Category: Food

In the kitchen with Nicole Chalfant

Nicole Chalfant of Derry is the owner and founder of Bungalow Bakes (bungalowbakes.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @bungalowbakes), offering a variety of scratch-baked cakes, cupcakes, scones, biscuits, sweet breads and other items available to order. Named after her bungalow home in Derry where she first launched her business, Chalfant now bakes in a commercial kitchen at The Grind Rail Trail Cafe (5 W. Broadway) downtown, which also regularly features her items. She’ll often collaborate with craft breweries in town too, including baking sourdough loaves for the weekly sandwich specials available at From the Barrel Brewing Co. (1 Corporate Park Drive). Cask & Vine (1½ E. Broadway), meanwhile, almost always carries one of Chalfant’s own cheesecake flavors on its dessert menu.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

My KitchenAid mixer. She was a birthday present from my husband. Her name is Buttah, because she is butter yellow. We’ve gone through a lot together and she has never failed me!

What would you have for your last meal?

My husband and I traveled to Tuscany last April and we stayed at an agriturismo, which was this beautiful farmhouse on an olive farm. We took a cooking class with a chef and his wife and the woman who owns the farm, and we spent the whole afternoon with them, learning how to make pasta and we made a ragu and we made tiramisu from scratch. … I would do all of that again. It was the most amazing meal I’ve ever had.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

It’s been The Grind and Cask & Vine [both in downtown Derry]. They are both amazingly passionate about what they do and about supporting local businesses.

What celebrity would you like to see trying something you have baked?

I think it would be Mary Berry. … I fell in love with her on The Great British Bake Off and her other cooking competitions, because she is so knowledgeable and yet so gentle, and she wouldn’t say mean things about your food, ever. She just seems like a delightful human being.

What is your favorite thing to bake for someone?

I love doing babies’ first birthday cakes. I’ve done a lot of them — I have 14 nieces and nephews between my husband’s family and my family, and they are all under the age of 8 at the moment, so in the last 10 years I’ve done a ton of baby’s first birthday cupcakes and smash cakes. … I love when they just get in there and get the frosting all over themselves.

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

Something that I really love is the use of local ingredients and smaller makers. I try really hard to source ingredients locally, and seasonally, when possible.

What is your favorite thing to make at home?

That would be Henrietta’s pound cake. … Henrietta was a friend of my grandmother’s back when she lived in upstate New York. This pound cake is a huge family recipe. It always gets made by my mother and my aunts, and it’s my favorite thing to eat. … It’s just simple and delicious and it reminds me of my family. I can’t make it too often because I would eat the whole thing.

Henrietta’s pound cake
From the kitchen of Nicole Chalfant of Bungalow Bakes in Derry

1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup milk, at room temperature
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Sliced almonds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt or tube pan. Sprinkle a few sliced almonds in the bottom of the pan. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Set aside. Using a mixer, cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and the almond extract and mix thoroughly. Add the flour mixture in three portions, alternating with the milk, mixing lightly in between additions. Spoon the thick batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Slice and enjoy.


Featured photo: Nicole Chalfant, owner and founder of Bungalow Bakes in Derry. Courtesy photo.

Liquid gold

New Hampshire Maple Weekend returns with sugarhouse tours, syrup samples and more

March is prime maple season in New Hampshire, and sugarhouses large and small are inviting you to partake in a celebration of the sweet stuff. During New Hampshire Maple Weekend — returning on Saturday, March 18, and Sunday, March 19 — there will be opportunities at participating sugarhouses for visitors to attend free tours, view maple syrup making demonstrations and sample all kinds of exclusive maple-flavored goodies.

The weekend is overseen by the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association, a nonprofit founded in 1943 that today represents more than 350 maple purveyors statewide. A full list of participating sugarhouses and their Maple Weekend plans is available on the NHMPA website.

