Tag: 201224

An adventure in sesame: Drinks with John Fladd

Do you remember reading those Choose Your Own Adventure books when you were a kid?
You’d get to a turning point in a story, then find instructions like:
“To poke the sleeping bear with a stick, turn to page 130.
To run away from the sleeping bear as fast as you can, turn to page 170.”
So, then you’d turn to page 170, and read something like:
“Oh, no! You run away so fast that you don’t watch where you are going and ram into an oak tree, dislodging a porcupine, which falls on you. You scream so loudly that you wake the bear, who eats you, then picks his teeth with the quills. The End.”
This drink is a little like that, minus the hostile wildlife. It is an adventure in sesame.
I’ve been thinking a lot about fat-washing, lately. Fat-washing is what upscale bartenders call a method of infusing alcohol with the flavor of something oily. You hear occasionally about bacon-washed bourbon, or butter-washed rum. Almost any food that is fat-soluble is also soluble in alcohol. Shmancy bartenders can use that chemical loophole to add background notes to a cocktail. Theoretically, you could use this technique to make a peanut butter and jelly martini, for instance. (Actually, that’s not a bad idea. Let me write that down…)
A week or so ago, it occurred to me that if you can fat-wash peanut butter, couldn’t you do the same thing with tahini, the sesame paste used in hummus? I adapted a recipe for peanut butter-washed bourbon:

Tahini Rum

1 liter inexpensive white rum (As usual, you probably don’t want to use your good stuff, when you are covering up most of the subtle flavors with tahini. I used Mr. Boston.)
16 oz. tahini (I like Krinos.)

  1. Combine rum and tahini in a very large jar or other air-tight container. Shake with great vigor.
  2. Store the jar somewhere warm and dark for seven days, shaking twice per day.
  3. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, then filter through a coffee filter.

This results in a fantastic sesame rum. It is silver in color. It is smooth and tastes delicious. You could easily sit in an armchair with a brandy snifter of the stuff. There is, however, a drawback:
The rum and the tahini have spent a week getting their groove on. At the end of it, the rum has gotten everything she wants out of this fling, says, “Well, this was fun…” and goes on her way. The tahini, on the other hand, has turned into Rick Astley, and is determined that he is never going to give her up.
As much as the rum has bonded with the tahini, the tahini has bonded with the rum, and without the use of a lab-grade centrifuge — which my wife will not let me buy — a liter of rum nets you between 10 and 12 ounces of finished product. Given that there was a relatively small investment in the rum to begin with, that might be OK.
But there is another way:

Sesame Rum No. 2

1 cup white sesame seeds
4 cups white rum

  1. Over medium-low heat, toast the sesame seeds in a small skillet, stirring constantly, until they have turned the color of a graham cracker or a lion.
  2. Transfer seeds to the same large jar or airtight container. Add the rum. There will be a satisfying sizzle.
  3. Shake, then store in the same warm, dark place for four days, shaking twice per day.
  4. Filter through a coffee filter.

This sesame rum is not as smooth and silvery as its little brother, but it is also delicious. It has a deep golden color and really pops in your mouth, shouting, “It’s SESAME TIME, Baby!”
And you net about a quart of rum.
So, now you’ve effectively made the first of your Choose Your Own Cocktail choices — silvery and sleek, or bold and bronzy.
Here is your second choice:
The Vera Cruz Chameleon
3 oz. Tahini rum
3 gr. (a very small handful) cilantro
¼ oz. simple syrup
Tonic water to top (I like Fever Tree)
Tiny ice cubes

  1. Rinse the cilantro, then muddle it thoroughly in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.
  2. Add rum, then dry shake. (This means without ice.) This will allow the alcohol to extract color and flavor from the cilantro.
  3. Add ice and simple syrup, then shake again, until cold.
  4. Strain into a large glass, over tiny ice cubes.
  5. Top with tonic, then stir gently.

This is really delicious. The first flavor to hit you is the cilantro, but there is a delightful, smooth sesame aftertaste. If you are a cilantro fan — and of course you are, because you are smart and tasteful — you will love this.
But wait! What’s that you say? You’re not a cilantro fan? That’s very sad, but I’ve got you covered there, too.

