Tag: 231207

In the kitchen with Katie Pope

While Boscawen resident Katie Pope has always liked to bake and experiment in the kitchen, she didn’t originally plan on starting her own bakery. The idea was planted in her mind after she made a unicorn cake for her daughter’s birthday party and one of the moms asked her how much she charged. The idea was put into practice about five years later with the creation of Confections by Kate during the pandemic, after she experienced burnout in the health care field, as a way to support her family. She also makes cupcakes, macarons, cake pops, truffles and cookies and holds cookie decorating classes. Her goal is to open her own brick and mortar location in Boscawen with live music, local art and plants.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

A dishwasher! I spent way too many years being the dishwasher [and] I don’t think I could live without it now.

What would you have for your last meal?

Hands down the macaroni and cheese from Arms by Abbey in Worcester, Massachusetts. If you know, you know.

What is your favorite local eatery?

SourJoes. Their pizza is amazing! I’m really loving the vodka pizza.

Name a celebrity you would like to see eating in your restaurant?

Matt Rife or Payton Pritchard.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

Sugar cookies. There are endless ways to decorate them, but I really like decorating the ones that challenge my creative abilities. You can turn a sugar cookie into just about anything, and I’m always up for a good challenge.

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

Definitely the food truck. My goal is to have my own within the next two years. I mean, who doesn’t like mobile sweets?

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

My favorite thing to cook at home is pineapple beef teriyaki boats. [They] consist of pineapple halves [with] the insides scraped out. The pineapple gets filled with the beef and homemade teriyaki sauce and topped with pineapple scrapings.

Brown Sugar Maple Cookies
From the kitchen of Katie Pope

2⅓ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup salted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 egg
⅓ cup pure New Hampshire maple syrup (we use Ice Mountain Maple’s syrup)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Maple icing:
1 Tablespoon salted butter
⅓ cup pure New Hampshire maple syrup
1 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
pinch of salt, to taste

Over medium heat, brown butter in a small saucepan until there is a nutty aroma.
Remove from heat, let cool to room temperature.
Whisk flour and baking soda together in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg and beat on high until well-combined, about 30 seconds.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl; add maple syrup and vanilla extract. Beat on high until well-combined.
Mix dry ingredients to the wet ingredients; mix on low until combined.
Cover dough and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using a cookie scoop, scoop out and roll cookies. Place on baking sheet at least 1 inch apart. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes until lightly browned on the sides.
Cool cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely.

Make the icing: In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter and maple syrup
together, whisking occasionally. Once butter is melted and well-combined, remove from heat and whisk in sifted powdered sugar. Add a pinch of salt and whisk well. Drizzle icing over cooled cookies. Icing sets in about an hour.
Note: Browned butter gives a nutty taste greatly enhancing the maple flavor. Cookies can be made without browning the butter, but I promise they aren’t nearly as delicious.

Featured photo: Katie Pope of Confections by Kate. Courtesy photo.

Whoopie pies & ham

Where to get all the holiday must-haves

Why make the pie when you can order it? Here are some of the restaurants, bakeries and other places making eats for your holiday celebrations. Know of a pie purveyor not mentioned here? Let us know at [email protected] for inclusion in an upcoming Weekly Dish.

• Let All Real Meal (87 Elm St., Manchester, 782-3014, allrealmeal.com) cater this Christmas with appetizers like Buffalo chicken dip ($25) and BBQ bourbon meatballs ($38), full moon empanadas, enchiladas, quiches, salads, lasagna, gluten-free ravioli, chicken Parmesan and maple apple pork loin, and desserts such as lemon bars, cheesecake and blueberry coffee cake.

• In addition to gift baskets and daily specials, Angela’s Pasta & Cheese Shop ( 815 Chestnut St. in Manchester; angelaspastaandcheese.com, 625-9544) offers items for order including antipasto and cheese platters, salads, heat and serve dinners and desserts. Call to order and check with the website for holiday updates.

