Weekends with Yankee

NARRATOR: This week on Weekends With Yankee, we head to New Hampshire where Amy prepares a red curry with Chang Thai Caf chef Emshika Alberini.

I think always thinking like, friend coming to my house and see my family, and probably, filling up your belly.

(Amy laughs) You have a lucky belly.

NARRATOR: And visits nearby farm-to-cone ice creamery, Super Secret Ice Cream.

TRAVERSO: We're going to be making ice cream with this?

Yes, it's a delicata squash.

NARRATOR: Later, Richard explores maritime history in New Bedford, Massachusetts and visits Union Flats Seafood to cook up scallop brodo.

WIESE: What a wonderful way to end a day.

NARRATOR: Finally, we visit the award-winning chocolatiers at Goodnow Farms Chocolate in Massachusetts to learn about their handcrafted chocolates.

For us, all of this is about relationships and about community, whether it's the community here in New England or it's the community that we put together as chocolate makers around the world.

NARRATOR: So come along with us for a once-in-a-lifetime journey through New England as you've never experienced it before, a true insider's guide from the editors of Yankee magazine.

Join explorer and adventurer Richard Wiese and Yankee senior food editor Amy Traverso for behind-the-scenes access to the unique attractions that define this region.

It's the ultimate travel guide from the people who know it best.

Weekends With Yankee.

Major funding provided by... Massachusetts is home to a lot of firsts-- the first public park in America; the first fried clams; the first university in America; the first basketball game.

What's first for you?

Grady-White, crafting offshore sport fishing boats for over 60 years.

The Barn Yard, builders of timber-frame barns and garages.

And by American Cruise Lines, exploring the historic shores of New England.

TRAVERSO: It's peak foliage season here in New Hampshire's White Mountains, which means it's also pumpkin season.

And today I'm going to find two delicious ways to cook with this fabulous fall veggie.

NARRATOR: The picturesque town of Littleton, New Hampshire sits along the Ammonoosuc River.

Chef Emshika Alberini was born in Thailand, but now calls this area home.

When you walk to all this business downtown, you'll see the owner will come and greet you.

I really enjoy living up here that can showcase my food, and especially with family.

It's really very beautiful.

NARRATOR: While Emshika studied business in grad school, her sister Ann dreamed of opening a restaurant.

Ann's sudden passing inspired Emshika to make that dream a reality.

And Chang Thai Cafe was born.

"Chang" means elephant.

TRAVERSO: Uh-huh.

And elephant is symbol of family, friendship, and fortune.

TRAVERSO: Oh, wow.

So when I do this business, I think always thinking like, friend coming to my house and see my family, and fortune probably filling up your belly (Amy laughs) if you have a lucky belly.

TRAVERSO: Tell me, what are some of your signature dishes here?

My signature dishes people love is Asian grilled beef, beside Pad Thai, of course.

And then, we have a dish called like, a tamarind duck.

I grew up in Bangkok, which is Bangkok is, kind of city and melting pot.

So I offer many different dishes here, based on where I came from.

TRAVERSO: What are some of the ways people cook with pumpkins in Thailand?

In Thailand, we cook with pumpkin in many different ways.

For example, like savory dish, Thai red pumpkin curry, or sweet dish, like Thai pumpkin custard.

TRAVERSO: That sounds so good.

It's really good.

TRAVERSO: Well, I would love to learn some pumpkin cooking from you.

And also, I want to meet your mom because her cooking is so great.

Yes!

TRAVERSO: And I tasted it, but I haven't met her yet.

Okay, I'm going to take you to my home and then, let's cook with mom.

TRAVERSO: Yay!

Thank you.

Okay, let's go.

TRAVERSO: Your mom is a big part of the restaurant.

How do you two work together?

Oh, mom is the boss.

(Amy laughs) Number one rule.

She will be like, "This is what I want you to do.

You have to follow my direction."

TRAVERSO (laughs): Right.

So be able to be a great chef, you need a mentor.

Which means, you learn from her, but have to be delicious.

