Category: Food

In the kitchen with Mike Brieger

Mike Brieger of Northwood is the general manager and chef of Woods Grille (284 First New Hampshire Turnpike, Northwood, 942-9663, woodsgrille.com), which opened in the space formerly occupied by Umami Farm Fresh Cafe in August. A longtime friend of Woods Grille owners Heather and Pete Heigis, Brieger has more than three decades of experience in the restaurant industry, in both management and cooking. The eatery’s menu highlights include “gourmet grille-wiches,” or signature sandwiches featuring your choice of a protein, from a beef burger patty or grilled chicken to a veggie burger or portobello mushroom. Woods Grille is also unique for offering baked Tater Tots in lieu of french fries, complete with several signature dipping aiolis to choose from. Other items include house salads — with the option to turn each into a wrap — and tacos with fish or chicken.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

My cast iron skillet is a favorite for sure, and then I also love to cook with my chef’s knife, my Mac Mighty. It was a gift for my 50th birthday and I love it.

What would you have for your last meal?

I would go to The Beach Plum and get a giant lobster roll. … I usually only get it once a year, but if it was going to be my last meal, it would be that.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

If my wife and I are going out, we’re looking for something really awesome. We like to go down to Portsmouth, either to Cure or we would go to [Ristorante] Massimo and sit at the bar.

What celebrity would you like to see eating at Woods Grille?

This is controversial, but I’m a New Yorker at heart and so the answer right away is Derek Jeter.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

Definitely our fish tacos. … It’s mahi mahi that’s blackened on the grill, and it’s got a little shredded cheddar cheese, some fresh shredded cabbage, diced tomato and our homemade pickled onions. We top it with a little fresh avocado and our homemade chipotle aioli and people just love it.

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

A lot of people are going toward plant-based eating. Not only just vegetarians, but people who eat meat maybe once or twice a week are avoiding meat for a couple of days to try and improve their healthy eating habits.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

It’s simple, but just some good old-fashioned shrimp scampi.

Mike’s amazing short ribs
From the kitchen of Mike Brieger of Woods Grille in Northwood

1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
1 28-ounce can tomato sauce
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
4 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 bay leaves
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 Spanish onion, sliced
3 pounds short ribs

Season the short ribs with salt and pepper and brown in a cast iron skillet for a couple of minutes on each side — be sure to brown the ends as well. Set aside. In a large soup pot, combine all of the other ingredients and bring up to a steady simmer. Add the short ribs to the soup pot, cover and reduce the heat to a very low simmer for approximately three to three-and-a-half hours. Stir and skim the fat periodically. Serve over a bed of egg noodles and top with a pinch of shredded Parmesan cheese.


Featured photo: Mike Brieger, general manager and chef of Woods Grille in Northwood. Courtesy photo.

Soup-er flavors

Epsom soup/chili/chowder cook-off returns

Dozens of local soup, chili and chowder makers will be vying for your palate during Epsom Central School’s annual cook-off, which is set to return for its 10th year on Monday, Feb. 13, from 5 to 7 p.m. inside the school’s gymnasium.

Originally conceived as a much smaller fundraiser mostly among the school’s teachers and staff, the cook-off has grown considerably over the last few years. The event did have to take a hiatus in 2021 due to the pandemic, but was able to return in full force last year to a resounding success, school business secretary and cook-off coordinator Stephanie Colvin said.

More than 45 entrants are expected at this year’s cook-off, ranging from community members and teachers at the school to even a local girl scout group that will be participating. They’ll compete across a total of three judging categories: soups, chilis and chowders.

“We’re also doing a junior competition right alongside it during the day, where we’ll have our sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders all making something within their class,” Colvin said, noting that each class is producing two slow cookers’ worth — one will be available at 2 p.m., and the second one during the cook-off in the evening.

For tasters, tickets to the cook-off will be sold at the door and will include access to up to 10 four-ounce sampling cups per attendee for adults and five sampling cups for kids ages 10 and under, along with sides of corn bread. Part of the fun is that you never know which different flavors of soups, chilis and chowders you may encounter at the cook-off in any given year. Many entrants, Colvin added, like to give their offerings unique names.

