Category: Food

The Weekly Dish 23/01/12

News from the local food scene

• Soup’s on: For the first time in three years, the Brookline Public Library (16 Main St.) is bringing back its popular Soup Night — the annual winter program is set to return on Thursday, Jan. 12, at 5:30 p.m., and all are welcome to participate. The event usually yields more than a dozen soups brought in by amateur chefs for everyone to try and decide their favorite kinds. It started in 2014 as a friendly community gathering in the wintertime, but pandemic woes have shelved Soup Night since 2019. In the past, soup entries have included everything from traditional flavors like chicken noodle to some more inventive options that have often been different each year. There is no cost to enter your soup into the competition, nor requirement to be a town resident or library card holder — simply call or visit the library to sign up if you know which soup you’d like to make, to enter for a chance to win this year’s “Giant Soup Bowl of Honor” that is displayed inside the library all year long. Visit brooklinelibrarynh.org.

• Market update: After a brief break due to the holidays, the Milford Farmers Market will be back on Saturday, Jan. 14, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. inside the Town Hall Auditorium on the Oval (1 Union Sq., Milford). The market is then scheduled to continue every other Saturday through the end of March before it prepares to move back outside for the summer months. More than a dozen local vendors are featured, always including a variety of items to shop for, from meats and cheeses to freshly baked goods, baking mixes, teas, spice blends and more. Visit milfordnhfarmersmarket.com to view the full vendor list.

• LaBelle Lights extended: Join LaBelle Winery Derry (14 Route 111) for a special WinterFest happening all weekend long on Saturday, Jan. 14, and Sunday, Jan. 15. Enjoy a wine and food pairing on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. inside the winery’s harvest room — featuring items like spinach and feta stuffed mushrooms, curried chicken salad phyllo cups, mini burgers and Belgium chocolate cups — or a WinterFest Family Bash on Sunday at 3 p.m., which will include a live performance from children’s musician Steve Blunt and winter animal activities with New Hampshire Audubon. LaBelle Lights, meanwhile, continues to be open Thursday through Sunday, from 4:30 to 9 p.m. (On Jan. 8, the winery announced via Facebook that the light show has been extended through Jan. 21.) Visit labellewinery.com to see the full WinterFest schedule.

• May the best bowls win: Calling all soup, chili and chowder makers: Epsom Central School (282 Black Hall Road) is accepting entrants now to participate in its 10th annual cook-off, which is due to return on Monday, Feb. 13, from 5 to 7 p.m. inside the school’s gymnasium. There is no fee to register as an entrant — soup and chili makers can access the entry form through the event’s Facebook page, but must do so by Friday, Jan. 27, in order to participate. Each entrant also receives five free sampling tickets. For tasters, tickets 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 cornbread. Part of the fun is that you never know which different flavors of soup, chili and chowder you may encounter at the cook-off in any given year. Winners from each of the three categories receive a “Souper Bowl” trophy, and the top vote-getter also wins a $50 Visa gift card. See “10th Annual ECS Soup/Chili/Chowder Cook-off” on Facebook to access and fill out the entry form, or email cook-off coordinator Stephanie Colvin at [email protected].

Gin sour

“I’m an attractive person,” you might say. And you’d be right.

“And,” you might add, “I tip well. I don’t ask for anything complicated when we go out — a gin and tonic, or a sea breeze — something fast and easy to make. So why aren’t the drinks I get at the bar very good?

“I mean, they’re all right: gin, tonic, lime; or vodka and cranberry juice. There’s not much to mess up there. They just don’t taste as good as when I make them at home. Why is that?”

This is a good question.

It isn’t about the competence of your bartender. Trust me, she knows what she’s doing. And it isn’t that she doesn’t care; I’m sure she’s a conscientious professional who wants you to have a good drink.

The problem is that you’ve been ordering something utterly forgettable.

Don’t get me wrong. Classics are classics for a reason. There are very few things in life better than a properly made gin and tonic. The laughter of a small child is a petty and grating thing compared to the piney, slightly bitter dance of gin, quinine and lime.

But look at it from your bartender’s position.

