Being in Jamantics is like riding a bicycle; however long its five members are apart, the moment they plug in and play, their reliable groove reappears. As rehearsals began for a Nov. 19 reunion show at Bank of NH Stage in Concord, the synergy “was immediate,” guitarist Lucas Gallo said. “Beyond Jamantics, we all have experience musically with each other. … Now the whole band’s back together and it’s sounding great, in my opinion.”
“It’s like putting on a well-oiled glove,” fellow guitar player Freeland Hubbard added.
The group officially existed only from 2009 to 2011 but didn’t break up; it disbanded. Drummer Masceo headed west, and the rest — Gallo, Hubbard, bass player Eric Reingold and fiddler Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki — carried on with other projects.
Reingold worked with several bands, including NEMA winners Cold Engines, while Tirrell-Wysocki appeared on recording sessions and played solo, as did Hubbard and Gallo, who also helped promote local shows. Masceo worked for Napa, California-based Enchanted Hills Camp and served as Jamantics’ archivist.
In October 2015, Jamantics “re-banded” for a show at Concord’s Capitol Center.
When Masceo moved back to Concord in 2019, a 10th anniversary reunion show happened at the newly opened Bank of NH Stage. A planned event the following year was scrapped due to pandemic concerns, but they’re back on Nov. 19 at the same venue for what’s hoped to be a yearly JamAnnual GetDown.
In advance of the show, a new single dropped; “Immortal” began in Masceo’s home studio.
“I was bored like everybody else during the pandemic, and what happened was a ball rolling situation,” he said. “Freeland, Reingold and I had been playing together as a trio; [then] I just kind of sprung it on everybody when it was done…. I wanted everybody to be happy; when there’s five people in a band, that can be a little stressful. I guess it was taking it one person at a time.”
Called InstaJam, the trio had a live debut planned in April 2020 that didn’t happen, but later in the year they began playing around the area as The Special Guests. Masceo remembers walking on stage for the first time after months of lockdown as emotional and unexpected.
“It certainly was a reflection of nostalgia about all the times we’d felt that way… in the pocket of the crowd’s energy, feeling good about the music we’re playing,” he said.
Reingold was philosophical about the experience.
“It’s very rare that we basically as a species all experience the same thing as one people,” he said. “We all experienced lockdown, and I think it goes without saying that nobody was unhappy to get back to the world. Not only musicians, but just everybody in general. It was a breath of fresh air … enhanced by the fact that we’re the ones that get to play for the people coming out.”
When Jamantics formed, their two-part mission was making music and fostering the local music scene. Even as they hit milestones like opening for Little Feat at Casino Ballroom in Hampton, they worked to bring regional bands to Concord for shows at Penuche’s, the Barley House and other venues. Ten years on, they’re pleased with the city’s commitment to local arts, particularly the Capitol Center and its satellite 600-seat room that Reingold calls “the perfect venue.”
Beginning with transforming the Spotlight Room lobby space early in the decade, the nonprofit has long boosted area acts, Reingold observed.
“You’d be talking to the same people who just got off the phone with Willie Nelson’s booking agent, and they’re still making time in their schedule,” he said, adding the new space “fills a gap that I think has existed in Concord for quite some time. So we’re pretty excited to be able to be part of it.”
Jamantics Reunion w/ Teeba
When: Friday, Nov. 19, 8 p.m. Where: Bank of NH Stage, 16 S. Main St., Concord Tickets: $15 and up at ccanh.com
• Give gratitude: Offering a bit of an early start to the holiday, the Thanksgiving Shindy features five acts, including a surprise band reuniting specifically for the event. The no-cover show — its name means a noisy disturbance or quarrel — has female foursome Girlspit, hip-hop group Zooo Crew, raucous rockers Felix Holt and Concord mainstays Rippin E Brakes celebrating the local music scene. Thursday, Nov. 18, 8 p.m., Penuche’s Ale House, 16 Bicentennial Square, Concord, facebook.com/penuches.concord.
• Mighty combo: Over more than 50 years with several lineups, Roomful of Blues continues to provide a superlative big band experience drawing from jazz and jump blues roots. The current group includes guitarist Chris Vachon, lead vocalist Phil Pemberton, bass player John Turner and drummer Chris Anzalone on rhythm, Rusty Scott on keys and a horn section of trumpeter Carl Gerhard with sax players Alek Razdan and Rich Lataille. Friday, Nov. 19, 8 p.m., Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St., Derry, $30 at tupelohall.com.
• Slide ruler: The accolades keep rolling in for Erin Harpe & the Delta Swingers. The Somerville band, fronted by rootsy guitarist Harpe and Jim Countryman, won a second NEMA for their album Meet Me In The Middle and got a 2021 Boston Music Awards nomination. The group was born almost accidentally, when their world music band Lovewhip traveled to Austin for SXSW and got a better reception for playing the blues. Saturday, Nov. 20, 8 p.m., Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, $12 at stonechurchrocks.com.
• Eighties sound: Touring in support of their first new album in almost three decades, Psychedelic Furs are best known for hits like “Love My Way” and providing the title song for Pretty In Pink. Released last year, Made of Rain contains the signature drone pop sound that made them one of the favorite acts to come out of the British post-punk wave that launched The Cure, Tears For Fears and Human League. Sunday, Nov. 21, 8 p.m., Capitol Center for the Arts, 44 S. Main St., Concord, $29 to $49 at ccanh.com.
• Family tradition: Singer, guitarist and Manchester native Liam Spain keeps busy doing solo sets like one upcoming at a hometown brewery, playing with rock band Scalawag and doing traditional music in fraternal duo The Spain Brothers; he and brother Mickey have made a few albums and toured a bunch, sharing stages with Tom Paxton, Noel Paul Stookey, Roger McGuinn, Bill Staines and others. Sunday, Nov. 21, 8 p.m., To Share Brewing, 720 Union St., Manchester, more at tosharebrewinge.com.
A girl having a rough time adjusting to a new school adopts a dog in Clifford the Big Red Dog, a live-action movie based on the books.
Clifford is a photorealistic CGI Labrador-ish puppy movie-magicked red. When 11-year-old Emily (Darby Camp) first meets him, he is a just nameless small weirdly red dog — so small that he sneaks into her backpack unnoticed. Her mother, Maggie (Sienna Guillory), is out of town for a few days for work and Emily’s somewhat aimless Uncle Casey (Jack Whitehall), who would like it to be known that he has only lost her twice while babysitting her, is watching her. He demands they take the dog back to the strange animal rescue where they first saw him but she turns her sad girl eyes on him and he says they can keep the dog for the night but look for the mysterious Mr. Bridwell (John Cleese), the rescue’s manager, in the morning.
But in the morning, Emily wakes to find that the tiny puppy she’s named Clifford is now very large — still a puppy but more the size of a medium elephant. Emily, who has recently started at a new private school where the kids are snotty and she is lonely, is desperate to keep the puppy. Casey is desperate to keep Maggie from learning that he’s let her daughter adopt a minivan-sized animal. So they set off to try to find someone — Mr. Bridwell, a veterinarian, the wealthy father of Emily’s friend Owen (Izaac Wang), who appears to own an animal sanctuary — who can help Clifford. And, help them before the family’s landlord (David Alan Grier), with a very strict no-pets policy, finds out that Clifford is living in their very small New York City apartment.
But Clifford quickly becomes a bit of a viral star, getting the attention of Tieran (Tony Hale), an evil tech guy from a company seeking to make bigger organisms with the goal of growing more food more quickly. So far, all they’ve managed to engineer are giant chicken eggs, a two-headed goat and a very mean sheep. But Tieran thinks that if his company captures Clifford, they might unlock the secrets to giant cows.
A neighborhood full of characters quirky enough that you feel like you’re supposed to get to know them rallies to support Emily, who learns how to stand up for herself against bullies and how to make friends. It’s all done very softly, with lessons easily learned and most people basically friendly. Even the moments of Clifford in peril are very mildly perilous — all of which made the movie perfectly palatable to my young elementary school kids. But also relatively mild were the animal hijinks — and as big-dog silliness gave away to more emotional stuff, the movie lost them somewhat. My more middle-grade-aged kid seemed more engaged in the story-telling, more entertained by the “pleasant family sitcom”-level of humor.
While Clifford is somewhat visually distracting in the uncanny-valley sense, the movie was overall inoffensive. And, sure, “inoffensive and fine, I guess, rave critics!” is not something you’re likely to see in movie trailers. But that is where this movie landed, and I don’t think that is necessarily a knock on it. Sometimes a movie just being watchable by kids of varying ages and something their parents can stomach having on without paying too much attention is exactly the kind of entertainment the whole family needs. B- Rated PG for impolite humor, thematic elements and mild action, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Walt Becker with a screenplay by Jay Scherick & David Ronn and Blaise Hemingway (based on the books by Norman Bridwell), Clifford the Big Red Dog is an hour and 37 minutes long and distributed by Paramount Pictures via Paramount+ and in theaters.
Passing (PG-13)
Two childhood friends reconnect as married women in 1920s New York City in Passing, based on a novel by Nella Larsen with an adapted screenplay by Rebecca Hall, who also directed the movie.
