter Wine Week and will feature more than 1,700 wines, 25 restaurants and winemakers and distributors. Tickets are still available for $75 at eventbrite.com.

• Highly anticipated chicken fingers: After many weeks of anticipation, fried chicken fingers restaurant Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers will open for business on Tuesday, Jan. 28, in the former Cactus Jack’s location (782 S. Willow St., Manchester, 263-3787, raisingcanes.com). This is the chain’s first location in New Hampshire.

• Possibly the best pairing: Wine on Main (9 N. Main St., Concord, 897-5828, wineonmainnh.com) will host a cupcake and wine pairing event, Thursday, Jan. 30, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Participants will taste four mini-cupcakes from Savvy Sweets and Treats (Bow, 387-0241, savvysweetsandtreats.com) paired with four specially chosen wines. Tickets are $35 and available through eventbrite.com. Because this event has proven to be popular in the past, a second date has been added, Wednesday, Jan. 29, also from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Flamingos and Briefcases

zero-proof breakfast cocktail

3 ounces Ruby Red grapefruit juice

1 teaspoon dehydrated grapefruit juice powder – I use citrus powders to intensify fruit flavors in a recipe without throwing off the liquid ratios. This works really well in frostings and glazes. These powders can be found easily online. In this recipe, it’s optional, but really does dial up the level of grapefruitiness.

2 ounces alcohol-free gin – I used Free Spirits this time, and it provided a mellow backnote of juniper to the proceedings. Because it is alcohol-free, it too can be easily ordered online, or even found in some supermarkets.

¾ ounce honey syrup (see below)

1/8 teaspoon rose water

Pour the grapefruit juice into a cocktail shaker, then stir in the grapefruit powder with a bar spoon or a pair of chopsticks. Mix vigorously for 15 or 20 seconds to make certain that the powder has dissolved completely. Avoid ice for the moment; this won’t work as well in a cold solution.

Add the other ingredients, then dry shake them (this means to shake them without ice). Again, you are forcing an introduction here, and it will probably go better if the ingredients aren’t keeping to themselves in separate corners, wearing coats and huddling around radiators.

Once everything is well mixed, add ice, and shake it again. Strain into a coupé glass, and sip to some morning-themed music — Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” or Nina Simone’s cover of “Here Comes the Sun,” perhaps.

Because there is no actual alcohol involved, this is a really good breakfast cocktail.

I know, that term hurts a little to think about, but because the “gin” here is just a flavoring agent, this drink can be a very nice start to your day. It’s pink, it’s fruity but also little bracing, and there is a hint of perfume at the very end. Grapefruit, like most citrus, pairs well with almost any other ingredient, and the tiny hit of juniper from the alcohol-free gin puts a thoughtful spin on the combination. This scales up beautifully to a pitcher drink.

If the idea of a breakfast cocktail is still a bit uncomfortable, imagine this:

A team of clients is in your conference room for an early morning presentation. Your team and their team have worked together before, and they’ve been happy with your work, but you’re still getting a sense of caution from them. You know that your presentation is solid, but you need them to approach it with an open mind.

After your assistant sets up the coffee and bagels on the table at the back of the room, she walks around the conference table, and places a coupe glass in each place, then fills each one halfway with this delicate pink cocktail from a martini pitcher. After your assurance that there is no alcohol involved, the senior member of the other team takes a tentative sip, pauses thoughtfully, then with one raised eyebrow takes a deeper sip and sighs, just a little, with pleasant surprise. The rest of the client team will take their cues from her, and a few minutes later that attitude of open-minded receptiveness will pay off when your slide presentation takes a turn to the unexpected, mixing sales charts with photos of armadillos and bagpipe music.

Honey Syrup

This is probably the easiest of syrups to make. Combine equal amounts of honey and boiling water, and stir to combine. Let it cool, then use for any number of beverages. The diluted honey will mix more readily with your tea or cocktail than it would at full strength. Mixed with plain club soda it makes an unexpected and delightful soda.

‘Dry’ but not boring

Bringing flavor to Mocktail Month

By John Fladd

[email protected]

You might not expect the New Hampshire Liquor Commission to be a supporter of “Dry January” — the trend of abstaining from alcohol for the month. But 2025 marks the Commission’s fifth year of partnering with area bars, restaurants and liquor brands to promote New Hampshire Mocktail Month.

“Mocktail” refers to a sophisticated adult beverage that is also alcohol-free. According to Mark Roy, the Liquor Commission’s Director of Marketing, alcohol-optional drinking has been growing in popularity.

