Category: Food

In the kitchen with Carly Feins

Carly Feins of Bedford is the owner of Carly’s Custom Cakes (carlyscustomcakes.com, find her on Facebook or Instagram), a homestead business offering custom desserts to order, including cakes, cookies, brownies, fruit bars and cupcakes. A baking and pastry arts/food service management graduate from Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, Feins has been baking since she was 11 years old. She fell in love with the craft after watching her aunt, Lisa Raffael (owner of Delicious Desserts in East Falmouth, Mass.), win on an episode of the Food Network Challenge. Feins, who has autism spectrum disorder, said she wanted to be a role model and an inspiration to others with similar diagnoses by starting her own independent business. In addition to accepting custom orders through her website for pickup or delivery within a 25-mile radius of southern New Hampshire, Feins participates in the Salem Farmers Market every Sunday, from 10 a.m. to noon, at Salem Marketplace (224 N. Broadway). As of last week, her fruit bars and cookies are also available for purchase at the Bearded Baking Co. (819 Union St., Manchester).

What is your must-have kitchen item?

I actually have two of them. My KitchenAid stand mixer and also my kitchen scale.

What would you have for your last meal?

I would get a Caesar salad at the Manchester Country Club without any Parmesan cheese. At home, I would have a homemade brownie ice cream sundae.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

I like Taipei & Tokyo in Bedford … and I also like to support Pizza Bella [in Bedford]. They provided pizza to Bedford High School when I went to school there, and I think they still do.

What celebrity would you like to see trying something that you’ve baked?

It’s a three-way tie between Food Network’s Duff Goldman, Sugar Monster Sweets [owner] Ashley Holt, and Jason Smith, also from Food Network.

What is your personal favorite thing to bake?

I can’t really decide, but basically any of the sugar cookies, cupcakes and whole cakes, because I like to put my own artistic spin on them. I’m an artist and desserts are my canvas.

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

I’ve been seeing a huge interest in no-contact deliveries and … smaller food operations relying on takeout and online ordering. I’ve also been seeing a lot more of a demand for meatless items.

What is your favorite thing to cook or bake at home?

I love cooking for my family. My favorite thing to do is chicken marsala with boiled rice. I also love to make chocolate cake with chocolate ganache.

1-2-3 sugar cookie dough
Courtesy of Carly Feins of Carly’s Custom Cakes in Bedford (who learned this recipe as a student at Johnson & Wales University)

2 pounds (or 4 cups) butter
1 pound (or 2 cups) granulated sugar
3 pounds (or just under 13 cups) pastry flour
170 grams whole eggs (or roughly three extra large eggs)

In a bowl, mix together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs in one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go with a stand mixer. When all the eggs are in, add the flour. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight or for a minimum of three hours. When ready to bake, turn the oven on to 350 degrees. Knead dough on a flour-coated silicone mat and roll to about a quarter inch thick. Make sure the dough is still cold, as the temperature affects the cookie. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. You can augment with different flavors like lemon zest, or do chocolate by using cocoa powder.

New Nepalese option

Gurung’s Kitchen opens inside Bunny’s Superette

You won’t see it right away when you step inside Bunny’s Superette in Manchester’s North End, but walk all the way across the store and you’ll find a new Nepalese takeout restaurant.

Gurung’s Kitchen, which opened for business on June 27, features a menu of authentic Nepalese dishes like steamed or fried momos, thukpa (noodle soup) and shapale (fried meat pies), all cooked to order. Owner Sarmila Gurung opened the eatery with the help of Pramod Nyaupane, her friend and former landlord, who owns Bunny’s Superette and Bunny’s Convenience on Elm Street. Both Gurung and Nyaupane are natives of Kathmandu.

“I used to cook for [Nyaupane] and he loves my cooking,” said Gurung, who remembers always helping her mother out in the kitchen growing up. “When I told him I was thinking I wanted to open a restaurant, he said, ‘If you’re really interested, I can help you.’ So that’s how we ended up opening the restaurant here.”

Because her restaurant’s space was formerly a butcher shop, Gurung said, it went under all kinds of renovations, including the introduction of new stoves, fryers, a freezer and a warmer.

