A New Hampshire Audubon newsletter for October had this update on the peregrine falcon breeding season: “Peregrine Falcon numbers in New Hampshire showed a slight downturn this year, compared to 2025 and 2024. In 2024, New Hampshire’s Peregrines fledged an impressive 50 chicks, followed by 44 in 2025, and 36 in 2026. Just 31 territorial pairs were confirmed this year, while 37 were recorded in 2025 and 28 in 2024.”
“However, if we compare the total fledglings per incubating pair, 2026 and 2025 were similar — 1.64 fledglings per nest in 2026 and 1.57 fledglings per nest in 2025. Again, 2024 was an especially impressive and productive year, with 2.17 fledglings per nest,” according to the NH Audubon News report, written by Mickayla Johnston.
See the full report at nhaudubon.org/about-us/news. Find more in the forthcoming From the Field at joyofbirding.nhaudubon.org/from-the-field, the newsletter said.
Save the waste date
The Nashua Regional Planning Commission will hold the final household hazardous waste collection of 2026 on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Nashua Park and Ride, 25 Crown St. in Nashua, according to a Commission press release. The event is open to residents of “Amherst, Brookline, Hollis, Hudson, Litchfield, Merrimack, Milford, Mont Vernon, Nashua, Pelham, and Windham. Businesses must call NRPC to register and pay,” the release said. The cost is $20 per vehicle for up to 10 gallons of liquids or 20 pounds of solids, cash or check, the release said. “No Latex/Acrylic Paint, No Electronics, No Medications,” the release said. See nashuarpc.org/hhw or call 417-6570.
Pictures for music
The New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra is holding its “Drawn to the Music” program for students in grades 3 to 5, according to a press release. “This year’s program is devoted to Ferde Grofé’s colorful and imaginative Grand Canyon Suite. Students will listen to the music, create original artwork inspired by what they hear, and have the opportunity for their work to be selected and projected during live NH Philharmonic performances on Saturday, April 17, and Sunday, April 18, 2027, at 2 p.m. at the Seifert Performing Arts Center in Salem, New Hampshire,” the release said. The Drawn to the Music program has run since 2008, the release said. For this year’s contest, kids can listen to the five movements of the suite and create an artwork inspired by one or more of the scenes, the release said. “Teachers are encouraged to introduce students to the Grand Canyon Suite during the fall and winter. Artwork may be created using a variety of classroom art media and … [should] be no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches,” the release said. The submission deadline is Feb. 1. See nhphil.org/drawn-to-the-music for details.
Writers conference
The 603 Writers’ Conference, hosted by the New Hampshire Writers Project, will take place Saturday, Nov. 14, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord, according to a press release. The day will feature expert-led workshops, a moderated AI panel discussion, a “Pitch Party & Social” and more, the release said. Author Chris Bohjalian will be the keynote speaker; the conference’s theme is “The Evolution of the Female Narrative,” the release said. To register and for a full schedule, see nhwritersproject.org.
The Antique Automobile Club of America, Granite State Region, will hold its Vintage and Antique Car Show on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Canterbury Shaker Village, 288 Shaker Road in Canterbury, according to a Village email. The day will also feature a raffle, live music from Nicole Knox Murphy, food and more, the email said. See shakers.org for ticket information. See hopkintonhistory.org for tickets.
The Squam Lakes Association has two days of lake-adjacent happenings this weekend. On Saturday, Oct. 17, it’s a Fall Workday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., when volunteers will be “tidying up the SLA campus and campsites as we wrap up for the season,” according to a press release. See squamlakes.org/event/volunteer-fall-workday. On Sunday, Oct. 18, the Association will hold “Guided Hike” Rattlesnake Sunrise” from 5:45 to 9 a.m., when participants can hike up the summit of West Rattlesnake for a view of Squam Lake, the release said. See squamlakes.org/event/rattlesnake-sunrise-hike.
The Lead and Healthy Housing East Coast Regional Conference will be held Tuesday, Nov. 3, through Thursday, Nov. 5, at the Doubletree by Hilton in downtown Manchester featuring speakers and a contractor forum, according to an event email. See lhhconferences.com/conferences/manchester-regional-conference.
