Author: Matt Ingersoll

Matt Ingersoll writes about all things food and drink, covering new restaurants and following the most delicious foodie trends in the state. Reach him at [email protected].

The Weekly Dish 21/09/16

News from the local food scene

• Flavors of Egypt: The annual Egyptian Food Festival returns to St. Mary and Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church (39 Chandler St., Nashua) over three days, from Friday, Sept. 17, through Sunday, Sept. 19. There will be a full menu of freshly prepared items to choose from, including beef or chicken kebab platters, beef shawarma, and vegetarian dishes like falafel and koshari, a popular Egyptian dish featuring rice mixed with brown lentils, chickpeas, macaroni and sauce. For desserts, attendees will have the opportunity to try several types of sweets and pastries, from baklava and fried dough to om ali, a puff pastry-like delicacy with nuts soaked in milk, baked and served warm. According to the Rev. Kyrillos Gobran of the church, a gift bazaar is also planned, as well as live music, face-painting and family-friendly games and activities. Festival hours are from 4 to 9 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, rain or shine each day. Admission is free and foods are priced per item. Parking is available nearby at BAE Systems (95 Canal St., Nashua). Visit stmarycoptsnh.org.

• Pristine poutine: Tickets to the New Hampshire PoutineFest Spooktacular, a special Halloween edition of the popular poutine festival, will go on sale on Saturday, Sept. 18, at 10 a.m. The event itself is set for Saturday, Oct. 23, at Anheuser-Busch Tour Center & Biergarten (221 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack), resuming the friendly competition among local and regional restaurants, food trucks and other vendors for the best poutine dish as voted by attendees. Costumes are encouraged at the festival, which will also feature craft beer, children’s activities, games and a DJ. Tickets are $39.99 for general admission and entry at 12:45 p.m., $49.99 for VIP admission (early entry at 11:30 a.m.), $14.99 for kids ages 6 to 12 with sampling, and free without it. All kids ages 5 and under also receive free admission. Visit nhpoutinefestspooktacular.eventbrite.com to get your tickets.

• Crescent City cravings: Join the Bedford Village Inn (2 Olde Bedford Way Bedford) for a New Orleans dinner on Thursday, Sept. 23, at 6 p.m., the next installment in its summer dinner series held on its Grand Terrace. This five-course dinner will feature options inspired by the city of New Orleans, where executive chef Tina Verville spent three years of her culinary career. Items will include broiled oysters, shrimp and sausage gumbo, andouille jambalaya arancini and more — each course will be paired with a classic handcrafted New Orleans cocktail. Tickets are $125 per person plus tax (the dinner is open to attendees ages 21 and up only), and all proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief to help Louisianans affected by Hurricane Ida. Visit bedfordvillageinn.com.

• Soups and chowders: The Collins Brothers Chowder Co. (59 Temple St., Nashua), which offers homemade hot soups and chowders in addition to prepared meals, reopened for the season on Sept. 15. The takeout-only eatery usually features several soups and chowders that are available daily, in addition to different specials that will run depending on the day. Homemade comfort meals to go have also been available, like shepherd’s pie, chicken pot pie and American chop suey. The Collins Brothers Chowder Co. is open Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., usually through the winter and early spring. Visit collinsbrotherschowder.com or follow them on Facebook @collinsbrotherschowder.

In the kitchen with Jordyn Hotchkiss

Jordyn Hotchkiss of Weare is the owner of The Cat’s Pajamas ([email protected], and on Facebook and Instagram @catspajamasnh), a homestead business she runs with the help of her mother, April, offering freshly baked cookies, brownies and whoopie pies in multiple flavors. Her lineup of baked goods includes chocolate chip and sugar cookies, fudge brownies, classic or peanut butter whoopie pies and peanut butter fudge, all of which are available for sale at the Weare Real Food Farmers Market (65 N. Stark Hwy., Weare). Hotchkiss, who also occasionally takes on special orders, said The Cat’s Pajamas gets its name from her love of both 1920s culture and cat cafes, or cafes in which visitors can also play with cats that may be up for adoption. She hopes to expand her offerings to seasonal items this fall, like pumpkin whoopie pies.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

A KitchenAid mixer. I cannot function without my KitchenAid.

