Category: Food

The Weekly Dish 21/11/11

News from the local food scene

• Backyard brews: Get your tickets now before they’re gone to the third annual Backyard Winterfest, happening at Backyard Brewery & Kitchen (1211 S. Mammoth Road, Manchester) on Friday, Dec. 3, from 6 to 9 p.m. Returning after a hiatus in 2020, this 21+-only event brings craft breweries from all over Derry, Londonderry and Manchester together for a night of pouring and sampling. Backyard Winterfest is an outdoor event, so dress accordingly. Tickets are $30 per person and include access to all of the beer being poured throughout the evening, as well as a four-ounce tasting glass. Visit backyardbrewerynh.com.

• More Greek eats to go: Join Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (68 N. State St., Concord) for its next boxed Greek dinner to go, a drive-thru takeout event happening on Sunday, Nov. 21, from noon to 1 p.m. Now through Wednesday, Nov. 17, orders are being accepted for boxed meals featuring dinners of stuffed peppers, roasted potatoes, Greek salad and a roll for $15 per person. The event is drive-thru and takeout only — email ordermygreekfood@gmail.com or call 953-3051 to place your order. The church is also planning a similar takeout and pickup meal featuring Greek pork souvlaki, scheduled for Jan. 16. Visit holytrinitynh.org.

• Col’s Kitchen recognized: Col’s Kitchen, a plant-based restaurant in downtown Concord, was recently named in a Top Ten Vegan Pies list compiled by PETA for its peach pie, according to a press release. The pie features a filling of local New Hampshire peaches tossed in cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and a locally made bourbon, served in a flaky wheat crust with a streusel top. “Delicious peaches covered with a buttery brown sugar crumble make Col’s Kitchen’s vegan pie an instant holiday classic,” PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said in a statement. Col’s Kitchen, which opened in the former Willow’s Plant-Based Eatery space in mid-August 2020, is also known for its “pie shakes,” which are slices of pie blended up with milk and a few scoops of ice cream. The peach pie is one of six vegan pie options the eatery is offering for the Thanksgiving season, in addition to blueberry, cherry, apple, pumpkin and pecan.

• Mr. Mac’s goes national: Mr. Mac’s Macaroni & Cheese of Manchester, celebrating its 10-year milestone, is now offering nationwide shipping of its take-and-bake options, its owners announced in a recent press release. According to the release, the eatery had been receiving requests from customers that wanted to send Mr. Mac’s options to friends and family for years. “We are pleased to finally be able to say ‘yes,’ we can now ship, especially just in time for the holiday gift-giving season,” Mr. Mac’s founder Patrick Cain said in a statement. A dozen gourmet macaroni and cheese flavors are now available to ship, including the classic all American, the bacon cheddar mac, the jalapeno popper mac, the Philly cheese steak mac, and others. According to the release, all orders submitted on Thursdays and Fridays will be shipped the following Monday and should arrive at their destination in two or three business days. Each order is packed fresh with cool packs to keep at a safe temperature.

Trillium and some random hoppy beers

You’ve got to respect the hops

Because she’s a hero, my wife made a reservation at Trillium Brewing Co.’s Canton, Mass., location. And because she’s a hero and made the reservation, we didn’t have to wait in line.

For those who have never been, like myself up until a couple weeks ago: It’s an impressive spot with an expansive indoor/outdoor facility right off the highway about 20 minutes or so outside of Boston. With an incredible variety of fresh, delicious and unique brews, it’s no wonder RateBeer.com currently has Trillium tabbed as the fourth-best brewery in the world.

If you can time it right or if your partner is also a hero and makes a reservation (you need to have a party of at least six), then it’s absolutely worth the drive. Not only is the beer incredible; the food is terrific as well — we ate way too much scrumptious pizza.

I’d had a couple Trillium brews over the years but I couldn’t remember which ones. I started with a Summer Street IPA, which is wonderful, featuring big citrus and pine flavors in a pretty dry and crisp overall package.

My wife went with the Barrel-Aged Affrogato, which is hands-down the most decadent beer I’ve ever sipped, with huge notes of bourbon, vanilla, coffee and sweet brown sugar.