Pop-punk band Promise Game plays last show at Shaskeen
A few weeks ago the members of Promise Game met in a rehearsal room for the first time in nearly two years. Guitarist Adam Elverson went in a little bit nervous. “I haven’t picked up my guitar in a year and a half,” he warned his bandmates. “I don’t know how this will go.”
He needn’t have worried.
“That was the best practice,” he said in a recent Zoom interview, accompanied by singer Colin VanDenBerghe. “It was full-on like riding a bicycle.” That muscle memory comes from years together in a band, but also from all the time they’ve spent together without music as the glue.
“We’re friends before the band,” VanDenBerghe said. “That’s why we started it, just to play music with our friends.” They began with punked up versions of rock hits like Sheryl Crow’s “If It Makes You Happy” and “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls, the latter of which grew into a reliable set closer when they began playing out.
Because Promise Game formed a few months before the pandemic arrived, hitting the stage was hard. The upside of that was two years of woodshedding that prepared them for playing live. Their first tour grew out of an online friendship between VanDenBerghe and Justin Humenik, singer of the pop-punk band Cheer Up Dusty.
They two traded posts about each other’s music, which led to an agreement that Promise Game would do a show in Philadelphia, Cheer Up Dusty’s home base, and then follow them back to New England. Goalkeeper signed on, as did Driveways, whom VanDenBerghe recruited at their merch table after a sold-out show at Jewel.
The raucous tour that ensued is among VanDenBerghe’s best memories of his time in the band. At one show in New Jersey, 300 people eager to see Driveways came to a bar expecting 50. When the sound man bailed, VanDenBerghe took over the console. Before the night was over he’d become future headliner Driveways’ first booking manager.
On Saturday, Oct. 10, the pop-punk band plays its last show at a room VanDenBerghe calls the band’s “home court,” the Shaskeen in Manchester, a makeup date for a late 2024 farewell show that was canceled after VanDenBerghe’s father, Don, passed away suddenly on Thanksgiving Day.
Adding to the tragedy, it happened just one day before the band released its final EP, One Last Goodnight.
“Luckily, I had the guys,” VanDenBerghe said. “We’re all best friends. We’ve been friends forever; the ability to do it again is just a testament to how much we stayed friends.”
The reason for stopping after one last show is simple: life got in the way.
“We had been doing it for a long time,” VanDenBerghe said, and the members were getting busy with family. One wanted to cut back; another agreed. A lot of things happened throughout 2024, Elverson continued, “and that was like, ‘OK, we’ll put a kibosh on it.’”
The shared history of Promise Game and Cheer Up Dusty makes them essential for the sendoff. “It wouldn’t be the same if we [played] our last show without you guys,” VanDenBerghe told Humenik and guitarists Brayan Marin and Nick Silvidio. They’re making the long drive from the Philadelphia area, with another gig booked on the way.
House Lights will open the show. The Manchester five-piece mixes post-hardcore and emo, and was booked for the farewell that never happened. Also performing is True Crime, another local band who formed during the pandemic lull. Led by singer Ethan Harrison, they draw on bands like Third Eye Blind, Saves the Day and Hot Water Music.
The lineup for the last show includes bass player Matt Eisenstadter, and Adam’s younger brother Mark Elverson on drums. Guitarist Mike Cochran won’t be there due to another gig at the Milford Pumpkin Festival, but does plan to be in the audience. Adam is determined to coax him onstage for their last pass at “Iris.”
The Elversons have been in bands together since their teens, and Adam will think about that as the final notes ring out at Shaskeen. “Playing shows with my brother, I’ll miss that,” he said, as VanDenBerghe echoed his bandmate’s thoughts about what he’ll look back on.
“The camaraderie, the friendship,” he said. “Our weekly time to get together and just focus on what we love to do.”