The Lebanese Chameleon

3 oz. Sesame Rum No. 2
3 gr. (a very small handful) flat-leaf parsley
¼ oz. simple syrup
Tonic water to top
Tiny ice cubes

  1. Rinse, muddle and dry shake the parsley as above. Do NOT shake a second time.
  2. Filter your parsley/sesame rum through a coffee filter, into a tall glass, half filled with tiny ice cubes.
  3. Add the simple syrup and stir vigorously.
  4. Top with tonic, then stir again, this time gently.
  5. Drink with immense satisfaction.

So, do you remember that classic of American literature, The Cat In The Hat Comes Back? The one where the cat leaves a greasy pink bathtub ring that threatens to engulf the neighborhood? If you don’t filter the parsley rum, you will get the same stain, but in swamp green. It will taste delicious but will not look appetizing. If you want to skip the filtering step, drink this cocktail in a tiki mug.
A note on tiny ice cubes: I recently discovered that you can buy small silicone ice trays that make tiny (about ¼-inch) ice cubes that are like crushed ice, but better! They chill your drink extremely well and they look really, really cool.
So you can make a cilantro-based cocktail with tahini rum or sesame rum, or use the same recipe — again, with your choice of rums — with parsley, instead. You are somewhat spoiled for choice.
And there are no bears.
John Fladd is a veteran Hippo writer, a father, writer and cocktail enthusiast, living in New Hampshire.

Featured Photo: The Vera Cruz Chameleon. Photo by John Fladd.

Athanasios Sioras

Athanasios Sioras is the owner of Ya Mas Greek Taverna & Bar (125 Bridge St., Pelham, 635-4230, yamasgreektaverna.com), which opened in late August in the former space of Dimitriou’s, an eatery that was owned and operated by Sioras’s uncle. Ya Mas, which means “cheers,” according Sioras, features an authentic Greek menu split by classic and modernized dishes, including more than two dozen types of small plates; entrees, like pastichio, moussaka and slow-braised lamb shank; and desserts, like kataifi, rice pudding brulee and baklava sundaes. Around 30 percent of all of the restaurant’s products are imported directly from Greece, Sioras said, while others are sourced from local farms, like Brookside Farms on the Pelham and Dracut, Mass., state line. Prior to opening Ya Mas, Sioras worked as a food and beverage program supervisor at the Revere Hotel Boston Common and at the Boston Harbor Hotel.

What is your must-have kitchen item?
Just a regular chef’s knife.

What would you have for your last meal?
I would have a grilled whole fish, a branzino, and a nice bottle of wine.

What is your favorite local restaurant?
I do really like Surf, in Nashua.

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

What is your favorite thing on your menu?
My personal favorite thing is the spinach pie, which we hand-roll our own phyllo dough for. It’s a huge serving in its own individual pan. Some people will get it as an entree, because it is quite big, and they’ll take half of it home.

What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?
Gluten-free and vegan. We have a lot of vegan and gluten-free items here.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?
Junk food, or honestly I’ll just order a pizza rather than cook at home.

Gigantes
From the kitchen of Athanasios Sioras of Ya Mas Greek Taverna & Bar in Pelham

2 cups dried lima beans
½ cup diced carrot
½ cup diced celery
½ cup diced white onion
¼ cup freshly chopped mint
¼ cup freshly chopped parsley
½ cup tomato paste
3 cups water
1 tablespoon Greek honey
¼ cup Greek extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon black pepper
1½ tablespoons sea salt

Soak lima beans overnight in a bowl. Strain lima beans and place in a baking dish. Add carrot, celery, onion, parsley, mint, salt and pepper. In a bowl, mix honey, tomato paste, water and olive oil. Add liquid mixture to baking dish and mix ingredients well. Wrap with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 90 minutes.

Featured photo: Athanasios Sioras

Yule love it!

A look at the holiday indulgence that is the Yule log

Growing up in Québec, Nathalie Hirte of Litchfield doesn’t remember a Christmas when her mother, Agnès Boucher, didn’t make bûche de Noël, more commonly known here as a Yule log. The chocolate sponge cake, rolled with a jam or buttercream filling and decorated to look like the wood from an actual tree log, was the centerpiece of her family’s kitchen table at dessert.