On March 13, during the annual gubernatorial tree tapping at the Remick Country Doctor Museum & Farm in Tamworth, Gov. Chris Sununu announced a proclamation officially recognizing March 2023 as Maple Month in the state of New Hampshire. The Granite State ranks seventh in the nation in the total production of maple syrup, according to the proclamation, and generates about $10 million in sales revenue annually from syrup and other maple products.

Andrew Chisholm, president of the NHMPA, is a maple producer himself — he runs Chisholm Farm in Hampstead, which is known for its flavored syrups, from cinnamon and vanilla to cardamom-infused syrup. During Maple Weekend he’ll also have maple ice cream that’s produced by Shaw Farm, just over the state line in Dracut, Mass.

Chisholm has been at the forefront of promoting the maple syrup industry in New Hampshire, which he said has steadily been on the upswing statewide as an agricultural product. On Sept. 5, 2022, the NHMPA received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to execute a marketing campaign for promoting maple syrup “beyond pancake’s best friend” — Chisholm said this will include an overhaul of the Association website, with the goal to improve its user-friendliness among maple producers and consumers. The grant cites that in 2021 New Hampshire was the No. 1 exporter of maple syrup and maple sugar in the United States.

“That’s really been my focus over the last year, is trying to promote maple as a natural sweetener that has a lot of minerals that we’re trying to get on a daily basis anyway,” Chisholm said.

Here’s a look at how this year’s maple season has gone so far for some in southern New Hampshire, plus what you can expect when you visit a local sugarhouse on Maple Weekend.

Maple madness

Although they welcome visitors all month long for weekend tours, Journey’s End Maple Farm, a small family-run operation in Pittsfield, turns into a syrup lover’s destination on Maple Weekend.

“There are literally hundreds and hundreds of people that come through that weekend,” said Amy Lemire, whose fiance, Marty Boisvert, runs the maple production at Journey’s End. “It’s crazy busy, but it’s fun. … The great thing too is that right in our area there are numerous maple producers, so we find that a lot of families are coming out and making a whole day of it.”

Both days, Journey’s End will be serving treats like maple shakes and maple sundaes, plus “sap dogs,” or slightly sweeter versions of hot dogs, cooked in sap water. They also host vendor pop-up events, with onsite purveyors offering everything from microgreens, homemade artisan breads, jams and jellies to candles, home decor, birdhouses, woodworking signs and more.

“We’ll be boiling sap and we’ll be giving samples of product … right off the evaporator,” Lemire said. “We also set up a maple tree and we kind of simulate tapping it for the kids, so it’s a good learning experience for them.”

At Ice Mountain Maple in Boscawen there will be maple fudge, maple candy and maple coffee. The evaporator will also be running all day, inviting visitors to see the maple production process. Established in the fall of 2019, Ice Mountain Maple is also a small family-run sugarhouse that spent its first season tapping trees the following year.

“Last year we had the most people we’ve ever had,” said Chrisi Gray, who owns Ice Mountain Maple with her husband, Jon. “It’s just phenomenal to see how popular it’s become.”

In addition to its own treats, Ice Mountain Maple is partnering with Confections by Kate, a baking business based in Boscawen.

“She uses our syrup exclusively for her baked goods that feature maple,” Gray said, “so we’re going to have her baked goods in our sugarhouse this year as well.”

In Chester, Folsom’s Sugar House plans to have ongoing tours throughout each day of Maple Weekend and will be providing samples of maple syrup and maple cream.

“We explain to people how we tap the trees, the collection of the sap and bringing it back to the sugarhouse, and then the process of boiling it,” co-owner Brian Folsom said. “We also talk about how we use the reverse osmosis to concentrate the sap and then how we bring it to a finished product … and then we have a little store where they can go in and sample or purchase our different products.”

man distilling maple syrup at farm
Journey’s End Maple Farm in Pittsfield. Courtesy photo.

Folsom said that on a good day he can collect between 600 and 900 gallons of sap from the trees, collected in five-gallon pails from tree to tree across nearly two dozen locations and gathered in a large tank in the back of his truck.

It takes roughly 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. But using reverse osmosis, Folsom said, they’re able to save time and energy by concentrating the sap, producing the same amount of syrup by the use of just 15 gallons.