When we first see Irene (Tessa Thompson), she’s out shopping on a hot summer day — being sort of quiet and deliberate in the way she walks, surveys a room and talks to people. What we realize she’s doing before every interaction is figuring out what the other person — fellow well-heeled shoppers, store clerks, hotel doormen — sees when they look at her. Irene is, as she later explains, “passing,” for the convenience of not being recognized as African-American in these predominantly white spaces in the 1920s.
Clare (Ruth Negga), also hanging out at the hotel, does give Irene a second look — and keeps looking until she comes over to reintroduce herself. Irene is rather shocked to realize that this blonde woman with a white husband — John (Alexander Skarsgard) — is her girlhood friend from the neighborhood. She is even more shocked to learn that John, whom she meets and quickly gathers is quite the racist, has no idea that Clare (or Irene) is Black.
Irene’s encounter with Clare seems to sort of shake her. She leaves with little intention of talking to Clare again; Irene’s husband, Brian (Andre Holland), even makes fun of Clare’s shallow-sounding apology letter (Irene was clearly appalled by John’s casual racism) that she sends later on. But then months later Clare shows up at Irene’s house and the women rekindle their friendship.
The movie leaves a lot ambiguous about what is happening between Clare and Irene. Both are well-off women, but living in different worlds with different levels of freedom in different circumstances because of how they present themselves to their worlds. Both seem to have tensions in their marriage — Clare’s more obvious than Irene’s but Irene also seems to have a wall between herself and her husband. We never really learn what their relationship was like in their youth and it’s never completely clear what each woman is looking for from the other now. At one point Irene tells a white writer friend, Hugh (Bill Camp), that everybody is passing in some way — one of many times when we wonder if the devoted wife and mother Irene seems to be working so hard to present herself as is her cover, of sorts, for other internal conflicts and frustrations. When she seems to push Clare and Brian to spend more time together, is she defeatedly accepting an attraction between them that she senses or is she doing it as a way to avoid thinking about her own attraction to Clare? There’s a lot that happens in the silences here, in the way Thompson and Negga look at each other, in the way the movie lights a scene, that leaves you to fill in the blanks of what you feel it all means. This even carries through to the way the movie ends. At times, I felt some frustration with this — exactly what does this movie want me to think I’m seeing? But Passing has stuck with me and, if anything, the ambiguity has left me thinking more about what’s going on with the people than strictly about the movie’s plot points.
Perhaps because it leaves so many things gray — both figuratively and literally, as this movie shot in black and white seems to most often play, beautifully, with grays — the movie is also able to touch on a lot of issues without it seeming like “Issues Related to Race: The Movie.” We see moments of Irene’s marriage, her interactions with her housekeeper, her parenting, her social life that all get to different elements of socioeconomic status and gender roles and hint at the tensions between the things she may want in her life and the things she feels she’s expected to do.
Passing is a quiet movie that leaves a bigger impression than it initially seems. Strong performances by Thompson and Negga and interesting choices in the way the movie was shot made this movie feel like a surprise masterpiece — something that had me invested and enthralled before I realized how much I liked what it was doing. A Rated PG-13 for thematic material and some racial slurs and smoking, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Rebecca Hall with a screenplay by Rebecca Hall (from the novel by Nella Larsen), Passing is an hour and 38 minutes long and available via Netflix.
Red Notice (PG-13)
Get cops, thieves and quips in Red Notice, a broad mostly fun adventure comedy starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds.
A nice fast food fried chicken sandwich with pickles, a side of fries and maybe a shake or some lemonade: Is it, you know, good? No. But is it good? Yes! Yes, so delicious even though you know it has very little nutritional value and is possibly contributing to long-term health problems. Likewise, is Red Notice contributing to the decline of theatrical distribution by providing, directly to your home, widely appealing or at least widely tolerable entertainment potentially in that four-quadrant sweet spot with big-name stars? Er, possibly. But is this movie good like a hot and crispy meal that comes in a paper bag and doesn’t require any work on your part? Yes, yes it is. Greasy, a little much, but satisfying.
After some extensive exposition explaining the fabled (and fictitious) three bejeweled eggs of Cleopatra, a fancy wedding present from Marc Antony back in antiquity, we meet FBI profiler John Hartley (Johnson) on the trail of Nolan Booth (Reynolds, playing the Ryan Reynolds Character TM that has become his whole shtick), an internationally known luxury-items thief. When Hartley’s paths cross with Booth’s, Booth has just stolen one of those eggs from a museum in Rome. We learn that all of art-thiefdom is likely looking for these eggs, one of which has never been found in modern times, because a wealthy Egyptian is looking to give them to his daughter as a wedding gift and he’s willing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to whomever can bring them to him.
After some fighting and some quipping, Hartley nearly has Booth but then Booth is able to slip away — only for Hartley to follow Booth to his fancy home in Bali and take back the egg. Too easy, thinks Interpol agent Urvashi Das (Ritu Arya), who turns around and arrests Hartley. It seems that his identity, including proof that he works at the FBI, has been erased, possibly the work of The Bishop — a rumored but never identified thief even more successful than Booth. (I’m going to spoil it right now and tell you The Bishop is Gal Gadot, which is only a spoiler if you haven’t seen any movie-related images and have never seen a movie before.) Both Hartley and Booth wind up in a Russian prison and decide that the only way out is to work together to help Hartley catch The Bishop. If he turns her in, Hartley hopes he can restore his good name and Booth hopes that there may be just enough wiggle-away room to score the three Cleopatra eggs himself.
This movie checks all the boxes for this kind of treasure-hunt-with-hot-people affair: We get a variety of international locales, cat-and-mouse scenes between thieves and cops and sometimes between thieves and thieves, and an unlikely partnership in Booth and Hartley leaving room for lots of physical comedy as well as rat-a-tat quips. This movie even has a secret art cache that blends ancient artifacts and stolen-by-Nazis loot. Does this movie underline what it’s doing by having Ryan Reynolds whistle the Indiana Jones theme music? Yes it does. But did I laugh when he and the Rock hunt for the egg and he advises to “look for a box that says ‘McGuffin’”? Yes, yes I did.
Red Notice does not exceed exceptions; it does not do any extra credit with the performances or dialogue or cleverness of the action or plot. But it delivers on the kind of National Treasure-y level (with just enough swear words that I probably wouldn’t show it to a kid younger than 13 or so) that I think it’s aiming for. Red Notice is easy watching and just fun enough to justify the low-bar effort involved in finding it on Netflix. B-
Rated PG-13 for violence and action, some sexual references and strong language, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, Red Notice is an hour-and-58- minute-long break from serious thought and is available on Netflix.
Red River Theatres 11 S. Main St., Concord 224-4600, redrivertheatres.org
Regal Fox Run Stadium 15 45 Gosling Road, Newington regmovies.com
Rex Theatre 23 Amherst St., Manchester 668-5588, palacetheatre.org
The Strand 20 Third St., Dover 343-1899, thestranddover.com
Wilton Town Hall Theatre 40 Main St., Wilton wiltontownhalltheatre.com, 654-3456
Shows
• The Big Parade (1925), a silent film with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, on Wednesday, Nov. 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey. Tickets start at $10.
• The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), a silent film with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, on Thursday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. at the Colonial Theatre in Keene (thecolonial.org). Tickets $15 (free for veterans).
• Spencer (R, 2021) screening at Red River Theatres in Concord Friday, Nov. 12, through Sunday, Nov. 14, at 1, 4 & 7 p.m.
• The French Dispatch (R, 2021) screening at Red River Theatres Friday, Nov. 12, through Sunday, Nov. 14, at 1:30, 4:30 & 7:30 p.m.
• Gojira (1954) the Japanese-language kaiju film introducing Godzilla, will screen with subtitles at Wilton Town Hall Theatre on Friday, Nov. 12, and Saturday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m.
• Judgement at Nuremberg (1961) will screen at Wilton Town Hall Theatre on Friday, Nov. 12, and Saturday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m.
• The Littlest Rebel (1935) starring Shirley Temple and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, will screen at Wilton Town Hall Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m.
• Hot Water (1924) starring Harold Lloyd, a silent film with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, on Sunday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m. at Wilton Town Hall Theatre. Admission free; $10 donation suggested.
• Sunflowers (2021) screening at Red River Theatres in Concord on Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 6 p.m.
• Warren Miller’s Winter Starts Now at The Music Hall, Thursday, Nov. 18, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Nov. 19, at 6 and 9 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 20, at 4 & 7 p.m. Tickets start at $28.
Featured photo: Clifford the Big Red Dog. Courtesy photo.
Pastoral Song, by James Rebanks (Custom House, 294 pages)
Occasionally a book does so well across the Atlantic that publishers in the U.S. pick it up, hoping that American readers will warm to the author as well despite the peculiarities of some English words. This worked out splendidly for J.K. Rowling.
There are similar hopes for Pastoral Song, which the U.K.’s Sunday Times pronounced “nature book of the year” when it was first published as English Pastoral. Subtitled “A Farmer’s Journey,” the book is a meditation on the plight of small farmers who struggle to keep family farms going even as the despised “factory farm” gobbles a larger share of our food dollars each year.
James Rebanks, the author, is a thinking-man’s farmer, although he makes it clear that no true farmer has time to sit and think. He inherited his land from his father but got his love of farming from his grandfather, who was the bigger influence in his life. Of his father he writes, “I would try to help him and would inevitably do something wrong and be shouted at.”
