Tag: 220707

Album Reviews 22/07/07

DoubleVee, Treat Her Strangely (self-released)

Picture a more-or-less-direct cross between Pavement and Dandy Warhols and you’d have Starlight Mints, a hipster-indie band from Oklahoma. Those guys called it an oeuvre in the mid-Aughts, maybe because they were no match for their fellow Oklahomans Flaming Lips, but some people would disagree, not that I care. Allan Vest was that band’s singer and, in 2015, married the former Barb Hendrickson, a musically like-minded soul, and here we are, with this band, which flirts with orchestral indie-pop, adding such instruments as viola, trumpet and trombone to Allan’s recipe, which was successful in the Mints’ heyday (some of the Mints’ songs wound up on TV shows like Malcolm in the Middle, Californication and Gossip Girl, most likely when forced quirkiness was in the script, but I don’t know). These tunes have a neo-New Wave feel, quite ’80s in fact, and a lot of them bear beats that feel pilfered, from such bands as Sisters of Mercy (“When Dawn Comes Tonight”), Duran Duran (“The Fever Is You”), and so forth. All it really did for me was intensify my yearning for the current ’80s-echo-boom to end already. Barb’s voice is no worthy match for Allan’s, for one thing; she comes off like some rando picked out of a Bowery Ballroom crowd. B-

Seasoning, The Condensation EP (self-released)

The problem with fronting the same sort of lush, pretty Sunday-drive vibe as the Brooklyn indie-pop band Real Estate is that listeners might (and OK, this is a stretch, but I do require some modicum of an angle before I start typing up these things) expect the same verisimilitude that befell them during their 2020 album The Main Thing. But this guy, Brisbane-raised multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Lachlan Buckle, actually has more ideas in his head, I’d say. Where Real Estate tended to overdo the wholesome ’60s-pop jangle in TMT, Buckle and his cohorts wander off into slightly unexpected musical environs. All right, not by much, have it your way, but as a singer, Buckle has a more vintage Top 40-ish range, a quarter-whispered style that will remind people of Al Stewart during his “Time Passages” phase (trust me, you’ve heard it at the doctor’s office, I guarantee it) (and no, I don’t know if he ever had another hit after that). The blurb sheet also accuses Buckle of doing a Yo La Tengo thing, but I didn’t hear any evidence of that at all. Hipster music for nursing homes is the bullet description here, it’s not bad at all. A-

Playlist

• Uh-oh, gang, the next crop of new albums will hit the streets with its usual dull thud on July 8, just like every Friday! I suppose we should spend a minute or so on the new album from perennial Juno award winners Metric, whose members are from the Canadian city of Toronto, a nice place to visit if you’d ever be interested in seeing a rather basic American city but with people who actually like other people. This band has several claims to fame, including singer Emily Haines’s connection to the completely unlistenable Aughts-indie collective Broken Social Scene, and they’ve “contributed” a few songs to famous soundtracks, including Scott Pilgrim vs The World, although of course their biggest was “Eclipse (All Yours)” from the Twilight Saga: Eclipse soundtrack. As well, Haines has done a few cool things in the areas of house and opera-trance, like the tune “Glimmer” that she did with Delerium, and “Knock You Out” with Tiesto. And so I have mixed feelings about these Canadians; just because they’ve helped make a few tunes that were cool doesn’t excuse them from all the Broken Social Scene nonsense (Haines also collaborated on a song by Stars, by the way), and all that confusing stuff leaves me with no choice but to listen to the new single “All Comes Crashing” and judge their upcoming new LP Formentera on its own merits. I’m sure this will be fun. Huh, the video has one of those “flashing lights” warnings about suffering from “possible seizures,” which I appreciate knowing about in advance, because there’d be literally no worse way for me to lose my mind than to be listening to tuneless Canadian indie rock while getting a Clockwork Orange treatment for no reason. Well, this song’s OK, it’s got a nice messy Kills-like no-wave guitar part after they get through the Kesha-style bloop-pop formalities. I survived the flashing lights part, unless it actually did drive me insane and you people don’t actually exist, which would mean Canadian indie-rock bands don’t exist either; there’s a silver lining to everything, just saying.

