As a balmy December melted into a temperate January, the vaunted snowmobile trails of northern New Hampshire were either icy or as bare as a baby’s bottom in July. Then one Saturday night the temperature dove, and six inches of snow transformed the neighboring fields into a link in a trail system stretching through forests, pastures and frozen lakes. The…
The kitchen in the Exeter home of Jim and Denise Landis is not just a place for whipping up a couple of eggs for a quick breakfast. It’s a home kitchen, yes, but it’s also Denise’s work place. The chef in this home is a recipe tester for The New York Times and for the books of many other cooks….
A kiss of sweetness can wake up your tastebuds and satisfy the palate in a very pleasing way. Here, Liz Barbour of the Creative Feast in Hollis offers us a few sugary notes in appetizers that will delight the tongue. Caramelized Pears with Gorgonzola Crostini 4 ripe, but firm Bartlett pears 4 teaspoons of fresh tarragon, chopped 1/4 cup of…
Basically, you want to have easy access to everything you might need while entertaining. With the proper kitchen layout you can involve your guests in prep work and/or be able to keep the conversation going while they sit nearby. If your pantry is out of the way, get all your ingredients out on the counter. Shallow 12-inch cabinets are great…
Finding the best spots for meals on the cheap is often just a matter of going to the closest college town, and Durham, home of the University of New Hampshire, is a great place to start. While the town has its share of pizza parlors, coffee shops and burger joints, there’s now a lively place dedicated to another classic casual…
New Hampshire has been discovered — it has become a popular retirement destination. A recent article in the Union Leader says that the over-65 population will triple by 2025. Why New Hampshire? What entices retirees to come northward and battle with ice and snow and frost heaves? Perhaps it’s the media blitz every four years. Now that reporters have dropped…
Think Christmas and there’s a good chance that the images most of us conjure up will be of German and alpine origin. Gingerbread houses, nutcracker figures, St. Nick in his red suit, even fir trees aglow with decorations and the carol “Silent Night” are from this part of the world. So, we began our search for the best-decked halls at…
And the winner is … 2005 “Stars of the Industry” Awards, honoring the Best in N.H. hospitality, were announced last month at the New Hampshire Restaurant and Lodging Association (NHRLA) dinner hosted at the Radisson in Manchester. Charles Rolecek, owner of CR Sparks Restaurant in Bedford and the new Hanover Street Chophouse (ready in early December, he says) took the…
Stress! It’s the curse of modern life, or so you might think. Stroll through a bookstore and choose from dozens of titles that promise relief from stress. Try one of the many workshops, spa weekends, tapes and videos to help the stressed. Americans of all ages seem to say stress is real and it is a problem. Dr. David Bann,…
For generations we hearty New Englanders endured winter with stoicism, not to mention cellars full of potatoes and barrels full of cider. And we made sure our snow shovels were handy. That was then. This is now, the era of hyped weather, when a hint of snow flurries finds our best and brightest TV reporters falling over one another to…
