LaBelle Winery’s lights display glows with holiday cheer
Created during the pandemic as a way to provide socially distanced family fun, LaBelle Lights enters its fourth year bigger and better. Newly added is The Treehouse, a big glowing box that looks like twisted birch branches made of spun sugar. It’s a beacon for the Derry location of LaBelle Winery and a great Instagram photo spot that’s located right at the holiday trail’s start.
Along with other new display pieces like the caterpillar-shaped Blizzard Bend and more glowing evergreens dotting the Forest of Trees are new events and attractions to carry the holiday spirit into the new year. Perennial favorites like the twinkling giant teddy bear and ornament-shaped Proposal Ball still remain.
There are expanded food options.
“People like to eat along the way,” Michelle Thornton, the winery’s Marketing Director, said recently. “We have Santa’s Snack Shack, which is grab and go, and LaBelle Market, which looks like a French market all decorated for Christmas. They have cookies that are the size of a human head, I mean, they’re huge.”
Themes change weekly, and as Christmas passes the soundtrack moves from “Here Comes Santa Claus” to “Sleigh Ride” and “Winter Wonderland.” Upcoming is Crazy Holiday Hats week, where guests are encouraged to show off wild, wacky and holiday-appropriate headgear.
Frozen Costume Week happens Dec. 26 through Dec. 29 and includes a ticketed event on the first day. Ice Princess Party is a dress-up affair for youngsters that offers a dance party with cocoa and characters such as Snow Sister and Ice Boy, live story time and a puppet show. A meet and greet at the end provides ample photo opportunities.
A stroll through the glowing displays after is included with the $44 ticket ($34 for ages 2 through 10). “What’s so fun about this,” Thornton said, “is after kids are done engaging with characters, they can go right over to LaBelle Lights and walk through it in their costumes.”
Grown-ups will enjoy Flannel Week, which starts on New Year’s Eve, followed by ’80s Ski Week with retro winter gear encouraged. The final week of the attraction has WinterFest, celebrating all things related to the season, before LaBelle staff takes down everything and begins planning for next time.
Winery founder Amy LaBelle came up with the idea of transforming their golf course for winter, and nurtures it like it’s her own Disney World. “That’s Amy … anything that brings joy and makes memories, those things are part of her personal mantra,” Thornton said. “When she presented it to our leadership team, we all went, sure, we can do that, and then we had to figure out how, [but] we’re really good at taking a concept and bringing it to life.”
Thornton mentioned that families on a budget should be aware of Twinkle Tuesday. “That’s half price for everyone,” she said. “That was also Amy’s idea; she wanted it to be affordable for everyone. If someone was concerned about pricing for any reason, we created a whole night for them that’s the same exact experience — but it’s half price.”
Anyone looking to extend the experience can reserve an age-specific swag bag while booking tickets, but they’re quite popular. “They sell out,” Thornton said. “We’re making them constantly.” For the kiddos, the canvas tote bag has a light-up bulb necklace and holiday wand along with light-enhancing 3D glasses. Adults get a logoed winter beanie and a set of hand warmers, a glowing holiday ornament and a $5 market voucher.
For a few more days, attendees can also book a Santa Photo Experience. “Instead of getting your photo at the mall, you can get it in this environment, which is probably a lot less crazy,” Thornton said. “It’s very festive … you’re seeing Santa and then the kids get to let loose and go through the lights.”
Local breweries celebrate the season with holiday flavors
Andy Day loves holiday beers. For a very short time.
“It’s one of those things, for me,” Day said, “where you want to see a very limited release and then you want to see it disappear and then move on and move forward.” Day is the brewer and co-owner of Daydreaming Brewing Co. in Derry. He said there can be a tendency in the brewing industry to feature a seasonal beer too long.
“Take the pumpkin thing for example,” he said. “You’ve started to see that creep into July releases. By the time you get to mid-October it’s kind of played out and people are not really interested anymore and there’s a whole bunch of beer that just sits there.”
December is when many breweries roll out special releases of holiday beers, many of which are very dark — stouts and porters — with a high alcohol-by-volume percentage (ABV), sometimes as high as 10 or 12 percent, about the same as wine.
“Generally speaking,” Day said, “for the winter months, you’re going to have your imperial stouts and things”
This year Daydreaming Brewing Co. (1 1/2 E. Broadway, Derry, 965-3454, cask.life/daydreaming-brewing-co) is featuring a special holiday beer: The Noggy Elf.
“Two years ago, a friend of ours came into the brewery and she asked — this was probably in August — ‘Can you make a beer that tastes like eggnog?’ We mostly focus on English-style ales and traditional recipes, but she put it to me to make an eggnog beer. So I did a five and a half percent [ABV] golden ale that was flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, some vanilla and sort of gave you the characteristics of eggnog without actually being a thick, creamy eggnog.”
“So some fans of the original 5.5% Nog beer wanted to do an imperial (lager) barrel-aged version of it. So that’s what we did. We more or less doubled up on the recipe. We stuck it in ex-bourbon barrels, Heaven Hill’s bourbon barrels, for the better part of six months. Then we pulled it out and we treated it with cinnamon, nutmeg, etc., etc., and that’s where Noggy Elf came from,” Day said.
