Tag: 250130

Alexander. Brandy Alexander.

zero-proof breakfast cocktail

In Ian Fleming’s 1960 short story “Risico” spy James Bond is supposed to meet with another agent in a hotel bar. Never having met him, he is supposed to be on the lookout for a man drinking a Brandy Alexander. In an interior monologue, Bond is impressed by this detail. It is such a feminine drink, he thinks, that a man will be able to be recognized much better than he would be by holding a newspaper folded in a particular way or wearing a specific flower in his lapel.

As with many of the opinions expressed by the literary James Bond, this one hasn’t aged particularly well. Aside from some antiquated gender norming, Flemming missed a golden — and in hindsight obvious — opportunity. Brandy Alexander is a classic name for a female character in a Bond piece. Brandy would be beautiful of course, with dark hair cut startlingly (for Bond at least) short. She’d have a musical laugh and flashing dark eyes, and be an expert poker player and gifted butterfly collector. She would also be Europe’s most notorious cat burglar and jewel thief.

In the movie version she would be played by Audrey Hepburn and would have her own theme song, written by Henry Mancini.

At the end of the story, Bond would find himself with an attaché case notably empty of jewels, and a cheeky note dabbed with Brandy’s perfume, shaking his head and staring at her sports car disappearing into the distance.

Regardless of all that, Friday, Jan. 31 is National Brandy Alexander day, and we should celebrate with a cocktail, if not an actual jewel theft.

Brandy Alexander

1½ ounces brandy – some pedants will say it should be cognac, or brandy from a particular monastery in the mountains of Latvia, but let’s face it: you’re mixing it with crème de cacao – you’re probably not looking for subtle nuances here

1 ounce crème de cacao

¼ teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ounce light cream or half & half

Ice

Combine the brandy, crème de cacao and cocoa powder in a cocktail shaker, and dry shake it for 30 seconds or so. This means without ice. The trouble-maker here is the cocoa powder. Cocoa is hydrophobic, meaning that it doesn’t like dissolving in water. If you tried to mix it with the other ingredients over ice, you’d end up with little clumps of cocoa stuck to the ice cubes, bringing the sophistication of the drink down by about 15 percent. If you shake it vigorously with liquor, however, it will mix in pretty well. Like many of us, it is easier to get along with after enthusiastic exposure to alcohol.

Add ice and cream to the mixture, and shake for another 30 seconds or so, then strain into a cocktail or coupe glass. If you judged your shaking right, there should be just a few tiny ice chips floating on the surface.

Ask your digital assistant to play the James Bond theme, and sip your Brandy Alexander to it. You won’t be sorry.

Unlike many cream-based cocktails, this isn’t overly sweet. There is some residual sweetness from the crème de cacao, but it is balanced by the bitterness of the cocoa powder and the richness of the cream. The brandy is able to stand proudly in the front of this jazz combo of a cocktail. It carries a caché of sophistication and inspires confidence.

Paying it forward

Customers help out at Soel Sistas

By John Fladd

[email protected]

Feeding the hungry is a priority for any restaurant, but Kendra Smith, the owner and chef of Soel Sistas Soul Food in Nashua, has worked to expand that mission statement. She remembers that it started with a hungry-but-broke customer.

“We had a gentleman come in,” Smith said, “and he asked for a meal and I kind of just looked at him and I was like, huh? But I made him a meal, and we just comped it [gave it to him without charge]. I was like, you know what? I can’t afford to feed everybody. But there was an idea I had seen on Facebook last winter. If [a customer] knows about it, they can come in, grab a ticket off of the board, bring it right to the cashier, they’ll bring it to the kitchen, and then we’ll bring out their food.”

“The Board” refers to a wall of a pillar near the front of the restaurant, where a selection of meal tickets are posted, the type a server fills out with a customer’s order to send to the kitchen. These tickets are for meals that other customers have already paid for, either in person or online.

