Author: Mya Blanchard

Expo is now Very Merry

Holiday gift festival features New England-made items

On Saturday, Dec. 9, and Sunday, Dec. 10, the group that brings us the Made in New Hampshire Expo debuts the Very Merry Holiday Gift Festival at the DoubleTree by Hilton, a rebranding of The Made in New England Expo. As before, the event will feature nearly 100 vendors from around New England showcasing and selling local and handmade products such as jewelry, dog treats, candles and cookies, this time with a festive flair.

“We wanted to bring in a bit more of the holiday element [and] have more interactive things going on in addition to our vendors,” said Christine Carignan, one of the owners of Granite Media Group, which puts on the event. “We’ve done a big rebrand with it, hoping that will get people in the holiday spirit and get them coming to the show.”

Christmas additions include visits from Santa from 1 to 3 p.m. and holiday crafts all weekend with Mrs. Claus as a visitor from 1 to 3 p.m. Gingerbread Amy will be giving gingerbread house demonstrations, and there will be a caricature artist each day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., live performances by The Funky Divas of Gospel and Northern Voices A Capella, and puppies from Live and Let Live Farm.

“We have a special kids-only shopping area and we’re calling it Candy Cane Corner,” Carignan said. “We have small [$2] items just for kids to go shopping for things for mom and dad or friends or their siblings, and our plan is to donate the proceeds to a local children’s charity from that shopping area.”

Vendors will be juried under stricter criteria this year to ensure the products and vendors align with the purpose of the event, as they will be for the Made in New Hampshire expo in the spring.

“It’s somewhat similar to what we’ve done in the past but we’ve gotten a bit more strict about it,” Carignan said. “We really wanted to curate a show where it’s really handmade or locally made products … [and] we really wanted to make the focus of this about the gifts and about locally made items that people can come and buy for everybody on their holiday list. We’ve really focused [in on] that. … We try to keep an eye on the different categories of vendors [so] that we never have too many of one particular kind … that way there’s a big variety available.”

Vendors include Lindsey Bangs of I Whisked it — who will bring sweet treats like homemade marshmallows, hot chocolate bombs, chocolate-covered pretzels, oreos and German stollen and will be offering cake preorders — Stark Brewing Co., Barkin’ Biscuit from Bedford with handmade dog treats made with human grade ingredients as well as organic fruits and vegetables, FireFlight Photo with high end nature and wildlife photography and so much more.

“The goal of our festival is aligned with the mission of our company, which is always to celebrate and elevate businesses,” Carignan said. “We want to be able to highlight the unique items that are available in our little corner of the country. … We want people to have fun and find unique gifts for everyone that [they] need to shop for and for themselves too.”

Very Merry Holiday Gift Festival
When: Saturday, Dec. 9, and Sunday, Dec. 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: DoubleTree by Hilton, 700 Elm St., Manchester
Cost: Tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for seniors age 65+ and free for children under 14. Purchase online or at the door.
Visit: verymerryfestival.com

Featured image: Previous Made in New England Expo. Courtesy photo.

German-inspired Christmas

Amherst market riffs on the European market tradition

Last year Lindsay Buchanan, with the help of a committee of volunteers, put together a German-inspired Christmas market at the Amherst Village Green. This year the Amherst German Christmas Market will be on Saturday, Dec. 9, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“The point was to create a Christmas event for my community that would appeal to all ages,” said Buchanan, who was raised in Amherst. “Amherst puts on a really great Fourth of July and Halloween, and I just felt that we could use something for Christmastime.”

With a love for traveling and experiencing other cultures, she landed on the German Christmas market theme. The original German Christmas markets, she said, started during the Middle Ages when people in Germany would go out to buy supplies for the winter. Buchanan stayed true to the outdoor setting and incorporated other European aspects with German goods sold by vendors.

“Our committee works very hard donating their time and we still have a long way to go before we reach our vision,” Buchanan said. “Every year we learn more and make adjustments. … We plan to add more authenticity as the event evolves.”

