Varmint

Before I talk about today's gustatorial pleasures, I wanted to make sure I mentioned the "dessert" I made for Mrs. Varmint and me last night, after the kids were in bed. I made an "adult" milk shake that combined coffee, vanilla ice cream, chocolate milk, and a few special items. As you can see, I don't generally buy good liquor, but I will shell out for bourbon, tequila, vodka and gin. But mostly bourbon. Because we were going to the beach today (Wrightsville Beach, to be particular), I decided it was a non-cooking day. We started by visiting my new neighborhood pastry shop, Hereghty (danger, over-the-top but essentially useless website alert). Hereghty is fairly new, and it's run by two brothers. I've sampled a number of their pastries, cookies and candies, and I'm VERY pleased. Here's a sampling of some of their goods. We weren't there to buy cakes, but we did purchase cinnamon rolls, chocolate eclairs, chocolate croissants, ham & cheese croissants, and raspberry scones. I also sampled this wonderful little chocolate "cookie" consisting of dark chocolate, caramelized hazlenut, almond, pistachio and cacao nut with a bit of candied orange. This very adult sweet is not to be toyed with -- it's a very serious, and very good item (sorry the picture sucks). We got the pastries to go, and drove the 1.5 miles back home. When you bite into the eclair, you get a decadent little surprise -- it's filled with chocolate custard! The ham and cheese croissant is my 11-year-old's favorite, but the cross-sectional picture is almost pornographic! Of course, my 9-year-old daughter doesn't really care for pastries, so I made her what she wanted: a bowl of grits. Whatta girl!!

Mrs. Varmint does most of the clean-up, but if she's doing laundry, I'm certainly taking care of dishes. But then, we do have 2 dishwashers, so clean-up is much easier now. We just got back from a day at the oceanside. I didn't cook at all today, and nothing I ate could be considered "southern." It was fun nonetheless, and I did take a few photos along the way.

Yes, it's real Vermont maple syrup. Actually, we usually use real Maine maple syrup, but we just finished our last gallon and our Maine friends haven't shipped the next gallon yet! Off to the local pastry shop for this morning's breakfast.

Yes, I do fry more frequently in the new kitchen, simply because I have this wonderful hood. Frying in the old kitchen was a nasty affair, as every single speck of volatilized grease ended up elsewhere in the kitchen -- not a pleasant smell. I've just been using vegetable oil, as I don't need to get it extremely hot when frying the way I have. If I want a higher temp, then I use peanut oil. If I had really planned this meal, I would have used vegetable shortening, as that's the best medium for frying chicken. This was the most simple method of frying chicken, and one I heartily endorse when you just want a great batch quickly: Buttermilk with a touch of salt. When the oil is ready, straight into some AP flour with some salt and then into the oil. Take your time frying the chicken -- too many people get the oil too hot and it burns the crust before the inside is fully cooked. I've got a couple of thighs left over that I'll be packing in the cooler today when we go to the beach. Heh heh. I'll discuss the kitchen flow later in the week. I hate to bore you, but it's perfect. I wouldn't change a thing and couldn't have improved on the design. And yes, even my tupperware is perfectly organized. I'm King of the World!!!!

We went over to see some friends who just moved back to the area after living a couple years in Florida. Since we hung out by their neighborhood pool, we didn't make any food -- instead, they called Papa John's. I must say, is there a chain pizza place that has a sweeter pizza sauce? Pizza Hut is pretty bad, but this is almost cloying. No, I'm not including a photo of a piece of Papa John's pie. Yuck. Anyhow, on the way back from the friends and pool we swung by the farmers market again and there we had a dispute among the L'il Varmints what to eat. One child wanted burgers, another wanted no meat. I wanted fresh chicken. THus, I appeased everyone. I bought fresh, free range chicken and fresh, pasture fed beef from Chatham Choice Farms. The kids also wanted twice baked potatoes, so accomodated them, too (have I mentioned that this is vacation?) Here's the meal. Frying some chicken: Almost done. Ta da. Extreme close up. Some of you have asked about the kitchen, and I'll do my best to give you a working tour later this week, but here's a shot of 4 of the 6 burners on my range going simultaneously. I do love my range! I really like my hood, because my kitchen doesn't smell like fried food. Dinner was a bit more colorful tonight, with fresh tomatoes, baby carrots, green beans and more. I'm not doing anything fancy for dinner, as when it's summertime, I truly love the clean flavors of fresh vegetables. I don't know how much I'll post tomorrow, as we're headed down to Wrightsville Beach for the day. It's only a 2 hour drive from here, and the kids get to play in the waves and the (ugh) sand. If there's anything of interest food-wise, you'll be sure to know. I need to make some silly ice cream drink for Mrs. Varmint and me when the kids go to bed. Which is right about now!