Day said The Noggy Elf has gotten a good response. “People have said it tastes like you’re drinking Christmas. … There’s definitely a little bit of oak and vanilla from the bourbon. It is deceptive in nature in that it is 10.5% [ABV], but it drinks like a much lower-alcohol beer, so it’s kind of one of those you’ve got to pace yourself and pay attention.”
More holiday brews
Concord Craft Brewing (117 Storrs St., Concord, 856-7625, concordcraftbrewing.com) has two Bourbon Barrel Aged Stouts on tap, a 2024 and a 2021. Both are imperial stouts with an ABV of 9.3%. Concord Craft says, “We have aged our imperial stout in Knob Creek bourbon barrels. … the bourbon flavor blends seamlessly with the maltiness of the stout and also gives a subtle oaky finish.”
Feathered Friend Brewing (231 S. Main St., Concord, 715-2347, featheredfriendbrewing.com) has several dark, deep, seasonal beers on tap, including BA Trouble Behind, a doppelbock, with an ABV of 9.8%. Brewed in house, it is aged in barrels from Steadfast Spirits Distilling Co. (134 Hall St., Suite. H, Concord, 333-2162, steadfastspiritsdistilling.square.site).
Flying Goose Brew Pub and Grill (40 Andover Road, New London, 526-6899, flyinggoose.com) is serving its winter beer on tap – Kong, a Russian Imperial Stout with an authoritative ABV of 10.5%. There is also Directionless Perfectionist, a sour American kriek (cherry beer), with an ABV of 6.7%
.From The Barrel Brewing Co. (1 Corporate Park Drive, Derry, 328-1896, ftb-838342.square.site) lists, on its website, three seasonal stouts on tap: Into the Void Coffee Vanilla Stout, Into the Void Peanut Butter Stout and Into the Void Coconut Stout.
Liquid Therapy Brewery and Grill (14 Court St., Nashua, 402-9391, liquidtherapynh.com) is offering a Soul Shard Imperial Stout on draft. It weighs in at a hefty 11.7% ABV and is described on the Liquid Therapy website as “aged on cinnamon, marshmallow, vanilla, and rum-soaked oak.”
Look for the Gingerbread Summit Porter at Mountain Base Brewery (553 Mast Road, No. 111, Goffstown, 935-7132, mountainbasebrewery.com). At 7.3% ABV, Mountain Base describes it on its website as a “Sweet milk stout with a seasonal gingerbread taste. Black in color with the milky feel of chocolate, caramel, and gingerbread.”
According to its website, Oddball Brewing (6 Glass St., Suncook, 210-5654, oddballbrewingnh.com) has Yer A Hairy Wizard Spiced Stout on tap at 5.6% ABV, as well as 3 on the Tree New England IPA at 6.6%.
Pipe Dream Brewing (49 Harvey Road, Unit 4, Londonderry, 404-0751, pipedreambrewingnh.com) is serving Pumpkin French Toast pumpkin ale on tap. It has an ABV of 6%, and Pipe Dream’s website describes it as “a slightly sweet, bready, pumpkin ale with a cinnamon maple twist.”
The Rockingham Brewing Co. (1 Corporate Park Drive, Unit 1, Derry, 216-2324, rockinghambrewing.com) has two festive beers on tap, according to its website: Snowball, a 4.2% ABV Belgian Witbier, and Winter Wonderham, a 7.5% ABV Winter Warmer Ale.
Spyglass Brewing Co. (306 Innovative Way, Nashua, 546-2965, spyglassbrewing.com) has two super-charged seasonal beers on tap: Escape Velocity 10% Triple IPA, described on the Spyglass website as “a New England style Triple IPA double dry hopped with Citra, Mosaic, Vic Secret and Azacca Hops,” and Continuum 10.5% Belgian Abbey Quad “a Belgian Abbey style quadrupel ale made with Belgian malts, Dark Candi syrup, and Styrian Golding hops.”
Experience what a bell can do at upcoming performances by one of the two quartets from the Granite State Ringers, the Garage Bell Band.
“The Granite State Ringers were founded in 2007 as an opportunity for ringers around the state of New Hampshire to ring at a higher level. At that time, many of our ringers were involved with church hand-held choirs, and they wanted a little more challenge in their music. So that was how the group was founded,” said Joan Fossum, Music Director and co-founder of the Granite State Ringers.
“We began with just inviting people from all over the state to come and ring with us and then what evolved is we are now an auditioned handbell choir and we offer auditions usually in the summer before we begin the fall to winter programs,” she said.
The organization has two performing quartets as well as the choir. “We are based in Concord. We have a studio in Concord, New Hampshire, and people come from all over the state and Maine and Massachusetts to ring with the group.”
The other quartet in the organization is the Rainy Day Ringers. “Those are names that were self-selected by the group, they fall under the auspices of the Granite State Ringers.”
Fossum explained how a collection of bells can produce songs: “The full choir plays on five and a half octaves of handbells. We have five and a half octaves of Malmark handbells and we have three octaves of Schulmerich handbells; we also have six octaves of hand chimes and that’s what the full choir plays on. The quartets vary for the music that they play. And again, the music is selected by the individual group.”
The audience at the Park Theatre in Jaffrey can expect holiday favorites to ring throughout the night. “We range from … a very rhythmic arrangement of ‘Up on the House Top’ to a series of pieces that we hope, the guiding light this year, that they would bring peace and comfort to people this time of year. For example, one of the pieces is the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria. Another is one written specifically for solo handbells and piano called ‘At Peace’ by Brian Childers.
