The chill of fall is officially here! Last week’s salad may be my last hurrah into cold main dishes for a while. This week it’s all about food served piping hot.
Meatballs are one of my favorite appetizers because they are easily made ahead of time, can be served with just a toothpick, and have the ability to deliver many flavors. This week’s recipe starts with hot turkey sausage, which already has a substantial amount of flavor and keeps this recipe a pinch healthier. However, this recipe is in no way a healthy dish — three-fourths of a pound of cheese is in these. They’re well worth the indulgence.
The first time I made these sausage balls, I served them with pasta sauce for dipping. Since then I have tried pairing them with buffalo sauce and tzatziki. Both worked well. In fact, I’m sure there are many more options. Of course, you also can eat them as they are, but doesn’t dipping make a snack even more fun?
As for the recipe itself, it is about as straightforward as a recipe can be. Yes, you could use regular sausage instead of turkey sausage, but they might be a bit on the greasy side. (You have been warned.) I prefer sharp cheddar in this dish to give more of a bite, but mild cheddar works fine also. In fact, you could use mozzarella as well. It definitely will add some gooeyness to the sausage balls, but you will also lose some flavor. It’s your call.
Make a shopping list according to your preferences. Then let the appetizer making begin!
Cheesy sausage balls Makes 24
20 ounces hot turkey sausage ¼ cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon dried basil ½ teaspoon dried thyme ½ teaspoon dried oregano 3 cups shredded cheddar, mild or sharp 1 large egg Salt & pepper
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove sausage from casing, if needed. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; mix by hand to thoroughly combine. Form mixture into 2-inch balls. Place sausage balls on lined baking sheet, leaving space between them. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with dipping sauce of your choice.
Featured Photo: Cheesy sausage balls. Photo courtesy of Michele Pesula Kuegler.
Krystal Hudon and her husband, Chris, of Nashua are the co-owners of Comfort Spice Co. (comfortspiceco.com, and on Facebook), now offering nearly two dozen homemade premium spice blends and several fruit jams since their launch two years ago. The couple started their company with an authentic Mexican spice blend that Krystal Hudon, who grew up in southern California, learned how to make from her neighbors at the time. Since then, their product lineup has grown to include everything from a roasted chicken rub, a steak and beef rub, a lamb seasoning and a pork seasoning to a house curry blend, a pumpkin pie spice and an apple pie spice. Comfort Spice Co.’s blends can be found at Trombly Gardens (150 N. River Road, Milford) and at Gigi’s Country Store (10 Main St., Wilton), as well as at Creative Vibes, inside the Pheasant Lane Mall (310 Daniel Webster Hwy., Nashua) — four-ounce bottles are available inside each of the stores, or you can contact them directly via email or Facebook Messenger to inquire about eight- or 12-ounce bottles. As for the jams, those come in eight-ounce jars and are available at Creative Vibes only.
What is your must-have kitchen item?
Normally, I would say a sturdy stirring spoon or a type of wooden paddle. … But no matter what you use in the kitchen tool-wise, nothing is going to come out well unless you have good, quality ingredients.
What would you have for your last meal?
For me, it’s cheesecake. I don’t even care what kind. … For [my husband] Chris, he said tacos and tequila.
What is your favorite local restaurant?
We love the Copper Door. It’s a scratch kitchen. They source most of their ingredients locally … and the food is always excellent.
What celebrity would you like to see trying one of your spice blends?
We picked Jason Mraz, for an interesting reason. … He has a farm in California where he grows all of his own vegetables, and his wife is also a chef. … I would have to talk to him and find out what he likes, because our spice blends are all very, very different.
What is your favorite spice blend that you make?
Chris says his favorite is the Cajun blackening mix, and he likes to put it on everything. … Mine is the roasted chicken rub. I think my favorite thing to use that on is pan-seared chicken legs and thighs with roasted vegetables and a nice pan gravy.
What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?
A lot of people seem to be into … locally sourced [foods], but it definitely should not be a trend.
What is your favorite thing to cook at home?