After the reverse osmosis process, the sap goes through an evaporator, which boils between 60 and 70 gallons an hour on average. Visitors then learn about how the syrup is filtered and bottled, as well as the four types of Grade A syrup that are produced and how each is different in flavor and color.

“We have golden, which is a very light, delicate maple flavor, and then we go on to the amber, a nice rich maple flavor that we’re making,” Folsom said. “Then we get into the dark and then there’s very dark, a very strong robust maple flavor. All of those four are considered Grade A.”

Let the sap flow

As a whole, sugarhouses across the Granite State are well ahead of where they were at this time last year, according to Chisholm, thanks to a steady combination of mild days and cold nights.

“I know a lot of producers in southern New Hampshire and even in Vermont were producing maple syrup in January, which is incredibly unusual,” he said. “Some of them that I spoke with had already produced 40 percent of their 2022 crop by Valentine’s Day of this year. … We got a little nervous around then, because it was getting really warm and wasn’t cooling off at night, but then … as we got into late February and early March, we had that pretty hard freeze for a few days, and that’s exactly what we needed right there at that time.”

Chisholm said the recent late-season winter storm that blanketed much of the state in 8 to 14 inches of snow on March 4 was also very beneficial for maple producers.

“The snow actually helps the trees, because it keeps kind of a refrigerator effect going in the woods,” he said. “It really does help extend the season for us a bit, because if you think about it, as we get into that early spring sun in March, if there’s no snow in the woods, it will heat the ground faster and the woods don’t retain some of that cold weather that we need for the sap to run.”

Folsom said he produced more syrup this February than he has in any February of the last 30 years.

“The start of this month has already been very strong for us, so we’re going to end up with an excellent season,” he said. “If it had warmed up and stayed warm, our season would have ended. But that hasn’t been the case.”

Ideal temperatures for maple producers are around 40 to 45 degrees during the day, and 20 to 25 degrees at night. For many, Chisholm said, the maple season could stretch into early April this year the way the forecast is trending.

“We haven’t seen an April flow of sap around in the southern part of the state for a while,” he said. “Up north it’s very common. You go north of the Franconia Notch and they are typically into April just because of the latitude up there and the little microclimates that they can get in some of the valleys.”

New Hampshire Maple Weekend
When: Saturday, March 18, and Sunday, March 19
Where: Participating sugarhouses and farms statewide
Visit: nhmapleproducers.com
For a full list of participating sugarhouses, click the “Find a Sugarhouse” tab on the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association website. Some will be offering maple sugaring tours and demonstrations, while others will be selling and providing samples of their own maple syrup and a variety of maple-infused products.

Joyce’s maple shortbread cookies
Courtesy of Journey’s End Maple Farm in Pittsfield (makes about 50 small cookies)

2 sticks butter
¼ cup Journey’s End dark maple syrup
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon maple extract
2½ cups flour
Journey’s End granulated maple sugar

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Cream together the butter, maple syrup, brown sugar and maple flavoring until light and fluffy. Add the flour and mix well. Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured board to 1/4 inch thickness. Using small cookie cutters, cut out and place onto an ungreased baking sheet. Use a small fork to make light dents in the cookie tops. Sprinkle the tops lightly with maple sugar. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Asian maple Brussels sprouts
Courtesy of Ice Mountain Maple in Boscawen

3 to 4 cups Brussels sprouts, halved
3 Tablespoons dark maple syrup
2 Tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
3 to 4 shakes Cholula sauce

Toss all the ingredients into a bowl. Set aside for 15 minutes. After marinating, spread the Brussels sprouts evenly in a greased roasting pan. Roast in a 450-degree oven for 20 minutes — a multipurpose toaster oven on the Roast setting works best, according to Ice Mountain Maple co-owner Chrisi Gray. Note that the cooking time might vary, based on the size of the Brussels sprouts.

Featured photo: Photo courtesy of Ice Mountain Maple in Boscawen.

