Author: John Fladd

Blood Orange Margarita

  • 1 1/2 ounces blanco tequila – I like Tanteo, which has a kiss (un beso?) of jalapeño to it. 3/4 ounce triple sec – for citrusy sweetness, to offset the bitterness of the Campari
  • 1/4 ounce Campari – for color and a little bitterness to offset the sweetness of the triple sec
  • 3/4 ounce fresh squeezed blood orange juice
  • 3/4 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 1/4 ounce simple syrup
  • Another ounce fresh squeezed blood orange juice

Add ice to a cocktail shaker.

Ask your digital assistant to play “Cancion del Mariachi” from the El Mariachi soundtrack.Set it to repeat several times. Chuckle evilly. Take a swig of tequila if you have to. Attitude is everything with this drink.

Add the tequila, triple sec, Campari, lime juice and simple syrup, then shake to the rhythm of la musica. It helps to stand in front of a mirror while you do this, practicing your “You want some of this?” look. If one of the kids comes in to see what you’re doing, this look will chase them away and give them something to talk about in therapy later in life.

Strain the margarita over fresh ice in a rocks glass, then top with a float of the remaining blood orange juice, which will give you a lovely ombre (hombre?) effect.

This is a lovely little margarita — not too boozy, with just enough tequila to remind you that in your own way, you are formidable — the cabrona of school drop-off, the machote of your fantasy football league. The blood orange is sweet, but “sweet” in the way a teenage boy would say it, while watching something explode.

Featured photo: Blood Orange Margarita. Photo by John Fladd.

Chili, chowder, local help

Saint Peter’s holds its annual fundraising cook-off

Lee O’Connor is the chairman of the Chili and Chowder Cook-Off for Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church in Londonderry, which will take place this Saturday, March 21. O’Connor said the Cook-Off has become one of the most important events of the year for St. Peter’s.

“This is an event we’ve been having for nine years,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for people to cook chili and chowder with a chance of winning prizes and a chance to support important local programs. This year we’re supporting the Liberty House in Manchester, which helps local vets get their lives back together. [The Cook-Off] has become a big community event. We have a lot of people walk in just to have some chili and chowder and support a local cause. We probably have 100 people there and a lot of people just walk in just to support the event.”

The competition is open to anyone who wants to participate, O’Connor said. “Anybody can cook. We typically have 25 to 30 entries of either chili or chowder. People can either email our church or contact me, or in worst case, just walk in with their entry. There’s a $10 entry fee to submit a recipe, but with the opportunity to win several prizes. We’re excited to invite everybody to cook and to eat.”

While cooks are welcome at the cook-off, O’Conner said, anyone with an appetite is encouraged to come taste the entries and decide for themselves what the rankings should be. “To dine is here is the best bargain in town,” he said. “It costs $15 for all the chili and chowder you can eat.”

O’Connor said the ratio of chili to chowder varies from year to year, but there are usually more chili entrants than chowders.

“We’re encouraging folks to consider making their favorite chowder recipe,” he said, “but we’ve probably got close to 20 chili entries right now, and I think seven or eight chowders. So our judges are going to be busy.”

He said planning a strategy to appeal to the judges can be tricky.

“The judges have a judging sheet,” he said, “but these are not professional judges, so it largely comes down to their own personal taste. But the judging sheet helps them determine how much heat is in each chili. They look for meat or vegetarian flavors. Surprisingly, we have a lot of vegetarian entries that sometimes win. The winning chilis should have a distinct taste and some level of heat could be determined by the judges.” That level of heat can be pretty intense, he said. “There’s typically a couple of hot chilis that I like a lot — some five-alarm chilis.”

On the chowder side, O’Connor said, entries span the chowder spectrum.

“Clam chowder is a classic,” he said, “and so is corn, but sometimes we get … Manhattan clam chowder…. There’s some entries that border on soups that have an Italian flair; there’s some pasta in them sometimes. This is New England, so there’s seafood chowder, clam chowder, fish chowder, and corn chowder is a big one. So that’s what my wife makes.”