There’s a good chance she didn’t expect to be working at all tonight, but Sheila called in sick, so she was stuck. She was able to get a babysitter at the last minute, but this is the first time she’s left her kid with this new sitter, and she’s not sure she trusts the large numbers of facial piercings the girl had.

Then, there’s Stanley, at the end of the bar. He tipped her an extra 50 cents once, a year ago, and ever since then he’s felt entitled to her attention, even during rushes.

Plus, it’s Thursday, which means that there aren’t as many customers as on the weekend, but somehow the bar moves just as much booze, which brings its own set of issues.

All of which is to say, your margarita, rocks-no-salt, probably didn’t benefit from her complete focus and attention.

You know how sometimes you pull into your driveway at the end of the day and have no memory of driving home? That’s how she just made your completely reasonable, utterly forgettable cocktail.

So, what’s the solution?

For the sake of everything Good and Decent in the Universe, please don’t order something obnoxious with a cutesy name. Or anything with 17 ingredients. Or anything that will involve dusting off a bottle from the back of the bar.

What you want is a gin sour.

And what is a gin sour, you ask?

It’s a gimlet, but with lemon.

I sense that you are still staring at me, waiting for further explanation.

OK — a gin sour is one of those very basic cocktails that is a cinch to make, takes 45 seconds and is truly delicious. It has three ingredients: gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup. It uses the same proportions as about six other cocktails: two ounces of alcohol, an ounce of citrus, and three quarters of an ounce of something sweet — the same as a margarita or a daiquiri or a lemon drop.

The difference is, nobody else has ordered one this week.

So, just like stopping for your dry cleaning on the way home makes you pay more attention to your commute, making a gin sour will be just out of the ordinary enough to grab your bartender’s full attention. It’s not difficult, but she will have to keep her mind on what she’s doing.

And you get a very nice drink.

So nice that you will probably start making it for yourself at home.

Gin sour

  • 2 ounces gin (see below)
  • 1 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • ¾ ounce simple syrup

Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker.

Shake.

Strain.

Drink.

So, the question you are probably asking yourself right now is, what kind of gin?

Wanting to give you the best possible information, I made three gin sours last evening, identical except for the variety of gin. The floral gin was exceptional, truly delicious. But so was the version with gunpowder gin; the lemon really played a leading role. The dry gin was slightly more astringent, which gave it a delicious booziness on the back end. You would really have to make a deliberate effort to mess this drink up

And after three of them in quick succession you will be astonished at what sparkling conversationalists your houseplants are.

In the kitchen with Jake Norris

Jake Norris of Nashua runs the Wicked Tasty Food Truck (wickedtastytrucks.com, and on Facebook and Instagram) with his business partner, Oliver Beauchemin. Originally from Salem, Norris got his start in the industry working as a line cook for Murphy’s Taproom in Manchester about 15 years ago, eventually working his way up the ranks and cooking at other restaurants in different parts of the country. Wicked Tasty’s concept, he said, is centered around paying homage to New England classics with a modern twist — items include a smash burger with a house-made maple bacon onion jam, as well as a deep fried Fluffernutter that’s rolled in Corn Flakes and served with a strawberry and banana icing. The truck’s whereabouts are regularly updated on its website and social media pages. Locally, you can find Wicked Tasty next at Intown Concord’s annual Winter Festival on Saturday, Jan. 28.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

I’m going to have to say some nice metal tongs. My hand becomes like a heat-resistant tool when I have those.

What would you have for your last meal?

I like to keep it simple. I’m a steak and potatoes kind of guy, so a nice tender juicy medium-rare rib-eye with mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus would do me just well. And a Mountain Dew.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

I actually would like to give a shoutout to another food truck, Rico’s Burritos. … They have great burritos, and they do a couple of twists on things. They had a steak and cheese fajita egg roll over the summer that was really great.

What celebrity would you like to see ordering from your truck?

I’m going to say Adam Sandler, because I think he would appreciate our concept the most, being another New Hampshire boy.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

That would have to be our 617 Hot Dog. It’s a quarter-pound all-beef hot dog with a cheddar jack cheese crisp that I do and then our maple onion bacon jam. It’s underrated and super good, much like New England.

