toolprincess

Chalky, dry, and oddly flavored conversation hearts for Valentines. That yucky "hard candy" that comes in a tin and is usually around at christmas. Generally at some point all the candies stick together in one big mass.

Whew long day. Grabbed some dinner pre-photo session with friends (who also served as dog wranglers during the photos). Went to a local place called Salem Street Pub. Nice relaxed place, decent food, close to home..the kind of place where one could become a regular. We had beers and wings and burgers and fish n chips and one chicken wrap. Shotgun Betty Hefeweizen brewed locally by LoneRider Brewing Company (Ales for Outlaws) Teri-Hot wings. A mix of teriyaki and hot sauce. Good flavor but not much heat. Chicken wrap and YuengLing Fish n Chips with Wasabi Tartar Sauce (very yummy) The "My wife said it would never sell" burger. Peanut butter, bacon, and honey burger. Generally also comes with cheddar but I had tried it previously and didn't really care for the cheese so this time I ordered it without. Very yummy but very rich(?), filling(?)...I am not sure what the correct word is for this one but I have had this twice and each time could only eat half, also it's a decent sized burger. (edit) Also, I had some buffalo wing sauce on my fries...pretty good but would probably pass on this next time.

I have been to Toast and it was very good. Unfortunately (for me) it is about a 15 min drive from my office and parking is hit or miss so to go there I have to have time for a "leisurely" lunch. I have not been to the bakery or Rue Cler. There is another French restaurant in Durham called Vin Rouge which I have been to and it is very very good ...in fact I've been looking for an "excuse" to go back. My 2 attempts to go to Revolution were sans reservations and it was PACKED, and since I was in downtown to see a show we didn't have time to wait. As the article states I think it might be more about the atmosphere than the food. It certainly seemed very hip and trendy. I had not heard of that food truck but have been eyeing another truck that I've seen in Durham ..Bulkogi and I am hoping to hit it this week for the blog. As for the wildly popular farmers market, I haven't been to the one in Durham. There is the State Farmers Market (the original I guess in downtown Raleigh, the Western Wake Farmers Market, The Carrboro Farmers market (featured in October 2008 Bon Apetit), and Durham which are the bigger ones as well several community farmers markets. Hopefully, I'll be able to hit 1 or 2 on Saturday. I also participate in a CSA which fulfills and fills my veggie quotas so I don't visit the markets as frequently. ETA: Thanks for pointing out this article. How fortuitous!

hmm maybe Rockwood Filling station? It closed last year. where was your barbeque from?

Please post your photos. Who doesn't want to see photos of sausages and hot dogs? thanks for an excellent blog! I fear my food adventures will pale in comparison.

Indeed, Spud is 5ft 7in. and is 1 of 2 players to win the Slam Dunk competition that stand under 6ft tall - the other being Nate Robinson (5ft 9in) who was trained by Spud for the competition.

Asheville is awesome. Lots of great eats and beautiful scenery. If you are ever in the Triangle let me know, would love to meet some of my fellow egulleters! I'm convinced Fat Guy and I are gonna cross paths one day at Oak Island- my favorite beach spot.

Sorry for the choppy posts! Western style BBQ sometimes also called Lexington style is made with a red sauce and is sweeter. It is also served with a 'red slaw' that incorporates the BBQ sauce. Obviously I'm biased being from eastern NC! The other things Nc is known for are Krispy Kreme, Pepsi, and Cheerwine.

When you speak of NC you have to address BBQ. There are 2 schools Eastern style and Western style. Eastern style is usually whole hog chopped and flavored with a mixture of vinegar and spices.

I'm in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel hill area. Also known as 'the Triangle'. Home to the Research triangle park, UNC Tarheels, Nc state Wolfpack and Duke Blue Devils. I'm a Wolfpack fan and NC State alum. I live in a suburb of Raleigh called Apex. I work in Durham in the RTP. I'm a rare species in this area a native North Carolinian. I grew up about 2hours to the northeast in a rural county. NC is beautiful and dear to my heart.

It's a busy day, we are having our engagement photos done later and I am off to get my hair "coiffed" for the occasion (just a regular haircut but coiffed sounds so fun!). Breakfast during the week is a very hit or miss affair but today I made us a quick cheese 'n eggs, toast and breakfast sausage links. I am not a photographer. excuse the image quality!

