Small Bites: January Food News

The latest statewide food news from the New Hampshire Magazine team
Susan Laughlin,

Macaroni and Cheese Bake-Off

Comfort food overload

Taste the results of more than 25 entries in the NH Dairy Promotion’s Macaroni and Cheese Bake-Off. The event gathers home chefs in three categories to compete for best traditional mac, best creative/exotic mac and best NH mac made with local ingredients. Restaurants compete in a separate category. People’s choice awards are determined by you. From 1-4 p.m., Holiday Inn, Concord. Tickets are $16 for adults and $2 for children under 10.

January 14; nhdairypromo.org

Sourdough Starter

Get baking

Get the oven going this winter with the taste of sourdough. You can make more than bread with the starter — it adds an interesting taste to buns, bagels, carrot cake, pretzels, fruitcakes and even pizza dough. Find recipes, crocks and starters (there is a new instant version) at kingarthurflour.com.

Wine Week

It’s all about the wine

Look for bottle signings at New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlets across the state and special dinners hosted by area restaurants featuring the wines of winemakers who have flocked to the state for the region’s largest wine tasting event. The week wraps up with its signature event, the Easterseals Winter Wine Spectacular (pictured above).

January 23-27; nhwineweek.com

Winter Wine Spectacular

Wine lovers won’t want to miss this

Thursday, January 26, 6-9 p.m.
Grand Tasting $65, Cellar Select $135
easterseals.com/nh

The best thing about January may be this amazing wine tasting opportunity held annually at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester (pictured at left). First of all, the event, which is a part of NH Wine Week, raises thousands for the local Easterseals organization, and second, third and fourth, is the sheer variety you can taste — champagne, chardonnay and cabernet — in more than 400 different types of wine sourced from across the world and in the state. The Cellar Select VIP tasting room features premium wines. This is also a chance to speak with global winemakers and owners (Chris Benziger of Benziger Family Winery, Andrea Cecchi of Cecchi and Michael Honig of Honig Vineyard & Winery among others) about your passion for pinot noir.