TRAVERSO: Yes.

So that's our ultimate goal.

TRAVERSO: Yeah.

So we're ready to cook.

Hi Mama Nian, I'm so glad you're joining us.

(Amy laughs) So tell me what we're making today.

We are making Thai pumpkin red curry.

TRAVERSO: Ooh.

It's fall in New Hampshire, so what the best way to cook is pumpkin.

TRAVERSO: Yay.

I love pumpkin.

So I see that you're using one of my favorite pumpkins.

Which is Japanese kabocha pumpkin?

Kabocha squash, yes.

Well, this kabocha squash is really close to Thai pumpkin... TRAVERSO: Okay.

In term of, like, a texture and flavor.

TRAVERSO: Yes.

It's kind of in-between sweet potato and butternut squash.

TRAVERSO: They're so velvety, and so sweet.

Oh, I love it.

I love this.

NARRATOR: Emshika starts with two cups of squash and chicken breast, curry paste and lemongrass.

But the secret is in the coconut milk.

So now we're going to put-- (speaking Thai) ...coconut milk.

Mom prefer to use like a creamy part first.

TRAVERSO: Okay.

So you can get a little bit like a curry mixed with... (speaking Thai) ...coconut milk.

(both speaking Thai) We put a little fish sauce... (speaking Thai) ...in here.

So the way mom cook, she gradually put everything in her bowl so we can, like, control the flavor as we go.

TRAVERSO: Right.

We don't put everything all at once.

TRAVERSO: Okay.

(speaking Thai) Little bit of sugar.

Yeah, little, okay.

TRAVERSO: So all the flavors are blending... ...in layers, right?

Exactly.

TRAVERSO: That's what she's creating?

(speaking Thai) Now, we are going to put chicken.

Yeah.

We cook the meat first.

We got two cup of chicken here.

TRAVERSO: Okay.

NARRATOR: After adding the coconut milk and pumpkin to the curry, Emshika adds more fish sauce and brown sugar to taste.

Then, stirs in kaffir lime leaves.

I love.

This is like a family meal.

You can eat it, like, you know, for four people and cook it, like, you know, for next day, even better.

TRAVERSO: Yes, yes.

Mmm.

It's really good.

TRAVERSO: I love it.

Thank you, Mama Nian.

Yeah, thank you so much.

TRAVERSO: Thank so much for teaching me this recipe.

I'm so inspired to make this at home, to come back to Littleton and visit the restaurant again.

I loved meeting you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

(speaking Thai) (speaking Thai) TRAVERSO: I've had my pumpkin entre and now it's time for dessert.

I'm at Super Secret Ice Cream in nearby Bethlehem, New Hampshire where owner Kristina Zontini is making some of the best ice cream in the country.

NARRATOR: Today, Kristina's homemade scoops are definitely not a secret anymore.

She was recently recognized with one of the highest culinary honors as a James Beard semifinalist for Frozen Delights.

TRAVERSO: How did you end up making ice cream in the White Mountains?

That's a good question.

(Amy laughs) So I moved up here with my husband.

We love the area.

The White Mountains are so much fun to recreate in.

Like, we have a great, like, little theater in town, and so we thought, "Well, what does Main Street need?"

And it's like, an ice cream shop would be really great.

NARRATOR: In the early days, Kristina operated out of a small shed on her property and would send friends an email with the flavor of the day.

They would then come over and serve themselves.

I was doing it on this small countertop machine.

TRAVERSO: Yeah.

Right.

That only does one quart at a time.

I jokingly just wrote, "Super Secret Ice Cream" in the subject line and then just never changed it.

TRAVERSO: I love it.

Yeah.

It just kind of stuck.

NARRATOR: Today, Kristina's secret is in the fresh New England ingredients.

TRAVERSO: Tell me about your creative inspiration and how much of it comes from local farms.

Our mission from the beginning was to use as much local products as we could in our ice cream, and so our milk and cream comes from Hatchland Farm in Haverhill, New Hampshire.

TRAVERSO: Wow.

Yeah, it's a really cool farm.

