Category: Food

Clever pear mocktail

  • 1 ounce pear syrup (see below)
  • Juice of 1 lime (about 1 ounce) + the carcass of half the lime
  • 3 ounces pineapple juice
  • 3 ounces club soda

Add the pear syrup, lime and pineapple juices, and half of the squeezed lime over ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake thoroughly.

Pour everything, including the ice, into a Collins glass. Top with club soda, then stir gently. Garnish with a paper umbrella or a plastic dinosaur. Drink with a straw. Because, reasons.

Pear syrup

  • 2 pears, or five or six little ones (300 g)
  • ½ cup (99 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (225 g) water

Wash several pears, but don’t worry about peeling or coring them. Chop them into medium dice, then put them in the freezer for a few hours or overnight, until they are completely frozen.

Imagine that you are very tiny and have just moved into a new home — the inside of a pear cell. You have just finished getting your tiny apartment set up — the cookbooks are shelved, you’ve placed your lamps and tiny houseplants arranged just so. You put some jazz on your tiny sound system — maybe “Autumn Leaves” by the Bill Evans Trio — and have put your feet up and are relaxing. Unknown to you, the big lummox who lives outside the pear chops it into pieces. It’s like an earthquake and shocks you off your recliner, onto your tiny floor. You shout and shake your fist at the cell walls, but suddenly, the temperature starts to plummet. To your horror, the cell rumbles, and giant ice crystals start bursting through the walls, tearing brutal holes in them.

It only gets worse from there.

The point of this is that by freezing fruit, you poke holes through all its cell walls, which makes it collapse and release juice better when you make your syrup.

Combine the frozen pear pieces, the sugar and the water in a saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, until it comes to a boil. Simmer the mixture for 20 minutes. About 10 minutes in, hit the pear pieces with a potato masher to encourage them to submit to the syrup process.

Remove the pear pan from the stove and let it cool for an hour or so. Strain into a jar or a small bottle, and store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Featured photo. Photo by John Fladd.

What was missing was a bakery

Sugar Street Buns keeps it local in Milford

“We are a bun bakery,” said Alyssa Guzman, the owner and head baker of Sugar Street Buns in Milford. “We [make] four to five different buns every month. We will always have our original cinnamon bun, and then we do one or two other specialty sweet items. Right now we’ve got a peanut butter and jelly bun and a fluffernutter bun. We always have two savory options for the people who don’t like things too sweet. It is our same sweet dough that we use, but it’s got a savory filling. So, right now, we have a ham and cheese — it’s Swiss cheese with Dijon mustard and Black Forest ham. And then we have a spinach and artichoke bun, which is one of my favorites. It has spinach, artichoke, mozzarella, parm — all the good stuff.”

Guzman is originally from southwest Florida but moved to the Northeast about three years ago, she said.

“My fiancé and I started out in Boston. We wanted to try something different. He’s originally from Connecticut. He wanted to come back this way. I’ve never experienced seasons. So we took a leap and moved to Boston. I worked at the Four Seasons for a year, but the city was not for me. We wanted to settle down, buy a house somewhere. I had never ever been to New Hampshire. And my fiancé was like, “Oh no, I think you’re really going to like New Hampshire. And he was right.”

“We came to see a house,” Guzman continued. “We ended up loving the house; we bought the house. And it’s two minutes away from the Oval. And after we put an offer in on the house we came to Sunday’s [Ice Cream Shop] in the Oval. We got ice cream. And we’re sitting here. And we’re like, this is absolutely perfect. This downtown area is adorable. But what they’re missing is a bakery. Why doesn’t Milford have a bakery? They had a bunch of restaurants and bars, but what it was missing was a bakery.”

Guzman’s bakery on the Oval in Milford has been open for just over a month.

“This is now our fourth week.” she said “And we have had a line every single weekend and sometimes even on Wednesdays when we open up during the week. It’s unbelievable.”

One of Guzman’s goals for the bakery has been to reflect the local community, she said. “We had to build the entire space. So it was a retail space, and it was all carpet. My kitchen is downstairs in the finished basement, but it wasn’t finished all the way to what I needed. So I had to create the whole kitchen downstairs, and then upstairs I totally transformed it with the help of all of the community people. I take a lot of pride in my shop and the fact that just about every single thing from the shop is local — my plumber, my electrician, my carpenter who made all of my tables, I had two artists do all of the paintings and paint my case and my walls and do this beautiful, beautiful art. And I try to keep it going with my coffee. It comes from Union [Coffee Co. in Milford]. My tea comes from 27 Teas in downtown Manchester. And we’re slowly starting to have all of our food come from local people. Right now I’m switching my cheeses to a local sheep farmer and I’m super excited about that. But it’s little things like that and I’m trying to bring the community into what I am doing and try to keep it as local as possible.”

