North Carolina BBQ Happenings

I wanted to pass on a couple of interesting BBQ related items that have come to my attention:

• Butches BBQ in Hickory-Butches bbq hickory nc – Google Maps, has changed its name to Judges BBQ.  Still under the same ownership and serving the same Q.

• Lazy Dog Smokehouse and Saloon is now open in Hickory!  The joint is hopping every night and look for a review of the Q coming soon.  Directions: 2710 N CENTER ST HICKORY NC – Google Maps (The location was formerly the site of the much loved BT’s Burgers.)

• From the founder of the North Carolina BBQ Society comes a new book that I absolutely must have!  Will McKinney has written a new guidebook to North Carolina BBQ called Holy Smoke, Will McKinney, Book – Barnes & Noble.  As soon as next payday rolls around and I can pick this bad boy up from the local bookstore, I’ll get a quick synopsis up with a review to follow.  I am really looking forward to this book!

• A brand new blog has appeared on the NC BBQ scene.  With great reviews, a good sense of humor, and some pretty cool recipes.  BBQ Jew is one of my new must reads with lines like: “Shalom!This site shows what happens when the “Chosen People” choose pork. North Carolina pork barbecue to be specific. Restaurant reviews and other posts are added to the main page. The tabs at the top of the page link to more BBQ content. L’Chaim!” And this “Kosher BBQ Recipe”:

Kosher Barbecue
1 small scoop chopped pork BBQ
1 large scoop denial
*Close your eyes, mix ingredients together, take a bite and tell yourself, “I am eating brisket, I am eating brisket.”  Please check out and subscribe to this wonderful blog.

North Carolina Cuisine: Livermush

As you travel across the country you encounter many regional foods.  Whether it be smoked salmon in the Pacific Northwest, BBQ brisket in Texas, or lobster in Maine, each section of the country has made its own impression on the national menu.  The Carolina’s are no different and have several of their own contributions to Americas Culinary smorgasbord. 

I’m going to be talking today about that mystery meat that you never hear of until you make it to North Carolina.  Livermush: A mixture of Pig Liver, Pig Head Parts, and Cornmeal.  This delicacy is a favorite among Carolinians for breakfast, lunch. or when used as a comfort food.  Virginia (and other nearby states) has it’s own version called Scrapple which features less cornmeal and more liver. 

Livermush from Neese’s Sausage comes wrapped in brick form in the lunch meat/sausage/bacon section of your grocery store.  The most common way to eat livermush is to cut off a thick slice (much like SPAM) and fry it until golden brown.  The slice of livermush is then served along side eggs and potatoes/grits for breakfast.  Another common way to serve livermush is to cook it the same way as above but put on a sandwich.  As with everything in North Carolina mustard is said to be the perfect accompaniment to good livermush.  Livermush has also been used as an ingredient for omelets and pizza. 

Several North Carolina towns have festivals devoted to the celebration of all things livermush.  Marion, Shelby, and Drexel each have events.  See these articles for more: North Carolina goes hog wild over livermush | csmonitor.com   Learning to love livermush | Mountain Xpress Dining | mountainx.com

Not a liver fan myself, I had my one and only run in with livermush when I first came out to visit my (now) fiancee, she and her dad took me to one of the local diners here in Hickory and insisted that one of the first things I had to do was to try livermush.  Less than thrilled, I ordered a slice and waited for the worst.  As the food arrived the entire diner stopped what they were doing and turned to watch ‘The California Boy’ eat his first bite of livermush.  I took one bite, smiled thinly and said “MMM yeah that’s great.  I like it.”  And then I immediately pushed to plate away.  (This has caused much trouble because whenever I say I like something now, I get the question, “Is that like it-like it, or livermush like it?”)  I have to admit that the taste was ok.  Nothing that I would ever like to eat again, but not bad either.  Fans of liver will like this dish.  For me the problem then (and now) is the idea of livermush.  I just can’t get past it.  I can respect others desire to eat it, but I’ve decided that this one is just not for me.