“There was a post on Facebook, which had kind of gone viral a little bit,” Smith said, “and there’s a Venmo link on there that people can use, or they can come in and pay for a meal if they’d like. I’ve had some people donate who didn’t specify anything from the menu, and told me, ‘Use your discretion.’ So I wrote out orders for some eight-piece meals for families. They can come in and grab a meal because I know it’s hard. I had four kids too, so there were six of us. Every time we went out, it was like a grocery bill, right?”

Knowing how tough it can be to feed a family when someone is food-insecure, Smith has worked to keep some of her menu items priced to be within reach for a parent who is struggling financially. “We like to keep our kids’ meals at five dollars,” she said, “just because I feel like that’s easy for most people to be able to afford. So if somebody came in and they had four kids they could get four kids’ meals and that would only be $20. We print up the tickets, we put it right up on the board and then somebody can just come in and use it.”

Soel Sistas serves what Smith described as “Southern American Delicacies.”

“We serve fried chicken,” she gave as an example, “collard greens, smothered pork chops [which means that they are fried, then covered with gravy and onions], and shrimp and grits.” These are dishes from Smith’s childhood, and feed into her philosophy of community — in this case, bringing her family traditions into the broader Nashua community. Weekly specials at Soel Sistas can include, braised oxtails, chicken and waffles, sausage and chicken gumbo, cornbread and fried catfish.

Smith has put a lot of thought into food options on her menu that children and teenagers will actually eat and can buy inexpensively or grab a ticket off the board for.

“We have a lot of kids that come in here,” she said, “and they like our snack box, which is $10, because they can choose from the things that they’re used to. French fries, mozzarella sticks, pizza bites, onion rings, tops, chicken tenders. I have a couple kids that come in and they’ll get all corn dogs because you get to pick three [items]. That’s just, it’s kids’ stuff. It’s what they like. It’s easy. I like to try it. Corn dogs are just good stuff. Or I might point them to our Soul Plate. So again, if you got an eight-piece bucket, then you might have something left over for later. You get two large sides and then cornbread as well with the protein.”

Soel Sistas Soul Food

Where: 30 Temple St., Suite 202, Nashua, 943-1469
Hours: open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Fridays from noon to 8 p.m. It is also a full-service catering operation.
More: soelsistas.com
To buy a meal for another customer, pay in person or via Venmo @Soel-SistasLLC.

Owner Kendra Smith also runs Feed The Kids (soelsistas.com/feed-the-kids), a charitable organization to feed hungry children during school vacations, when many do not have access to regular meals, which would welcome help or donations. She is also part of the Meals on Wheels’ Dine Out program that allows food-insecure seniors to go out for dinner. Details of all these programs are available on the Soel Sistas website.

According to the food advocacy organization Feeding America (feedingamerica.org), 9.5 percent of the population of Hillsborough County, more than 40,000 people, are food-insecure.

Viking vibes at Sunstone Brewing

New brewery keeps it simple

By John Fladd

[email protected]

The first thing Brian Link and his business partner Cam Carter want you to know is that their new Viking-themed brewpub is centered around medieval Scandinavian warriors, not the Minnesota football team.

“Yeah, we’re Patriots fans!” Link stated, emphatically.

Along with their friend and manager Jessica Cotto, Link and Carter opened Sunstone Brewing Co. in Londonderry just over two months ago, in the former Long Blue Cat location. This is their first time running their own place.

“Brian and I had worked at a brewery together for the last four or five years and hit it off really well,” Carter said. “And we started thinking up this idea of opening our own place and working for ourselves. All three of us are big Viking fans; we love all the Nordic things. We just wanted to create a space that was very original and fantastical and just build a community that people can come into and feel warm and inviting.” The name Sunstone is meant to reflect that quality. In the Middle Ages, Vikings and other Nordic people used faceted crystals called sun stones to locate the sun in an otherwise cloudy sky. These might have been used in navigation, and gave comfort to them in dark and cloudy times.

Following a “less is more” philosophy, owners and brewers Link and Carter made the decision not to overextend themselves at the beginning of their business and have concentrated on brewing and serving a small number of craft beers.

