Two Thanksgiving cocktails

A palate-cleanser

This is your first big, blow-out meal of the decade. You’ve been locked away for two years and you fully intend to throw yourself into everything Thanksgivingy.

But, if you’re going to eat cheese and snack mix and olives and pigs-in-blankets before dinner, while simultaneously avoiding getting sucked into your brother-in-law’s conspiracy theories, you’re going to have to be light on your feet.

Then comes turkey and stuffing and far, far too many mashed potatoes. You can’t afford to get bogged down with something heavy. You need something light and fascinating to keep you light and fascinating.

Elderflower Collins

1½ ounces gin
½ ounce St. Germain – a sweet elderflower liqueur
1½ teaspoons absinthe
½ ounce fresh lemon juice
Seltzer – I like Topo Chico; it’s aggressively bubbly

Combine everything but the seltzer in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake thoroughly.
Strain into a Collins glass with 2 or 3 ice cubes.
Mix 50/50 with seltzer and stir gently.

On first sip, you might be forgiven for asking yourself if this is too light. Then, you’ll remember the fascinating part. Although there is very little absinthe in this drink, it pushes its way confidently to the front of your attention. The gin brings a clean, bracing quality, which is rounded out by the gentle sweetness of the elderflower liqueur. If you’ve ever heard a drink described as “dancing on your tongue,” this is what they were talking about.

This is a drink that will help you go the distance.

Full-blown decadence

New York Flip. Photo by John Fladd.

You’ve been stuck in your house, listening to Baby Shark on repeat since Valentine’s Day two years ago. This is Thanksgiving. You’re going to start drinking during the parade and drown out your mother’s parenting advice with the sound of your slurping.

This is pretty much the richest, most wanton excuse for a cocktail that you are likely to have had in the past 22 months. It has bourbon, cream, port, An Egg Yolk, and Absinthe for crying out loud. Do it.

New York Flip

1½ ounces bourbon
¾ ounce tawny port
¼ ounce nutmeg syrup (see below)
¾ ounce half & half
1 egg yolk

Dry shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker — this means without ice. (Trust me, you really, really want to mix the egg yolk thoroughly with the other ingredients before introducing it to ice.) Shake it for at least 30 seconds.
Add ice, then shake for another 30 seconds or more.
Strain into a coupé glass.

Decadent as it is, this cocktail isn’t all that alcohol-heavy. There is a modest amount of bourbon, but bourbon always tastes a little boozier than it actually is. The tawny port adds a touch of sweetness that builds on the nutmeg syrup. The cream and egg yolk are there to fortify everything and hum Victorian holiday songs in the background.

Nutmeg Syrup

¾ cup white sugar
¾ cup water
2 whole nutmegs

Using a mortar and pestle — or alternatively a tea towel and a hammer — break the nutmegs into medium-sized pieces, about the size of roughly chopped nuts.
Bring all ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Let the solution boil for 10 to 20 seconds, to make sure the sugar is completely dissolved.
Remove from heat and let the syrup steep for 30 minutes.

Strain and bottle. This should last at least a month in your refrigerator. It is appallingly good.

Featured photo: Elderflower Collins. Photo by John Fladd.

Healthy pumpkin oatmeal

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! More than likely this weekend is filled with food, whether you’re surrounded by family and friends or are keeping it more intimate. Among all that food, you might be seeking some respite. This oatmeal recipe is here to save the day, or at least get your morning off to a healthier start.

Not only is this recipe healthy, it is also incredibly easy to make. You combine all of the ingredients in the evening, refrigerate overnight, and then have a small amount of baking time in the morning. At that point you are rewarded with a piping hot breakfast with a heaping serving of pumpkin to start your day.

If you have company for the long weekend, this recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, quadrupled as needed. Plus, it is made with pureed pumpkin, and how much more fall-like could a dish be? Although it’s simple to make, it definitely gives the appearance of a much fancier breakfast dish.

Ingredient notes: Make sure you buy 100-percent pure pumpkin puree. You do not want pumpkin pie filling, which will be much sweeter. You also want to use old-fashioned or rolled oats. Instant oats will lose a lot of texture and become soggy. Finally, I recommend using almond milk, as it is my go-to milk. However, skim milk, soy milk, and coconut milk all could work and keep this a healthy dish.

