eG Foodblog: Varmint - A Southern Stay at Home Vacation

[Chufi]

My organizational pride and joy, the tupperware cabinet beneath the flatware drawer.  Yes, it's always this organized!!!!

←

I never, never manage to keep my tupperware organized for more than a couple of days. I am so jealous!

[chromedome]

My organizational pride and joy, the tupperware cabinet beneath the flatware drawer.  Yes, it's always this organized!!!!

←

I never, never manage to keep my tupperware organized for more than a couple of days. I am so jealous!

←

Neither do I...but that's because the kids are in charge of washing and putting away the dishes!

Least favourite kid habit..."I dunno where this goes. D'you know? Me neither. I'll just pick a spot..."

Two weeks later:

Dad: "Where is 'X'...did anybody see it?"

Kids: (in stereo) "I don't know...wasn't me who put it away!"

Hence I find parts of the ice-cream maker in the drawer with the utensils, and part of my meat grinder lurking in the back of the silverware drawer underneath a mound of chopsticks. Oy.

[Young2Cook]

  Do you do boiled peanuts in your part of the South?

←

I love boiled (pronounced "balled") peanuts, but I only eat them when they're warm. I've boiled them myself, and that's the best way. After that, look for a roadside stand where the kettle is brewing away -- there's few traveling snacks more satisfying. However, many times the peanuts have been boiled at a remote location, brought to a store, and stuck in the refrigerator. I personally don't care for cold boiled peanuts.

←

Couldn't agree more. Totally addictive, can't stop eating until the bag is empty. "The best" seem to come from a couple of slow moving guys sitting by the side of the road, looking like they're more interested in boiling peanuts for their own pleasure than anything else. Haven't gotten any really decent ones in California and I've never seen raw peanuts here to try to make them myself.

[NulloModo]

I echo the call for greens tonight. Preferably southern style collard greens.... (or turnip greens).

[Swisskaese]

  Do you do boiled peanuts in your part of the South?

←

I love boiled (pronounced "balled") peanuts, but I only eat them when they're warm. I've boiled them myself, and that's the best way. After that, look for a roadside stand where the kettle is brewing away -- there's few traveling snacks more satisfying. However, many times the peanuts have been boiled at a remote location, brought to a store, and stuck in the refrigerator. I personally don't care for cold boiled peanuts.

←

Couldn't agree more. Totally addictive, can't stop eating until the bag is empty. "The best" seem to come from a couple of slow moving guys sitting by the side of the road, looking like they're more interested in boiling peanuts for their own pleasure than anything else. Haven't gotten any really decent ones in California and I've never seen raw peanuts here to try to make them myself.

←

You have to use green peanuts to make boiled peanuts. I love the spicy ones called cajun boiled peanuts. I used to get them in Florala on the way to Ft. Walton Beach.

[racheld]

I love that there is a dish that incorporates both "fried" and "salad." I don't think I've ever seen that.

←

We make a Salpicon Salad every now and then, and it has green things, all finely minced and dressed, and a last-minute addition of grated, crisp-fried potato, in unbelievable quantities. I remember making the first one from Miss Marthy's party book, and have done it impromptu thereafter.

I did give the recipe to a guest who just LOVED the dish. She called to say she had thawed and deepfried a huge snowfall of hash-browns, and that worked well. The only other time she mentioned making it, she had skipped that messy step and tossed in four cans of the little shoestring things. I expect to hear the tale of the smushed Ruffles any day.

And I JUST LOVE THIS THREAD!!!!

rachel (timesick for the days when my kids were that age)

[Varmint]

For all practical purposes, this is the last true day for the blog. Tomorrow, we're going to an all-day festival, and I'm not sure how much food-related stuff I'll have to post.

But today was indeed a good day. We slept in late and didn't eat breakfast until 11:00 AM. In the interim, I started working on one of this evening's desserts, buttermilk pie. Buttermilk pie is just a glorified custard pie, but the buttermilk (and a touch of lemon) give it an extra tang. It's a classic southern dessert that I can't eat often enough.

First, we have to make a crust, and pre-bake it a bit.

Then make the filling. Start by whipping up some egg whites.

Then make a custard of butter, eggs, brown sugar and a touch of flour -- of course, we need a spot of nutmeg.

Fold the egg whites into the custard.

Put the batter into the semi-baked pie shell.

Bake for an hour, and voila!!!

We then headed over to Durham to meet some friends for brunch at Elmo's Diner. This is a VERY kids friendly place, as kids of all ages are encouraged to color Elmo the Duck and post the masterpiece near the entrance.

Fortunately, the food appeals to young and old alike. My eldest got a waffle, home fries, and sausage patties. The pancake is a large chocolate chip (doesn't he get enough of these at home???).

A friend had blueberry pancakes.

Mrs. Varmint had huevos rancheros.

I, of course, had to have something Southern. I chose the classic coastal fisherman's breakfast of shrimp and grits, with a couple of fried eggs. Damn, this was excellent.

My in-laws, my niece, and some friends from Norway were coming over for dinner, so I knew a single buttermilk pie wouldn't be sufficient for dinner. I made blonde brownies as a second dessert. This is perhaps the simplest dessert to bake, and my kids love it. Here's the batter and the finished product. I used white and semi-sweet chocolate in today's version.

