Category: Food

In the kitchen with Reni Mylonas

Reni Mylonas of Danville is the owner of Agape Cakes and Confections (agapecandc.com, find her on Facebook and Instagram), a homestead business specializing in custom cakes, cupcakes and assorted Greek pastries using family recipes. A self-taught cake decorator, Mylonas started baking around the age of 9. She also gained experience working in a few local bakeries along the way prior to starting Agape, named after the Greek word meaning “love,” in 2020. In addition to custom-decorated wedding cakes, she accepts orders through her website for a variety of homemade Greek pastries for local delivery, from baklava to braided tea cookies, and she’ll usually offer specialty items around each holiday. Mylonas is also working toward opening a storefront in Raymond — Agape Cakes and Confections is on track to open in the Cozy Corner shopping plaza on Route 27 this April and will feature a weekly case of cupcakes, cookies, Greek pastries and other grab-and-go treats.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

It would probably be a precision scale. That’s like my best friend in the kitchen.

What would you have for your last meal?

Probably pasta. I can eat pasta in a million different variations, and I would never get sick of it.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

Nick’s Place in Raymond. Everything that I’ve had on their menu is absolutely amazing, and their atmosphere is so warm and welcoming. … I love their fried seafood and also their roast beef sandwiches.

What is your favorite thing that you’ve made for a client?

I think my personal favorite thing … was actually my first very large wedding cake that I did. It was a huge three-tiered cake that was probably 80 or 90 pounds and it fed 150 to 200 people, which is a lot more than what I’m used to, and it was beautifully decorated with gorgeous orchids. … I’m always up for a challenge, and so it was really rewarding to execute their vision and make it a reality. I was beyond happy with how it came out.

What celebrity would you like to bake for?

I’m a huge sucker for cooking shows. I’d have to say Bobby Flay is my No. 1, and then Anne Burrell or Alex Guarnaschelli. … Their talent is just so amazing to me that it would make my entire life if they had something that I made.

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

Cake popsicles. They are a fun spin on cake pops, only a lot bigger and in a popsicle form, so decorating-wise you can do a lot more with them.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

For the past two years I’ve been learning how to do homemade pasta. I love the art and the technique behind it. … Working with the different shapes is almost like working with clay, just kind of building each individual piece.

Homemade chocolate ganache
From the kitchen of Reni Mylonas of Agape Cakes and Confections, agapecandc.com

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup chocolate chips of choice

Pour the heavy cream into a small pot and let it simmer on medium heat. Place the chocolate chips in a metal bowl (do not use glass). Once the heavy cream has reached a boil, pour over the chocolate. Let the mixture sit for three minutes without stirring. After the three minutes are up, whisk until the chocolate is incorporated. Set aside and let it cool before using. Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks and enjoy on fruit or for use in cakes or cupcakes.

Featured photo: Reni Mylonas. Courtesy photo.

African and Caribbean flavors

Gumaa’s Bar & Grill opens in Manchester

A new family-owned restaurant in Manchester is offering traditional African and Caribbean meals like oxtail stew, jerk chicken, goat meat and fried tilapia, in addition to all kinds of comfort options, from wing appetizers to burgers, macaroni and cheese and collard greens.

Gumaa’s Bar & Grill opened last month in the former Saigon Noodles space on Lincoln Street, just outside of downtown in the Queen City’s Kalivas Union neighborhood. The eatery serves lunch and dinner six days a week, according to manager Estella “Maya” Gumaa, whose mother, Aiesha Elmuhager, as well as her siblings and children, all have a hand in helping out.

“I come from a big family … and my dream was always to open a restaurant one day, because I’ve always loved to cook,” said Gumaa, who lives in Manchester but is originally from South Sudan. “I’ve been looking for a place for almost four years … and when this opportunity came along, I said, ‘You know what? Let me just jump in.’ My family has been very supportive.”

The restaurant’s menu incorporates dishes common across many African nations, as well as islands in the Caribbean. For plated entrees, there’s oxtail stew, curry chicken, goat meat, and whole marinated and fried tilapia. Each comes with a choice of two sides per order, like white or spicy rice, beans, fried sweet plantains, french fries, macaroni and cheese, and collard greens.

Harder-to-find options the eatery has served out of the gate include spicy okra stew and cow feet.

“The cow feet we prepare more like a soup … so we put it in a bowl and you can eat it just like that with a spoon, and some people like to have it with white rice on the side,” Gumaa said.

