Varmint

Yes, the only restriction I had was "no alcohol." They were happy with the water, OJ and lemonade -- I didn't even give them any caffeine!

Lunch was a huge success. Chicken and steak fajitas, with homemade guacamole and salsa. Tossed salad with tomatoes, bacon and boiled eggs, with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Lots of watermelon. And homemade cookies, of course. I went through 15 pounds of meat. Not a scrap was left. Amazingly, the cookies were hardly touched -- oh, darn!

I'm not anti-bun at all. In fact, I like a good barbecue sandwich, with a bit of slaw on that soft, fluffy bun. That's how you can eat barbecue while driving, of course! However, buns are not served at a pig pickin', as barbecue plates are what's eaten -- big mound of barbecue surrounded by side dishes.

Soccer is Football! ← I'm just appealing to the US crowd. I certainly know that!

I love this idea, although the beer won't be served! I'm going to do chicken and steak fajitas, fresh guacamole, fresh salsa, sour cream, cheese, lots of rice, a nice salad with bacon and egg and tomatoes and cukes, and lots of fresh fruit. Very easy to make, very easy to serve, and different. The desserts are already taken care of, so we're set. Thanks, everyone!

Dude, the only one in Raleigh seems to be a kiosk in the airport. ← Actually, there's a Popeye's downtown. I think it's pretty new. Thanks for all the ideas. This may actually be fun. But I could use a few hands to help out. Any of the chefs from the pig pickin' want to come back???

You're thinking like me, Daniel. I know the boys are having pasta that night for dinner. However, I'd like to serve them something somewhat generic but still slightly different. Specifically, I could brine a bunch of chicken breasts, spice them up, and broil them (any suggestions here?). Several bags of salad with lots of fresh, local veggies and a homemade dressing. Hummus with good pita bread. Lots of fresh fruit. Leftover desserts from the pig pickin' (we had the foresight to freeze a bunch). And to drink, lemonade, OJ, and other non-caffeinated beverages. Fortunately, it's only 24 people, and these are soccer, not football, players!!

I'm a glutton for punishment, as I've agreed to host a lunch for a men's college soccer team on Sunday. I need ideas of things to cook that will appeal to the 18-22 year old athlete on the off day between games (they play on Friday night and Sunday afternoon). I'll obviously put out lots of fresh fruit, but I'd appreciate any suggestions from those who know what this age group likes and needs.

I love the fact that for years I'll be able to tell people that a rabbi came to my pig pickin'!

I got on the scales yesterday morning and saw that I had lost 5 pounds from Thursday morning. Amazing. Now I know why most chefs are pretty damn thin -- between the standing on your feet, the heat of the kitchen, and the cigarettes, drugs, and booze, well, you're not likely to be very fat. Thus, I've been eating very, very well beginning with yesterday's lunch. I think I'll get takeout Chinese tonight!

I'm tired and am working on the clean-up. If you're in the area . . . . Thanks to every wonderful person who made this event possible. I'm not going to go through a list of names, as I'll miss a few. That alone should tell you how many people it took to make this event a success. I'm humbled by the amount of talent that was assembled in my kitchen that was able to work together as a team. The food that was put out yesterday was absolutely tops! We celebrated life yesterday, and we recognized how lucky we are to have friends and family and to break bread (or hush puppies) together on such a lovely day. We were able to have this convivial feast, unlike many of our brothers and sisters in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. As you finish up your Labor Day weekend celebrations, please remember these men, women and children. Please find a way in your hearts and wallets to help them out. Thanks everyone!

Wood has been found!!! Thank goodness for fantastic next door neighbors!

Shoulders just went on the same cooker as the pig. It's a little crowed, but that'll have to do to save us some wood. Don't worry, folks, this is just a slight inconvenience that is easily solvable!

Help!!! If you read this and can get to my house, I need wood! My supply is very, very dry and has burned too quickly. We'll be able to supplement with charcoal, which is not a problem at all, but I'd really like to get some hardwood to burn. Thanks!

I stood outside, shaking my head because these guys dared to eat some more.

Speaking of their figures, when I mentioned to Jason and Ronnie that they should have gotten the chicken, egg and cheese biscuit, they mentioned that that would be a bit too fattening! Time Out has been a Chapel Hill late night instution for over 25 years. They make great fried chicken and excellent biscuits. By just pulling the meat off a fried chicken breast and plopping it on a biscuit, Time Out created a hangover deterrent better than none. And if you're hard up financially, order a bucket of bones for 2 bucks: you'll get a handful of these chicken breast bones that have more meat left on them than what you'd probably get at the local KFC!