“There’s a chili entry called Real Firehouse chili … and one called Chicka Chicka chickpea veggie chowder, which is kind of a mouthful,” she said. “Then we’ve got a creamy Parmesan Italian sausage soup, one called an Ultimate white chicken chili, and one called Lavender Haze, so there will be all kinds of different, kind of funky ones.”

A panel of judges gives entrants a score based on a 10-point scaling system and adds them all up at the end of the night. Winners from each of the three categories receive a “Souper Bowl” trophy, and the top vote getter also wins a $50 gift card. Two People’s Choice recipients from each category are awarded ribbons.

Proceeds from the cook-off, Colvin said, help fund various student activities at Epsom Central School, including field trips and clothing needs.

10th annual Epsom Central School soup/chili/chowder cook-off
When: Monday, Feb. 13, 5 to 7 p.m.
Where: Epsom Central School, 282 Black Hall Road, Epsom
Cost: $8 for adults and $6 for kids ages 10 and under (includes access to up to 10 four-ounce samples for adults and up to five samples for kids, plus cornbread). Tickets are sold at the door while supplies last.
More info: See “10th Annual ECS Soup/Chili/Chowder Cook-off” on Facebook, or email cook-off coordinator Stephanie Colvin at [email protected].

Featured photo: Donna Lancaster (left) won first place in last year’s cook-off for her bacon shrimp corn chowder. Courtesy photo.

Organic knowledge

NOFA-NH’s annual winter conference returns — in person!

For the first time in three years, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire will hold its annual winter conference in person. The one-day event is set to return on Saturday, Feb. 11, with a keynote speaking address, a panel discussion, an exhibitor fair and more than two dozen interactive workshops covering a variety of topics related to organic agricultural practices.

The theme of this year’s conference is “The Art of Food & Farming: Skill Sharing for a Brighter Future.” Anyone from farmers, gardeners and home growers to foodies or those interested in learning about organic practices is welcome to attend, conference coordinator Kyle Jacoby said.

One notable change to this year’s conference is its new venue: Southern New Hampshire University’s Manchester campus. The opening panel discussion and the exhibitor fair will take place at the university’s dining hall, while the workshops will be held inside the classrooms of the adjacent Robert Frost Hall. Workshops will run the gamut from growing edible native plants and distilling flowers to fermentation essentials, honey production in New Hampshire and more.

“We definitely try to reach a wide audience,” Jacoby said of the workshops. “I think that’s probably one of the more unique things about NOFA in general, is that deep down, one of the larger goals … is to just really build a food system that sustainable as a whole, and there’s a lot of pieces involved with that, from farmers and home growers [to] just interested community members that are advocates for sustainable agriculture and improved food systems.”

The pandemic hit just after the last in-person conference was held in February 2020. Since then, the event has transitioned into a series of virtual workshops, which took place in both 2021 and 2022. While all of this year’s workshops are in person, a select few of them, Jacoby said, will also be live streamed in real time for a virtual audience.

The day will begin with an hour-long panel discussion devoted to New England farms and climate change. From there, each workshop is broken up into three hour-long session blocks — from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Notable speakers will include Sarah Cox of Tuckaway Farm in Lee and Dina Wilford of the Dover-based Vida Tortilla, who will lead a joint workshop and discussion on nixtamalization, a traditional Mexican cooking method used to create masa for tortillas, chips and tamales.

“[Cox and Wilford] developed a connection because Tuckaway Farm produces corn that Vida Tortilla utilizes to make their local goods,” Jacoby said, “so it’s going to be a great collaborative workshop on how to make masa and utilizing a local indigenous variety.”

Scenes from NOFA-NH’s annual winter conference. Courtesy photos.

