Category: Food

In the kitchen with Christina Wormell

Christina Wormell of Hillsborough is the owner of Queen of Tarts Pâtisserie (find her on Facebook and Instagram @queenoftartspatisserie), specializing in French cookies, breads, éclairs and other pastries and baked goods in a variety of rotating seasonal flavors. Originally from Maine, Wormell attended New England College in Henniker, and left her job at the beginning of 2021 to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a baker. Her passion started at an early age, when she and her Memere would bake and watch cooking shows together every weekend. Wormell regularly participates in area farmers markets during the summer months, as well as fairs and craft shows, and she also accepts custom orders through social media for local pickup.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

I definitely would have to have a whisk, because it’s so versatile.

What would you have for your last meal?

I would definitely have a Maine lobster roll. I mean, I don’t eat meat anymore, but if it was my last meal, I’d make an exception for that. … It has to be with mayonnaise and on a toasted roll.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

Ichiban [Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar] in Concord. … They have a vegetarian roll that has seaweed, avocado and cucumber, and that’s my go-to.

What celebrity would you like to see ordering from you?

It would have to be chef Gordon Ramsay. He’s my favorite. I’d be pretty confident he’d like my stuff.

What is your favorite thing on any one of your menus?

I really like to make éclairs. My personal favorite flavor that I made was a lemon poppy seed éclair. I do that one around June or July.

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

I think the trend right now is because of the TV show Is It Cake? You’ll see a scene where, say, there’s a laptop, a phone and a piece of paper, and one of those things is [made of] cake, but it’s so realistic that you don’t [know which one] until they cut into it. That’s something that I see everywhere and I think it’s because of that show.

What is your favorite thing to make at home?

I love to make homemade bread. … I like to do herbed French breads and just plain French breads.

Homemade banana bread
From the kitchen of Christina Wormell of Queen of Tarts Pâtisserie
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 stick butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 overripe bananas
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-by-5-inch pan. In a separate bowl, mash three of the four bananas and set aside. In another separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and set aside. Using your mixer, start by creaming the butter and sugar together. Add in the eggs one at a time. Add in the vanilla and mashed bananas and mix until incorporated. Add your flour mixture into the batter and fold until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Take your remaining banana, peel it and cut it down the middle vertically. Place the two halves of the banana facing up on top of the batter. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (about 45 to 60 minutes). Let the bread cool in a pan for 10 minutes before putting it on your wire rack.

Featured photo: Christina Wormell. Photo by Selena Massie, selenamassiephotography.com.

Cheeses, spices and teas

Made in New England Expo returns

New England-based businesses will gather at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown’s Expo Center on Saturday, Dec. 3, and Sunday, Dec. 4, to showcase and sell their products at the Made in New England Expo.

“The goal … is to shine a light on businesses and help them get recognition, [and] … to kind of get their name out there,” show director Christine Carignan said.

These businesses include Nothin’ But Curd, a Vermont-based company that makes cheese curds and spreads; Vermont Condiment, which sells a variety of maple products; and New Hampshire Herb & Spice Co., offering custom rubs and blends.

Mixed Up Nut Butter, a Vermont business offering craft nut butters made from different tree nut blends with pecans, cashews and almonds, is back for the second time this year, as is Critical Mass Coffee, based in Manchester and offering multiple bagged blends of organic fair trade coffee.

You’ll also find Puckerbush, a newcomer specializing in jams, jellies and unique drink infusions; Holy Moly Snacks, based in Manchester and selling pre-packaged beef chips, cookies and brownies; and 27Teas, a New Hampshire tea company now also based in Manchester.

Margaret Gay, owner and founder of 27Teas, started the company about four years ago after noticing there wasn’t much out there for tea drinkers.

“When I would go places with my … now husband, he would always be able to walk into a coffee shop or a cafe and get this awesome beverage,” Gay said, “and then I would go to order something tea-related and it seemed like there [were] no options.”

Gay decided to take action.

“I feel like when people start cafes, they do it thinking of the coffee and then tea as an afterthought, and I really wanted to change that for the people that are tea lovers,” Gay said. “So I started doing my own blending and things.”

After years of selling online and doing wholesale work with cafes, 27Teas moved to Manchester a few weeks ago, where it now has its own retail shop.

“My mission is changing the way people in New England and beyond … drink tea,” she said. “So I really focus on making education available as well. I want to make the switch to drinking loose leaf tea unintimidating, easy, delicious, but also affordable.”