Hello everyone! Welcome to my foodblog. I'm a bit nervous so I hope you'll bear with me. First to address a few things that might be helpful as start our journey. Toolprincess - a longstanding web moniker derived from my love of gadgets and tools (not just kitchen related) I don't have a sous vide so no sous vide stories or Modernist Cuisine this week. (unless it's unintentional) I am obsessed with local places whereever I go and I love to find the best local dive...hotdogs, hamburgers, tacos, BBQ, even cafeterias. I love to cook but eat out way too often I do not give as much attention to fresh, local, or natural as I probably should - i.e. I do use canned foods, boxed mixes and things with high fructose corn syrup at times but I'm no Sandra Lee either. So now we have the preliminaries out of the way. I'm Laurie. I just got engaged a month ago. My life is fun but full with an aging mom who needs care, a fiance, a busy job and a soon to be stepson who is 8. I hope you enjoy my blog!!!

Kerry Beal is a winner! Yes that is the Bull from the Durham Bulls. when the Bulls hit a home run the Bulls eyes light up and smoke comes out of his nostrils. BJ Upton is a player. He played for the Bulls and then was called up to the Majors - the Florida Rays (formerly Devil Rays). The Bulls are the Triple AAA farm team for the Rays.

DCarch I need details!!!

I am not familiar with rotisserie method - when we do the pig on a cooker it "rests" until the pre-dawn and then the cookers get going and it's low and slow all day.

I just picked up Edible Piedmont. It is the first time I have noticed an "edible" issue in my area. It was pretty nice, a few interesting articles - mostly ads.

Roasting a pig without the skin is an abomination.

I am not much of a sandwich person but there are a few that I would/have/do make for myself at home: After Thanksgiving - leftover turkey on white bread with mayo, salt and lots of black pepper. Ripe tomato on white bread with mayo, S&P. Ripe tomato on toasted multigrain with mayo, S&P, lettuce, avocado, sprouts and bacon doesn't hurt! Tuna salad sandwich. Banana and peanut butter or banana and mayo. Grilled cheese - infinite variations. As a kid we used to have a huge garden and often had ripe tomato BLTs then we would also add whatever other veggies fresh from the garden - onion, bell pepper slices, cucumber slices, radishes. Fried egg on toast. Egg Salad sandwich. When I go out I like italian sandwiches with ham, pepperoni, salami, etc. but they never taste the same when I make them at home. Nor do Banh mi. Or my favorite from the mediterranean deli - hummus, tomato, pickles (their pickles are perfect), lettuce, and tahini.

Hello Nancy, I am sorry to say that I also will have to miss out on this event. I was very much looking forward to it but wedding planning (and saving) have taken precedence. I will eagerly look forward to the reports from the front.

Enjoy the moment -- you'll only be more overwhelmed! I'd go with the latter: have simple stuff (Jack & Cokes, lime sours) ready to go and then have your signature drink available for the more adventurous. Thanks for the reminder! Our goal is to have quality over quantity so fresh squeezed limes would definitely be in order! Given what you've written, one thing to consider [ETA: as judiu suggested!] is a champagne/prosecco/cava cocktail. You create a base with some interesting things, batch that (make a large amount of it ahead of time), chill it, and then the bartender merely has to pour a couple of fingers of the base into a flute and then add the bubbly. This William's Next Cocktail -- which I'm about to serve in a few hours! -- is a good example. You get quality control and ease of service at the same time. One word of warning -- and forgive if you know already: citrus juice is essential to good drinks and cannot be batched far in advance. This is particularly true for lime juice, which oxidizes into a nasty liquid after 3 or 4 hours. That is to say, if you want to do lime sours, get bartenders who'll juice either at service or just before.

Thanks for the ideas. currently it is looking like a winter wedding - although here in the moderate wintered south (north carolina) that could mean 65 degrees or 35 degrees. Wedding time will most likely be late afternoon/early evening.

Thank you. I am excited and happy and a bit overwhelmed by all the details that have to be figured out. We are thinking that the drink would be served throughout the event and made to order by a bartender. An alternative idea is to serve a limited selection of mixed drinks plus the signature drink. we would like to have a mixed drink offering but want to limit the costs of the bar but not having to provide a full bar (i.e. vodka + mixers, whiskey + mixers). We want to have something that will be nice/fun for the guests but keep with in the reality that we don't have an unlimited budget. We plan to have between 50-60 guests at the wedding.

Hello all, Recently engaged my fiance and I have started wedding preparations. We are trying to keep within a budget and one of the suggestions has been to have a beer and wine bar with the only liquor offering a "signature" drink. any advice or ideas anyone had is much appreciated. My fiance tends to be a Jack and Coke drinker and I tend to favor Caipiranhas, Mojitos, and Margaritas so our drink tastes are not exactly "compatible".

Pop chips are delicious but I find it too easy to polish off the bag. Afterwards I do tend to feel a little bloated I envision the dehydrated potato puffing up in my tummy. I love Hot Fries, corn based crispy snacks shaped like "fries' and coated in some chili powder-esque flavoring. They also come in other flavors cheddar and chili cheese. I tend to like the brand Andy Capps

Seems inordinately expensive for something you can make so cheaply at home.