The crew always keeps their handbell skills up to speed.
“We have rehearsals two to three times a month for three hours each time we get together. The quartet practices at least once a week for two to three hours. So that gives you an idea of the kind of time investment we have. If you’ve never seen us, you should come to one of the concerts.”
The chimes and bells vary in size and shape depending on their octave and note.
“Hand chimes are aluminum and they look, from the side, a lot like a tuning fork…. The biggest hand chime we have is about 6 feet tall and it sounds very much like one of the big pipes on a full-size organ, down to the smallest ones, which are about 4 inches long…. The longer the pipe the deeper the sound,” Fossum said.
The bells follow a similar pattern.
“Small bells are about 2 inches. The bell casting itself is about a little over 2 inches, all the way up to probably, I haven’t actually measured one, close to 12 to 14 inches from the rim of the bell to the bottom of it.” Each bell is like a key on a piano. “You have your natural notes or your regular notes, if you will, and those on the piano are usually the white keys, and then the accidentals are usually the black keys…. So if you have middle C, an accidental that would go with it would be C sharp, so that would be that black key that’s up and next to C, between C and D. So each finger in a full choir then is responsible for two notes and the accidental.”
If this talk of hand bells has awakened something inside you, you are in luck.
“We have auditions in the summertime and we’re constantly looking for people that would be interested in being part of the group. The commitment level is pretty high, so you’ve got to really want to do it.”
Granite State Ringers even have an option for those looking to learn the craft as well as an option for younger handbell ringers. “[The] non-auditioned learning choir [is for those who] have been interested … but don’t have the skill and/or the time to be part of the big group.”
An open house for prospective ringers will be held on Saturday, Jan. 11, from 10 a.m. to noon.
“So if you’re interested in learning more about bells I would encourage you to come visit the studio on the 11th of January,” Fossum said.
Granite State Ringers: Garage Bell Band When: Friday, Dec. 20, at 7 p.m. Where: The Park Theatre, 19 Main St., Jaffrey Tickets: $20. Children 12 and under $15. theparktheatre.org or call 532-9300 granitestateringers.org
Granite State Ringers Open House When: Saturday, Jan. 11, from 10 a.m. to noon Where: 2 Industrial Park Drive, Building 2, Concord granitestateringers.org
Featured image: Granite State Ringers. Courtesy photo.
The perfect buttery, sweet and savory popcorn treats for your movie nights and TV binges
Angie Lane spends a lot of time thinking about popcorn.
Lane is the Director of Red River Theatres in Concord. It’s not an overstatement to say that popcorn is the lifeblood of any movie theater, and Lane takes it very seriously. Right now, during the busy holiday season, Red River uses up a 50-pound bag of unpopped popcorn seed every day and a half or so. For Lane, the secret to really good popcorn is real butter.
“We use anhydrous butter; the water has been removed,” she said, “so it’s shelf-stable, but it’s real, actual butter.”
(Sadly, one of the cold, harsh realities of life is that the “butter” on most theaters’ popcorn is actually mostly partially-hydrogenated soybean oil, an industry salt called “Flavacol,” beta carotene — the same vitamin that makes carrots orange — for color, tertiary butylhydroquinone — a preservative — and polydimethylsiloxane, an anti-foaming agent.)
While it is real butter (minus the water), Red River’s butter isn’t something you can buy off the shelf. “One time we ran out of butter during like Barbenheimer,” Lane said, “and actually during Wicked we’ve run out of butter because there was some supply chain issue, and somebody said, ‘Oh, we can just get butter from the supermarket!’ I had to tell them that I didn’t want to kill anybody, because [supermarket butter] is not shelf-stable once you heat it up and everything. But I love it when we run out of butter. It’s an indicator that business is good.”
According to Lane, only amateurs dump the butter on the top of a tub of popcorn. “We personally layer the butter because we’re professionals,” she said. “But I love it when people ask for extra butter, because people come to the theater for the movies but they also come for the popcorn.”
“Historically speaking,” Lane said, “there’s just something about when you smell popcorn in the movie theater, like it just goes together, and I think … if you ask someone to think about a concession item at a movie theater, the first thing they would say is popcorn.” She remembers the classic intermission cartoon that used to encourage movie-goers to buy concessions. “With the little marching concession people, it’s always led by a little popcorn guy,” she said. “When you were a kid, wasn’t popcorn magical?”
Meredith Thomas spends most of her day thinking about popcorn, too. She and her husband, Ken, are the owners of Ken’s Corn in Derry, a family business that sells popcorn at farmers markets, fairs and events and through a few small retail stores. Like many small food businesses, theirs started with a face-to-face relationship with customers. ”We started at farmers markets and fairs and events,” she said. “And that’s still primarily where we meet our customers.”
The business has expanded over the past two years. “It is a year-round business,” Thomas said. “We are primarily busy from about April through Jan. 1. And then we kind of take a few months to regroup. This year we’re going to be focusing on looking at more storefronts to get into just to keep expanding.”
One of the things Thomas likes about popcorn is how versatile it is.
“We started in 2022 just making buttered [popcorn] and kettle corn as our base,” she said. “Now we have seasonal ones, like in the fall. One of those is Caramel Choco — it tastes like a Twix bar! Now, we have a Cookie Explosion, which is like cookies and cream. And one of our savory flavors is a white cheddar.”