Troy Hall of Hall Apiaries in Plainfield is also on the schedule to talk about honey production, while naturalist, forager and author Russ Cohen will explore the dozens of native edible plant species. The New Hampshire Food Hub Network, a program of the New Hampshire Food Alliance, will hold an interactive forum of its own on the importance of food hubs.

Additional conference activities will include an ongoing Green Market Fair, featuring informational booths and products for sale from dozens of local vendors and exhibitors. The day will conclude with a 90-minute keynote address from 4 to 5:30 p.m. featuring Kristin and Mark Kimball of Essex Farm in upstate New York.

“They’ve been involved in NOFA-related things before and have definitely been to our conference in the past,” Jacoby said. “One of the things that we really gravitated toward with them was how much they train and have trained and supported new farmers.”

21st annual NOFA-NH Winter Conference
When: Saturday, Feb. 11; event will begin with a kickoff panel discussion from 9 to 10 a.m.; followed by three workshop sessions from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., and a keynote speaking event from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
Where: Southern New Hampshire University, 2500 N. River Road, Manchester (a few of the workshops throughout the day will also take place virtually — see website for details)
Cost: $90 for NOFA-NH members and $110 for non-members (includes access to all workshops throughout the day, in addition to the Green Market Fair). Online workshops are $60 for members and $75 for non-members. Access to the keynote event only is $30 for members and $40 non-members. Optional add-on lunches for children are $25. Donations are also welcome.
Visit: nofanh.org/nofawinterconference

Schedule of events

Kickoff panel: 9 to 10 a.m.
• Adapting New England farms to climate change

Workshop Session I: 10:15 to 11:15 a.m.
• Getting involved in New Hampshire politics (also available virtually)
• How to engage children in gardening (also available virtually)
• Biochar and how it can improve soil health
• Religious diversity on the farm
• Keeping a family dairy cow
• Weed management: white thread weeds
• Timber framing intensive session I: mortise and tenons
• Building skills to manage stress and mental health on the farm

Workshop Session II: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• The real organic movement (also available virtually)
• Making no-till work in organic systems (also available virtually)
• Your farm story and how and why to tell it
• Making masa and building a local grain shed
• Small space gardening: thinking outside the box
• New Hampshire Food Hub forum
• Edible native plants you can grow or forage
• Timber framing intensive session II: mortise and tenons

Workshop Session III: 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.
• Farmer to farmer gathering with vital communities
• Increasing winter production: How to grow microgreens in a modified cold storage room (also available virtually)
• Resilience farming: Farming with permaculture ethics and ecological patterns in mind
• The essentials of fermentation
• Propagating, grafting and layering hardwood trees and shrubs
• Honey production in New Hampshire
• The art and alchemy of distilling flowers and herbs
• Livestock want browse: Doable methods for use of wild woody perennials

Keynote address: 4 to 5:30 p.m.
• Community focused practices that helped us grow (featuring Mark and Kristin Kimball of Essex Farm in New York; also available virtually)

Featured photo: Scenes from NOFA-NH’s annual winter conference. Courtesy photos.

The Weekly Dish 23/02/09

News from the local food scene

• Food is love: Still haven’t made plans yet for Valentine’s Day? There may still be time, depending on where you go. Check out our listings that ran in the Feb. 2 issue; they begin on page 22. You’ll find dozens of special menus and dinners at local eateries, as well as sweet gift-giving ideas at chocolate and candy shops and bakeries with their own special offerings. Since Feb. 14 falls on a Tuesday this year, several local eateries are electing to celebrate Valentine’s Day the Saturday or Sunday before. Others are choosing to offer special menus on other days throughout the preceding week and weekend, or are opening their doors on weekdays they’re usually closed. Go to issuu.com/hippopress and click on the Feb. 2 issue to read the e-edition for free — and be sure to contact each establishment directly for the most up-to-date availability on reservations and takeout items.

