Varmint

Please understand that we didn't pay for the food. They heard Ellen was coming, who is the nation's leading expert on cole slaw, so they let us have one of everything on the house. Thanks, Ellen!

I don't want to steal Ellen's thunder, as she'll be providing a comprehensive report of Mitchell's in Steven's book writing blog, but I will post a few photos as a teaser. I can't wait to see Ellen's stuff! The price can't be beat. Three meats and 4 veggies for 7 bucks??? You gotta be kidding me! And here's your meat choices: Mr. Ed Mitchell -- Pitmaster A contemplative Fat Guy. When one can't decide what to eat, one orders everything on the menu -- except the rice, of course -- that darned Atkins thing, you know. Excellent fried chicken and barbecue. I've now been to Mitchell's twice, and I think the barbecue has great potential, but it's not quite there yet. Mr. Mitchell is working out some of the quality control issues with his cafeteria-style serving approach, and once he does, it'll be on my "can't miss" list. Right now, the veggies alone are worth the trip. The mustard greens were incredible.

Hell, I'm just disappointed Kathi didn't invite me to accompany her on the barbecue adventure.

Hmmm, that might be enough if I have another pig pickin'. Only barely, though.

I suggest we hit one of the Triangle's Chinese restaurants that offers an authentic Chinese menu. Here's a few to consider: China One on Hwy 55 in Durham Fortune Palace on Brentwood (just off of Capital) in Raleigh Ma Ma Wok in Preston Corners in Cary Peking Garden, mentioned above. I personally can't get together on the next 3 Thursdays, but that shouldn't prevent y'all from moving forward with this. If you can do it on a Friday, I can come on the 19th or 26th (pending receiving the hall pass from Mrs. Varmint or getting a sitter). Ah, hell, let's do it this way, as someone needs to take the initiative here: China One on Friday, March 19th, 7:00 PM. This is in the middle of the Triangle, so it's equally inconvenient for all of us! Who's in?

Bravo, geekdoc, Bravo. Surely we must dine on swine sometime.

And you still live? Mr. & Mrs. Fat Guy and I visited a barbecue joint yesterday as part of his "research", and we sampled everything they had on the menu. Well, we didn't try the rice.

Then there are those of us who buy 4 gallons of milk each week!

Yesterday, I had mustard greens, collard greens, field peas, snap beans, sweet potatoes, boiled potatoes, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, corn, cabbage, but alas, no okra. Summer will be here soon, thank god. Oh, I also had barbecue, fried chicken, pork ribs, beef ribs, pork backbone, brunswick stew, chicken and pastry, hush puppies, two cakes and sweet potato pie.

I visited Mitchell's again today with Fat Guy and his lovely bride. Ellen took the professional photos, which she'll post later, but I'll provide my report along with some amateurish shots in the next day or two.

All but one of the recipes came from Ben and Karen Barker's "Not Afraid of Flavor" which you can get from Amazon here: Click here for da book! I won't post recipes that have the detail necessary to be included in RecipeGullet, as I don't follow them to the level of detail specified in the books. I take their ideas and change them based on my needs and ingredients. For the soup, take a smoked pork product and crisp it up with oil. Remove the ham/bacon/yummy stuff and then add lots of onions, garlics and whatever green chile peppers you have lying around. Cook until soft, then add a few pounds of quartered green tomatoes, cover with stock, and cook until tomatoes are mushy. Puree the soup in batches in blender, add some acid (lemon juice or white wine) to balance the flavor. When ready to serve, put some crabmeat in a bowl, pour hot soup over it, garnish with chopped tomato & caper, scallions, and a mix of sour cream & buttermilk. Top it all off with the crispy pork product!! Butterbean crostini. Cook lots of shallots until soft with a bay leaf. Add butterbeans and enough stock to cover. Cook until butterbeans are done. Cool. Drain, reserving liquid. Puree coarsely, adding roasted garlic, lemon zest, S&P, and herbs. Grill crusty bread that was brushed with EVOO. What we did was smear some roasted garlic then the spread on a piece of the bread and topped it with herbs and bacon. We also would add some hot sauce, which really helped the flavor. It was fun to play around with this dish.

Dinner for friends and clients, inspired by dishes from Durham's Magnolia Grill: Butterbean crostini with roasted garlic and bacon EVOO-seared tuna sashimi with sesame vinagrette on watercress Herbed green tomato soup with crabmeat, prosciutto cracklin's and buttermilk swirls Roasted garlic-rubbed beef tenderloin with buttermilk mashed potatoes and artichoke ragout Chocolate peanut praline tart with peanut butter mocha sauce and bourbon whipped cream Started with a Paringo Shiraz, then a 2001 Saint-Benoit Chateauneuf du Pape, and then a 2000 Chateau du Tourano. Good fun, good meal.

Grits souffle is a staple at Durham's Magnolia Grill. I'll see if I can't post the recipe.

Damon Lee Fowler is on the SFA board. I recently met him, and he was a very kind man. Plus, he's a great scholar of all that is Southern food.

Maggie, are you comfortable with polenta? If so, then grits should be a piece of cake. The most imporant thing to remember about grits is that I generally don't want them to be the primary flavor carrier. They should be a base upon which you add tasty stuff -- gravies and sauces and melted lusciousness. With that said, the grits themself should have some saltiness, some fat, and some flavor, which you appeared to have tried. It seems, however, that you may have set your sights too high. Try some simple, plain grits that were cooked with just salt and water. Keep them fairly "loose" so they'll spread on the plate when served. NOW drop a schmear of good butter on that and taste. Repeat, but this time, take some of that cheese and grate it on the grits. Try some crumbled bacon, too. You'll start to get the notion of what grits are all about. From there, start experimenting with different flavors. Roasted garlic adds creaminess and a smooth flavor. It should still be subtle, complementing the feature attraction. I hope this helps.

I'm still thinking of what to do. I see some veal in my future -- perhaps veal breast. Some divers scallops from a chef friend. Lobster? Damn, no truffles.

Can one ship butter tart squares across the border?

That's food related enough, Bryan! I agree wholeheartedly with you. Durham' scene, including the food scene, has far more heart and soul than the other towns in the region. That also means that it has more highs and lows, but that's really not a bad thing. Where's the best restaurant in the Triangle? Durham -- Magnolia Grill. Bakery? Durham -- Guglhupf. Casual seafood? Durham -- Fishmongers. Anyone seeing a trend here?

I'll need to try this place in October during the SFA symposium.

I thought Ms. Hesser did a solid job with the review. Notice how she gave much more attention to the food this time around -- she must have been listening to us!! To me, this review gave me a great feel for the restaurant, what it's trying to do, and how well it does that. I don't think they should be embarrassed with 2 stars.

I can say with a high level of confidence that I'm probably the only person who was served boiled peanuts at Gramercy Tavern. For the canned variety, they weren't too bad.

Pedants. And is that a new vehicle???

I don't want to see pictures of Marlene's beautiful new kitchen, I want pictures of MY beautiful new kitchen. Someday. Soon. Maybe 2007.

This is why we like Rochelle to cook in our kitchen!!

Ask and you shall receive: http://www.boiledpeanuts.com/. If you get some raw peanuts, boiling them is a snap. Just make sure your water is salty enough! I consider them American edamame. Cold boiled peanuts can be quite nasty, but when they're warm and fresh -- YUM. Oh, you pronounce it "BAWLED" peanuts. Have fun.