What would you have for your last meal?

For a full meal, probably steak with mashed potatoes, and a grasshopper pie ice cream sundae for dessert.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

I don’t go out to eat a whole lot, but one of my favorites is Putnam’s [Waterview Restaurant] in Goffstown. I’ll either get a chicken Caesar salad, or their steak and cheese. Their chicken tenders are good too.

What celebrity would you like to see trying one of your baked goods?

It makes me nervous, but I would love to have [Food Network’s] Duff Goldman. I would want to know what he would say.

What is your favorite product that you offer?

Either the whoopie pies or the brownies, because I like the way they come out. I have a special brownie pan that I use, so they all come out the same size.

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

In the bakery world, I feel like cake pops are a really big thing. I’ve noticed them come up more frequently in different bakeries.

What is your favorite thing to cook or bake at home?

Chocolate chip cookies. We always have some cookies somewhere in the house for us, just as a family.

Homemade chocolate chip cookies
From the kitchen of Jordyn Hotchkiss of The Cat’s Pajamas in Weare

½ Crisco stick (½ cup)
1 stick salted butter (½ cup)
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
12 ounces chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the Crisco and butter until creamy. Add in the brown sugar and white sugar. Mix until well-incorporated. Add vanilla and eggs, then gradually add in the flour until well-mixed. Mix in baking soda. Add chocolate chips. Scoop onto a cookie sheet and bake for approximately 12 minutes (baking time may vary depending on the oven and type of cookie sheet). Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for a minute or two. Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy.

Featured photo: Jordyn Hotchkiss. Courtesy photo.

Fresh catch

Hampton Beach Seafood Festival returns

A year after its first cancellation in three decades, the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival returns to Ocean Boulevard Friday, Sept. 10, through Sunday, Sept. 12, with dozens of local restaurants and specialty food vendors offering an array of seafood options, from lobster rolls and fried clams to homemade chowders, bisques and more. The festival will also feature local crafters, live entertainment and a fireworks display.

“When we made the decision that we were going to move forward with the festival, we wanted to make sure that it would provide a lot of fun for people, but also make it very safe,” said John Nyhan, president of the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce. “So the first thing we did was we redesigned the layout, primarily on the street, and we reduced the sizes of the tents to make more open space. … We also eliminated one of the major tents on the street, which was one of our two beer tents. So we’ve created a layout now where there is a lot more open space and people don’t feel like they’re crammed into these large tents walking side by side.”

Oysters from the Swell Oyster Co. Courtesy photo.

More than 35 food vendors are expected to attend, including many returning favorites as well as a few newcomers. The Old Salt Restaurant at Lamie’s Inn in Hampton, which hasn’t missed a single festival since its inaugural year in 1989, according to Nyhan, is back once again. Brown’s Lobster Pound of Seabrook, Petey’s Summertime Seafood and Bar of Rye, and the Boardwalk Cafe & Pub of Hampton are a few other past participants.

New faces to the festival include Swell Oyster Co., which has been harvesting fresh Atlantic oysters in Hampton Harbor since 2017. Last year, owners Russ Hilliard and Conor Walsh opened the Swell Oyster Shack, their first retail space, on the Hampton State Pier.

Many of the vendors will compete for titles in several categories, like Best Chowder, Best Lobster Roll, Best Fried Seafood and others, as determined by a panel of judges — the tasting contest begins at 2 p.m. on Friday, and winners are announced on the Main Stage that evening.

“We’ll hand out the ribbons for these food vendors, and then they can put them on their tents showing that they won the best prize in that category,” Nyhan said.

