Tag: 200604

In the kitchen with Eddie Saktanaset

Eddie Saktanaset of Londonderry is the owner of Muse Thai Bistro (581 Second St., Suite C, Manchester, 647-5547, musethaibistro.com) and Arincha (80 Constitutional Blvd., Merrimack, 420-8235, arincha.com), two Asian restaurants with entirely different concepts. Muse Thai Bistro features authentic Japanese sushi and Thai options, while Arincha has more of a simplified fast casual approach, offering items like boba tea and Hawaiian-style poke bowls in addition to Thai street food. Born in Thailand, Saktanaset came to the United States when he was 6 years old. His parents own Siam Orchid Thai Bistro in Concord, which has been open for more than two decades. Due to Covid-19, limited menu offerings are currently available for pickup or delivery from both Muse Thai Bistro and Arincha.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

The one tool I must have in my hands is a yanagiba [Japanese chef’s knife], primarily used to slice boneless fish fillets for sushi.

What would you have for your last meal?

Sushi … and a cup of bubble tea that my wife makes for me on a daily basis.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

Siam Orchid [Thai Bistro in Concord]. Most of the recipes come right from my mom.

What celebrity would you like to see ordering from one of your restaurants?

Chef Masaharu Morimoto … [from the television show] Iron Chef.

What is your favorite thing on either of your menus?

There are a few but my personal favorite for Thai food would be [the] pad Thai, drunken noodles, Bangkok noodles and massaman curry. For sushi, the Arincha poke bowl, shrimp tempura maki and spicy tuna. For boba tea, it would be the black milk tea and the honey dew milk tea.

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

Thai [food], sushi and boba tea. That was why we opened Arincha. We wanted [the menu] to be geared more toward street food, which is how you will find it when you go to Thailand.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

[My wife and I] usually just like to sit and relax and spend time with our son at home. But if we wanted to cook, our favorite would be to bake cookies or make Rice Krispies treats.

Photo: Eddie Saktanaset of Arincha in Merrimack and Muse Thai Bistro in Manchester. Courtesy photo.

Homemade pad Thai
Courtesy of Eddie Saktanaset of Muse Thai Bistro in Manchester and Arincha in Merrimack

Flat rice noodles
2 tablespoons cooking oil
Protein (your choice of chicken, shrimp or tofu), cut into small pieces
2 eggs, beaten
Chopped green scallions
½ cup roasted peanuts
Handful of fresh bean sprouts

For the sauce:
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon gluten-free soy sauce
5 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons peanut butter (optional)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Cook noodles and rinse under cold water. Mix fish sauce, soy sauce, light brown sugar, peanut butter and rice vinegar to make the sauce, then set aside. In a large saucepan or wok, heat oil over medium to high heat. Add protein and any of your favorite vegetables. Cooking time will vary, depending on the type of protein you choose. Push your ingredients to the side of the pan and add a little more oil. Add the eggs, then add noodles, bean sprouts, peanuts and sauce, mixing and combining all ingredients. Top with peanuts and green onions.

Game-changing eats and more

New sports bar and cornhole court opens in Londonderry

Bob Carrier and his younger brother Rodney are both avid players of cornhole, a game they said has consistently grown in popularity and has spawned multiple competitive leagues in New Hampshire and beyond. As the Carriers got to know fellow players, Bob realized there weren’t many communal spaces for them to enjoy food and drinks that could also accommodate cornhole leagues. Some members were even driving long distances — an hour and a half or longer — on weeknights to compete in tournaments.

Enter the Game Changer Sports Bar & Grill in Londonderry, which officially opened for outdoor dining and cornhole games on May 22. The new sports bar features a full menu of original appetizers, burgers, sandwiches, wraps and salads, plus more than two dozen beers and wines.

Named after one of the popular brand names of cornhole bean bags, Game Changer has an outdoor patio that can seat up to 26 diners. There are currently three outdoor cornhole boards out in front of the parking lot for anyone to pick up and play while they wait for a table.

Being open for outdoor dining only, Carrier said, has been effective at helping his servers and cooks get used to the new menu. So far the reception has been very positive.

“Our concept was to have not your everyday pub food … or fried food that makes you not feel very good after,” he said. “We’ve got really great salads, wraps [and] grilled foods … and a lot of the names are based off of sports [terms].”