It's a small family-run dairy farm.

It's such a nice way to, like, support our community, support our friends, and then also have really awesome flavors, because we just pull from what's around us.

NARRATOR: Every batch is made from scratch with names like Mount Cabot Maple, Wild Chamomile Honeycomb, and Rhubarb Almond Crisp.

Today's flavor is Delicata Squash Spice.

TRAVERSO: So Kristina, we're going to be making ice cream with this?

Yes.

It's a delicata squash.

We actually get these from our friend Bridget at Bent Fork Farm down the road.

TRAVERSO: Slice it lengthwise?

Yeah, we slice it lengthwise.

Yeah, it's pretty simple.

Then we're going to roast it in the oven for about 30 minutes or so.

TRAVERSO: Okay.

Yeah.

Then we take the skins off and it gets blended into the ice cream.

TRAVERSO: Nice.

You make your own base from scratch, right?

Yes.

Yeah.

It's extremely rare.

There's only a few shops, I think around the country, that really do it that way.

Yeah, and we use an organic sugar.

TRAVERSO: Nice.

So this is our local milk from Hatchland Dairy Farm.

TRAVERSO: Oh, okay.

Yeah, and this is what we use for our base.

TRAVERSO: And is this a whole milk?

It's a whole milk, yep.

TRAVERSO: Okay.

It's actually a pasteurized whole milk.

TRAVERSO: Okay.

Our squash spice mix.

TRAVERSO: Mmm.

Yum, yum.

All right.

So we're going to pour it in.

TRAVERSO: Okay.

NARRATOR: Ground spices like clove, cinnamon, cardamom and ginger add the finishing flavor.

TRAVERSO: And this one's frozen, so it's nice and cold.

Okay, so... Yep.

TRAVERSO: ...lift it up?

Yep, perfect.

TRAVERSO: Okay, and here it comes.

Okay, so the magic of ice cream making, or one of the best parts, is tasting it right when it comes out of the machine.

TRAVERSO: Yay!

So, we have these little tasting spoons.

TRAVERSO: Okay.

Thank you.

Yeah, here you go.

TRAVERSO: Do you ever get tired of ice cream?

Uh, no.

TRAVERSO: Yeah.

I thought I would.

Yeah, not yet.

TRAVERSO: Mmm.

That is so good.

And it is a much more intense-- I've had pumpkin ice cream before.

Yeah.

TRAVERSO: This is way more, like, it's more sort of layered and intense, and deep and delicious.

Oh my gosh.

I love that!

(chuckles) Thank you.

TRAVERSO: High five.

The last step before eating is making the cone.

Yes.

TRAVERSO: Okay.

I've never done this before, so I'm excited to see.

This is my favorite part.

We make our own batter.

TRAVERSO: Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

With Northeast Kingdom Grains, whole wheat.

TRAVERSO: Oh my gosh.

So, you get that like nutty, really nice flour flavor in there.

And we'll be making waffle cones for an hour and-a-half before we open.

TRAVERSO: Wow.

And then we'll have someone come in, like midday, making the waffle cones so they're, like, really fresh.

Slowly.

TRAVERSO: Oh, please, don't.

It'll come out.

TRAVERSO: Okay.

(both gasp) Oh, you did it.

TRAVERSO: A tiny... Oh, no, no, That's perfect though.

TRAVERSO: That's good?

Yeah, you did it.

That's beautiful.

TRAVERSO: Oh!

(both laugh) No one ever gets it on their first time.

TRAVERSO: Smells so good.

Oh, this is great.

All right.

Now I got to eat the ice cream.

Yeah, we got to put ice cream in it, yeah.

NARRATOR: From farm-to-cone, every scoop at Super Secret Ice Cream is literally a taste of New England and its local bounty.

TRAVERSO: This ice cream is extraordinary.

And thank you so much for having me here, for teaching me, for letting me make my first waffle cone.

Of course.

It was so much fun.

Thanks for, like, visiting us.