Michele Pesula Kuegler has been thinking about food her entire life. Since 2007, the New Hampshire native has been sharing these food thoughts and recipes at her blog, Think Tasty. Visit thinktasty.com to find more of her recipes.

Healthy pumpkin oatmeal
Serves 2

1½ cups canned pumpkin (100% pure pumpkin)
½ cup old-fashioned oats
2 egg whites
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup unsweetened almond milk*

Spray a small baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine pumpkin, oats, egg whites, sugar and cinnamon in the prepared dish, and stir well.
Cover with foil, and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Bake oatmeal mixture, covered with foil, for 20 minutes and uncovered for another 10 minutes.
To serve: Scoop half of the pumpkin mixture into a cereal bowl.
Top each serving with 1/4 cup almond milk.
Sprinkle with extra cinnamon and sugar, if desired.

Photo: Healthy pumpkin oatmeal. Photo courtesy of Michele Pesula Kuegler.

In the kitchen with DJ Belanger

Chef Dennis “DJ” Belanger of Nashua is the new owner of Culture (75 Mont Vernon St., Milford, 249-5011, culturenh.com), a locally sourced artisan sandwich shop also offering baked goods, pastries and fresh breads out of a scratch kitchen. A native of Hudson, Belanger got his start in the industry as a dishwasher at the age of 15 and went on to graduate from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Cambridge, Mass. For nearly a decade he worked his way up the ranks at Burtons Grill of Nashua, eventually becoming the eatery’s executive chef for a time. He has been with Culture since the shop opened in August 2020, assuming the role of owner earlier this month.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

There are two. One of them is what I call a bottom feeder, but it’s really just a wooden spatula that I use to scrape and mix everything. … Other than that, I would say my Vitamix blender.

What would you have for your last meal?

It would probably be just roasted chicken with rice and vegetables. It’s one of my go-tos if I don’t know what I want to eat, and it’s one of those things that I can eat every day and wouldn’t even think twice about.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

La Santa [Tacos & Tequilas], which is literally right over the line in Tyngsboro, [Mass.]. My fiancée and I go there probably at least once a month.

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

Matty Matheson. He’s a chef out of Canada, and he’s pretty big in the States now, too. I feel like he and I have a lot of similarities in our styles and philosophies of food, and I just really respect him as a chef and an entrepreneur. I would love to be able to pick his brain.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

Either the La Capra, which is our Italian sub, or the roast beef.

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

It’s definitely farm stuff, and just keeping things as local as possible. There’s a lot of focus on foods made from scratch and not anything that’s processed or mass produced, and that’s something that we definitely want to continue.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

My go-to at home is fried rice. Especially if I’ve got any leftover rice from the night before, it’s just a really good, fast dish.

Cranberry vinaigrette dressing
From the kitchen of Chef DJ Belanger of Culture in Milford

12 ounces frozen cranberries, thawed
1½ cups whole-grain or Dijon mustard
1 cup red wine vinegar
3 cups oil (half extra virgin olive oil and half canola oil)
¼ cup finely chopped chives
Salt and pepper to taste

Add cranberries to the cup of a blender and puree on high, making sure there are no chunks of berry left over. Add mustard, vinegar and salt and blend until fully combined. With the blender on medium-high, slowly add the oil into the mixture (should take about 30 to 45 seconds). Mix in chives to emulsified dressing (do not blend). Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or mason jar for storage. (Note: When blending cranberries, you may need to add a little water to help get everything blended together. You shouldn’t need much more than ¼ to ½ cup. You can also substitute almost any type of frozen berry or fruit to make this dressing).

Featured photo: DJ Belanger. Courtesy photo.

Coffee and community

The Brothers’ Cortado opens in Concord

While living out in Colorado in the early 2000s, Loudon native Chuck Nemiccolo developed a newfound admiration for coffee, thanks in part to the vibrant cafe culture of downtown Denver.

“There was this really cool place called Paris on the Platte, and it was basically like a 24-hour punk rock cafe,” he said. “It was a place where people from all walks of life were coming in, having coffee and just getting along. … That was kind of like the spark for me, when I really started to care about what I was drinking and where I was spending my money.”

Nemiccolo returned to the Granite State a few years later and worked at Starbucks in Concord for a time. But he always held on to a dream of one day opening his own spot — a cafe focused on community, local products and great coffee.