• Well looky there folks, it’s a new Megadeth album, The Sick, The Dying, And The Dead, and it’s on the way right this minute! I was never a really big fan of Megadeth, like, I always though “Symphony Of Destruction” was a really lousy song with a super-stupid title. I do know bandleader Dave Mustaine was/is an epic-level jerk: he hates Metallica for firing him, and that’s normal, but then there was the time he yelled at my old band’s manager for telling him she was glad to see that he’d shown up sober for a show. That’s a nice thing to say to someone, isn’t it? No? Well, whatever, I’ll go listen to their new song, “The Dogs of Chernobyl,” only because I have to. OK, it’s really thrash-punky, like old Slayer except with Metallica vocals. It’s pretty cool if you liked Metallica’s $5.98 EP, kind of Samhain-ish/Misfits-ish, meaning it’s kind of out-of-date-ish but acceptable-ish. Bon appetit or whatnot.

• Yikes, it’s arena-pop act Journey, with a new album, called Freedom! Last I knew, this band, famous for “Don’t Stop Believin’,” a song about the Sopranos or whatever it was, was still not speaking to their original singer, Steve Perry, whom they replaced with some kid they found through a karaoke YouTube. That ridiculousness didn’t spell doom for the band; they had a decent AOR/yacht-rock song called “The Place In Your Heart” in 2005, don’t be so picky. The new single, “Don’t Give Up On Us,” is epic AOR, full of hormonal angst triggers for 50-somethings. I actually like it a lot.

• We’ll close with Cave World, the new LP from Swedish post-punk band Viagra Boys. The latest teaser track is “Punk Rock Loser,” which will make a great Bud Light commercial, since it’s a cross between Bloodhound Gang and Melvins (don’t worry, all that means is that it’s edgy but basically useless except as beer commercial background).

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).

Chocolate and peanut butter Rice Krispie treats

Summer brings about a nostalgia for the simplicity of this time of year. Simple meals that consist of fresh produce, cheese and a baguette. It also brings to mind simple desserts: a bowl of ice cream, a couple s’mores by a campfire and, of course, Rice Krispie treats.

Plain Rice Krispie treats are one of the simplest, yet usually most crowd-pleasing, desserts that exist. What’s not to like about a sweet, chewy, crunchy treat that can be eaten with your hands? While I like the basic recipe, it also can be fun to add a new element or two. As such, I would like to introduce you to this amped up version.

Personally, I enjoy the addition of peanut butter in a dessert, as it adds a bit of saltiness to contrast with the sweetness. It turns out that marshmallows and peanut butter balance each other quite well. The chocolate is a way to add another dimension of flavor, with each chef deciding what flavor that is. Go with milk chocolate chips if you want these treats to be a little sweeter, and opt for semisweet chocolate chips if you are looking for a deeper chocolate flavor.

No matter which chocolate option you choose, you now have a dessert that is perfect for almost any summer gathering. Take a batch to the beach, bring them to your next family cookout, or just enjoy them in the comfort of your own home. They are sure to disappear quickly once you set them out!

Chocolate and peanut butter Rice Krispie treats
Makes 24

1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispies
2 cups chocolate chips

Spray a 13″x9″ pan, sides and bottom, with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine marshmallows and butter in a large pot over medium heat.
Stir frequently until both are melted and combined.
Remove from heat and add peanut butter, mixing well
Add Rice Krispies, stirring until fully incorporated.
Add chocolate chips, mixing until evenly distributed.*
Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan, spreading evenly.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes.

*The chocolate chips will melt, so you will end with more of a marble wave of chocolate.

Featured Photo: Chocolate and peanut butter Rice Krispie treats. Photo by Michele Pesula Kuegler.

In the kitchen with Megan Gordon

Megan Gordon is the chef and co-owner of Copper Kettle To Go (39 Main St., Wilton, 654-2631, copperkettletogo.com), an eatery and catering company directly across the street from the Wilton Town Hall Theatre that offers an always-changing menu of scratch-cooked meals, from sandwiches and flatbreads to plated entrees, burgers, tacos and more. Copper Kettle To Go’s unique setup features an upstairs grocery shop offering various take-and-bake meals and an in-house dining area, along with a downstairs taphouse with a rotating lineup of local brews. Gordon, who opened the restaurant with her husband Chris in September 2020, previously ran the Copper Kettle Bakery in Brookline with her mother, from 2009 to 2011.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

My whisk.

