Varmint

That's not a stupid statement at all -- it's reality. We all make choices with respect to raising a family. We all have different priorities. If we all decide that we will sit down together for dinner every single night, then two of the children would not be on their soccer teams. I probably wouldn't be a partner at my law firm. We decided that I would get home before the children go to bed, but my wife will cook for them. She does not cook. She hates to cook. She works, does car pool to soccer, ballet, math clubs. She volunteers at the school. The last thing she wants is a battle over the meals. Thus, she lets the kids get involved in the meal planning. Every weekend, it's one child's week to choose the meals from a list of about 10-12 protein items, a list of vegetables, a list of fruits, some starches and some miscellaneous. Much of the food is frozen or processed, but each meal must consist of a fruit and a vegetable (with some minor exceptions). For example, on Monday the meal is macaroni and cheese, grapes, and lima beans. Thursday is bratwurst, corn, rice and yogurt (inexplicably included as a fruit on my wife's list). This method gives in to each child's pickiness in some fashion, but it also gives my wife some peace of mind. Before she started this system, she would go crazy every week, trying to sort out meals. This helps the kids understand how to offer some balance in meals as well. Nevertheless, we do eat together on the weekends, and that works out well. So we'll take what we get. We all strive for the ideal, June and Ward Cleaver type of family meals, but it just doesn't work that way very easily. It's easy to judge those who don't eat together every night when your family has found a way to reach that romanticized setting every night or if you don't have children. But times have changed in a lot of different ways, and we find ourselves in a constant give-and-take to eat dinner together 2 or 3 times a week. But I wouldn't trade the opportunities my children have today for what I had growing up, just to ensure we're eating together.

We only have a handful of rooms left at the Brownstone Inn, and our release date is August 12. If you need a room and haven't booked anything, I suggest you get a move on things. There is a good chance that the hotel will sell out and a better chance (say, 100%) that you won't be able to get these rates after the 12th. Please click here for all the hotel information.

I saw how Dave packed his gear when he came up for the pig pickin' in 2003, and I was astonished then. I've since learned never to be surprised by Dave Scantland -- he's always prepared. He'll likely bring even more gear up for this year's pig pickin'!

You did mention a "freezer full" of homemade ice cream! You can call me Jimmy, 'cuz I'll take what ya gimme.

Oh, there will be biscuits. Varmint must have forgotten. ← The biscuits are for the meal on Saturday -- the "staff" meal, so to speak -- at the fried chicken throwdown. And I just might have to whip up a batch or 4 after all, Heather.

Biscuits won't be served at this pig pickin', unfortunately. But once you taste one of Malawry's hush puppies, you'll understand why no one would dare put biscuits out at the same time. Cheryl, we might just have to let you go crazy with the homemade ice cream and let Brooks leave his industrial sized machine at home. I'll assign dishes to the local folks such as yourself as we get closer to the big day. Anyone make pickles? We could use a variety of those.

Barbecued beans are not a North Carolina dish. Lima beans. Butter beans. Snap beans. Pole beans. Just not barbecued beans! Watermelon's a good idea -- it'll still be in season. ← I just got three bushels of lady peas in the freezer. I suppose that I could sacrifice a few for the cause. ← Lady peas are awesome. There will be no shortage of veggies at this pig pickin'. I recall Debbie Moose saying she'll bring the deviled eggs. Debbie actually wrote a deviled egg cookbook, so she's uniquely qualified to handle this task. Debbie, that's a lot of eggs!!!

Barbecued beans are not a North Carolina dish. Lima beans. Butter beans. Snap beans. Pole beans. Just not barbecued beans! Watermelon's a good idea -- it'll still be in season.

Help me build a menu. The following is what I know we'll have: Eastern NC-style whole hog barbecue Western (or rather, "Lexington") NC-style barbecue Slow-roasted chicken Slow roasted goat (that's still not certain) Brunswick Stew (the variant known as Varmint/Dave or "VD" Stew) Cole Slaw Collard Greens Barbecue potatoes Corn n' Limas Okra in some form (you're in charge, Brooks) Hush Puppies (Malawry) Lots of Desserts Tea Beer I'll be looking for folks to bring the desserts again. My sister-in-law has promised to bring a huge caramel cake and other desserts -- maybe a coconut cake. Peaches will still be in season, so a cobbler would be good. So, what are we missing? Who's going to help??

Thanks, Milt. The information we receive from PayPal does not have the payor's address, so I generally just list the state when someone tells me they've registered. So, Georgia is in the house! North Carolina Virginia Maryland Delaware Illinois Louisiana Utah California Florida West Virginia New Jersey Pennsylvania Georgia That's 26% of the US States. Not a bad start, I'd say!

Oops, I forgot PA -- how could I??? Here's the correct current list. North Carolina Virginia Maryland Delaware Illinois Louisiana Utah California Florida West Virginia New Jersey Pennsylvania That's twelve down. Let's get to 20, but half the states would be monumental.