Thomas said that coming up with new flavors comes easy to her. “I am ADD, so my brain is constantly running. But just going into a store and looking around — at even just candies or potato chips [is inspiring]. Sometimes our customers give us really great options. We’ve had a lot of requests lately for a dill pickle [flavor], so that’s on our winter menu.”
Home cooks have a natural knack for personalizing popcorn, she said.
“Before we started this business, one of my favorite snacks was to pop popcorn, either on the stove top or just the microwave bags. And then I always added pretzels and M&M’s to it, so you get that sweet and salty flavor.”
It’s easy to understand why people love popcorn so much, Thomas said. “It is a quick, easy, on-the-go snack. Young, middle-class America is constantly on the go. So they’re looking for a healthy, consumable snack that they can either eat where they are or take it on the go, running to sporting events or going to work. It also is an allergy-friendly snack, which can be hard to find. It’s gluten-free, and depending on the flavor, dairy-free and nut-free.”
Popcorn experts Red River Theatres (11 S Main St., Concord, 224-4600, redrivertheatres.org) shows movies seven days a week. Visit the website for listings.
Ken’s Corn (68 Chester Road, Derry, 208-661-0282, kenscorn.com) is available through small stores, including East Derry General Store (50 E. Derry Road, Derry, 432-5302, eastderrygeneralstore.com) and Prime Butcher 201 Route 111, Hampstead, 329-7355, primebutcher.com).
Popzup Popcorn (Canal Street Mill, 22 Canal St., Suite 358, Somersworth, 314-8314, popzup.com) sells five flavors of popcorn, poppers, seasonings and more online and in grocery stores nationwide.
The Burstin’ Kernel (facebook.com/theburstinkernel) makes hot, fresh kettle corn on the spot at farmers markets and events throughout southern New Hampshire. The Hallinans also have a new food truck, Chew ‘N’ Screw. Check for availability and more at facebook.com/chwnscw.
Julie Lapham has been in the popcorn game even longer. She is the CEO and co-founder of Popzup Popcorn in Somersworth. She and her husband started their company in 2015. For them, making popcorn is an expression of some deeply-felt values.
“Our facility is located in an old, refurbished mill on the river,” Lapham said. “That sort of reflects who we are in terms of our mission to be local and just to do the right thing, which basically is really fresh, farm fresh, pure and simple local ingredients, make it all ourselves, be sustainable, take good care of our employees, and give back to the community.”
PopzUp produces five flavors of popcorn for retail sales online and through supermarkets, but for the Laphams, selling popcorn and making it are intertwined.
“We also sell locally grown, non-GMO popcorn kernels in a microwave popcorn popper that we actually invented ourselves,” she said. “It’s called the PopzUp Popper, which is where we came up with our name. And basically it’s a reusable microwave popping box. It’s made from virgin paperboard and it’s printed with vegetable inks. It’s, you know, totally chemical-free and … reusable and sustainable.”
Like Angie Lane, Lapham is a big believer in real butter and dairy products. “What really differentiates us from other popcorn brands,” she said, “is that we use a lot of real butter, real cheddar. There really aren’t any other commercially available brands that use pure dairy. A lot of them have butter or cheddar or whatever, but for the most part they’re ultra-processed foods, which [are referred to as] UPF. It’s an actual term; all it means is that they are not real farm fresh dairy products. [Fresh dairy] is very much more difficult to work with and to protect because it goes bad quickly. Real butter and real cheddar and real truffles are very sensitive to light and heat and air. So we have to spend more to protect them and so those are more expensive.”
Using sensitive ingredients involves putting a lot of thought into PopzUp’s packaging. The bags, for instance, are completely light-proof. “It’s actually a foil-lined bag,” Lapham said, “We really need to have that foil liner to protect the popcorn. We also do something called a nitrogen flush, which basically is right before we close the bag up and seal it, we flush it with nitrogen, which is just an inert gas. It’s heavier than oxygen, and oxygen will cause popcorn to go bad and dairy to go bad, so we have to get that out of the bag, and seal it up tight. That’s just an extra effort that we go through to make sure that our popcorn is delicious when somebody buys it. “
For a family business, PopzUp produces a lot of product.
“We go through about 10,000 pounds [of popcorn] every three weeks,” Lapham said, “which is basically four full pallets at this point. But every year it’s more and more.” Early on, the Laphams decided to take a hands-on approach with their popcorn. Instead of using automated air poppers, which is the standard in the industry, “Ours is made the old-fashioned way,” she said, “but basically on a commercial level. We have giant, real kettles that pop it, and then we take that and then we put it in giant tumblers where people put the seasoning on it and tumble that, and then we take that out and put that in a machine that helps us to ensure that the right amount goes in every bag.”
In the beginning, Lapham said, their focus wasn’t on producing seasoned popcorn.
“What we did is we let our customers tell us what the fan favorites were. We took those seasonings and that’s what we used to season the popcorn that we started selling already seasoned. The first year was really spent deciding what flavors were the best flavors, what flavors the customers liked. We started with four flavors: butter, cheddar, and then two vegan flavors, Cheesy Herby, which is made with nutritional yeast and herbs and spices, and then Maple Cinnamon Toast, which has like a kettle corn flavor but it’s not candy coated, so it’s nice and snackable — it’s got this light sweet and salty mapley flavor that you can eat a whole bag of and it’s not like you’ve eaten badly. Last year we added a fifth. We added the truffle butter flavor; we buy real Italian black truffles and mix them with our butter and then put that on.”