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

Honestly, I think Mexican food is really making a stamp here. … It’s a cuisine that I’ve seen pop up pretty hard recently, and it’s really sticking, which I think is great.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

If not a nice steak with mashed potatoes, then it’s going to be a chicken pot pie. I do a nice sweet potato and sage pie crust … and then some nice roasted chicken and vegetables.

Roasted garlic aioli
From the kitchen of Jake Norris of the Wicked Tasty Food Truck

2 cups mayonnaise
1 sprig fresh thyme, off the stem
½ cup parsley
1 teaspoon chives
¼ cup roasted garlic
1 clove raw garlic
¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Mince the parsley, chives and garlic until they’re super small. Avoid the knife work by placing all of the ingredients in a blender and pulsing until smooth and mixed well. Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until mixed well. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to two weeks.


Featured photo: Jake Norris, chef and owner of the Wicked Tasty Food Truck. Courtesy photo.

A wine wonderland

LaBelle Winery owner releases debut book

Winemaker Amy LaBelle of LaBelle Winery in Amherst and Derry has opened full-service restaurants, launched her own line of culinary products and enjoyed recognition on the national stage as an entrepreneur — and just as 2022 came to an end, she’s also now a published author.

Released Dec. 16, Wine Weddings: The Ultimate Guide to Creating the Wine-Themed Wedding of Your Dreams, is LaBelle’s debut book, filled with photographs taken at weddings hosted at both of the winery’s locations. LaBelle also shares the details of planning her own wedding and offers general tips and advice on planning and hosting weddings of every size and type.

“The book came out of our decades of experiences with watching couples be stressed and the implication around a wedding day now. … There’s just a lot of pressure on these poor couples, and so I wanted to write a book that would help alleviate some of that pressure and stress, and give them a road map toward planning the wedding of their dreams,” LaBelle said. “So my idea for that was to theme your wedding as a wine wedding, so that every decision you have to make gets filled through the lens of wine, because wine is such a timeless theme. It’s always going to be in style, it’s always going to be appreciated, and you’re never going to get tired of it.”

Even though it required considerable work and coordination among her team, LaBelle said the entire book came together in only about three months, dating back to August.

“The book kind of just fell out of my head. It was the strangest thing,” she said. “I wrote 1,200 words a day for like 30 days straight … and I literally felt like the words were just tumbling right out of my brain. … Danielle Sullivan, who was my assistant on the book, helped me pull together all of the visuals from photos in our archives of all of the brides we’ve had.”

At about 10 chapters, the book covers everything from choosing invitation designs and wedding favors to creating your own menu of signature drinks and wine choices, and also includes a section about working with vendors. Hardcover print copies are available onsite in Amherst or Derry, or online at LaBelle Winery’s website — the electronic version of Wine Weddings was also scheduled to be released on Jan. 4 via Amazon.

“I’m actually ready to write a second book … because I think this is going to end up being a series,” LaBelle said. “So the first one was Wine Weddings, and the second book will be Wine Celebrations, so every chapter will focus on a different celebration that you can host at home through the lens of wine. … I’d like to get that book out in time for Christmas next year.”

LaBelle founded LaBelle Winery in 2005 at Alyson’s Orchard in Walpole and moved the operations to Amherst in late 2012. On Saturday, Jan. 28, the Amherst vineyard will hold a special 10th anniversary masquerade gala, complete with a cocktail hour, a four-course dinner, and performers like jugglers and fire-breathers. Proceeds from the gala will benefit both the ALS Association and LaBelle’s own charity, Empowering Angels, which promotes youth entrepreneurship opportunities.

“It’s going to be the party of the season,” LaBelle said. “We are closing down the restaurant that night, so we’ll be doing a cocktail hour throughout the building.”

By Amy LaBelle
Wine Weddings: The Ultimate Guide to Creating the Wine-Themed Wedding of Your Dreams, by Amy LaBelle
Hardcover print copies are available now through Amazon, Corkscrew Press, or wherever books are sold. They are available online at amylabelle.com or at labellewinery.com. The electronic version of the book was scheduled to be released on Jan. 4 via Amazon.