Of particular note are the burgers, which Carrier said have been Game Changer’s best-selling items thus far. The Game Changer burger features an 8-ounce beef patty, topped with braised pork carnitas, cheddar jack cheese and jalapenos on a brioche roll. It’s then served with pico de gallo and lime. Others include the Buckaroo Burger, which has American cheese, bacon, a barbecue sauce drizzle, lettuce, tomato and onion rings; and a black bean veggie burger with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and guacamole.

On the appetizer menu, popular sellers have included the Illegal Touch of the Hand Nachos, (loaded up with cheddar jack, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, scallions, jalapenos and the option to add chicken or pork carnitas); the Playoff Pot Stickers, featuring pork-filled dumplings seasoned with authentic Asian spices and served with scallion soy sauce; and the Last Kid Picked Pretzels (Bavarian pretzel soft sticks served with an artisan beer cheese sauce).

Wraps, like the Changeup Chicken Caesar, the Gridiron Guac BCLT or the Play Action Pulled Pork, are available on white or wheat tortillas, and are served with regular or sweet potato fries. There are also multiple flatbread options, like the Powerplay Pepperoni (with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese and smoked pepperoni); the Changeup Cheeseburger (with Angus beef, marinara, red onion, mozzarella and fries); and the Hat Trick Hawaiian (with marinara, mozzarella, Canadian bacon, sweet pineapple and bacon crumbles).

The bar features 16 taps of domestic beers and a rotating selection of local craft brews, as well as bottled and canned beers, some wines and cocktails, like the Game Changer house margarita, which has Hornitos Reposado tequila, triple sec liqueur, agave syrup and fresh lime juice.

The dessert is the only section of the food menu not currently available, according to Carrier, but you can expect several sweet treats soon, like fudge brownie sundaes with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge and whipped cream; cinnamon sugar-covered churros; and multi-layered dark chocolate cakes topped with white chocolate mousse.

When the bar opens indoors, a large designated section will have eight lanes for cornhole, each with high-top chairs and tables, for either competitive or recreational games. For now, Carrier said he’s thinking of having each lane open on a first-come, first-served basis, with rentals for larger groups and leagues. Sanitized bean bags will be available for a small charge.

Behind each cornhole board is an iPad that will keep score of your game. During tournaments, the iPads will be synced up to each 75-inch television screen on the opposite wall that will keep track of the brackets.

Carrier said the concept of Game Changer was not to attract cornhole league members or competitive players, but also to create a spot for anyone to play the game while enjoying a shared appetizer, a burger and fries or a beer.

“Everybody can play cornhole. … It doesn’t matter what age you are. You can throw the bean bag,” he said. “We also like the family atmosphere of just coming to hang out, playing cornhole and maybe watching sports on our TVs. … There have already been a lot of people that have reached out to us to hold tournaments and games to raise money for school sports, fundraisers and stuff like that. So once we get open inside, we’ll start booking those.”

Photo: Interior of Game Changer Sports Bar & Grill in Londonderry. Photo by Matt Ingersoll.

Plants for free

How to divide your flowers

I spend a lot in plant nurseries. At $10 or more a pop, it is easy to spend a hundred dollars quick as a blink. But I’m also a firm believer in dividing my perennials so that I don’t have to spend so much. Once you have established a good plant palette, you can increase numbers by dividing plants. Don’t be afraid to give it a try.

You need to learn a little about each plant in order to know if the roots can easily be separated, allowing you to divide plants. And although horticulturists may tell you that the time of year is important, in my experience you can divide most things anytime. Peonies are supposed to be moved or divided only in the fall after they have gone dormant, but I once moved 50 peonies for a client in June and they thrived.

One way to learn about propagation is by using a good text. My bible is Manual of Herbaceous Ornamental Plants by Steven M. Stills. Although the publisher sells new copies at $58.80, used copies are readily available for a fraction of the price.

The book tells when to divide (spring or fall) and whether plants spread easily by seed. It also gives cultural tips about where and how to plant each flower. Most common and many unusual plants are included, one or two pages on each. There are drawings for each, with a few color photos in the back.

Another way to learn about dividing plants is to just do it. Dig up a plant and examine the roots. I use a drain spade to do this. A drain spade is a pointed shovel with a long, narrow blade (commonly 6 inches wide and 16 inches long). I plunge it into the soil and pry back a little. Then I repeat the procedure on all sides. When the plant is loose, I lift it out.