Promise Game Farewell Show, w/ Cheer Up Dusty, True Crime and House Lights When: Saturday, Oct. 10, at 8 p.m. Where: Shaskeen Pub, 909 Elm St., Manchester Tickets: $15 at the door
Because it is a Viking-themed brewpub, Sunstone Brewing in Londonderry threw a combination renaissance faire and Oktoberfest last fall. Sunstone’s Jessica Cotto said it went extremely well, so they’re doing it again.
“We just want people to come and enjoy themselves,” Cotto said. “It was a great time last year … so we’re hoping to make this annual Oktoberfest just grow and grow and become a much bigger thing.”
Co-owners Camaron Carter and Bryan Link are excited, too, especially about the beer.
“For the special, we’ll have our Oktoberfest Ale on draft,” Link said, “and we’ll have our pumpkin ale back on draft as well. Our Oktoberfest is a traditional Marzen [a medium-bodied amber lager], so it’s got those nice little bits of malty notes.”
“There’s some nice Vienna malt in there, too.” Carter added. “You get a little bit of caramel flavor to it, but there’s no caramel malt, so it’s got some nice little biscuit flavor. It’s one of our favorite beers. That takes a month to brew. We monitor that one pretty closely when that one comes out. The Pumpkin Ale is considerably faster; that takes about two weeks. So that one’s got cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger and vanilla. And of course pumpkin. Yeah. But it’s got the warm fall flavors. It’s got a nice caramel maltiness to it that pairs perfectly with all of those spices and the pumpkin flavor. We use a pumpkin puree.”
Cotto said the pumpkin provides a bridge to some of the food at the event. Candia Homecraft from Candia will be one of the vendors, she said. “They [make] jams and they actually make bread with a lot of our spent grain. Hopefully she’ll be able to have some pumpkin from our spent grain, like a pumpkin bread, which would be really nice. We work together with her a lot.”
“We’ll have our pumpkin Danishes that everyone really loves,” Link said. “It’s really good. It’s almost like a pumpkin pie filling. One of the [other] food items will obviously be brats [grilled bratwurst sausages] with either sauerkraut [or] some peppers and onions on a bun. Last year people loved it, so we’ll do that again. We’re trying to figure out another snacky item, but we haven’t landed on that one yet.”
In addition to the beer and food, Cotto said, there will be activities both days of the festival, as well as fun vendors; she mentioned the stein-holding competition to be held both days on the stage.
“We … do a mystery grab bag, too,” she said, “so there will be small bags filled with different gems and you can win a sunstone in some of those.” Sunstone is a glittery type of pink feldspar that was valued by the Norse people, who believed it had mystical properties, including helping them navigate. It’s what the name Sunstone Brewing refers to.
“On Saturday there will be around 13 different local vendors,” Cotto said. “We’ll have Bookish Bliss, which is a mobile book bus that’s going to be stopping by. We have The Knights Hall coming. They’re out of Nashua, and they’ll be doing full-on, full-armor sword fighting at 2 p.m. on Saturday. And then we have Earthly Enchantments, which [deals in] lots of cottage-core kinds of stuff. We’ll have Jan Andrea Handmade; [that vendor] makes chain mail earrings and necklaces and jewelry. And then we’ll have a hair braider and a face painter. We have someone who does glow-in-the-dark resin art, and also a tarot reader.”
“We always encourage people to come in costume or dress up as if you’re going to a renaissance fair,” Cotto said. “We’ll all surely be dressed up ourselves, and we’ll have photo op areas, and it’ll be really fun. Dogs are always allowed and invited. And yeah, it’ll be a really good time.”
Oktoberfest Renaissance Faire Weekend Where: Sunstone Brewing Co., 298 Rockingham Road, Londonderry, 216-1808, sunstonebrewing.com When: Saturday, Oct. 10, and Sunday, Oct. 11, from 1 to 9 p.m. More: Admission is free. Visit sunstonebrewing.com/events.
Wade Campbell is the president of the Granite Town Festivities Committee, which organizes the Milford Pumpkin Festival, which will take place in downtown Milford this weekend, Friday, Oct. 9, through Sunday, October 11.
