Category: Food

Celebrate Egyptian culture

Nashua church holds sixth Egyptian Food Festival

From Friday, Sept. 15, through Sunday, Sept. 17, the Egyption Food Festival will return to St. Mary and Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church in Nashua.

“It’s an outreach to the community to tell them who we are,” said Kyrillos Gobran, the church’s priest. “The church is a historic place that lots of people in the neighborhood have some kind of relationship with, so it’s good to come and have a tour inside the church … [while] fundraising … and supporting the church … at the same time.”

According to Gobran, the church building itself, which he says is one of the tallest buildings in Nashua, dates back about 140 years, the congregation having taken it on in 2008. The food festival, which includes music, a bazaar and activities for kids, has become a popular event, with about 1,500 to 2,000 people attending each year.

“We have people that have been with us from the [beginning] and they come every single year [to] have a good time as a family and enjoy the food,” he said.

On the menu are various Egyptian meals, sandwiches, sides and desserts. Options include shish kabob platters with a skewer of either beef or chicken marinated with salt, pepper and Mediterranean spices and grilled with onions and green peppers. There is also a kofta platter, which includes one skewer of ground beef seasoned with parsley, chopped onions, salt, pepper and Mediterranean spices. Each meal comes with rice pilaf, salad, tabbouleh and hummus. Skewers can also be ordered by themselves.

“We have vegetarian food as well with lentils … and pasta with sauce on top,” Gobran said.

Desserts include baklava, fried dough and kataif, which is a pancake-like batter filled with raisins, coconut flakes and walnuts and covered in a light syrup.

Egyptian music will be played by a DJ throughout the festival and there will be a kids’ corner with a balloon station, face painting, ice cream, popcorn and cotton candy in addition to the market.

“If you’re looking for something expensive [and] handmade or something a little bit cheaper, you’ll find a different variety there,” Gobran said.

Items for sale include jewelry, T-shirts, Egyptian gowns and pharaonic souvenirs.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming everybody,” he said, “It’s good to see old friends and we welcome people that haven’t been, [or haven’t] tried Egyptian food before or see the Egyptian culture, to come out and enjoy.”

Egyptian Food Festival
When: Friday, Sept. 15, 4 to 9 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 16, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 17, noon to 6 p.m.
Where: St. Mary and Archangel Michael Coptic Church, 39 Chandler St., Nashua
Admission: Free

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

The Steamer Trunk

I have had to face the harsh reality recently that I have aged out of some of my travel-related bucket list items. As much as I would really, really like to be able to put an alligator wrestling certification on my resumé, I’m afraid that it’s not going to happen at this point.

Likewise, my dream of meeting the eyes of a dark-eyed stranger in a smoke-filled bar in Buenos Aires and shocking the room into awed silence with the skill of my interpretive tango.

In the aggregate, I’m reluctantly resigned to shelving some of these dreams. There are other, new dreams to replace them, after all. I hear good things about the SPAM Museum in Austin, Minnesota, and just today I learned that there are specialized rat tours in New York City, which I am fully committed to going on. Age can be worked around, and I am the master of my own destiny, right?
I may be in charge of my destiny, but my wife is in charge of me. I share some of these dreams with her, and on the surface she seems supportive, but over the years I have learned to read her micro-gestures, which generally say, “It’s so cute that you think you’re going to do that,” when I propose anything more adventurous than a trip to the hardware store, and even then she has learned the hard way to keep a close eye on me.

The Steamer Trunk
1½ ounces rye – I like Bulleit; it has a spicy sourness that plays well off fruity ingredients.
¾ ounce St. Germain elderflower liqueur
½ ounce simple syrup
¾ ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 ounce cantaloupe juice (see below)
1 ounce sparkling wine
cantaloupe cubes for garnish

To make cantaloupe juice, slice a fresh cantaloupe into quarters. Scoop the flesh of one quarter into a small blender, or half the melon into a large one. Blend thoroughly, then strain through a fine-meshed strainer. One quarter of a medium cantaloupe will yield about half a cup of juice, the color of hibiscus blossoms in an Egyptian sunset.

Combine the rye, elderflower liqueur, simple syrup and the lemon and cantaloupe juices over ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake thoroughly, until the cold bites your hands like a rope on a tramp steamer to Macau and the ice rattles like the hooves of angry bulls in Pamplona.

Strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass, and top with sparkling wine, which will spray up a fine mist that reminds you of that semester you spent on the coast of Spain, and of the Vazquez Twins.