The grandfather was gentler in his approach, not only to his grandson but to farming.
“He would simply gaze at his cows or sheep for what seemed like ages, leaning over a gate. As a result he knew them all as individuals. He could spot when they behaved differently because something was wrong, when they were coming into season or were about to give birth. He thought only fools rushed around,” Rebanks wrote.
This is all well and good for the practice of farming, but unfortunately for the reader, Rebanks brings his grandfather’s style to this book. In sum, it is Rebanks leaning over a gate, for what seems like ages, musing leisurely about the challenges of farming. It’s watching the grass grow, with very little happening in long stretches, but for the occasional offing of varmints. (And I wish I had not learned how Rebanks’ father rid his fields of rabbits, but it’s too late for that now.)
To be fair, Rebanks memorably conveys the harshness of a lifestyle that has been romanticized. “My parents were half-broke. I could see it in the second-hand tractors, rusting barn roofs, and old machinery that was always breaking down and never got replaced. But I could taste it too, in the endless boiled stew and mince that was served up.”
The family earned a tenuous living that would be foreign to workers with biweekly direct deposit. Their pay varied with the weather, and with rising interest rates and diving market prices, and the occasional murder of crows that could swoop in and destroy a field of barley. And farming requires an extraordinary amount of emotional toughness, what with all the horrible ways in which farm animals can die, even outside of slaughter. (When’s the last time you watched a rat try to drag away a chicken?)
“The logic chain is simple: we have to farm to eat, and we have to kill (or displace life, which amounts to the same thing) to farm. Being human is a rough business,” Rebanks writes. But, he says, there is a difference “between the toughness all farming required and the industrial ‘total war’ on nature that had been unleashed in my lifetime.”
The past 40 years, Rebanks says, has upended thousands of years of farming practices that came before it, and when his father died, leaving him the land, he was faced with the same dilemma confronting his father and grandfather — how to earn enough from the land “to pay our bills, service our debts, and make some money for us to live on” — in circumstances vastly different from theirs.
Then, after all this musing in his motherland, Rebanks up and comes to America to visit friends. And traveling through Iowa and Kentucky, eying the Confederate flags and Trump signs, he figures out who to blame: those grungy Americans!
This may have played well in the U.K., but it was a startling turn of events in an otherwise mournful elegy for the farmer, to have him pick up a bat and start swinging it wildly in the Iowa cornfields. He said Kentucky felt like a “landscape littered with ghosts and relics” and called Iowa “dark, flat and bleak.”
“Everything old was rotting. Barns leaned away from the wind, roofs half torn off.” The cause of this dystopian Midwest: “America had chosen industrial farming and abandoned its small family farms,” as if there was a lever we pulled in our last election. In fact, we vote for factory farms every time we visit a supermarket, he says. “The people in those shops seemed not to know, or care much, about how unsustainable their food production is. The share of the average American citizen’s income spent on food has declined from about 22% in 1950 to about 6.4% today … The money that people think they are spending on food from farms almost all goes to those who process the food, and to the wholesalers and retailers.”
Fair enough. But read the room. An English farmer coming over here to lecture Americans about their grocery shopping, diss our fruited plains? It feels a little rude.
And Rebanks concedes that “the overwhelming majority” of farms are not factory farms. “About 80 percent of people on earth are still fed by these small farmers,” he writes. That said, the work of a small farm is a “tough old game and doesn’t fit with any economic principle of minimizing work and maximizing productivity.” So what to do? Besides supporting your local farmers, “thinking longer term and with more humility,” Rebanks suggests planting trees. He plans to plant a tree every day for the rest of his life.
It’s clear to see why English Pastoral was a hit in the U.K., with its call for more sustainably produced food there “in order to avoid importing more from sterile, ruined landscapes like those of the American Midwest, or from land being cleared of pristine ecosystems in places like Indonesia and the Amazon.”
It’s less clear why this occasionally plodding, occasionally melodic memoir would do well here. As our grandmothers would say, don’t bite the hands that feed you. C
Book Events
Author events
• HILARY CROWLEY Author presents The Power of Energy Medicine. Virtual event hosted by Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord. Thurs., Nov. 18, 7 p.m. Via Zoom. Registration required. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 224-0562.
• WENDY GORTON Author presents 50 Hikes with Kids: New England. Virtual event hosted by Toadstool Bookshops of Peterborough, Nashua and Keene. Sun., Nov. 21, 4 p.m. Via Zoom. Visit toadbooks.com.
• TANJA HESTER Author presents Wallet Activism: How to Use Every Dollar You Spend, Earn, and Save as a Force for Change. Virtual event hosted by Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord. Mon., Nov. 22, 7 p.m. Via Zoom. Registration required. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 224-0562.
• BRENE BROWN Author presents Atlas of the Heart. Virtual event hosted by Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord. Thurs., Dec. 2, 8 p.m. Via Zoom. Tickets cost $30. Ticket sales end Dec. 2, at noon. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 224-0562.
• JACK DALTON Kid conservationist presents his book, Kawan the Orangutan: Lost in the Rainforest. Toadstool Bookshop, 375 Amherst St., Nashua. Sat., Dec. 4, noon. Visit toadbooks.com.
• DAMIEN KANE RIDGEN Author presents Bell’s Codex and My Magnum Opus. Toadstool Bookshop, 375 Amherst St., Nashua. Sun., Dec. 5, noon. Visit toadbooks.com.
• JEN SINCERO Author presents Badass Habits. Virtual event hosted by The Music Hall in Portsmouth as part of its “Innovation and Leadership” series. Tues., Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m. Includes author presentation, coaching session and audience Q&A. Tickets cost $22. Visit themusichall.org or call 436-2400.
• DOWN CELLAR POETRY SALON Poetry event series presented by the Poetry Society of New Hampshire. Monthly. First Sunday. Visit poetrysocietynh.wordpress.com.
Book Clubs
• BOOKERY Online. Monthly. Third Thursday, 6 p.m. Bookstore based in Manchester. Visit bookerymht.com/online-book-club or call 836-6600.
• GIBSON’S BOOKSTORE Online, via Zoom. Monthly. First Monday, 5:30 p.m. Bookstore based in Concord. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com/gibsons-book-club-2020-2021 or call 224-0562.
• TO SHARE BREWING CO. 720 Union St., Manchester. Monthly. Second Thursday, 6 p.m. RSVP required. Visit tosharebrewing.com or call 836-6947.
• GOFFSTOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY 2 High St., Goffstown. Monthly. Third Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. Call 497-2102, email elizabethw@goffstownlibrary.com or visit goffstownlibrary.com
• BELKNAP MILL Online. Monthly. Last Wednesday, 6 p.m. Based in Laconia. Email bookclub@belknapmill.org.
• NASHUA PUBLIC LIBRARY Online. Monthly. Second Friday, 3 p.m. Call 589-4611, email information@nashualibrary.org or visit nashualibrary.org.
Language
• FRENCH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE CLASSES Offered remotely by the Franco-American Centre. Six-week session with classes held Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. $225. Visit facnh.com/education or call 623-1093.
At this writing, this debut record from Long Island native Constantine Anastasakis isn’t due out until February 2022, so there’s obviously an initiative to get the buzz going as quickly as possible before reviewers realize how much it sucks and tell people like you about it. I mean, Pitchfork Media will probably love it, as it conjures images of Pavement reborn as a half-synth-powered cyborg, and basically every song has a woozy, discombobulated feel to it, everything wandering in and out of pitch like a vinyl album that was left on top of a radiator for a few hours. Think of it this way: Brian Eno and Manchester Orchestra reinterpreted by the dumbest college student you’ve ever known, mixed into a hybrid no one would have ever asked for, except the melodies aren’t all that bad. Better than Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. accomplished, which is simultaneously the closest stuff to this, and yes, the faintest possible praise I can muster at the moment. D
Salt Ashes, Killing My Mind (Radikal Records)
The stage name of Brighton, U.K., singer Veiga Sanchez, Salt Ashes is diva pop with a good amount of retro house, tunes that are form-fitted for velvet rope clubs but could also work as soundtrack for a beachside Tilt-A-Whirl. “Love, Love,” the touchstone single, is pure Mariah Carey meets Janet Jackson, which is about where her voice fits. Unsurprisingly, she digs ’80s floor-filler stuff, checking off Giorgio Moroder, The Knife and Fleetwood Mac as influences; she’s been a dance-music player since her 2016 self-titled debut album, which was produced by the late Daniel Fridholm (a.k.a. Cruelty). Her lyrics deal with a laundry list of things that aren’t wildly unique to today’s young women: unrequited love, sex, anxiety, relationships, mental health, sexual harassment and such. The LP kicks off with a foggy, steam-driven, goth-infused electro-dance joint, “Lucy,” which is more Kylie Minogue than anything else. “Mad Girl” is ’80s as heck, down to the busy organic synths; “I’m Not Scared To Die’ covers the obligato ballad entry with aplomb enough. B
PLAYLIST
• Nov. 19 is here, and with it some new rock ’n’ roll albums. Some will be good and some will be bad, depending on one’s individual tastes or lack thereof. I’m looking at a rather large list of new albums, and I’m sure there will be something that won’t make me power-guzzle a six-pack of Pepto Bismol, but you never know. We can be nice and casual this week, because there is a plethora of albums to choose from, starting with Phantom Island, from a band called Smile, a project from Björn Yttling (Peter Bjorn and John) and Joakim Åhlund of the Teddybears. I think this will probably be safe for me to check out, because the Teddybears are awesome, so I’ll take my chances on the latest single at this writing, “Call My Name.” This song features vocals from mononymed Swedish singer-songwriter Robyn, who isn’t a very good singer, but the tune is a low-key, piquant, very pleasant blend of ABBA and Miss Kittin, very 1970s-radio if you can get past Robyn’s not-very-great voice. There’s a snowy, upbeat feel to it, which is just what the doctor ordered if you need something smooth and cocoa-y to wrap your ears around as we descend into the frozen North Pole of yet another New England winter.