Gurung’s Kitchen accepts takeout orders via phone or walk-in, as well as delivery through either DoorDash or GrubHub. Among the most popular items, Gurung said, have been the momos, which are dumplings filled with chicken, pork or vegetables. She said she has also offered bison meat, but said it’s been difficult to get regularly due to the pandemic. One order of momos yields eight dumplings, which are either steamed or fried, with the option to have them served in a homemade tomato sauce or chili sauce. You can also customize your order with a momo platter.

Other big sellers have been the chicken, pork or vegetarian chow mein, or the fried noodles with turmeric, cumin, coriander and other spices; the chicken, pork or vegetarian fried rice; and the thukpa, or noodle soup. When it’s available, Gurung will also make each of these dishes with bison meat as a protein option.

Some harder-to-find dishes available at the restaurant are shapale and pakoda. A common street food in Nepal, according to Gurung, shapale (pronounced sha-PAH-lee) features half-moon-shaped meat pies stuffed with either chicken or pork and deep fried. You get two pieces per order with a side of homemade sauce.

Pakoda, which Gurung described as being similar to hash browns, is also a Nepalese street food or snack featuring a mixture of potatoes, onions, flour and spices that’s deep fried.

“We have different kinds of customers right now,” Gurung said. “Our customers who come from Nepal … usually come here for the shapale and the pakoda, because they know it and they can’t easily find it here [in the United States].”

Gurung’s Kitchen offers a small selection of non-traditional items like french fries, chicken wings and chicken nuggets. There is also black tea, masala tea and mango lassi, a smoothie-like drink featuring a blend of fresh mango, yogurt and ice.

Since between 700 and 800 people usually come inside Bunny’s Superette every day, according to Gurung, she hopes her restaurant will continue to see new customers.

“We try to offer really fast service,” she said. “People come here first and order their food, then they go [shop for] their groceries and when they come back here their food is ready.”

Gurung’s Kitchen
Where: 75 Webster St., Manchester (inside Bunny’s Superette)
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week
More info: Call 316-1540 or search “Gurung’s Kitchen” on Facebook

Ripe and ready

Pick-your-own blueberries and raspberries

After an unusually short season for strawberries at some local farms, pick-your-own blueberries and raspberries are back, now through July or into August, depending on the weather conditions and the status of the crops.

Samantha Fay of Sunnycrest Farm said too much precipitation late in the fall and inconsistent temperatures in the winter were to blame for the poor showing of strawberries.

“We only had [pick-your-own] strawberries for two days before we were picked out,” she said. “We usually have five beds, but this year we only had two, so we lost some.”

Blueberries and raspberries, on the other hand, have been going very well. Fay said both are available now for pick-your-own every day from 7 a.m. to noon.

Customers normally purchase a container and return to the farm stand after they’re finished picking to have it weighed. But in an effort to maintain social distancing and limit the amount of surface contact, Fay said all containers are being provided with a flat rate.

Similar measures are being taken at Apple Hill Farm in Concord, which is also offering pick-your-own blueberries and raspberries after recently concluding its strawberry season.

“Usually you have to come back into the farm stand and have [your berries] weighed, but we’ve eliminated that this year,” co-owner Diane Souther said.

According to Souther, some late varieties of blueberries at Apple Hill Farm are usually around until about mid-September. Raspberries will likely last another couple of weeks from now, depending on the weather.

“Raspberries like the heat, so they’ve been going full force and doing great with the hot days we’ve been having,” she said.

Apple Hill Farm is open for pick-your-own every Monday through Saturday, from 8 a.m. to noon. While you’re not required to wear a mask while out on the farm picking berries, Souther said the farm does ask customers to wear one inside the farm stand and to keep children close by.

At Berrybogg Farm in Strafford, blueberries are ripening right on schedule, according to owner Julie Butterfield. For the first time this year you can call the farm to schedule a pickup for blueberries they’ll pick for you.

Bob Marr of Durocher Farm in Litchfield, which features three acres of more than 2,500 blueberry bushes for picking, said there are separate designated entrances and exits for pickers.

Masks are recommended, but not required. Picking hours are daily from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., with additional evening hours on Thursdays from 5 to 7 p.m.

“We have an outstanding crop this year,” Marr said. “We have five varieties that extend our picking season into late August.”

At Berry Good Farm in Goffstown, pick-your-own blueberries are available seven days a week. Co-owner Rich Bailey said more checkout stands on the farm and extra parking have been implemented to encourage social distancing.

