Tag: 220811

Summer bellinis

Another reason to buy prosecco

Legend has it that the bellini was invented by Giuseppi Cipriani, owner of Harry’s Bar in Venice, Italy. Sometime between the mid-’30s and the mid-’40s he created this seasonal beverage made with puréed fresh Italian white peaches and prosecco, and as the legend states, he named the drink bellini as it reminded him of the peachy-pink color of a toga worn by a saint in a painting by Venetian artist Giovanni Bellini. The bellini has been selected by the International Bartenders Association (IBA) for use in the annual World Cocktail Competition (WCC) in bartending. There are variations to this blend, some of which call for the addition of mandarin orange juice, strawberry purée or pomegranate juice, but the peach purée reigns supreme when one thinks of the bellini.

Today it is easy enough to find several labels of prosecco, some relatively inexpensive and others a little pricier. The price points on most proseccos are generally accessible: from less than $10 per bottle to a little more than $25 per bottle. Several labels available in New Hampshire still come from Italy, but there is an increasing supply coming from California. As I am a firm believer that “life is too short to drink cheap wine,” I opt for the better quality, sometimes reflected in its price point.

Prosecco is made from a blend of grapes but the Italian varieties must contain at least 85 percent glera, with the rest being local and international varieties, including chardonnay, pinot blanco, pinot grigio and pinot noir. It is produced using the Charmat method: The base wine is produced, but instead of bottling, it is put into a sealed stainless steel tank, kept cool and under pressure to produce the effervescent bubbles. It is then filtered and bottled. This method of winemaking eliminates the second fermentation and riddling, the freezing and disgorging of the lees, and the addition of the dosage, or sweet wine — all the intensive work required of the Methode Traditionelle production of Champagne. With the Charmat method a small dosage of sweetened wine may be added, but this is added to the bulk wine before bottling. The bubbles of prosecco may be smaller, and the taste generally of more fruit than a sparkling wine produced by the Methode Traditionelle, but I like to think of this as a comparison of apples to oranges, a comparison a whole other column can be devoted to!

In making our bellinis, I selected the Santa Margherita Prosecco Di Valdobbiadene Superiore D.O.C.G. Brut, available at the New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlets, priced at $25.99, reduced to $19.99. This wine comes from the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene region of Veneto, Italy. It is made from 100 percent glera grapes. The winemakers allow the wine to sit on its lees for three months after fermentation, producing a creaminess not found in other proseccos I have tasted. The color is pale straw, the bubbles full, and to the nose there is citrus, peaches, pears and a touch of almond. To the tongue it is crisp and clean, with a fair amount of apple and more citrus. This is a delightful prosecco to sip enjoy with a meal or pair with a peach purée, to create a magnificent bellini!

Now, about the peach purée. It is tough to find! You can find it online, and Shaw’s sells a cocktail mixer, Stirrings Simple Peach Bellini, available at $7.99. This is a mixer created from real ingredients without preservatives; however, it is made from orange juice concentrate and peach purée. It’s pretty good and provides one with an easy recipe for that bellini: one part of the mix to four parts of prosecco, poured into a chilled Champagne flute. Doesn’t get much easier than that! But I have found I can create my own peach purée, by cutting an organic peach preserve with a little of the prosecco to create a purée, adding a couple of drops of lemon juice to cut the sweetness, then following through with the 4-to-1 recipe, or proportions to suit one’s taste. If you have the time and interest, you can create your own peach puree. All you need is a food processor or blender, a little sugar, honey or maple syrup, and of course fresh peaches. The concoction can be frozen!

This is a great libation for a hot summer afternoon. Slightly sweet and light in alcohol (the prosecco is typically 11 percent), it is a wonderful drink to impress your guests with your superior tastes and talents, and your impressive knowledge of wines and the history of cocktails. Enjoy the summer heat on your deck and patio with a cool bellini!

Featured photo. Courtesy photo.

Nectarine and strawberry salad

The heat of summer may have you thinking about meals you can make without turning on the stove or the oven. A little something on the grill, a side salad, some bread — it’s a perfect formula for dinner on a hot August day. I find that when I think about salads, I often turn to a green, leafy base. Then, I remind myself to think differently and end up with a salad such as this.

This salad is incredibly easy to make, but (said with much emphasis) you do have to plan a little bit. Before starting the salad prep, you need to make your own simple syrup. If you make your simple syrup the day before you want to eat this salad, you’ll be in good shape. Prep and assemble the salad the next morning, which will take all of about 10 minutes. Then, at dinnertime that night, you have a wonderfully chilled and flavorful salad ready to be eaten.

There are only five ingredients in this recipe, which adds to its simplicity. Make sure you can find nicely ripe nectarines and strawberries. You don’t want overripe, as the time spent macerating will make them too mushy. For the mint, fresh really is best. Dried won’t add the flavor or texture you want. However, for the lime juice, bottled is just fine.