The secret to a winning chili or chowder, O’Connor said, will be big chunks of fresh ingredients. “I think that with chili,” he said, “having a quality meat and quality preparation is key to this. I think typically people who put time and effort into preparing meat tend to do better here.”

And it doesn’t hurt to look good.

“Contestants have to bring chili in a crock pot already heated,” he said. “And if it looks good in the pot and maybe has some condiments that you bring with it, those tend to catch the judge’s eye as well. Presentation is important.”

Ninth Annual Chili Chowder Cookoff
When: Saturday, March 21
Where: Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church, 3 Peabody Row, Londonderry, 437-8333, stpeterslondonderry.org
Cooks can register by signing up at church or emailing the church at church@stpeterslondonderry.org. There is a $10 entry fee. There is also a kids’ dessert competition, which is free to enter. Tasting tickets cost $15, $7 for ages 10 and under, according to the church’s Facebook page. The event will also include piñatas for kids and raffles, the post said.

Featured photo: Last year’s judges. Courtesy photo.

The sweet season

It’s 3.14 times as delicious as any other day

This Saturday, March 14, is one of the happiest days of the year for math enthusiasts. Written numerically, the date is 3/14, and of course 3.14 is the number pi (π) rounded to the nearest hundredth. “Pi Day,” also thought of as “Pie Day,” is a day of celebration for geometry fans, pun enthusiasts and of course pie lovers.

Canterbury Shaker Village (288 Shaker Road, Canterbury, 783-9511, shakers.org) will embrace Pi Day this year. From 1:30 to 3 p.m. on March 14 the museum will host a Pi Day event with an informal lecture on the history of pie and its connection to Canterbury’s Shaker community — they were considered brilliant cooks and bakers. The event will allow guests to eat pie, and let pie enthusiasts mingle and share their collected passion.

“It actually is a very nice pie symposium,” said Garrett Bethmann, Manager of Communications and Engagement for the Shaker Village. “It’s just easy breezy as, you know, just like the smell [of a fresh-baked pie] coming out of your window. We just want people to have as sweet a time as pie is.”

“We’ll be playing a little bit with that mathematical concept as well as showing how pie [the pastry] fits into that. We’ll look at how pie has been used in American culture over the years, and how Shakers thought about pie and how they incorporated them into their daily life. I saw recently we got some floor plans that had an integrated pie safe situated in it for one of our buildings. It was certainly on their mind. And so we’d like to showcase how that looks and how people can learn about it.”

The baking community will also be celebrating Pi Day.

“Oh, we’ve gota Pi Day menu!” said Brittani Randal, co-owner of The Sunflower Bakery and Cafe (50 Broad St., Nashua, 505-0794, thesunflowerbakerycafe.com). “Last year, the number of pies we could make was just based [on] what we could bake from our house, and now that we have our [brick and mortar bakery] those numbers don’t even count anymore. Last year we had eight to 10 [types of pie], but that didn’t include our black bottom pie, which has been our most popular pie so far, and I don’t think we were offering the strawberry dream pie either, so there will probably be at least 10 [varieties of pie].” She said one of Sunflower’s corporate clients has already ordered 250 individual-sized pies for Pi Day.

Denise Nickerson, owner of The Bakeshop on Kelley Street (171 Kelley St., Manchester, 624-3500, thebakeshoponkelleystreet.com) plans to go all out for Pi Day this year.

“We’re going to have every single kind of pie you can think of,” Nickerson said. “We’re going to have probably 25-plus [types of pie], depending on what people order. People come up with some interesting ideas and we’re planning to have as many different pies as we can. Our most popular, of course, is apple or chocolate cream. We’ll definitely have those. Lime is really popular and we’ll go from there.” The Bakeshop has a reputation for outstanding doughnuts. “We’re making some kind of a pie doughnut,” Nickerson said, “but that’s still under development; my team is working on it.”

For 24 hours, from midnight to midnight, on Pi Day all locations of the Red Arrow Diner (112 Loudon Road, Concord, 415-0444; 137 Rockingham Road, Londonderry, 552-3091; 61 Lowell St., Manchester, 626-1118; 149 DW Highway, Nashua, 204-5088, redarrowdiner.com) will offer all slices of pie for $3.14, according to a statement from its corporate office.