If I haven’t scared you away from trying it (and really it is worth trying) here is a recipe from the website of Mr Breakfast- Liver Mush Recipe:

Liver Mush

(This recipe yields 6 servings) 

 

• 1 fresh hog liver
• 1 and 1/2 pounds of fatty pork
• 2 cups cornmeal
• Red pepper
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Sage

Cook liver and fat pork until tender. Remove from broth the liver only and grind. Add corn meal, peppers, and sage to taste. Add enough of the broth to soften mixture. Cook in saucepan until meal has cooked, stirring constantly. Put in mold. Press down until cold. Slice and serve cold or broil.

One of North Carolina’s best loved breakfast foods is that Poor Boy’s Pate’, Liver Mush. This delicacy, fried crisp and served with grits and scrambled eggs, is a wonderful way to start the day.

(Image Source: Mountain Xpress)

Cook The Book: Williams Sonoma Catalogue

Pancetta and Provolone stuffed Chicken Breasts

 

I just recieved the Williams Sonoma Catalogue in the mail and eagerly dove into its beautiful pages.  One of the first recipes jumped out off the page at me.  Pancetta and Provolone stuffed Chicken Breasts.  So Amber and I decided to make it for supper the other night.  It was a huge hit!

From William Sonoma:

“Ingredients:

1 tsp. plus 1 1/2 cups olive oil

6 oz. pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbs. minced fresh sage

5 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, each about 8 oz., pounded 1/2
  inch thick

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

3 oz. aged provolone cheese, grated

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 egg whites, lightly beaten

3 1/2 cups toasted bread crumbs

Directions:

In a fry pan over medium-high heat, warm the 1 tsp. olive oil. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until crispy. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Transfer the pancetta mixture to a small bowl and stir in the sage.

Create a pocket in each chicken breast: Lay the breast on a work surface with the pointed end away from you. Insert a long paring knife in the center of the end closest to you (the rounded end). Move the knife around to enlarge the opening, forming a pocket; be careful not to cut through to the outside of the breast. Then remove the knife. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.

Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Stuff each chicken breast with 2 Tbs. of the cheese and 1 Tbs. of the pancetta mixture. Set the chicken on a wire rack-lined baking sheet and freeze for 5 minutes.

Put the flour, egg whites and bread crumbs in separate breading pans or shallow dishes. Dredge the chicken in the flour, then dip into the egg whites and coat evenly with the bread crumbs, pressing so they adhere. Set the chicken on a wire rack-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

In a wide pan over high heat, heat the 1 1/2 cups olive oil. Working in batches, fry the chicken until crisp and browned underneath, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn the chicken over, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the chicken is cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes more, adding more oil to the pan if needed. Drain the chicken on a paper towel-lined plate. Transfer to a platter and serve immediately. Serves 5.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.”

Some differences for us, we used 6 breasts instead of 5 and just used whole eggs scrambled instead of simply egg whites.  We also didn’t have the sage, so we used oregano instead.  The results were fantastic!  This is a definate make again!  Thank you Williams Sonoma!

I bought Amber the Bride & Groom Cookbook from Williams Sonoma on my trip to Michigan, so look for more reports of recipes. 

Food Travels: Krazy Jim’s BlimpyBurger

This local eatery is a must see if you are in the Ann Arbor, MI area.  A cross between a burger joint and Seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi” (NO SOUP FOR YOU!), Blimpyburger serves up great tasting burgers with a side of attitude.  A large part of the fun is seeing your friends and associates in line being berrated for making mistakes, while you attempt to navigate through unscathed.

For the unintiated, you MUST follow the strict guidlines and steps for ordering your food here.  Blimpyburger has thier own webpage where they detail exactly how you are to order your meal.  (Just a tip… When the girl on the grill asks everyone ahead of you in line if anyone wants bacon, you’d better pipe right then if you want bacon on your burger.  Due to the length of time for the bacon to get ready, you are just asking to get yelled at if you forget.)