Another important aspect to her business is giving back, which Gay does by giving a percentage of her profits to The Water Project, a Concord-based clean water initiative.

Now being located in Manchester, Gay felt it was especially important to attend this year’s expo.

“My hope is that I get to run into a lot of people who haven’t maybe seen my products before and get to try it,” she said.

Gay’s business is a great example, Carignan said, of why the expo is such an effective platform for others like hers to expand their customer reach.

“We want to help give these small businesses the exposure that they want, [and] to help take their business to the next level,” she said. “We also want … our audience … to be able to find unique products and support local companies and … see what’s available right around the corner from them that they may not be aware of.”

Made in New England Expo
When: Saturday, Dec. 3, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 4, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: DoubleTree by Hilton Expo Center, 700 Elm St., Manchester
Cost: $8 admission for adults, $7 for seniors and $2 for children ages 2 to 12. Tickets can be pre-purchased online or at the door the day of the event.
More info: Visit madeinnewenglandexpo.com or find the event on Facebook @madeinnewenglandexpo

Featured photo: Photo by Matthew Lomanno Photography.

Peace, love and barbecue

Smokin’ Spank’s food trailer rolls into Litchfield

Kevin Anctil of Litchfield grew up on family-owned farmland in Lewiston, Maine, where his late grandfather was revered in the community for his barbecued chicken. Several Sundays out of the year, Armand Anctil would purchase a batch of chickens from a local processing plant and cook them out in front of his home, using his own barbecue pits he had designed and built.

“They were sandwich-type grates, so he could load them up and close them down, then walk down the line and baste all the chickens and flip all the grates over, and he’d do that for 90 minutes to two hours,” Anctil said. “Then the people of Lewiston, after mass, would walk up the hillside with their blankets and picnic baskets, or their potato salad and lemonade, and they’d buy Pepere’s chicken and eat it out there on the yard in front of the farmhouse.”

As owner and pitmaster of Smokin’ Spank’s Barbecue, a 22-foot food trailer launched earlier this fall, Anctil pays homage to his family’s roots. He has the same original basting sauce and finishing sauce recipes for his own barbecue chicken, and he even added a custom-built pit for his trailer that uses the same type of sandwich grating techniques his grandfather once employed.

top view close up of macaroni and cheese in small plastic cup
Macaroni and cheese. Photo courtesy of Smokin’ Spank’s.

Smokin’ Spank’s Barbecue is scheduled to appear at 446 Charles Bancroft Highway in Litchfield on several weekend dates this month, with the next one on Saturday, Dec. 3. Anctil is also cooking up barbecue for attendees of Spirit of Litchfield’s fifth annual tree lighting, set for Saturday, Dec. 10, at Roy Memorial Park.

Anctil, who is affectionately known in his college friend circle as “Spank,” described his concept as traditional Southern barbecue, but with some New England roots. His brisket, for instance, is smoked Texas-style with salt and pepper in tribute to his own travels, while other items include maple baby back ribs that are finished with maple syrup as a glaze.

“I do a blueberry spare rib that’s a bigger, meatier rib with a blueberry barbecue sauce on it,” he said. “I also have local apples in the apple bacon barbecue sauce that I serve with my pulled pork, and I do a blueberry jalapeno slaw that I guarantee you’ve never had anyplace else. … It starts as sort of a traditional coleslaw, but then I include big whole blueberries and slivers of seeded jalapeno in there. It doesn’t bring a lot of heat but it does bring a bright fresh green pop.”

Anctil also serves traditional macaroni and cheese and loaded baked potato salad, both of which he considers to be his flagship sides. Last week, he offered a menu of “spankwiches” for the first time, featuring a half-pound of pulled pork or pit beef and a house sauce — the apple bacon sauce, he said, is designed to pair with the pork, while the Texas table sauce goes with the beef.

“Peace, love and barbecue” is Anctil’s unofficial slogan, the words adorning his trailer.

“I spent the first 30 years of my working career in IT, and following Covid, I made a career change,” he said. “I was doing something that really wasn’t my passion or was in my heart, and so … my family got behind me and wanted to support me to try to make a go of doing what I love. … I’m at peace when I’m cooking and I show my love through my food.”