(both laughing) WIESE: I'm in the port city of New Bedford, Massachusetts, which is considered the most productive fishing port in the entire country.

There's a renaissance going on with emerging restaurants and shops, but it still has its roots in the fishing industry.

NARRATOR: In 1851, Herman Melville wrote about the town's prosperity and resilience in Moby Dick.

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center pays tribute to the commercial fishing community, both past and present.

WIESE: What is the fishing sort of, history of heritage of New Bedford, Mass.?

Well today, New Bedford is the largest fishing port in the United States of America, the most important fishing port in the Northeast, and the most valuable fishing port in the United States.

But that history really started for fishing around the turn of the last century.

So things like, the access to George's Bank, one of the richest fishing grounds, as well as the invention of refrigerated trucks, the proximity to New York.

You know, there were lots of different aspects of what we were able to do here in Bedford that just catapulted us into the forefront.

People have come from Norway and Portugal, and Newfoundland, and Latvia and Guatemala, and Vietnam, you know, here to make a living off of the waterfront.

The Fishing Heritage Center commemorates the lives that were lived and are lived.

So, I think we serve a place for the local community.

If you're in the fishing industry, you might not really understand what your dad did all those years, you know, off at sea.

You can come in and get that sense.

It's a thriving place today, but it's really built on the shoulders of so many generations of people who've come here from all over the world.

NARRATOR: Captain Rui Branco is a scalloper aboard the fishing vessel, the Elizabeth & Niki.

The sea, they say, is in his blood.

WIESE: Captain Rui.

Good morning.

How are you?

WIESE: This the way on?

That's the way on.

WIESE: Okay.

Come on in.

Welcome aboard.

WIESE: Thanks.

I came to this country at the age of seven.

My father was a commercial fisherman in Portugal, looking for a better life for us, came to this country.

We ended up in New Bedford.

My sisters and I were raised here, and it's kind of in my blood.

Right after high school, I didn't want to do anything other than fish.

We fish for sea "scaw-lups," known as in New England, and the rest of the country it's "sca-lup."

That's all we fish for is scallops on this boat.

NARRATOR: The life of a scalloper has not changed much over the years.

The Elizabeth and its crew dredge the ocean bottom, hoping for a good catch.

You want to see scallops on your deck at all times.

WIESE: And how deep are you going?

We fish by fathoms.

You can catch scallops from 20 fathoms, all the way to 60 fathoms, and you could fish up to like 300 feet deep.

And each boat right now is... ...four or five trips a year.

And every time you go out there you have to... ...take advantage of the time you have because 24 days goes by quick and you have to make a year's pay.

So fishermen are out to sea for five to 16 days.

Typically, you know, they're way offshore.

They're somewhere between 60 and 200 miles away.

What you're looking at is a community of incredibly hard-working, resourceful, resilient individuals.

But back in the 1950s, scallops were selling for 20 cents a pound, 30 cents a pound.

In the '60s, they were 53 cents a pound, and they had a scallop festival.

The Scallop Festival, held each year at New Bedford Massachusetts attracts 30,000 visitors.

To them, whether you call it "scaw-lup" or "sca-lup", this succulent shellfish by any name, would taste as sweet.

And now, we are the most valuable fishing port in the nation because of the price of scallops.

So scallops went from you know, ten cents a pound, 20 cents a pound, to now averaging around $15 a pound.

It's still considered the most dangerous way to make a living in the United States.

NARRATOR: Captain Rui and his crew spend days at sea, which can be lucrative, but it can also be risky.

WIESE: When you're out in sea and the conditions are really rough... We have to have survival suits for every crew member on the boat.

It's a big responsibility on your shoulders to make sure that...

There's seven of us to go out to sea, so you want to make sure seven guys come back to land at the end of the trip.

NARRATOR: The crew drills to have their survival suits on in 60 seconds; which could mean the difference between life and death.

Great job.

We got to practice that.

I would say that New Bedford, Massachusetts is a place where you can come and see real people who work on a waterfront and gain a respect for the hard work that it takes to put that seafood on their plates.

