Varmint

We'll be cooking the barbecue over mostly pecan, but with some oak added if necessary. The question I have is this: if I were to cook pork shoulders separately over pecan, oak, maple, and hickory, and served each to you, could you identify which is which? I'm not sure I could, I must confess.

Heck, that's why I got the industrial strength disposal to go with my prep sink. I don't garden, I don't compost, I don't even have a lawn to mow!!!

I wouldn't want one of those, but I'd be very happy if I received a basic bartenders' kit, with a good shaker, jigger, strainer and the other basics. But the commercial stuff above is pretty silly.

This is so gross. OK, it's two gross! That's it for the deviled eggs -- I was joking above, and 288 halves is more than enough. Actually, 240 halves is probably enough. Regardless, something tells me that if it's 288, there will be far fewer than that number to make it on the serving trays.

I actually listened to it on Sirius satellite radio -- it was broadcast nationwide!

Blah blah blah 9 days blah blah blah 9 days blah blah blah. We're at about 130 attendees, including kids. I'm likely to close future registrations at some point in the next few days. If I get the goat, which is looking good, then I can go up a few more people. But they may not be able to get a deviled egg!

Are you making the greens now? Great - I wasn't looking forward to cleaning them. ← Nice try. That just means I'm responsible for buying the ingredients. The prep work and cooking are all yours, sistah!

Menu, updated yet again. I like the fact that we'll have a bazillion desserts. Eastern NC-style, whole hog barbecue, with sauce (Varmint) Western NC-style barbecue, with sauce (Varmint) Smoked Chicken (Varmint) Goat (probably) (Varmint) Smoked portabellos (in =Mark's honor, who will be unable to join us this year) (Varmint) Slaw (Varmint) Greens (Varmint) Green beans or field peas (Varmint) Fried okra (Brooks) Okra & Tomatoes (Brooks, Brooks, Brooks) Potato salad (Marlene? -- Varmint to source potatoes, Marlene in charge of the rest) Hush puppies (Malawry) Deviled eggs (Debbie Moose) Brunswick Stew -- Varmint-Dave Variety (Dave the Cook -- Dave, let me know what you need in advance) Pickled Okra (Brooks, of course) Desserts: Homemade, hand-cranked ice cream (foodiehall- yum!) Viennese style desserts (Carrot Top) Butter Tart Squares (Marlene) Bread Pudding (Weka) Banana Pudding (VaNC) Rainbow Jello Mold (Rachel) Peanut Brittle Crunch Cake (Carrot Top) Drunken Peaches with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream (rooftop1000) Lots of others (my in-laws!) Beverages: Red Hook Beer (complements of Harris Wholesale) Homebrew Red & White Wine (complements of Carolina Wine Company) Cocktails (Katie and Janet in charge) Limoncello (Katie - although don't count on there being any left!) Iced Tea (Sweet and unsweet) (Varmint) Lemon, Key Lime & Tangerine-ade (Ronnie_Suburban)

Does that sound good? Does that sound good? Does a possum like to cross the road? Does pot likker go with day-old biscuits? Hell, yeah, that sounds good. It sounds fantastic!!

Nope. Unless, that is, you come and bring them!

Just to let you know that we still like to do things a bit differently, the citrus-ade we plan on making will be lemon, key lime & tangerine-ade, complements of our super friends at Greenwood Associates. Check out their product list -- Wow!!!

I can say that standard Southern potato salad has potatoes and mayo, preferably Duke's. Everything else is gravy, so to speak, and I like gravy!!!

Me as well. I had an egg salad sandwich for lunch.

Another pragmatist joins the food fray ... ← And why isn't there a dead Roman in a Caesar Salad? Seriously, though, I don't think there is a standard for a quintessential southern potato salad. This is a dish that the South really can't claim, either, and that's saying something coming from me. Nevertheless, the Southern version of potato salad typically served in barbecue restaurants is fairly bland without any hard boiled eggs. I actually like the eggs, but they're not essential, either.