Featured photo: Amy LaBelle and her husband, Cesar Arboleda. Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 23/01/03

News from the local food scene

• Chilling out: New England’s Tap House Grille of Hooksett is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a special three-day Ice Fest, happening on Thursday, Jan. 12; Friday, Jan. 13, and Saturday, Jan. 14, from 6 to 10 p.m. each evening at the Tap House’s sister location, the Oscar Barn Wedding Venue (191 W. River Road, Hooksett). This outdoor party will feature a massive ice cocktail luge, interactive ice displays, live bands, fire pits, food trucks and more. “We have the Bonhomme Carnaval, which is the mascot from the annual winter carnival in Québec City,” said restaurant co-owner Dan Lagueux, who’s originally from Québec, Canada. “We’re going to have our pizza oven and our Tap House Express menu, which will have some French-Canadian items on it. … We’ll have our poutine, [and] I also have maple toffee and sugar on snow.” Another special activity of Ice Fest, he added, will be a beginners’ curling rink courtesy of NH SCOT. “I played curling, growing up in Canada, for many years,” he said. “They’re lending us that rink for the week, so it should be fun. ‘Learn How to Curl’ is going to be an event there.” Entry tickets are $25 per person and can be purchased online; food and drinks during the event, Lagueux said, will be purchased using special tokens, with one token equaling four dollars. Parking to Ice Fest is available nearby at the Tri-Town Ice Arena (311 W. River Road, Hooksett) with shuttle buses going back and forth for the duration of the event. Through Jan. 31, Lagueux said, any leftover tokens you have can be used as cash at the restaurant. Visit taphousenh.com to purchase Ice Fest tickets and tokens.

• Get balanced: A new eatery offering acai and grain bowls, paninis, toasts, soups, smoothies, teas and other health-focused options is now open in Amherst. Balanced Cafe opened on Dec. 27 inside The Square on Amherst plaza at 135 Route 101A, the owners recently announced on their website and social media channels; the spot (most recently home to The Utopian restaurant) is their third location in the Granite State overall, joining two others in Plaistow and Windham. The cafe is open Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., its Facebook page said. According to its website, new “bistro bars” are also due to open soon at the Plaistow and Windham locations, featuring specialty cocktails, beer and wine. Visit eatdrinkbalanced.com.

Cheesy pull-apart bread

This bread is a deliciously indulgent way to end 2022. It’s a fairly simple recipe but does require a little bit of attention to detail.

The most important ingredient in this recipe is the bread. Although it’s going to be coated in butter and stuffed with cheese, the bread is the base for all that goodness. I highly recommend using sourdough for its denser dough and nice flavor. However, if you can’t find sourdough, a plain, crusty boule will work. Also, salted butter is preferred to give a little extra seasoning to the filling. The remaining ingredients are self-explanatory.

When assembling, it is important to be patient as you make this. You need to make slices into the boule, but you do not want to go through the bottom. The intact base will hold all of the buttery, cheesy goodness in place. When it’s time to pour the butter and add the cheese, go slowly. The more you can get inside the crevices you have created, the more buttery gooeyness you’ll have when it’s eating time. Once it’s done, I have one more piece of advice. Eat it as soon as possible!

Cheesy pull-apart bread
Serves 4-8

1 boule, preferably sourdough
½ cup (1 stick) salted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 scallions, diced
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make cuts in the loaf of bread in ½-inch-wide rows and columns, stopping ¼ inch above bottom of the loaf. (You should have a cross-hatch pattern when done.)
Place butter in a bowl and microwave for 1 minute or until melted, stirring every 15 seconds.
Add garlic and scallions to butter. Stir well.
Place two long pieces of aluminum foil on top of each other, laying them perpendicular to each other, so that an X is created. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Place the bread in the center of the X.
Pour butter mixture over bread, attempting to get it into all of the cut areas.
Wrap foil around bread, covering it completely, and place in the oven to bake for 10 minutes.
Remove bread from the oven and add the cheeses, pushing it down into all of the slices. (Be patient. It takes time to get all of that cheese into place!)
Rewrap foil around the sides, leaving top open.
Return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Unwrap and enjoy!

Featured Photo: Cheesy pull-apart bread. Photo by Michele Pesula Kuegler.

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