“It’s our 36th anniversary,” he said. Because there are no tickets sold, there is not an official head count, but Campbell anticipates a large turnout. “We could probably safely say that there’s at least 25,000 people who roll through the Oval over the three days.”
Many of the events that take place during the Pumpkin Festival will happen on Milford’s “Oval” in the center of town, which will be closed to traffic, Campbell said. “This is the third year in a row that we’re shutting down the Oval entirely, so that allows people to walk around the Oval instead of driving, especially if you’re a local, you won’t have to walk on the crosswalks and you can actually walk where you need to. Then there’s a lot of businesses on the Oval that participate as usual.”
The Festival will begin on Friday night with a presentation to Milford’s Citizen of the Year, Campbell said.
“The Lions and Rotary [Clubs] put together a citizen of the year. It gets voted on. … And they nominate somebody that’s been very active in the community, whether it’s years of service or somebody that’s been doing great things in the past year. And then it’s kept hush-hush until the night of the festival, because we actually like to surprise the actual winner.”
“We have a pumpkin runner who opens the Festival, too,” Campbell continued, “where we shut down all the lights on the Oval and the fire department gets involved and we use our ladder truck. The fire department has a department member climb the ladder and touch the pumpkins and they light up.”
Some of the events over the three days will include a Pumpkin Fest 5K and Kids Fun Run.
“And then we’re also doing a pumpkin-carving demo on the Oval Saturday until dusk,” Campbell said. “We have a plethora of live music for three days. Friday we have music on the Oval Stage and the Community House Lawn Stage. Saturday we have music down at Keyes Memorial Park. There is a performance shell there. Everybody calls it Milford Stonehenge music stage. They took an old quarry building and repurposed it.”
On Saturday, Campbell said, Dollars for Scholars will raise money with a trebuchet that will launch pumpkins into the water at Railroad Pond.
“Folks can make a donation, and they get a pumpkin and they get to launch a pumpkin off into the water. They try to hit a dummy or a mannequin out on the water in a kayak. We have plenty of food, which is great — we have upwards of 20-plus food trucks and trailers, including the businesses that also participate around town.”
“We still do a Haunted Trail, which is put together by Witches Springs. We do that on Friday and Saturday night. Then we have the Tent Taste — a wine, beer and spirits tasting put on by the Rotary Club and Lions over on the community house lawn. There are distillers and microbreweries, a whole boatload from surrounding areas. Our website has a list of beverage purveyors. A lot of people come for that.”
On Friday and Saturday evening amateur astronomers will set up their telescopes for astronomical viewing, weather permitting, in Keyes Memorial Park.
“There’s just a lot of stuff going on,” Campbell said. “There’s like a little bit of something for everybody.”
Milford Pumpkin Festival Where: Milford Oval When: Friday, Oct. 9, 5-9 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 10, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 11, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Pumpkinfest 5K and kids’ fun run start Saturday at 7:30 a.m.; runners can pre-register online. More: Full schedule and ticket information at milfordpumpkinfestival.org
The other day someone asked Jessica Livingston if she planned weddings. “Absolutely not,” was her smiling reply. However, as leader of the Concord Arts Market, Livingston achieves something close to it when, before each event, she maps out where a gathering of art vendors will share space.
It’s something she’ll do Oct. 10 in Rollins Park, at the season-ending Arts in the Park.
“I know all of the artists, but they don’t necessarily know each other; I know who’d be a good fit,” she said recently. “Sometimes I’ll do the layout and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, I bet they’re going to really hit it off.’ Then I look forward to the end when I find out that they became best friends.”
Livingston took the reins at Concord Arts Market in the fall of 2024, after years of selling there.
Like any good reception planner, Livingston juggles more than personalities. Setup times are staggered, so morning doesn’t become a traffic jam. She also ensures soap makers aren’t in direct sunlight, and that older vendors have a shorter walk to their booth.
“I enjoy doing it,” she said, adding, “Sometimes it’s challenging.”