Ingredients in hand, you have a refreshing salad to cool you off!

Nectarine and strawberry salad
Serves 4

2 nectarines
12 strawberries
1½ Tablespoons minced, fresh mint, about 10 leaves
2 Tablespoons simple syrup*
2 Tablespoons lime juice

Chop nectarines and strawberries into bite-sized pieces, discarding pit and leaves.
Transfer to a medium-sized bowl.
Add minced mint and gently toss to combine.
Pour simple syrup and lime juice into a small bowl; stir well.
Add syrup mixture to fruit, and toss gently to combine.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow flavors to meld.

*Simple syrup recipe
1 cup water
½ cup granulated sugar
Combine in a small pot and bring to a boil.
Stir until sugar dissolves completely.
Chill.

Featured Photo: Nectarine and Strawberry Salad. Photo by Michele Pesula Kuegler.

In the kitchen with Rick Carvalho

Rick Carvalho is the owner of OakCraft Pizza (2 Cellu Drive, Suite 111, Nashua, 521-8452, oakcraftpizza.com), a fast-casual eatery specializing in fresh wood-fired pizzas that opened in Nashua’s Amherst Street Village Center last September. A Hollis native, Carvalho said pizza-making started out as a passion project for him a few years ago. In the spring of 2019 he enrolled in an intensive course in Staten Island, New York, where he learned how to make and serve pizzas in a restaurant setting. OakCraft Pizza offers completely customizable options on an assembly line before your pie reaches the end. It’s then ready to be cooked in a wood-fired oven, which came overseas from Italy. There are multiple specialty pizza offerings, or you can choose to build your own — other menu items include cheesy garlic bread, salads, meatballs with red sauce, and hand-filled whoopie pies. Prior to opening OakCraft, Carvalho and his family formerly owned franchises for four Dunkin’ Donuts stores across Nashua.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

Definitely a dough scraper, or a baker’s third hand, as people will call it. … It’s just such a great utility tool that makes my life so much easier.

What would you have for your last meal?

Probably a really nice steak, cooked medium, with mashed potatoes … and then I’d finish it off with creme brulee.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

My wife and I got married at LaBelle Winery in Amherst six years ago. We love going there for brunch.

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

I’d probably go with either Matthew McConaughey, because he seems like a cool guy, or Justin Bieber, because I want him to be my target audience as a business. … If Justin Bieber comes into your restaurant and he throws one Instagram post up there about it, I mean, you’re going to retire.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

The Vodka Pie. It has a house-made vodka sauce and fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, mushrooms and just a splash of peas … and then we finish it off with grated imported Parmesan and fresh basil. It’s an ode to a traditional Italian penne alla vodka … so it just kind of brings in a little bit of culture, and it’s something you can’t get anywhere else around here that I know of.

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

Definitely vegan options … and then also just a higher-end experience. I think people are starting to finally get that around here, and I think it was a huge push in why we opened and with what we’re doing.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

I used to cook a lot at home, actually. … The thing I’ve cooked the most at home would be chicken Parm with just like a simple pasta.

Homemade chicken Parm
From the kitchen of Rick Carvalho of OakCraft Pizza

3 large chicken breasts, halved
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup marinara sauce
1 cup fresh mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, with the rack in the middle of the oven. Heat a pan to medium-high heat on the stove and coat with olive oil. Dip chicken breasts in egg, then coat in bread crumbs. Place chicken on the pan to brown each side. Remove chicken from the pan and place in an oven-safe baking dish. Layer chicken and marinara sauce throughout the baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake the chicken at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place fresh mozzarella slices on the chicken. FInish cooking until the internal chicken temperature reaches 165 degrees. Enjoy over your choice of pasta.

Featured photo: Rick Carvalho of OakCraft Pizza Courtesy photo.

Brews at the ballpark

Gate City Brewfest returns after three-year hiatus

Unlike most local beer festivals, Gate City Brewfest is unique for welcoming visitors of all ages. That’s because the annual event, returning to Holman Stadium in Nashua for its eighth year on Saturday, Aug. 20, is about more than just pouring beer — attendees are treated to an afternoon filled with games, live music acts, local vendors, food trucks and more.

This is the first time since the pandemic struck that Gate City Brewfest has been able to operate in its traditional format, said Chelsea Dennis, marketing manager of Bellavance Beverage Co., which hosts the event in collaboration with the City of Nashua each year. After taking a year off in 2020, organizers morphed the event into a music festival for 2021. But while they were able to raise funds for the Nashua Police Athletic League, Dennis said it just wasn’t the same.