Sticking with hoppy beers, I tried the Double Dry Hopped Stillings Street, which is another super aromatic IPA characterized by an array of melony aromas and flavors, a soft mouthfeel and borderline nonexistent bitterness.

I rounded it out with the Mosaic Free Rise, a dry-hopped saison, which is a bit of a departure for me, but this was delightful. Crisp, fruity, dry and a little spicy, Free Rise is one of the brewery’s signature saisons.

I felt like I sufficiently experienced the brewery’s hoppy beers, but on another trip, I’d want to better explore Trillium’s array of imperial stouts, like the Coffee Cake Imperial Stout and the Barrel-Aged German Chocolate Cake Doughnut Imperial Stout, most of which land north of 13 percent ABV, just so you know.

Trillium also features a big list of wild ales that deserve your attention as well.

As we left, the line had grown considerably. If you can’t make a reservation, my advice is to get there early — they open at noon on Saturday. You don’t want to be in that line.

Trillium was terrific and I have to be honest, I’ve been all about the hops lately. Here are three hoppy beers I’ve enjoyed over the past few weeks.

Lush Double IPA by Frost Beer Works (Hinesburg, Vermont)

This is rich and juicy and that’s not a typo. I’m not used to referring to an IPA as rich but this one is. It’s velvety smooth and boasts a big-time citrus flavor. You might have to track this down in Vermont or in a beer store just over the border in Massachusetts — and you should track this down.

Full Clip NEIPA by Stoneface Brewing Co. (Newington)

I hadn’t had this New England IPA in a long time and the first sip reminded me why I like it so much: juicy, vibrant and drinkable. It’s an explosion of tropical and citrus flavor but in an overall package that is quite approachable.

Victory Nor Defeat by Able Ebenezer Brewing Co. (Merrimack)

This double IPA is a wonderful rendition of a West Coast IPA that hits you with big flavor, including plenty of piney hop character and a delightful bitterness.

What’s in my fridge

Giant Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale by Greater Good Imperial Brewing Co. (Worcester, Mass.) If you don’t like pumpkin, move along. This is an absolute bomb of pumpkin flavor. It’s a little sweet, it’s a little spicy and it’s exceptionally smooth. Despite its relatively high ABV at 8 percent, it drinks very easily — it’s a little dangerous, honestly. I’m hit or miss on pumpkin beers but this was a decided hit. Cheers!

Featured photo: Lush Double IPA by Frost Beer Works. Photo courtesy of Jeff Mucciarone

Mini pumpkin whoopie pies

The season of eating has begun! Or at least in my eyes it has. Halloween kicks off a series of holidays and parties that are food-centric. Why not add a fall-themed recipe to the list of treats you can make to share at these gatherings?

These whoopie pies are really quite simple to make — not much more effort is required than in making a batch of cookies. However, a tray of these mini whoopie pies garners much more attention than a plate of cookies. Trust me.

When making these whoopie pies there are a couple items of note. First, make sure you buy canned pumpkin puree. You don’t want pie filling, which will be too sweet, and you don’t want to use fresh pumpkin. Fresh pumpkin sounds nice, but it takes a lot more time to cook it, and it probably won’t be as smooth as the canned version. Second, when baking the cakes, if you don’t trust your judgment when testing their springiness, you also can use a cake tester or toothpick. If it comes out clean, the cakes are done. Don’t overbake the cakes; you want them to be moist.

Michele Pesula Kuegler has been thinking about food her entire life. Since 2007, the New Hampshire native has been sharing these food thoughts and recipes at her blog, Think Tasty. Visit thinktasty.com to find more of her recipes.

Mini pumpkin whoopie pies
Makes 15

Cakes
½ cup unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1½ cups canned pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1⅔ cups all-purpose flour

Filling
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
1¾ cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place ½ cup butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat with paddle attachment on speed 2 until smooth.
Add egg, mixing until fully incorporated on speed 2.
Add pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, ground cloves, baking powder, baking soda and salt, mixing well on speed 2.
Use a spatula to scrape down the sides, and mix again.
Add flour, mixing on low; scrape sides with spatula and mix until fully blended.
Scoop approximately 1½ tablespoons batter, spaced evenly, onto baking sheet.
Bake for 18 minutes or until cakes spring back when touched.
Allow to cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet.
Transfer to baking rack to cool completely.