• Well, that wasn’t so bad, was it. Hmm, dum de dum, why don’t we — wait, hold everything, here we go, a new album from Elbow, called Flying Dream 1, why didn’t someone tell me about this before? Elbow is one of the few indie bands in the world that still tinkles my jingle bells; they are from Bury in Greater Manchester, England. If past is prologue here, this will probably be awesome; their previous stuff has been like a cross between We Were Promised Jetpacks and VNV Nation, and — wait, I did a fly-by, didn’t I; you haven’t the foggiest idea what that even means. Unfortunately I do, so I’ll try to translate. Picture a stuffy literature professor starting a mildly aggressive rock band but never doing anything really punky, sort of like a British version of Bruce Springsteen except the singer doesn’t suck and it’s mostly mellow-ish, and the tunes are really catchy and cool. That’s Elbow, at least up until this moment, when I’m about to find out if their single “Six Words” is any good. OK, it is, it’s a mellow, almost Coldplay-ish tune comprising a synth arpeggio but without being annoying like Coldplay. It’s awesome, mildly mawkish but ultimately upbeat and very pretty. I so totally love these guys.
• Not bad, I haven’t even thought about uncorking the Pepto Bismol during this exercise at all! I’ll tell you, gang, this may be my lucky — oh no, it can’t be. Do you hear those booming tyrannosaurus footsteps, coming for me, to ruin my day? Yes, look, it’s the hilariously overrated Sting, smashing buildings as he strides toward me, holding out some awful new album! The LP is called The Bridge, and it has a single, called “Rushing Water.” Oh jeez, oh jeez, this sounds like like every boring elevator-music song this egomaniacal Matrix-clown has ever foisted onto listeners of dentist-office-rock, basically a souped-up version of “Every Breath You Take” except with some rap-speed lyrics. Don’t worry, you’ll probably only hear this once, either on Jimmy Kimmel or The Today Show; it’s definitely not interesting enough to warrant anything more “hip” than that.
• We’ll wrap up this week’s business with 30, the new album from Adele, whose hobbies include publicly sucking up to Beyonce and being this decade’s Celine Dion. “Easy On Me” is a depressing but powerful pop ballad as always, and she does some high-pitched professional singing. As if you couldn’t guess, it is a song that will be loved by 20-somethings who don’t trust their boyfriends, and with good reason.
If you’re in a local band, now’s a great time to let me know about your EP, your single, whatever’s on your mind. Let me know how you’re holding yourself together without being able to play shows or jam with your homies. Send a recipe for keema matar. Message me on Twitter (@esaeger) or Facebook (eric.saeger.9).
There are so many incredible craft-brewed IPAs and pale ales these days that it seems they are everywhere you turn. In fact, sometimes, it feels like hops are just slapping you in the face every moment of the day. If you go out to a restaurant for dinner, you might as well just ask for the “IPA list” instead of the beer list. It’s all IPAs anyway.
That’s all well and good because IPAs are delicious and they are packed full of fresh, hoppy exciting flavors — and let’s be honest, they haven’t taken a break from driving the bus for the craft beer movement since it started, I don’t know, 15 years ago.
Sometimes, though, and I feel at least somewhat confident I don’t just speak for myself, enough is enough. Sometimes you want anything but an IPA. Give me a stout or a Pilsner or a sour or a Bud Light or even one of those Cranberry Lambics from the Sam Adams holiday mixed pack that’s probably still in your fridge from 2006.
I was rummaging through my parents’ fridge recently and spotted a Mike’s Hard Raspberry Lemonade that I absolutely know has been there for more than a decade, so don’t just discard the notion that there might be a Cranberry Lambic lurking somewhere in your home.
It can be so rejuvenating for your palate to walk away from the hops for a bit and just appreciate that there’s a lot more great beer out there than just IPAs and pale ales.
Depending on my mood, when it hits me that my mouth needs a hop break, I tend to turn to what I call basic styles: Pilsners, stouts and amber ales. I’m not typically turning away from IPAs to turn toward some crazy sour that’s brewed with elderberry, jalapenos and peanut butter.
When I say basic, I don’t mean beers that are in any way lesser. I just mean brews that are more what I think of as traditional beers. Here are three basic brews that speak to me and I think will speak to you when your taste buds want to step away from IPAs.
Love Me For A Long Time by Throwback Brewery (North Hampton)
This Bohemian Pilsner is the epitome of crisp and clean. It’s a beer. It’s light, refreshing and flavorful. Pilsners get a bad rap sometimes and, when it gets right down to it, I just don’t understand it. They’re easy to drink, they taste great and they pair with basically any food and any situation. If your vision of pilsners starts and ends with Coors and Budweiser, it’s well worth exploring the array of craft brewers pumping out Pilsners these days.
Nations ESB by Millyard Brewery (Nashua)
I love the ESB or extra special bitter style, though it’s almost funny to think of this style as bitter compared to the pronounced bitterness you find in today’s brews. I haven’t had this particular brew, though I will, but I typically equate the style with a rich amber pour and a nice malty mouthful in a very, very easy to drink package. At 4.1 percent ABV, this is a beer and a style that begs for another.
Working Man’s Porter by Henniker Brewing Co. (Henniker)
This is a hearty brew but don’t be fooled; this is exceptionally easy to drink at 5.2 percent ABV. This English-style dark ale lends big malt flavors and a little complexity. This is just a terrific all-around porter. This is a great beer to grab when you want something smoother and richer.
What’s in My Fridge
Oktoberfestbier by Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu (München, Germany) Actually brewed in Germany, this true Oktoberfest brew is about as authentic as it gets when it comes to the Marzen style. The classic brew features a rich amber pour, mild bitterness, a bready malt and a medium body. This is flavorful, easy to drink and makes you feel like you’re in Germany for Oktoberfest. Cheers!
Featured photo: Love Me For A Long Time Bohemian Pilsener by Throwback Brewery. Courtesy photo.
It’s a week before Thanksgiving, and you may be up to your eyeballs with menu planning, grocery shopping and kitchen scheduling. Thus, you may wonder why on Earth you need a biscotti recipe this week. The answer is easy: They’re delicious and versatile.
If you have time to bake these before Thanksgiving they can serve many roles: a part of the dessert table, a breakfast offering for houseguests, a gift for the host. If you don’t have time to bake them now, save the recipe to use either as (1) a treat for yourself or (2) a homemade holiday gift that ships and stores well.
There are a couple notes for this recipe. First, it obviously contains alcohol. Some of the bourbon is used in the glaze, which means the alcohol doesn’t bake off. This might be considered an adults-only treat. Second, you want to use a bourbon that you would drink straight up or on the rocks. As it’s used in the biscotti and the glaze, its flavor will be prominent.
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.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on speed 2. Add eggs one at a time, beating until fully combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons bourbon, mixing for 1 minute. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and blend. Stir pecans into dough. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a 10″ x 3″ rectangle, using floured hands. Set loaves 2 inches apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes or until the dough is set. Leaving the oven on, remove the biscotti loaves and cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet. Then, using a chef’s knife, cut the loaves into diagonal slices, 1/2 inch thick. Place the slices on the baking sheet with the cut sides down; brush with 1 tablespoon bourbon. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes. Turn slices over and bake for 8 to 9 minutes more. Remove biscotti from the oven and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack. Combine powdered sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons bourbon; stir well. Add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Using a spoon, coat the top side of each biscotti with glaze. Allow glaze to harden; then eat or store in a sealed container.
Photo: Pecan biscotti with a bourbon kick. Photo courtesy of Michele Pesula Kuegler.
Phil Mastroianni is the co-owner and founder of Fabrizia Spirits (fabriziaspirits.com), a Salem-based producer of all-natural limoncello that he launched in 2008 with his younger brother, Nick. Fabrizia Spirits has become a leading purveyor of limoncello in the United States and has since expanded its product line to include a variety of ready-to-drink cocktails, like its Italian margarita and Italian-style lemonade; multiple flavors of vodka sodas, like Sicilian lemon, blood orange and raspberry; and liqueurs, the newest of which is the Crema di Pistacchio. In November 2020 the Mastroiannis launched the Fabrizia Lemon Baking Co. (fabrizialemonbakingcompany.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @fabrizialemonbakingco), which now offers its own line of limoncello-infused baked goods including cookies, whoopie pies, biscotti, blondies, loaves and white chocolate-dipped truffles. Each item is baked fresh on site at Fabrizia’s Salem headquarters. Orders can be placed online and can be shipped anywhere in the country within three business days.
What is your must-have kitchen item?
The mixer at our bakery is hands down the No. 1 important tool, besides the oven, obviously.
What would you have for your last meal?