Sugar Street Buns
Where: 227 Union Square, Unit 1, in Milford
Hours: Wednesdays through Fridays, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. According to Sugar Street Buns’ Facebook page, the bakery will be closed for the owner’s wedding and reopen for Pumpkinfest on Friday, Oct. 9.
More: sugarstreetbuns.com

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Showing off chocolate from near and far

Annual expo returns to Manchester

Tickets are on sale online for the annual Chocolate Expo in Manchester, happening Oct. 11.

“This is Year 4 for the Chocolate Expo in Manchester,” said Cristy Bergeron-Charest, “but this is our 20th year of producing events.” Bergeron-Charest works for Baum Image Group, the company that puts on the Expo.

She said that after so many years of staging events her company has learned that an important aspect of staging an expo for something as popular as chocolate is providing something for everybody.

Many of the people who attend chocolate expos just love chocolate, she said, and want to learn about new chocolate products.

“New Hampshire favorite Van Otis Chocolates is joining us this year, and Loon Chocolate as well, but we also have a lot of vendors that are coming up from New York and Long Island as well joining us. We have [French macaron maker] Mariela’s Bakery, which is coming up from Rhode Island. We have a vegan and dairy-free chocolatier, [but] we’ve got Bacon Bites, who has been on Food Network, and he has dark chocolate-covered bacon, milk chocolate-covered bacon. He’s got some great pairings with bacon and chocolate that you would never think go together. We have Vivilicious, which is coming up from Massachusetts, and she has Brazilian chocolate, beautiful truffles, delicious truffles. Worldwide Chocolate is our sponsor; they’re out of Rochester, New Hampshire, and they provide chocolate from around the world. But you have small businesses. La Nef out of Maine; her chocolate wrappers have a digital downloadable MP3 — you can digitally download their music from their chocolate wrappers.”

Other chocolate fans are interested in the technical side of chocolate making, Bergeron-Charest said.

“For the Chocolate Expo,” she said, “we’re always interested in the new trends, and trends are changing for sure. And we find that sourcing your chocolate locally is one of them. We have some chocolate makers that actually have chocolates made in Paris that come to the Chocolate Expo. These are chocolates you’re not going to find everywhere else. And they’ll tell you how it’s sourced. They’ll tell you the process of turning beans into bars. Loon Chocolate is very informative. He actually takes the stage at our Chocolate Expo event and he tells you about making chocolate from global to local. He’ll take the stage and guests can ask questions and ask, ‘How is this chocolate made? Where do you source it from?’ Companies like Villakuyaya, who joins us, all of her chocolate is sourced in Ecuador. Vivilicious, her chocolates for her tasty bonbons are actually sourced in Brazil. So we’re finding that people really are liking that, you know, instead of going to a store and just buying chocolate off the shelf. Our guests are loving that you get to sit there and buy a chocolate from a chocolate maker that’s at the event that two days before made their chocolate themselves.”

Other people come to enjoy the spectacle, Bergeron-Charest said. “We have the cast from the movie The Sandlot from the ’90s, and they’re coming, meeting fans, signing autographs, and then you get to sample chocolate. There’s an 11-pound chocolate-smash; volunteers are called upon to come up on stage and smash it open and then share it with the audience. We have a balloon scavenger hunt for kids. We have a world-renowned balloon twister who has larger-than-life balloon sculptures. And our guests can take photos with the balloon sculptures — they’re 10, 12 feet tall.”

The Chocolate Expo
Where: DoubleTree Expo Center, 700 Elm St., Manchester
When: Sunday, Oct. 11, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tickets: Timed-entry tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children 5-12. Children under 5 are free. Online “Late-Day Special” tickets are $10 per person, for admission after 4 p.m. Online only VIP tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for children, which includes early preview admission at 9 a.m., plus priority admission at any time. Tickets at the door are $30 for adults, and $15 for children. Visit thechocolateexpo.com/nh-doubletree-expo-center-tickets.
More: A list of vendors is available at thechocolateexpo.com/vendors-new-hampshire.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 26/10/01

• Book club with wine: Wine on Main (9 N. Main St., Concord, 897-5828, wineonmainnh.com) will host its next book club night Thursday, Oct. 1, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. October’s book is murder-thriller The Last Time We Saw Her by Jaclyn Goldis. There will be a guided discussion by local writer and author Jocely Winn, a wine tasting of four wines inspired by the book, light snacks and more. The cost is $33.85 through Wine on Main’s website.

