Varmint

I'm hosting a dinner party for 18 people next week, and I want to have a couple of "specialty" cocktails available for my guests. The problem is that I'll be busy working on the dinner and won't actually be able to act as mixologist, and I'm not asking my guests to do that either. So, I need to come up with two different cocktails that I can pre-mix. I can handle shaking them in a mixer with ice and pouring into a chilled glass (as my guests can do that), but I don't want to do any actual mixing of ingredients when the guests arrive. Any ideas?

Ashley Christensen, executive chef of Raleigh's Enoteca Vin opened her new restaurant, Poole's Downtown Diner last night. The food is very rich, very tasty country French, and I have high hopes for the place. As I wrote elsewhere, I have high hopes for this place and think it will be extremely successful. Raleigh has been missing a place like this, as all the "hip," chef-owned restaurants to open recently have been in Durham and Chapel Hill. Thank god that's changing!

Simply beautiful, Ellen. Thank you so much for sharing. I remember vividly going through a similar situation with the last jar of my late grandmother's jellies. My grandmother, more than anyone else, took the time when I was a child to teach me how to cook. She took me berry picking, she showed me how to cook fish, and she always had something special in her cabinet for me. She was in many ways the ideal grandmother: generous with her love and even more so with her time. Shortly after she died, I raided her pantry filled with home canned pickles, tomatoes, fruits and, of course, jellies. She had raspberry, red currant, blackberry and concord grape. She picked the fruit herself and made them into jelly. We ate the jelly with reckless abandon, never once thinking that the supply was indeed limited. It was only when I was about to finish off the last jar of a red current/blackberry mixture and went to get a replacement that I realized that there was no more. This was it. At that time I realized, two years after her death, that my grandmother was really gone. I enjoyed that last spoonful of jelly, a bit sadly, but with infinite love toward my grandma. And now, whenever I see my kids cooking beside me, her memory comes flooding back to me.

I recently attended an intimate lecture/cooking demonstration with Shirley and her husband, Arch (what a pair!). Shirley made her famous biscuits, keeping the dough wet, using an ice cream scoop to get the size right, forming them by hand, and then putting them in a round cake pan. The biscuits are indeed tasty, but they're really not great. Their crumb is more cake-like than what biscuits should be, flaky with lots of layers and easy to split. The accomplished pastry chef sitting beside me agreed wholeheartedly that Shirley's biscuits are what you find in many restaurants today and are not good representations of proper biscuits. So sayeth the biscuit snob!

Ed Mitchell and Greg Hatem will be opening this place in the space where Nana's Chophouse was. Expected opening day is Monday, November 26 for dinner only. Having just eaten some of his barbecue, I'm officially excited about his arrival to Raleigh.

Word on the street is very favorable. I haven't been there yet, but folks are saying that even the service is pretty darned good, which is amazing for a brand new restaurant.

Ed Mitchell, the famed "Pitmaster" of eastern style North Carolina barbecue, has a deal in the works with local developer/restaurateur Greg Hatem to open a new barbecue joint in Raleigh. Gourmet's "Diary of a Foodie" was filming a segment on Mitchell in his hometown of Wilson, NC on Monday. It will be interesting to see how things work out, as Mitchell is still involved in litigation regarding his previous restaurant. Mitchell is certainly a great promoter and he can make some mighty fine barbecue, and I hope his partnering with Hatem will give him the business expertise that he always lacked. Regardless, Raleigh could FINALLY be a barbecue destination. I can't wait for that.

Thanks, everyone for your very kind words. I've had nothing but fun as a volunteer with the eGS, but I realized over the past several months that I just didn't have the time to do a good job anymore. Thus, as difficult as it was, I had to move on. However, in many ways, this change of position to a member is really a promotion, as it is our members which make this organization so great. As far as a 3rd pig pickin' is concerned, I just cooked for 240 people this past weekend: a 155 pound pig, 16 shoulders and 24 chickens. But you had to be a friend of my in-laws to get an invitation -- it was their 50th anniversary. Thus, it will be quite awhile before I get the energy to do it again. I won't say never (although Mrs. Varmint might), but it won't happen any time soon, unfortunately. But if someone else wants to host one, I'm happy to lend them my name as sponsor. See y'all on the forums, and give me a shout if you're ever in this neck of the woods.

Sorry I didn't suggest this sooner (maybe because it's not "southern"): Fins in downtown Raleigh, 110 East Davie Street, on the corner street level of a Progress Energy Building. Restaurant moved to this location several months ago and I think the the food there is better than ever. They don't have a website; I've copied this from Open Table (because I'm too dumb to figure out how to do links): # Fins writes... Open the door to Fins new restaurant in downtown Raleigh and WOW! The expansive bar has plenty of table seating for the early and late bar menu patrons. The open dining room, divided somewhat, has an intimate feeling and is surrounded by inviting booths. The 'robatayaki style' bar is an ideal vantage point for viewing the chefs as they work. Chef William D'Auvray has done it again and does not disappoint his many fans. As always, fish and seafood are a specialty but what he does with meat is unsurpassed. The variety in appetizers and entrees span the globe, using only the freshest harvest available. # Dining Style: Casual Elegant # Cuisine: Seafood # Neighborhood: Raleigh # Cross Street: Wilmington # Price: $30 and under # Phone: (919) 834-6963 # Hours of Operation: Lunch: Monday - Friday: 11:30am - 2:30pm Dinner: Monday - Thursday: 5:30pm - 10:00pm, Friday - Saturday: 5:30pm - 11:00pm ← Fins actually has a quasi-website: http://www.myspace.com/finsrestaurant. Yeah, it's a myspace account, but it's legitimate.