The Brothers’ Cortado, which opened in the Capital City on Nov. 18, is the culmination of that dream. Chuck and his younger brother Ian Nemiccolo have joined forces to make it a reality, purchasing the former True Brew Barista storefront in Bicentennial Square and getting it ready with the help of other family members and friends.

Courtesy of The Brothers’ Cortado.

If you ever visited the space as True Brew, you’ll likely first notice that the Nemiccolos have switched entrances, utilizing what was the former location’s bar as their main cafe area. Unlike its predecessor, the Brothers’ Cortado does not serve alcoholic beverages onsite.

“It had more light to it, and it felt more open and welcoming overall on that side,” Chuck Nemiccolo said. “We felt that it kind of fit best with what we wanted for the space.”

Coffees and teas at the Brothers’ Cortado are sourced from A&E, a USDA-certified organic roaster that launched in 2001. Nemiccolo’s lineup of drinks includes hot and iced coffees and espressos. He also makes his own syrups in house.

The cafe has a namesake drink with espresso and steamed milk, while other options include a peppermint mocha, a bourbon vanilla latte and a mocha borgia with orange.

“[We have] an Ethiopian blend for our light to medium roast. It’s bright and sweet, so it will be good for people that maybe want to experience something a little bit new,” Nemiccolo said. “Our flavors that we’re [bringing] to the lattes are not … super sweet, but sweet enough. We want a nice well-balanced drink that people can enjoy.”

Tea drinkers will find a diverse roster as well, from blueberry black, green mango and golden milk teas, to an herbal blend called New Hampshire Evening.

“The New Hampshire Evening is almost like root beer. It’s incredibly good,” Nemiccolo said. “I’m not a big tea drinker but I’ve fallen in love with it. It cuts down on the chamomile taste … and it just makes it a nice smooth experience.”

The Brothers’ Cortado is partnering with Concord bakery Bread & Chocolate to serve cheese Danishes, croissants and other pastries available daily out of a refilled case. Nemiccolo also hopes to eventually begin offering sandwiches, fruit or cheese boards and other small food items.

While it will start out with closing at 4:30 p.m. each day, the goal is for the cafe to expand to being open in the evenings at least a few times a week. Performances from local musicians, as well as themed events like poetry nights, are all being planned for the space.

“We want it to be a place where people can hang out and just relax and feel comfortable being at,” Nemiccolo said.

The Brothers’ Cortado

Where: 3 Bicentennial Square, Concord
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
More info: Visit brotherscortado.com, or find them on Facebook and Instagram @brotherscortado

Featured photo: Owners and brothers Chuck and Ian Nemiccolo. Courtesy photo.

Tastes of Trinidad

Manchester’s Wild Orchid Bakery finds a new home on Elm Street

After operating a bakeshop on Manchester’s West Side for a short time last year, self-taught pastry chef and Trinidad native Shelly-Anne Storer has found a new home downtown, where she has expanded her lineup of items to include vegan and gluten-free desserts and savory meals.

Stewed chicken with potatoes, Spanish rice, callaloo and sweet plantains.

Wild Orchid Bakery, now open in the former Lala’s Hungarian Pastry storefront on Elm Street, features a wide selection of custom offerings inspired by flavors of Storer’s homeland. The bakery’s name, she said, even comes from a connection she made between Trinidad and New Hampshire — both have an abundance of wildflower species.

“I wanted to bring part of my home here,” said Storer, who is originally from Diego Martin on Trinidad’s northwestern coast but has lived in the United States since late 2013. “It’s kind of like an oasis. You come in and you see the bright colors and you hear the music, and you’re like, ‘Whoa, where am I? I’m not in the city anymore.’ … Trinidadian food is so flexible. It’s like a melting pot for different cultures, so you can taste all kinds of foods.”

Since opening the doors of her new space earlier this month, Storer has slowly introduced new items each week, from sweeter indulgences like black currant rolls and guava and cream cheese pastries to savory home-cooked meals like corn soup and stewed chicken and curry plates. Callaloo, a vegetable dish cooked in coconut milk that Storer described as being similar to collard greens or okra, and dhal, a yellow split pea-based dish that can be consumed over rice or in a soup, have also been accompaniments to her Trinidadian lunch plates. The bakery even features a selection of bagged snacks and bottled drinks you can try that are popular in Trinidad.