• A chocolate lover’s paradise: Join Great American Downtown for its sixth annual chocolate stroll, happening across participating area businesses in downtown Nashua on Saturday, Feb. 11. Restaurants, breweries, boutique shops and other storefronts on Main Street and some neighboring side streets will be offering a variety of complimentary chocolate-y treats to visitors between noon and 5 p.m. that day (exact business hours vary depending on the business). According to the event page on Great American Downtown’s website, the stroll is made possible by community sponsorships. Visit downtownnashua.org/chocolatestroll to view the full list of participating businesses, which has been regularly updated in the days leading up to the stroll.

• Flavors of the islands: Grab a lei and your favorite Hawaiian shirt and head down to the North Side Grille (323 Derry Road, Hudson) for its 9th annual Luau Week, happening Tuesday, Feb. 14, through Saturday, Feb. 18. All week long the restaurant will serve tropical and Hawaiian-inspired food specials, including breakfast options, appetizers, entrees and desserts, along with all kinds of unique cocktails. For several years the event has been held over a couple of days in mid-to-late February, and it has now been extended to a full week. Visitors are encouraged to dress in island-themed garb like Hawaiian shirts, leis and hula skirts, and the restaurant is usually decked out with artificial palm trees, fake hanging birds, table skirts and other tropical aesthetics. Visit hudsonnorthsidegrille.com.

• May the best chilis win: The Wilton Winter Festival, a free family-friendly event sponsored by the Wilton Main Street Association on Saturday, Feb. 11, will feature a variety of activities throughout the day — including, from 5 to 7 p.m., a chili cook-off. Happening inside the Wilton Collaborative Space (21 Gregg St.), the chili cook-off and pot luck will feature a variety of local entrants, with first-, second- and third-place prizes to be awarded in both meat and vegetarian chili categories. Bread, beverages and desserts will also be provided. See visitwilton.com or find more details on the Main Street Association’s Facebook page @wiltonmainstreetnh about the festival, which will also include outdoor ice carving demonstrations, an arts market inside the Wilton Town Hall, drop-in crafts at the Wilton Public & Gregg Free Library and more.

Zelda and the bison grass

I know that I don’t need to remind you of it, but Feb. 2 is National Tater Tot Day. I’m sure you’ve already put up the decorations and picked out your outfit, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to weasel out on you.

I was going to develop a Tater Tot-themed cocktail, made, of course, with potato vodka. I thought about infusing it with actual Tater Tots or french fries. I was working on some solid puns for names. I was even — and I admit this was a personal low point — considering using ketchup as the sweet element.

But ultimately I had to ask myself whether I wanted to subject you, myself, or even a good-quality vodka to this kind of gimmicky cocktail indignity.

So let’s take a big swing in the other direction and make an attempt at class and sophistication. I don’t know about you, but sophistication has proved somewhat elusive for me over the past couple of years. I’d like to explore a Zelda Cocktail.

You know, Zelda.

Zelda Fitzgerald.

The novelist, playwright and artist? She was married to F. Scott Fitzgerald?

No. Not the Legend of Zelda princess.

OK, when she’s remembered at all today, Zelda Fitzgerald is known largely for her struggles with mental health, alcoholism and a really dysfunctional marriage, but for a brief shining moment in the 1920s she was widely known as one of the most beautiful, brilliant and sophisticated women alive. And a cocktail dedicated to her is a little-known classic.

Like Zelda herself, this drink is delightful, with an unexpected challenge. In this case the challenge is bison grass vodka.

You might hear rumors about Żubrówka vodka being illegal — and it was, apparently, for several years — but it is available in liquor stores, if you look for it hard enough. If you aren’t up for a multi-state vodka quest, I’m going to make a substitution suggestion. If you muddle a sprig of thyme when you are muddling the mint for this drink, it will add a subtle herbal back-note that will make a guest stop and wonder what is going on.

Apparently the Zelda Fitzgerald experience was a lot like that — people would be overcome with delight in her presence, only to wonder, just a little, what they had gotten themselves into.

The Zelda

Several sprigs of fresh mint. (As I write this, I find myself writing the word “mink,” which I think would please Mrs. Fitzgerald.)