Let me re-post the menu, so folks don't have to scroll back: Eastern NC-style, whole hog barbecue, with sauce (Varmint) Western NC-style barbecue, with sauce (Varmint) Smoked Chicken (Varmint) Goat (probably) (Varmint) Smoked portabellos (in =Mark's honor, who will be unable to join us this year) (Varmint) Slaw (Varmint) Greens (Varmint) Green beans or field peas (Varmint) Fried okra (Brooks) Okra & Tomatoes (Brooks, Brooks, Brooks) Potato salad (Marlene? -- Varmint to source potatoes, Marlene in charge of the rest) Hush puppies (Malawry) Deviled eggs (Debbie Moose) Brunswick Stew -- Varmint-Dave Variety (Dave the Cook -- Dave, let me know what you need in advance) Pickled Okra (Brooks, of course) Desserts: Homemade, hand-cranked ice cream (foodiehall- yum!) Viennese style desserts (Carrot Top) Butter Tart Squares (Marlene) Bread Pudding (Weka) Banana Pudding (VaNC) Rainbow Jello Mold (Rachel) Lots of others (my in-laws!) Beverage: Red Hook Beer (complements of Harris Wholesale) Homebrew Red & White Wine (complements of Carolina Wine Company) Cocktails (Katie and Janet in charge) Limoncello (Katie - although don't count on there being any left!) Iced Tea (Sweet and unsweet) (Varmint) Citrus Ade (Varmint) Am I missing anything?

I got me one of these, too -- an extra small, so it gives my belly plenty of room to breath. Yes, I'm kidding.

Stand back, that woman's packin' Jello.

In 6 days, the first of the pig pickin' guests will arrive in Raleigh. More will follow -- a lot more! We still have some room. Sign up now! You still might have time to pick up your very own Pig Pickin' t-shirt or apron, available here. We'll have a few t-shirts for sale at the event, but not many. Finally, we have but 10 days before the pig will be picked. Are you coming? If not, why not??

Geesh, how could I forget??? 11 days. ELEVEN!!!!!

I obviously had major constipation of the brain, so foodiehall has graciously reminded me of her offer to bring homemade, hand-cranked ice cream. Boy, it doesn't get much better than that! Menu has been appropriately amended.

Although this is an entirely reasonable request, particularly in light of the deviled egg trade-off, this is one situation where it'll be tough. Because we're feeding so many people who each have their own preferences, it's going to be very difficult to accomodate individual requests. For example, Mrs. Varmint does not eat any red meat, and that includes pork and goat. So, she won't be partaking of the barbecue or any vegetable that has fatback in it (so no collards). By having lots of different choices on the serving line, hopefully there will be more than enough food for everyone. Of course if you're real picky, as a couple of my kids can be, you can just focus on the desserts!

If there is an authentic Southern potato salad you want me to use, can you provide it, or point me in the right direction? Otherwise, I'd make my own, which is not particularly southern! Of course, I can always find one in the Cotton Country Collection! ← Brooks, Dave or Debbie, please get Marlene a quintessential recipe for Southern-style potato salad. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Whitefish! Seriously, any fresh water fish would be great. Perch, smelt, walleye. Anything. This has been a delightful blog and I'm glad that I've caught up in the past couple of days. And I miss the great assortment of good smoked fish you have available. Be thankful for what you have up there -- every area has its own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to food, and you've capitalized on your region's strengths.

Uh, the Rainbow Jello Mold is a dessert, not a side. In my book at least. Do you all still consider Jello a salad down there? There's no fruit or shredded carrot or anything in there to make it a salad vs dessert. Also, re the Jello mold and my previous request to borrow a hot pot or electric kettle. I know you have plenty of kitchens space, but having an easily accessible source of boiling water over at least a 3 hour period would be very helpful. That's why I figured I'd do it at the hotel on Friday rather than take over a burner and refrigerator space for that period of time at your house. Oh goody! I've made this according to Brooks' instructions before and it's great. I'm glad I'll get to taste the expertly made version. ← The eggs will be what they'll be. No need to worry about size. We do have some self control, Rachel! Although, now that you mentioned it, why not quail eggs? We could eat 2 dozen each! As far as the Jello, I'll put it under the dessert list. The loft kitchen probably won't be used, so it'll be ideal, I'd think, but that's your call. I don't have a hot pot or electric kettle.

<ahem> The Limoncello that's currently infusing on top of my fridge. ← Thank you. I may not be able to keep track of all the potent potables. And those are sort of for the crew anyhow, right?