Varmint

The Accolade appears to be a model exclusive to Williams-Sonoma. There's a discussion about the model here.

I used some chive oil, too. Found some fresh radishes. Dressing was a shallot vinaigrette. This tasted a lot better than it looks. The sauce is calvados, cider and cream.

For dinner tonight (pictures will follow): Garlic, leek and potato soup with salmon roe and chives. Fried chicken liver and shiitake mushrooms on field green salad. Pan-roasted duck breast with wild rice; Riesling reduction with grapes and pecans. Warm apple cake with molasses and hazlenut ice cream; Calvados sauce.

I'm just adding some photos I took from my dinner at Sripraphai just over a year ago. My description of the dishes may be incorrect. Shrimp spring rolls Some sort of Thai chicken soup Pork leg bone soup Fried, "denatured" catfish salad Chicken and soy sauce noodles Tofu and Asian broccoli Beef in Red Curry

Of course, I have had a pecan pie cheesecake. Talk about rich! Remember, the South's population ain't what it used to be, either. The mass migration from the North has created a situation where many of the traditional dishes are being lost. That's why it's up to us, the diners and cooks, to make sure that we preserve these traditions. Although, there's never really anything wrong with a good piece of cheesecake, is there?

It's not that we've been hiding this "secret." It's just that most of the boiled peanuts you get are so dang nasty that no one really wants any. But when you get some good, fresh ones . . . YUM!

Heh, I had Tater Tots for dinner last night. Thanks for reminding me that I had been craving them!

We had chicken last year, brined and slowly smoked over pecan: As far as the t-shirts are concerned, we made the mistake of selling them at near cost, making about a buck off of each one. Oh well.

And if it's really, really late, you can just hit the Verti Marte on the corner of Royal and Gov. Nicholls in the Quarter. It's just a deli (actually, a dingy convenience store with a deli), not a restaurant, but it's a kick-ass deli! Mayhaw Man will have plenty of suggestions for you shortly, I'd guess.

May I come, too? ← The more the merrier. We actually got a group rate on a nearby hotel last time for all the out-of-town guests.

That was actually my hand stirring the VD Stew, but it was in my in-laws' kitchen, which is a much better arrangement than my kitchen (at least, the current version). Hopefully, my kitchen will be much more conducive to group style cooking by the fall. Maybe we'll just have a Varmint's New Kitchen Fundraiser! Perhaps not. And Al_Dente, I know you'd be here if I just smoked a bratwurst, you ole lug, you. And there are no newbies when it comes to eGullet!

By the way, here's a picture of Dave's VD stew, bubbling away:

Really fresh, too, as I recall. ← Very, very fresh. I had my "Silence of the Bunnies" moment. But I digress.

By the way, I do have a source for goat, too. So we'll try barbecuing some goat this year -- a taste of Jamaican style Q!

No actual squirrels were harmed in the preparation of the VD Stew, but cute little bunnies were, however. They were tasty bunnies.

Right now, I think Labor Day weekend may be a good time for this. That 3rd day gives me time to clean off the tennis court and an extra driving day for others. For the non-US folks, Labor Day is a national holiday that falls on the first Monday of each September, so we'd look at having the event on Saturday, September 3, 2005. This is tentative, but go ahead and pencil in that date.

Seeing this thread got started with 11 months' advance notice, we'll certainly be able to work something out! But let's not dwell on the economics, as that'll bring us all down. The kindness of all the eGullet attendees was amazing, and that's what made this event so special. And your hush puppies, Malawry!

Before we get too far on this thread, I'll just come out and say, as crass as it is, the one thing we'll need more than anything is money. We had a tremendous amount of support last year, with tons of people bringing food, tools, drinks and lots of energy. Plus, folks flew here and had hotel bills. Finally, folks did chip in. The total cost for this event, including all the contributed food and supplies, was probably more than $2,000. Nevertheless, the event ended up costing us just a little less than $1,000, after contributions (I got about $350 in contributions). This was primarily because we rented a tent, tables and chairs, a port-a-potty, and two cookers. Plus, because we got a free-range organic pig, it was a bit more expensive. I can't thank everyone enough for the support they gave last year, and some folks' contributions were incredible, but I'll need to be quite a bit more aggressive this year. And the cost will be about the same. There, now that I've put such of a downer post on this thread, y'all can carry on!

Interestingly, the production of rabbit meat is not overseen by the USDA, so you can look for local farmers who might raise some rabbits. State law may impact what you can do, but I've managed to find some very fresh rabbit from local farmers. Just don't agree to watch the "dressing" process in the abbatoire!

Had a salad of mixed greens, avocado, grapefruit and poppy seed dressing. The entree was pan roasted chicken with braised red cabbage and leeks, and wild rice pilaf, all with a solid pan sauce, of course!

Since folks have created a new monster regarding the prospects of a 2005 version of the Pig Pickin', I'm happy to accomodate them and have moved this discussion here. I've also locked this thread, as it's old news, and a bit, er, long.

I've started this new thread on the prospects of a Pig Pickin' in Raleigh in 2005 after Marlene resurrected the thread from the 2003 event. That old thread is quite unmanageable, so I've gone ahead and locked it. We can now move forward, and the posts talking about next year's event formerly on the old thread are now here.

Wow, I don't check eGullet for 18 hours, and look what happens! I'm quite confident there will be another pig pickin' in 2005. It probably won't be on Columbus Day weekend, however, as that's a big soccer tournament weekend, and we'll have 2 L'il Varmints playing then. It might be in September, however, and I'm hoping my kitchen will be ready for y'all to run again, but we won't need to be so "friendly", as those of you who spent time in it remember. So, start thinking of late September, and we'll see what we can accomplish! Also,last year was about the 8th pig pickin' I've done, so I have plenty of experience with this!

Just an aside, Coastal Carolina Cooking just went through another printing at UNC Press. Take a look at the table of contents, and Mrs. Varmint's grandparents, Katherine and Emest (not Ernest) are the focus of Chapter 1!

We've had discussions about who has shaped contemporary Southern cuisine. Let's keep this thread about Frank Stitt, and revive this older thread to discuss other leaders in this movement.