Smokin’ Spank’s Barbecue
Upcoming appearances; visit smokinspanks.com or find them on Facebook and Instagram @smokinspank
• Saturday, Dec. 3: 446 Charles Bancroft Hwy., Litchfield (noon to sellout)
• Saturday, Dec. 10: Annual Christmas tree lighting at Roy Memorial Park, Wood Hawk Way and Albuquerque Ave., Litchfield (4 to 7 p.m.)
• Saturday, Dec. 17: 446 Charles Bancroft Hwy., Litchfield (noon to sellout)
• Friday, Dec. 23: 446 Charles Bancroft Hwy., Litchfield (noon to sellout)

Featured photo: Blueberry spare ribs. Photo courtesy of Smokin’ Spank’s.

The Weekly Dish 22/12/01

News from the local food scene

• Food and brews for a cause: Join The Common Man Roadside Millyard (451 Commercial St., Manchester) for its inaugural Do Good Beer Dinner on Wednesday, Dec. 7, to raise money for the Boys & Girls Club of Manchester. The festivities will kick off at 6 p.m., featuring appetizers, brewmaster tastings, a toy drive and a silent auction, followed by a five-course meal to be served at 7 p.m. Each course — including a charcuterie board, bacon jam scallops, butternut squash bisque, beer-braised pot roast and a special dessert pairing — will be paired with a beer selection from Manchester’s Great North Aleworks. The cost is $125 per person (21+ only) and reservations are required. Visit thecman.com or find the Eventbrite page for the dinner to purchase tickets.

• Greek eats to go: Get your orders in now for the annual baked lamb dinner from St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Greek Church (1160 Bridge St., Manchester) on Sunday, Dec. 11, at noon. Ordering by Wednesday, Dec. 7, is requested, while supplies last — dinners are $20 per person and include lamb, rice, beans and salads. Visit stnicholas-man-nh.org or email Barb George at [email protected] to place your order. In Concord meanwhile, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (68 N. State St.) is taking orders for its next boxed Greek dinner to go, a drive-thru takeout event, on Sunday, Dec. 11, from noon to 1 p.m. Now through Wednesday, Dec. 7, orders are being accepted for boxed meals featuring dinners of Greek vegetable medley with tiropita (cheese pita) for $20 per person. The event is drive-thru and takeout only — email [email protected] or call 953-3051 to place your order. Visit holytrinitynh.org.

• Cooking with wine: The Winemaker’s Kitchen cooking with wine series continues at LaBelle Winery with holiday recipes classes, to be held at its Amherst location (345 Route 101) on Wednesday, Dec. 7, from 6 to 7 p.m. each day. Attendees will get to enjoy holiday dinner samples and discover recipes with wine paired or prepared with each item. Recipes will include candied kielbasa, deviled eggs with Seyval Blanc egg filling, red wine caramelized onion dip for vegetables and chips, and baked brie with a red wine fruit compote. General admission is $35 per person, plus tax. Visit labellewinery.com.

• Tea time: Enjoy holiday afternoon tea with The Cozy Tea Cart of Brookline, to be held at the Gatherings at the Colonel Shepard House (29 Mont Vernon St., Milford) on Sunday, Dec. 4, from 1 to 3 p.m. In addition to seasonal teas, there will be assortments of festive tea breads, sandwiches and pastries to be served. The cost is $39.95 per person and reservations are required. Visit thecozyteacart.com or call 249-9111.

• NHLC taps new wine sales specialist: The New Hampshire Liquor Commission recently named Justin Gunter its new wine marketing and sales specialist, according to a press release. Gunter oversees all aspects of wine sales, including purchasing and promotions, across the 67 New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlet locations statewide. He takes over for Lisa Gosselin, who had been in the position for six years and was with the Commission for more than two decades before her retirement. According to the release, Gunter joined the NHLC team in 2014 as a part-time sales clerk at the Stratham outlet, eventually moving up the ranks to retail store supervisor and later regional stores supervisor, leading to sales increases exceeding $100,000 annually in multiple markets.

Staggering toward 34th Street

There are two great scenes in 1947’s Miracle on 34th Street:

“Hey, Lou! How many letters do we have to Santy Clause down at the Dead Letter Office?”

“I don’t know — there must be fifty thousand. Bags and bags of them comin’ in every day….”

Charlie — because I’ve decided that his name is Charlie — gets thoughtful for a second. The scene cuts to the courthouse, where things don’t look good for Santa Claus, or maybe Kris Kringle, who is defending his sanity in court. He doesn’t want to be institutionalized. The D.A. doesn’t actually want to institutionalize him and risk alienating his own children. The judge, who is worried about re-election, doesn’t want to fit Santa with extra-long sleeves on Christmas Eve.

Then Lou and Charlie and the other postal workers give them all a legal loophole and save Christmas. It’s a brilliantly cynical bit of emotional manipulation. I love it.

