Tag: 230608

In the kitchen with Sherri Malouf and Shelby Malouf-Pieterse

Sherri Malouf and her daughter, Shelby Malouf-Pieterse, are the owners of Piggy Sue’s Steakin’ Bacon (steakinbacon.com, find them on Facebook), a bacon-themed mobile food trailer that hit the road last summer. Among the trailer’s signature items are the bacon steak skewers, featuring half-inch-thick cut slices of bacon on a stick, with the added option of chocolate sauce. Other staples include a bacon poutine with homemade gravy and chewy cheese curds; and fried ice cream, featuring your choice of toppings like whipped cream, sprinkles, hot fudge, Oreo crumbs and more. Piggy Sue’s sports a unique rubberhose art style that’s easy to spot — just look for the trailer’s titular mascot on the side.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

Shelby: Either my tongs or my fry scoop.

What would you have for your last meal?

Shelby: A medium-rare rib-eye steak, with caramelized onions on top and then probably some mashed potatoes and roasted veggies on the side. A full meal.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

Sherri: Buckley’s [Great Steaks] in Merrimack, to go along with the steak theme!

Shelby: The one that first came to mind is actually Ming Du, and they are in Hillsborough. They have fantastic Chinese food — something about it is just better compared to all of the other places around me.

What celebrity would you like to see ordering from the food trailer?

Sherri: Morgan Freeman!

Shelby: I would love to see a chef, really just any celebrity chef. Honestly, I would probably just freak out if Gordon Ramsay came up to my truck and ate a piece of my bacon. … I would die a little on the inside, I’d be so happy.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

Sherri: I think probably for me it would be the bacon skewer with chocolate on it.

Shelby: I love it all! I think I’m going to have to say the poutine with the bacon on top, though.

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

Sherri: People seem to love the wood-fired pizzas. We just talked to someone recently who said he’d really like to do a wood-fired pizza food truck.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

Sherri: I love to do the Bell & Evans boneless skinless chicken thighs. I do this marinade that is out of this world, and then I smoke them.

Shelby: I usually like just cooking really well-rounded meals.

Homemade chocolate balls
From the kitchen of Sherri Malouf and Shelby Malouf-Pieterse of Piggy Sue’s Steakin’ Bacon

12 ounces semisweet chocolate pieces
¾ cup sweetened condensed milk
Pinch of salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla
Granulated sugar (optional: flaked coconut, sweetened cocoa powder or instant coffee.

Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate over hot but not boiling water. Stir in the condensed milk, salt, walnuts and vanilla. Set the mixture aside to cool until it’s easy to shape into balls. Roll balls into sugar or other optional ingredients.


Featured photo: Sherri Malouf (right) and her daughter, Shelby Malouf-Pieterse, of Piggy Sue’s Steakin’ Bacon. Courtesy photo.

Get your Greek fix

Yiayia’s Greek Night Out to return after long hiatus

It was late 2018 when Concord’s Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church began hosting Yiayia’s Greek Night Out, an ongoing series of community events that feature Greek food demonstrations centered around traditional dishes, followed by dinners of the dish and dancing in the church hall. The sixth and most recent in-person event took place on March 14, 2020.

“It was right before everything was closed down,” the Rev. Constantine Newman of the church said. “I remember we had a very light turnout that day because everything was still sort of iffy.”

More than three years later Holy Trinity is now getting ready to revive the popular community event. Yiayia’s Greek Night Out is set to return on Saturday, June 17, and will feature the eggplant-based moussaka as its instructional centerpiece.

Past cooking demonstrations have featured other authentic Greek items like spanakopita (spinach pie), baklava, tsoureki (Greek Easter bread) and dolmathes (stuffed grape leaves). Newman said the events were born out of the growing interest in Greek food outside the church community.

Holy Trinity continues to hold monthly drive-thru Greek boxed dinners to go and is planning a flea market for later this summer where gyros and baklava will be available for sale.

Moussaka, Newman said, is similar to a Greek lasagna, but with eggplant instead of pasta.