NARRATOR: Since the 1930s, Kyler's Seafood has been one of the country's leading fish processors and suppliers.

It is a family business that has been around through four generations.

Originally founded by Alfred Nanfelt.

My great-grandfather, he started this whole company in New Jersey, back in the '60s.

He'd drive up to the Fulton Fish Market in New York, buy some fish, cut it in his garage, sell it door-to-door.

Since I've been around, things have changed quite a bit.

You know, my dad opened up our retail store 25 years ago.

That was a great addition because people could come in and get fresh seafood right off the street.

When I'm in conversation and someone knows New Bedford, it always comes up with the scallops.

Because you'll go out to eat at any number of restaurants across the country and it'll say "New Bedford sea scallops" on the menu.

NARRATOR: Kyler's processes seafood from cod and flounder to swordfish.

All of our fresh fish that's brought in, it's all cut by hand.

It's something you don't see a lot anymore.

It gives us the best yields on the fish, and it takes care of the fish the best.

You know, you're handling each individual fillet from start to finish, till it's packed and put on a plate.

NARRATOR: Richard discovers that there is an art to filleting fish.

You took the head right off.

There are not a whole lot of companies like ours left that's cutting fresh fish every single day, offering it out to customers across the country, local restaurants, as well as to the public.

WIESE: Thank you so much, Troy.

I really enjoyed visiting this place.

I'm going to Union Flats next.

Chris is a great friend of ours over here at Kyler, and we love to hook them up with scallops whenever we can.

Say hi to Chris for me.

WIESE: Yeah, thanks.

I knew you got gloves on.

Oh, you got...

Okay, thank you very much.

Thank you.

WIESE: Okay.

NARRATOR: Union Flats is a new restaurant that is contributing to New Bedford's resurgence.

WIESE: Richard Wiese.

How are you?

Richard, good.

Great to meet you.

WIESE: I have from Kyler's Seafoods, some scallops from Troy, and he said, you'll know what to do with it.

I do.

Awesome.

Troy's the best.

WIESE: I know you're going to be modest about this, but you've gotten great reviews from The New York Times, you know, The Boston Globe.

What do you think is that secret sauce?

I think it's the commitment to sourcing.

I think increasingly you see, the consumer a little bit more driven by sustainability and those questions.

And more importantly, because we have this connection with someone like Troy, or Richie from the fishing vessel the Sinful, we have a story to tell.

Food is always going to taste better when people know the story.

NARRATOR: Chris believes that consumer demand for specific types of fish, needs to change.

If you look at a lot of menus across the country, none of that fish is coming from America.

It's all being imported.

And conversely, we are exporting all of our fish.

I look at that, and I say, "That's wrong.

We're eating the wrong species."

So it's really up to us to take the hard route and pick a different species, and make it delicious.

NARRATOR: Chris and Richard head to the kitchen for a cooking lesson.

WIESE: So I love scallops, but I'm always nervous about cooking them.

I feel I don't do it quite right.

Yeah, I think most people overcook their scallops.

WIESE: Okay.

So we're going to show you how to properly cook a New Bedford scallop.

WIESE: All right.

First we're just going to season them, salt and pepper.

We're going to start our little necks first.

You just want to cook them until just before they open, just like doing mussels or any other shellfish.

Now we're going to add a little miso brodo, smoked corn and shishito peppers... WIESE: Tell me when.

...and chilies.

This is like high summer New England.

So, we're probably only going to do four or five in there.

You don't want to overcrowd the pan.

This is why we use clarified butter.

We're looking for... ...a really crunchy exterior.

WIESE: Okay.

That caramelization is what you're looking for.

WIESE: So you're going to be a couple minutes on this?

Not even?

Three minutes tops.

WIESE: Three minutes tops.

Three minutes tops.

You can see that nice sear starting to happen.

Shishito peppers from one of our local farmers.

We're just going to char it up.

So now, this is the tricky part.

You're going to flip them over.

WIESE: Okay.

Oh, they are very-- nice sear.

Wow.

That's that clarified butter.