What would you have for your last meal?

Probably my husband’s chicken piccata.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

The Riverhouse Cafe in Milford. We are obsessed. … I usually get the CB Stack. It’s corned beef with eggs, hollandaise sauce and shredded cheesy potatoes. It’s so good.

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

Al Horford. I am a huge Celtics fan, and we’re birthday buddies.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

I would have to say our haddock sandwich. … It actually comes on an 8-inch sub roll, and then we top it with American cheese, lettuce, fried pickles and homemade tartar sauce. … We actually had a customer in here who was at Hampton Beach and told another customer of ours that if she wanted a good haddock sandwich to go an hour inland to Wilton and get one at Copper Kettle. … So I thought that was pretty cool.

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

Smash burgers. They are everywhere and we started doing them as well. They are very popular.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

Tacos. I like to do beef or chicken tacos, and then we have all the sides that you have to have.

Homemade pico de gallo
From the kitchen of Megan Gordon of Copper Kettle To Go in Wilton

½ small onion
3 roma tomatoes
1 jalapeno
¼ cup cilantro
1 lime

Cut up the onion, tomatoes, jalapeno and cilantro into small pieces and place into a bowl. Cut the lime in half and juice it over the ingredients in the bowl. Let it sit for 15 minutes to let all of the flavors marry, then serve with tacos or dig in with tortilla chips.

Featured photo: Megan Gordon. Courtesy photo.

Pumpernickel Manhattan

Because I am a humble man, I don’t often bring this up, but it has bearing on today’s topic, so I’ll say it now and get it out of the way, so we can move on.

I make the World’s Best Breakfast Sandwich.

I know; it seems unlikely. You’d expect the inventor of such an important — dare I say, landmark? — development to be a tall, handsome, strapping man of great intelligence and taste. You’d be disappointed.

And, of course, you’ve got the lunch-counter lawyers who will want to get into the whole, “How can you quantify matters of personal preference?” Some people might even argue, “How do you even define the word ‘sandwich’, anyway?” — you know, the same people who like to start the argument about whether a hot dog is a sandwich or whether breakfast cereal is soup. Those jerks. [Editor’s note: Hippo totally and with troublemaker intent stirred this pot in our Best of 2022. Hippo readers pretty definitively said 76 to 24 percent that a hot dog is not a sandwich.]

But the fact remains that there is one clear best breakfast sandwich, and I’m the guy who invented it. I am so confident of this that I have it on my resumé, which has provoked several extended discussions during job interviews. I haven’t always gotten those jobs, but by the time I left, the various hiring committees knew what to make for breakfast the next morning.

Here is how you make it:

Toast one slice of plain, ordinary, white sandwich bread. If you try to use a snobbier, artisanal bread, this whole dish will collapse philosophically.

Spread the bread with a confident layer of peanut butter — natural, processed, it doesn’t matter. It has to be actual peanut butter, though. Almond butter, sunflower butter, tahini, these are all fine, admirable ingredients but this is not the job for them.

On top of the peanut butter, arrange a layer of pickled jalapeños — not fresh ones, not a splash of hot sauce. Pickled. Jalapeños.

Top the jalapeños with a fluffy scrambled egg. Not egg whites. Not whipped tofu.

Scrambled. Egg.

“Yeah, but I like a fried egg, and I don’t really see why—”

Shhhh.

One. Scrambled. Egg.

Season with a pinch of coarse salt and fresh ground pepper.

You and I both know how this is going to go down:

You’re going to try to prove how open-minded you are and you’ll make this — well, a version of it, anyway. You’ll substitute a self-respecting slice of sourdough for the sandwich bread, or you’ll use some fresh chiles you’ve got growing in your garden. You’ll make it, and eat it, and shrug your shoulders and say, “It’s OK, but I’m not sure what he’s making such a big deal about.” And you’ll move on with your life, burdened with just a little less respect for me than you had before.