“We’re excited to bring the event back to a true brewfest form. It’s been three years since then,” Dennis said. “So much has changed in that time, and we just feel like we really have the best year yet on deck. It is going to be a little different, but we think it makes the most sense.”

Since the first event in 2013, the scale of Gate City Brewfest’s offerings has grown considerably — this year, there are expected to be more than 150 individual beers, ciders and seltzers from dozens of local and regional craft breweries to choose from, all in a wide variety of styles.

“They usually decide what they’ll bring like the week before, because it depends on what inventory they have, and if anything new or seasonal is coming out,” Dennis said. “So if they have fall beers, they will try to bring them if they are ready. … I think a safe estimate would be that they each bring three to four options, so all the different kinds of beers are covered.”

Dennis added that a special VIP ticket rate grants attendees access into the ballpark an hour earlier, when a series of exclusive limited beer releases will be served.

Ready-to-drink canned cocktails will also have a larger-than-before presence at this year’s event.

“If you don’t like beer, there are so many options for you,” Dennis said. “Obviously there’s hard cider, which we’ve had every year … but more than that, we have different wine options and vodka-based and tequila-based cocktails that will be there too.”

One of the most notable changes to this year’s Gate City Brewfest is the elimination of the chicken wing competition. While it had remained a big draw over the years, Dennis said the rising costs of product and a lack of staff among restaurant participants were the major factors in the event committee’s decision not to bring the competition back. Instead, the festival is planning to welcome additional food trucks — the Seacoast Pretzel Co., which offers freshly baked Bavarian-style soft pretzels, and The Puddle Jumper, a mobile food trailer brought to you by the owners of The Flight Center Beer Cafe in Nashua, are among this year’s vendors.

A full schedule of live local music acts is planned, courtesy of Evolvement Music. Brother Seamus will kick things off at 1 p.m., followed by Slack Tide at 2:10 p.m. and the Faith Ann Band at 3:30 p.m., Dennis said. A cornhole competition is also going to be open for spectators to watch, but to participate, players must win one of the qualifier rounds at an event leading up to the festival. Upcoming rounds are scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 11, at 6 p.m. at The Flight Center Beer Cafe in Nashua; Saturday, Aug. 13, at 1 p.m., at Game Changer Sports Bar & Grill in Londonderry; and Sunday, Aug. 14, at 3 p.m., at Boston Billiard Club & Casino in Nashua.

The winner of the competition receives a pair of tickets to the Boston Red Sox game on Sept. 17, along with an overnight hotel stay at The Lenox in Boston and an all-expenses paid trip to Cisco Brewery’s pop-up beer garden in Boston’s Seaport District.

8th annual Gate City Brewfest
When: Saturday, Aug. 20, 1 to 5 p.m. (VIP admittance begins at noon)
Where: Holman Stadium, 67 Amherst St., Nashua
Cost: $35 in advance (through Aug. 18), $50 at the door, $15 for designated drivers and visitors under 21, and free for kids ages 12 and under. VIP tickets are $70 and include early access and an exclusive beer selection. A kickoff party is also scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m., at The Thirsty Moose Taphouse (360 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack)
Visit: gatecitybrewfestnh.com
Event is rain or shine. No re-entry or pets allowed. Free shuttle buses will make several stops across Nashua from noon to 5:45 p.m., including at the Elm Street garage, the High Street garage, Main Street and Pearson Avenue, Holman Stadium, and the Main Street bridge after Franklin Street.

Featured photo: Photo courtesy of Gate City Brewfest.

Barbecue takeover

Great New England BBQ & Food Truck Festival returns

Smoked meats and cold brews take center stage at the Great New England BBQ & Food Truck Festival, returning to Milford’s Hampshire Dome on Saturday, Aug. 13. With eats from more than a dozen local food trucks, the fifth annual event will feature one of the largest showings of food options in its history, along with a beer tent, live local music and artisan vendors.

“We sold out of barbecue last year, so we’re definitely adding more barbecue options,” festival organizer Jody Donohue said. “We’ll have lots of specialty foods this year, [from] different spices, seasonings and dips [to] hand-filled cannolis and fresh-squeezed lemonade on site.”

As during previous years, food trucks will be set up around the perimeter of the dome’s parking lot, with all kinds of offerings both local to New Hampshire and neighboring New England states. Prime Time Grilled Cheese, an attendee favorite since the festival’s inception for its specialty grilled cheeses, is back once again this year, as is Sweet Crunch Bakeshop & Catering Co., which will have its freshly baked cookies. Carla’s Coffee, a mobile trailer formerly known as Jayrard’s Java Cafe, is also carrying on its predecessor’s festival appearance with its Costa Rican coffees and espresso-based drinks, in addition to some smoothies and lemonades.

hands holding a mac and cheese sandwich
Photos courtesy of the Great New England BBQ & Food Truck Festival.