• The Bakeshop on Kelley Street (171 Kelley St.) has cupcakes, pies — apple, lemon meringue, pumpkin pecan crumble and more — pastry trays with mini eclairs, cream puffs, cannolis and chocolate-covered strawberries and specialty desserts available for carry out and curbside pickup. Visit their website, thebakeshoponkelleystreet.com, or call 624-3500.

• Bearded Baking Co’s (819 Union St., Manchester, 647-7150; 580 Lafayette Road, Hampton, 601-6878, beardedbakingco.com) December cupcakes are chocolate peppermint bark, Christmas tree snack cake, gingerbread man, eggnog, rumchata cinnamon toast crunch, and milk and cookies. Visit their website to place your order.

• Bread & Chocolate (29 S. Main St., Concord, 228-3330) has a variety of offerings such as honey poppyseed bread, chocolate caramel bars, molasses cookies and more. Visit their Facebook page @Bread&Chocolate.

• Brookdale Fruit Farm (41 Broad St., Hollis, brookdalefruitfarm.com, 465-2240) has plenty of pies for dessert, usually offering apple, pecan, pumpkin and more.

• Buckley’s Bakery & Cafe (436 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack, buckleysbakerycafe.com, 262-5929) is taking orders through Monday, Dec. 18, for cakes, like vanilla eggnog cake for $46 and chocolate peppermint cheesecake for $36; Yule logs, hot cocoa for $45 and gluten-free raspberry white chocolate for $48; pies, like apple for $22 and chocolate peanut butter for $32; pastries and more, like cinnamon pull-apart bread and breakfast pastry tray.

Buckley’s Market & Cafe (9 Market Place, Hollis, 465-5522, buckleysbakerycafe) has appetizers such as raspberry baked brie ($20) and New England lobster dip ($30), main meals such as boneless prime rib ($29 per pound) and beef tenderloin roast ($36 per pound). Orders must be placed by Sunday, Dec. 17.

• Items on The Cake Fairy’s (114 Londonderry Turnpike, Hooksett, cakefairynh.com) December menu — cookie trays, pies, cheesecake, whoopie pie towers and more — will be available for preorder and walk-ins throughout December. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 23, special first come, first served items will be available including DIY cookie decorating kits.

• Chez Vachon’s(136 Kelley St., Manchester, chezvachon.com, 625-9660) holiday menu includes fruit and cream pies — pumpkin mousse, Key lime, apple, lemon chiffon and others — meat pies, and cakes like pistachio, apple spice and cookies and cream.

• On the menu at The Common Man (Lago, 1 Route 25, Meredith, 279-2253; Camp, 298 Daniel Webster Hwy., Meredith, 279-3003; Lakehouse, 281 Daniel Webster Hwy., Meredith, 279-5221; 60 Main St., Ashland, 968-7030; 10 Pollard Road, Lincoln, 745-3463; 88 Range Road, Windham, 898-0088; 1 Gulf St., Concord, 228-3463; 304 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack, 429-3463; 21 Water St., Claremont, 542-6171; 231 Main St., Plymouth, 536-2764; 752 Route 104, New Hampton, 744-0120; 61 Laconia Road, Tilton, 286-2204; 2280 Brown Ave., Manchester, 623-5040; thecman.com) is a glazed ham dinner with mashed potatoes, pesto green beans, Parmesan-crusted dinner rolls and cheesecake with mixed berry compote; herb-roasted prime rib dinner with sweet potato casserole, sweet bread and more with cheesecake with mixed berry compote also for dessert. Enhancements include pecan pie for $19.95, peel-and-eat shrimp cocktail for $28.95 and more. Orders must be placed by Tuesday, Dec. 19, and can be picked up on Saturday, Dec. 23, or Sunday, Dec. 24, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

• Caroline’s Fine Foods (132 Bedford Center Road, Bedford, carolinesfood.com, 637-1615) is taking orders until 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15. Appetizers include pizzetti with port-poached figs, Gorgonzola and balsamic glaze ($30) and brie en croute with raspberry and thyme ($55). Entrees (each serve eight to 10 people) are pork ballotine stuffed with sausage herb and apple stuffing ($155), roasted beef tenderloin with horseradish cream sauce ($215). Sides are roasted butternut squash ($65), carrot confit ($70) and more. Orders can be picked up on Saturday, Dec. 23, between noon and 3 p.m.