Given how many varieties of popcorn are available, one or two types are perennial favorites. Kettle Corn enthusiasts are especially enthusiastic. Sean and Samantha Hallinan devote themselves to it. The Hallinans own and run The Burstin’ Kernel. For the past two years they have made and sold kettle corn at farmers markets and events throughout southern New Hampshire. “We pretty much operate from springtime all the way through until December, when it just gets too cold,” Sean Hallinan said.
The Hallinans are particular about the variety of corn they use. “Basically you have different types of kernels,” Sean said, “”and some kettle corn companies use one type versus another. We use a popcorn kernel that creates a very large pop; it’s called a ‘mushroom’ style.”
Hallinan said the actual popping process is pretty straightforward.
“Basically, you throw [the kernels] in a kettle with some oil. The kettle we use is 160 quarts. It is a pretty large commercial unit. Then you throw sugar in, and stir it. We stir it by hand usually; we use a big wooden paddle to stir it, or for larger events we stir it with an automatic stirrer. When it’s done, you dump it out of the kettle and you sift it through a sifting bin and salt it or put whatever flavorings on it. The sifting removes all the kernels and small bits. We try our best to get rid of them. You don’t want people breaking their teeth on hard kernels that didn’t pop.”
Kettle corn satisfies several cravings at once, Hallinan said. “I think people like the sweet and salty mix. We try our best to get the best recipes so that way it’s not too much one way or the other. There’s also a little bit of crunch to it as well, but not too sticky, so it doesn’t get stuck in your teeth like caramel corn.”
According to Hallinan, making good kettle corn didn’t have a steep learning curve.
“I saw someone doing it and got interested in it,” he said. “and then we worked on our own recipe over and over again for, I don’t know, it probably took us maybe a week or so of trying different things until we got it just right.”
Given how much care and technique the Hallinans put into making popcorn during the day, their own popcorn consumption is pretty basic. “We kind of grew up on microwave popcorn,” he said, “so that’s our default — easy, throw it in the microwave.”
Making good popcorn at home
Kristen Chinosi is the owner of and an instructor at The Culinary Playground in Derry. According to her, a good batch of popcorn starts with the oil it’s cooked in.
“I always pick a heavy-bottomed pot, and I like to use coconut oil,” she said. “It gives it a little bit of different flavor, though, so you can really use an oil that you prefer the flavor of, whether it’s a vegetable oil or an olive oil. You just have to watch how hot you have it because some of those oils have a lower smoke point.” (This means that different oils burn at different temperatures. Refined peanut or canola oils, for instance, have a high smoke point, which means they can be heated to a high temperature before they start to break down. Extra virgin olive oil and butter have low smoke points; they burn easily.)
Chinosi heats her oil before adding popcorn kernels to it.
“I like to get my oil nice and warmed in the bottom, and I’ll put a couple pieces of popcorn in until I hear it pop. I have a lid kind of halfway, you know, maybe like a quarter of it exposed when the lid is on. And once I hear it pop, I know the oil is hot enough, and then I go ahead and add the rest of my popcorn. Honestly, I just eyeball it. I put maybe an eighth of an inch of oil on the bottom of the pan or pot, and then I cover the bottom of the pot with the raw kernels; that ratio seems to work pretty well. I do like to put salt on at that time. So I’ll go ahead and salt the kernels before they’ve popped. After that, I let them do all their popping. I shake the pot. I keep it over medium heat. I’d rather it go a little slower than burn, so I shake the pot often. And then when it’s done, I either salt it additionally, and add some melted butter. You could put cinnamon butter on there. You could add some different flavorings if you wanted a spicier popcorn — some red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper. You could add a little bit of lemon zest on there for kind of a different twist that plays well with the salt and the acidity of the lemon.”
Spicy Popcorn Granola Clusters
These are sweet, peanut snacks, with a generous amount of spice on the back end. Adapted from a recipe on the Bob’s Red Mill website, this version has a reduced amount of chili oil.
8 cups (80 to 90 g) popped popcorn – I like to use pre-popped, movie theater-style popcorn that I buy in large bags from the supermarket
1 package (about 300 g) peanut butter granola – I like Bare Naked or Trader Joe’s brand
1 cup (235 g) light corn syrup
⅓ cup (78 g) Chinese chili oil
¼ cup (65 g) smooth peanut butter
Spicy Popcorn Granola Clusters. Photo by John Fladd.
Preheat oven to 250°F. Mix granola and popcorn together in a large bowl, and set aside. Lightly oil a large wooden spoon or a silicone spatula.
Over medium heat, bring corn syrup, chili oil and peanut butter to 235°F; if you are using a candy thermometer, this is the “soft ball” stage, stirring often.
Pour the hot syrup over the popcorn mixture, stirring to coat thoroughly. Turn the sticky mixture out onto a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and set aside until the pan is cool to the touch. Break the popcorn mix into clusters, and store in an airtight container.
Variation: Before baking, you can pack the mixture into parchment-lined baking pans, and bake for the full hour without stirring. Before it has cooled completely, use a sharp knife to cut into bars.