The Weekly Dish 23/03/16

News from the local food scene

• Wine in the dark: Join LaBelle Winery for a blindfolded wine tasting at its Amherst facility (345 Route 101) on Wednesday, March 22, from 6 to 7 p.m. During this session led by LaBelle wine educator and sommelier Marie King, participants will be blindfolded and must rely on their senses of smell and taste to identify five of the vineyard’s wines. No previous knowledge of wine is required — just a curiosity and a desire to learn about and taste wine. A similar class is also planned at LaBelle’s Derry location (14 Route 111) on Wednesday, April 12. The cost is $40 per person and advance registration is required. Visit labellewinery.com.

• Brews and eats at the golf course: Get your tickets now for a special 603 beer dinner happening at Stonebridge Country Club (161 Gorham Pond Road, Goffstown) on Saturday, March 25, from 5 to 9 p.m. The three-course prix fixe menu will feature selections from Ed Ceccherini, executive chef of the club’s Drumlins Restaurant, alongside craft beer pairings from Londonderry’s 603 Brewery. The cost is $40 per person (event is 21+ only) and tickets must be purchased by March 20. See golfstonebridgecc.com.

• Spring into deliciousness: Save the date for the annual spring wine and cheese festival, happening at Fulchino Vineyard (187 Pine Hill Road, Hollis) on Saturday, March 25, and Sunday, March 26, with multiple available time slots to choose from on either day, including from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $49 per person and allow attendees access to sample all kinds of cheeses, meats, seafoods and desserts from around the world during their designated time slots, in addition to complimentary samples of wine and a souvenir wine glass. Visit fulchinovineyard.com to purchase tickets in advance and to see the most up-to-date details on time slot availability.

• Edible art: And speaking of cheese, check out a charcuterie-board building class with the team at 603 Charcuterie — new classes at local breweries, wineries and restaurants across the Granite State are added to the calendar on an almost daily basis. The next available dates include a brunch-themed charcuterie class at Boards & Brews (941 Elm St., Manchester) on Sunday, March 26, at 10 a.m. as well as classes at Mountain Base Brewing (553 Mast Road, Goffstown) on Monday, March 27, at 6:30 p.m., and at KC’s Rib Shack (837 Second St., Manchester) on Monday, April 3, at 6:15 p.m. Tickets for classes usually range between $115 and $128 depending on the location (those that are held at breweries usually include two drinks in the price). Attendees get to eat all of the provided charcuterie board-building materials and even get to take their boards home. See 603charcuterie.com/classes for details.

bruschetta with drunken figs and ricotta

Bruschetta is a wonderful appetizer for a gathering. You assemble all of the toppings but leave your guests to build their own snacks. This means less work for you, as well as letting your guests choose which toppings and how much of each they want.

For this bruschetta recipe, there are a few ingredient notes. For the dried figs, you can use whatever variety you prefer. Both mission and calimyrna work well. Next, the wine needs to be on the dry side so that you don’t have an appetizer that tastes more like a dessert. Finally, store-bought ricotta is 100 percent fine, but if you’re seeking total indulgence, try homemade. (I have a recipe on the Think Tasty website.)

The most important part of this recipe is the figs. Everything else can be tweaked slightly. Have walnuts on hand? Go ahead and replace the pecans. Craving sourdough? Cut it into smaller slices and forget the baguette! Need to make the figs in advance? That’s totally fine. Add a little extra liquid to the storage container, and they’ll be delightfully moist when it’s time to serve them.

Now, give this recipe a try and see how well dried figs work in an appetizer!

Bruschetta with drunken figs and ricotta
Makes 20

1/2 cup dried figs
1 cup dry red wine
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 sprig rosemary
1/3 cup pecans
1 cup ricotta
20 baguette slices

Remove stems from figs, and cut into quarters.
Combine wine, sugar and rosemary in a small saucepan over high heat.
Once boiling, reduce heat to low, and add quartered figs.
Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While figs simmer, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Chop pecans roughly, and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for 6 to 10 minutes, giving the pan a shake after 4 minutes.
Transfer pecans to a small serving bowl.
Place baguette slices in the oven, and toast for 5 minutes or until golden brown.
When figs are done simmering, remove rosemary.
Transfer all of the figs and some of the liquid to a serving bowl.
To assemble: top 1 baguette slice with a spoonful of ricotta, a few figs and a sprinkle of pecans.