Um, probably not. I just don't use recipes much. I intentionally made a lot today, as I wanted leftovers to freeze (my 6 year old loves 'em, even if they've been frozen). So I started with 3 cups of self rising flour, a scant teaspoon of baking soda, a dash of salt, 3 eggs, and then a mixture of buttermilk, milk and cream. I think I used about 1/2 buttermilk, 1/3 milk and 1/6 cream. I don't know how much I used, as it's all by feel. Add the wet into the dry until it's thick and fairly smooth. Some small lumps may remain. Don't overbeat. Add chocolate chips and go.

I used fresh thyme, and then let the butter and a couple of ice cubes of chicken stock do the work. Of course, that last shot of cream at the end helped!

Heh heh. Look at the back of this drawer. Take a closer look Any more questions??? For breakfast the kids wanted chocolate chip pancakes. Since we're on vacation, why not?? First the ingredients. I use Maple View Farm buttermilk and cream. The skim milk comes from Whole Foods. The flour is Martha White self rising flour. Everything else is self-explanatory. Having good help is always essential. Here's the batter. I just put a few drops of oil on the griddle and spread it around with a paper towel. This works extremely well, and between "rounds" of pancakes, I just rub it down with the paper towel again. And again, the L'il Varmints' Seal of Approval: We're headed over to a friend's house to spend some time around a pool. Something tells me that we just might go pick up some subs for lunch. I'll take my camera, but I can't promise that I'll come back with any photos.

Regarding corn holders, the kids like them. We have two types: the old-fashioned ones with 3 little ultra-sharp spikes in the end that go into the corn nearly as easily as they go into a little brother's arm. We also have plastic "screw-in" types that don't go into human appendages very well. The great thing about the plastic screws is that you can put them in before you boil the corn, and they cool down nearly instantly. The bad thing is that you have to cut off a bit of the end, as you need to have some exposed cob to use them. I completely forgot to put in the corn holders yesterday, so on the cob end, I used the plastic holders and on the pointy ends I used the daggers. For breakfast this morning will be chocolate chip pancakes.

I use self rising flour, usually Martha White. When I have buttermilk, I add a touch of soda to my flour, but I didn't do that this morning. I did pick up a quart of buttermilk today, so you'll see some truly heavenly biscuits later this week.

Remember, we're on vacation, so we can let some things go.

After the craziness of the soccer games (and the sunburn that came with it), I needed a little refresher. The chocolate milk comes from Maple View Farm, a good ol' fashioned local dairy. I buy all my cream, buttermilk and chocolate milk from this place. Plus, their egg nog at the holiday season is wonderfully deadly. We'll be headed over to the farm later this week to sample some of their wonderful ice cream. Speaking of ice cream, I used up the rest of the terribly overripe peaches to make some peach ice cream. My 11-year-old suggested I add cinnamon to it, so I obliged him. One of my biggest problems with peach ice cream is that after it sits for a day in the freezer, any chunks of peach become icy and not very flavorful. I know some people cook their peaches to limit the iciness, but I like the raw, clean taste of uncooked peaches. Thus, I puree them. I don't have a good ice cream maker -- just an old Donvier. However, as you can see in this picture, I actually have a great maker. The kids were very excited that I was making macaroni and cheese. There's 7 bazillion mac-n-cheese recipes out there, but I still use the old tried and true. I start with a bechamel to which I've added some dry mustard and a touch of salt. I dump this onto my cooked pasta, and then I fold in grated cheese. Today I used sharp cheddar, a fresh assiago, a Swedish farmers cheese, and some muenster (supermarket variety, not real muenster). No crumbs on this, as Cella and I like the crunchy pieces of pasta on top. I also made some simple deviled eggs. Some silver queen corn and Niman Ranch pork tenderloin finished the menu (it wasn't the most colorful of dinners). The L'il Varmints gave their seal of approval: Time to go polish off some of that ice cream. Maybe with a slice of pie, too!