• Call Concord Food Co-op (24 South Main St., Concord, concordfoodcoop.coop, 225-6840) to place your catering order. The catering menu includes hors d’oeuvres like stuffed mushrooms and edamame dumplings, salads like pasta salad, strawberry spinach and Caesar, luncheon platters, breakfast platters and dessert platters and entrees such as baked salmon, tofu stir-fry and homemade lasagna.

• Copper Kettle To Go (39 Main St., Wilton, copperkettletogo.com) is taking orders until Sunday, Dec. 17, for breakfast and dinner and dessert options such as cinnamon rolls, French toast casserole, ham dinner, short ribs, cannolis and Yule logs. Orders must be picked up on Sunday, Dec. 24, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Crosby Bakery (51 E. Pearl St., Nashua, crosbybakerynh.com, 882-1851) is offering rolls and breads, pies from apple to blueberry to pecan and pumpkin, meat pies, sandwich, salad roll and breakfast, pastry and cookie platters, Yule logs and cakes.

• The Crust and Crumb Baking Co. (126 N. Main St., Concord, thecrustandcrumb.com)has breads and breakfast items, such as cinnamon buns, dark gingerbread tea cake and old-fashioned sour cream coffee cake; pies, like Key lime, pumpkin and maple bourbon pecan; quiches, such as bacon cheddar and spinach, tomato and feta; and cakes such as cheesecake, citrus spice mousse cake, chocolate raspberry layer cake and more available for order through Friday, Dec. 15. Orders can be picked up at various times on Friday, Dec. 22, through Sunday, Dec. 24.

• The Fresh Chef Press’s (775 Canal St., Manchester, freshchefmp.com) holiday catering menu consists of honey baked ham, mac and cheese, sides such as prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, red bliss mashed potatoes with onion, garlic and parsley, dips like spinach artichoke dip, salsa and guacamole, and a charcuterie board, cookie platter and mini flans.

• Fabrizia Lemon Baking Co. (2 Industrial Way, Salem, fabrizialemonbakingcompany.com, 458-1745) has a variety of limoncello desserts such as cookies, whoopie pies, truffles, cake jars and more.

• Giorgio’s Ristorante & Bar (707 Milford Road, Merrimack, 883-7333; 524 Nashua St., Milford, 673-3939; 270 Granite St., Manchester, 232-3323, giorgios.com) has a catering menu that includes Caesar, strawberry goat cheese and other salads, appetizers like hummus, mussels and crispy cheese ravioli, subs and tacos and entrees like lasagna, mushroom ravioli carbonara, baked haddock, butcher shop classics such as grilled salmon, grilled shrimp, steak and chicken and mini desserts like cannolis and tiramisu. Place your order for the Milford or Manchester locations online. To order from the Merrimack location, call the restaurant.

• Granite State Candy Shoppe (13 Warren Road, Concord, granitestatecandyshoppe.com) has a variety of Christmas candy and chocolate including white peppermint bark, chocolate snowmen and Santas, candy canes, spice drops, ribbon candy, gum drops, malt balls and more.

• Greenleaf in Milford (greenleafmilford.com) is taking pre-orders for Christmas with meals such as peppercorn- and rosemary-glazed ham, chicken breasts with chimichurri, and beef tenderloin, and desserts like apple galette with salted caramel, holiday Yule cake and cranberry swirl cheesecake slices. Orders must be placed by Wednesday, Dec. 20, and picked up on Saturday, Dec. 23, between 4 and 8 p.m. at their prep kitchen in Milford (75 Mount Vernon St.)

• Gusto Italiano Market (254 Wallace Road, Bedford, gustoitalianomarket.net, 488-1055) has olive oils, homemade gelato and pasta from the south of Italy, panettone, torrone, Italian cold cuts and more to add to your Christmas feast.