So we can probably pull those off and put them on there.

WIESE: Okay.

So we have our broth, we have our little necks.

WIESE: Wow, that looks great.

I wish people could smell this because it has nice notes through it, right?

That is New England... ...height of summer right there.

Now we'll do our scallops, which you'll be able to see.

You ended up with that residual heat with a nice sear on the bottom.

WIESE: Ah, nice.

And they're not going to be overcooked at all.

WIESE: Wow.

And we're done.

WIESE: Unbelievable.

I haven't even tasted this and it tastes good.

I'm gonna try a scallop first.

Yeah.

Tender.

Sweet.

(Richard groans) WIESE: You know, if they say that New Bedford is going through a renaissance, then you are the Michelangelo of the food scene.

So thank you so much.

I mean, what a wonderful way to end a day.

I mean, it's just, oh, so perfect.

Yeah, you're welcome.

My pleasure.

WIESE: Thank you very much.

NARRATOR: How did a former real estate developer and television production executive end up as chocolate connoisseurs?

For over nine years, Tom and Monica Rogan of Goodnow Farms Chocolate, carefully sourced cacao beans for single-origin chocolate, which they make at their 225-year-old farm in Sudbury, Massachusetts.

Each chocolate bar is wrapped by hand and made with freshly pressed cocoa butter.

We stumbled across craft chocolate in a small shop in Los Angeles, and we just fell in love with it.

We spent the next five years traveling South America, Central America, Mexico-- meeting farmers, finding great cacao.

And then we bought this amazing farmhouse in 2015 and we launched Goodnow Farms Chocolate in 2016.

The idea of Goodnow Farms Chocolate plural is because we're making the connection between the farm we have here and also the farms in Latin America where the cacao is grown.

So we really wanted-- for us, all of this is about relationships and about community.

Whether it's the community here in New England, or it's the community that we put together as chocolate makers around the world.

What's really interesting, and a lot of people don't realize this, is chocolate is a food.

Chocolate comes from seeds.

So all you need to make chocolate is seeds and some sugar.

And just like other types of fruits, like different types of apples.

There are different varietals, like Macoun, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, they all taste differently.

It's the same thing with cacao.

So flavor is impacted by genetics, by terroir, by the farmers fermenting it, you know, different ways, and when they dry it, that impacts the flavor.

Everything we do relates to flavor.

So it's really important to have strong relationships with farmers and have communication.

Adding flavor is a complex process.

You know, we can't just add a flavoring to a chocolate bar.

We want to take other complex flavors and meld those and find things that complement each other.

So it's always a matter of, "Okay, where do we find "other flavors that we enjoy?

And then how can we mix that with chocolate?"

In our signature line, there are six different bars.

It tastes unique-- so you can take a bite of each bar and you will notice the flavor differences.

Bright acidity like pineapples, a little bit of green banana in another one.

Flavors just run the gamut.

And then, we make flavored bars.

Some of our favorite flavored bars right now: it's pure passion fruit, caramelized onion, herbaceous Sichuan green pepper, coffee crunch, cafe con leche.

You've got a variety of different things for different types of people.

People felt it was an affordable luxury.

Whatever you're going through, you may not be able to buy the new car or put the addition on the house, but you can splurge a few extra dollars for a really good chocolate bar, and it makes you really happy.

NARRATOR: For exclusive videos, recipes, travel ideas, tips from the editors, and access to the Weekends With Yankee digital magazine, go to weekendswithyankee.com and follow us on social media, @yankeemagazine.

Yankee magazine, the inspiration for the television series, provides recipes, feature articles, and the best of New England from the people who know it best.

One year for $20.

Call 1-800-221-8154. Credit cards accepted.

Major funding provided by... Massachusetts is home to a lot of firsts-- the first public park in America; the first fried clams; the first university in America; the first basketball game.

What's first for you?

Grady-White, crafting offshore sportfishing boats for over 60 years.

The Barn Yard, builders of timber-frame barns and garages.

And by American Cruise Lines, exploring the historic shores of New England.