Beyond the traditional delicacies, Gumaa’s Bar & Grill does also have a variety of other familiar comfort foods available a la carte. The wings, for instance, feature several sauce flavors like Buffalo, barbecue and jerk, while other items have included chicken, beef or vegetable samosas, mozzarella sticks, barbecue ribs, chicken tender baskets, and shrimp, chicken or steak kebabs.

The restaurant has indoor seating and a full bar that Gumaa’s younger sister, Hillana Kodi, oversees. Gumaa said she hopes to add more items to the menu in the coming weeks and months.

“I’m starting slow right now, but gradually I’m going to add more … to make it a little bigger,” she said. “I want to add fried chicken, and maybe a lamb stew or fried lamb. … I also want to try to add things like spaghetti and meatballs and chicken alfredo.”

Gumaa’s Bar & Grill

Where: 342 Lincoln St., Manchester
Hours: Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 9 p.m., and Friday through Sunday, noon to 1 a.m. (closed on Mondays)
More info: Visit gumaas.com, find them on Instagram @gumaas603 or call 232-4154 to place a takeout order. Ordering is also available through DoorDash.

Featured photo: Chicken and shrimp kebabs. Photo courtesy of Gumaa’s Bar & Grill.

Bird’s eye brew

Feathered Friend Brewing Co. coming to Concord

Tucker Jadczak’s family ties to brewing trace back multiple generations — his great-grandfather, Daniel Reardon, founded the D.J. Reardon Co. in 1933 and, according to Jadczak, became the first licensed distributor of Budweiser products in Massachusetts after the repeal of Prohibition.

Reardon’s son — Jadczak’s grandfather — would later take over the reins of the family business. Visiting the warehouse as a kid growing up made a lasting impression on him.

“It was this massive building that was like a whole refrigerator, with all these kegs and beer racks and other things all stacked up, and I remember going down there with my grandfather and being like, ‘This is really cool. This is what I want to do for a living,’” said Jadczak, who grew up in Warner and now lives in Concord. “I was probably like 8 or 9 years old at the time.”

Through high school and college, Jadczak’s interests led him down other paths, from political science to the music industry, until a chance encounter in 2018 led him to pick up bartending shifts at Concord Craft Brewing Co. There he would advance to the roles of assistant brewer and marketing coordinator, also becoming friends with fellow brewer Ryan Connor along the way.

“I kind of started wearing a lot of different hats,” Jadczak said. “I found that I was really enjoying it, and I kind of just got that love back from what I saw going to the warehouse as a kid. … I loved talking to people about the beer, and taking pride in the work that we were doing.”

That passion is now coming full circle with the launch of Jadczak’s own craft brewery. Feathered Friend Brewing Co., on track to open in the former Taylor Rental space in Concord’s South End in the coming weeks, is more than a year in the making. Jadczak has recruited Connor to serve as his head brewer — Connor will oversee a seven-barrel electric brewhouse and a total of 24 taplines.

According to Jadczak, the brewery’s name stems from his love and appreciation of birds. He’s working on several unique bird-themed names for some of his beer releases.

Out of the gate, he expects Feathered Friend Brewing Co. to be pouring a red ale, a stout, a sour, and a double dry-hopped IPA with Galaxy and Citra hops called Second Sun. A lager will soon follow, and Jadczak and Connor also hope to start brewing barrel-aged beers.

Ultimately, they’ll be exploring the opportunities to distribute cans and kegs to stores and restaurants. But for the time being, Jadczak said, the plan is to pour their beers in house.

Including bartop seats, Feathered Friend Brewing Co. has an indoor capacity of about 70. An adjoining space next door to the brewery will soon be the new home of Smokeshow Barbeque Co., and while Jadczak and owner Matt Gfroerer aren’t business partners, he said both hope to find ways to make it as easy as possible to streamline access for visitors between each.

Gfroerer will nearly triple the seating capacity he currently has over on Fort Eddy Road once he moves into the new South Main Street space. His menu will include all of the same Texas-style barbecue favorites, along with a few different options and a bigger beer selection.

A covered outdoor seating area will likely be added in the rear of the building by the spring or summer months. Jadczak is also planning to offer video games, trivia nights and various other activities for the space, and said he hopes to host charitable events and initiatives.

“Concord is a really great area, and being in the South End is awesome, so whatever we can do to be part of the community, we’d like to,” he said.

Feathered Friend Brewing Co.
An opening date is expected in the coming weeks. Visit their website or follow them on social media for updates.