Featured photo: Bruschetta with drunken figs and ricotta. Photo by Michele Pesula Kuegler.

In the kitchen with Tony and Laurie Lomuscio

Tony and Laurie Lomuscio of Goffstown are the owners of TOLA-Rose Italian Eats (704-906-8894, [email protected], and on Facebook @tola1228 and Instagram @tolaeats2018), a food trailer offering authentic Italian options like meatball subs, sausage subs with peppers and onions, chicken or eggplant Parmesan, chocolate chip cannolis and more. The trailer gets its name by combining the couple’s first names along with that of Tony’s mother Rose, whose box of Italian recipes they regularly use in creating menu items. Now through March 30, find them at Pats Peak Ski Area (686 Flanders Road, Henniker) on Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. More public appearances in New Hampshire are in the works for the spring and summer seasons, including at Monarch Motorsports (208 Rockingham Road, Derry). This interview was mostly conducted with Laurie Lomuscio, who provided us with both her own and her husband’s answers.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

I would say our flat-top grill. Tony came up with a good one: his own two hands to make the meatballs.

What would you have for your last meal?

We both came up with the exact same answer. Lobster and steamers with corn on the cob.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

We have two. The Lobster Boat in Merrimack … and then every Sunday after work we go to the Wa Toy Chinese restaurant here in Goffstown. We always get either the house rice or the house lo mein, and then Tony likes the spare ribs on the bone and I like the Peking dumplings.

What celebrity would you like to see ordering from your food trailer?

The Boston Bruins. [We’re] huge fans [and] season ticket holders. I would say them, and Elton John.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

The meatball sub. Tony’s mother has the best recipe ever, and the most unique recipe that I’ve ever seen.

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

We said charcuterie [boards] and tapas.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

Tony said his mother’s pork chops with vinegar peppers. Mine would be my award-winning chili. … I use bison instead of ground beef, and then I use three kinds of beans, lots of onions, brown sugar, mustard and a lot of spices. And real tomatoes, not tomato sauce.

Italian sausage subs
From the kitchen of Tony and Laurie Lomuscio of TOLA-Rose Italian Eats

4 large-sized sweet Italian sausages
4 8-inch sub rolls
Red and green bell peppers
Onions
Garlic butter

Slice the peppers and onions about 1/4 inch thick. Place on a baking sheet. Place the sausages on top. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until the sausages are cooked through. Butter the rolls with garlic butter and grill in a saute pan until golden. Assemble and enjoy.


Featured photo: Tony and Laurie Lomuscio, of TOLA-Rose Italian Eats. Courtesy photo.

Going green

Corned beef and cabbage, Irish desserts and more special eats for St. Patrick’s Day

Ready for St. Patrick’s Day? Whether you’re looking to enjoy that ceremonious corned beef and cabbage dinner or you want to know where all the Guinness is being kept, check out this list of St. Paddy’s Day-related specials and happenings across southern New Hampshire’s bars and restaurants. Some are choosing to celebrate on the day itself — Friday, March 17 — while others are making an entire weekend out of the festivities with live music, comedy shows and more. For those who would rather celebrate at home, we’ve included details on some takeout specials for dinners and sweets being offered by area eateries and bakeries.

• Alpine Grove Banquet Facility (19 S. Depot Road, Hollis, 882-9051, alpinegrove.com) will host a special St. Patrick’s Day dinner and Irish comedy show on Friday, March 17. The doors open at 6 p.m., with a buffet to be served from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. — items will include corned beef and cabbage quesadillas, Irish nachos and grilled cheese bites, potato skins, Reuben sliders, Irish soda bread, corned beef and cabbage-infused macaroni and cheese, Baileys mint chocolate chip brownies and cupcakes, and more. The comedy show kicks off at 8 p.m., with appearances by Andrew Della Volpe and Al Ghanekar. Tickets are $55 and include dinner and the show.