Any comfort food or anything that feels cozy. Things like beef stew and chicken soup. … I love making a Lancashire hotpot, which is so good. … It has fall-apart beef on the bottom, [with] carrots, peas and onions, all roasted, and then you layer potatoes on top that are sliced in discs and you bake it.
Homemade Lancashire hotpot From the kitchen of Krystal Hudon of Comfort Spice Co. in Nashua
2 pounds shoulder roast, diced, or stewed beef, cut into slightly smaller chunks 1 ½ large onions, roughly chopped 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 4 carrots, chopped into ¾-inch pieces 1 cup frozen peas ½ cup Marsala ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce 4 cups beef stock 4 to 5 potatoes, sliced into ¼-inch thick slices 2½ Tablespoons Comfort Spice Co. steak and beef rub ¼ cup melted butter 1 Tablespoon canola oil 1 to 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Massage the steak and beef rub into your beef. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven, then add onions and garlic and saute on medium heat until soft. Turn the heat up and add the beef. Brown the beef, stirring often so that the onions and garlic don’t burn. Cook until most of the liquid is gone, then add the Marsala and the Worcestershire sauce — this will loosen any bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook for about three minutes. Add the beef stock. Simmer, covered on low, for about an hour and stir occasionally. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix your cornstarch with equal parts cold water and pour into your beef, stirring until thickened. Turn off the heat. Add the frozen peas and the chopped carrots and mix well. Layer your potatoes on top and brush them evenly with the melted butter. Sprinkle a little more of the steak and beef rub evenly on top. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover, turn up the heat to 400 degrees and continue to cook for 30 more minutes to brown the potatoes. Remove from the oven, let it cool for five minutes and enjoy.
A new event coming to Goffstown this weekend will feature more than a dozen beer options from area breweries — along with local food vendors and live music — all to raise money for local disabled veterans in need. The inaugural Mount Uncanoonuc Brewfest is happening on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 1 to 5 p.m. in the parking lot of the town’s former Shaw’s supermarket.
The event is being presented by the Worker Bee Fund, its beneficiary nonprofit organization, in conjunction with Mountain Base Brewery. Plans to hold a brewfest were conceived shortly after the brewery’s opening late last year, according to Worker Bee Fund founder Brian Hansen, following some conversations he had with co-owner Carrie Currier and her daughter, event coordinator Candice Pendagast.
To date, the Worker Bee Fund has completed around 30 home projects to date benefiting disabled veterans within an hour’s drive of Manchester.
“In a nutshell, what we do is fix up houses for people in really low income brackets,” Hansen said. “The idea is to help them age in place, and what that basically means is that when folks get older, it’s really nice that they can stay in their homes as long as possible. … As a result, we may go in and fix up their kitchen so that it’s wheelchair-accessible, or we’ll do like a full kitchen model or bathroom model or something like that. And we raise all of the funds ourselves.”
Set to take place rain or shine, the brewfest will take place in a cordoned off area in the south end of the parking lot, Hansen said, with plenty of tents and bar-height cafe tables for attendees. He expects around 14 breweries — nearly all from southern New Hampshire — to be represented, either via their beers being donated for the festival or the brewers pouring the beer themselves. Four-ounce samples of each featured beer will be available to ticket holders, encompassing several styles.
In addition to the beers, the brewfest will feature food options from a few local purveyors, including those that have hosted pop-ups at Mountain Base Brewery in the past. Squaloo’s BBQ of Manchester, for instance, which held its first pop-up at the brewery back in late July, will be there — chef Ira Street is known for traditional Midwestern barbecue staples and smoked meats. Other vendors at the brewfest will include Granite State Whoopie Pies, which will have fresh baked cookies, and The Bakeshop on Kelley Street, with its soft baked pretzels. Live music will be featured by the Robyn V Group, a young rock cover band based in Nashua.
At the conclusion of the brewfest, attendees can cross the parking lot and visit Mountain Base Brewery, which will be open that day and evening. The brewery recently debuted the release of its Grand Pumpkin, a vanilla pumpkin porter.