Blimpyburger has even been profiled by Guy Fierri in his Food Network show “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.”  Check out the clip:

The food was fantastic.  I had a triple burger with bacon, grilled onions, and chedder cheese.  Add in some fries or some onion rings and that’s what I call one hell of a burger!

We did have one problem with Blimpyburgers that took away from the meal and the novelty of the experience.  It is mandatory for everyone eating in to have a cafeteria style tray.  We had so many people sitting at our table, that there just wasn’t room for the trays.  In order to have enough wiggle room to put our food on the table, we cleared the trays away.  About halfway through our meal, one of the employees comes out with a stack of trays (slams them down on the table next to us) and says with exasperation “We give you trays for a reason.  If you’re not going to use them <mumble> <mumble> <unitelligible>.”  And then he walked away.  A little later, another employee came up and apologized saying, “We ask you to eat on trays to keep the grease off of the table.”  Now, we had been enjoying ourselves, and the playful banter/attitude from employees while ordering was part of the fun.  But this guy had just been a jerk.  It was completely uncalled for and really left a sour taste in our mouths.  Two of our party swore they would never eat there again (one of whom actually lives in nearby Chelsea.)  It’s just a shame that a careless and rude employee managed to ruin what otherwise was a fun and memorable experience.

I would definately reccomend you check out Blimpyburger if you happen to find yourself in the Ann Arbor area.  Just know that the employees will give you a little bit of ribbing.  But that’s part of the fun.

Check out Blimpyburgers site here.

There are 2.147,483,648 possible Blimpyburger combinations.  See the calculations here (are they in a college town or what?)

Food TV Event: Iron Chef America

 

Tonight Jamie Oliver goes head to head against Mario Batali on Food Networks Iron Chef America!  A true battle royale of some of cookings top talent! I’m very excited to watch this one.  And afterward Jaime Oliver’s new show premiers.  It all gets started at 10:00 pm eastern.  Check out the story here at Slashfood.

Just Another Home Chef’s Delicious Sweet Potato Casserole

My fiancee Amber has just launched her new cooking blog called Just Another Home Chef. Go give her a visit and try some of her recipes. Here is a great recipe for Delicious Sweet Potato Casserole that she makes and has just posted:

A yummy sweet potato casserole that even my fiancee loves! (He’s not a big fan of the sweet potatoes )

Add Ingredient Add Divider

Ingredients

Add Cooking Step

1 ½ – 2 containers of Country Crock Mashed Sweet Potatoes (Bob Evans’ is also good!)

1/3 stick of Butter or margarine, melted

½ c milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp coconut flavor

2 eggs, beaten

TOPPING:

1 c brown sugar

½ c flour

1/3 stick margarine, room temp.

½ c pecans, chopped

½ c coconut

Mix the ingredients for the casserole and pour into a 9×9 glass pan. Mix ingredients for topping and place on top of sweet potato mixture. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until brown.

North Carolina Christmas Traditions: Moravian star and Cookies

 

 

 

 

 

moravian star and reflection
Originally uploaded by freeformkatia

 

A very cool Christmas tradition here in North Carolina harkens back to the origins of America’s Christmas traditions. The Moravian Church originally from Germany, gives us most of our Christmas traditions. They hold to many of their original traditions and display them each year at Old Salem in Winston-Salem NC.

One of the most beautiful traditions that I have seen so far is the Moravian Star (an example of which you can see at the top of the page.) This is a star which I haven’t seen much of unti I moved out to North Carolina. I think it is absolutely gorgeous. We actually have a lighted one sitting on top of our Christmas tree this year.

Another great thing about the Moravians and Christmas are the traditional Moravian cookies. Rolled out and made by hand, they are among the flattest cookies in the world. Extremely tasty and a wonderful holiday dessert, they are now going to be part of my holiday tradition.

I bought a three tube pack with sugar cookies, spice cookies, and orange cranberry cookies in them. Oh so good! Get yours from the Salem Baking Company.