Stir gently, then drink while flipping through an atlas and listening to the collected works of Paolo Conte. This is a riff on a classic called a summer rye, but with a focus on fresh melon in place of the traditional apples, which brings a wistful quality to the experience. Melon and sparkling wine are a classic combination, and elderflower provides a hard-to-identify poetic element. The rye is the leader of this expedition, but this is definitely a collaborative project.
Much like a camel safari in Morocco, with a dedicated camel to carry ice and gin for the proper appreciation of a desert evening.

Pending spousal approval, of course.

John Fladd is a veteran Hippo writer, a father, writer and cocktail enthusiast, living in New Hampshire.

Featured photo: Steamer Trunk. Photo by John Fladd.

In the kitchen with Ed Barooney

What is your must-have kitchen item?
Dandido Hot Sauce.

What would you have for your last meal?
Rib-eye steak medium, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables.

What is your favorite local eatery?
Bond Brewing and Barbecue.

Name a celebrity you would like to see trying your hot sauce?
The Rock.

Which hot sauce is your favorite?
Our original Dandido Hot.

What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?
I think it’s a toss-up: Those acai bowls are big right now and also, like we have at Bond Brewing and Barbecue, the Chipotle-style bowls and burritos.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?
Traditional breakfast. Eggs, bacon, sausage [and] toast.

Chunk Chili
From the kitchen of Ed Barooney.

Dandido Hot Sauce
onion
peppers (bell peppers or hot peppers)
2 to 3 Tablespoons flour
stewed tomatoes (14.5-ounce can)
beans (optional)
steak tips (or ground beef or other meat)

Cut steak tips into medium-size chunks, season with salt and pepper and put in a bag. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons flour. Shake bag to fully coat the chunks.
On medium heat in a medium to large pot, add 3 tablespoons of Dandido Hot with a chopped onion. Cook the onion down until golden/brown.

Once the onion is browned, add the steak chunks into the pot. Brown the outer parts of the meat, careful not to cook the meat all the way through.
Once browned, remove the meat and add in a can of stewed tomatoes, add desired seasoning to taste and add half of the can filled with water.

Once rendered down and simmering, place steak back into the pot, adding beans (any choice of beans), peppers and one to three bay leaves.

Cook for 1 hour until the meat is tender.
Top with cheese and/or sour cream if desired.
For a thicker chili we recommended our Dandido Black made with the Carolina reaper.

The Weekly Dish 23/09/14

News from the local food scene

Fall fest: 603 Brewery (42 Main St. in Londonderry; 603brewery.com) will hold a Fall Fest today from noon to 8 p.m. The day will feature food trucks, live music, a stein-holding contest, a cornhole tournament, ax throwing, 603 kitchen specials and more, according to a social media post by the Brewery.

Cooking with wine class: Next up in The Winemaker’s Kitchen Cooking Class series at LaBelle Winery (345 Route 101, Amherst) is Greek recipes on Wednesday, Sept. 20. The recipes include a Greek greeting cocktail, whipped feta dip, briam, which are roasted vegetables in a parchment paper pocket, Greek meatballs, tzatziki sauce and baklava. Chefs will demonstrate and share tips throughout the process. You will also be given a recipe card for each item to make them yourself at home. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased at labellewinery.com or via eventbrite.

603 BBQ at Lithermans: Don’t miss 603 BBQ at Lithermans in Concord (126B Hall St.) on Thursday, Sept. 21, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Manchester Brewfest: The ninth annual Manchester Brewfest on Saturday, Sept. 23, at Arms Park on Commercial Street in Manchester will benefit Waypoint, a human service and advocacy group. Vendors include The Rugged Axe, Draughtpick, Darbster Rescue, Rage Cage NH, New England Steel Fighters and Granite State Freeze Dried Candy, and there will be music by the Shawna Jackson Band. General admission hours are 1 to 4 p.m. and VIP admission is from noon to 4 p.m.

Cold Cucumber Soup with Pistachios

Ugh. We’ve been walking for days.

Half an hour, actually.

HONK!!

Yeah! Same to YOU, buddy!”

Actually, we probably just made his day; being able to honk at clueless tourists has to be a treat for him.

Sweet leaping Moses, could it GET any hotter? Whose idea was this trip?

OK, mine, but why did they agree to come to the city during the hottest weather of the year?

Sigh. Because I’m so charming. Curse my charm!

Wait. Is that it, up there at the end of the block? That guy on the subway said to look for people sitting outside, eating soup. Seriously, who would eat soup in this weather?

