Tag: 230629

In the kitchen with Kami Raleigh

Self-taught baker Kami Raleigh started Pink Star Bakery in Deerfield in 2010. Between having kids and working a full-time job, she had to take a break before coming back and expanding Pink Star Bakery’s repertoire from just cupcakes to a wide variety of baked goods, such as custom cakes, dessert tables for events with treats like cookies and brownies, and most recently bread. Raleigh loves to experiment, often drawing inspiration from baking techniques she sees on social media. Pink Star Bakery is a vendor at the Deerfield Farmers Market this season.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

A KitchenAid mixer. I could not live without the KitchenAid mixer. It’s super useful for kneading bread and all that but also I primarily use … buttercream for all of my cakes and cupcakes and that includes making meringue, and that is not something I would want to do by hand.

What would you have for your last meal?

I [make] a meal for my family and it’s this lemon chicken pasta. It is just so good and just like that perfect home cooked meal that you have in the wintertime and it fills your belly.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

I have two, really. I really love Cotton in Manchester and then I also love the Taphouse in Hooksett. I really love that kind of kicked up, home cooked meal kind of style but using local ingredients and that sort of thing, and then any Mexican place really.

What celebrity would you like to see trying one of your items?

Probably Martha Stewart and she would definitely have to have Snoop Dogg with her.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

My favorite is either a chocolate peanut butter cake or cupcakes. It’s a chocolate cake with a peanut butter buttercream and I do chocolate ganache and cut up Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups all inside of it.

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

I’m seeing a ton of doughnut places popping up so I think that’s probably a really big one. That, and a lot more farm-to-table, which I really love seeing.

What is your favorite thing to make at home?

I really love doing bread for my family. I’m trying to start making a lot of our staple foods like things that you would eat regularly and not relying on the store for those products and just trying to make our daily life cleaner on what ingredients we’re putting in our bodies.


— Mya Blanchard

Grandma’s sugar cookies
From the kitchen of Kami Raleigh of Pink Star Bakery in Deerfield

3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1½ teaspoon baking powder
3 Tablespoons cream or half-and-half
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup cool butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in egg, cream and vanilla and blend well. Roll out dough on a floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters. Bake on an ungreased sheet pan at 400 degrees for five to eight minutes. Frost when cool.


Featured photo: Kami Raleigh, owner of Pink Star Bakery in Deerfield.

Cheers to six years

The Packie to celebrate six years in business with new beer festival

By Mya Blanchard

[email protected]

To celebrate The Packie’s sixth anniversary, owner Jon Pinches will host a beer festival on Saturday, July 1, from noon to 4 p.m. at his Hooksett location, for local craft breweries and eateries to showcase their brews.

Admission is free. The day will include food trucks, games, raffles live music and, of course, beer samples from local brewies.

The idea to establish what is now The Packie (a Massachusetts slang term for a package store — a place to buy beer and wine) came from Pinches’s girlfriend, now wife, Sarah.

“We’d been in some beer stores up in Canada and she thought it would be a really cool idea down here. … I’d been going to those stores my entire life, so it hadn’t really occurred to me that those were unique at all until she pointed it out,” Pinches said. “The surrounding states were going through big craft beer booms and New Hampshire was kind of lagging behind.”

Pinches said his passion for craft beer stems from his college days studying business at Arizona State University, where he would frequent the now bought-out Four Peaks Brewing Co. in the city of Tempe.

After a relationship ended while he was working at a Chili’s in Wyoming, he began looking for managerial positions at other locations, eventually finding himself in Massachusetts.

“I was the front-of-house manager as well as backhouse for lots of different places and got introduced to what was going on in Mass. craft beer, and just loved what I was seeing,” he said. “That’s where I got the name [The Packie], from living in Mass. for several years.”

By the time Pinches lived in Manchester, he felt New Hampshire was ready for a craft beer boom of its own.