Some plants have long, deep roots. Others, such as peonies, have roots that look like tubers. Most have lots of string-like roots going in all directions. If the bed you are working in is full of weeds, it is important to distinguish between grass or weed roots and those of your plant. Observe the color and texture of the plant roots and remove any roots that are different. Daylily roots, for example, are very distinctive in both color and shape.

When dividing a plant, you may wish to actually bare-root it. Do this by shaking off any soil attached, or washing the root system with a hose to remove the soil. Weed or grass roots will be obvious when you do that. I normally do that for any gifted plant because I want to avoid getting any invasive weeds that might come with the plant. I learned that lesson the hard way, having accepted some nice iris plants that had goutweed roots embedded that then have plagued me for 30 years.

If all the roots are attached to a single stem, you cannot divide the plant. But most plants are not like that. You can usually tease the roots apart, taking sections of the clump apart. Each chunk will give you a nice plant.

Hostas are common shade plants with lovely foliage. They do produce white flowers in mid-summer, but most people grow them for the foliage. Big clumps commonly are created as the plant expands, roots sending up new plants. Dig up a big clump and you might get a dozen plants — or more.

I was dividing some hostas recently and found some clumps hard to pull apart. So I used a curved, serrated knife to cut through some roots, allowing me to separate them. If you don’t have a garden knife, buy a steak knife at a yard sale or junk shop — or sneak one out of the kitchen — and it will work just fine.

And then I wanted to move some common orange daylilies. These send out long roots, which then send up new plants, so one plant can become many just in the time it takes to get a bottle of orange pop from the kitchen. Or a year to two.

With the daylilies, I used a shovel to cut through the roots between plants to get them into clumps of a manageable size. Don’t worry about damaging roots or leaves; these puppies are indestructible. Just dig up, cut apart and move.

For spring-blooming plants, digging now may hinder flowering this year. For fall-blooming plants, that is less of a problem. Some plants benefit by digging, dividing and fertilizing. Steven Stills’ book mentions how often to do that: for purple coneflower, for example, it is every four years. For Shasta daisies, every other spring is best. And so on.

Always choose a cool, cloudy day for dividing plants. Even a drizzly day. Plants can go into shock if divided at noon on a hot day. I like to do it in the evening when rain is in the forecast.

The great thing about digging up a big perennial is not only that you have more plants, but your friends will, too!

Photo: Barerooting with a hose will ensure you have no weed roots. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

Concord Dairy Sign

Dear Donna,
I have this sign from The Concord Dairy. I’m not sure what to do with it and am wondering if you could help with a value. It’s a big one, 8’x4’, and it could be a plywood. I’m not sure of the age.
Carl

Dear Carl,
My first thought for you is if you market it in Concord, I think you might find collectors. The size is an issue, but it appears to be in good shape.
The Concord Dairy was around from the early 1900s till the 1970s, when it was bought out by Weeks. I hope you can find a buyer within the state. As I said, size is an issue for some collectors who prefer smaller items, but a restaurant or business might like it for wall coverage. And it’s a good piece of history within the state.
Carl, I would advertise that you are looking for a home for it. I think I would start off with a value at $200 and see where that goes. Thanks for sharing and I hope you find it a new home.

Kiddie Pool

Family fun for the weekend

Ocean celebration
The Seacoast Science Center (seacoastsciencecenter.org) is celebrating World Oceans Day (Monday, June 8) with programming that started June 1 and will run through Monday. Catch up on previous days’ presentations (including a Q&A scheduled with marine mammal rescue experts and environmental storytelling). Presentations on the schedule for the rest of the week include a discussion about plastic-eating bacteria (Thursday, June 4, at 11 a.m.), a creature feature with a baby octopus (Friday, June 5, at 11 a.m.), a virtual 5K on Saturday (June 6) and a World Ocean Day Family trivia challenge on Monday, June 8, at 6 p.m. (register in advance). Find a full schedule and links to all the programming on their website.