Spaghetti and meatballs with a fresh tomato sauce, made by my mother.
What is your favorite local restaurant?
The Copper Door. I love their service, and the quality of their food is amazing. Everything that they make is delicious. … I used to go to the one in Bedford a lot, but the Salem one that opened is right down the street from our facility, so it’s very convenient.
What celebrity would you like to see trying one of your baked products?
Giada De Laurentiis. If I had a wishlist of people, she would be on it. … I would send her our cookies and our limoncello loaf and I would love to get her thoughts on them.
What is your favorite baked product that you offer?
A warm limoncello cookie coming right out of the oven is still hands down my favorite item. … It’s also my kryptonite. … I had to cut myself off of them. I would find myself eating a cookie at 11 o’clock in the morning and then I wouldn’t eat lunch and I’d be hungry by the afternoon.
What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?
If I could foray a bit into the spirits world, I would definitely say the proliferation of the spritz. … I think you’re starting to see all kinds of restaurants start to offer them. Aperol kind of started it, but it’s bloomed into others as well.
What is your favorite thing to cook at home?
I like to make pizzas as often as my wife will let me, because it always makes a mess. I have a nearly three-year-old mother dough I’ve kept alive that I love to do homemade pizzas with.
Fabrizia limoncello scallops From the kitchen of Phil Mastroianni of Fabrizia Spirits in Salem
1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1 teaspoon salt 1 pound scallops ½ cup Fabrizia limoncello 2 teaspoons unsalted butter 1 Tablespoon heavy cream
In a pan over medium-high heat, add the oil, garlic, lemon zest and salt and cook for less than a minute, stirring throughout. Add the scallops, cooking for about three to four minutes and flipping about halfway through. Remove the scallops from the pan and set aside. Carefully wipe out the pan and return to the stovetop. Add the limoncello and cook over medium-high heat until it is reduced by half. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and cream. Pour over the previously cooked scallops.
• Dine in for Thanksgiving…: Thanksgiving is almost here (Thursday, Nov. 25) and several Granite State eateries are once again taking reservations for special holiday meals. Here’s a snapshot of a few local restaurants open for business on Thanksgiving Day:
Alan’s of Boscawen (133 N. Main St., Boscawen) will host a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings, with seatings from noon to 6 p.m., as well as a grand Thanksgiving buffet. Visit alansofboscawen.com or call 753-6631.
Bedford Village Inn (2 Olde Bedford Way, Bedford) will serve a multi-course menu for Thanksgiving in its dining room from noon to 6 p.m. The lobby bar will also be open for breakfast from 8 to 10:30 a.m. and for dinner from 4 to 9 p.m. Visit bedfordvillageinn.com or call 472-2001.
Belmont Hall (718 Grove St. in Manchester; 625-8540, belmonthall.net) is taking reservations for breakfast (opening at 6:30 a.m.), lunch (beginning at 11:30 a.m.) and a Thanksgiving dinner buffet (seating starts at noon). The buffet costs are $18.99 for adults, $15.99 for children 8 and under (plus tax and tip).
The Coach Stop Restaurant & Tavern (176 Mammoth Road, Londonderry) is taking reservations between noon and 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, with a variety of entree options to choose from. Visit coachstopnh.com or call 437-2022.
Derryfield Restaurant (625 Mammoth Road, Manchester) is serving a Thanksgiving dinner with seatings at 11 a.m., noon, 1:15 p.m., 2:15 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Individual or family-sized meals will be served. Visit thederryfield.com or call 623-2880.
Gauchos Churrascaria (62 Lowell St. in Manchester; 669-9460, gauchosbraziliansteakhouse.com) is taking reservations for an all-you-can-eat meat (including turkey) and seafood dinner from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is $44.99 for adults, $19.99 for kids 6 to 10 (children 5 and under eat free), which includes the meal, dessert, coffee, tea and soft drinks.
Granite Restaurant & Bar (96 Pleasant St., Concord) will serve a special menu for Thanksgiving with seatings from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit graniterestaurant.com/menus/thanksgiving or call 227-9005.
The Homestead Restaurant & Tavern (641 Daniel Webster Hwy. in Merrimack, 429-2022; 1567 Summer St. in Bristol, 744-2022, homesteadnh.com) will have a dinner menu with seven entree offerings (priced at $32 or $35) that all include sides and homemade pie. A children’s menu (for 12 and under) features entree offers priced at $15 for the meal.
Mile Away Restaurant (52 Federal Hill Road, Milford) is taking reservations for Thanksgiving, featuring special meals with your choice of an appetizer, an entree, a salad and a dessert. Visit mileawayrestaurantnh.com or call 673-3904.
• …Or order out for your holiday: If you’d rather stay in this Thanksgiving, here’s a short list of local bakeries and restaurants accepting takeout orders of their own:
At Angela’s Pasta & Cheese (815 Chestnut St. in Manchester; angelaspastaandcheese.com, 625-9544), the deadline to order is Saturday, Nov. 20. The offerings, available on the website, include 9-inch pies (including Midnight Pumpkin Pie and maple bourbon pecan pie), cakes, sweet breads and baked goods and gluten-free pies as well as dinner elements such as pork pie; gravy, stuffing and other traditional Thanksgiving sides, breads and special pumpkin items, such as a pumpkin cannoli dip platter.
The farm store at Apple Hill Farm (580 Mountain St. in Concord; applehillfarmnh.com, 224-8862) is open daily (8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) through Wednesday, Nov. 24, with apples, winter squash and potatoes as well as pies and baked goods.
The Bakeshop on Kelley Street (171 Kelley St. in Manchester; thebakeshoponkelleystreet.com, 624-3500) will make smaller 5-inch pies and half-pies as well as 9-inch pies in a variety of flavors like pumpkin streusel, peanut butter mousse, dulce de leche, as well as a pumpkin roll cake, pumpkin whoopie pies, holiday cakes, rolls and more (find their holiday menu on their Facebook page). Deadline to order pies is Friday, Nov. 19, for a Wednesday, Nov. 24, pickup, 7 a.m. to noon.
Buckley’s Bakery & Cafe (436 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack, 262-5929; 9 Market Place, Hollis, 465-5522; buckleysbakerycafe.com) is taking orders for pies, cakes, loaves, rolls and pastry trays. Order by Nov. 20.
Concord Food Co-op (24 S. Main St., Concord, 225-6840, concordfoodcoop.coop) is taking orders for fully cooked Thanksgiving meals with all the fixings (serves 8 to 10 people), as well as fresh homemade pies. Order by Nov. 19 at noon.
Place your orders for pie and more in at Crosby Bakery (51 E. Pearl St. in Nashua; crosbybakerynh.com, 882-1851) by Saturday, Nov. 20. Offerings include pies such as apple, blueberry, banana cream, pecan, mince and pumpkin as well as savory pies, cakes, dinner rolls and breads and cookies and dessert platters.
The Crust & Crumb Baking Co. (126 N. Main St. in Concord; thecrustandcrumb.com, 219-0763) is accepting orders through Friday, Nov. 19, for rolls, pies (including Midnight Pumpkin Pie and a maple cream pie with graham crust) and savory items such as quiche and tourtiere.
The Flying Goose Brew Pub & Grille (40 Andover Road in New London; flyinggoose.com, 526-6899) is offering a Thanksgiving feast, serving four to six people, for $100 and featuring roast turkey, a Waldorf salad, green beans, whipped potatoes and stuffing. Add on a pie for $20. Order by Sunday, Nov. 21.
Giorgio’s (524 Nashua St. in Milford, 673-3939; 707 Milford Road in Merrimack, 883-7333; 270 Granite St. in Manchester, 232-3323; giorgios.com) is offering a Thanksgiving meal for $27.99 per person (featuring turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, a slice of pumpkin pie and more) as well as an option for additional sides and desserts. Order by Sunday, Nov. 21, for pickup Wednesday, Nov. 24.
Hart’s Turkey Farm Restaurant (233 Daniel Webster Hwy. in Meredith; 279-6212, hartsturkeyfarm.com) won’t be open for dine-in on Thanksgiving but it will be open for curbside pickup of hot and ready to eat whole roasted turkey family meals or individual turkey dinners on Thursday, Nov. 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The family meals (which are also available for pickup Monday through Wednesday) come with a whole turkey of varying sizes plus sides and a pie; individual meals are also available in small, regular and jumbo based on the serving of turkey. The Grab & Go lobby store will also be open.
Just Like Mom’s Pastries (353 Riverdale Road, Weare, 529-6667, justlikemomspastries.com) is taking orders for pies and cakes in a variety of flavors, plus breakfast loaves, dinner rolls and some gluten-sensitive pie flavors. Order by Nov. 20.
Mr. Mac’s (497 Hooksett Road in Manchester; mr-macs.com, 606-1760) offers party platters of mac and cheese in a variety of flavors (such as pulled pork mac, lobstah mac and garden veggie mac). Order by Tuesday, Nov. 23, for Wednesday, Nov. 24, pickup.
Pinard Street Bakery (1 Pinard St. in Goffstown, inside Charlie’s; 606-1835) offers 9-inch pies for pre-order in flavors including pork pie, pumpkin, Maine blueberry, chocolate crème, apple and pecan), according to a post on Charlie’s Facebook page.