Raised Eyebrows Popcorn Balls
Offer one of these excellent popcorn balls to a friend, they will take a bite, pause, take a second bite, then look thoughtfully at you with raised eyebrows, completely reassessing your potential. These popcorn balls offer a nearly perfect ratio of sugar, salt, butter, peanuts, and of course corn. I adapted a recipe from the Food and Wine website with changes in some of the ingredients.
20 cups (around 200 g) movie-style popcorn
4 cups (124 g) Corn Chex cereal
1½ cups (225 g) dry roasted peanuts
3 cups (595 g) sugar
1½ cups (468 g) light corn syrup
½ cup (1 stick) butter
½ cup (120 g) water
1 glug (1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons) vanilla
1 Tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
In a very large, lightly oiled bowl, combine the popcorn, peanuts and cereal. Set aside.
Popcorn balls. Photo by John Fladd.
In a saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, butter, and water, and cook over medium-low heat until it reaches 295°F (“hard crack” stage), stirring occasionally. When the sugar syrup has come to temperature, stir in the vanilla, salt and chili powder.
Pour the hot sugar mixture over the popcorn, cereal and peanuts, and mix to combine with a lightly oiled wooden spoon or silicone spatula. Most of the peanuts will have fallen to the bottom of the bowl, so take care to flip the caramel corn over once or twice while you stir, to make sure they are incorporated.
With lightly oiled hands, or lightly oiled gloved hands, break off 2- to 3-inch blobs of the popcorn mixture, gently shape them into balls, and place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone mat. You will have to work fast — the caramel will be very hot, so you’ll have to let it cool a little, but will also be in a race to form the balls before the mixture sets up too much. You will end up with 30 or so balls.
Store these in an airtight container for three or four days, but they are best on the first day, when the popcorn is still crisp.
Popcorn Vodka
Popcorn has a distinct flavor that lends itself to infusing into alcohol. Vodka is a good choice for this, because it is generally neutral in flavor and will let the taste of the popcorn shine through.
popcorn – either freshly popped or movie-style from the supermarket or even from a movie theater
1 bottle of vodka – because you will be infusing it with a flavor that would overwhelm any subtleties in the vodka, a mid-range vodka will be best for this; I like Gordon’s or Mr. Boston. Avoid the very cheapest vodka, which might have off-flavors and taste chemically.
You know that hole in the lid to your blender that you’ve always wondered about? You finally get to use it. Pour the vodka into the jar of your blender, and add about an equal amount — by volume — of popcorn. Put the lid on the blender, and blend the popcorn and vodka together on the lowest setting. Once the initial popcorn has been pulverized, go ahead and add more through the hole in the lid, a handful at a time. Stop from time to time, to check on your progress.
Popcorn Vodka. Photo by John Fladd.
When the popcorn fragments and the vodka seem to take up the same amount of space, pour the mixture off into an airtight container, and put it somewhere cool and dark for two to three days, shaking it occasionally.
After the vodka and popcorn have had time to get to know each other, pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, then through a coffee filter in a funnel, into an empty bottle — maybe the original one that the vodka came in, labeled with the date and a short description, so in a couple of weeks, when you find a faintly yellow bottle of alcohol, you’ll remember what’s in it.
Variation: If you’re an impatient sort of person, you can speed the infusion process up by putting your airtight container in a hot water bath. Let it soak at 150°F for two hours, then strain and filter, as above. This is an excellent use for a sous vide, if you have one. Be aware that if you use actual movie theater popcorn for this hot water bath technique, your final product will be a golden yellow color, from the artificial color the theater or supermarket uses in its “butter.”
A cocktail for your Popcorn Vodka: A Caramel Corn Daisy
3 ounces popcorn vodka (see above)
1 ounces fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 ounce maple syrup, the darkest you can find – the darker the syrup, the more mapley it will taste
Combine all ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake thoroughly, and strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass.
Maple and lemon are the dominant flavors in this drink, with the popcorn bringing up the rear, leaving you with a subtle popcorn flavor between sips.
Cinnamon Caramel Corn
This fire truck red corn gets its flavor and color from hot cinnamon candies. This is another recipe adapted from Bob’s Red Mill with the addition of some Szechuan pepper.
8 cups (around 200 g) freshly popped or movie theater-style popcorn
A 9-ounce (255 g) box of “hot” cinnamon candy (like Hot Tamales or Atomic Fireballs)
2 cups (237 g) light corn syrup
2 teaspoons Szechuan peppercorns, crushed
Preheat oven to 250°F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Measure the popcorn into a large bowl, and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, cook the cinnamon candies, corn syrup, and Szechuan pepper to 235°F; stirring often. When it has come to temperature, pour the mixture over the popcorn, and stir to combine with a lightly oiled silicone spatula. The candy will set up quickly, so this requires haste.
Spread the cinnamon corn on your baking sheet, and bake for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool, then break into small pieces.
The flavor of this popcorn is much as you’d expect. It tastes like cinnamon candies. The surprise is in its texture. Baking it has made the popcorn crispy, which contrasts with the toffee-like chewiness of the candy coating. Milk and cookies are a classic to leave for Santa; this, paired with a caramel corn cocktail, could be an alternative.