Even better is at the beginning of the movie, when it’s discovered that the Macy’s Parade Santa is soused and can’t finish the parade. How can that not have happened at least once in real life?

In that spirit, here are a trio of drinks to enjoy while you watch the parade this week.

Macy’s Parade

  • 1 ounce apple brandy – I like Laird’s Applejack
  • 1 ounce rye – I’ve been enjoying Knob Creek
  • ½ ounce cranberry syrup – see below
  • ¼ ounce Cynar – yes, the stuff with the artichoke on the label
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Pour all ingredients over ice in a mixing glass. Stir gently.

Let rest 15 to 20 minutes, to let the ice chill and dilute this very authoritative cocktail.

Strain into a coupé glass, and drink while singing show tunes along with the lip-synching, float-riding Broadway stars with overly bright eyes. Do this until your teenage child threatens arson.

This drink, courtesy of Craig Eliason in Minnesota, is not a light, frivolous cocktail. It is sweet, boozy, and a little herbal, courtesy of the Cynar and the bitters. It stares you in the eye and dares you to get cynical about the parade.

“Don’t you dare make fun of Al Roker,” it tells you in a low growl.

Cranberry Syrup

Combine frozen whole cranberries with an equal amount of white sugar, by weight, in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, mashing the berries with a potato masher once they have thawed. By using frozen berries, you have forced ice crystals to stab through all the cell walls of the cranberries, encouraging them to give up their juice.

Bring to a boil, to make sure that all the sugar has dissolved, then strain, battle and cool. This should last a very long time in your refrigerator, but the point is somewhat academic, because the odds are very good that you will use it all to make cranberry margaritas throughout the holiday season.

Parade Route

  • 1½ ounces rye
  • ¾ ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • ¾ ounce simple syrup
  • 2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
  • 4 to 5 ounces sparkling rosé

Combine the rye, lemon juice, syrup and bitters with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake and chill thoroughly.

Strain into a small Collins glass. Top with sparking rosé.

This is light and delicious. For reasons that defy mere logic, it turns out that rye and sparkling wine go really well together. The sweetness from the syrup takes the edge off the booziness, and the lemon juice keeps things from getting too sweet.

If you decide to double down, here’s your next stop:

34th Street Miracle

  • 1 ounce cognac
  • 1 ounce orange curaçao
  • 1 ounce orange juice
  • 1 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice

Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake and chill.

Strain into a cocktail glass

The orange juice and orange liqueur go together extremely well in this drink — no surprise there. The cognac adds a boozy backbone to keep things from getting too orangey — not vodka or gin boozy, but something a little more gracious and civilized. The lemon juice keeps everything from taking itself too seriously.

At this point, when the Parade finally gets to Macy’s, is where you should weepily sing “Over the River and Through the Woods” in at least three different keys. Your family will encourage you to go take a nap. Everybody wins.

Soft sugar cookies

Welcome to eating season! I’m embracing it wholeheartedly with this cookie recipe. Who doesn’t want to bake cookies with cold weather and dark afternoons? There’s nothing like some freshly baked cookies to make the evening brighter.

Although I am a fan of traditional sugar cookies, where you roll out the dough and cut out shapes, I also have a fondness for this version. These cookies are incredibly tender and are best topped with a buttercream frosting. Consider them really short cupcakes.

Not only do these provide a moist and delicious cookie, but they also require less time and effort. There is no floured counter to prepare (or clean afterward), and you don’t have to worry about how thick or thin each cookie is. Just grab a small scoopful of dough, roll for a moment, and the cookie is formed.
Of course, you still can decorate these cookies to your heart’s content. Get the eating season going with a batch of freshly baked cookies!

Soft sugar cookies
Makes 36

Cookie dough
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
Frosting
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 Tablespoons milk
food coloring, if desired

Make the cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl.
Beat for 2 minutes on low speed using paddle attachment or hand mixer.
Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined.
Add yogurt and vanilla, mixing until incorporated.
Add baking powder, soda, salt and flour. Mix on low.
Form dough into a ball the size of a walnut.
Place on a baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between cookies.
Flatten balls of dough slightly.
Bake for 12 minutes. (They will not be golden.)
Cool completely.

Make the frosting
Combine butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, and vanilla; mix well.
Add milk, as needed, 1 teaspoon at a time.
More sugar can be added if you prefer a sweeter frosting.
Frost cookies, as desired.

Featured Photo: Soft sugar cookies. Photo courtesy of Michele Pesula Kuegler.

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