Presto Craft Kitchen (168 Amory St. in Manchester; 606-1252, prestocraftkitchen.com) is taking orders through Friday, Nov. 19, for take-and-bake sides (such as stuffing, green beans, gravy and spiced sweet potato with charred pineapple), an all-the-trimmings package, desserts (including a cannoli platter) and pies (like peach razz, cannoli cream and cookies and cream).
Red Beard’s Kitchen (red-beards-kitchen.square.site) is a new Manchester-based company offering Thanksgiving meals to go, in addition to a la carte sides and dessert pies prepared by students at Manchester School of Technology. Order by Nov. 19.
The Red Blazer Restaurant and Pub (72 Manchester St. in Concord; 224-4101, theredblazer.com) will offer rolls and whipped butter, cakes, pies and dessert platters for order by Saturday, Nov. 20.
Tuscan Market (9 Via Toscana, Salem, 912-5467, tuscanbrands.com) is taking orders for a variety of items for Thanksgiving, including turkey dinners and a la carte entrees, sides, breads, soups and desserts. Pickups begin on Nov. 24 with at least a two-day order notice.
• Chocolatesgiving:Granite State Candy Shoppe (13 Warren St. in Concord, 225-2591; 832 Elm St. in Manchester, granitestatecandyshoppe.com) has special Thanksgiving-themed chocolates including foil-wrapped fall leaves (in milk or dark chocolate), chocolate turkeys (of varying sizes and in milk, dark and white chocolate), fall chocolates and pumpkin pie almonds. Van Otis Chocolates (341 Elm St. in Manchester; 627-1611, vanotis.com) also has a variety of Thanksgiving offerings including decorated Swiss fudge, the Swiss Fudge Van Turkey, foil-wrapped chocolate leaves, chocolate turkeys (in milk, dark or white chocolate) and a chocolate cornucopia filled with nuts.
• Greek sweets and treats: Following the success of its gyro and baklava pop-up last month, St. Philip Greek Orthodox Church (500 W. Hollis St., Nashua) is planning a pastry pre-order event just ahead of the holiday season. Now through Wednesday, Nov. 24, pre-orders are available for a variety of homemade Greek pastries and desserts, including traditional baklava with honey syrup and chopped walnuts; kourambiethes (shortbread butter cookies covered in powdered sugar); koulourakia (hand-twisted butter cookies brushed with an egg glaze); and melomakarona (cinnamon spiced egg-shaped cookies soaked in honey syrup and topped with chopped walnuts). The church will also be accepting orders for variety packs and larger holiday-wrapped hostess platters for each pastry. Visit nashuagreekfestival.com or call the church office at 889-4000 to place your order. Pickups will be at the church on Friday, Dec. 17, from 5 to 8 p.m., or Saturday, Dec. 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Party at Pipe Dream: Join Pipe Dream Brewing (49 Harvey Road, Londonderry) for a Fall Fest on Saturday, Nov. 20, throughout the day from noon to 10 p.m. Pipe Dream will be pouring some of its seasonal fall brews, including its Festbier lager release, and will also be offering bratwurst and sauerkraut specials in addition to its full food menu. Live music from the local reggae band Slack Tide will also be featured from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. that evening. Visit pipedreambrewingnh.com/event.
• Auction and eats: Join St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (1160 Bridge St., Manchester) for its annual auction and bake sale on Saturday, Nov. 20. The event will feature a Greek meatball dinner plate with orzo and green beans available for purchase, along with assorted Greek baked goods and pastries, between 10 a.m. and noon. The live auction will begin at noon. Call the church office at 625-6115 for more details.
• Seeing the light: LaBelle Winery is introducing the inaugural season of LaBelle Lights, a new festive outdoor light show that will be held at its Derry location (14 Route 111) beginning Nov. 18 and through Feb. 26, 2022. According to a press release, the light display will be changed periodically throughout its 18-week run, taking place on the facility’s golf course along a paved walking path. The display will include a 15-foot-tall selfie station made of wine barrels, designed and installed by LaBelle vineyard manager and professional woodworker Josh Boisvert. A number of themed events are also being planned in coordination with LaBelle Lights, including a “Crazy Christmas Hat Night” on Dec. 3 and an “Ugly Holiday Sweater Night” on Dec. 17. Hours of operation are from 4:30 to 9 p.m. on select days throughout the season. Tickets are $15. Visit labellewinery.com/lights to view the full calendar schedule.
Holiday-themed charcuterie boards that taste as good as they look
603 Charcuterie in late 2020, she started with just filling small takeout orders. A year later she’s teaching weekly classes that keep getting sold out, and she recently expanded into catering larger boards and grazing tables for weddings.
603 Charcuterie of Derry. Courtesy photo.
“This business started because I have always loved making charcuterie boards … just for family parties, birthdays and events,” Zwart said. “It has blown up way more than I thought, and I’ve just been going, going, going, and continuing to add more things on.”
More than just throwing cured meats and cheeses on a platter, creating the most intricate charcuterie boards is all about finding those palates that complement one another. It’s a key part of what Zwart teaches in her classes and what other charcuterie businesses offer in their boards.
The upcoming holiday season is a great time of year to discover these flavor pairings. We spoke with New Hampshire restaurants, shops and charcuterie businesses for tips on how to construct holiday-themed boards that will stand out and taste just as delicious as they look.
Say cheese
Beyond a run-of-the-mill sharp cheddar or colby jack, cheeses varying in flavor, color and consistency will lend themselves to even more added pairings you can play with on your board.
“If you have a soft cheese then you’d want something sweet and fruity to go with it, like a sweet jam. A hard, mild cheese can go with a mustard or something spicy,” Zwart said. “For people who are afraid of venturing out to the fancier cheeses, a manchego or a smoked cheddar is great. Manchego is a cheese from Spain, and the taste of it is kind of like a sharp cheddar mixed with a hard Parmesan. In my classes I call it a gateway cheese, because it’s kind of like the next step.”
Erica Stanford of The Char 603, based in Kingston, said brie is a great choice of cheese if you’re looking to incorporate sweeter or fruitier flavors. Even fancier cheeses, like blueberry goat cheese or cranberry cinnamon goat cheese, take it a step further by adding a fun pop of color.
Granite Slates of Stratham. Courtesy photo.
“I think a lot of times when it comes to cheese, people like to stick to their cheddars or their pepper jacks,” she said, “but there are so many other cheeses that have so much good flavor that you wouldn’t even think about, and they also end up enhancing all the flavors on the board. … Another one that I love is a creamy Toscano cheese, and it’s with syrah, so it has a wine rind on it. It’s got a beautiful purple color and it also tastes amazing.”
With a round cheese like brie you can create themed cutouts in the center of the cheese wheel out of a small cookie cutter, which can then be filled with a sweet jam.
“You’d want to use a cookie cutter that’s smaller than the diameter of the brie, so it doesn’t cut off the edges, and then you’re cutting the whole top off so it’s like a flat cookie,” Zwart said. “Then you can just press your cutter into that top piece, put jam on your bottom piece and place the top part back over it without the little cutout. … Anything sweet and fruity works well. A fig jam is great, or a strawberry rhubarb or apricot jam. Even maple is good.”
When it comes to cured meats, you can stick with a simple genoa salami or soppressata, or go with prosciutto, a sweeter and saltier option that Zwart said goes well on a holiday board. Slices of salami can also be easily transformed into “roses” for additional aesthetic appeal.
“I call them ‘meat flowers,’” she said. “You roll up a slice nice and tight, and then you wrap another one tightly around it and then another and another, and then you start loosening up over time. You loosen them up and just keep wrapping them around, not too symmetrically.”
The Char 603 of Kingston. Charcuterie board in the shape of NH. Courtesy photo.
Additional accoutrements
An artfully crafted charcuterie board may start out with cheeses and salamis, but how you build it from here can really be about making it your own unique creation.
“You can play around with different combinations, and the options are endless,” said Melissa Hayden, co-owner of Granite Slates of Stratham. “Berries, dried fruits, honey and jams bring fresh and sweet flavors, and dark chocolates or cookies are great additions as well.”
For holiday boards, Stanford said, herbs like rosemary, sage or thyme can make great additions when used as garnishes. White chocolate-covered cranberries are also a favorite of hers.
“They are fantastic,” she said. “The great thing about them is that you’re getting the white and the red, but you’re also getting that sweet and slight sour kick.”
No matter the time of year, Zwart’s favorite ingredients to add to boards are pickled items, like kalamata olives and pepperoncinis. But you could even go with dilled green beans or asparagus.
“I think it’s very vegetably, very fall-looking, and would be great for Thanksgiving,” she said. “Grapes are always a good staple too. I feel like most people at gatherings, when they are eating charcuterie, a lot of them are drinking wine, so that’s self-explanatory. Depending on the kind of color scheme, if you’re trying to stick to fall colors, you can use red grapes.”
Another trick you can do is make a flower out of a kiwi fruit, taking a knife and cutting in small zigzag-shaped slices, or what Zwart said is similar to the mouth of a jack-o’-lantern.
As for crackers, Stanford recommends serving them on the side or away from anything moist or wet, like salami or goat cheese.
“One of the things I’ve been working with is using a cupcake liner and putting your crackers in that … and you can get holiday-themed ones too, so that’s an extra fun piece,” she said.
Hayden also said crackers ought to be served on the side, especially if you’re storing your board.