There are plenty of options for non-seafood-eaters too, like french fries, chicken fingers, hot dogs and barbecue items, plus specialty desserts. Always a draw during the festival, members of the North Hampton Fire Department serve breakfast sandwiches first thing on Saturday morning.

Throughout the weekend is a full schedule of live musicians, performing on one of two stages. More than 75 local crafters selling their wares are also participating.

A new feature of the festival, the Pine Hospitality Group of Hampton is sponsoring an art show, featuring local artists that will be painting murals all day Friday at the Beach Cabana Bar. Each artist will have the opportunity to win a People’s Choice award for their work.

Culinary demonstrations from NESN’s Wicked Bites are scheduled between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s special events will also include two cornhole tournaments, the second of which will have signup opportunities that day. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three winners.

At 3 p.m. on Saturday, local organizations will gather on the Main Stage for a tribute to the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The New Hampshire Police Association Pipes and Drums, as well as six local school color guards, will be in attendance.

Saturday’s festivities will conclude with a fireworks display on the beach at 8:30 p.m. Sunday will kick off with a 5K road race that morning, held along Ocean Boulevard and ending at the Beach Cabana Bar. As the festival winds down, a lobster roll eating contest will take place at 2 p.m. on the Main Stage, with Gov. Chris Sununu as the honorary master of ceremonies.

5th annual NH Bacon & Beer Festival

When: Friday, Sept. 10, 1 to 9 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 11, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, Sept. 12, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Ocean Boulevard, Hampton Beach
Cost: $10 each day for adults and free for children ages 12 and under; all foods and drinks are priced per item
Visit: seafoodfestivalnh.com
No pets are allowed. Free shuttle services are provided in a variety of parking areas nearby, including at the Hampton Park & Ride (Timber Swamp Road) and at the Municipal Parking Lot (High Street) — see website for details. Masks are required while on board the shuttle buses.

Schedule of events

Friday, Sept. 10

• 1 p.m. Festival begins; all craft, food and beer tents will be open

• 1 to 9 p.m. Live music and entertainment on both stages

• 2 p.m. Food judging contest begins; vendors will compete for titles in a variety of categories, including Best Fried Seafood, Best Chowder and Best Lobster Roll

• 6:15 p.m. Contest winners will be announced on the Main Stage

Saturday, Sept. 11

• 10 a.m. All craft, food and beer tents reopen for the day, and live entertainment resumes

• 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Culinary demonstrations with NESN’s Wicked Bites

• Noon to 4 p.m. Cornhole competitions in the Beach Cabana Bar

• 3 p.m. Sept. 11 20th anniversary tribute on the Main Stage

• 8:30 p.m. Fireworks display on the beach, presented by the Hampton Beach Village District

Sunday, Sept. 12

• 7:30 a.m. 5K road race begins, taking place along Ocean Boulevard and ending at the Beach Cabana Bar

• 9 a.m. All craft, food and beer tents reopen for the day, and live entertainment resumes

• 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Culinary demonstrations with NESN’s Wicked Bites

• 2 p.m. Lobster roll eating contest on the Main Stage

Featured photo: Lobster roll from Rye Harbor Lobster Pound. Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 21/09/09

News from the local food scene

• Achieving grape-ness: The Hollis Grape Festival will return to the Hollis Town Common (Monument Square) on Sunday, Sept. 12, from 4 to 8 p.m. The event features gelato and other food options, local artisans selling their wares, face-painting, and photo opportunities in the grape stomping barrel. Live music will begin at 6:45 p.m., featuring Marco Turo performing the music of Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin and Dean Martin. All proceeds benefit the Hollis Police Benevolent Fund, the Hollis Fire Explorers and the Hollis-Brookline Agricultural Scholarship Fund. Visit fulchino-vineyard-inc.square.site.