Other dishes like shark and bake, a popular Trinidadian street food, and saltfish buljol, a chopped fish and vegetable salad, will likely be introduced sometime in the future. Storer also has plans to roll out a Trinidadian black cake typically enjoyed around Christmas as the holidays draw near.

Jelly doughnuts.

“It’s a rum-soaked cake, and you only have one slice at a time because it’s so strong,” she said. “After Christmas we’d just have one little sliver of a piece because that was all you needed.”

In addition to cooking and baking some favorite foods she grew up with, Storer has a regularly stocked case of pastries and baked goods, which include her own line of gourmet doughnuts in a variety of flavors, as well as cookies, cupcakes, scones, pies, sticky buns and sweet breads. She also fulfills custom cake orders for occasions large and small.

Continuing a partnership she had at her former shop, Storer is once again collaborating with Mike Brown of Hometown Coffee Roasters in Manchester, offering coffees and espresso drinks with some of his blends, and she’s looking to expand on her own line of flavors.

Adorning the walls of Wild Orchid Bakery are prints and artwork from various local painters and photographers, available for sale. Storer hopes to soon acquire a liquor license, with the intent to serve island-style drinks and brunch cocktails like mimosas and bloody marys.

Wild Orchid Bakery

Where: 836 Elm St., Manchester
Hours: Monday and Thursday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (hours may be subject to change)
More info: Visit wildorchidbakery.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram @wildorchidbakery or call 935-7338

Featured photo: Assorted doughnuts, Trinidadian pastries and coffee. All photos courtesy of Wild Orchid Bakery.

The Weekly Dish 21/11/25

News from the local food scene

• Keep on brewing: Granite State craft breweries are among those across the country observing the third annual Small Brewery Sunday on Sunday, Nov. 28. The day was created by the Brewers Association as a way to encourage beer lovers to celebrate and support locally owned breweries, brewpubs and taprooms, according to a press release. The Association is inviting breweries everywhere, including those in New Hampshire, to share their Small Brewery Sunday experiences on their social media channels using the hashtags #SmallBrewerySunday and #SeekTheSeal. The industry as a whole is still working to recover from a 9 percent overall drop in craft beer sales in 2020, according to the release. The New Hampshire Brewers Association is also continuing its New Hampshire Pint Days fundraiser through Wednesday, Dec. 1, featuring limited-edition collectible 16-ounce pint glasses that are available for sale at more than 30 participating breweries statewide. Visit smallbrewerysunday.com.

• Bringing on the blueberries: Berrybogg Farm in Strafford will soon be selling a new blueberry cookbook, along with a 2022 calendar and other items like apparel and accessories, in commemoration of its 45th anniversary. According to its website, the online store will reopen on Friday, Nov. 26, with each of these items available for sale. The cookbook is expected to feature dozens of blueberry-based recipes, from simple jams and syrups to baked goods and desserts. Berrybogg Farm spans about 7 acres, growing nine varieties of blueberries over a period of roughly six weeks from mid- to late July into August. Visit berryboggfarm.com.

• Sweet deal: Loon Chocolate, a small-batch producer of handcrafted bean-to-bar chocolate based in Manchester, is moving its operations into The Factory on Willow (252 Willow St.), where it will expand its manufacturing space and add a retail space for its products. Construction on the product began earlier this month. According to Loon Chocolate owner and founder Scott Watson, he hopes to move into the space just after Christmas and have it open to the public around Jan. 29. Loon Chocolate features several types of flavored chocolate bars and has since diversified its product line into other offerings like hot cocoa bombs, cacao nibs, and a chocolate-infused elixir kit for spirits. Visit loonchocolate.com or follow them on Facebook and Instagram @loonchocolate for updates.

• Give thanks with beer: Join Northwoods Brewing Co. and its sister restaurant, Johnson’s Seafood & Steak (1334 1st New Hampshire Turnpike, Northwood) for a Northwoods Friendsgiving on Friday, Nov. 26, beginning at noon. The event will feature a variety of dark and seasonal brews from more than a dozen guest breweries on tap, including Great North Aleworks, To Share Brewing Co., Twin Barns Brewing Co. and Lithermans Limited, as well as live music from 5 to 7 p.m. with Cecil Abels and Rachel McCartney. Visit northwoodsbrewingcompany.com.

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