First off, the name of the restaurant is Crook's Corner, and we were treated wonderfully. Chef Bill Smith is a very good friend of mine, so we did get to sample a couple of dishes that aren't currently on the menu. The watermelon and tomato salad is mind-bogglingly good (great adverb, eh? ). It's watermelon, tomatoes, red onions with red & white wine vinegars, some EVOO and a touch of sugar. It's sweet, it's tangy, it's oniony. It truly is phenomenal, and I'm thinking of adding it to the menu for Sunday. The honeysuckle sorbet was a completely unexpected treat, as there aren't many honeysuckle flowers down here right now. Think back to the days of your childhood, discovering a honeysuckle bush in the woods on the other side of the railroad tracks, pulling off 3 or 4 flowers, and letting that single drop of nectar drip onto your tongue. It's a memory that had started to fade away until last night with this wonderful surprise. The cracker plate with the pimento cheese and hot pepper jelly remains my favorite North Carolina snack. Salty, piquant, sweet, creamy, crunchy -- these flavors and textures all come together with this dish, and when you think that Bill Smith still makes this hot pepper jelly himself, well, that's the way it should be. Jason didn't get a picture of the Figs with Country Ham and Bellevue Sauce. This is a most simple dish -- luscious tiny Turkish figs, right off the tree from a friend's house, wrapped with very thin country ham, and then drizzled with a sauce of sour cream, EVOO, mint, vinegar and mustard. I could eat dozens of these. The beet salad also had a big lump of goat cheese in the middle. Mrs. Varmint had that along with some of Crook's outstanding french fries as her meal. We drank a lot of Abita beer and root beer in honor of Mayhaw Man and his family. We wondered when this supply of beer would run out. Finally, Bill Smith's first cookbook, Seasoned in the South, Recipes from Crook's Corner and From Home, will be out next month. I've had the pleasure of reading a preview copy of this book, and I encourage you to pick up a copy. It's short, it's a great read, and you can even learn how to make honeysuckle sorbet!

Twelve cases of Red Hook Ales have just arrived. I'm soon off for my pig! And yes, I've decided to brine it in the bathtub again.

The first photos! Marlene creating for the McCord family: The youngest L'il Varmint offering her assessment of the meal: This is what I got to eat! Yum! And for dessert: And away we go!!!!!!!

I know some of you had talked about setting up a webcam. Just to let you know, I haven't had the opportunity to pick up a replacement router, so I have no wireless capability here. Thus, we may not have a webcam (and I don't have one of those, either!).

Heh, I remember you made out with a fair share of the leftovers last time around. Smart woman you are! I wouldn't worry about the deep fat fryer, but I welcome everything else. We will not be doing the fried chicken throw-down and are instead at looking at some sort of braised short rib dish for the staff meal. I think it'll be Southwestern-influenced, and we make make roasted garlic cheese grits to go with it. We'll figure out the details tomorrow.

I think my wife picked up the Jello at the regular grocery store. The need for the chile powder may have come and gone -- they have dried anchos at Whole Foods, and I have a coffee mill that is dedicated for grinding up that sort of stuff, but Marlene had no way of knowing that. I do have a nice jar of chimayo chile powder that was recently given to me by a very nice lady -- the same one who has let me borrow her pig cooker!!

I've picked up the wine. I pick up the beer at 10AM and the pig at noon. The rental places are bringing the equipment early this morning. The goat comes tomorrow. My refrigerator is currently filled with all sorts of exotic fruit juice concentrates, complements of Ronnie's company. Time to experiment. Many of my friends come today. Yeah! If you have coolers and are driving, please bring them. If you have those 5 gallon water jugs, please bring them. We'll use them all. We'll be icing down beer and wine and will need to keep LOTS of ice on hand. Marlene made a super meal last night, and I'm still stuffed. I haven't had a stuffed pepper in over 10 years, so it was such a treat. Plus, having someone else cook for you in your own kitchen doubles the pleasure!!! As far as the distance between the hotel and the house is, it's actually about 1.7 miles. It's a great walk, flat until the very end, and you can get some decent exercise. But as I tell people, "it's farther than you'd usually want to walk." Travel safely, y'all. And welcome to North Carolina!

We're going to go ahead and come on down, but we'll be bringing a gas can with us just in case, and definitely refueling in Virginia. ← I'm glad y'all are coming, Heather. I think it'll be a very therapeutic weekend for all.

Cella and I were talking about the gas situation, and I just passed a number of stations, all of them had gas. We've seen prices ranging from $2.89 to $3.29 a gallon. It is a mess. Needless to say, I don't know what the situation will be like this weekend. If it's bad here, it'll be bad everywhere and the entire country will come to a screeching halt. I don't have a clue of what's going to happen with the gas, unfortunately. Here's a story from a local TV station that indicates the gas pipeline has just started running again. WRAL News Story It's my understanding that the larger gas operations are still getting gas. Thus, if I had to bet, I'd put my money on gas being available. But I'm not a betting man.