• Atkinson Resort & Country Club (85 Country Club Drive, Atkinson, 362-8700, atkinsonresort.com) will serve corned beef and cabbage all day on Friday, March 17, at both Merrill’s Tavern and the Stagecoach Grille, beginning at 11 a.m. Call to make a reservation or place a takeout order. A special Irish comedy show will be held at 7:30 p.m. that evening, featuring comedians Steve Sweeney, Ken Rogerson and Rob Steen. Tickets are $35.

• Auburn Pitts (167 Rockingham Road, Auburn, 622-6564, auburnpitts.com) is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with corned beef dinners on Friday, March 17, and live entertainment from singer-songwriter Crazy Steve at 2 p.m.

• Averill House Vineyard (21 Averill Road, Brookline, 244-3165, averillhousevineyard.com) will serve a special four-course mystery dinner and wine pairing for St. Patrick’s Day on Friday, March 17, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $59 (the event is 21+ only) and must be purchased in advance online.

• The Biergarten at Anheuser-Busch Brewery (221 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack, 595-1202, biergartenevents.com) will hold a special St. Patrick’s Day Happy Hour celebration on Friday, March 17, from 3 to 8 p.m. Food will be available for purchase from the Sammich NH food truck, and live music from Dan Fallon will be featured from 4 to 8 p.m.

• Bonfire Country Bar (950 Elm St., Manchester, 217-5600, bonfiremanch.com) is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day all day long, opening early at 1 p.m. with drink specials and live music from Maddi Ryan (at 1 p.m.), Fat Bunny (at 5 p.m.) and the Eric Grant Band (at 9 p.m.).

• Buckley’s Market & Cafe (9 Market Place, Hollis, 465-5522, buckleysbakerycafe.com) is taking orders for St. Patrick’s Day dinner boxes for two, featuring slow-braised corned beef with potatoes, cabbage, turnip and carrots, whole-grain mustard and horseradish sauces, Irish soda bread and chocolate Guinness cupcakes with Baileys frosting for dessert. Order by March 10. Pickups will be on Friday, March 17.

• Casey Magee’s Irish Pub & Music Hall (8 Temple St., Nashua, 484-7400, caseymagees.com) is hosting a St. Patrick’s Day celebration on Saturday, March 18, featuring food and drink specials and live music from the Workin’ Stiffs Band from 8 to 11 p.m.

• City Hall Pub (8 Hanover St., Manchester, 232-3751, cityhallpub.com) will open at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 17, and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day all day long with a special Irish Reuben.

• Cruzin Cakes Shop (150 Broad St., Nashua, 882-1666, cruzincakesshop.com) is taking orders for “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” cake pop boxes, as well as other themed sweets and treats, like platters of green velvet whoopie pies, brownies, sugar cookies and chocolates. Order for pickup on Friday, March 17.

• The Derryfield Restaurant (625 Mammoth Road, Manchester, 623-2880, thederryfield.com) will open at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 17, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day all day long with corned beef and cabbage dinners, Reuben sandwiches and other Irish-themed food and drink specials. Live music will be featured by D-Comp at 5 p.m. and Last Kid Picked at 9 p.m.

• Elm House of Pizza (102 Elm St., Manchester, 232-5522, elmhop.com) will open at its normal time on Friday, March 17, at 11 a.m., celebrating St. Patrick’s Day all day long with a special corned beef and cabbage plate.

• Fody’s Great American Tavern (9 Clinton St., Nashua, 577-9015; 187 ½ Rockingham Road, Derry, 404-6946; fodystavern.com) will open at noon on Friday, March 17, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day all day long with traditional corned beef and cabbage dinners, Reuben sandwiches and Reuben fries, in addition to drink specials, giveaways and a full schedule of live music throughout the afternoon and evening. The restaurant’s Derry location, meanwhile, is opening at 8 a.m. with an Irish breakfast and will also have live music, boiled dinners, drink specials and more.