  • 2 ounces Żubrówka Bison Grass Vodka or the best-quality vodka you have, plus a sprig of thyme
  • 1 ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice
  • ¾ ounce orgeat (almond syrup)

Muddle the mint (and thyme, if you are including it) in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.

Add five or six ice cubes and the other ingredients to the shaker. Shake vigorously.

Strain into a coupé glass and drink while it is very cold.

Featured photo: The Zelda. Photo by John Fladd.

In the kitchen with Danny Pilsbury

Danny Pilsbury of Salisbury is the owner and executive chef of Alexandra’s Bistro (15 Village St., Penacook, 565-5066, find them on Facebook), which he opened in September, in the space long occupied by Donatello’s Pizza, with his business partner, John Brusseau. Pilsbury’s interest in cooking started while he was a junior at Merrimack Valley High School, where he enrolled in a two-year vocational program in culinary arts. From there he would go on to study at NHTI in Concord, and soon got his start as a prep cook and dishwasher at the Lake Sunapee Country Club in New London. He worked his way up the ranks in the industry, eventually becoming executive sous chef at The New London Inn and Coach House, just a few miles up the road. Named in honor of Pilsbury’s late wife, who died of cancer in December 2021, Alexandra’s Bistro is known for offering a lineup of locally sourced, scratch-cooked items like starters, sandwiches, pastas and other plated entrees, with seasonally inspired menu changes throughout the year. “People are definitely associating us, I think, with an anniversary [or] date night kind of place, which is great. That was definitely kind of my goal,” he said. “I’ve heard from a lot of customers too that, considering how small it is, we have a decent variety.”

What is your must-have kitchen item?

I cannot go without a marker. I have one in my pocket all the time. … I label things so much all day. We make so many things from scratch here in the kitchen, and so I don’t have things coming in with expiration dates on them. I’m making all of the labels myself.

What would you have for your last meal?

This one was a no-brainer for me. I’d get a nice, big juicy steak. Steak and potatoes, either mashed or baked, [with] some green beans and a nice big piece of garlic butter.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

The Millstone Restaurant. It’s right up on Main Street in New London. It’s owned by a previous manager of mine, Richard Stockwell, and he’s just got an unbelievable staff over there. … They have a really good burger there. I get it almost every time.

What celebrity would you like to see eating in your restaurant?

[I’ve] always been a big fan of comedies for sure, and I just think it would be really cool to have Adam Sandler in here.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

On the rotation right now, we have a duck pot pie that is just out of this world. … I had never made it before — I had done some other pot pies, but one day I was like, ‘Oh, we should try it with duck,’ and oh my God, it’s amazing. We make the duck stock right there in house, and it’s just super rich and thick and dark, and it’s loaded with veggies and nice big puff pastries on top. … I think it might be one of the best dishes I’ve ever created.

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

I think the whole farm-to-table concept is making a comeback, finally. I think chain restaurants have been dominating for a long time now, I mean, they’ve popped up all over the place, and there’s just something boring and plain about those places that has formed over the years. … I think people like to hear where [their food is] coming from, and that it’s antibiotic free and hormone free. … Just that natural kind of fresh, local, healthy food.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

I like a good grilled cheese, almost always with some tomato soup, or I’ll just put the fresh tomatoes right in the grilled cheese. … For me, there’s just a lot of nostalgia behind it. It was one of my mom’s go-to lunches for us as kids. … It’s fast, it’s easy and it’s relatively affordable. You can’t go wrong.

Lemon basil pesto aioli
From the kitchen of Danny Pilsbury of Alexandra’s Bistro in Penacook

⅛ cup lemon juice
¼ cup basil pesto (store bought or made from scratch)
1 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white pepper

Whisk all of the ingredients together. According to Pilsbury, the aioli can go well on everything from sandwiches and flatbreads to pasta salads, french fries or even fried calamari


Featured photo: Danny Pilsbury, owner and executive chef of Alexandra’s Bistro in Penacook. Courtesy photo.

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