Where: 231 S. Main St., Concord
Hours: TBA
More info: Visit featheredfriendbrewing.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram @featheredfriendbrewing or call 715-2347.

Featured photo: Head brewer Ryan Connor (left) and owner Tucker Jadczak. Photo by Matt Ingersoll.

The Weekly Dish 22/02/17

News from the local food scene

• Flavors of Haiti: Join Greenleaf (54 Nashua St., Milford) for A Taste of Haiti, a special five-course prix fixe dinner happening on Sunday, Feb. 20, at 5 p.m., to celebrate Black History Month. Each course features modern interpretations of flavors representing Haitian cuisine — items will include salade russe (Russian salad), soup joumou (pumpkin soup with braised beef and potato croquette and winter vegetables), macaroni au gratin, poule nan sós (braised chicken in Creole sauce with rice, beans and pikliz, a spicy cabbage slaw), and gâteau renversé (pineapple upside-down cake) with sweet plantain ice cream. Tickets are $95 per person and can be purchased online at greenleafmilford.com The next installment from Ansanm, meanwhile, a Haitian dinner series featuring scratch-made items from Greenleaf owner and chef Chris Viaud and his family, is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 27. Visit ansanmnh.com.

• Say cheese for a cause: Get your tickets now for a charcuterie board building class at the Cork N’ Keg Grill (4 Essex Drive, Raymond) on Saturday, Feb. 26, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. A special fundraiser for the New Hampshire Police K9 Academy and the Working Dog Foundation, the event includes participation in the class for up to two people per ticket. All supplies will be provided to create a charcuterie board that will feed two to six people, along with samples of several Wisconsin cheeses, meats, crackers and artisan popcorn, and a ticket redeemable for one serving of beer or wine. Tickets are $70 per person and must be purchased by Feb. 19 — the evening will also feature raffle prizes, giveaways and a silent auction. To view the event flyer, which includes a QR code to purchase tickets, find the Working Dog Foundation on Facebook or Instagram @workingdogfoundation.

• Farm fresh to your door: A Massachusetts-based initiative featuring freshly prepared chef-crafted dinners launched in the early months of the pandemic is now available in New Hampshire for the first time. WECO Hospitality is now offering meal deliveries to more than a dozen Granite State cities and towns, including Manchester, Nashua, Bedford, Goffstown, Hooksett, Amherst, Hollis, Londonderry, Derry, Milford and several others, according to a press release. The service features an always changing menu of family-style dinners, bowls and kids’ meals using ingredients from local and regional farms and purveyors, with a focus on seasonal availability and a balance of proteins, vegetables and starches. Dessert and mocktail or cocktail mixers are also featured. Ordering opens at noon on Thursday for that week’s menu and deliveries are made daily from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visit wecohospitality.com.

• Frederick’s Pastries recognized: Amherst and Bedford bakery Frederick’s Pastries has been selected as a 2022 winner in The Knot’s Best of Weddings, an award representing the highest-rated wedding professionals as reviewed by real couples, according to a press release. This is the 11th consecutive year that Frederick’s Pastries has been named a winner by The Knot — the leading online wedding brand and app chose about five percent of hundreds of thousands of companies and industry professionals, from venues and caterers to florists, musicians and photographers. “We are honored to receive this award,” Frederick’s Pastries proprietor Susan Lozier Robert said in a statement. “It is truly our pleasure to create beautiful cakes inspired by the couples planning their very special day.”

Care-free Super Bowl

Three beers for a game you don’t really care about

It was kind of surreal when Tom Brady retired.

It shouldn’t have been shocking that a 44-year-old who had accomplished more than anyone else in the history of the sport decided to call it a career as he quite literally had nothing left to prove, but it was stunning all the same.

I suppose we all took it for granted that he’d, I don’t know, just keep playing. That’s what he said he was going to do after all. I believe his quote was — I’m paraphrasing — that he would keep playing until he sucked. And he never sucked.

I loved that he just retired without the farewell tour that’s becoming all too common these days across sports. He caught us all off guard and just called it quits. And good for him.

What does this have to do with anything?

Well, Brady’s retiring just made me think about how for the first time in what feels like a really long time, New England sports fans really don’t have a vested interest in this Sunday’s Super Bowl. The Patriots didn’t make it and neither did Brady’s Buccaneers. And it’s not like either of the participants is a longtime Patriots nemesis either.