Though not all the crafty wares are handmade, everything must be created by vendors in some way, from pottery to digital art. Livingston tries to book diverse vendors and plan for contingencies. When, say, several potters sign up, she makes sure their styles differ and they’re spaced apart.
Liz McBride of Elm Art, Livingston’s elementary school art teacher and always Mrs. McBride, is known for goddess mugs shaped like a woman’s body. McBride also makes earrings from clay scraps. In a similar vein, Emerson Street Pottery offers feminist pieces. “They’re a little irreverent but really popular,” Livingston said.
Danbury Woodworking will offer handmade wine bottle holders and seasonally appropriate wooden pumpkins. At an early market his booth neighbor, a maker of wooden jewelry, became one of his customers. Freddie’s Toy Box has feline toys and a cat with an Instagram account (@fred.e.meowcury) lounging on the merch table.
Some pairings have become fixtures.
Livingston points to Saad Hindal, an Iraqi-born painter whose whimsical scenes of Concord have made him a local icon, and painter Jeff Newman.
“I always put them next to each other, because they have such good synergy,” she said. “They’ll do paintings of each other … it just creates a nice little energy for the market.”
It’s connections like that, more than any single moment, that are most satisfying for Livingston. “Friendships and the opportunity to be part of a community that people love,” she said, adding she does love the work. “It’s not a bad day if you have to sit out in a sunny park all afternoon on a Saturday. There are worse jobs.”
As someone who began as a vendor, Livingston makes a point of bringing new artists into the fold. First-timers get their initial booth free, and newbies frequently end up nearby.
“At my first market, I had no idea what I was doing,” she recalled. “So I usually put them next to me so that I can help them out throughout the day.”
Music and charity are also part of the final market. Celtic band Cara will play, and the New Hampshire Immigrant Mutual Aid Fund will sell donated handmade goods to raise money for legal help for immigrants facing court dates. Livingston will also collect food and snack donations to distribute where they’re needed.
Finally, a group of South End neighbors who treat Rollins Park as a sanctuary will lead a session on putting a garden to bed and saving seeds for flowers to feed bees and butterflies when spring comes. The group had struggled to get permission to gather in the park, so Livingston invited them to join the market under its existing permits.
The market runs rain or shine, mostly. Her first solo Arts in the Park in 2025 was beset by flooding downpours, and Livingston nearly threw in the towel. She powered through, though, also learning to respect genuine weather threats like high winds or lightning. “Knock on wood, it’s going to be beautiful,” she said.
Arts in the Park When: Saturday, Oct. 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Where: Rollins Park, Concord (parking at 33 Bow St.) More: concordartsmarket.org
Cheesy dips and tasty accompaniments to make any snack session a party
In October, the MLB post-season, NBA pre-season and season start and WNBA playoffs share the airways with NFL and college football, professional and college soccer and the NHL. Game days are a great excuse for a game-day spread of eats — not quite a meal but still hearty and delicious.
CHEESY DIP
It’s hard to go wrong with cheese, and that theory extends to dips.
At Firefly Bistro in Manchester the most popular dish has long been an appetizer that works on the melty cheese and dippable item principle. And it proves that even a funkier cheese can make a crowd-pleasing dip.
“The dish is called Gogo Bread,” said David Becker, the chef and owner of Firefly Bistro. The appetizer is a Gorgonzola fondue served with warm garlic bread.
“It’s been on the menu since we opened, and it’s been consistently the best-selling menu item we’ve had in the 17 years we’ve been open,” he said.
“It’s a warm and comforting dish,” Becker said. “The bread itself is a rustic loaf bread. It’s studded with whole cloves of roasted garlic. We slice that thin and we grill it up and we serve that to be dipped into the Gorgonzola fondue. The Gorgonzola fondue itself is basically a bechamel sauce with a whole bunch of Gorgonzola folded into it. It’s not just a pile of melted Gorgonzola. We make it with milk and butter and flour and other ingredients. So it sort of mellows it out a little bit and makes it a little more user-friendly. And I think it would be kind of like a bit of a kick in the face if it were just a ramekin full of just straight melted Gorgonzola.”
