Category: Food

Amherst, Merrimack Lions Clubs to host “virtual” chili cook-off

If a hot bowl of chili has been one of your favorite go-to at-home meals, you’ll be able to showcase your creation during a special “virtual” cook-off. The event, a collaborative effort of the Amherst and Merrimack Lions Clubs, will be video recorded on Tuesday, March 2, at the former Buckmeadow Recreation and Conservation Area Clubhouse in Amherst.

“Covid has taught us to be very creative,” Amherst Lion and event co-captain Joan Ferguson said. “We said, ‘What can we do to continue the tradition?,’ and we kind of got more creative with it as we went along. There were a lot of combined resources to make this fall into place.”

One of the first tasks in organizing this event involved recruiting local chefs and restaurateurs to serve as “celebrity” judges, a significant change from the people’s choice voting of previous cook-offs. Merrimack Lion Adam Jump, who has been a participating chili maker in the past, helped select the three judges — Jay Smith, executive chef of the Copper Door Restaurant in Bedford; Dan DeCourcey, owner of the Up In Your Grill barbecue food trailer in Merrimack; and Alan Frati, owner of Crack’d Kitchen & Coffee Eatery in Andover, Mass.

Now through Feb. 24, anyone can register their chili by filling out an entry form on the Amherst Lions Club’s website and emailing a copy of their recipe. Chili cooks will then be invited to the March 2 taping at a designated time. Submissions will be divided into three categories for judging: individuals, restaurants and Lions Club members. Smith, DeCourcey and Frati will rate each chili on a scale of 1 to 5 in a variety of factors, like taste, smell, creativity and presentation.
“They’ll be judging everyone from each category at one time frame,” Ferguson said. “The entrants will get to receive constructive comments from these chefs, which is another thing that’s different this year and can be valuable as well.”

To promote social distancing, participants will be given a time within the two-hour event window for when their presentation will be recorded. Tables, napkins, spoons and gloves will be provided, but you must bring your own bowls, serving ladle, electrical cords and heating elements, in addition to at least one quart of your chili.

Among the restaurant contestants is Smokehaus Barbecue in Amherst — last year’s winner in the Restaurant category — as well as The Common Man of Merrimack, Tomahawk’s Butchery and Tavern in Merrimack, the Alamo Texas Barbecue & Tequila Bar in Brookline and Bobby and Jack’s Memphis Barbecue in Tewksbury, Mass.

Shortly after its taping, the recorded video of the cook-off will be uploaded onto the Amherst Lions Club’s website and social media pages. Viewers will be given the opportunity to purchase recipes from each of the cook-off entrants, with all proceeds going to the Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation of New Hampshire. Winners of each cook-off category will receive an engraved trophy and bragging rights for a year.

“Virtual” Chili Cook-off
When: Tuesday, March 2, 5 to 7 p.m. (open to chili registrants only, with recorded video of the cook-off to be posted online soon after; enter your chili by Feb. 24 to participate)
Where: 30 Route 101A, Amherst (former Buckmeadow Recreation and Conservation Area Clubhouse)
Cost: No cost to register; participants’ recipes will be sold online ($5 for one recipe, $12 for three recipes and $25 for 20 recipes), with proceeds going to the Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation of New Hampshire
More info: Email [email protected], or visit e-clubhouse.org/sites/amherstnh

NOFA-NH’s annual winter conference returns (virtually)

Whether you’re looking for advice on how to grow your own organic food at home or you want to learn about the state’s many networks connecting consumers to the local food system, you’ll find those topics and more during the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire’s 19th annual winter conference. Normally a one-day event with more than 40 workshops, a keynote speaker and a Q&A session, this year’s conference will be held virtually over two days, on Saturday, Feb. 13, and Sunday, Feb. 14, featuring seven sessions on each day.

The theme of the conference is “cultivating stewardship,” with workshops that will cover topics such as soil health, herbalism and immune health, growing organic seeds and more.

“Farmers, gardeners, homesteaders and anyone who’s just interested in organic food and the sustainable food system in New Hampshire can attend,” said Nikki Kolb, operations manager for the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire.

Previous conferences have split the workshops into several tracks to choose from. But this time around, Kolb said, ticket holders have access to all 14 workshops — each is an hour long, beginning at 9 a.m. and with 15-minute intervals in between.

Notable speakers will include Maria Noel Groves, clinical herbalist at Wintergreen Botanicals in Allenstown and author of the book Grow Your Own Herbal Remedies. She’ll be leading a discussion about how simple herbs grown in your garden can benefit your immune system. Keith Morris of Willow Crossing Farm in Vermont is on the schedule to talk about growing organic fruit and nut trees, while regenerative farmer and author Acadia Tucker will explore the topic of container gardening at home, both indoors and outdoors.

