debbiemoose

Since when do you have to wait 'til it gets hot to eat ice cream? You sound like my husband - pitches a fit when he sees me jumping into a bowl of cookies & cream when it's 40 degrees. I'll be looking for those popsicles!

Dean, HAVE A HAPPY VARMINT BIRTHDAY! May your days be filled with BBQ, your nights with Dark & Stormys. I'm glad I didn't screw up on the column. I was not lurking in a sinister manner, by the way. I didn't really decide whether to write something or not until afterward. The event fit so much with the other things that were happening. And I loved being able to get the word varmint into a column. So far, of 3 responses I've received from Gentle Readers, 2 just wanted the limoncello recipe. At least they're reading. And the parties I usually have, the most common questions are 1: Where's the bottle opener/corkscrew? and 2: Do you have a fire extinguisher? I think your dining table's on fire. In return, for those desperate souls, here is the blue cheese deviled egg recipe: Blue Devils (as a UNC fan, it killed me to use this title) 6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled, cut in half, yolks mashed in a bowl 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons mayonnaise 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese (the packaged crumbles are OK) Salt and black pepper to taste (I like a lot of black pepper in this one) About 2 tablespoons real bacon bits Combine the yolks with the mayonnaise and mustard. Add the blue cheese and mash well into the mixture with a spoon. Taste, then season with salt and pepper. Fill the whites and garnish each half with the bacon bits. Makes 12. From "Deviled Eggs: 50 Recipes from Simple to Sassy" by Debbie Moose

Have you looked through the Pre-Theater Dining thread? I'm sure you'll get some ideas in its six pages. Enjoy yourself! ← Well, duh. Thanks! I'll look.

I haven't personally been to Esca, but have heard good things about it. DB Bistro is excellent pre-theater and probably post as well. Nice score on the Spamalot tix ← I called the first week of June for anytime Dec. 26-28 and could only get the 26th, 2nd row balcony.

Lots of great suggestions here! But can anyone recommend a good place near the theater district? My husband and I are going up Dec. 26 to see "Spamalot" and stay another day or two for leisurely dining, but will be looking for something pre-theater. I saw something online about Esca, Mario Batali's all-fish place - any thoughts?

Last time I was in Figs, it was a small but interesting selection, including some Cowgirl Creamery cheeses. Weaver Street Market in Carrboro has an interesting selection, too. If you're not a goat cheese fan, seek out Elodie Farms goat cheeses. They're made near Raleigh and are flavored with all kinds of interesting things, from figs to peach to jalapeno to garlic and sundried tomato. He sells at the Raleigh farmers market and I believe is also at Figs. I've also had some cow's milk feta made by Chapel Hill Creamery which was mild and good - although I like the goaty cheese!

After participating in my first pig picking, I hate I missed the first one! Thanks to all at Chez Varmint for patience and hospitality. It's hard to say what I'll remember more: the primo pig and all the other food, whatever it was I was drinking (I got to where I just said, "Make me anything good with no gin."), the sight of so many people working in one kitchen without the loss of any body parts or Varmint in the elbow-length black gloves and orange do-rag - defnintely THE look for fall! It was great to meet everyone! Debbie BTW, Cheerwine was invented in Salisbury NC and is not Dr. Pepper. It's a blend of cherry flavor and cola.

Cooking eggs, cooking eggs, cooking eggs.... I'll be over tomorrow bearing cooler, pepper vinegar and other items, plus eggs and deviling supplies. And a husband suitable for fetch-and-carry work.

Another entertainment option. In the interest of full disclosure, Jacob is my step-nephew and is studying music at UNC. Hereghty Cafe is in Glenwood Village on Glenwood Avenue, has fab desserts, coffee drinks and wine: Hey everyone just wanted to let you all know that the Jacob Rosch Trio is off sabbatical and will return to Hereghty Cafe this saturday night from 8-11pm. The setup is Me, Jarred "EC You" Wafford, and Austin "Orgain" Johnson. I hope to see you all there. If you can't come out to Raleigh and you'd still like to hear some great jazz I recommend you hit up Cafe Pan Vino in raleigh. Adam Peterson and his group will be playing from 10-12 pm. Jacob Rosch

And I am sooooo glad that Varmint....GOT HIS GOAT. I've been dying to say that for days...