While shopping is the focus of this event (Buchanan stresses it is not specifically a food event), those looking for some German eats find offerings including German classics such as brats and sauerkraut, potato latkes, currywurst (fried sausage with a sauce with curry powder on top), glüwein (a spiced German wine), lebkuchen (a German gingerbread), and much more.

There will also be a biergarten, live music including German tunes, popular music and Christmas classics, and an appearance from Santa Claus.

Find other food vendors listed on the event’s website, amherstchristmasmarket.org.

Other market items include New England-made crafts and German decor and imports such as star lanterns and nutcrackers. Some of the most popular items include candle bridges, ornaments and smokers.

“Last year we received 8,000 to 10,000 attendees and we designed the event with the expectation we would receive about a third of that, so it was shocking and bewildering to see these really big crowds,” Buchanan said. “A lot of people [reported] they drove in from out of state, so it was much bigger than we could have ever anticipated. … We’re trying to make adjustments with the anticipation of a big crowd again.”

While the word “German” is attached to the title of the event, Buchanan highlights that this event is an American-European hybrid event that is not a recreation of major city markets in Germany, but is simply German-inspired, and that the Amherst German Christmas Market is an entirely volunteer-run nonprofit.

“It’s just so great that so many people want to see this event succeed and are helping to make it happen,” Buchanan said. “To go from just an idea to this huge thing, it’s hard for me to even comprehend. … We appreciate people’s patience and support. … The whole point is to have a good time.”

Amherst German Christmas Market
Where: Amherst Village Green, 2 Main St., Amherst
When: Saturday, Dec. 9, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Featured photo: Amherst German Christmas Market walkway. Photo by Lindsay Buchanan.

What Thanksgiving is all about

Theatre Kapow presents The Thanksgiving Play

By Mya Blanchard

[email protected]

We all know Thanksgiving for the turkey and pie and giving thanks, but what is at the real root of the holiday and how does that tie in with Native American heritage month and culture? This is the question four individuals face when trying to write an accurate and politically correct Thanksgiving play for elementary school children in The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse. Theatre Kapow’s production of the play will be at the Bank of New Hampshire Stage in Concord from Friday, Dec. 1, through Sunday, Dec. 3.

“It’s a group of four people who come together to write and produce a play in honor of Native American Heritage Month and they realize very quickly that it’s difficult for them to tell a story about Native American heritage without having any Native Americans among their company,” said director Matt Cahoon. “The whole play is them trying to struggle with the fact that they don’t know what to do. They get very paralyzed by their own ‘wokeness’ for lack of a better word, and they [are] trying to do the right thing, and the right thing ultimately ends them up in several not right places.”

The four-person cast features longtime Theatre Kapow member Rachael Longo as high school teacher Logan, her onstage partner Jaxton played by Peter Josephson, Molly Litt as Alicia, and Joel Iwaskiewicz making his Theatre Kapow debut as Caden.

“I think one of the biggest challenges that we have is being OK with saying and doing some of the really awful and inappropriate things that they do,” Longo said. “We perform these school pageants that have actually … been written and used by different public schools in our country, and so the playwright took the text from the actual pageants and put it in for the actors to perform.”

Native American playwright Larissa FastHorse wrote the comedy in 2015. It is the only one of her plays to go to Broadway, which Cahoon says is likely due to its relatability.

“I think people [will] very quickly recognize themselves in some of these characters,” he said. “This kind of innate need to do the right thing, to be politically correct, to take care of each other and sometimes the ways in which we can tie ourselves in knots in an effort to do good. There’s a lot of comedy that comes out of that idea, that difficult conversations are difficult for a reason, and I think we get to laugh at these characters as they try to navigate [that].”

Theatre Kapow presents The Thanksgiving Play
Where: Bank of New Hampshire Stage, 16 S. Main St., Concord
When: Friday, Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 3, at 2 p.m.
Cost: General admission tickets are $28 and $23 for students and seniors not including fees.
More info: Visit tkapow.com

Jingle all the way

Tour of New Hampshire’s wineries

Tour wineries throughout New Hampshire this holiday season during the New Hampshire Jingle Bells Winery Tour running on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. through Sunday, Dec. 17.