“It’s different every year, but a lot of times we’ll make it until the end of August,” Bailey said. “We have five to six different varieties that last for quite a while.”

Where to pick your own blueberries and raspberries
Most of these local farms will offer pick-your-own blueberries through the middle or the end of August, depending on the weather conditions and the availability of the crop. Some also offer a few varieties of raspberries as well. Do you know of a farm offering pick-your-own blueberries or raspberries that isn’t on this list? Let us know at [email protected].

Apple Hill Farm
580 Mountain Road, Concord, 224-8862, applehillfarmnh.com
What: Blueberries and raspberries
Picking hours: Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon

Berry Good Farm
234 Parker Road, Goffstown, 497-8138, find them on Facebook
What: Blueberries
Cost: $3.09 per pound (cash or checks only)
Picking hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Berrybogg Farm
650 Province Road, Strafford, 664-2100, berryboggfarm.com
What: Blueberries
Cost: $2.75 per pound ($2.65 per pound for seniors)
Picking hours: Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Blueberry Bay Farm
38 Depot Road, Stratham, 580-1612, blueberrybayfarm.com
What: Blueberries and raspberries
Picking hours: Daily, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Blue Moon Berry Farm
195 Waldron Hill Road, Warner, 410-9577, find them on Facebook
What: Blueberries
Picking hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Brookdale Fruit Farm
41 Broad St., Hollis, 465-2240, brookdalefruitfarm.com
What: Blueberries and raspberries
Cost: Blueberries are $3.25 per pound; raspberries are $5 per pint
Picking hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Carter Hill Orchard
73 Carter Hill Road, Concord, 225-2625, carterhillapples.com
What: Blueberries
Picking hours: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., when blueberries are available; calling ahead is recommended.

Durocher Farm
157 Charles Bancroft Highway, Litchfield, 494-8364, pickyourownberries.com
What: Blueberries
Picking hours: Daily, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Thursday, 5 to 7 p.m., now through mid-August.

Grandpa’s Farm
143 Clough Hill Road, Loudon, 783-4384, grandpasfarmnh.com
What: Blueberries
Cost: $2.75 per pound
Picking hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to dusk

Grounding Stone Farm
289 Maple St., Contoocook, 748-2240, groundingstonefarm.com
What: Blueberries
Picking hours: Daily, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Kimball Fruit Farm
Route 122, on the Hollis and Pepperell, Mass., border, 978-433-9751, kimball.farm
What: Blueberries
Picking hours: Daily, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Lavoie’s Farm
172 Nartoff Road, Hollis, 882-0072, lavoiesfarm.com
What: Blueberries
Cost: $3.99 per pound
Picking hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Norland Berries
164 N. Barnstead Road, Barnstead, 776-2021, norlandberries.com
What: Blueberries
Cost: $2.50 per pound ($2.25 per pound for seniors)
Picking hours: Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m

Pustizzi Fruit Farm
148 Corn Hill Road, Boscawen, 496-1924, find them on Facebook
What: Blueberries
Picking hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Rossview Farm
85 District 5 Road, Concord, 228-4872, rossviewfarm.com
What: Blueberries
Picking hours: Opens daily at 7:30 a.m.; closing times vary depending on the crop and the weather conditions

Saltbox Farm
321 Portsmouth Ave., Stratham, 436-7978, find them on Facebook
What: Blueberries and raspberries
Cost: Blueberries are $4 per pound; raspberries are $5.65 per pound
Picking hours: Tuesday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Stark Farm
30 Stark Lane, Dunbarton, 854-2677, starkfarmblueberries.com
What: Blueberries
Picking hours: Sunday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; calling ahead the day of or the night before is recommended.

Sunnycrest Farm
59 High Range Road, Londonderry, 432-7753, sunnycrestfarmnh.com
What: Blueberries and raspberries
Picking hours: Daily, 7 a.m. to noon

Featured Photo: Blueberries from Berry Good Farm in Goffstown. Courtesy photo.

Blueberry balsamic salad dressing
Courtesy of Diane Souther of Apple Hill Farm in Concord

1 cup blueberries
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons honey
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pinch of salt and pepper

Slightly simmer the blueberries in the water. After they soften up, whip them slightly and add in the remaining ingredients. Stir together and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Drizzle on fresh green salad, or use as a marinade on grilled chicken or fish.