“It’s been a growing movement, the idea of entertaining or celebrating responsibly,” Roy said. “[Mocktail Month] gives patrons and consumers the ability to go into [participating bars and restaurants] and enjoy alcohol-free or non-alcohol options along with their wives or spouses or friends who choose to responsibly imbibe that evening, but they can enjoy it along with the same great flavors and the same look without that alcohol involved.”

Roy said Mocktail Month has grown, “from a handful of restaurants the first year to 70 restaurants this year. A lot of restaurants are getting on board, and it’s from every corner of the state … They all feature mocktails on their menus. We highly recommend that you look for these on the menus and enjoy some of these great concoctions.”

Kristen Hancock is the Beverage Director for Copper Door restaurants (in Bedford and Salem). She said Mocktail Month provides an opportunity for her restaurants to highlight something they do regularly.

“We always have mocktails available,” Hancock said. “We have them on the menu all year long, but we [like] letting people know that we have these available. We try to stay seasonal with our flavors and be innovative with flavors but also be approachable.”

So who comes up with these new drinks? “Well it’s mostly me,” Hancock said. “I generally come up with the mocktails and cocktails and then I take input from other bartenders or servers who come up with ideas. We try them out, and if the staff likes them we go for it.”

She said seasonal ingredients are a source of inspiration. “We actually had a cocktail on our menu that I created that used some blueberry simple syrup and I just thought that it would be lovely with our homemade lemonade. It would be a really nice seasonal combination of fun flavors. And it’s been a huge hit. It was nice to carry over something that we use in a cocktail to then also use it in a non-alcoholic drink.”

Hancock said her staff is extremely receptive to suggestions from customers.

“In addition to the mocktails that we feature on the menu, we’re always open to do anything the guests want,” she said. “We make our homemade bloody mary mix, so we can always do a virgin bloody mary. We always have mint in-house, so I have a lot of times that people want to have a virgin raspberry mojito type of thing, and obviously our answer’s ‘Yes, so happily!’ Sometimes a customer will ask, ‘Oh, do you have any raspberries to add? Can I do that with lemonade and some soda water?’ So if we have ingredients that the guests want to play around with, we’re happy to do it.”

New Hampshire Mocktail Month
The Liquor Commission has recipes for zero-proof drinks posted on its website at explore.liquorandwineoutlets.com/live-free-and-host-responsibly.


Amethyst Night
A mocktail recipe from the New Hampshire Liquor Commission, invented by the 7-20-4 Lounge in Londonderry

2 ounces hibiscus tea

1 ounce pineapple juice

1 ounce grapefruit juice

0.75 ounce hibiscus simple syrup

0.75 ounce orgeat

0.5 ounce ginger syrup

Splash of lime juice

Combine all ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker, shake, and serve in a rocks glass, with a dried tangerine wheel for garnish.

In the kitchen with Amy LaBelle

Amy LaBelle, co-owner of LaBelle Winery Amherst (345 Route 101, Amherst, 672-9898), LaBelle Winery Derry (14 Route 111, Derry, labellewinery.com), The Bistro at LaBelle Winery, and Americus Restaurant

“I got a start as a winemaker later in life than many people; it is a second career for me,” LaBelle said. “I started out as a lawyer, and I had what I thought was my dream job at a major financial institution, but I took a trip to Canada and visited a winery in Nova Scotia and had a life-changing experience. Everything about it was so perfect — the wine, the food, the people, the whole wine-centered environment — I suddenly realized that it was what I really wanted to do with my life. It was a slow process, over 4,000 days, but every day of those 12 years I worked to move a little closer to my dream. Now the dream has expanded to include two wineries, each with their own restaurants. For me, food and wine are entirely interlinked. They are my twin passions.”

What is your must-have kitchen item?

That is such a hard question! If I had to pick, though, I’d say salt. It is integral to everything I cook. It brings out the nuances of every flavor and helps me really be present in everything I eat. I like to use two types of sea salt, a fine salt for the actual cooking, and a coarse or flaky salt for finishing a dish. …

What would you have for your last meal?

For me, it would be as much about where I ate it as what I ate. I’d eat a beef bourguignon in a cafe in Paris. …

What is your favorite local place to eat?

It’s a little self-promotional, but our own restaurant. … A few weeks ago, my husband and I had a night to ourselves with no kids, and we were wondering where we should go to eat, and half an hour later, we found ourselves right here.