“It’s a self-guided tour through … 12 different wineries in the state of New Hampshire … [ranging] all the way from the Seacoast area up to the North Country, all the way out to the western country in Westmoreland, so it basically encompasses the whole state,” said Lewis Eaton, former president of the New Hampshire Winery Association and owner of Sweet Baby Vineyard in Hampstead, one of the participating wineries. “You get a whole month to do it and each winery provides wine samples. You also get a food component to go with it and you get an individual ornament from each one of the wineries.”

Sweet Baby Vineyard will offer four one-ounce pours of any of the 20 wines on their tasting board with lots of fruity options such as blueberry, peach, apple, raspberry and strawberry, and freshly baked cookies and brownies made by a local baker. You will be able to pick from two ornaments, a logoed glass ball or a compostable seed packet shaped like a snowflake that you can toss in your garden in the spring to plant wildflowers.

Other participating wineries are Appolo Vineyard, Averill House Vineyard, Black Bear Vineyard, Cabana Falls Winery, Crazy Cat Winery, Flag Hill Distillery & Winery, Hermit Woods Winery, both LaBelle Winery locations in Amherst and Derry, Seven Birches Winery, Squamscott Vineyard & Winery and The Summit Winery.

“We encourage you to do it as your Christmas shopping, so if you’re going up to the North Country … to shop at the outlets or anything like that you can hit a couple of wineries up there, [or] when you’re on the Seacoast shopping,” Eaton said. “The weekend after Thanksgiving is generally the most busy time for the Jingle Bell Tour because people are out Christmas shopping and just burning time.”

At LaBelle Winery participants will be able to sample whatever wine they choose and enjoy a citrus, ginger and thyme crisp or a double chocolate crunch shortbread to have with their samples or take home. For those with food allergies or sensitivities, dark chocolate-covered cranberries will also be offered.

Each winery will be competing in the Holiday Spirit contest, so after you’ve gone to each one, make sure to go to the New Hampshire Jingle Bells Winery Tour and follow the guidelines to vote for which winery was best decked for the holidays for the chance to win a gift basket filled by the wineries.

“It’s such a nice program because it introduces the public and wine lovers to a good number of New Hampshire wineries,” said Michelle Thornton, the marketing and business development director at LaBelle Winery. “A lot of people may have not ever been to all of them and this gives them the opportunity to go.”

2023 Jingle Bells Winery Tour
Where: at participating wineries
When: Saturday and Sunday through Sunday, Dec. 17, from noon to 4 p.m.
Cost: Tickets are $55 for single admission and $100 for couple admission. Purchase via eventbrite.
More info: Visit their Facebook page @NHJingleBellsWineryTour

Appolo Vineyards
49 Lawrence Road, Derry
Averill House Vineyard
21 Averill Road, Brookline
Black Bear Vineyard
289 New Road, Salisbury
Cabana Falls Winery
80 Peterborough St., Jaffrey
Crazy Cat Winery
365 Lake St., Bristol
Flag Hill Distillery & Winery
297 N. River Road, Lee
Hermit Woods Winery
72 Main St., Meredith
LaBelle Winery
345 Route 101, Amherst
14 Route 111, Derry
Seven Birches Winery
22 South Mountain Road, Lincoln
Squamscott Vineyard & Winery
70 Route 108, Newfields
Sweet Baby Vineyard
260 Stage Road, Hampstead
The Summit Winery
719 Highway 12, Westmoreland

Featured photo: LaBelle Winery. Courtesy photo.

In the kitchen with Kyle Burnett

Kyle Burnett’s passion for cooking developed during his time at Lakes Region Technology Center, where he took culinary classes. Growing up, his mother wasn’t much of a cook, which inspired him to learn for himself. Since April of this year he has been working at Sonny’s Tavern in Dover, where is an executive chef for the first time in his career.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

A comfy pair of shoes. When you’re on your feet for 10-plus hours a day, they are essential.

What would you have for your last meal?

A homemade Hawaiian pizza.

What is your favorite local eatery?

If I had to pick one it would definitely be Hong Asian Noodle Bar in Dover.