Parmesan Basil Dip
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, cubed
4 cloves of garlic, minced
8 ounces (225 g) shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper — regular fresh-ground black pepper will work just as well, but white pepper makes for a prettier color
2 teaspoons hot honey
1/2 cup (115 g) whole milk
A large handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
Melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan. When it gets foamy, whisk in the garlic, then the cream cheese. Keep whisking until it has all melted together.
Whisk in the Parmesan or Romano cheese, salt and pepper, then whisk that until they have melted and/or incorporated, and drizzle in the milk and hot honey. Reduce the heat to low, and continue whisking until the mixture is creamy and not quite simmering. Remove from the heat, and stir in the basil.
Serve warm.
CHEESE & BEER
Davis Smith is a chef and bartender with Bert’s Beer & Wine in Manchester.
“This is the time of year when we [make] warm dips of various types,” he said, adding that beer and cheese have a natural affinity.
“Beer and cheese go together perfectly for a lot of reasons,” Smith said “Most folks think that the best pairing out there is wine and cheese. Fun fact — actually not. Beer pairs better because it has more of those savory fermented notes than wine typically does. Both [beer and cheese] go through the same process, fermentation, when you produce them. So they have a lot of the same complementary notes, but they also mirror each other in certain ways that they just pair perfectly.”
Beer is thus a good accompaniment to cheese, both as a beverage and as an ingredient.
“Whenever you’re looking at just the cheese on its own,” Smith said, “you usually want to try and have something that will balance it out. So one of the best things out there, if you are trying to make a very sharp cheddar cheese-based thing, is a hoppy beer like an IPA. The hops balance out that sharpness and the sharpness of the cheddar cuts through the funk of the hops. So that’s why I recommend always a good IPA with a cheeseburger. It cuts through the fattiness and it works well with the cheese that’s on it. If you’re looking for something a bit lighter, something like a more traditional, like light-bodied beer cheese or queso, something like a light lager might be a better fit because there’s less going on there. The cheese is more forward. The beer lets the cheese do the talking. So it really depends on what you’re going for.”
“So,” he said, “I think for a classic tavern beer cheese, you cannot go wrong with a good quality mild cheddar. You don’t want to go all the way to sharp. You want to have it still be a little bit rounded. And a good, slightly hoppy IPA. because you’re looking to have something that is warm and inviting and tasty without being in-your-face, taking over the meal. You want to look out for something like a single-hopped IPA. If you really want to push the envelope a little bit, you can go to something like a double IPA that will have a richer depth of flavor.”
The sharper the cheese, the more hops and bitterness it can work with, he said.
Cheese and Beer Dip
Cheese and Beer Dip is a pub classic. This dip goes well, drinking-wise, with beer, of course, and, dipping-wise, with soft pretzels.
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
3/4 cup (170 g) whole milk
2/3 cup (150 g) beer — what kind of beer depends on how sharp the cheese is. If you use a mild cheddar, use a slightly hoppy IPA (if the label just says “IPA” or “single IPA”, that’s what you’re looking for). The sharper the cheddar, the hoppier the beer can be. Some beers label themselves as “double” or even “triple-IPA.” If you’re just using regular Pilsner, go with a mild cheddar.
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard — this is what is called an “emulsifier”; it helps oily/fatty ingredients mix together with water-based ones, like in a salad dressing.
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Pinch of salt
Shred your cheddar.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour and let it cook, stirring more or less constantly. You are making what is called a “roux..” This will thicken your dip. The darker you cook it, the less it will thicken the liquid, but the more flavor it will have. Let it darken at least a little. A good rule of thumb is that it should be the same shade you like your toast.
Whisk in the milk, and continue whisking until the mixture thickens and comes to a simmer (not quite boiling). Whisk in the beer and the seasonings (everything but the cheese).
Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the shredded cheese. Keep stirring until it has all melted and been incorporated into the sauce. Which is now a dip.
CHEESE, MEET SPINACH
While you can always serve a cheesy dip with vegetables for dipping purposes, there is also tastiness to be had from introducing veggies to the dip itself.