A three-barrel commercial nanobrewery, Mountain Base originally began as a homebrewing passion project for the Curriers — longtime residents of Goffstown — in their basement more than a decade ago. The brewery opened in the site of a former RadioShack inside the Shaw’s Plaza in mid-December 2021, across the parking lot from where the brewfest will take place. Currier said Mountain Base features anywhere from six to 12 rotating brews on a regular basis.
“[We keep] four or five [beers] on pretty consistently, just because we’ve … established some regulars at this point who drink specific ones,” she said.
Mount Uncanoonuc Brewfest When: Saturday, Oct. 15, 1 to 5 p.m. Where: 553 Mast Road, Goffstown (at the southern end of the parking lot) Cost: $25 in advance or $30 at the door; admission is free for designated drivers Visit: workerbeefund.org/events/brewfest Event is rain or shine and 21+ only. All proceeds benefit the Worker Bee Fund.
Experience the best of what several local eateries have to offer during the 17th annual Taste of New Hampshire — for the first time post-pandemic, the event is due to return in person to the Grappone Conference Center in Concord on Tuesday, Oct. 18, featuring opportunities to meet with chefs, discover new restaurants and breweries and bid on all kinds of silent auction items.
Formerly known as the Taste of Concord, the event — a chief fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Hampshire — began welcoming restaurants in other neighboring cities and towns in 2017. The last two years, Covid regulations caused it to go virtual in the form of discounted restaurant gift card promotions. Although the Boys & Girls Club was able to raise more than $160,000 for local restaurants over those two years, development manager and event coordinator Tanya Frost said she’s “thrilled” to be able to have it back in person once again.
“The gift card portion was such a huge hit that we’ve had people reach out about it, and we’re actually working with the restaurants now to see who would like to participate in that,” Frost said of this year’s event. “So we will also be selling gift cards to some of those restaurants in attendance as well, and that will be at a discounted rate, so the consumer is still getting that deal. … For $20 you get a $25 card and then for $40 you get a $50 card. We will be reaching out to those who purchase them after the fact, just like we’ve done in past years.”
Frost added that the event, normally held on a Thursday, has been moved up to a Tuesday to accommodate the participating restaurants, many of which continue to experience staff shortages.
“We’re just trying to be respectful of the restaurants as well [with] every step that we’re taking,” she said. “Even before we started planning, we surveyed the restaurants and ended up moving the event to Tuesday to try and help them and so that we could also get more people.”
Courtesy photo.
Attendees will have free rein to graze their way through the venue, sampling sweet and savory options from more than two dozen vendors this year. The Red Arrow Diner, for instance, will serve American chop suey with garlic toast, onions and peppers, while O Steaks & Seafood will offer its homemade macaroni and cheese. Some vendors, like the Banquet Center at Pats Peak Ski Area in Henniker, are bringing a whole smorgasbord of items for you to try — they’ll have bacon-wrapped shrimp drizzled in a honey garlic sauce, along with fried chicken and mini waffles served with maple syrup, and teriyaki beef kabobs with onions and peppers.
New Taste of New Hampshire participants include the 110 Grill, which is due to open a location in Concord next year. Reed’s North of Warner and the Flannel Tavern of Chichester — both owned and operated by local chef Carrie Williams, a friend of Frost’s — are also newcomers.
For dessert, there will be items like a flourless chocolate torte from The Crust & Crumb Baking Co.; pumpkin cheesecake and chocolate cake shots from The Red Blazer Restaurant & Pub; and chocolate-covered cream candies from Granite State Candy Shoppe. The Boys & Girls Club will even be serving its own pumpkin whoopie pies throughout the evening. As for drinks, New Hampshire Distributors and Horizon Beverage Group will be providing some wines and a wide variety of craft beers to sample, including several Oktoberfests, pumpkin brews, IPAs and more.
Silent auction items are available for all event attendees to bid on — in the past, items have included everything from restaurant gift certificates and assorted gift baskets to VIP brewery tours and some other special experience gifts. All proceeds from the Taste of New Hampshire benefit various programs of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Hampshire, which has expanded to more than 20 service sites across the state.