And then, one day, when you need it most — when it is freezing rain outside, and the character you love the most on that show you like has gotten herself killed by a radioactive wombat, and work is terrible, and you just had a big fight, and you hate the world — on that day, you will make this sandwich the way it was meant to be eaten and you will feel the fragments of your broken heart start to slip back into place.

“OK,” I hear you say. “This is all certainly very … colorful and all, but what — if anything — does this have to do with cocktails?”

Oh, right.

I’m sure you already know this, but this Friday is the 94th anniversary of the first commercially sliced bread, which is, of course, one of the key developments that make this sandwich possible. And as long as we’re talking, in a roundabout sort of way, about bread that doesn’t get enough respect, let’s make a cocktail that honors another forgotten hero of the bread world: pumpernickel.

Pumpernickel Manhattan

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon caraway seeds
  • 1 Tablespoon cocoa nibs
  • 1½ ounces rye whiskey – I like Maker’s Mark
  • 1½ ounces red vermouth
  • 10 drops cardamom bitters
  • 10 drops orange bitters

Thoroughly muddle the caraway seeds and cocoa nibs in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. (You could also use a mortar and pestle for this.) Add the rye, and swirl to combine.

Leave the whiskey, caraway and cocoa nibs for at least an hour, to get to know each other better.

Using a fine-meshed strainer, strain the rye over ice, in a mixing glass. Add the vermouth and bitters, then stir gently.

Pour into a rocks glass, and sip slowly.

Pumpernickel — the bread — is a close cousin of rye bread; that’s why we’re using rye for this Manhattan, rather than the more traditional bourbon. Its dark color comes from cocoa powder, and like all self-respecting ryes, it has caraway seeds to give it some [vague, punching motion]. As with any self-respecting Manhattan, the predominant flavor here comes from the whiskey — this is why we’ve used a fairly upscale rye — but the caraway and cocoa linger and remind you who you are dealing with. They are subtle about it — it doesn’t shout, “CARAWAY! WE’VE GOT CARAWAY, HERE!” but they leave you thinking about the finer points of pumpernickel bread.

As you should.

Featured photo. Pumpernickel Manhattan. Photo by John Fladd.

Takes the cake

Eatxactly Sweet Cafe opens in Concord

Concord native Laura Fucella found success in 2017 with Eatxactly Cakes, a homestead business specializing in custom designed cakes, cupcakes and cake pops for weddings, birthday parties and all kinds of other occasions. But she could only pull so much out of her home kitchen each week — so when her business grew to the point when she was regularly having to turn cake orders away during peak season, that was when she began looking for opportunities to expand.

cinnamon raisin bun on plate beside plastic takeout drink cup
Photos courtesy of Eatxactly Sweet Cafe in Concord.

Eatxactly Sweet Cafe, which opened June 18 in the former Eagle Square Deli space downtown, is more than just a larger production space for Fucella’s custom cakes. It’s also a full-service bakery and cafe, featuring a lineup of grab-and-go pastries, coffees, teas, toasts and more.

“I always wanted to have a little cake bakery, just something small … and when I saw that this was available, it felt right,” said Fucella, who took over the vacant storefront last October. “Then it was like, well this is a lot of space for just cakes, so I said, ‘What else can we do in here?’ That’s kind of how it got to be what it is, more just because of the space available.”

Fucella is no stranger to smaller baked goodies, either — she completed a nine-month intensive program in pastry arts at Le Cordon Bleu College in Cambridge, Mass., in 2011, and also held various baking and restaurant management positions, including at D Squared Java in Exeter just prior to the start of the pandemic.

The new cafe’s offerings include a regularly stocked display of scratch-baked items like croissants, scones and sticky buns, in addition to a refrigerated case of fruit tarts, chocolate cream puffs, banana breads, and cakes and cupcakes, all in a variety of rotating flavors.

Photos courtesy of Eatxactly Sweet Cafe in Concord.

There are also “cafe bites,” or loaded toasts using rustic sourdough bread from the Derry-based Nomad Bakery — those options include a tomato crostini with goat cheese and microgreens; a caprese-style toast with basil pesto, mozzarella and spinach; and the “Queen Bee,” which features peanut butter, banana, bacon, house-made granola and a bourbon honey glaze. Oatmeals, quiches, yogurt parfaits and focaccia served by the slice on Fridays round out the food menu.