Big Nana’s blueberry buckle
Courtesy of Rich Bailey of Berry Good Farm in Goffstown

¼ cup butter or margarine
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup milk
2 cups blueberries
½ teaspoon salt

For the crumb topping (ingredients blended together):
½ cup soft butter
½ cup sugar
⅓ cup flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Cream butter, add sugar and beat until light. Add egg and beat well. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk and beat until smooth. Fold in blueberries. Pour into a greased 9x9x2 pan. Sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

The Weekly Dish 20/07/23

• Mobile scoops: The Loudon Firefighters Association (8 Cooper St.) will host a drive-thru ice cream social on Saturday, July 25, from 4 to 8 p.m. Participants can place their order on the South Village Road side of the firehouse before picking up and exiting on the Cooper Street side. Ice cream flavors will include vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, with all kinds of optional toppings, like whipped cream, chocolate syrup, rainbow and chocolate sprinkles and a maraschino cherry. The cost is $5 per dish. See “LFD Drive-Thru Ice Cream Social” on Facebook for more details.

• Keeping it local: The New Hampshire Liquor Commission has launched a “Keep it Local” campaign to support wineries and distilleries in the state, it announced in a press release. From now until Aug. 30, all of the state’s Liquor & Wine Outlet stores are offering 20-percent discounts on purchases of three or more bottles of wines and spirits made, grown or produced in New Hampshire, all sizes, with the ability to mix and match them. “Covid-19 has impacted all industries, and our local wineries and distillers have been hit particularly hard,” NHLC Chairman Joseph Mollica said in a statement. “[This] … initiative helps generate sales, encourages responsible visitation and supports our local partners.” Visit liquorandwineoutlets.com/keepitlocal.

• Quick bites: You can now find pasta salads, homemade whoopie pies, Italian desserts and other quick bites from Angela’s Pasta & Cheese Shop for sale inside the cafe of the Bookery (844 Elm St., Manchester), which has new in-store hours Tuesday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The downtown bookshop also recently introduced additional outdoor seating. Visit bookerymht.com or call 836-6600.

• Farewell to The Foothills: The Foothills of Warner, a longtime staple in town known for its baked goods, including its nearly five-pound cinnamon rolls, has announced its closure as of July 19. “Many factors went into this difficult decision. We want to thank all of our loyal customers for their support over the last 15 years,” read a July 16 post on the restaurant’s Facebook page. “We have made many wonderful friends and we will miss you all very much.” The building has operated as a restaurant for nearly 30 years but was originally housing, dating back to the early 1800s, owner Deb Moore told the Hippo last fall. It has also been a bank and a town post office during its lifetime.

In the kitchen with Jon Buatti

In December 2019, Jon Buatti of Auburn took over ownership of Michelle’s Gourmet Pastries & Deli in Manchester, bringing with him a culinary education and a specialization in custom cake decorating. With the business now known as the Bearded Baking Co. (819 Union St., Manchester, 647-7150, beardedbaking.com), Buatti has built upon the longtime success of the popular Queen City bakeshop and deli, offering custom cakes with many of his own sponge and buttercream recipes. The bakery and deli also features a selection of breakfast and lunch sandwiches and smaller treats like cookies, cupcakes, cheesecakes, bread pudding, chocolate-covered pretzels and more. A Salem native, Buatti got his start in the industry as a busboy at La Bec Rouge in Hampton Beach before volunteering to work a shift making plated desserts. He graduated from Salem High School’s culinary program, followed by Southern New Hampshire University’s associate’s program in baking and culinary arts and its bachelor’s program in culinary management.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

Either an offset spatula or a bench scraper.

What would you have for your last meal?

Anything with barbecue. Ribs, maybe, or barbecue chicken.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

My fiancée and I love The Crown Tavern [in Manchester]. I get the Pep N’ Honey pizza, and their wings are outrageous.

What celebrity would you like to see ordering from your bakery?

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

What is your personal favorite thing that you have ever baked?

As far as a specific cake that I’ve done, it’s a two-way tie with both of the wedding cakes I did for my two older sisters. Those were fun because being part of the wedding, I worked on it for a week straight for both of them, with a revolving door of friends and family coming in the kitchen to catch up and see how the cake was going.