“It’s not a complex dish but it takes a lot of time,” he said. “You need to thinly slice the eggplants and then roast them so that the moisture comes out. Then you layer eggplants and potatoes, and in between those layers is a meat and tomato sauce with spices. Then it’s topped off with a béchamel. … What we usually do is the demonstration dish is sort of a small one that we cook there on the spot, and beforehand we’ll have everything else made.”

Trays of finished moussaka prepared before the event will be served after the demonstrations, along with a side of Greek potatoes, a salad, and Greek cookies and ice cream for dessert. Music and dancing are expected for the duration of the event.

The $15 entry admission, Newman said, is available at the door. Collected proceeds go toward the event’s sponsor, Holy Trinity’s Mother Maria of Parish Outreach Ministries.

“They try to take care of people in the parish that are in need, or various charitable organizations throughout the city,” Newman said. “We’ve given donations to the [Concord] Coalition against Homelessness, the Friends of Forgotten Children, and Waypoint. … So the money that we collect … goes to helping needy people in general in our area.”

Yiayia’s Greek Night Out
When: Saturday, June 17, 5 p.m.
Where: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 68 N. State St., Concord
Cost: $15 per person
More info: Visit holytrinitynh.org, call 225-2961 or email htgoc@comcast.net

Featured photo: Photo courtesy of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Concord.

West Side roasts

William & Sons Coffee Co. now open in Manchester

While living in Brazil with his wife, Patty, Jonathan Hutchins became interested in the world of specialty coffee. He opened a small boutique roaster in the southeastern city of Porto Alegre, with the mission to bring the hard work of coffee farmers harvesting high-quality beans to the forefront. William & Sons Coffee Co., named after Hutchins’ father, was born.

“My dad didn’t work with coffee, but he was just an inspiration for me to start the company, and so that was how we came up with the brand name,” Hutchins said.

Fast forward to 2021 and Hutchins, a Maine native, found himself returning home to New England. By the end of that year he would launch a small roasting lab in the town of Loudon.

Around that time Hutchins became connected with the owner of Mi Vida Cafe, formerly located at the intersection of Amory and Laval streets. When that shop closed and the space became available, Hutchins saw a unique opportunity.

On May 12, William & Sons Coffee Co. opened a retail location where its own roasted coffees sourced from multiple growing regions around the world are available hot and iced, in addition to a selection of teas and a small offering of baked goods like muffins and cinnamon rolls. Hutchins continues to operate out of his Loudon facility, where all his beans are still roasted.

“We weren’t really planning on opening up a shop,” he said, “but I had met a lot of the neighbors in the area here on the West Side, and it’s just an incredible community with amazing people. … I kind of liked doing that model versus putting something on Elm Street.”

Hutchins is a certified Q grader, or a licensed specialty coffee tasting professional as recognized by the Coffee Quality Institute. He sources his beans from as far away as African countries like Kenya and nations like Papua New Guinea, each unique for their own tasting notes.

“We have a lot of farmer friends in Brazil,” he said. “I have contacts with importers, and I do direct trade with some Brazilian farmers. … To start off our shop, we have a good friend of ours in Brazil who actually sent us 40 pounds of green coffee just to have for the inauguration, so that’s been kind of special. That’s our espresso that we’re using right now, and we’ll have other different coffees that we feature from different parts of the world in the future.”

William & Sons offers a full line of hot and iced coffees, with a variety of different roast styles. Hutchins said the “more fruit-forward” tastes of a super light roasted coffee are among the shop’s specialties, which he said are meant to showcase its origins. Coffee drinks can be made with whole milk, oat milk or half-and-half, in addition to several optional flavor shots and sweeteners.

Other options include freshly brewed teas, as well as some other specialty drinks from hot chocolates to iced mochas and bubble teas. Hutchins also produces a small selection of baked goods out of his Loudon roasting facility, like cinnamon rolls, muffins and brownies.