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

I would definitely enjoy seeing Matthew Lillard eating something I’ve made.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

My personal favorite is the short rib risotto. It definitely hits the spot on some of the colder nights.

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

The use of micro greens as garnish for food.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

Chicken pot pie, mostly because it’s my wife’s favorite and I enjoy cooking for her.

Crab cakes
From the Kitchen of Kyle Burnett

1 pound of crab meat
½ cup of corn
1 red onion
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup cilantro
1 teaspoon cayenne
2 Tablespoons garlic powder
2 Tablespoons onion powder
2 Tablespoons paprika
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 eggs

Finely chop red onion and cilantro. Mix together mayonnaise, corn, red onion, cilantro, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and egg. Mix until well combined. Gently fold in crab meat. Form into 1½-ounce portions and press into a round coin shape.
Pan sear on medium heat with just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan until browned on one side, then flip over and cook the other side.

Featured photo: Kyle Burnett, executive chef at Sonny’s Tavern. Courtesy photo.

Out with the old, in with the new

815 Cocktails and Provisions in Manchester has reopened

815 Cocktails and Provisions in Manchester reopened its doors this September after closing to undergo renovations, now having officially retired its speakeasy style for a modern approach with a more functional open space and the same classic cocktails.

After a combined 30-plus years of bartending experience, Sarah Maillet and Ryan McCabe originally opened 815 back in 2015.

“We wanted it to be more of a relaxing place where people could come, enjoy and have classic cocktails,” Maillet said. “It has always been in our mind an ode to where bartending began and where it is today.”

The duo spent months researching the market and classic cocktails while trying all kinds of spirits they had never heard of, to create their own cocktail menu that now consists of drinks like Starr Gazer, with Bacardi rum, raspberry liqueur, lychee, lime, demerara and grapefruit bitters, and 815 Old Fashioned with Nebco bourbon, demerara, bitters, orange peel and luxardo cherry. Provisions include flatbreads, such as tomato burrata and pimento pork, salads, tacos, like mushroom carnitas and Brooklyn bodega, a charcuterie and cheese board and more.

“We decided to go back to the old speakeasy theme,” Maillet said. “The entrance was a little bit secretive, there was a phone booth in the hall and there were sliding fake brick walls so it didn’t look like there was an actual restaurant or bar behind it.” Patrons would enter the phone booth, press the button and be asked for that week’s password, which would be posted on 815’s social media pages. After about four years, the password system proved to be a hassle.

“There were always techy kinds of issues,” Maillet said. “I started to feel like, as far as locals go, it wasn’t appealing for them to wander into their local restaurant or bar if they had to jump through hoops to look up a password every week.”

They decided to do away with the password on weekdays, saving it exclusively for weekends. This worked for a while, the speakeasy aspect making 815 a weekend destination theme, but with the arrival of Covid things were complicated further.

“I told Ryan, if there’s ever a time when we can change something and not have to explain it to anybody, now’s the time,” Maillet said. “So at that point we decided to get rid of the password speakeasy aspect of 815, and not just [for] the fact that we were changing and evolving, but it would have been an absolute nightmare … if we had to go into the phone booth … and clean and sanitize it.”

When they first established 815, the pair made do with the layout of the bar and worked with what they had. After occupying the space for several years, they had a better idea of what would ideally work best for them. With the bar needing new subfloors, they decided to take this as an opportunity to renovate, revamp and rebrand 815 entirely, building a bigger kitchen and more comfortable bar, adorning the walls with pictures and murals, removing bulky furniture and doing away altogether with the speakeasy aspect.

Despite the changes, 815 is still the same at its core, continuing to serve cocktails that are both classic and creative.

“I’ve never really let go of that creativity,” Maillet said. “I have an idea of what I like the cocktail menu to look like and keeping it balanced … and I like to think that I have a decent amount of experience under my belt to make a balanced menu and things that people enjoy, that are fun, unique, … approachable, … adventurous, whatever the case may be.”

815 Cocktails and Provisions
Where: 815 Elm St., Manchester
When: Tuesday through Thursday, 5 to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. to midnight.

Featured photo: Photos courtesy of 815 Cocktails & Provisions.

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