• Frederick’s Pastries (109 Route 101A, Amherst, 882-7725; 25 S. River Road, Bedford, 647-2253; pastry.net) is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with all kinds of seasonally inspired sweets and treats, like Guinness cupcakes and tortes, mint chocolate chip cupcakes, Irish flag shamrock cookies, Baileys Irish cream tortes, pot-of-gold cakes and — new this year — cookie kits with shamrock-shaped butter cookies.

• The Goat Bar and Grill (50 Old Granite St., Manchester, 844-603-4628, goatnh.com) is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day all weekend long, with featured brunch specials from Friday, March 17, through Sunday, March 19, plus Irish coffee, green beer, live music, and a chance to win a trip to Ireland, sponsored by 97.5 WOKQ Radio (registrants must enter by 11 a.m. on Friday, March 17).

• Great North Aleworks (1050 Holt Ave., Unit 14, Manchester, 858-5789, greatnorthaleworks.com) will host a special post-St. Patrick’s Day celebration on Sunday, March 19, from 12:30 to 5 p.m., featuring live music from The Pop Farmers and a kitchen pop-up from The Potato Concept, serving their loaded twice-baked potatoes in a variety of seasonal flavors. The brewery is set to release its Nitro Dry Irish stout on tap that day.

• Holy Grail Food & Spirits (64 Main St., Epping, 679-9559, holygrailrestaurantandpub.com) is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day all day long on Friday, March 17, with live music from Max Sullivan (from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and Penhallow (from 3 to 6 p.m.), in addition to a kitchen party with Irish-inspired food and drink specials from 7 to 10 p.m.

• Jamison’s (472 Route 111, Hampstead, 489-1565, jamisonsrestaurant.com) will offer several seasonally themed specials for St. Patrick’s Day on Friday, March 17, including boiled corned beef and cabbage dinners, Guinness beef stew, Irish nachos with corned beef, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing, Reuben egg rolls and shepherd’s pie.

• LaBelle Winery Amherst (345 Route 101, Amherst, 672-9898, labellewinery.com) is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a special five-course whiskey pairing dinner in its Great Room on Friday, March 17, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., featuring cocktails made with Roe & Coe Irish whiskey. Courses will include mini duck “Reubens,” deconstructed Scotch eggs, crushed luxardo and orange-sweetened sorbet, beef Wellington with a potato and chive puree, roasted Brussels sprouts and a dark cherry demi glaze, and chocolate stout cheesecake for dessert. LaBelle’s chef and staff will also be on hand to provide insights into each course and the cocktails they are paired with throughout the dinner. Tickets are $110 per person (event is 21+ only) and registration is required.

• LaBelle Winery Derry (14 Route 111, Derry, 672-9898, labellewinery.com) has a Cooking With Wine class on Wednesday, March 15, at 6 p.m. that will dabble in Irish recipes, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Attendees will learn how to make everything from Reuben-inspired hot dip appetizers to Guinness-braised short ribs, Irish soda bread and Guinness chocolate desserts. The class is $35 per person and registration is required. The following evening, on Thursday, March 16, LaBelle Winery’s Derry location will host a special St. Patrick’s Day concert featuring the Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki Trio, performing traditional Celtic music — doors open at 7 p.m. and the performance begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35.

• McGarvey’s Saloon (1097 Elm St., Manchester, 627-2721, mcgarveysnh.com) will open early at 10 a.m. for St. Patrick’s Day, celebrating all day long with a corned beef plate and other food and beverage specials.

• Milano’s House of Pizza (1 Broad St., Nashua, 883-6610, milanospizzanashua.com) will open at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 17, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day all day long with corned beef and cabbage, shepherd’s pie egg rolls and $3.17 priced drinks.