In the few weeks that Hutchins has been open for business, he said, the West Side community has welcomed him with open arms. You can’t miss the unique chocolate brown-colored building on the street corner — coffee lovers have already made it their new home to work on their laptops, in addition to many others that use it as a pit stop for their morning’s cup of joe.

“We’ve got like 10 or 15 people that have come in every single day since we’ve opened, and it’s just been really fun meeting a lot of different people every day,” Hutchins said.

William & Sons Coffee Co.
Where: 489 Amory St., Manchester
Hours: Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed on Sundays.
More info: Visit wsonscoffee.com, or find them on Facebook and Instagram

Featured photo: William & Sons Coffee Co. Photo by Emma Catherine Photography.

The Weekly Dish 23/06/08

News from the local food scene

• Weddings and wines: Join Bookery Manchester (844 Elm St.) in welcoming LaBelle Winery owner and winemaker Amy LaBelle on Sunday, June 11, from 4 to 6 p.m. — she’ll be there to present and sign copies of her debut book, Wine Weddings: The Ultimate Guide to Creating the Wine-Themed Wedding of Your Dreams. Released Dec. 16, the book offers advice on planning and hosting weddings of every size and type, covering everything from choosing invitation designs and wedding favors to creating your own menu of signature drinks and wine choices. Admission is free and the event will include a wine tasting. During New Hampshire Wine Week, LaBelle’s Amherst location (345 Route 101) will also present A Celebration of Women Winemakers, a special four-course wine dinner happening on Wednesday, June 14, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Amy LaBelle will be joined by fellow winemaker Lisa Evich of Simi Winery in California to provide commentary on their philosophies and selected pairings throughout the evening. The cost is $99 per person — purchase tickets online at labellewinery.com, where you can view the full menu.

• A Jewish feast: Online ordering for the 26th annual New Hampshire Jewish Food Festival, presented by Temple B’nai Israel (210 Court St., Laconia), opens on Sunday, June 11, and will continue through Sunday, July 9. Menu items will include savory brisket with gravy, freshly sliced corned beef, pastrami and tongue from Evan’s New York Style Deli in Marblehead, Mass., as well as sweet creamy noodle kugel and a vast assortment of other home-cooked Jewish foods and pastries, most of which use recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation. Since the pandemic struck in 2020, festival organizers have continued with an online ordering and pickup system. Those who place their orders online will be prompted to select a time on either Friday, July 21, or Saturday, July 22, at Temple B’nai Israel. Visit tbinh.org/food-fest-menu to view the full menu.

• Let’s talk tomatoes: Save the date for a special in-person workshop on growing and harvesting tomatoes presented by UNH Cooperative Extension master gardener Will Lowenthal and happening at New Hampshire Audubon’s Massabesic Center (26 Audubon Way, Auburn) on Thursday, June 22, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Lowenthal will discuss the many challenges that can arise when growing your own tomatoes and will demonstrate different support methods, from staking and caging to overhead trellising. He’ll also show attendees how to properly prune tomatoes to control growth and improve disease prevention. The workshop will take place primarily outdoors, so dress accordingly for the weather and prepare for a short walk over grassy, flat but uneven terrain. Registration is required by June 20 — the cost is $10 for Audubon members and UNH Extension master gardeners, and $15 for non-members. Visit nhaudubon.org or call the Massabesic center at 668-2045 to register.

Kiddie Pool 23/06/08

Family fun for the weekend

Fun in the sun

• Help the Educational Farm at Joppa Hill (174 Joppa Hill Road, Bedford) feed feathered friends on Friday, June 9, at 10 a.m. Kids will create ornaments using black oil sunflower seeds and then have the chance to walk around the farm, feeding the seeds to the birds. This program is geared toward kids between 18 months and 8 years old. Tickets cost $25 per child and can be purchased at theeducationalfarm.org.