Jon Carnevale is proud of his espinaca. He is the owner of the Shorty’s Mexican Roadhouse restaurants in Nashua and Manchester, and he said the Tex-Mex spinach dip is one of the most popular items on their menu.
Espinaca from Shorty’s Mexican Roadhouse. Courtesy photo.
“We have a lot of stuff on the Shorty’s menu that kind of caters to that [warm, creamy texture]” Carnevale said. “No. 1, we’ve got our espinaca that’s been kind of world famous for 40+ years now. It’s been kind of a staple. It’s really our signature item here at Shorty’s. People have tried to recreate it, but never quite exactly the same. We’ve got the patent on that. Some of it has to do with the fact that it’s been around for so long and it’s familiar; a lot of people like that — it brings back a lot of good memories for a lot of people, and, you know, they tend to come back over and over again just to kind of have that happen. And then, you know, it’s just delicious. It’s warm. It’s got a little bit of heat to it. It’s got a lot of different factors in the flavors that are really, really desirable this time of year.”
The secret to a good spinach dip, Carnevale said, is to use the spinach itself as a supporting ingredient.
“There’s not too much spinach in [our espinaca], but there’s enough to feel good about yourself when you’re eating it,” he said. “I think it just adds a little bit of focus to the dip, so it’s not too overpoweringly fatty or cheesy. It really kind of brings [the dish] into focus.”
Carnevale said fall is a good time to introduce new, warm dips at his restaurants.
“We have a specials menu coming out that’s going to have kind of a variant on [our espinaca],” he said. “We [make] a street corn dip as well. Just like everything else at Shorty’s, we roast our own street corn in-house. We roast it off with some garlic, some cotija cheese and some mayo. We add a little bit of espinaca to it and a little bit of cream cheese, just to give it that roundness. We serve it with chips, and it’s great. It’s warm. It’s filling and comforting. You get a little crunch from the chips. It’s just a good, a great fall dish.”
Espinaca
This is not the recipe for Shorty’s espinaca, but a DIY homage to it.
16 ounces (450 g) white American cheese or Velveeta, chopped or cubed
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/2 cup (10 ounces, or 280 g) frozen, chopped spinach that has been thawed and squeezed dry
1 10-ounce can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained
1/2 cup (115 g) whole or evaporated milk
1/2 medium white or yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cubes of chicken bouillon
1/4 cup (2 Tablespoons) minced jalapeño chilis
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Cayenne pepper to taste
In a large saucepan, combine the cheese and milk over medium-low heat, and stir until it is completely melted, combined and smooth. Stir in the chopped onion, drained tomatoes, bullion cubes and minced chilies. Continue to stir, until the bullion cubes have dissolved completely.
Fold in the spinach, garlic powder and cayenne pepper, and bring to a serving temperature, not a boil. Serve immediately and hot, with tortilla chips.
Spinach and Artichoke Dip
This is possibly the queen of warm dips.
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
1/4 cup (57 g) mayonnaise
1/2 cup (50 g) grated Italian cheese — Parmesan, Romano, or a mixture
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder — this will give you a second type of garlic flavor
1 teaspoon of dried, aromatic herbs — basil, thyme, sage, etc.
Salt and pepper to taste
1 14-ounce can of artichoke hearts or bottoms, drained and chopped
1/2 cup (100 g) frozen, chopped spinach that you have thawed and squeezed the liquid out of
1/2 cup (55 g) shredded (by you) mozzarella cheese
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Grease a small baking dish.
In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, grated cheese and seasonings. An electric mixer or a wooden spoon will work for this.
Gently mix in the spinach and chopped artichokes. This should be done by hand. Spoon. Whatever. An electric mixer would pulverize them. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish, and sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese on top.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until the top is slightly browned.
THE DIPPABLES
Chips — corn and/or potato, depending on your preference and the flavors you’re working with — serve as a time-tested dip delivery method. Here are some more items that can stand up to a hearty dip.
Bagel Bites
Baking a really good homemade pretzel is a specialized skill. But a fried bagel piece is a solid alternative if you’re looking for something chewy to dip.