• Pies at Stone Mountain: Stone Mountain Farm (522 Laconia Road, Belmont, 731-2493, stonemtnfarm.com) will hold its fifth annual apple pie baking contest on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 10:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. All entries must be two-crust apple pies, cooked in disposable foil pans. They must be all apple, without other fruits or fruit juices. Prizes will be $100 for first place and the Golden Apple Trophy. Second place is $50 and third place is $25. To enter text Cindy at 731-2644 with your name and phone number or send a message through Facebook.

• Bringing in the grapes: Black Bear Vineyard (289 New Road, Salisbury, 648-2811, blackbearvineyard.com) will celebrate its annual harvest from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, and Sunday, Oct. 4. Watch as freshly picked grapes are brought in and processed through the crusher-destemmer, and see them transformed into fresh juice for future wine. Enjoy live music and explore a market of local vendors. Bring a chair and come early. Visit blackbearvineyard.com.

• Chili and beer: The annual Powder Keg Beer & Chili Festival will take place in Swasey Parkway in downtown Exeter on Saturday, Oct. 3, with general admission at 1 p.m., noon for VIP ticket holders, according to powderkegbeerfest.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Sunshine Supper: The Bookery (844 Elm St., Manchester, 836-6600, bookerymht.com) will host the Second Annual Sunshine Supper Series Dinner Saturday, Oct. 3, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Harper’s Eden Catering will serve seasonal, story-driven dishes inspired by sunshine, warmth, and the beauty of gathering around the table. Tickets are $100 each through the Bookery’s website. Part of the proceeds will support Project Sweet Peas (projectsweetpeas.com), which supports NICU and bereaved families.

• Boot and tassels cake decorating: Make Sweet Art (978-300-0494, linktr.ee/MakeSweetArt) will hold a Western-themed hands-on guided cake decoration party Sunday, Oct. 4, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at The Farm and Flower (4 Maple Knoll Drive, thefarmandflower.com). Included in each ticket is instruction for all skill levels, a prebaked cake, colored buttercream, and essential decorations and tools. There will be instruction and demonstration in piping, fondant, and other decorating techniques. Tickets are $78 through Make Sweet Art’s website.

• Sushi and Soju: Local Street Eats (112 W. Pearl St., Nashua, 402-4435, local-streeteats.com) will present an evening of SUSHI + SOJU: ROLL. SIP. SEOUL., An Interactive Sushi Rolling + Soju Experience, Wednesday, Oct. 7, from 6 to 8 p.m. This will be an interactive night where you’ll learn the art of sushi-rolling while sipping your way through perfectly paired soju cocktails. Tickets are $96.81 through the Local Street Eats website.

The Weekly Dish 26/09/24

By John Fladd
jfladd@hippopress.com

• NH Brewfest has been canceled: In a Sept. 10 press release, the Prescott Park Arts Festival, in partnership with the Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA), District New England, announced that the annual New Hampshire Brewfest normally held in Prescott Park in Portsmouth will not take place in 2026. “This year’s decision to pause the event follows careful consideration of a number of factors,” the announcement read, “including ongoing challenges in securing a suitable location, broader headwinds facing the craft beer industry, and a festival landscape that continues to evolve.“

• Wines of the world and charcuterie: On Friday, Sept. 25, beginning at 5:30 p.m., Tuscan Market (Tuscan Village, 9 Via Toscana, Salem, 912-5467, tuscanbrands.com) will host a guided evening where its sommeliers will lead participants on a tour through wine regions from Italy and France to Spain, Argentina and beyond. Sample a curated flight paired with an artisan cheese and charcuterie board built from the market: aged Parmigiano Reggiano, creamy taleggio, Prosciutto di Parma, salami, olives, honey and freshly baked bread. Tickets are $65 each through the Tuscan Market website.