To assemble
In a stand mixer cream together the cream cheese and 1/4 cup butter on speed 2 for about 4 minutes.
Add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla; mix on low speed until combined.
Spread the flat side of 15 cooled cakes with the cream cheese frosting.
Top each with another cake.

Photo: Photo by Michele Pesula Kuegler.

In the kitchen with Trina Bird

Trina Bird of Goffstown is the owner of the Bird Food Baking Co. (birdfoodbaking.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @birdfoodbakingco), a homestead business she launched earlier this year specializing in multiple unique flavors of artisan doughnuts, as well as cookies, cinnamon rolls, cupcakes and other pastries. A former baker at The Black Forest Cafe in Amherst, Bird now accepts custom orders and works with multiple local businesses to sell her baked goods, including the Bookery (844 Elm St., Manchester), Apotheca Flowers (24 Main St., Goffstown) and Revelstoke Coffee (100 N. Main St., Concord). Custom orders can be placed with a preferred two-week notice.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

My offset spatula.

What would you have for your last meal?

Pizza. If I had to pick one … it would be a white pizza.

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

Jason Momoa, because I love him and he brings me so much joy.

What is your favorite thing that you bake?

Definitely my doughnuts. After pizza, doughnuts are my favorite food. … I do flavors like maple bacon, Nutella, creme brulee, pumpkin, apple, glazed … [and] I just did a chicken and waffle one last week that was a pretty big hit.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

Right now, I’d say my favorite is Surfside Burger Bar, over in Meredith. They are amazing. Every single thing on their menu is so good, and the vibe is so cool.

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

Taking something that’s average and doing something extra. … One of my favorite places that does that is Industry East Bar [in Manchester], with their hot dogs. They did a crab rangoon one and I lost my mind. That was my favorite.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

I make a really killer chicken noodle soup.

“Any cereal” Krispie treats
From the kitchen of Trina Bird of the Bird Food Baking Co. in Goffstown

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
8 cups marshmallows
2 cups mini marshmallows
6 cups cereal (Rice Krispies, Fruity Pebbles, Lucky Charms, or any cereal of choice)
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Line an 8×8- or 9×9-inch pan with parchment paper and nonstick spray. In a large pot over medium heat, brown the butter and stir in the eight cups of marshmallows until just melted. Remove from the heat, add the cereal and salt and stir until just coated. Fold in the remaining two cups of mini marshmallows. Press the mix into your pan and let it set. Cut into squares to share and serve.

Featured photo: Trina Bird. Courtesy photo.

Celebrations to remember

Bedford’s Boho Pop-Up Picnic offers luxury picnic setups

A new business based in Bedford is aiming to take away the stress of planning a special event while turning celebrations into uniquely customizable experiences.

Boho Pop-Up Picnic — short for “bohemian,” which is the style of the company’s locally built picnic tables — is owned and operated by Tanya Tobin and her husband, Matt. Since their launch earlier this year, the couple has provided elevated picnic setups for events large and small with all kinds of themes and add-ons to fit the occasion. They’ll also often partner with local businesses for small food enhancements like cakes, cupcakes and charcuterie boards.

Tobin, who has always had a passion for the holidays and for hosting events, said she became inspired after following other similar luxury picnic setup concepts out on the West Coast.

“I hadn’t seen anything like this on the East Coast and in New Hampshire, so I wanted to bring it to this area,” she said. “It has had a bigger and quicker response than I anticipated. … I’ve found that a lot of people either didn’t know about it or they came across it during a search of trying to find ways to celebrate an anniversary or a birthday or a bridal or baby shower.”

Whether it’s a romantic indoor or outdoor picnic for two or a more involved gathering in a public park, Tobin has handled it all. Inquiries can be filled out on Boho Pop-Up Picnic’s website.

A standard picnic setup would include low sitting tables and all plates, utensils, placemats and napkins, plus any wine glasses, baskets, and small chalkboards with a custom written message. Umbrellas, fresh flowers, bar carts, cornhole sets and ice buckets can be added too.