Re: Gas. Check the latest information at www.newsobserver.com or www.wral.com. As of 2 p.m., the people that operate the pipeline that supplies 90 percent of NC's gas say they're got power and are reopening it tonight or tomorrow. Apparently some stations in Charlotte did run out and a few in Raleigh have, but is not a widespread problem as of now. I filled up at $2.99 a gallon this morning, no problem (except for the bill . ) At this point, I'd not let the situation stop anyone, but each person has to be the judge and depending on how far you're coming. If you get stuck here, we'll probably have plenty of leftovers!

Oh, and let me add that a college roommate and I were once so desperate for hushpuppies that we used one of those old metal popcorn poppers as a deep fryer. The ones that had the heat element welded to the metal pot. The only way to control the heat was to unplug it and plug it back in. We burned up the pot, and it's a wonder we didn't do the same to ourselves. But the 'pups were great.

You MUST address two crucial hushpuppy issues: sweet or not, and onion or none. I am in not sweet/yes onion category. Crook's Corner makes a mean 'pup with fresh jalapenos in the corn meal and fries them darker than usual at 'Q joints, giving a nice crispy bite, and serves them with cocktail sauce. If memory serves, he also uses white cornmeal. Hope the recipe's in his new cookbook. Oh, and legend has it that the name came from, when a Southern cook was frying (as we all do from the day we are born), she threw a bit of dough to the hound dawgs to get them to be quiet.

I'm glad to hear Brooks is OK. I'm heading for the store to buy deviled egg fixins tomorrow. Senor Varmint, have you addressed parking issues? Can people park on Dixie Trail along there?

Well, you had quite the experimental little neighborhood. Jello in jam?? I can only imagine the disgusting hue that the "green" version turned into.

The 87-year-old mother of a friend of mine makes these pickles that I've never seen before and I was wondering if anyone else had or knew if there is a story behind them. She uses large cucumbers, peels them, then scoops the seeds out of the middle (leaving a ring shape). The secret ingredient is...red-hots candies. The pickles come out bright red, looking and tasting like those pickled apple rings you see at Thanksgiving. The woman lives in Ahoskie, in rural eastern NC. Here's her recipe, as written: Red Ring Cucumber Pickles 2 gal. cucumber rings, peeled 2 cups pickling lime 8 1/2 cups cold water Soak 24 hrs. & drain; wash and soak 3 hrs in cold water. Put in pot and cover with water, with 1 cup vinegar, 1 T alum, 1 oz. red food coloring. Simmer in this for 2 hrs., drain & throw away solution. Heat the following and pour over cukes: 2 c. vinegar 2 c. water 10 c. sugar 8 cinnamon sticks 20 oz. red hot candy Let stand over night; drain off & reheat two mornings; put back over cukes, keep covered; 3rd day, reheat together and pack in jars. They are really quite good...if odd...Any thoughts?

Well, there's a simple solution to that: eggs are cheap, plenty of hands to help. I can boil more upstairs while working on the Jello mold on Saturday morning. Make more! ← You people are scaring me... OK, I'll get 12 dozen...that's 288 halves...hope someone's getting disposable foil pans or serving trays... And Tracey, it sounds like you're making wonderful soaked peaches. Want me to get some yellow and some white, if both are available? Would be nice color/flavor contrasts.

Debbie your just peachy...we may not decide our mode of transportation till last min....car or motorcycle so I cant plan on bringing anything...cept maybe a bottle of 43...well padded tracey ooops maybe 4-5 lbs ← I'll get the peaches Thursday and bring them Saturday.

Is your goal to reach a state of severe writer's cramp or profound inebriation? ←

If you really, really need ripe peaches for Saturday/ Sunday, let me know how many and I can go get some at the farmers market a couple days before and set 'em on my counter. And the eggs are large. That's how the shell crumbles. As for those who may want books signed, my goal for Sunday is to eventually reach a state where I can no longer hold a pen, so I'd suggest catching me early.