• Dolly Day: Friday, Sept. 25, is Dolly Day at To Share Brewing (720 Union St., Manchester, 836-6947, tosharebrewing.com). Wear your best Dolly fashion, support a great cause, and drink excellent beer. Ten percent of all sales will be donated to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program to put books in the hands of children. There will be beer, food and nonalcoholic drinks available from 4 to 9 p.m.

• To Share Oktoberfest: To Share Brewing’s (720 Union St., Manchester, 836-6947, tosharebrewing.com) 8th Annual Oktoberfest will be held Saturday, Sept. 26, from 1 to 8 p.m. In an announcement on Facebook the brewery referred to this event as their “biggest day of the year, packed with German-inspired food, great beer, games, prizes, and plenty of reasons to raise a stein.” It also marks the release of To Share’s Oktoberfest Altbier. Admission is free. So is the fun.

• Fall cookie decorating: Station 101 (193 Union Square, Milford, 249-5416, station101nh.com) will host an evening of cookie decorating with Posy Cottage Cookies (801-7590, posycottagecookies.com) Monday, Sept. 28, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Learn five early autumn-themed cookie designs with four colors of royal icing. Posy Cottage Cookies will provide all the materials needed to create beautiful and delicious cookies. Tickets are $64.80 each through the Posy Cottage website.

One day of Greek goodies

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church will hold its annual Greek Food Festival

By John Fladd
jfladd@hippopress.com

On Saturday, Sept. 26, the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Concord will hold its annual Greek Food Festival, the last of the region’s Greek festivals for the year. Constantine Newman is the priest at Holy Trinity.

“It’s a one-day festival,” he said. “We feature a lot of good Greek food, all of it homemade, favorites like the lamb kebabs and the chicken kebabs, moussaka, pastitsio, Greek meatballs and spanakopita. On the line we’ll have gyros and the ladies have a whole setup of Greek pastries that they’re selling.”

The Greek Food Festival is Holy Trinity’s biggest fundraiser of the year, Newman said. “This helps us get through the year. But it’s also a lot of fun, too. It’s not just a monetary thing, but it’s nice for showcasing Greek culture and food and just having a nice time together.”

While months of preparation go into the Festival, he said, there is always a last-minute scramble to get everything ready in time for the big day. “Some of the things we can prepare ahead of time. Some of the things though, you can’t really freeze them well, so we do them in the last week. Of course, all the meat that we get has to be cut and trimmed and then put on the skewers. It has to be marinated, so that can only be done in the last week. [In the days before the Festival] we will be doing the moussaka, the baklava, the galaktoboureko, and then all the meat stuff.” All the meat will be finished on the grill, he said.

For many Greek food enthusiasts, the acid test of a festival is the spanikopita — spinach and feta cheese sandwiched in many layers of buttered, paper-thin phyllo dough. Margaret Gegas is the head of the Spanikopita Committee. She said a really good spanikopita has only a few ingredients but they have to be of the best quality. “We put in a lot of fresh spinach — not frozen — and we use a good amount of feta cheese crumbled in each pan and olive oil. Every layer of phyllo is buttered. We put in the pita — maybe 25 sheets each of phyllo dough. At home, some cook might put dill, and they may put a lot of dill, or a lot of spearmint, but we do not alter that flavor because one may not like dill, one may not like spearmint, so we just stick to the recipe we have with scallions, and it blends very well with spinach and olive oil.”

Even more important, Gegas said, is to have a bone-deep understanding of the particular oven it is baked in.

“It is a lot of work,” Gegas said, “and baking it correctly is crucial. [Our spanikopita] are baked in a convection oven so they have to be watched carefully.” She said even if somebody used the exact same techniques and ingredients but tried to make the same recipe in their home oven, their timing and temperature would be off. After years of experience, Gegas and her team know that in the church’s ovens a batch of spanikopita should take exactly one hour.

“They go in,” she said, “but we.check them and change the position [of the pans] in the oven, just to be sure all the air is circulating correctly with each pan. We’ve made 35 pans this year.”

The Spanikopita Committee does not monitor the internal temperature of the pans while they bake, Gegas said. “It’s by eye and timing. We time them. … So after an hour, we know how it should look. It’s about the browning; if they’re not brown on top, they’re not ready. So it all works out together — the baking and the color.”

Greek Food Festival
When: Saturday, Sept. 26, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Where: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 68 N. State St., Concord
More: holytrinitynh.org

Featured photo: Kids’ activities at a previous festival. Courtesy photo.

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