Newcomers to this year’s festival include The Big Bad Food Truck, which hails from the Seacoast and serves up an always changing menu of scratch-made barbecue comfort items, like beef brisket, pork shoulder, burgers, hand-cut fries and vegan alternatives like jackfruit. Grace’s Kitchen Pizza Truck — known for its specialty pizzas and smaller bites like hand-breaded chicken tenders and loaded Tater Tots — and Friends 4 OBA, which offers various Asian fusion street food options, are also joining the festival’s truck lineup for the first time. Piggy Sue’s Steakin’ Bacon, another new vendor, will be there with its signature “bacon steak” skewers, as well as poutine and fried ice cream.

A “libations tent” will feature a variety of signature craft cocktails, along with local beers from Frogg Brewing of Marlborough and Martha’s Exchange of Nashua, Donohue said. Dozens of vendors will be selling their wares both inside and outside the dome, including everything from handmade baskets, candles and jewelry to soaps, lotions and other personal care products.

Live music will be featured all day long, starting with Matt Bergeron from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., followed by Brian Weeks from 1:45 to 4 p.m. and Peter Pappas from 4:15 p.m. through the end of the event. The “Kidz Zone” is also returning, with various activities available for the younger crowd, like free bounce houses, face-painting, bubbles and henna tattoos.

One activity brand new to this year’s festival, Donohue said, is a mobile ax throwing trailer — it’s brought to you by Axes on the Go, owned by Manchester’s RelAxe Throwing. There will also be indoor cornhole games available to play, and caricature artists are expected to attend.

“We try to incorporate fun for everybody and make it an event where you want to come and stay for a bit,” Donohue said.

Great New England BBQ & Food Truck Festival
When: Saturday, Aug. 13, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: The Hampshire Dome, 34 Emerson Road, Milford
Cost: General admission tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the gate (free for attendees ages 14 and under). Food and crafts are priced per item.
Visit: gne.ticketleap.com/greatnewenglandfoodtruckmilford to purchase advance tickets online
Free parking and an ATM are available on site. Seating will be provided, but attendees are welcome to bring their own chairs or blankets. No pets are allowed.

Featured photo: Photos courtesy of the Great New England BBQ & Food Truck Festival.

The Weekly Dish 22/08/11

News from the local food scene

• Greek eats return: Join Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (68 N. State St., Concord) for its next boxed Greek dinner to go event on Sunday, Aug. 21, from noon to 1 p.m. Now through Aug. 16, orders are being accepted for boxed meals, featuring a Greek chicken kabob salad with pita bread and a Greek cookie for $20 per person. The event is drive-thru and takeout only — email [email protected] or call 953-3051 to place your order. The church also has similar upcoming takeout events planned — a roast pork dinner will be served on Sept. 11, followed by a Greek meatball dinner on Oct. 9 and a stuffed peppers dinner on Nov. 3. Visit holytrinitynh.org.

• African flavors: Building on the success of its bi-monthly Taste of Africa dinners, Nashua’s Mola Foods (9 Simon St.) will launch Taste of Africa Lunch, a weekly series every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., beginning Aug. 11. According to a press release, the lunches will include your choice of one of two dishes from Africa — each from a different country — and an African dessert. “It provides more opportunities for people to experience African food, and it allows me to focus my takeout business primarily on Taste of Africa,” LaFortune Jeannette Djabea, a native of Cameroon who founded Mola Foods in 2016 and expanded into her current space in early 2021, said in a statement. Lunches, which can be pre-ordered online to enjoy inside Djabea’s space or for pickup, can also be customized for businesses. “I want to reveal the diversity, deliciousness and versatility of African food in a modern context,” she said. Meals are priced at $25 per person. Purchase tickets in advance at molafoods.com/africalunch.

• Food truck frenzy: The Town of Windham’s Recreation Department is holding a food truck festival at Windham High School (64 London Bridge Road, Windham) on Sunday, Aug. 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In addition to a diverse showing of eats from local food trucks, the event will feature a craft and vendor fair, a cornhole tournament, raffle opportunities and live music by the local cover group All Day Fire. Admission to the festival is free, with all foods and drinks from the trucks priced per item. Contact the Windham Recreation Department at [email protected] or at 965-1208 for more details.

• Scrumdiddlyumptious: Get your tickets now to a Willy Wonka kitchen takeover dinner party happening at Chunky’s Cinema Pub (707 Huse Road, Manchester) on Sunday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m. The event will feature a screening of the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder, with a total of five special themed courses to be served throughout the movie. The menu is presented by chef Keith Sarasin of The Farmers Dinner. Tickets are $75 per person and include the movie viewing. There’s also a VIP wine pairing option for $110 that includes access to an early cocktail hour in the lobby bar. Visit chunkys.com to purchase tickets.

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