• New England’s Tap House Grille (1292 Hooksett Road, Hooksett, 782-5137, taphousenh.com) is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day all weekend long with several food specials, available from Friday, March 17, through Sunday, March 19. In addition to traditional boiled dinners of corned beef and cabbage with carrots, turnips and red bliss potatoes, other specials will include panko-crusted Reuben balls, Guinness stew, beer-battered fish and chips, house-made Guinness cake and Baileys Irish cream cheesecake. The eatery’s Burger of the Month for March is a Reuben burger, featuring a four-ounce Angus beef patty topped with sliced corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing on a fresh pretzel roll.

• North Side Grille (323 Derry Road, Hudson, 886-3663, hudsonnorthsidegrille.com) is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day all weekend long with an Irish-themed menu, along with family-sized meals of corned beef and cabbage, from Tuesday, March 14, through Friday, March 17. Dine-in meals and takeout orders are available.

• The Peddler’s Daughter (48 Main St., Nashua, 821-7535, thepeddlersdaughter.com) will open at 8 a.m. on Friday, March 17, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a special kegs and eggs Irish breakfast, along with a variety of other food and drink specials available throughout the day. A full schedule of live music is also planned, including performances by the Ramblin’ Rogues band (from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), the Jim Coyle and Joe Kessler band (from 3 to 7 p.m.) and The Pop Farmers (from 7 p.m. into the night). The Peddler’s Daughter keeps the festivities going with a “hangover” brunch on Saturday, March 18, at 11 a.m., and a “Sunday Funday” brunch on Sunday, March 19, featuring house mimosas and bloody marys.

• Rambling House Food & Gathering (57 Factory St., Nashua, 318-3220, ramblingtale.com) will host “Tales from the Seanchai,” an Irish storytelling dinner with humorist and author Simon Brooks, on Sunday, March 12, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Featured entrees during the dinner will include lamb stout stew, fish and chips and vegetable hand pie and potato leek soup, along with apple cake for dessert, specialty event cocktails and full beer and wine lists on tap. Brooks will be the event’s seanchai (pronounced shan-a-key), or a storyteller tasked with keeping Irish myths, folklore and legends alive. Tickets are $70 per person and include dinner and dessert (due to adult themes, the event is not suitable for children). Reservations are required.

• The Shaskeen Pub and Restaurant (909 Elm St., Manchester, 625-0246, shaskeenirishpub.com) will open its doors at 5:30 a.m. on Friday, March 17, for St. Patrick’s Day, serving its first pints at 6 a.m. and breakfast until 11 a.m. Other Irish-inspired food and drink specials will be offered throughout the day, and live music from several local artists will be held from 3 p.m. until closing time.

• Sky Meadow Country Club (6 Mountain Laurels Drive, Nashua, 888-9000, skymeadow.com) is throwing a St. Patrick’s Day Bash on Friday, March 17 — doors open at 5 p.m., with an optional buffet to be served beginning at 6 p.m. and live entertainment until 11 p.m., including from DJ Chip and Irish step dancers from the McGonagle School of Irish Dance. Admission is free and the cost of the optional buffet is $50. Book your spot by filling out the attendance form online.

• Strange Brew Tavern (88 Market St., Manchester, 666-4292, strangebrewtavern.net) will open the doors early at 9 a.m. on Friday, March 17, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day all day long with food and drink specials and a full schedule of live entertainment, including music from David Rousseau (from 9 a.m. to noon) and Jake Pardee (from 2 to 5 p.m.), as well as Irish step dancing from the McGonagle School of Irish Dance (from 4 to 4:45 p.m.) and music from Waking Finnegan (8 p.m. to midnight). Strange Brew Tavern will also open early at 10 a.m. on Sunday, March 26, ahead of the annual Manchester St. Patrick’s Day parade.

• The Wild Rover Pub & Restaurant (21 Kosciuszko St., Manchester, 669-7722, wildroverpub.com) is opening early at 6 a.m. on Friday, March 17, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day all day long with a special Irish breakfast, followed by corned beef and cabbage plates and other seasonally inspired food specials.

Featured photo: Corned beef and cabbage from The Shaskeen Pub and Restaurant in Manchester. Courtesy photo.

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