“They tell me what the theme is, and I try to incorporate their idea the best that I can to match what’s being celebrated,” Tobin said. “I do the setup about an hour before the event, and then they have the event for two hours. Then I pick up and clean up everything after.”

Tobin has also formed relationships with local bakeries like Frederick’s Pastries, Queen City Cupcakes and the Bearded Baking Co., as well as 603 Charcuterie and The Grazing State, which offer customizable charcuterie boards and boxes to go. Personal snack-sized charcuterie boxes, boxed waters or seltzers are provided to each member of the party.

While many of the more specialized picnics take place at clients’ homes, Tobin has done setups in public places. A recent picnic she organized overlooked Lake Massabesic in Manchester, and she’s also travelled to the Seacoast to put together picnics by the beach.

You don’t even need to wait for someone’s birthday or baby shower to come up either, as Tobin offers a few of her own preset picnic themes. The “Game Day” pop-up, for instance, is football-themed with a faux green grass football field table runner and a mini chalkboard scoreboard, while the “Popcorn & Movie Night” pop-up, available for up to four hours, features a popcorn machine, a movie projector and a 10-foot screen all provided by Tobin herself. She has also done sleepover pop-up parties for kids that will often have themes of their own.

Indoor and outdoor events can still be booked both now and during peak dates early next year.

Boho Pop-Up Picnic

Visit bohopopuppicnic.com or follow them on Facebook and Instagram @bohopopuppicnicnh to submit an event inquiry.

Featured photo: Photos courtesy of Tanya Tobin.

Clams on wheels

Former Clam Haven owner returns with new seafood truck

Lobster Roll

For more than three decades Derry native Rick Metts owned and operated Clam Haven, a seasonal takeout eatery that has served generations of fried seafood lovers since 1954. Now, after passing the Clam Haven torch on to Lisa DeSisto of Rig A Tony’s in early 2020, Metts has returned to the local food scene with his newest business venture.

It’s called the One Happy Clam food truck, and more than a catchy play on words, its name perfectly suits Metts, who views the experience as a new chapter of a career doing what he loves. The truck officially hit the road last month and has made appearances at several spots across Derry and Londonderry since then, its menu items featuring the culinary prowess of Metts, with his children, grandchildren and wife of 45 years all helping out.

“I had talked about possibly doing a food truck … [and] had done a lot of research and spent a lot of the time my last few years at Clam Haven planning it,” Metts said. “My wife and I took a trip down to Florida. … We went to a couple of food truck builders down there, looked at what it would cost and came back home with lots of ideas.”

He found what would become One Happy Clam, a truck with a nearly brand new kitchen built out in mid-2019, through a private seller on Facebook Marketplace.

Grilled Cheese with Lobster

In many ways Metts has simply picked up where he left off — he’s using the same seafood suppliers he has been in touch with since his first season at Clam Haven back in 1987. Each and every menu item is made to order, and while it’s a scaled back version of what Metts cooked at the restaurant, you’ll still find many of his tried and true staples here, from lobster rolls with mayonnaise or butter to whole belly clam rolls and fried haddock sandwiches.

“We tried a new item that’s called a clam cake down in Rhode Island, but basically everywhere else it’s called a fritter,” Metts said. “It’s just a fried dough ball and I put bacon in it.”

Other options have included fried pickles, chicken tenders, burgers and lobster grilled cheeses, and Metts is looking into adding a few more seafood dishes like shrimp rolls and fish and chips.

While he hasn’t yet found a regular spot to park the truck, Metts said his goal is to eventually get into a routine, cooking at four or five designated locations in and around Derry and Londonderry while also scheduling some private catering jobs.

“It’s been a good experience so far, not being tied to a brick and mortar,” he said. “If I can get four or five years out of this, I can walk away and go do something else.”

One Happy Clam food truck

Follow owner Rick Metts on Facebook @onehappyclam and on Instagram @1happyclam for updates, or email him at richardmmetts@gmail.com.

Featured photo: Rick Metts. All photos courtesy of One Happy Clam.

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