Savory bagels — This actually works with any variety of bagel, but since the goal here is to make something to dunk into cheese dip, you’re probably better off using onion or sesame bagels.
Some sort of spreadable fat — It could be margarine. If you’re feeling indulgent, butter is the classic choice. If you’re feeling adventurous, it could be mayonnaise. If you’re feeling indulgent and adventurous, bacon grease will be another revelation.
Cut each bagel into eight pieces. Cut it once horizontally across the middle, like a hamburger bun, and then vertically into quarters.
Spread the flat, cut surface of each piece with the fat of your choice (see above).
Heat a skillet to medium heat, then fry the bagel pieces, face-down, like you would a grilled-cheese sandwich. Do not crowd the pan, which will change its temperature unpredictably. Do not be impatient and use too high a heat; neither you nor your smoke detector want to deal with burned butter or, worse, bacon fat.
Use tongs to check each bagel piece. When it is golden-brown and super-tempting, set it aside and replace it with one of the others that you have waiting to fry.
Serve these warm from the pan.
Toasted Ravioli
This is fast and flavorful and will bring you a shocking amount of validation from your friends and unexpected guests.
1 package of frozen mini-ravioli — how big a package is a matter of personal judgment. These tend to get snapped up pretty quickly, so you might want to buy a larger package than you initially think prudent.
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon butter
Smoked salt, optional — This is one of those ingredients that you might not have on hand, but if you ever run across some you should definitely pick some up. Unlike many spices, it will never go bad, and it makes a tomato sandwich sing.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then add the vegetable oil and butter.
Add “some” ravioli to the heated pan. This will work well with thawed ravioli, but surprisingly, frozen ravioli will work almost as well. Don’t crowd the pan, so you can keep the heat consistent. After a few minutes — four, to pick a number out of the air — check the bottom of each raviolo, and flip it when it is golden brown. As with the bagel bites, replace each raviolo with a raw one from the bullpen.
Season these with smoked salt, if you have it, then serve them warm and toasty, with any dip.
Kimchi Pancakes
Pancake batter made from your favorite mix
1/2 to 3/4 cup of your favorite kimchee, chopped. This will vary, depending on your favorite type, brand and intensity of kimchee.
1 large shallot, finely chopped
Gochujang, a Korean hot condiment, to taste — optional
Vegetable oil for frying
Make a batch of pancake batter the way you normally would.
Add the chopped shallot, kimchee and gochujang, then stir thoroughly to combine.
Oil the pan and make pancakes, exactly as you would on a Sunday morning, just without the expectation of adding butter and maple syrup. Fry them a little more than you might normally, so they are a little darker than usual and crispy around the edges.
Before serving, cut the pancakes into cracker-sized pieces.
BALANCE
Those grocery store veggie trays are made for moments like these, when you need something crisp and not fried to balance melty cheese and fried or toasted dippable items. Round out your offerings with something that brings a little hit of sourness to your party.
Pickled apple slices
1 cup (225 g) water
1 cup (225 g) cider vinegar
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
2 teaspoons pickling spice
1/2 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt
2 to 3 sweet, firm apples — I like Jazz or Fuji
2 cinnamon sticks
2 stars of star anise
Combine the water, vinegar, sugar, pickling spice and salt in a saucepan, and bring it to a simmer. Stir it occasionally, to make certain that the sugar and salt have completely dissolved.
Meanwhile, peel and slice the apples the way you would for your kids’ lunch box or soccer game. Place the slices in a mixing bowl and set them aside.
At about this time, your pickling liquid should be ready. If it has come to a boil, set it aside to cook for a couple of minutes.
Pour the pickling liquid through a strainer onto the apples.
Stir the apple slices to make sure that they are all completely covered with very warm pickling liquid. Add the cinnamon sticks and star anise.
The apple slices will probably want to float. Weigh them down with something — perhaps a slightly smaller mixing bowl half-filled with water.
Let the apples soak for at least half an hour — ideally longer — then strain them and serve them with your other dippables.