• Holman Stadium (848 W. Hollis St., Nashua) is doing a Fun in the Sun Color Run on Saturday, June 10, at 10 a.m. The one-mile or 5K course is open to children, adults, families and teams. The event is hosted by the Nashua Silver Knights and benefits the Lil’ Iguana’s Children’s Safety Foundation. Registration starts at $20. More information can be found at funinthesun.redpodium.com/fun-in-the-sun-color-run-2023.

• Join in the Zorvino Vineyard Kids Fishing Derby on Sunday, June 11, at 8 a.m. at the vineyard (226 Main St., Sandown). Kids ages 2 to 15 can win prizes for longest fish, most fish caught, and first to catch five fish. There is a list of rules for kids to follow available to look at when purchasing tickets. Tickets cost $5 per child and can be completed at zorvino.com.

• The Seacoast Science Center (570 Ocean Blvd., Rye) is hosting a World Ocean Day Celebration in honor of its 31st birthday on Sunday, June 11, at 10 a.m. There will be local scientists, divers, artists and conservationists at the event to help people learn about the oceans of the world. There will be educational activities and demonstrations, hands-on games, naturalist-led tide pooling sessions, and a beach cleanup. Tickets cost $20 for nonmember adults, $15 for nonmember children, $5 for Seacoast Science Center members, free for children younger than 2 years old. Visit seacoastsciencecenter.org for more information.

• Join the Amherst Public Library on Wednesday, June 14, for a concert and picnic to kick off its summer programs. Ben Rudnick & Friends, a band that plays different kinds of music from country to bluegrass and rock to second-line New Orleans, will perform. The picnic and concert will be on The Village Green (0 Main St.) at 6:30 p.m. For more information visit amherstlibrary.org.

Movie night

• Smitty’s Cinema (630 West Main St., Tilton) will have a sensory-friendly showing of The Little Mermaid (2023) on Sunday, June 11, at 11:30 a.m. The showing will have the lights of the theater turned on and the volume of the movie turned down to make it a calmer experience for smaller kids. The movie follows mermaid princess Ariel as she chases after true love in the human world. Tickets cost $11 and can be purchased at smittyscinema.com.

• See Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse at Chunky’s Cinema in Manchester (707 Huse Road, Manchester) as part of the theater’s sensory showing on Sunday, June 11, at 4 p.m. The movie theater will have the lights turned up and the movie’s sound turned down. The movie follows Miles Morales, one of the multiverse’s Spider-Men, on a new reality-twisting adventure to save the world. Tickets cost $6.49 and can be purchased at chunkys.com.

Indoor activities

• On Saturday, June 10, at 11 a.m., Gibson’s Bookstore (45 S. Main St., Concord) is hosting New Hampshire author and hiker Sarah Lamagna, who will be sharing her new guidebook, Hiking with Kids New England: 50 Great Hikes for Families. Lamagna welcomes kids to the book event, and she’ll give parents some tips and tricks for taking kids on hikes and outdoor adventures. For more information about this event, visit gibsonsbookstore.com.

• The Colonel Shepard House (29 Mount Vernon St., Milford) is hosting a Summer Afternoon Tea on Sunday, June 11, at 1 p.m. The gathering will feature a summertime selection of snacks, sweets, and, of course, teas. Tickets cost $40 per person and can be purchased at thecozyteacart.com.

Treasure Hunt 23/06/08

Dear Donna,

What’s your thought on old glasses? We found three pairs in my parents’ estate. Any value to them, or are they throw-aways?

Thanks.

Scott

Dear Scott,

Antique spectacles are some of the most common pieces to find in old estates.

There is a long and interesting history that goes along with them. This pair is bifocals so not as early as some. Bifocals came later, invented by Benjamin Franklin.

In general most antique glasses run in the range of $10 a pair. They are bought today for many decorative reasons. If the rims are real gold and not plated or gold-filled, they have a much higher value, and there can be some exceptions, as always, for rarer ones.

So my answer, Scott, is not to throw them away. Have them checked by an antique dealer or jeweler for gold first and possibly a sale.

Thanks for sharing with us, Scott.

Donna

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