But can you cook food without any fancy contraption? If you put a piece of protein in a vacuum-sealed bag and left it in the sun (or in an enclosed water bath), could you come close to a sous vide style of cooking?

It's expected to reach 102 in North Carolina tomorrow, and that got me thinking: could you set up a mechanism to cook food using only the sun? In particular, I could put some salmon in a vacuum-sealed bag and leave it in the sun for a bit -- think of it as solar sous vide. Anyone willing to try it? Anyone ever done it? I'd do it, but I don't have one of those vacuum sealers. Disclaimer: Anyone crazy enough to do solar sous vide is doing so at their own risk. I take no responsibility for any intestinal craziness that might result.

I think it's actually in Garner -- or on the Raleigh/Garner border. A&C Supermarket, or something like that.

I think there's one called Capital Seafood on University Drive. There's also one in Cary on the corner of Chatham and Maynard -- I think it's called the Sea Depot. Don't forget about the two big Asian supermarkets in Cary, as they both have fantastic seafood departments.

I've found it a lot easier to peel the eggs if I let them cool, crack them a fair amount, and then let them sit immersed in cold water for a few minutes. The water gets under the shell a bit and makes it a LOT easier to peel.

You're completely correct on the name of the restaurant groups. I just had a brain fart! Thanks!

There are a few Southern options in Raleigh. For the old-time "meat & 3" joints, you'd be happy at Big Ed's downtown, the NC Farmers Market Restaurant off of Lake Wheeler Rd., and Pam's Farmhouse on Western Blvd, about 2/3 of a mile outside the Beltline. None of them will knock your socks off, but the biscuits are pretty good. You could also try Finch's, a major dive, on Peace St, almost under Capital Blvd. For barbecue, the options are few. Clyde Coopers in downtown Raleigh is probably your best current bet, primarily because it's a landmark institution. They don't cook over wood, but they do make some very good pork skins. For some nouveau Southern food, you may want to try South in North Hills. This is a Noble Food Group restaurant, and although I very much like their other places, South hasn't bowled me over. I need to give it another try. There are other hole in the wall types of places that offer some glimpses of the South -- The Roast Grill with their hotdogs, for example, but let us know if there are other tastes you're desiring.

Andrea Weigl, the new food editor of the Raleigh News & Observer, has a nice story in today's paper about a handful of young chefs and restaurateurs who have made a big impression on the local dining scene. Jujube, Rue Cler, Piedmont, J. Betzki's, 18 Seaboard, and Riviera are all discussed.

This event has been moved to April. I'll post details when I learn more.

I put my Sani-Tuff in the dishwasher almost every time I use it. If it warps, put it in a warm oven for an hour and it's flat again.

I've always gone and bought them right there, picking out the liveliest ones from their bin. You could try Earp's, too.

I've always been able to good crabs at Capital Seafood that's just across Lake Wheeler Rd. from the NC State Farmer's Market in Raleigh.

The peaches I bought were the so-called "ice cream peaches." Those are the ones that have a bruise or two and are fully ripe. If these were the regular peaches, it would have cost me over $30. Because of their condition, these peaches cost me $5. I love a bargain. And boy, were they fantastic!

We're getting South Carolina peaches around here. I've seen absolutely zero NC peaches. It's quite depressing, but I'm happy that we have some of my favorite fruit. Blueberries haven't been a problem around here.

My friend Charlie Deal (detlefchef) has finally gone public with his plans to open a new Mexican eatery in Durham. Named "Dos Perros" after his two dogs, the restaurant will feature a fairly broad range of items, including mole, seafood, slow-roasted meat and chicken, and, of course, great drinks. Here's the press release: If you've been to Jujube in Chapel Hill, you'll know that Charlie really works hard at his craft. He knows food, and he's been dying to open an "expanded taqueria" for years. That's going to be happening, soon, and it will be a great addition to the local scene.

Cooking for chefs has always been easy and not intimidating at all. They're happy to have someone cook for them. Yesterday, however, I had a similar situation that was a bit more daunting: cook for a restaurateur, his wife, and their 4 friends -- a dinner that they won in an auction for a local charity. They had heard that I was a good cook and got involved in a mini-bidding war. Thus, the pressure was on. Luckily, everything went well. I did use some luxury ingredients (summer truffles, aged balsamic), but we had a very good meal. And seeing they brought the wine -- and it was damn fine wine -- I'd say I ended up the big winner!