I spent 11 years in Chapel Hill and lived in 12 different places. One place I lived was affectionately referred to as the "Green House." This was a tiny little shack that sat far too close to the road on a curve. My bed faced the window where the headlights of the cars coming down the hill poured into -- I often had visions of an 18 wheeler losing control and demolishing the entire house. It wouldn't have taken much, as it was a dump. One joy of this house was that it was about 200 yards away from the Merritt Store and Grill, an old-timed convenience store that is still trapped in the 1940s. If you set foot in the store and turn down to the left, there's a simple and tiny grill. It was here that I'd order a ham or bacon & cheese biscuit, just to start my day right. The specialty of this place 15 years ago, however, was their BLTs. I had forgotten how Merritt's had taken a fairly ordinary sandwich and turned it into something sublime. I forgot until my friend, local restaurateur Charlie Deal, recommended we go there for lunch today. Folks, if you want the single best BLT, get thee to South Columbia Street in Chapel Hill. That would actually be 1009 South Columbia Street. Order a double, which gives you 3 slices of bread (white, wheat or sourdough), lightly toasted, and packed with the freshest tomatoes, a ton of bacon, ultra-crisp lettuce, and lots of mayo. Grab a Cheer-wine or Sundrop, go behind the store to the picnic tables shaded by the bamboo, and take a bite of summer. It'll cost you about 5 bucks, but it's well worth it. I could have eaten two of these suckers today.

Pig pickin' cake. Nuff said.

That would be bitchin'! Here's the list of states represented: North Carolina Virginia Maryland Delaware Illinois Louisiana Utah California Florida West Virginia New Jersey No Georgia??? No New York?? No South Carolina, Minnesota or Texas?? C'mon, people!!

I'm happy to announce that I'll be getting my pig again this year from Mr. Wade Cole, who raises pigs for Niman Ranch. This is what I wrote about Wade Cole two years ago: Wade told me he still hasn't had any better pig in his life. He's actually thinking of blowing off some of his annual family reunion to come up to Raleigh and sample a bit of barbecue!

There will be children in attendance. I will have my 4 children there (they'r3 11, 10, 6 and 4). Others will bring their children. We won't have any child entertainment, but they get to come for free, so why not??? Again, children will be welcome, but the extent of how enjoyable of an experience this will be for them is up to you. They can certainly hang out with the L'il Varmints. There's no deadline, but if we get about 120 to sign up, I'll probably close it down. I'd be surprised if that happens in the next few weeks, however. It might on the week before the pig pickin'.

Only 40 days until the big event. Many of you have said you're coming, but you haven't registered yet. Don't wait, as this could possibly sell out -- I just informed the locals about it. The critical information can be found at this post. Sign up today. Operators are standing by.

Bill, I'm going to say late afternoon -- something like 4 or 5 PM. When you're cooking a whole hog, timing is rarely exact. However, my intention is for the pig to be done early to mid afternoon. We let it sit for awhile before pulling and chopping. Come early, come late, but just come!!!! We want more folks from eGullet to attend!

But the manic Jacob's Ladder head-shaking scenes were pretty damn funny. And the cowboy boot dig by the young group reminds us that Tony's just another geek like us.

Katie, we're looking forward to your repeat performance, but there may be others who want to show off their cocktail skills. Hell, I need at least 3 bartenders to keep me happy! We'll certainly have over a dozen cooks, so a few bartenders should work well! Blenheim's is easy. We don't have the lovely distributors, unfortunately, but we can buy beer and wine in grocery stores. I'm hoping to have the beer donated by a local wholesaler, but we're waiting on that.

Sure, bring the punch bowl. We'll find a way to use it somehow!! I love Arnold Palmers, particularly with some bourbon as you suggested.

Ick. I'd really like to have a drink that I can sit back and enjoy, not something that would challenge me so much. Hell, I love sweet drinks. I love fruity drinks. But I don't like drinks with meat or pickle juice or barbecue sauce in them!!!

Either a"gutsy" gingerale like Vernors, or maybe a Jamaican ginger beer, if available? Maybe Squirt, if they still make it. I remember it being tart and grapefruity. ← Blenheim's Red Cap would be the ginger ale of choice. It's beyond gutsy. It made Fat Guy turn blue before coughing for 3 minutes when he first tried it. Sissy New Yorkers.

And, as mentioned above, moonshine. It was the moonshine runners from North Carolina who brought about NASCAR. Moonshiners are frequent visitors on the Andy Griffith Show. Scuppernong grapes will also be in season in September.

Cool. Instead of a single "official" drink, we could have an assortment to sample. Based on last go-around, there should be no shortage of lushes in attendance! Just remember, I'll need some help watching the pit Saturday night and Sunday morning!!!