“This is our first business, our first brewery, so we just wanted to take it step by step — ‘keep it simple stupid,’” Link explained. “We took an approach where we have only eight draft lines, so we’re trying to create as much diversity as we can with only eight. So what we’ve done is we have four real set styles. There’s our Sunstone Golden Ale. It’s a lighter beer that really tastes like a beer. It’s got a little bit of graininess to it. It has a very light hop character, so that way it’s easy drinking.”

Some of Sunstone’s other beers have even more Viking-ish names.

“Our next [beer] we have is our God Slayer,” Link continued. “That one’s a New England-style IPA [India Pale Ale]. It’s got some nice mango and peach flavor coming off the hops, a little bit of citrus. It’s a good big eight and a half percent beer [8.5 percent Alcohol By Volume or ABV]. And then the next one is our Light Your Torches; that one’s an espresso porter. It’s got a little bit of coffee in it, so it’s got a lot of robust coffee flavor, some roasted characteristics to it. Basically, we saw how popular espresso martinis are these days…. And we’ve got our Keep It Low-Key [Get it?], which is a New England-style session IPA, so [an ABV of] 4.5 percent. It’s big on citrus. It’s meant to be for someone who wants an IPA, still wants that hazy and that hop flavor, but you’re not drinking an 8 percent, you’re drinking 4.5 percent. So you can actually have a few and enjoy them without being hammered.”

The team has taken the same approach to Sunstone’s food, building a small initial menu of dishes that can be prepared in a very small kitchen.

“When you look at our food menu, it’s kind of the same thing,” Carter said. “We try to keep it simple, but really good stuff for people when they’re hungry.” The menu focuses on pub-style appetizers, like nachos and hummus and pretzel bites and then sliders, wraps, and mac and cheese. “The Mac & Beer Cheese is a favorite,” he said.

Sunstone is planning a slate of events to appeal to their already growing customer base. For example, “for Valentine’s Day,” manager Jessica Crotto said, “We’re partnering with Van Otis Chocolates in Manchester to serve a flight of four beers paired with chocolates. We haven’t nailed in the name yet, but I think we want to call it a ‘Chocolate Flight Delight.’ And then we have a full stage … so we’re looking to do live music, comedy shows, I mean I’ve thrown out the idea for magicians, illusionists, everything you could think of. I mean I think it’d be really fun to do.”

Sunstone Brewing Co.

Where: 298 Rockingham Road, Londonderry, 216-1808
Hours: Wednesday from 4 to 9 p.m.,Thursday through Saturday, from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
More: sunstonebrewing.com
Food and growlers of beer can be ordered for takeout. Veterans, active duty military, first responders and teachers get a 10 percent discount.

Featured Photo: Photo by John Fladd.

The Weekly Dish 25/01/30

A beer release party: On Sunday, Feb. 3, the Candia Road Brewing Co. (840 Candia Road, Manchester, 935-8123, candiaroadbrewingco.com) will hold a release party for a new beer it has developed in collaboration with the band BIGFÜT, “little bigfüt.” Candia Road describes the new beer as a “nice and classy Thai Basil x Lemongrass saison.” The bands Time Eater and BIGFÜT will play from 3 to 5 p.m.

• Chef’s Table dinners in February: The Chef’s Table Dinner Series of monthly dinner events at Flag Hill Winery (297 N. River Road, Lee, 659-2949, flaghill.com) continues with February’s dinners of mushroom Wellington, lamb chops, crispy pork belly, and mango-lime cheesecake. The dinners have community seating for six to 10 people per table. Dinner reservations are $75 per person, through eventbrite.com, which includes the four-course dinner, wine/spirit/cocktail pairings with each course, tax and hospitality.

• Cheers and happy birthday: Tickets are on sale now for Unwined Wine Bar’s (1 Nashua St., Milford, 213-6703, unwinednh.com) Birthday Dinner, to celebrate its first anniversary on Thursday, Feb. 13, beginning at 6:30 p.m. There will be a wine dinner featuring five courses, curated by Executive Chef Matthew Berry and Claudio Andreani of Santa Margherita wines. Tickets are $150 each, through Eventbrite.com.