No, they’re definitely eating soup. Is it COLD soup? Is that a thing? That actually sounds really good right now.

“Yes, hi. Three of us for dinner. Could you please bring us some beer and whatever that cold soup is? You are a kind and beautiful human being.”

Cold Cucumber Soup

Like gazpacho, this is a cold summer soup. It’s light and creamy and very, very refreshing. Unlike gazpacho, this is cucumber-based.

Seriously — try it.

  • 2 English cucumbers – the long, skinny, individually wrapped ones. Alternatively, four regular-sized conventional cucumbers
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill
  • 2½ cups (36 ounces) cold buttermilk
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) half & half
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 cup roasted, salted pistachios

Peel the cucumbers. Leave a few small ribbons of peel, to help color the soup. If you are not using seedless cucumbers, cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.

Set one fourth of the cucumbers aside, and put the rest into the jar of your blender.

Add the garlic, dill and buttermilk. Blend until smooth.

Chop the remaining cucumber into small dice. Put it in a large bowl.

Pour the blended cucumber mixture into the bowl, then whisk in the cream, salt, pepper and mustard. Season to taste.

Chill for one hour, or until very cold. Just before serving, stir in the pistachios.

Garnish with more fresh dill. It’s easy to take cucumbers for granted. In normal circumstances, they are secondary characters at best, giving texture and a tiny amount of flavor to a given dish. In this soup they get to be the heroes.

The cream, appropriately enough, adds creaminess, and the garlic and mustard do what they do, and the pistachios give the operation some crunchiness, but the heavy lifting in this soup is done by the cucumbers and the buttermilk. Most of us use buttermilk from time to time in baking, but it is good to be able to actually taste it in a dish that lets it shine.

As I say, though, the hero of this dish is the cucumber.

Featured photo: Cold Cucumber Soup with Pistachios. Photo by John Fladd.

In the kitchen with Kerry Fay

Originally from the Detroit area, Kerry Fay, owner of Kerry’s Culinary Creations & Curb Appeal Meals Food Truck, moved to New Hampshire to attend the former Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts at McIntosh in Dover. After further schooling and internship opportunities in Italy and working off the coast of Maine, she returned to New Hampshire, and has since called Salem home. Seven years ago she started her food truck, figuring she could go to where the people are instead of waiting for them to come to her as would be the case with a traditional restaurant. While the menu is always changing, tacos, sliders and paninis are usually served.

What is your must-have kitchen item?
Definitely the chef’s knife. Aside from your hands it’s your No.1 tool. There’s a chef instructor who used to say the best tools in the kitchen are your two hands but after that comes your chef’s knife for sure.

What would you have for your last meal?
Authentic carbonara or maybe some duck confit with mashed potatoes.

What is your favorite local eatery?
It depends on what I’m hungry for. … If I want sushi I like Wasabi, which is in Salem, if I want Indian food I like Kashmir, which is also in Salem. I’m also a huge fan of Street in Portsmouth.

Name a celebrity you would like to see eating in your restaurant?
Anthony Bourdain would have been fun but he’s not with us anymore, so I’d probably go with Alton Brown.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?
The slow-roasted pulled pork, which I make into a taco or I add on top of fries or nacho fries or sometimes I [make] a Cuban panini with it.

What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?
I think probably [the] focus on plant-based [food] is pretty popular right now and seems to be the trend. When I have a fried avocado on my menu … or a falafel wrap [those are] … really popular. Farm to table is pretty popular around here [too].

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?
I like to cook slow and low at home, so things like short ribs and collard greens and corned beef. I also really like doing pasta because I can pretty much make a meal with pasta out of almost anything.

Chipotle Aioli
From the kitchen of Kerry Fay.

1 quart mayonnaise
Half of a 7.5-ounce can of chipotle peppers in adobo with some of the sauce (if you like spicier food, use the whole can)
1 teaspoon dry cilantro or 1 Tablespoon fresh chopped
1 Tablespoon sugar

Put half the mayo in the bowl of a food processor, then add the chipotle in adobo. Process on high for two minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula every 30 seconds until no large chunks of pepper remain. Add the cilantro and the sugar and process for another minute scraping down the bowl halfway through. In a mixing bowl, put the remainder of the mayo and then add the contents of the food processor bowl. Whisk the mixture until fully incorporated. It will be a light orange color with no light or dark streaks running through it.
Use as a dip for fries or veggies, serve on tacos, sandwiches, avocado toast etc.

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