“The whole conference is going to be livestreamed over Zoom, and each workshop incorporates a Q&A session, so you’ll be able to interact with the speaker during that period,” Kolb said. “Everyone will be emailed a link to access them. … They’ll also be recorded, so ticket holders will be able to go back and view them afterward if they can’t attend all of them.”

The workshops will conclude with a 90-minute keynote address on Sunday at 4:15 p.m., featuring Mukhtar Idhow, executive director of the Manchester-based Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success, as the speaker. The organization also operates the Fresh Start Farms program, a collective brand of local farms run by new Americans.

An ongoing Green Market Fair is also usually held during the conference, featuring dozens of local craft vendors, demonstrations and other exhibitors. That too is going virtual this year, Kolb said — exhibitors’ listings are available to view on NOFA-NH’s winter conference web page.

“MainStreet BookEnds [in Warner] … has books published by several of the authors that we have speaking at the conference, and they’ve added other books for sale that fit under the umbrella of the discussions,” Kolb said. “Twenty percent of the proceeds of all books sold will go to the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire.”

19th annual NOFA-NH Winter Conference
When: Saturday, Feb. 13, and Sunday, Feb. 14; seven one-hour sessions will be held virtually over each day via Zoom, beginning at 9 a.m.; the keynote speaking event is Sunday, from 4:15 to 5:45 p.m.
Cost: $50 for NOFA-NH members, $60 for non-members; includes access to all workshops throughout each day, as well as the virtual Green Market Fair
Visit: nofanh.org/winterconference

Featured photo: Keynote speaker Mukhtar Idhow. Courtesy photo.

Industry East Bar opens in Manchester

Jeremy Hart and Dan Haggerty have around four decades of combined bartending experience across the Granite State. Now the two have gone into business together to open their own craft cocktail bar, complete with a rustic ambience and a unique food menu to match.

Industry East Bar, which opened Feb. 2 just a stone’s throw from Elm Street in Manchester, was in its planning stages well before the start of the pandemic. Hart and Haggerty first came across the vacant storefront on Hanover Street in mid-2019. During continually delayed renovations that lasted more than a full year, repurposed butternut wood was brought in for the bar, as well as additional wood paneling for the walls to give the bar rails a distinctive look.

According to Haggerty, the bar’s name comes from its development as a destination spot for professionals of all types of service industries to enjoy a meal or a cocktail at the end of the work day — the word “east” comes from its being on the east side of downtown.

“Even before we wrote the business plan, we knew we wanted it to be a place that’s super laid back and unpretentious to anyone that comes in,” he said. “We wanted it to be nice, but not too nice where you feel like you need to wear a suit or anything. … Just a super-cool place with high-quality cocktails and wicked awesome food. That was our main goal.”

The bartending duo recruited Jeff Martin, formerly the sous chef at The Birch on Elm, to oversee the food menu. There’s no hood system in the kitchen, so they can’t serve any fried or sauteed items; instead, Martin has been working on a menu of charcuterie boards, flatbread pizzas, paninis, and shareable plates, from duck confit-stuffed popovers to braised short rib toast points.

“We’re also going to be doing things like shrimp cocktail, beef or tuna tartares, ceviche, oysters, some crudos … and gourmet hot dogs,” Haggerty said. “We’ve done a kimchi dog with gochujang sauce and our housemade pickles and sesame seeds. … Jeff is really good at making his own mignonettes, sauces and aiolis and just making everything taste great.”

Some featured desserts that Industry East has introduced right out of the gate have been a brownie sundae trifle with chocolate mousse and whipped cream, and a s’mores sundae with a graham cracker crumble, bruleed marshmallow and chocolate drizzle.

As for the cocktails, that menu combines modern takes on the classics with all kinds of experimental concoctions, all using syrups, juices and other ingredients made in house. The Gentleman’s Choice, for example, incorporates orange and carrot flavors with vodka or mezcal, while the Participation Trophy is a cocktail featuring Branca Menta and vodka, with flavors of strawberry and lemon.

“My approach is … that I never try to think of something,” Haggerty said. “You just kind of play with it and then maybe you add something in or take something out. … There are some things, though, that you just can’t mess with, so we’ll definitely always have the classics, your Old Fashioneds, your Manhattans, things like that.”

Industry East can sit about 20 people at a time with social distancing regulations in place, including nine at the bar and additional tabletop seating. By the spring and into the summer, Haggerty said, outdoor seating will also be available, both right outside the front of the bar and under the adjoining alcove next door.

Industry East Bar
Where: 28 Hanover St., Manchester
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to midnight (may be subject to change)
More info: Visit industryeastbar.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram, or call 456-7890

Featured photo: Industry East Bar co-owner and bartender Jeremy Hart serves a cocktail. Courtesy photos.