Alison Ladman, owner of Crust and Crumb Baking Co. (126 N. Main St., Concord, 219-0763, thecrustandcrumb.com), said her plans for Pi Day are simple: “All we’re doing is baking a whole lot of pies. We want to make sure we don’t run out, and we recommend that any customers who have their heart set on a particular type of pie should pre-order online to make sure we still have some for them.”

NH’s Maple Weekend
To access an interactive map of sugar houses participating in this year’s Maple Weekend, visit nhmaplemap.com.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 26/03/19

• Irish ducks and royal icing: There will be aSt. Patrick’s Day cookie decorating class at LaBelle Winery Amherst (345 Route 101, Amherst, 672-9898, labellewinery.com) Thursday, March 26, from 10 a.m. to noon. This is a beginner-level, hands-on class led by instructor Kelli Wright. She will guide you through the process of creating fun St. Patrick’s Day-themed cookie designs with a “lucky duck” theme. After class you’ll leave with a set of four decorated cookies and the knowledge to re-create your designs at home. Tickets start at $59. Visit labellewinery.com/public-winery-events.

• Shamrock dinner: On Friday, March 20, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. this month’s Clover & Candlelight Supper Club at the Rose and Rye Diner in Concord’s Arts Alley (20 S. Main St., Concord, 406-5666, artsalleyconcordnh.com) will be an Irish-themed dinner. The four-course dinner will include an Irish whiskey sour, Irish soda bread, potato and cheddar bisque, corned beef and cabbage, and a Baileys chocolate pot de creme.Tickets for this 21+ event are $97. Visit artsalleyconcordnh.com/event.

• Knives, forks and battle axes: There will be aViking Feast on Tuesday, March 24, at 377 S. Willow St., in Manchester, beginning at 6 p.m. Get ready to dive into a wild Viking celebration courtesy of Harper’s Eden Catering (35 Manchester Road, Derry, 416-0509, harperseden.com), with epic food, mead and roaring good times. Dive into the world of Vikings with delicious food, hearty drinks and axe throwing. It’s the perfect chance to hang with friends, enjoy tasty dishes and throw some axes. Tickets for this event are $71.21 through eventbrite.com.

• The sweet taste of sourness: Learn to make your own limoncello Saturday, March 21, at the Tuscan Market (Tuscan Village, 9 Via Toscana, Salem, 912-5467, tuscanbrands.com) from 6 to 8 p.m. Learn the process behind Italian limoncello and enjoy tastings of house-made versions. Craft your own limoncello to take home. The cost is $64.74. Visit tuscanbrands.com/cooking-classes.

1931 Fruit Cookies

This recipe is adapted from one in a recipe booklet put out by Robin Hood Flour in 1931. It makes about two dozen cookies.

Wet ingredients

  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter – The team at Robin Hood called for shortening, because it was the Great Depression, but my philosophy is that if you can use butter, why wouldn’t you? (That’s a rhetorical question. I understand that there actually are reasons, but I’m making a point here.)
  • 1 cup (198 g) sugar – It dissolves into liquids so well that it is often classified as a wet ingredient.
  • The zested rind of two lemons – The Robin Hood team suggested the zest from a large orange.
  • 2 eggs – This is a good idea. No notes.
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice – The original recipe called for orange juice.

Dry ingredients

  • 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour – Needless to say, this recipe specified Robin Hood flour.
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons dehydrated lemon juice powder (Optional. I realize that most bakers don’t have any of this on hand, but you should really consider picking some up. It helps bump the lemony flavor without throwing off a recipe’s dry-to-wet ratio. It makes a super-lemony cake frosting.)

Delicate prima donna ingredient

  • 1 cup (180 g) dried blueberries – The 1931 recipe called for raisins, but lemon and blueberries are a classic pairing.