17th annual Taste of New Hampshire When: Tuesday, Oct. 18, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Where: Grappone Conference Center, 70 Constitution Ave., Concord Cost: $40 per person, or $350 per 10 people; tickets are available in advance or at the door, with all proceeds benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Hampshire Visit: tasteofnh.com
Participating local businesses • 110 Grill (110grill.com) • Alan’s of Boscawen (alansofboscawen.com) • The Barley House Restaurant & Tavern (Concord, thebarleyhouse.com) • Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Hampshire (Concord, nhyouth.org) • C.C. Tomatoes Restaurant (Concord, cctomatoes.com) • Chuck’s BARbershop (Concord, find them on Facebook @chucksbarbershopnh) • The Common Man (Concord, thecman.com) • Constantly Pizza (Concord, constantlypizza.net) • The Crust & Crumb Baking Co. (Concord, thecrustandcrumb.com) • Downtown Cheers Grille & Bar (Concord, cheersnh.com) • El Rodeo Mexican Restaurant (Concord, el-rodeo-nh.com) • Flannel Tavern (Chichester, flanneltavern.com) • Granite State Candy Shoppe (Concord, granitestatecandyshoppe.com) • Grappone Conference Center/Catering by Design (Concord, cateringbydesignnh.com) • Hermanos Cocina Mexicana (Concord, hermanosmexican.com) • Horizon Beverage Group (Concord, horizonbeverage.com) • Lakehouse Tavern (Hopkinton, lakehousetavern.com) • New England’s Tap House Grille (Hooksett, taphousenh.com) • O Steaks & Seafood (Concord, osteaksconcord.com) • Pats Peak Banquet Center (Henniker, patspeak.com) • The Red Arrow Diner (Concord, redarrowdiner.com) • The Red Blazer Restaurant & Pub (Concord, theredblazer.com) • Reed’s North (Warner, reedsnorth.com) • Smokeshow Barbeque (Concord, smokeshowbbq.com) • Sunshine Baking (sunshineshortbread.com) • Twelve 31 Events (Tilton and Concord, twelve31.events) • The Wine’ing Butcher (Pembroke, wineingbutcher.com)
• Diner days: Join the Red Arrow Diner for a special 100th anniversary celebration event at its Manchester location (61 Lowell St.) on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The block party-style event is free and open to the public, featuring an afternoon of raffle prizes, games, music, family-friendly activities and an onsite radio broadcast with DJs Nazzy and Marissa of Frank FM, along with samples of a variety of the diner’s most iconic dishes available to ticket holders for a small fee. All year long, to celebrate its 100th year in business, the Red Arrow has also been featuring monthly “Diner Dish of the Decade” promotions at each of its four locations, offering special discounts that have corresponded to various menu items that were or became popular during different decades. Visit redarrowdiner.com to learn more, or check out our coverage of the Red Arrow’s historic milestone in the Sept. 29 issue of the Hippo — the story starts on page 10. Visit issuu.com/hippopress to read the e-edition for free.
• Grapes and meatballs: Don’t miss the Hollis Grape & Italian Festival, set to return to the Hollis Town Common (Monument Square) on Sunday, Oct. 16, from 2 to 7 p.m. Presented by Fulchino Vineyard, the annual festival raises money for the Hollis Agricultural Scholarship, the Hollis Police Benevolent Association and the Hollis Fire Explorers. This year’s features will include grape stomping, cornhole games and local vendors, as well as a few food trucks and — new this year — a meatball contest. Admission is free, but there is a $5 fee to sample the meatballs entered into the contest. Visit fulchinovineyard.com.