I can help with cleaning out that beer fridge.

At your command, Capt. Varmint! So, you prefer more traditional deviled eggs, or something different? And what time Sat 9/3? Here are the ones I'm considering: basic recipe (mayo-mustard-vinegar), Cousin Judy's (Old Bay, Worchestershire), Pimento Cheese (Cheddar, Vidalia, garlic, pimentos), Bloody Marys (sundried tomatoes, horseradish, etc.), Blue Devils (blue cheese, bacon) or Devil Made me Do It (habanero hot sauce, curry). I can do two kinds, probably not more with the volume. Others can - and knowing you, will - weigh in but the decision of El Jefe Varmint is final! ← Damn, I have to choose only two? This is what I suggest: first, is there any way we can make more? I know 6 dozen sounds like a lot, but deviled eggs are incredibly special and highly coveted. What I suggest is that we make at least 10 dozen (yeah, I know!). We can cover the costs. We boil the eggs on Saturday, let the crew peel and cut them, and make the filling. We fill them on Sunday as we're getting ready to serve. With 3 or 4 people on egg duty, we could put out a lot of deviled eggs in a hurry. Debbie, don't underestimate how much help you'll have here. That is why this event is so much fun. And the music will be very, very good! With that in mind, and with the hope that we can do 10 dozen eggs (wow!), I think that we need to make half of those the traditional variety. Then I suggest making two other types, preferably pimento cheese and bloody mary's. I can be influenced toward any of the choices, because they all sound great. Regardless, these will be incredible. Is this do-able? Who's willing to help Ms. Moose???? ← Oh, my, my. We probably do need 10 doz. OK - 6 doz will be free-range (I've already ordered those and I believe that will clean out the farmers I'm getting them from) and will get 4 doz more from the store. My tentative plan is to cook all the eggs Friday 9/2 (they'll keep) and possibly devil some. I think the fillings taste better after they sit overnight and the flavors have married, as chefies say, so if we're not already doing too much, could devil Saturday morning. A volunteer refrigerator is near Varmint's and I have a neighbor (not attending) who has offered space, plus my own. For this volume, we may want to use food processors to make the fillings (I have one). Food mills would work, too, but I don't have one. Instead of filling all in advance, we could fill about half for immediate consumption Sunday and hold the rest of the fillings in ziploc bags for filling as we go. Would help with fridge space, too. If things are too crowded Saturday, I live about 10 mins from Pig Pickin Central and we could have a deviled egg task force break off and come here (my kitchen is adequate, if not as sumptuous). I will feel much better with help! I'm happy to cover the DE costs for egullet and for Varmint's gracious mentions of my book! I believe we should go with those choices: basic, pimento cheese and bloody mary. Sound OK?

At your command, Capt. Varmint! So, you prefer more traditional deviled eggs, or something different? And what time Sat 9/3? Here are the ones I'm considering: basic recipe (mayo-mustard-vinegar), Cousin Judy's (Old Bay, Worchestershire), Pimento Cheese (Cheddar, Vidalia, garlic, pimentos), Bloody Marys (sundried tomatoes, horseradish, etc.), Blue Devils (blue cheese, bacon) or Devil Made me Do It (habanero hot sauce, curry). I can do two kinds, probably not more with the volume. Others can - and knowing you, will - weigh in but the decision of El Jefe Varmint is final!

True, selections are poor for the liquor lover. I can contribute some basic Smirnoff vodka, plus cooler and ice. Also, homemade hot pepper vinegar! And, if you're lucky, I can persuade my husband to part with a jar or two of my infamous veggie relish (AKA Crack Cocaine Relish for its addictive qualities), which I'll be canning this weekend.

Why, Rachel, I believe that baggie technique was also mentioned in that runaway bestseller "Deviled Eggs." (hee hee). I have to confess, I've never deviled this many eggs at one time before (6 dozen) and I may stuff some and go the baggie route for others, if I start running out of containers and have to stack. And for any of you plotting raids, each egg will be implanted with a secret transmitter that will allow DEC (Deviled Eggs Central) to track it whereever it may be. Don't mess with DEC. We know where you are and what you're eating.