“I decided … we’d better get on it, and the timing was perfect,” he said.

The Packie, which sells craft beer, cider and mead, held its grand opening in July 2017 and moved to its current Second Street in the summer of 2020. About two and a half years later, Pinches opened the second location in Hooksett.

“It was always part of the five-year plan … [and] I figured by this point we would be ready for it, so we really wanted to hit that goal.” Pinches said of opening a second location. “We were a little worried with the pandemic or at least coming out of the pandemic … because if you own a to-go beer place then the pandemic wasn’t good for you and you weren’t running properly. But now that we’ve come out of it, sales have started the other way … [and] it still seems like the right climate, and we needed the extra revenue from a second place to be able to keep surviving. If you’re not growing, you’re stagnating.”

In past years, The Packie’s anniversary has been celebrated with smaller-scale celebrations. Three or four different breweries would be invited and given a two-hour time slot to showcase their beers. This year, eight breweries and one meadery will be present, each likely bringing two beverage sample options.

“We always want to celebrate the anniversary. We’re so enthused and just grateful for what our customers have done for us,” Pinches said. “If this festival does well for itself, which I think it will, then yeah, absolutely every year we’ll do it.”

The Packie’s sixth anniversary beer festival
When: Saturday, July 1, noon to 4 p.m.
Where: The Packie, 88 W. River Road, Hooksett
Cost: Free admission
Visit: thepackienh.com

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 23/06/29

News from the local food scene

• Get your Greek fix: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (68 N. State St., Concord) will hold its next boxed Greek dinner to go, a drive-thru event happening on Sunday, July 9, from noon to 1 p.m. Now through Wednesday, July 5, orders are being accepted for mezedakia, a Greek appetizer sampler plate featuring tzatziki, pita bread, tiropita, Greek meatballs, loukanikos (Greek sausages), feta cheese, Greek olives and a dessert, for $20 per meal. The event is drive-thru and takeout only — email [email protected] or call 953-3051 to place your order. More takeout and pickup meals are expected at the church in the coming months. Visit holytrinitynh.org.

• Showing some spirit: A new craft distillery is coming to The Factory on Willow (284 Willow St., Manchester). Manchester Distillery is slate to open its doors for tours and tastings this August, according to a press release, and will feature industry veteran Bill Tambussi as its master distiller. Small-batch test spirits of Manchester Distillery’s first official gin and vodka are in the works right now, while malt and bourbon whiskeys will also likely be available down the line, the release said. Visit manchesterdistillery.com.

• Brews on the Hill: Save the date for A Brew with a View, the craft beer and food festival returning to Steele Hill Resorts (516 Steele Hill Road, Sanbornton) for an eighth year on Saturday, July 8, with VIP admission from 4 to 5 p.m. and general admission from 5 to 7 p.m. With views overlooking Lake Winnisquam, Lake Winnipesaukee and the Belknap Mountain Range, the festival will feature a variety of beers, meats, wines and spirits available for sampling, along with food, door prizes, games, music and more. Festivities begin with a VIP hour, followed by a general tasting session. Door prize drawings will take place at 5:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at abrewwithaview.com and are $50 general admission and $65 VIP admission. Special Brew with a View “getaway” packages are also available, featuring two VIP tickets and 10 percent off accommodations of your choice — see steelehillresorts.com/packages/brew-view-getaway.

On The Job – David Brooks

Handyman

David Brooks is a self-employed handyman and owns his own business, Dave’s Handyman Service (520-5408, [email protected], search “Dave’s Handyman Service” on Facebook) based in Concord.

Explain your job and what it entails.

I am a handyman who does basic home repairs for people. Sometimes I do multiple jobs in one day, or it may take multiple days to complete a single job.

How long have you had this job?

I launched my handyman business in March 2022.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

I have always been a handyman. I worked in retail for 30 years and finally gave it up and decided to start doing my own thing.

What kind of education or training did you need?