• Contact LaBelle Winery (345 Route 101, Amherst; 14 Route111, Derry; 672-9898 ) online to cater your Christmas meal.

• Mr. Mac’s Macaroni & Cheese (497 Hooksett Road, Manchester, 606-1760, mr-macs.com) is offering 10 percent off all party trays — with flavors like Philly cheese steak, taco, shrimp scampi and broccoli alfredo mac — throughout December.

• New England’s Tap House Grille (1292 Hooksett Road, Hooksett, taphousenh.com, 782-5137) has French-Canadian meat pie, almond joy cheesecake, cookie and brownie tray, carrot cake and rolls by the dozen available for order by Friday, Dec. 15, and pickup on Saturday, Dec. 23, and Sunday, Dec. 24, by 5 p.m.

• Queen City Cupcakes (816 Elm St., Manchester, qccupcakes.com, 624-4999) has a variety of holiday cupcake flavors including peppermint hot cocoa, red velvet, sugar cookie, eggnog, gingerbread whoopie, cranberry lemon and more available for pickup on Saturday, Dec. 23, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call ahead to reserve yours.

• On the menu at Red Arrow Diner (112 Loudon Road, Concord, 415-0444; 137 Rockingham Road, Londonderry, 552-3091; 61 Lowell St., Manchester, 626-1118; 149 Daniel Webster Hwy., Nashua, 204-5088, redarrowdiner.com) are cakes and pies, like almond raspberry cake and apple, pumpkin and banana cream pie, and a turkey dinner Christmas special with stuffing, mashed potatoes, carrots and squash. Call or go online to order.

• The Red Blazer’s(72 Manchester St., Concord, 224-4101, theredblazer.com) Christmas catering menu consists of beef tips, spaghetti, sweet Italian sausage with marinara, broiled haddock and more. Dessert options include a Yule log, pumpkin cheesecake and hot chocolate cake. There is a three-day lead time for all orders. Orders can be picked up on Sunday, Dec. 24.

• Smoke Shack Cafe (226 Rockingham Road, Londonderry, smokeshackcafe.com, 404-2178) has holiday season offerings that can be incorporated into existing packages or you can create a custom package. Smoked ham, smoked prime rib and bacon-wrapped turkey breast are available a la carte, and sides include butternut squash, brown sugar glazed carrots, cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes and more. Two meal packages are offered. Package 1 feeds six to eight people and includes smoked ham, two large sides, six pieces of cornbread and a half tray of salad for $157.99. Package 2 feeds eight to 12 and comes with smoked ham, six large sides, 12 pieces of cornbread and a full salad try. Nine-inch apple, cranberry, pumpkin and chocolate cream pies are also available. Orders must be placed by Wednesday, Dec. 20, and can be picked up on Saturday, Dec. 23, between 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 24, between 9 a.m. and 1:45 p.m.

• Sweet Caroline (28 Homestead Place, Alton, sweetcarolinebakerynh.com) is taking orders through Sunday, Dec. 10, for items on their holiday dessert menu like a Yule log that serves about 12 people for $41.95, an 8-inch or 10-inch red velvet cake, carrot cake, raspberry mocha cake and others. Pastry trays and cookie platters are also available as well as pies such as apple blueberry, ricotta, lemon meringue and more.

• Van Otis Chocolates (vanotis.com, 341 Elm St., Manchester, 627-1611; 15 S. Main St., Wolfeboro, 515-1045) has countless treats for your holiday feast, like white chocolate kettle corn, cherry cordials, cream wafers, peppermint bark, caramel hot chocolate and more.

Gift ideas

• Send 10 portions of meals from All Real Meal (allrealmeal.com, 782-3014) packaged in their “You Are Loved” cooler bag to family and friends this holiday season. Meals include grass-fed beef, wild-caught seafood, their bestselling desserts, high-protein sides and a snack including organic popcorn, chocolates and/or protein bites. You can include a personalized message to be sent with your order.