• School Street Cafe expands: The School Street Cafe of Dunbarton has partnered with Banks Chevrolet (137 Manchester St., Concord) for its second location, which opened inside the building on Sept. 1, according to its website and social media pages. Like at its predecessor, you’ll find a variety of breakfast and lunch options, as well as coffees and freshly baked pastries. The School Street Cafe first opened in August 2020 in the former MG’s Farmhouse Cafe space (1007 School St., Dunbarton) and offers build-your-own breakfast sandwiches, pastries and yogurt parfaits. Visit schoolstreetcafe.com.

• A bacon lover’s dream: There’s still time to get your ticket to the NH Bacon & Beer Festival, set for Saturday, Sept. 11, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at Anheuser-Busch Tour Center and Biergarten (221 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack). The fifth annual event returns for the first time since the spring of 2019, featuring uniquely crafted bacon-infused eats from more than a dozen local food vendors, in addition to beer samples and live local music throughout the afternoon. Hundreds of pounds of bacon provided by North Country Smokehouse are being distributed among the restaurants, food trucks and other vendors, each of whom has the creative freedom to incorporate it how they would like to in their featured dishes. General admission is $60 per person, which includes access to up to 24 beer tastings and food samples while they last. Designated drivers can receive access to the food samples only for $35 per person. All proceeds benefit the High Hopes Foundation of New Hampshire. Visit nhbaconbeer.com or check out our coverage of the festival in the Hippo’s Sept. 2 edition, on page 24

In the kitchen with Kristen Mader

Inspired by made-to-order tableside guacamole at his favorite Mexican restaurants, Gabriel “Gabe” Alpuerto of LKristen Mader of Pelham is the owner of Cakes 5th Avenue (cakes5thavenue.com, find them on Facebook), a homestead business she founded in 2008 that offers custom cake orders for several occasions from weddings to birthday parties. Originally from Georgia, Mader got her start in the industry working as a cake decorator for the former Breadbox bakery in Windham. Custom wedding cakes are at the forefront of her business, with all kinds of traditional and specialty flavors and filling options to choose from. Cakes 5th Avenue is also a featured vendor at the Pelham Farmers Market (Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside the First Congregational Church of Pelham at 3 Main St.), where you’ll find Mader on select dates selling home-baked cookies, cupcakes, lemon squares and fruit-filled hand pies.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

A rubber spatula, because with the amount of cake batter I make, I am constantly scraping bowls all day long.

What would you have for your last meal?

I would like a perfectly cooked medium filet mignon, with a little bit of seasoned butter and some mashed potatoes with garlic and mascarpone. It’s one of my favorite meals.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

I have two. In Salem, there’s a place called Fuego Latin Fusion [Bar & Restaurant] that is great. They started doing family meals for curbside pickup last year during Covid that we took advantage of. … A longtime favorite of ours also is Scola’s [Restaurant] in Dracut, [Mass.].

What celebrity would you like to see trying one of your cakes?

Betty White. I would love to sit down and have cake and a vodka cocktail with her.

What is your personal favorite cake design that you’ve ever done?

My favorite was a four-tier cake I created back in 2013 for a cake competition down in Hartford, Connecticut. The reason that one sticks out is because I used different techniques that were unfamiliar to me and was just feeling very adventurous. … I won second place in the competition, so that one probably means the most to me.

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

If I had to pick one, I’d say farm-to-table [and] supporting local growers and ingredients.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

I would have to say homemade pizza. … We start with a garlic crust and we like to do a white pizza with a mix of mozzarella and ricotta, some seasoned shredded chicken and freshly sauteed spinach. That’s probably the most frequent one that we make and we never have leftovers.