I had no specific education or training for my job. I did some carpentry when I was younger. I am pretty much self-taught.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Basic attire: jeans, T-shirt and boots.

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

The most challenging thing is that I am a one-man show; I do all of my own estimates and all of my own bookkeeping, and I perform all of the work. I deal with it by working in my office in the evening or on the weekends.

What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your career?

I wish I had known how great my customers would be, which has made my business successful, and how much I like being on my own. I would have started doing this sooner.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

I wish other people knew how much time and effort it takes from [the point of] estimating a job to completing a job.

What was the first job you ever had?

My first job was mowing lawns and doing odd jobs for a retired doctor when I was 13 years old.

What is the best piece of work-related advice you have ever received?

Be open and honest with people, be a man of your word, show up on time and always do the best job that you can.

Five favorites

Favorite book: I don’t have a favorite.
Favorite movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Favorite music: Rock ’n’ roll and heavy metal
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite thing about NH: The small towns and the friendly people

Featured photo: David Brooks. Courtesy photo.

Treasure Hunt 23/06/29

Dear Donna,

Can you tell me if people even still use alarm clocks? This was in my parents’ home for years. It still works fine. I just don’t have a need for it any longer.

Does it have value to someone?

Thanks, Donna.

Kate

Dear Kate,

I bet there are many people that still use alarm clocks — electric ones, and maybe some people even still use wind-ups.

Your Big Ben clock is from the early 1900s and looks like one of the first models. Westclox Co. has an interesting history. Your clock working is a plus for you, Kate. The value would be in the range of $60 to a collector or decorator. Who doesn’t love the look and charm of an antique timepiece?

Thanks for sharing with us, Kate. I hope you find time to find your clock a new home.

Kiddie Pool 23/06/29

Family fun for the weekend

Outside fun

• The first Hopkinton Field Fun Day is going to be on Thursday, June 29, starting at 10 a.m. at the town library (61 Houston Drive, Contoocook). The event will be filled with fun and games for visitors of all ages. Visit hopkintontownlibrary.org for more information.

• The New Hampshire Boat Museum (399 Center St., Wolfeboro) is having a Lake Discovery Day on Thursday, June 29, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Kids will learn about boating safety and the world under the water and on the shore through different activities and craft projects. Admission is free. For more information visit nhbm.org.

• Kids can hang out with kids — meaning baby goats — at Rochester Blue Seal (275 Portland St.) for its baby goat day on Friday, June 30, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Baby goats will be provided by Denbow Acres Farm for the makeshift petting zoo. For more information visit blueseal.com.

• Get your engines running for high-octane fun at the New England Dragway (280 Exeter St., Epping) with the Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings on Friday, June 30, at 5 p.m. and Saturday, July 1, at 2 p.m. Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings is a group of racers that have a reality television show documenting their experiences doing racing without any preparation on the cars or tracks. Tickets cost $30 for general admission, free for kids 12 and younger. To buy tickets visit nedragway.com.

• Earth Child New England is hosting an Inclusive Nature Immersion Event on Saturday, July 1, from 11 a.m. to noon at Mine Falls Park in Nashua. The event will have a gentle nature walk for children, as well as yoga, mindfulness, social skills and nature-based learning. The event is $30 per child, $15 for each additional sibling. To purchase tickets go to forms.gle/aMi3YmeMT4UPM28Y6

Theater extravaganza

• The Educational Theater Collaborative, Plymouth State University’s summer camp for kids ages 8 to 14, is putting on an original play called Team Up Together at The Flying Monkey (39 Main St., Plymouth) at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 30. Tickets to the show cost $10, $5 for children. Tickets can be purchased online at flyingmonkeynh.com.

• The 2023 Bank of New HampshireChildren’s Summer Series at The Palace (80 Hanover St., Manchester) begins with renowned children’s magician BJ Hickman Wednesday, July 5, with shows at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10 per child and can be purchased at palacetheatre.org.

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