• Cucina Aurora Kitchen Witchery (9 Delaware Drive, Suite 1, in Salem cucinaaurora.com, 458-6159) has limited-edition seasonal offerings available, like an infused olive oil gift set consisting of two 12-ounce bottles of their bestselling infused olive oils, roasted garlic and rosemary oregano. Each box comes with a booklet of holiday recipes; a 12-ounce glass bottle of savory sage infused olive oil; and a 12-ounce resealable packed of Witch’s Brew Coffee Holiday Brew, dark roast coffee grounds with peppermint leaves, cocoa nibs and pink peppercorn.

• Emilee Viaud of Sweet Treats by Emilee will be attending the Milford Farmers Market (300 Elm St., Milford) on Saturdays, Dec. 2 and Dec. 16, selling popular items such as chocolate gingerbread smash houses, snowmen hot cocoa bombs, new hot cocoa cups and tea bombs. “Tea bombs are a sugar shell filled with flavored tea bags and edible glitter,” Viaud said. “You pour hot water over the bomb and the sugar melts to create a cup of sweet glittery tea. Popular flavors are passion tea, orange, chai and green tea.” Her products can also be found at the Manchester Craft Market in the Mall of New Hampshire (1500 S. Willow St., Manchester) and at Junction 71 in Pennichuck Shopping Square in Merrimack (707 Milford Road). You can find her on Facebook @SweetTreatsbyEmilee.

• Fabrizia Lemon Baking Co. (2 Industrial Way, Salem, fabrizialemonbakingcompany.com, 458-1745) is offering five Christmas gift boxes this holiday season: The Kris Kringle Box, the Holiday Cheer Box, Cookie Sharing Box, Holiday Grande Cheer Box and the Holiday Deluxe box, each filled with an assortment of with limoncello treats such as cookies, biscotti, candy, truffles limoncello cranberry pistachio bark, 16-ounce loaves and more, ranging from $49.99 to $99.99. Each box has the option of coming with a personalized holiday themed note. Orders are available for pickup or delivery.

• Granite State Candy Shoppe (13 Warren Road, Concord, granitestatecandyshoppe.com), also has gift boxes available with milk and dark chocolate, truffles, peanut butter cups, dark peppermint patties and more.

• Gusto Italiano Market (254 Wallace Road, Bedford, gustoitalianomarket.net, 488-1055) has olive oils, homemade gelato and pasta from the south of Italy and more gifts for the holiday season that can be bought at their location in Bedford.

• Lindsey Bangs of I Whisked It (iwhiskedit.com) will be offering hot chocolate bombs, homemade marshmallows, brownie mix gift sets, chocolate-covered pretzels, and German stollen for online ordering. Cakes and cupcakes will also be available for pickup at the Laurel Hill Jams and Jellies and Loon Chocolate showroom in Manchester (195 McGregor St., Suite 121) on Saturday, Dec. 23. Pre-orders will close on Monday, Dec. 11, or when sold out. She will also be selling her products at the Very Merry Holiday Gift Festival at the DoubleTree by Hilton (700 Elm St., Manchester) on Saturday, Dec. 9, and Sunday, Dec. 10.

• Joppa Hill Educational Farm (174 Joppa Hill Road, Bedford, theeducationalfarm.org, 472-4724) has holiday gift boxes for $50 and $100 with an assortment of local and artisan products, like apple cider doughnut mix, maple almonds, maple syrup and infused olive oil. You can fill your own box or pick one of the prefilled options. Each box has a prep time of five days and orders can be picked up at the store.

• The Manchester Craft Market in the Mall of New Hampshire (1500 S Willow St., Manchester) has an array of food-related gifts, such sauces and dips, coffee, tea, freeze-dried candy, maple candy, maple syrup, olive oils, james, jellies, granola, risottos, fudge, peanut brittle, and accessories like chef knives, charcuterie boards, travel mugs, oven mitts, cookbooks and more.

• More sweets are available from Twelve 31 Events (twelve31.events) for delivery or pickup at their Concord location (100 N. Main St., Suite 101, Concord) or their Tilton location (261 Main St., Tilton). Each box of a dozen Italian Christmas cookies is filled with an assortment of kinds, including anisette, ginger, snowballs, pistachio macaroons, honey walnut and chocolate espresso.They will be available for pickup or delivery until Sunday, Dec. 24.