“She would cut out the edges from the pan, and I remember I always looked forward to getting to eat those crunchy sides, because she wouldn’t use those to roll the log,” said Hirte, now the office manager of the Franco-American Centre in Manchester and the founder of “Franco Foods,” a virtual recipe swap she started earlier this year. “She always made meringue mushrooms to put on top of the cake, and she had this very small plastic Santa Claus on skis. She’d put it on with powdered sugar to make it look like he was skiing down the log.”

While Hirte’s mother most commonly used strawberry or raspberry jam as a Yule log filling, you can use everything from a chocolate or vanilla buttercream to a salted caramel or peanut butter mousse. The variations continue when it’s time to give your cake its own festive decorations.

The result may look fancy, but with the right baking ingredients and tools a Yule log may not be as daunting to make as you might think. Local restaurateurs and baking experts discuss some of their own tips and tricks for whipping up this classic holiday dessert.

Baked in tradition

The precise origin of baking a cake around the holidays to resemble a log is unclear, but Pembroke chef Debbie Burritt, owner of Sweet Crunch Bakeshop & Catering Co., said it may be linked to a long-standing custom in France and other European countries of burning a “Yule log,” or a large tree log, in one’s fireplace on Christmas Eve. Keeping the ashes from the burnt log was thought to bring good luck for the year ahead.

Baking your Yule log cake starts with a basic mixture of eggs, sugar, flour, melted butter, heated milk and baking powder, poured over a prepared sheet pan. Hirte said she likes to butter her pan and then line it with parchment paper before adding the batter. The exact baking time may vary depending on the oven, but it’s generally pretty quick — around 15 minutes, she said.

“You want to be careful not to overbake,” she said. “I’ve found that using a bigger pan … has cooked faster but also rolled better. … You can touch the middle of it and if it’s moist and bouncy then you know it’s ready.”

Because the cake itself is very light and airy, the trickiest part of the Yule log is in the rolling. Denise Nickerson of The Bakeshop on Kelley Street in Manchester said that it should be rolled warm as soon as it’s out of the oven to prevent it from cracking. You can use parchment paper or a small kitchen towel dusted with confectioner’s sugar to carefully roll it before letting it rest for several minutes.

“Once it’s cool, you can unroll it carefully and then spread your filling, because [the parchment paper or towel] kind of trains it to be easily rolled back up again,” she said.

Filled with variation

Whether you’re using a jelly or jam, or a buttercream icing or mousse, the filling flavor inside of your Yule log will be up to your own personal preference. Simply spread out your filling of choice across the cake while it’s laying flat, then gently roll it once again.

Burritt has filled all kinds of order requests in the past, from a chocolate Yule log with vanilla buttercream to pumpkin or peppermint-flavored Yule logs.

“You can start with any basic variation of a sponge cake and turn it into a Yule log by changing the buttercream inside, or the cake itself,” she said.

Hirte said she still likes to make hers the way her mother did, with a strawberry or raspberry jam, but she’s tried other fillings over the years, like a salted caramel mousse.

Popovers on the Square in Epping and Portsmouth also makes its Yule logs with a raspberry jam filling, general manager Matthew Clark said, while at Just Like Mom’s Pastries in Weare, owner and baker Karen Car will make a vanilla sponge cake filled with chocolate mousse on the inside.

In addition to those with chocolate, Nickerson has also taken orders for “birch” Yule logs, which feature vanilla buttercream inside a vanilla cake, made to look like a paper birch tree.

“When we roll ours up we like to leave the ends exposed rather than covering it with frosting, so you can see the swirl, which looks like the rings of the log,” she said.

In Henniker, pastry chef Aaron Mallory of The Grazing Room at the Colby Hill Inn has been serving Yule logs for two as a dessert option on its Christmas Cheer menu, with a hazelnut filling and a chocolate ganache covering.

Time to decorate

Once your Yule log is baked and rolled, the final step is to decorate it to your liking. It’s a good idea to let the rolled cake cool completely, Hirte said, even waiting until the next day if you can, to make sure it is firm and any icing you use as decorative tree bark will not melt.

Lightly running the tip of a fork or a spatula through the frosting is an effective way to manipulate the texture, giving the cake some rough edges that look like tree bark, Nickerson said. You can also cut off a small sliver of the cake from one of the ends and place it against the side of the bigger piece to make it look like the smaller branch of a tree.

“You can dust it with confectioner’s sugar for snow,” Nickerson said. “We also have poinsettias we put on ours that are made out of gum paste.”