John's foreshadowing a bit. We're headed down to Wayne County on Wednesday to visit Holly Grove Farms and all those goats. Mmmmm, goat cheese!

Tonight's dinner was pork tenderloin, corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, and homemade cinnamon peach ice cream. Details to follow.

Geesh, I just realized I failed to post pictures of last night's dinner. Pattypan squash frying away. Succotash. I used speckled brown butter beans. Fried food is good food. Grape tomato, cuke and local feta salad. The plate. The remoulade was just mayo, capers, and aged balsamic vinegar.

They're really quite different. If you want organic, go to Carrboro. If you want something a bit out of the ordinary, go to Carrboro. If you want fresh corn, green beans, tomatoes, collards, beets, etc., then the Raleigh Farmers Market is better in price and selection. I rarely go over to Carrboro, but if I lived there, I'd spend way too much money!!! Not that spending too much money on great food is a bad thing. The NC State Farmers Market is also just so darned close to home that I enjoy going over there at least once or twice a week. Oh, and the State FM is open every day, whereas Carrboro is open on Saturdays and Wednesday afternoons.

We may not be considered the "Deep" South, but there's absolutely no doubt that North Carolina is well below the Mason Dixon line, geographically and culturally. One thing I failed to mention about the scrambled eggs: I cooked them up in bacon grease, as Mrs. Varmint (who eats no swine or beef) was already gone for the first soccer game. I had a cheeseburger for lunch at the soccer fields. I promise that we'll have something that somewhat resembles southern food for dinner.

My daughter's first game was at 8:45, but since she had to be there an hour early, I just stayed home with the other 3 L'il Varmints and our house guests. My drip coffee pot is a "free" Gevalia cheapo maker. I say free because Gevalia always has these deals where you join their coffee of the month club and you get something free. Well, I joined, got this maker, paid about 10 bucks for a pound of coffee, then immediately cancelled my membership. Thus, I got a free coffee maker. I do this about every 2 or 3 years when I'm ready for a new machine. It does an OK job, and it looks decent, except for that big ol' GEVALIA logo staring at me. Breakfast today is bacon and eggs. The eggs are local: Of course, we had to have biscuits. I always make buttermilk biscuits, but I just used up the last of my buttermilk the other day. I didn't want to go to the store, so I just used heavy cream (this is not going to be a week of so-called "healthful" eating). The kids wanted some jelly on their biscuits, and they really like muscadine jelly. Muscadine grapes are native to North Carolina and the Southeast. The coast of North Carolina ran rampant with muscadines. There are several varieties of muscadine grapes with the most famous being the scuppernong. There's actually some decent muscadine and scuppernong wine made in North Carolina. The kids just like the jelly!

Nice view, dude! You are looking mighty fine... Anyway. Piecrust. I use a shortening/butter mix, and there is more butter than shortening (I use Julia's version). My late, great grandmother swore by crisco, and I know that her wrath would wreak havoc on me if I ever made a pie crust without it, so I acquiese. Does. Mrs. Dr. Varmint have some sort of doctoring job that allows her evenings and weekends at home? How is the kitchen? You can be honest with us. Have you found anything you wished you'd done different? Anything that has struck you as the bestest and greatest thing you could have done? Happy soccering! ← That gentleman in the picture is not me, I can assure you. I have no clue who it is, actually. My lovely wife is also taking off the week. We had planned to spend much of the post-soccer time on building a tree house, but that may not happen. We don't have much money left after the kitchen! And don't worry, I'll spend some time this week talking about the kitchen. Because I spent so much time thinking this through, there's actually not a single thing I'd change, but I'll get more into that later on. I was up late last night and had to get up early for that first soccer game. With our house guests and their additional need for coffee, I'm using my drip coffee maker. One french press just won't cut it for 4 coffee drinkers.

The cheese grits were just some stone ground grits made with a sharp New Zealand cheddar. My kids love to try different cheeses. I did not buy any of the collards, and okra isn't yet in season. My family is grateful for that, but they're just not educated. Give 'em time. A Southern Season has been around for at least 25 years, but now it's huge. It'l located in University Mall. And don't worry, I'll get a touch of that Carolina Blue. As we say down here, "If God is not a Tar Heel, why did he make the sky Carolina Blue?"