• Van Otis Chocolates (vanotis.com) has a variety of gift baskets to choose from, including the Christmas Gift Basket Box that consists of assorted chocolates, salted cashews, Swiss fuge, caramels and a five-pack of chocolate-covered pretzel rods, and the Holiday Tiered Tower. Call to place your order (341 Elm St., Manchester, 627-1611; 15 S Main St., Wolfeboro, 515-1045).

Cookie road trip

Eat your way through the Currier and Ives Cookie Tour

By Betty Gagne
[email protected]

The 18th Annual Currier and Ives Cookie Tour is taking place on Saturday, Dec. 9, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Monadnock region.

This self-guided tour encompasses a number of local businesses and offers visitors and shoppers a unique holiday experience by serving homemade baked cookies at each stop. Participants include restaurants, farms, gift shops, a winery, a brewery, a historical society, a library and more, all within a 3-mile radius. Businesses participating in the tour are in Jaffrey, Rindge, Marlborough, Troy, Fitzwilliam, New Ipswich and Swanzey.

Tickets for the tour are $20 and can be purchased at the Inn at East Hill Farm in Troy, the Park Theatre in Jaffrey, and Frogg Brewing in Swanzey.

Each facility is festively decorated and will offer baked goods. An admission ticket includes a map of all the stops on the tour, and those who visit at least 10 participating businesses will be entered into a drawing to win a $100 gift certificate that can be redeemed at any stop on the tour.

According to Holly LeClair, Marketing Director at the Inn at East Hill Farm, the cookie tour came together 18 years ago when the owner of the inn attended a similar type of event in the White Mountains and got the idea to start one in the Monadnock region.

“It’s a fun day for people to do something enjoyable with family for the holidays,” she said. “Over 300 tickets were sold last year.”

Each stop on the tour will provide their cookie recipes for collecting. This year Frogg Brewing will hold an outdoor German Christmas Market on the day of the cookie tour featuring more than 30 area small businesses, as well as food, beer and a three-piece German band.

A portion of the proceeds for the tour goes to Feeding Tiny Tummies, a resource center in Keene that distributes more than 10,000 meals per week. See feedingtinytummies.com.

Currier and Ives Cookie Tour
When: Saturday, Dec. 9, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Locations in Jaffrey, Rindge, Marlborough, Troy, Fitzwilliam, New Ipswich and SwanzeyJaffrey, Rindge, Marlborough, Troy, Fitzwilliam, New Ipswich and Swanzey
Cost: $20; tickets can be purchased at Inn at East Hill Farm in Troy, Park Theatre in Jaffrey, and Frogg Brewing in Swanzey
More information: A list of participating businesses, a map of all the stops, cookie recipes from past years and a compilation of frequently asked questions about the 2023 Currier and Ives Cookie Tour are at currierandivescookietour.com.

The useful gift

Kitchen presents you can buy

One or two labor-intensive sincere gifts are doable in a holiday season, but if you’re trying to come up with something nice for each night of Hanukkah, or good stocking stuffers for an entire family — who has time to knit all that? Plus, sometimes it’s just nice to get good stuff.

The following are some gifts you might consider for the serious cooks or drink-makers in your life. Most of them are reasonably priced stocking stuffers. At least one is a blowout extravagant gift. All of them are genuinely, how-did-I-ever-get-by-without-this, useful in the kitchen. Prices are approximate..

Microplane grater, about $1

If you’ve ever wondered how TV chefs manage to zest an orange without making their kitchen look like a war zone, or put fancy chocolate shavings on a cake, this is ho. This is a wood rasp that has been adapted for kitchen use. It is ideal for grating fresh nutmeg.