Miso Caramel Popcorn
Miso is a fermented soybean paste. Its salty, funky nature provides a good counterpoint to the sweetness of caramel. The original recipe is adapted from a recipe on the Food and Wine website.
9 cups (90 to 95 g) freshly popped or movie-style popcorn
6 Tablespoons (1½ sticks) butter
½ cup (99 g) packed brown sugar
¼ cup (4 Tablespoons or 60 g) white miso
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
3 Tablespoons sesame seeds
Measure popcorn into a large plastic or glass bowl, and set aside.
Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium-low heat, stirring or tossing continuously. They will deepen in color and release a nutty flavor. As soon as the seeds have darkened to a tawny color, like a lion, transfer them immediately to a plate to cool. If you keep them in the pan, they will continue to cook and might burn.
Miso Caramel Popcorn. Photo by John Fladd.
In a small saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, miso, corn syrup, sesame oil, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cook over medium-low heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is bubbling. Whisk in the baking soda. This will make the caramel foam up; it’s supposed to.
Pour the miso caramel over the popcorn, and stir to combine with a lightly oiled silicone spatula. Add the sesame seeds you toasted earlier, and stir it again.
Place the bowl in your microwave, and cover it with a paper towel, to keep any splatter contained. Any drops of caramel that splash onto the sides or ceiling of your microwave will bond there like industrial concrete.
Cook the popcorn in your microwave for 1½ minutes.
Turn the popcorn out onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone mat, and sprinkle with more salt. Allow it to cool for 15 minutes before breaking it into pieces and serving.
French Onion Popcorn
This combines the best of two classic snacks, popcorn and chips and dip.
8 cups (80 to 90 g) freshly popped or movie-style popcorn
6 Tablespoons (¾ stick) butter, melted and cooled
1 ounce dry onion soup mix (about half a standard 2-ounce packet)
This is about as simple as it gets. It hardly seems fair to call this a “recipe.”
Measure the popcorn into a large bowl.
Pour the melted butter over it, stirring to combine.
Sprinkle half the soup mix over the popcorn and stir to combine, then repeat with the remaining soup mix. Serve with beer, or better yet, Champagne.
According to a press release, The New Hampshire Lottery and the National Council on Problem Gambling collaborated for a Gift Responsibly Campaign to remind the public that holiday-themed scratch tickets and other lottery games are not appropriate for children under the age of 18.
In a statement, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Lottery Charlie McIntyre said, “we want to share a critical reminder for gift givers that all lottery games, including holiday-themed games, are only for those 18 years of age and older. While lottery games and scratch tickets are great gifts, they should not be gifted to minors. There are many risks to gifting underage people lottery tickets and it is critically important the New Hampshire Lottery and the National Council on Problem Gambling work together to keep lottery games in the appropriate hands.”
According to the same release, the New Hampshire Lottery restricts underage lottery play by including a printed reminder on each product showing all players must be 18 to play, and New Hampshire Lottery retailers are trained to verify lottery game customers’ ages with a photo ID prior to finalizing a sale.
Funding for families
According to a press release, Concord Hospital Health System (CHHS) has received more than $353,000 in grants and donations to enhance maternity, prenatal and postnatal ob/gyn patient care across central New Hampshire, and these gifts contribute to a $2.8 million campaign supporting major renovations at The Family Place at Concord Hospital, innovative pilot programs and critical resources for families.
In a statement, Melissa Devine, the director of women and children’s value stream at The Family Place at Concord Hospital, said that “a unique aspect of The Family Place at Concord Hospital is patients remain in the same room through every stage of labor, delivery, and recovery. The upgrades will enhance that unique experience, ensuring families thrive in a safe and inviting environment during their stay.”
Some specifics of the funding include The Family Place Renovations: $250,000 from an anonymous donor, $40,000 from The Abbie F. Mosely Charitable Trust, Citizens Bank, N.A., Trustee, $17,445 from The Jessie Gould Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, and $2,500 from Bruce Dyke, according to the release.
In a statement, Mario Rosario, practice manager, said, “we established a Maternity Comfort Closet at Concord Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecology in Laconia to support parents. It provides newborn clothing and other essentials to help families prepare for their baby’s arrival and address the need for basic necessities in a meaningful way.”
Lorax tax
According to a press release, the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration (NHDRA) is increasing education efforts for landowners, municipalities and loggers to help them understand and follow New Hampshire’s laws and regulations regarding logging and timber harvesting.
The NHDRA recently developed and introduced a guide on New Hampshire’s Timber Tax, which is accessible on the NHDRA website and provides an overview of the tax and how it is assessed, while also providing links and directions to forms, resources and additional information, according to the release.
New Hampshire’s forest products industry generates more than $1.6 billion annually in direct economic impact and sustains more than 7,000 jobs according to the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension’s most recent Forest Products Industries’ Economic Contribution report, and with more than 80 percent of the Granite State covered by trees, the total economic output from our forests from direct, indirect and induced economic impact and from forest-based recreation exceeds $2.5 billion, according to the press release.
Logging occurs year-round but winter is traditionally when loggers are most active, and forestry is New Hampshire’s oldest land-based industry, dating back to the 1600s.
New Hampshire legislators enacted a Timber Tax in 1949 “for the purpose of encouraging conservation of the forest resources of the state”and each municipality is responsible for assessing the Timber Tax on the landowner of the property from which the lumber is harvested, according to the release.