Do you have strong feelings about who wins between the transplanted Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals? I sure don’t, though I suppose I’ll technically be rooting for the Bengals as it feels like L.A. has just won enough in general.

But who cares? Let’s drink some beers and eat some wings and all get heartburn together and not stress about the game itself. We’ve earned this.

So let’s embrace how care-free the Super Bowl can be if you don’t really care who wins. Here are three New Hampshire beers to help you do just that.

Team of Rivals Mango New England IPA by Able Ebenezer Brewing Co. (Merrimack) in collaboration with Backyard Brewery (Manchester)

This beer makes you go “woah.” (Or is it “whoa?”) [Editor’s note: It’s “whoa.”] It’s delightfully fruity but not overpoweringly sweet. When someone says New England-style IPA, to me, this is what the style is all about: hazy, juicy and exploding with flavor. IPAs can sort of overpower your tastebuds so I might suggest grabbing this to open your festivities and just enjoying the tropical deliciousness. That said, if you were to enjoy this with some spicy wings, I don’t think you’d regret that move.

North Beach Mexican Lager by Great Rhythm Brewing Co. (Portsmouth)

Why am I suggesting a Mexican lager during the most American of sporting events? Well, because your belly is full of IPA and chicken wings and your body is craving something lighter, something easier. This is perfectly light, crisp and yet plenty flavorful. Have this with some chili or maybe a pulled pork sandwich, or honestly, anything.

RVP (Robust Vanilla Porter) by Great North Aleworks (Manchester)

At this point, between the wings, the chili, and the pulled pork sandwiches, and who knows what else — not to mention the beer — you’ve probably consumed your fair share of calories for the week. It’s hard to believe just a few hours ago you were inputting your breakfast calories into your trusty calorie-counting app as if that was a worthwhile endeavor for Super Bowl Sunday. Also, there was probably some kind of dip you ate too much of. But maybe now you need something with just a touch of sweetness, you know, to balance out all the savory stuff. Enter RVP. It has a little sweetness from the vanilla and a little richness from the malt, but it’s also surprisingly dry and drinkable. My mom always made whoopie pies for my dad’s Super Bowl parties. Have an RVP with a whoopie pie as you close out the fourth quarter of this game you don’t really care about.

What’s in My Fridge

Plush Double IPA by Frost Beer Works (Hinesburg, Vermont) This is a delicious New England-style IPA featuring big notes of citrus, including orange and grapefruit and plenty of pine, too, along with minimal bitterness. This beer doesn’t taste like it’s 8 percent ABV, but it is, so be careful. Cheers!

Featured photo: North Beach Lager by Great Rhythm Brewing Company. Courtesy photo.

Bourbon simmered apples

It’s cold outside; make your home warmer with this simple apple dish.

This recipe is pretty simple, with some important caveats. Let’s start with ingredients. I recommend using Honeycrisp or Granny Smith apples, as both of them are good baking apples. They will become tender without losing their texture. Use Granny Smith if you prefer more tartness, and use Honeycrisp if you like a bit more sweetness.

Also, this recipe requires only two tablespoons of bourbon. While it is a small amount, it is a key part of this recipe, so be sure to use a bourbon that you would drink as is. You want the apples to be flavored with a bourbon that you enjoy.

Next, let’s talk about the cooking. The instructions note that the apples need five to 10 minutes of sauteing. The amount of time required can vary, depending on the ripeness of the apples and the settings on your stove. Be sure to keep an eye on the apples! Check for fork tenderness every couple minutes so you have apples that are tender but not mushy.

Once the cooking is done you have an extremely versatile dish. These apples are sweet enough that they could be the topping for ice cream or pound cake. They also are savory enough that they could be used as a topping for roast pork or chicken. You could even use these apples as a side dish on their own.

No matter how you choose to use them, they will warm you inside and out!

Bourbon simmered apples
Serves 2

2 Honeycrisp or Granny Smith apples
1 Tablespoon salted butter
3 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons bourbon

Cut the apples into quarters, and remove cores.
Cut each quarter into 3 or 4 slices; cut each slice in half lengthwise. (The most important thing is to have the slices be similarly sized.)
Heat a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat.
Add butter, stirring until melted.
Add apples to butter, and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, or until barely fork tender
Add cinnamon, sugar and bourbon, tossing constantly to coat.
Remove from heat, and serve immediately.

Photo: Bourbon simmered apples. Photo by Michele Pesula Kuegler.

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