Silicone baking sheet, $10 to $15/pair

How would you like to never grease a baking sheet again? Silicone baking mats used to be imported from France and were mostly for Very Fancy People. Now they are really inexpensive and — dare I say it? — life-changing. Nothing sticks to these bad boys — not cookie dough or granola or even homemade peanut brittle. They last for years and are tough enough to stand up to any heat an oven can put out, though sadly not a charcoal grill, which I found out the hard way.

Oxo Steel Angled Measuring Jigger, $10

I own about a dozen jiggers for measuring ingredients for cocktails. It was only over time that I realized consciously that I have one that I keep coming back to, over and over. I’ll find myself interrupting a dishwasher cycle to fish it out, rather than use a different, perfectly fine jigger in the cabinet in front of me. This Oxo jigger is angled to allow you to see exactly how much you are measuring to within a fraction of a fluid ounce, without having to crouch down to eye level. And it has a spout. It adds a little element of precision and elegance to your drink making.

Reconditioned blender — Vitamix, BlendTec, etc., around $300

By far, the most useful kitchen tool I use on a weekly or often daily basis is a good blender. It makes smoothies and shakes of course, but also hummus, whipped cream, pie fillings and even ice cream. A top-of-the-line blender can set you back $700 to $800, but the high-end manufacturers often sell reconditioned used models. Mine is a reconditioned red Vitamix named Steve, who is pretty frustrated at how seldom I use his very highest setting, which I suspect could turn a chair leg into bark mulch.

2 in 1 stainless steel whisk egg beater & instant thermometer, $15 to $20

I don’t know if you’ve ever been stirring something on the stove, waiting for it to hit a very particular temperature. For several years I found myself thinking that someone should invent a whisk with an integrated thermometer, before I actually thought to check online to see if anyone had. They had.

Digital kitchen scale, $25 to $30

Every time I save a recipe I convert the amounts from cups to grams. It makes my baking more accurate, and I can add ingredients directly to the pan or bowl and tare (zero) out how much weight I already have in it. An inexpensive digital scale will measure in several different units — grams, ounces, etc. — and is accurate to a tenth of a gram. It will last for years of robust cooking and make you look like a badass in the kitchen.

Featured photo: Silicone baking sheets

Homemade, delicious

Gifts for when you’ve run out of gift ideas

Not to blow my own horn, but I am an excellent gift-giver. I am thoughtful, I listen carefully when people tell me what kind of things they like and what their favorite memories are. I’m creative. Probably eight out of 10 times, I knock it out of the park.

I realize this makes me something of an outlier; most people have one or possibly two solid gift ideas in a given holiday season, then they find themselves emotionally exhausted. If you are feeling a little gassed-out creativity-wise this holiday season, here are two suggestions for food and drink gifts that are affordable and quirky and probably won’t be put into a closet somewhere.

Geographic cookies

You have probably never thought too much about cookie cutters, but you can buy them in almost any shape, including any state or province you can name.

Manitoba? Boom! Six dollars on Etsy. West Virginia? Shazam! $7.99 on Amazon.

You know that lady at work who’s really nice, but you don’t really know anything about her, except that she grew up in Toledo? Give her a plate of Ohio sugar cookies, with a mini-M&Ms glued more or less in the area of Toledo with melted chocolate. Did your family go on vacation in Chicago this summer? You can get the state of Illinois, or the skyline of the city.

Thoughtful, edible, and you’ll only be out a couple of hours of your time and maybe $10.

Roll-Out Sugar Cookies

Based on the King Arthur Roll-Out Sugar Cookies recipe, available at kingarthurbaking.com, which they credit to blogger Amanda Rettke. (As opposed to the several other sugar cookie and sugar cookie-adjacent recipes they have; baking for someone gluten-free or paleo? They have that too). It’s a very large recipe — three sticks of butter, five cups of flour — and I like that it has many of the ingredients listed in grams as well as cups. I halved it, made a batch of cookies to share at work and still have dough in reserve. The original recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of almond extract, but I have replaced that with Fiori di Sicilia, a King Arthur flavoring they describe as having bright citrus and warm vanilla flavors and that makes the cookies taste like a creamsicle. Be careful with the measuring; I spoke to a King Arthur recipe developer months back and she said too heavy a hand with Fiori Di Sicilia will make everything taste like perfume.