“While most of the ingredients … will remain fresh in the fridge for 24 hours, crackers will not,” she said. “They tend to get soggy and absorb the flavors of everything around them.”
Classes with 603 Charcuterie. Courtesy photo.
Charcuterie classes
If you want to learn some hands-on tricks (while sampling lots of cheese), you can take a charcuterie board-building class led by Theresa Zwart of 603 Charcuterie, based in Derry. She began offering classes at Creative Chef Kitchens this past February, but has since branched out to doing them at area wineries and breweries. Private classes can also be booked.
Participants are provided everything from the ingredients to the tools, right down to the wooden board itself, which can be taken home at the conclusion of each class. From start to finish, classes typically take around an hour and a half to two hours, and Zwart will often change up which types of cheeses, meats and other accoutrements are featured.
“During every class, I teach people how to make a salami rose and some sort of fruit flower,” Zwart said. “Then there’s different ways of arranging everything, and different ways of cutting hard cheeses versus soft cheeses. I’ll talk them through the pairings as well, so for example if you have a soft creamy cheese I’d say you’d want a sweet fruity flavor.”
Two beers or wines are usually factored into each class cost, depending on where it’s being held.
The feedback for her classes has been so great that Zwart said they repeatedly sell out, often with returning participants who then bring a new guest to try them.
“I think people like that it’s a different sort of date night idea or a thing to do,” she said. “It’s kind of similar to a paint night, but it’s even better because you get to eat the finished product.”
Here are a couple of 603 Charcuterie’s upcoming classes, but be sure to check back on their website and Facebook page, as more dates will be announced in the near future. Email 603charcuterie@gmail.com to register.
• Sunday, Dec. 5, at White Birch Brewing (460 Amherst St., Nashua), from 5 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $98. • Tuesday, Dec. 14, at Rockingham Brewing Co. (1 Corporate Park Drive, Derry), from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $98.
Leave it to the pros
If you’d rather order and pick up a ready-to-eat charcuterie board for your next holiday gathering, several local eateries and other businesses have you covered.
Steven Freeman started pushing charcuterie boards when he took over ownership of Angela’s Pasta & Cheese Shop in Manchester in June 2020, but he was making them for decades before then. Each board at Angela’s is built less than 24 hours from when it’s picked up, featuring cheeses sliced in house, and you never know what other additions you might come across.
Local Baskit’s jarcuterie. Photo by Marcella Hoekstra of Tiny Screen Media.
“Fresh local honeycomb is the centerpiece of every one of our charcuterie boards, because the sweetness of the honey is a natural pairing for almost anything,” Freeman said. “What I love about selling charcuterie at the shop is that we get to expose our customers to a bunch of cheeses, or nuts, or fancy items that they wouldn’t have otherwise tried.”
Caperberries, for example, are tart fruits the size of the grapes that you’ll sometimes find. Freeman has also loaded up his boards with marcona almonds, flavored jams and jellies, amarena cherries, European orange peels, and even a special toffee variety he gets locally.
“We interview the customer and ask them what they want,” he said. “Some might say they want more cheese than meat, or they say they don’t want any stinky blues or runny triple creams … so we let them sort of define the parameters and then let us go wild.”
At Local Baskit in Concord, owner Beth Richards said she has begun offering small- and large-sized custom cheese and charcuterie boards, in addition to single-serve “jar-cuteries,” which feature a variety of sweet and savory items portioned individually in small mason jars.
“I’ve been doing the grazing boards for the last two holidays for our subscribers, and last year they really took off,” Richards said. “I saw the jarcuterie on the Today show like everybody else, and decided to make it a line sold year-round. … I think they’re really fun for a book club or some type of small gathering, or they can even be really cute for kids’ birthday parties.”
Fig & Olive out of Milford features four standard boards, each with distinct flavor profiles and cheeses, meats and other accoutrements to match, but owner Danielle Tedford has since introduced other themed options. The brunch board, for instance, consists of brie cheese, fresh fruit and prosciutto along with mini biscuits, a fruit jam and flavored bread slices, while holiday cocoa boards have included candy canes, marshmallows, chocolate chip cookies and more.
“I really love to putting the effort in to bring different flavors together that work, or things that maybe people don’t really think of that would go together,” Tedford said.
NH Bowl & Board. Courtesy photo.
All across the board
Some charcuterie businesses in the state even have local partners for their wooden boards.
Zwart, for instance, sources her boards from Souhegan Wood Design of Amherst, which you get to take home with you after completing a class with 603 Charcuterie. Owner Andy Pearl is a self-taught charcuterie board builder who said he started the business as a side job making one for his own wife. He makes a few different sizes out of maple, birch and cherry hardwood.
Erica Stanford of The Char 603 in Kingston similarly began a partnership with Fox + West, a woodworking company out of Danville, for her own hand-crafted boards.
In Contoocook, New Hampshire Bowl & Board is unique for not only making its own reversible boards — featuring a cutting and carving board on one side, a charcuterie serving board on the other — but also its own charcuterie-themed accessories, from smaller wooden trays to carry your olives or your nuts, to wooden honey dippers and cheese spreaders.
“I think every board should have a little companion with it,” owner Paul Silberman said. “We try to give people the ability to really make it their own. Much of it can be personalized.”
Where to get charcuterie boards, artisan cheese boards and platters
This list includes New Hampshire-based businesses offering custom charcuterie boards ahead of the holiday season, in addition to butcher shops offering meat and cheese platters and restaurants offering artisan cheese and charcuterie boards from their starter menus. Do you know of a local business offering charcuterie or cheese boards or platters that isn’t on this list? Let us know at food@hippopress.com.
• 603 Charcuterie (Derry, 603charcuterie.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram) offers charcuterie boards to go, sourcing nearly all of its items from New Hampshire providers. Owner and founder Theresa Zwart also regularly holds charcuterie board-building classes at area breweries and wineries and, as of last month, is now licensed to provide catering services to weddings and other larger events and parties. Special holiday-themed charcuterie boards are available to order for Thanksgiving and Christmas, for pickup at Creative Chef Kitchens (35 Manchester Road, Derry).
Angela’s Pasta & Cheese Shop of Manchester. Courtesy photo.
• 815 Cocktails & Provisions (815 Elm St., Manchester, 782-8086, 815nh.com) offers charcuterie boards on its starters menu, featuring hand-selected cured meats, cheeses and other accoutrements.
• 900 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria (50 Dow St., Manchester, 641-0900, 900degrees.com) offers an artisanal cheese display with nuts and fresh fruit on its private dining and catering menu, featuring herb-crusted goat cheese, cubed grana padano, provolone, Italian fontina, Gorgonzola, and other soft and hard cheeses. The eatery’s dine-in appetizer menu also has cheese boards with the option to add cured meats like prosciutto, ham or salami.
• Angela’s Pasta & Cheese Shop (815 Chestnut St., Manchester, 625-9544, angelaspastaandcheese.com) takes orders for charcuterie boards, featuring freshly sliced cheeses, cured meats, and other items like nuts, dried fruits and more. Boards are usually available for pickup with a 24- to 48-hour ordering notice.
• Bedford Village Inn (2 Olde Bedford Way, Bedford, 472-2001, bedfordvillageinn.com) offers an artisan local cheese board on its dining room appetizer menu, featuring house-made baguettes, lavash, black pepper walnuts and local honey.
• The Birch on Elm (931 Elm St., Manchester, 782-5365, thebirchonelm.com) has a cheese and charcuterie option with a rotating selection of meats and cheeses, as well as grilled bread and house pickles and preserves.
• Brothers Butcher (8 Spit Brook Road, Nashua, 809-4180; 142 Lowell Road, Hudson, 577-1130; brothers-butcher.com) offers assorted deli platters featuring Boar’s Head meats and cheeses, available in medium (serves 15 to 20 people) and large (serves 25 to 30 people) sizes. Selections can include Genoa salami, hot capicola, prosciutto, honey ham, provolone cheese and more. Order as soon as possible for Thanksgiving — pickups will be available through Wednesday, Nov. 24, at 5 p.m.
• Cask & Vine (1 E. Broadway, Derry, 965-3454, cask.life/cask-and-vine) offers “A Little Something to Nosh On,” featuring a selection of assorted cheeses, salami, dried fruit, hummus, dilly beans, crackers and pita chips.
• Celebrations Distinctive Catering (1017 Second St., Manchester, 888-401-3663, celebrationsmenu.com) offers a handcrafted charcuterie and tapas display (serves five people) featuring organic salmon, sous-vide Magret duck rillettes, prosciutto-wrapped dates stuffed with Gorgonzola and almonds, grilled assorted vegetables and more. Assorted cheese, fruit and vegetable platters (serves 10 people) are also available.
• The Char 603 (Kingston, char603.us, and on Facebook and Instagram @thechar603) offers a variety of themed charcuterie boards to go, available to order online with at least a few days advance notice with local pickups and deliveries.
• Colby Hill Inn (33 The Oaks, Henniker, 428-3281, colbyhillinn.com) offers a local farmers’ cheese and charcuterie plate, which includes four local cheese and two charcuterie selections, plus house-made pickled vegetables, grilled bread, artisanal crackers, and other accoutrements like fig paste and honey.