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

Martha Stewart is a hero of mine. … She pays such scrupulous attention to everything she does — her magazine, her recipes, everything her staff produces. I admire that level of commitment and spirit of perfectionism.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

Our menu is constantly changing as seasonal ingredients become available, but there are a few dishes that we keep on all the time. My favorite is Steak Frites. …

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

It’s probably because of the time of the year, but right now, we’ve had a big surge in demand for ‘clean,’ healthy foods. We’ve been working on several zero-alcohol mocktails …

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

… Because my husband is South American, one of our favorites is empanadas. The beef on the inside and the fried exterior are fantastic. … It’s really labor-intensive, but we set up a production line. …

Colombian Empanadas
Recipe from Amy LaBelle

Filling
2 pounds grilled steak tips or rib-eye, ground
2 cups leftover boiled potatoes, smashed
1 Tablespoon olive oil
½ cup sliced onion
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ cup LaBelle Jalapeno Culinary Wine

Caramelize the onion in olive oil. Remove from heat, and mix all ingredients together.

Dough
4 cups masa flour – blanca, not yellow!
2 teaspoons sugar
3¾ cups hot water
2 teaspoons sea salt

Mix the dry ingredients, then make a well in the center. Gradually add the hot water, turning and mixing constantly, until it is the right consistency for rolling.

Making the empanadas:
Divide the dough into medium-sized balls, then roll out to 5- to 6-inch circles. Place filling on the dough, then fold to make half-circles, then seal the edges. Fry the empanadas in 350-degree oil, not crowding the pan, until golden brown. Repeat until all have been fried.

Tasty events coming up

Food Bank raises funds

Next week’s Winter Wine Spectacular is one of four major fundraising events for the New Hampshire Food Bank. Three of the four events — the Distiller’s Showcase in November, the Wine Spectacular in January, and the Steel Chef competition in March — are food- or drink-related. Together with a September golf tournament, these events allow the Food Bank to feed more people.

Nancy Mellitt is New Hampshire Food Bank’s Director of Development. She is one of the principal organizers of these fundraising events.

“The funds that we see from the Wine Spectacular,” she said, “will help us to … purchase food — we’re purchasing about 30 percent more food this year over last year — for distribution. About one in 10 individuals in New Hampshire — one in seven children 18 and under — are food-insecure. Those [numbers come] from Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap, and those numbers are from 2022. We all know that grocery prices are very high, fuel is high, rents are high; so it’s just difficult for people to make ends meet. And sometimes they have to make a choice between shelter and food.”

According to statistics on New Hampshire Food Bank’s website, in 2023 the organization distributed 16.3 million pounds of food and, working with more than 400 partner agencies, served 13.6 million meals across New Hampshire.

Mellitt said that events like the Winter Wine Spectacular, which is put on by the New Hampshire Liquor Commission, are an important part of meeting that mission.

“We have a very great partnership with the Liquor Commission,” she said, adding that it was the Commission that suggested this partnership. “The Liquor Commission asked the Food Bank if we would consider taking this event on. We recruit restaurants for individuals to have tastings, both in the expo and in the VIP room. We’re trying to help to solicit some auction items available for folks to bid on. And we help to recruit volunteers so that everything’s running smoothly and the guests have a fabulous experience.”

The Liquor Commission, for its part, donates 100 percent of the event’s proceeds to the Food Bank.

“The main driver of this program is that it’s a huge benefit,” said Mark Roy, Director of Marketing for the Liquor Commission. “Our beneficiary is our partner, the New Hampshire Food Bank. [The Distillers’ Showcase and the Wine Spectacular] are not only about educating our consumers about our products and our outlets and our business but it’s partnering with crucial people like the New Hampshire Food Bank. It’s a 360-degree encompassing feel-good event. You can come and have a good time and know that it’s going toward a good cause and something that New Hampshire and the Liquor Commission really supports.”

The next event on Nancy Mellitt’s radar is the Steel Chef competition in March (nhfoodbank.org/steelchef), where 680 attendees will watch a live, timed cooking competition featuring prominent New Hampshire chefs. As the chefs compete against each other to prepare their best dishes featuring a mystery ingredient, guests will eat a special dinner curated by Celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson. Mellitt is a big fan.

“He was fabulous last year,” she said. “Of all of the chefs that we’ve had to date, he’s been the best. The first year a chef [hosts] this event is tough for them because they’ve never done it before; they still don’t really know what to anticipate. But Chef Sameulsson just blended in. It was amazing. It was really great to meet him and work with him and we’re looking forward to it again.”

Mellitt said tickets for Steel Chef will sell out early: “I would say they will sell out probably sometime in January.”

Food Bank events
19th Annual New England Winter Wine Spectacular
When: Friday, Jan. 23, from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Doubletree Expo Center, 700 Elm St., Manchester
Tickets: available through eventbrite.com.

9th Annual Steel Chef event
When: Monday, March 17
Tickets: available at nhfoodbank.org/steelchef

To learn more about food insecurity in New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Food Bank’s role in alleviating it, visit nhfoodbank.org/hunger-in-nh.

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