Kladdkaka (Swedish sticky chocolate cake)
From the kitchen of Kristen Mader of Cakes 5th Avenue in Pelham

10 tablespoons salted butter
1⅓ cups sugar
2 eggs
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray an eight-inch round or square cake pan with baking spray, or grease the pan with butter and dust with flour. Line the bottom of the pan with a round or square-shaped piece of parchment paper cut to the size of your pan bottom. Place butter in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl and cover with a paper towel. Cook in the microwave on high power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until butter is melted. Add sugar to the bowl with melted butter and whisk to combine. Add eggs one at a time and stir well after each addition. Add the cocoa, flour, vanilla and salt. Stir just until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Transfer batter to the prepared pan and spread out to an even layer. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, being careful not to overbake — the cake should be slightly firm on the outside with a delicate crisp top, but soft and sticky on the inside. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes. To remove, run a thin-bladed knife around the outer edges of the cake. Invert the pan onto a similar sized cutting board or dinner plate and, holding them together, give it a good shake downward. If the cake does not release, go around the edges again with a knife and repeat with inverting cake. Once the cake is released, remove the parchment paper and invert again onto your serving plate using the same method. Dust with confectioner’s sugar or cocoa powder, or serve each slice with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or ice cream.

Featured photo: Kristen Mader. Courtesy photo.

Eclectic and elevated

SOHO Bistro & Lounge opens in Manchester

Chef Steve Shoemaker had already worked for some of the biggest names in South Florida’s dining scene upon arriving in New Hampshire to open Mint Bistro in the summer of 2011. Now, after other culinary stints at the 1750 Taphouse in Bedford and the Colby Hill Inn in Henniker, Shoemaker has returned to the Queen City to introduce an all new restaurant concept.

SOHO Bistro & Lounge features an eclectic menu of scratch-made items, with special attention to detail right down to every individual ingredient and an intimate dining experience to match. The eatery opened Aug. 20 in the former Whiskey’s 20 space on Old Granite Street, its name an homage to the elegance of the famous neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City.

“We’ve implemented a menu where there’s something for everyone, [with] killer handcrafted food and an amazing cocktail list,” said Shoemaker, who is also a partner in the restaurant. “I was really happy to get back into the Manchester landscape because the age demographic is perfect for the hospitality industry here. … You have a great clientele of people from their late 20s to their 40s who love going out to eat and just enjoy themselves.”

Each of SOHO’s menu items is a new or elevated version of a dish unique to the space. The hard shell lobster rangoons, for instance, have been among the top-selling appetizers out of the gate, in addition to truffle fries with homemade oil from real truffles.

Entrees run the gamut, from elevated classics like steak frites with prime hanger steak, to options like a bourbon-brined half chicken, an heirloom vegetable risotto with roasted garlic pesto and a vegan pad Thai with rice noodles, crispy tofu and a coconut peanut glaze. There are also burgers and sandwiches with creative ingredients in their own right, like a crispy pork belly-wrapped tenderloin on focaccia, with lemon-dressed arugula and Grana Padano cheese.

“We have short ribs going throughout the night, and that produces our short rib entree and also the beef for our nachos,” Shoemaker said. “We also offer pork for the nachos, which is a classic old Mexican dish called cochinita pibil. It’s little known in the United States … We take seasoned pork shoulder and we wrap it in banana leaves and cook it throughout the night.”

Dessert options feature the opportunity to try something simple, like sorbet or creme brulee, or a bit more fancy, like the banana cheesecake spring rolls.

“We take fresh bananas and make sheet pans of cheesecake, then cut it up, wrap it in spring roll paper and deep fry it,” Shoemaker said. “We serve it with homemade caramel sauce and an eclair ice cream. … That’s probably our top dessert seller.”

The kitchen closes at 10 p.m. each evening, but Shoemaker said a late night menu of smaller, shareable options is in the works, featuring a combination of regular selections and other items. The cocktail menu is regionally sourced, too — one drink, known as the Bee’s Knees, features gin from Barr Hill of Montpelier, Vermont, which produces it from fermented honey.

Brunch offerings will likely be added to SOHO’s menu. Shoemaker said he also hopes to soon hold specialty wine events, or a Japanese-themed night with sushi options and saké pairings.

SOHO Bistro & Lounge

Where: 20 Old Granite St., Manchester
Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday, 4 to 10 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday, 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.
More info: Visit sohonh.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram @sohobistrolounge or call 232-4085

Featured photo: Courtesy of SOHO Bistro & Lounge.

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