• Concord Food Co-op (24 S. Main St., Concord, 225-6840, concordfoodcoop.coop) offers a cheese and cracker tray on its catering menu, featuring assorted domestic and imported cheeses that are served with candied pecans and dried cranberries.
• Copper Door Restaurant (15 Leavy Dr., Bedford, 488-2677; 41 S. Broadway, Salem, 458-2033; copperdoor.com) offers a charcuterie and cheese board on its starters menu, featuring hand-selected meats, cheeses and seasonal accompaniments.
• The Crown Tavern (99 Hanover St., Manchester, 218-3132, thecrownonhanover.com) offers a party platter on its starters menu, featuring soppressata, pepperoni, fresh mozzarella cheese, Vermont cheddar, feta, olives and wood oven focaccia.
Fig & Olive of Milford. Courtesy photo.
• Cured and Craved (Auburn, find them on Facebook and Instagram @curedandcraved) takes orders for charcuterie boards to go. The contents of each board may vary depending on availability but will typically include cured meats like prosciutto, salami and pepperoni, goat cheese, brie, sharp cheddar, Gouda and blue cheese, and additional items like Kalamata olives, nuts, and fruits like grapes, dates, kiwis or dragon fruit. Orders can be placed online through the Facebook page, with local pickups and deliveries available.
• Fig & Olive (Milford, figandolivenh.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @figandolive.nh) offers a variety of themed charcuterie boards to go. Selections include classic boards like “The Spicy,” “The Sweet,” “The Savory” and “The Smokey,” while owner Danielle Tedford has also done brunch boards and holiday cocoa boards. An advance ordering notice of at least five days is requested, to be placed online through the website. Boards can be picked up or delivered in Milford or surrounding areas.
• The Flying Butcher (124 Route 101A, Amherst, 598-6328, theflyingbutcher.com) offers deli platters featuring a variety of assorted meats and cheeses, including ham, roast beef, turkey, Genoa salami, and American, Swiss and provolone cheese. At least a week’s advance ordering notice is encouraged.
• The Foundry Restaurant (50 Commercial St., Manchester, 836-1925, foundrynh.com) offers local cheese and charcuterie plates on its starters menu, with the option to add house-made pickles or chef’s choice mixed nuts.
• Granite Slates (Stratham, graniteslates.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @graniteslates) offers charcuterie boards with hand-selected cheeses, meats, assorted crackers, seasonal fruits, nuts and more. Boards are available in three sizes (small, medium and large), with the most popular, the medium, serving four to six people. Ordering is done online, with pickup and delivery options within 25 miles of Stratham. Co-owners Sarah Thibodeau and Melissa Hayden currently have plans to open a retail charcuterie shop, where they hope to offer classes and provide seating to enjoy small boards with locally made baked goods, coffee and tea.
• Greenleaf (54 Nashua St., Milford, 213-5447, greenleafmilford.com) has a local cheese board on its starter menu, usually with other accoutrements like honeycomb, crostini or pickled cucumber.
• Hermit Woods Winery & Deli (72 Main St., Meredith, 253-7968, hermitwoods.com) offers a few charcuterie and cheese board options on its deli menu, featuring a variety of New England-sourced meats, cheeses and spreads that are served with crackers. Ingredients can also be packed individually for you to take home and create your own board with.
• Industry East Bar (28 Hanover St., Manchester, 232-6940, industryeastbar.com) has a charcuterie board on its starters menu that is available in small and large sizes, featuring an assortment of cured meats and cheeses, candied nuts, local honey, crostini, pickles, preserves and whole grain mustard.
• J&B Butcher (259 E. Main St., East Hampstead, 382-0999, jandbbutcher.com) offers a variety of Boar’s Head deli platters on its catering menu, like the Italian festival, featuring mortadella, salami, hot capicola, prosciutto and provolone cheese.
• LaBelle Winery (345 Route 101, Amherst; 14 Route 111, Derry; 672-9898, labellewinerynh.com) offers an artisan cheese board on its holiday catering menu, featuring an assortment of artisanal local cheeses with dried fruit, nuts and The Winemaker’s Kitchen jam that’s served with crackers. Two sizes are available. The deadline has passed to place orders for Thanksgiving, but Christmas orders are now being accepted.
• Local Baskit (10 Ferry St., Concord, 219-0882, localbaskit.com) is now offering custom cheese and charcuterie boards, available for individual orders of small and large grazing platters, as well as individually portioned “jar-cuteries,” featuring sweet or savory items served up in small mason jars. Each order can be custom made with a 24-hour notice or less, depending on volume.
• McKinnon’s Market & Super Butcher Shop (236 N. Broadway, Salem, 894-6328; 2454 Lafayette Road, Portsmouth, 559-5714; mckinnonsmarkets.com) offers several types of cheese platters on its catering menu. The classic cheese platter, for instance, comes in 12- or 16-inch sizes and features hand-cut selections of cheddar, Swiss, pepper jack and colby jack cheeses, and is garnished with red and green seedless grapes and a port wine cheese ball with almonds.
• Moulton’s Kitchen & Market (10 Main St., Amherst, 673-2404, moultonsmarket.com) offers several types of snack platters on its catering menu, including a Calef’s cheese and cracker tray that’s available in small (serves six to eight people) and large (serves 12 to 15) sizes.
• Mr. Steer Meats (27 Buttrick Road, Londonderry, 434-1444, mrsteermeats.com) offers a variety of meat and cheese platters to choose from, including the Italian festival, which features Genoa salami, capicola, mortadella, sopressata, pepperoni, your choice of two cheeses, and prosciutto as an added option. Platter orders require at least a 24-hour notice.
• Palette (Exeter, palettegrazeboards.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @palettegrazeboards) is a sister business of Laney & Lu in Exeter, offering several types of assorted boxes of artisanal cheeses, meats, crackers, fruit and more. They’re taking Thanksgiving orders now with a 48-hour advance notice. Orders must be placed by Nov. 22 for you to receive them by Thanksgiving Day. Free pickups can be made on Wednesday, Nov. 24, at Laney & Lu (26 Water St., Exeter), while deliveries can also be made within a 60-mile radius.
• Presto Craft Kitchen (168 Amory St., Manchester, 606-1252, prestocraftkitchen.com) is taking orders for charcuterie board platters for Thanksgiving, available in several sizes, including small (serves 6 to 10 people), medium (serves 12 to 18 people), large (serves 20 to 30 people) and mega (serves 50). Each board features an assortment of domestic and imported cheeses, along with Italian salumi, berries, crackers and breads. Order by Nov. 19. Pickups will be on Tuesday, Nov. 23, and Wednesday, Nov. 24.
• The Prime Butcher (201 Route 111, Hampstead, 329-7355; 58 Range Road, Windham, 893-2750; primebutcher.com) offers several platters on its catering menu, like a Boar’s Head meat and cheese platter with added garnishes, and an antipasto platter with Italian cold cuts and marinated vegetables.
• Revival Kitchen & Bar (11 Depot St., Concord, 715-5723, revivalkitchennh.com) has a New England-sourced cheese selection on its starters menu, which you can build by choosing add-ons like fennel salami, marcona almonds, marinated olives and more.
• Station 101 (193 Union Sq., Milford, 249-5416, station101nh.com) has a small selection of food items to go with its beer selections, including an assortment of cheeses, meats and crackers.
• TJ’s Deli & Catering (2 Pittsburgh Ave., Nashua, 883-7770, tjsdeliandcatering.com) has a variety of trays and platters on its catering menu, including a tray of assorted cheeses with pepperoni, and an Italian platter that has imported ham, Genoa salami, mortadella, pepperoni and provolone cheese, along with potato salad, pickles, olives and rolls.
• Tomahawk Butchery & Tavern (454 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack, 365-4960, tomahawktavern.com) offers charcuterie boards featuring four meats and four cheeses, along with bread, honey and bruschetta.
• The Town Cabin Deli & Pub (285 Old Candia Road, Candia, 483-4888, towncabin.com) offers several types of platters on its catering menu, like a cheese and cracker platter with the option to add meats, and an Italian platter available in two serving sizes, with imported mortadella, capicola, salami, pepperoni and provolone, served on greens with marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and kalamata olives
• The Tuckaway Tavern & Butchery (58 Route 27, Raymond, 244-2431, thetuckaway.com) offers several types of trays and platters on its catering menu, including assortments of meats and cheeses that are available in half tray (serves 15 people) and full tray (serves 25 people) sizes.
603 Charcuterie. Courtesy photo.
Brie cheese and jam cutout Information courtesy of Theresa Zwart of 603 Charcuterie in Derry
• Choose a wheel of brie cheese with a diameter wider than your chosen cookie cutter. • Choose a top side of the brie and carefully cut it off, about ¼ inch thick. You should have a wide circle base and a thin circle top. • Use your cookie cutter to cut the shape in the middle of the thin top piece of your brie. • Carefully remove your cookie cutter, keeping both the outside and the inside of the brie intact. Set aside the inside piece. • Place a scoop of your choice of fruit jam in the center of your large base brie. • Take your thin top piece of brie and place the intact outskirts back on the base (the jam is in the center and showing in the open shape). Gently “squish” the outside edges of your circle to the base to secure the jam in the center. • Place the inside of the brie cut anywhere you want on your board and enjoy.
Featured photo:Angela’s Pasta & Cheese Shop in Manchester. Courtesy photo.