Other garnishes to give your Yule log a woodsy look involve adding meringue “mushrooms” dusted with cocoa powder, or holly leaves with sugared cranberries for added color.

Where to get Yule logs
While the deadline to order a Yule log for the holidays has passed for most bake shops in New Hampshire, there is still time to get one at one of these local eateries.
• The Bakeshop on Kelley Street (171 Kelley St., Manchester, 624-3500, thebakeshoponkelleystreet.com) will have a limited amount of Yule logs available for sale, on Thursday, Dec. 24, from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., owner Denise Nickerson said.
• Colby Hill Inn (33 The Oaks, Henniker, 428-3281, colbyhillinn.com) is serving Yule logs for two as a dessert option on its Christmas Cheer menu. According to chief innovation officer Jeff Brechbühl, the menu will continue to be available for a few days after Christmas, on Dec. 26, Dec. 27 and Dec. 30.
• Frederick’s Pastries (109 Route 101A, Amherst, 882-7725; 25 S. River Road, Bedford, 647-2253; pastry.net) offers a dark chocolate Yule log filled with a light chocolate orange mousse, available to order now through New Year’s.

Agnès Boucher’s bûche de Noël (Yule log)
Courtesy of Nathalie Hirte of the Franco-American Centre in Manchester

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ cup milk
1 tablespoon melted butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the baking pan by buttering its surface and adding wax paper or parchment paper. Butter the surface of the paper and dust with flour. Beat the eggs in a deep bowl. Add the sugar, ¼ cup at a time. Make sure it is incorporated into the batter before adding more. Add the vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and the baking powder. Heat the milk (do not let it boil), then add melted butter. Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Add the hot milk and stir gently, to not deflate the mixture, until the liquid is absorbed. Pour onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, until it is lightly golden (the cake should be baked throughout, but still moist).
While the cake is baking, prepare a clean towel for rolling. Sift some powdered sugar onto the towel, or use some parchment paper, to help ensure the cake does not stick to it. Take the cake out of the oven. While the cake is still hot, trim off the edges (they will be hard and crunchy). Turn out the cake onto the prepared towel. If it’s still on, remove the paper from the back. Roll the cake quickly with the towel and let it rest, towel and all, for 15 minutes.
Unroll and spread your choice of filling (jelly, jam, buttercream icing, etc.) and roll once again. It will look like a large Swiss roll. Let the rolled cake cool completely. Add any decorations of choice (optional: cutting off a piece to put on top of the cake can give it the look of a cut off tree branch). Cover everything with the icing, spreading it to make it look like bark. You can use a fork or a spatula to add texture. After decorating, display as the centerpiece of your Christmas dessert table.

Featured photo: Raspberry jam and dark chocolate mousse filled Yule log. Courtesy of Popovers on the Square in Epping and Portsmouth.

The Weekly Dish 20/12/24

News from the local food scene

• Concord winter market moves online: The Downtown Concord Winter Farmers Market has transitioned to an online-only ordering model until further notice, according to a press release. Each week you can pre-order your market items online at harvesttomarket.com and pick them up at 7 Eagle Square in Concord on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon. The online market for each pickup week is open until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesdays. Available products include fresh local produce, eggs, meats, baked goods, coffees, teas, soaps and more, and you can purchase items from multiple vendors all in one order. Cash, checks and debit or credit cards are all accepted. Follow the market on Facebook @downtownconcordwinterfarmersmarket.

• New bakery opens in Manchester: A new bakery offering made-from-scratch gourmet doughnuts, cookies, custom cakes and other desserts and treats is now open in Manchester. Wild Orchid Bakery held its grand opening on Dec. 18 at 484 S. Main St. in the Queen City. Owner Shelly-Anne Storer, a self-taught baker who comes from Trinidad and Tobago, said many of the sweet and savory offerings available at the bakery are inspired by flavors of her homeland, from Trinidadian coconut rolls to saltfish buljol, or a salad dish of chopped fish, tomatoes and other veggies. She also has an ongoing partnership with Mike Brown of the Manchester-based Hometown Coffee Roasters, featuring his coffees brewed with a custom espresso machine Brown provided himself. On a table in the center of the bakery, Storer plans to regularly feature all types of locally made products for sale through partnerships with other area businesses. Visit wildorchidbakery.com.