  • 12 Tablespoons (170 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup (198.5 grams) of granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon King Arthur Fiori di Sicilia
  • 2½ cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and yolk one at a time, beating after each addition.

Slowly add the extracts (with the mixer on low) and mix until combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Sift together flour, salt and baking powder.

With the mixer on low, slowly add to the butter mixture and mix until just combined.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours (or overnight).

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment.

Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick and cut out cookies. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until they start to turn golden on the edges and the center doesn’t look moist.

Bottle of pre-mixed cocktails

Depending on whom you’re giving it to, booze is always a good call.

Find a nice bottle. It could even be an empty liquor bottle that you were about to put in the recycling. Wash it out and remove the label.

If it’s a paper label, soak the bottle in hot water and scrape the label off with the back of a butter knife. If there’s any glue residue left behind, a citrus-based cleaner like Goof-Off will take care of it. Martha Stewart suggests using a hair dryer to soften the glue. Once, I had a really nice bottle but the label had actually been painted on. I soaked it in vinegar overnight, and it came right off. I imagine nail-polish remover would do the same thing.

Before you remove the label, write down how big the bottle is ― how many fluid ounces or milliliters.

Find a cocktail recipe that you think your friend would like ― A Peanut Butter and Jelly Sour, for instance:

  • 2 ounces Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey
  • 3 ounces Manischewitz Concord Grape Wine
  • 1 ounces fresh squeezed lemon juice

Normally you would shake this over ice, then pour it into a glass and drink it. But this time we’re going to do some math. (Don’t worry ― there aren’t any exponents or variables involved.)

How many ounces of ingredients go into one drink? 3+3+1=5. Five ounces.

Remember your empty liquor bottle? How much did it hold? I’ll bet it was 750 milliliters, wasn’t it? That’s equal to about 25 fluid ounces, or five PB&J Sours. Multiply everything by five (10 ounces, 15 ounces and 5 ounces) and use a funnel to pour it into your nice bottle. Screw the cap on ― or put a cork in it, if you’re fancy ― give it a shake, and you’re off the hook present-wise for another year. You don’t even have to wrap it ― just write a tag and tie it on with rough twine, and you’ll look classy.

Ideally the recipient will ask you to stay and drink it with them. And maybe eat some cookies.

Featured photo: NH sugar cookies. Photo by John Fladd.

The Weekly Dish 23/12/07

News from the local food scene

• Free wine tasting: Wine on Main (9 N. Main St., Concord) hosts a free wine tasting and holiday kickoff party on Saturday, Dec. 9, from 1 to 4 p.m. Visit wineonmainnh.com.

• Cookies with Santa: Meet Santa, decorate cookies, listen to a story and enjoy hot chocolate at White Birch Eatery in Goffstown (571 Mast Road) on Sunday, Dec. 17, from 2 to 4 p.m. The cost is $20 per child. Reservations are suggested. Visit their Facebook page @WhiteBirchEatery.

• Breakfast with Santa: The Bedford Event Center (379 River Road, Bedford) hosts breakfast with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 10, from 9 a.m. to noon. Tickets ($85 for adults, $65 for children), including a breakfast buffet, a hot chocolate station, the opportunity to meet and take your picture with Santa, a sing-along with Santa and more. To purchase tickets visit bedfordeventcenter.com.

• Holiday recipes: Taste and learn to make a variety of holiday recipes such as a greeting eggnog cocktail, candied kielbasa, deviled eggs with LaBelle Seyval Blanc filling, LaBelle red wine caramelized onion dip, baked brie with LaBelle red wine fruit compote and LaBelle wine pairings (riesling, cranberry riesling and malbec) at LaBelle Winery (345 Route 101, Amherst) at their Cooking with Wine class on Wednesday, Dec. 13, from 6 to 7 p.m. Chefs will make the meals in front of you and you’ll be sent home with a recipe card. Tickets start at $43.40 and can be purchased at eventbrite.com.

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