• Get in the spirit: Tickets are on sale now for A Taste of Ireland: Exploring Premium Irish Spirits, a special seminar-style tasting event happening on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at the Manchester Country Club (180 S. River Road, Bedford) as part of New Hampshire Distiller’s Week. Leading Irish spirit experts and distillers will be on hand to present a series of products from their premium brands, from Clonakilty, Coole Swan and Drumshanbo to Five Farms, Green Spot, West Cork and more. The event will also include a reception with various hors d’oeuvres and sampling of some signature cocktails. Tickets are $60 per person and, at the end of the event, attendees will be able to purchase products with a 15 percent discount on every bottle. While you’re at it, save the date for the annual Distiller’s Showcase of Premium Spirits, due to return to the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown (700 Elm St.) on Thursday, Nov. 3. Visit distillersshowcase.com.
The autumnal equinox, denoting the first day of autumn, fell on Thursday, Sept. 22, at 9:04 p.m. Yes, school is back in session. Yes, the nights are getting cooler, but the days remain warm and the skies are a crystal-clear blue. OK, it is fall, but we don’t want to give up on those warm afternoons and times to spend with friends and family. We still have time to prepare for winter. There are opportunities to go apple-picking, to have that afternoon picnic, to schedule that barbecue of chicken or sausages or to just “kick back” and enjoy the day and embrace the evening.
Rosé wines are growing in popularity, simply because they are so flexible. They pair well with many cheeses, chicken, pork, shellfish and, let’s not forget, vegetables. In this column we will explore two rosés that are not only created in different parts of the world but created with very different grape varietals. Rosé wines are made from red grapes whose skins spend limited time in the pressing process. Rosé wines are light and have a limited lifetime, once bottled. That’s not a negative; it is in fact a contribution to the very essence of what they are. Rosé wines are youthful and bright and can be sipped with or without a pairing with food. But, as with all wines, the experience of the tasting is changed with proper pairing with food, and thus enhanced. So. Let’s explore some rosés!
Our first rosé is from where else but Provence, France! The 2021 Crépuscule Coteaux D’Aix-en-Provence Rosé (available at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets, originally priced at $39.99, reduced to $12.99) is a classic rose from the south of France. Coming from Château Paradis, it is a blend of 30 percent syrah, 30 percent grenache, 20 percent Carignan and 20 percent cabernet sauvignon. Crépuscule is the noun the French use to define that time of day at twilight when the sun sets and the sky is a wonderful collection of golds and pinks, casting these warm colors of various shades of pink on the landscape. This is the perfect description of this wine, its color, its presence.
The grapes of this wine are grown at an elevation of 850 feet at the northern edge of Provence, in a rich clay-limestone terroir. They are blessed with a warm Mediterranean climate with strong Mistral winds, blowing from the Bay of Biscay to the Gulf of Genoa, resulting in clear skies and warm weather. The color is a rich peach, and to the nose the peach carries through along with floral notes, coupled with minerality. The fruit is dense, slightly spicy, and crisp. This is a wine to be enjoyed with grilled meats and vegetables, flavored with herbs de Provence. The crispness and minerality of the wine work very well with this blend of herbs, and so it should, as they speak of the same terroir.
Our second rosé is from Washington State. The 2020 CasaSmith Vino Rosé (available at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets, originally priced at $13.99, reduced to $6.99) is made from 100 percent sangiovese grapes. The sangiovese grape is grown throughout Italy and may have its roots in Roman times. It is most famously known as the grape of Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti, but when used to make rosé, the earthy tea leaf notes of these reds recede, producing a wine with lighter mineral notes. In his tasting notes posted on his website, Charles Smith states, “The 2020 vintage might be the best vintage that we have ever had in Washington state history.” This may very well be the case. Coming from the Columbia River Valley, this wine has pale straw color tinged in pink. To the nose there are berries along with some floral notes. The minerality of the soils of the river valley carries through to the tongue with a refreshing, crisp finale. Noted wine critic James Suckling described it as a “dry, chewy rosé with sliced-cherry and peach-skin character. Flavorful finish…. Drink now.” With his score of 91 points, this is a wine to be tried, and per his instructions, now! At this most inviting price, this is a wine not to be passed by!
So extend your summer by a few weeks. Pick up one or both of these rosés, grill some food and enjoy that beautiful sunset a fall day can bring.