Camps, virtually
The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord (starhop.com) will host week-long virtual camps starting the week of June 22. The camps will feature live Zoom sessions in the mornings and afternoons with activities for kids to do on their own in between, according to the website. The materials needed for each camp will be sent to campers and are included in the price of registration, the website said. The first two camps are geared toward younger kids — “Discover the Dinosaurs” for ages 5 to 8 years old and “Science Explorers” for ages 5 to 7 years old — and adult supervision will be required, the website said. Other camps include “Tech for Ecology” (July 13 to July 17 for ages 10 to 14 years) and “Astronomy 101” (Aug. 3 to Aug. 7, for ages 8 to 12; the final week). The cost is $90 to $110, depending on the camp, with discounts for members and for second campers from the same family. Find the full list of camps and registration forms on the website.

The Currier Art Center in Manchester (currier.org) has several camps and online classes scheduled for the summer to include week-long classes (meeting Monday, Wednesday and Friday) for ages 6 to 10 and middle schoolers (with a daily week-long camp, Comics Camp, in mid-July) and weekly classes for kids, middle schoolers, teens and adults. Week-long camps cost $105, weekly classes start at $110 (with discounts for members and people taking multiple classes), according to the website.

At the New Hampshire Audubon, they’re calling their online camp a Backyard Summer Camp (nhaudubon.org), with eight week-long sessions planned with programs for ages 4 to 5, 6 to 9 and 10 to 12. The programs will feature a virtual circle, live animal presentations, activities campers can do at their own pace and more. The cost is $70 or $100 per week (depending on camper age) with discounts for members, according to the website. Themes include “Feathered Friends,” “It’s a Buggy World,” “Be a Scientist” and more.

Wild Salamander Creative Arts Center in Hollis(wildsalamander.com) has one-off online classes (in addition to its lineup of in-person summer camps). Felting classes, most open to grade 3 through adults, are scheduled starting June 16; they cost $27 and felting kits with materials for one project will be available for pickup the day before the classes, which will be held on Zoom, the website said. Projects include butterflies, ladybugs and cactus.

Home puzzling

Escape rooms go virtual — for free

Escape rooms have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, but some have come up with creative ways to keep players engaged while their doors are closed.
Five New Hampshire escape rooms — NH Granite State Escape in Manchester, Break Free 603 in Amherst, Monkey Mind Escape Rooms in Portsmouth, Mystery NH in North Conway and Time Quest NH in Littleton — are among 25 escape rooms from around New England that have come together to develop a free, at-home virtual escape room experience for players.
“We have to remind people that we’re still here and, ideally, will still be here at the end of [the pandemic],” Beth Scrimger of Mystery NH Escape Rooms said. “Hopefully, it will give people a glimpse into an escape room they weren’t familiar with before so they [think], ‘I can’t wait until it opens again.’”
The escape room concept originated as a subgenre of point-and-click video games in which the player is locked in a room and must find his way out using only the objects within the room. Real-life escape rooms have various types of objectives, based on a theme or backstory, that involve finding clues and solving puzzles around the room.
The theme for the virtual escape room experience is “Everyday Superheroes: Always Saving Our Butts.” As the story goes, an evil villain named Dr. T.P. Rolls has snuck into town in the middle of the night and stolen every last roll of toilet paper.
“He’s cleared out every bathroom, linen closet, and store shelf and brought the stash to his hidden toilet paper warehouse,” reads the story description on the New England Room Escapes website. “Your help is desperately needed! Assemble a team of everyday superheroes — from doctors to police officers to teachers — to find the secret lair and Save Our Butts!”
“There are so many people out there keeping our world turning right now,” Scrimger said. “Teachers, farmers, [mail delivery] drivers, grocery store [workers] — they are our everyday superheroes, so we decided to come up with a story that honors them.”
To play, visit the NERE website, where you’ll find links to each virtual escape room on the participating escape rooms’ respective websites. Each virtual escape room is unique and features different objectives and puzzles.
“The escape rooms have all developed their own concepts with their own flair,” Scrimger said. “Some are really challenging; some are super simple. Some require you to write things down on a piece of paper to solve the puzzle, or you have to complete a certain task to make something else happen.”
Upon completing an escape room, you’ll be given the name of an occupation of an everyday hero. That occupation is your “key.” Return to the NERE website and input the key for that escape room to receive credit. Players who complete all 25 escape rooms by June 30 will receive discount codes to use at those escape rooms once they reopen for business and will be entered for a chance to win the grand prize: two tickets for one free game at each of those escape rooms.

“Everyday Superheroes: Always Saving Our Butts”
Visit neroomescapes.com to start your virtual escape room adventure, going on now through June 30.

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