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

Anything dietary, so gluten-free, vegan and sugar-free. We definitely do a lot more custom orders for those types of desserts.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

Our favorite dish to make at home together is zuppa toscana. It’s a kale cream soup with tons of veggies.

Homemade scones
From the kitchen of Jon Buatti of the Bearded Baking Co. in Manchester

4½ cups flour
½ tablespoon + ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed
1½ cups heavy cream
¾ cup corn syrup

Combine all dry ingredients into a bowl. Cut cold butter into dry ingredients. Create a well with dry ingredients and fold in corn syrup. Add in fillings of choice and form into even disks (makes about 10).

Eclectic eats

Bistro 603 to open soon in Nashua

A new eatery coming soon to Nashua, Bistro 603 will offer an eclectic menu of scratch-made appetizers, entrees, cocktails and weekend brunch items when it opens in the coming weeks.

Owner Jeff Abellard and chef Jason Duffy refer to its environment as upscale yet casual. Both men are part of a close-knit restaurant team that has run Bistro 781 on Moody Street in downtown Waltham, Mass., for the past five years.

Bistro 603, Abellard said, is nearly double the size of its Massachusetts counterpart, with bar seating, table dining, an outdoor patio and space for two private rooms. The menu, while similar to that of Bistro 781’s, remains diverse, ranging from small shareable plates to larger meals with optional wine pairings.

“You can have a special dinner with your family … or you can just sit and have a drink with your buddies at the bar,” said Duffy, who has more than two decades of experience in the kitchen. “Anything you want to do here, we can accommodate you.”

Appetizers will include seafood options like fried oysters, clams and crab cakes, as well as potato and ricotta mushroom gnocchi, sweet and spicy barbecue rubbed chicken wings, and steak bomb spring rolls served in a Parmesan peppercorn dipping sauce. The menu is further divided into sections for salads and bowls, for burgers and sandwiches, and for tacos.

“We do a Cuban sandwich, a quinoa burger, and a burger with fried oysters on top of it that’s delicious,” Abellard said. “We also do what we call a Crunch Wrap burger, so it’s actually a burger with a crunchy taco shell around it.”

Tacos will be available with either braised pork belly, braised short rib, tuna tartare, batter-fried haddock, or as vegetarian options with either crispy cauliflower or sauteed vegetables. In addition to house and Caesar salads, there will be a strawberry and watermelon salad; a Mediterranean grain bowl with grilled artichoke and hummus; and a seasoned street corn bowl.

The larger plates will include several staples, like the seafood paella with chicken, chorizo and shellfish; the braised short ribs with potato and ricotta gnocchi, truffled mushroom cream sauce and roasted Brussels sprouts; and the steak frites with smoked tomato chimichurri. There will also be a number of pastas, all made in house, like the Bolognese with veal, pork and pancetta and the sauteed chicken fettuccine with white wine garlic cream sauce.

A separate brunch menu will be available every Saturday and Sunday, according to Abellard. That will include several savory options like omelets, Benedicts and breakfast sandwiches. Other featured items will be the short rib or duck hash with eggs and challah toast; and the shrimp and grits with chorizo, aged cheddar and bacon and sweet pepper relish.

Some of the more notable changes specific to Bistro 603’s menu, Abellard said, have to do with the weekly specials it will feature, as well as its beers and wines. There will be almost twice as many lines on draft, with more options from New Hampshire breweries. A complete brunch cocktail menu of mimosas, espresso martinis and other drinks will be available too.

Two dining areas within the restaurant — one small room and one larger room — are separated by large sliding wooden doors. Abellard said that while tables in these rooms can be reserved for private parties or functions, they’ll be otherwise open to all diners.

“If you’re just having a small little get-together, you can use the smaller room … or, if it’s a larger party, you can open it up and kind of share both rooms,” he said. “We’d also like to build a night crowd … where we bring in some acoustic music, and we’ll have a late night menu.”

Bistro 603
An opening date is expected in the coming weeks. Visit the website or follow them on social media for updates.

Where: 345 Amherst St., No. 1, Nashua
Hours: TBA
More info: Visit bistro603nashua.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram, or email owner Jeff Abellard at [email protected]

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