For her coffees, Fucella is partnering with Tandem Coffee Roasters of Portland, Maine. Drip coffee and cold brew are available, in addition to a full line of espresso drinks, along with a variety of house-made syrups with flavors like mocha, vanilla, caramel and maple. Fucella also offers herbal, black and oolong loose-leaf teas from Aera Tea Co., with a few milk options.

But even with all the new menu additions, you’ll still be able to order any of the signature cakes Fucella has become known for. Most require at least a seven-day advance notice, although it’s longer for weddings and for larger orders. Fucella has even worked to streamline the ordering process with new forms recently uploaded to the website that you can fill out yourself.

Eatxactly Sweet Cafe
Where: 5 Eagle Square, Concord
Hours: Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (hours may be subject to change)
More info: Visit eatxactlysweetcafe.com, or find them on Facebook and Instagram @eatxactlysweetcafe or call 715-1145

Featured photo: Photos courtesy of Eatxactly Sweet Cafe in Concord.

The Weekly Dish 22/07/07

News from the local food scene

• Granite brews: Depending on when you’re reading this, there may still be time to get your ticket to this year’s Keep NH Brewing Festival, happening at the Kiwanis Riverfront Park behind the Douglas N. Everett Arena (15 Loudon Road, Concord) on Saturday, July 9, with general admittance from 1 to 4 p.m. and VIP admittance beginning at noon. The festival is known for featuring the largest collection of craft breweries in the state for one event, and it’s the first time since 2019 that it’s being held in person. Beer styles will run the gamut from IPAs and lagers to sours, ales and stouts, with an overall collection of more than 130 available options to sample. Admission grants you access to 4-ounce pours of each beer, as well as a souvenir tasting glass — other participants of the festival will include several food trucks, a local hop grower, outdoor vendors and more. General admission is $50 in advance and $55 on the day of the festival, while designated drivers get in for $20 (event is 21+ only). Visit nhbrewers.org.

• Abenaki flavors: Join the Hopkinton Historical Society and New Hampshire Humanities for a virtual cooking program on traditional Abenaki squash soup, scheduled for Monday, July 11, at 7 p.m., via Zoom. Liz Charlebois, Abenaki educator, artist and seed expert, will lead this demonstration — participants can watch or cook alongside her at their own home. A list of ingredients will be made available in advance. The program is one of several taking place during the Hopkinton Historical Society’s ongoing exhibit, “Gather ’Round: Telling Our History Through Food,” which opened on June 25. Other upcoming programs include a virtual cooking demonstration on Native American frybread in August, and an Abenaki harvest food tasting event at the Slusser Senior Center in Contoocook in October. Visit hopkintonhistory.org for a full list of events and to register.

• South of France: The Bedford Village Inn (2 Olde Bedford Way, Bedford) continues its regional summer dinner series with a South of France four-course al fresco dinner scheduled for Thursday, July 14, from 6 to 10 p.m. The event will feature passed hors d’oeuvres, followed by a four-course plated dinner out on the Grand Terrace. Each of the food options and wine pairings is inspired by southern French cuisine — they’ll include tomato tarte with black olive, pickled chili, fennel aioli and herbs; black sea bass with summer vegetables, shell beans and saffron; Vernon Family Farm coq au vin (red wine-braised chicken) with heirloom carrots and chervil; and peach financiers with candied almond, chantilly, brown butter and roquefort for dessert. Tickets are $125 per person (dinner is 21+ only) and reservations are required, as space is limited. The Bedford Village Inn will then continue its series with a South Carolina dinner on Aug. 4. Visit bedfordvillageinn.com.

• Ribs!: Save the date for the Great American Ribfest & Food Truck Festival, returning for the first time in three years to Anheuser-Busch Brewery (221 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack) from Friday, July 15, through Sunday, July 17. A fundraiser for the Merrimack Rotary Club, Ribfest features all kinds of barbecue options from more than 30 vendors, in addition to live music and craft beer. Tickets are available at the door and will be $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and veterans, $6 for kids ages 6 to 12 and free for kids ages 5 and under. Visit greatamericanribfest.com.

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