• Pollution prevention grant: The state Department of Environmental Services’ Pollution Prevention Program was recently awarded a two-year federal grant to aid New Hampshire’s craft beverage industry in pollution prevention efforts, including those who produce beer, wine, mead, cider and hard seltzer, according to a press release. The Sustainable Craft Beverage programwill focus on improving the quality and volume of wastewater, implementing energy efficiency, conserving water and reducing waste. The program, which received the grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Energy, will partner with the New Hampshire Brewers Association, the New Hampshire Craft Spirits Association and UNH’s brewing program, as well as state electric and gas utility companies, to provide education and training programs. According to the release, the need for the grant funds is in response to the potential for increased environmental impacts as the craft beverage industry continues to grow in the state, such as the discharge of wastewater, increased energy use and water consumption.

Treasure Hunt 20/12/24

Dear Donna,
I am wondering if you can give me information and perhaps a value on this stove. It belonged to my husband’s grandmother, who passed away in 1992 at the age of 93, and we inherited it. We used it to cook with for several years and decided it would be safer to replace it. We have been using it as a decorative piece in our old farmhouse, but now we would like to sell it. Thank you for any information you can provide.
Gayle

Dear Gayle,
Antique gas or wood cooking stoves are really not in my field of appraisals, but I have had experience with them that I can share.

Enamel gas cook stoves like yours have been around for more than 100 years, and it’s not uncommon to still see them around in older homes today, though most have been retired to a basement and are not used any more. But some are and not just for cooking but for heating as well. Your apartment-size stove is sweet because of its size, and it appears to be in good condition. One of the markets for these might be camps around New England. Also, if you do a search online you can find companies that fully restore them and even can convert to electric. The value depends on how you market it, so doing more research could pay off for selling it.

As far as an appraisal value I would say it should be in the $500+ range for insurance purposes. Finding a new home for it at that price might be tough, though. Remember, someone has to put the work in to make sure it is safe again to use. So anywhere from $200 to $500 should be a safe place to start.

Kiddie Pool 20/12/24

Family fun for the weekend

Just plane fun

The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road, Londonderry, 669-4820, aviationmuseumofnh.org) is hosting a Festival of Planes, a walk-through exhibit that includes aviation-themed toys, models and puzzles, plus vintage aircraft piloted by celebrities like Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse. According to a press release, the toys span the 20th century, from custom-made cast iron planes to today’s mass-produced Hello Kitty airplane toys. In addition, hundreds of collectible model aircrafts will be displayed on a new Wall of Planes in the museum’s learning center. The museum will be open during the holiday vacation week, on Saturday, Dec. 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 27, from 1 to 7 p.m., and Monday, Dec. 28, through Wednesday, Dec. 30, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The museum will reopen Saturday, Jan. 2, and throughout January will be open Fridays and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 7 p.m. — later hours than normal to allow more families to see the Festival of Planes. The exhibit is included with museum admission of $10 per person; $5 for seniors 65+, veterans/active military and students under 13. Members and children under age 5 get in free.

Christmas Eve at the movies

Catch The Polar Express (G, 2004) Thursday, Dec. 24, at 10 a.m. at Cinemagic theaters (38 Cinemagic Way in Hooksett; 11 Executive Park Drive in Merrimack; 2454 Lafayette Road in Portsmouth; cinemagicmovies.com). Tickets cost $6.50.

Or watch Elf (PG, 2003), also playing Christmas Eve day, at 2 p.m. at the Flying Monkey (39 Main St., Plymouth, 536-2551, flyingmonkeynh.com). Tickets cost $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and students.

Last chance for lights

The Gift of Lights is open now through Jan. 3 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1122 Route 106 North, Loudon). The drive-thru Christmas light park spans 2.5 miles and features 80 holiday scenes and 520 light displays. It’s open Sunday through Thursday from 4:30 to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 4:30 to 10 p.m. Purchase tickets online or at the gate. The cost is $25 per car. Visit nhms.com/events/gift-of-lights.

The Southern New Hampshire Tour of Lights will run through Dec. 27. A list of addresses featuring holiday light displays at homes throughout Amherst, Antrim, Fitzwilliam, Jaffrey, Merrimack, Milford, Peterborough and Rindge is available, so families can plan a driving tour to see as many of the houses as they’d like. Contact any of those towns’ rec departments for the master list of addresses.

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