• Farmer’s Dinner tickets: Tickets for 2025 dinners by The Farmers Dinner (farmersdinner.com) are on sale now. For the 13th year, Chef Keith Sarasin and his team will work with local farms and producers to bring the freshest farm-to-table fine dining to life. Tickets sell out quickly. Visit thefarmersdinner.com/events-1.

• Organic farming knowledge and networking: Registration is open for the New England Organic Farming Association’s (84 Silk Farm Road, Concord, 224-5022, NOFA.org) 23rd Annual Winter Conference, which will take place on Saturday, Feb. 8, at Southern New Hampshire University (2500 N. River Road, Manchester, 800-668-1249, snhu.edu).

Kiddie Pool 25/01/30

Family fun for whenever

Dinner and a movie

• Burnt Timber Brewing & Tavern (96 Lehner St., Wolfeboro, burnttimbertavern.com) will hold a “Date Night, Kid-Approved” event on Friday, Jan. 31, at 6:30 p.m. with a movie for kids to give parents a chance to have dinner. The tavern will screen Wild Robot (PG, 2024) in one of its rooms where kids can bring bean bags and watch the movie, according to a press release. Meanwhile, parents can enjoy a meal in the main dining room, the release said.

• Happy Feet (PG, 2006) will screen at Chunky’s Cinema Pub, 707 Huse Road in Manchester, on Tuesday, Feb. 4, at 11:30 a.m. as part of the Little Lunch Date Series. Admission costs $5 per person and includes a $5 food voucher.

Gametime

• The NHTI Lynx men’s basketball team has games Thursday, Jan. 30, at 8 p.m. (versus Central Maine Community College); Saturday, Feb. 1, at 2 p.m. (versus Word of Life) and Sunday, Feb. 2, at 2 p.m. (versus Paul Smith’s College) at the Dr. Goldie Crocker Wellness Center on campus in Concord. The women will play Central Maine on Thursday at 6 p.m., Word of Life on Saturday at noon and Paul Smith’s College on Sunday at noon. Admission is free. See nhtiathletics.com.

• The Rivier University Raiders women’s ice hockey team will play Mass. Liberal Arts on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 6:40 p.m. at the Conway Arena (5 Stadium Drive, Nashua). See rivierathletics.com.

• The Saint Anselm College Hawks men’s ice hockey team has games Friday, Jan. 31, at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 1, at 3 p.m., both versus Post University at Sullivan Arena (100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester). See saintanselmhawks.com.

• The SNHU Penmen men’s ice hockey team also has two games this weekend: Friday, Jan. 31, at 7:40 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 1, at 1 p.m., both against Saint Michael College. Home games take place at Ice Den Arena (600 Quality Drive, Hooksett). See snhupenmen.com.

On stage

• Catch the final show of the Palace Youth Theatre’s Grease, school edition on Thursday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester, palacetheatre.org). Tickets cost $16 to $19.

Treasure Hunt 25/01/30

Dear Donna,

I believe this was from my first communion in the 1950s. I just realized the flowers are wax. I think my sister who is older used it as well. Can you give me any information on floral crowns? Can this be cleaned to pass down to my grandchildren?

Meg

Dear Meg,

Thanks for the pictures. They really help.

I would start off asking more questions of family, and looking at even older pictures. Sometimes crowns could start in one part of a family like a cousin and then get passed through to yours. This could have even been part of a wedding crown, dating it back to the early 1900s. So this could have a lot more family history. Wax flowers fall under millinery. They were commonly used with, on and for headwear — decorative flowers etc. The values on older pieces of wax flowers are in the age, detail, design and, as always, condition. The more details and colors the higher the values. I found values of wax florals like yours to be in the $40 range.

I think, Meg, your flowers look to be in good condition. Discoloration is expected so I might leave them. Cleaning them could result in some damage. Meg, I would see if I could find out if this was from family and where the crown started. This will give your grandchildren more appreciation for it as well. Family history of items is priceless!

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

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