With your stand or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together, then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Then mix in the lemon zest and lemon juice.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together, then add the dry mixture to the wet one at slow speed. Carefully mix the dried blueberries into the dough.

Cover the dough with a piece of waxed paper, and chill it in your refrigerator for about 45 minutes. While it’s chilling, preheat your oven to 375°F.

After reading a couple chapters of a good book, scoop the dough onto parchment paper or a silicone mat, one Tablespoon at a time. (I have a miniature ice cream scoop that does a lovely job of this.) Flatten the blobs with a wet fork, the way you would with peanut butter cookies.

Bake for about 12 minutes — all ovens are a little different — until the edges have browned slightly. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet.

These are not fancy cookies, but they are gently sweet, and lemony, with tiny bursts of blueberry flavor. These are a good gift for a friend who’s having a hard time, without making a big deal about it.

Featured photo: 1931 Fruit Cookies. Photo by John Fladd.

The meringue’s the thing

A taste of the finicky world of French macarons

Ashley Savoy is the owner of Savvy Sweets and Treats in Bow (387-0241, savvysweetsandtreats.com), a home bakery specializing in sweet baked goods. She sells cakes, cupcakes and cookies, but has developed a following for her French-style macarons.

Savoy said a common misconception new customers make is confusing macarons — meringue-based cookies that sandwich a sweet filling — with macaroons, the chewy coconut cookies popular around Passover.

“There’s a difference between the two,” she said. “Sometimes people use the two words interchangeably. However, if you went to Europe and you said a macaron, most people would know exactly what you were talking about and not think of the coconut cookie at all.”

Macarons have a reputation among home bakers for being temperamental and difficult to consistently get right. Savoy said she only learned to make them as part of the courting process when she started seeing her now-husband.

“I started because macarons were one of my husband’s favorite cookies when we first started dating. And I thought, ‘I can definitely do this. I bake all the time.’ I had no idea what I was getting myself into.” She taught herself the basics of macarons, but, she said, “they’re like a dysfunctional baking cookie because once you figure it out and you get it and you know how to cook them they’re not that bad, but getting there can be really quite a love-hate relationship.”

Now she feels like she has a handle on macaron-making.

“When I go to an event, I bring probably a maximum of nine flavors,” she said, “but I would say that I make well over 200 different flavor combinations at this point.” She has a core stable of the chewy meringue cookies, but the variety of fillings is enormous. “You can flavor your cookie, which adds an extra level of flavor to it. But [for] the filling on the inside there’s just like a slew of things that you can do with that. You can use a ganache; you could do a buttercream, you can do an ermine frosting — that’s a frosting that is a little bit less sweet and it’s made with flour.”

One of the hallmarks of good Parisian-style macarons is their vivid colors. For Savoy, the colors serve an additional purpose.

“A lot of times,” she said, “ I do salted caramel and I [make it with] a blue shell, which is mostly just for my own sanity and to remember what it is. Some use more natural food coloring, but almost all macarons have some sort of food coloring and that’s how you get that vibrant coloring. Sometimes people bite into one of my blue macarons, and then their whole mouth turns blue and they’re like, ‘Oh my goodness!’”

The key to a good macaron, Savoy said, is mastering meringue.

“I think meringues are much friendlier than they get a rep for,” she said. “It’s easy to break a meringue, but I would say that there are a couple of things that you can do to ensure that your meringue is going to be the best it can be. The first thing is wiping all of your equipment down with either lemon juice or some vinegar — something acidic. That’s going to remove any fat residue that might be left there. Sometimes even soap residue can affect [the egg whites in your meringue]. The other trick to meringue is that you need to whip them for far longer than you think you’re going to. It’s better to over-whip your meringue than it is to under-whip it. The stiffer meringue is a little bit more forgiving than the loose meringue, which might lose all structure altogether. And then that’s when you get those like flat, weird-looking brown ones.”

Macarons
Ashley Savoy sells her baked goods, including macarons, at Concord’s Winter Market (downtownconcordwinterfarmersmarket.com), at selected events, and through Savvy Sweets and Treats’ website at savvysweetsandtreats.com.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

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