The Timber Tax is set at 10 percent of the “stumpage value” — the value of wood, measured per thousand board feet of saw logs or tons of pulpwood — at the time of cutting, according to the same release.
One penalty known as “doomage” provides that the municipality may assess two times what the tax would have been if the report of wood cut had been filed accurately and on time, according to the release.
DRA has several resources for landowners, municipalities and loggers on its website, revenue.nh.gov/taxes-glance/timber-tax, such as details on how the Timber Tax is assessed, necessary forms, a series of Frequently Asked Questions, and links to partner organizations, including the New Hampshire Timber Owners Association and the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, according to the release.
Those interested can also call 230-5950 or email [email protected] for assistance.
“Coming Home” is an art exhibit at the Community Art Gallery in the Feed Loft at the Canterbury Country Store (3 Center Road, Canterbury) where artists explore the meaning of home. It’s free to view. Visit canterburycountrystore.com or call 783-9933.
Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord (225-1111, ccanh.com) will be hosting The Heather Pierson Trio as they play a Charlie Brown Jazz Christmas on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 2 and 7 p.m. at the BNH stage.
Lucy’s Voice, a mystery novel by J. Dennis Robinson, will have its launch at the Woodman Museum (182 Central Ave., Dover) on Friday, Dec. 20, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. with remarks from the author as well as book signing in the Museum’s Thom Hindle Gallery. Call 742-1038 or visit jdennisrobinson.com.
From vinyl to attire, books and trinkets, there are many ways to make a music fan happy with the perfect holiday gift. Here are some ideas crossing genres and eras, including a few for local music aficionados.
Otamatone
Making music is fun, especially when it’s easy. One option is the Otamatone, which is shaped like an eighth note and sounds like the spawn of a synthesizer and a slide guitar. The emotively adorned Aggretsuko Rage version is $44.99 at hamee.com.
Or spring for the $159 Orba 3, Artiphon’s latest iteration of its music-in-the-palm-of-your-hand synthesizer, which starts with a massive library of drum sounds and adds sampling for miniature magic. Artiphon also makes the keyboard-shaped Chorda, both a standalone synthesizer and MIDI controller ($249.99 at artiphon.com).
For listening to music, headphones are a great gift that can range in price from the reasonable and well-regarded Status Audio 3ANC, the first in-ears with a dedicated bass speaker ($179, status.co). Audiophile legends Bang & Olufsen just introduced its high-end Beoplay H100 cans ($1,549, bang-olufsen.com) for the truly nice person on your list.
Affordable tabletop surround sound is available with the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 portable Bluetooth speaker, a compact yet powerful unit costing $80 at most stores. For heavier listening, the 6-pound Marshall Acton III is a boomer that will evoke the giant amp it’s named after ($227.99 at amazon.com).
Marshall Acton III
For something completely different in the portable speaker category, Uncommon Goods has a combination water bottle and Bluetooth unit that’s perfect for pop-up parties. It’s quite popular, though, and as of this writing it was sold out on the store’s website. Check for restocking at uncommongoods.com, a great stop for other gifts.
Speaking of one-stop shopping, it’s axiomatic that the best way to support local music is buying direct from your favorite artists. For those who can’t attend every show, the best alternative is the Bandcamp website (bandcamp.com). There, area bands make most of the money, unlike Spotify, where the CEO is richer than any musician on his site.
If your list includes a dedicated collector of vinyl albums, consider gifting them a Spin-Clean cleaning kit. Its $125 price tag may be too lofty; if so, there are some cheaper options available. The Discwasher D4+ Record Care System is the granddaddy of the bunch, dating back to the ’60s. It’s $25.
Of course, your giftee will need records to clean with their new gear. 2024 doesn’t disappoint. For the Swiftie on your list, Target offers a bunch of exclusives, including a double album of songs from The Tortured Poets Department with a bonus track (“The Manuscript”) on clear vinyl for $32.99. Give it with a copy of the massive Official Taylor Swift The Eras Tour book ($39.99) and you’ll be a hero.
For fans of an earlier era, the debut LP from an influential New Wave band recently received a deluxe treatment. Talking Heads: 77 introduced songs like “Psycho Killer” and “Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town” while hinting at adventurous music to come. The four-CD set has goodies including outtakes, Atmos mixes and a full-length CBGB show from October 1977.
Elvis Costello was another artist who evolved from that period, moving from angry young man to reverent roots-music adherent. The six-CD King Of America & Other Realms Super Deluxe begins with the 1986 album and includes new songs, along with beauties like a Grand Ole Opry performance of “The Scarlet Tide” from the Cold Mountain soundtrack accompanied by Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, and duets with Ralph Stanley and Larkin Poe.
Playing cards
While physical tickets have mostly been displaced by cell phone barcodes, dedicated concertgoers usually have a big collection of stubs. For those, consider a Ticket Stub Diary for preserving those memories. It will give them something to share with their children and grandkids one day ($29, uncommongoods.com).
Finally, let’s not forget stocking stuffers. Uncommon Goods is a great source for things like music playing cards with drawings of David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix and other rock stars. Mistaken Lyrics Coasters are fun if you’ve ever misheard this U2 song: “It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright / Shamu, the mysterious whale.” Or get a mahogany thumb piano for your favorite fan.