The all-butter pie crust was good, but it was almost too tender. The shortening adds a bit of flakiness to it all, and I missed that. What do y'all do for pie crusts? I've never really had a problem with them. But then, I've never had problems with any baking that requires a butt load of fat!

So, this is meat stuffed in meat. Argh, it doesn't get any manlier than that!!! Strong work.

On the weekends, and when I'm on vacation, I make coffee at home. Our barrista friend in Seattle just sent us some lovely organic coffee: Fire up the ol' tea kettle: And pour it into the French press: I take cream; Mrs. Varmint takes it black. For some reason, my kids requested a breakfast that I've never made for them before: a breakfast burrito. To make this a bit more Southern, I've made some cheese grits. To my burrito, I've added even more cheese in the form of fresh mozzarella balls. I think biscuits and bacon will be on tomorrow's menu, thank you very much: I dragged the two youngest L'ill Varmints (Benjamin and Clara, ages 6 and 4) to the Carrboro Farmers Market. Carrboro is a wonderful town that is right next to Chapel Hill and is very progressive (it is one of the few towns in the country to elect an openly gay mayor). As you might expect, it has lots of organic produce and meats available. After the Farmers Market, we headed over to the nationally famous A Southern Season in Chapel Hill. This is one of the biggest gourmet food stores in the country, let alone the Southeast. Strangely, though, after I snapped a picture of their coffee and tea departments, which are right inside the entrance, I was informed that photography is not permitted inside. Very strange. I loaded up with some excellent artisinal dried past for my interactive Italian dinner party that's in a couple of weeks, and I headed back to Raleigh and a couple of soccer games. The first game wasn't until 12:30, so the young natives were restless for lunch. It was simple today: grilled cheese for the kids and a quasi-panini for Dad: I'm very lucky in that my kids do not care for American Cheese Spread Food Like Product. They like aged cheddar and other tasty cheeses. After the first soccer game (my 9 year old's team lost 2-1), I took the two boys to the NC State Farmer's Market, which is only 10 minutes away. This place does not have the organic selection of the Carrboro Market, but its prices are better and it has all the basics. For dinner, I wanted to make some peach based dessert. However, most of the peaches for sale weren't quite ripe enough. I ended up making a deal with a farmer to get this huge basket of overripe peaches for $4. Otherwise, I would have paid about 20 bucks. We were originally supposed to have a family meal together, but we learned last night that dear friends of ours from Maine were planning to show up at our house around 7:00 tonight. Thus, we decide to feed the kids first, and the adults would eat later. The kids' meal consisted of sirloin steak, green beans and pasta with my own pesto. The L'il Varmints didn't complain about this. I decided to make a peach pie with some of the uber-ripe peaches. I usually make my crust with half butter and half shortening, but I was all out of Crisco. Thus, this was an all butter crust. The rest of the meal consisted of fried catfish, succotash (fresh corn and brown-speckled butter beans), fried patty pan squash, roasted red potatoes, and a salad of grape tomatoes, cucumber, and local feta. All of the produce came from the farmers markets, as did the exquisite feta. Yeah, the plate was pretty brown, but I was more concerned with flavor than color. And the brown sauce was a simple remoulade of mayo, capers, and aged balsamic. Of course, no Southern dinner would be complete without dessert (we should have let the pie sit for another hour, but we didn't have that luxury of time): Tomorrow will be equally hectic with 2 more soccer games.

Let me cut to the chase: God is not perfect, as he made me a Yankee. Although my birthstate is New York and I spent the first 17 years raised in Pennsylvania, I have lived all of my adult life in the South. I am a Southerner, and if anyone wants to fight me over that, bring it on. This week, I have decided to take that most adventurous of vacations: I am staying at home with my wife, the lovely, talented, and extremely brilliant Mrs. Dr. Varmint and the four L'il Varmints. I can't promise you that I'll introduce you to any new herb species or a great new pastry technique, but I'll show you what my family is all about, primarily through what we eat. Much of what I'll be cooking will involve my 4 children in the preparation. Hell, I am on vacation, so I might as well avail myself of the free labor. Today was not the greatest day to start a foodblog, as my 9 year old daughter is playing in a soccer tournament. We also had a birthday party today, but as I look back, I'm pleasantly surprised over the amount of food-related information I can convey. Details to follow.

We now have someone coming from Utah! Very, very cool.