Dinner, unfortunately, wasn't exclusively Southern. No greens, unfortunately. I did make a killer corn pudding. I started with a dozen ears of Fantasia corn, cut off from the cobs. I then made a custard of eggs, cream, milk, salt and nutmeg.

Pour it into a casserole, cover with foil, add boiling water for a bain-marie, and bake for 90 minutes.

Here it is, fresh out of the oven.

For dinner, we had wood-grilled flank steak, 6-week peas, corn pudding, boiled yellow squash, and roasted red potatoes. Six-week peas are young variety of field peas know as cowpeas. They're excellent, of course, as are all field peas. Boiling yellow squash is a highly underrated way to cook this vegetable. I add several cloves of garlic to some boiling chicken stock. After 15 minutes, I remove the garlic and add the squash. I cook it for no more than 5 minutes. You want it somewhat crisp.

I cooked the flank steak over a pecan fire. I do not marinate flank steak -- any sort of marinade just gets in the way of the beef flavor. A bit of salt is all I add.

To go with the buttermilk pie, I made a simple fruit coulis of blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries. These were the largest blackberries I have ever seen.

Here's the buttermilk pie with the coulis. It was very tasty.

Please feel free to ask questions as long as this thread stays open. I've tried to show you many different facets of Southern home cooking and how I like to present it to my family. No, we don't eat like this everyday, but I often try to throw some Southern twists in my cooking. The L'il Varmints are slowly, but surely, coming around. In another 5 years, I see a lot of fatback in the Varmint household.

I hope I have something new to post tomorrow, but if not, I look forward to your questions. Thanks for indulging me, y'all.

[snowangel]

Where do the blueberries come from? Probably not as colorful an experience as traipsing through a recently logged outcropping near our cabin in northern MN.

[Varmint]

Where do the blueberries come from?  Probably not as colorful an experience as traipsing through a recently logged outcropping near our cabin in northern MN.

←

Blueberries are everywhere down here. Every vendor at the farmers market offers local blueberries. To me, blueberries alone aren't all that exciting, but when combined with other more tart berries, they're great.

[maggiethecat]

Dean, I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed this blog. Yes, it made me wistful for the times my beautiful grown-up daughter was around, with her finger in every pot. And seriously, take heart: with the foundation you've given your kids in the joys of cooking anf eating and family they will know, as my Girl does, to try every kind of cuisine there is, and rejoice in the joy of food.

That shot of you, Mrs. Dr. Varmint and the kids at the beach was very poignant to parents everywhere. And don't tell Mrs. Dr. V., but I'm a patsy for a man who can make a piecrust.

What a super week. Could we get Everett a Man U jersey?

[Varmint]

What a super week. Could we get Everett a Man U jersey?

←

He'll wear anything soccer related, but when he visited England a couple of summers ago, learning to love fish and chips, he visited the big Chelsea store. That was because his traveling team was called Chelsea. I think his allegiance could be bought, however.

[Varmint]

rejoice in the joy of food.

←

That's exactly what I, like most of you fellow eGulleteers, do. And I'm trying to pass on to my children how important food truly is. It's not just sustenance. Food often defines our cultures -- it is across the dinner table where one truly begins to understand another, whether it be a future spouse, a stranger, a family member, or a business colleague. The joy I get from cooking and eating is not just a matter of gluttony, it's one of history, sociology, anthropology, culture, and family. My most vivid memories outside of the birth of my children are food-related. I don't expect my children to have the same passion for food as I do, but I hope they have some appreciation of its importance.

[ludja]

Where do the blueberries come from?  Probably not as colorful an experience as traipsing through a recently logged outcropping near our cabin in northern MN.

←

Blueberries are everywhere down here. Every vendor at the farmers market offers local blueberries. To me, blueberries alone aren't all that exciting, but when combined with other more tart berries, they're great.

←

If you haven't tried it, a nice pie combo is blackberries and blueberries.

One of my New England cookbooks has a recipe for a "black and blue pie".

- half blackberries and half blueberries. (~ 2 cups blue, ~ 2 cups blackberries, 3 Tbs flour, 1/2 cup sugar, pinch of salt, 1 Tbs lemon juice). I tried it first last summer and think I may like it better than my 'plain' blueberry pie.

Thanks again for a lovely Southern food blog and for letting us see your new kitchen 'in action'. Your trip to Breadman's brought back fond Chapel Hilll memories too. We used to go there or to Mama Dip's for many a Sunday brunch/dinner.

Edited July 3, 2005 by ludja (log)

[maggiethecat]

rejoice in the joy of food.

←

I don't expect my children to have the same passion for food as I do, but I hope they have some appreciation of its importance.

←

I think that you will be amazed, delighted and surprised. Your kids, like mine, will cook. They will know the importance of Family Dinner, good restaurants great and small, and they'll learn to cook. For Honor's Senior Homecoming dance she asked the aged decepit 'rents to cater it. Nine years later I still get emails from her ex-boyfriends and always girlfriends talking about that dinner, which, as I remember was Big Time Italian. She is now the most adventuresome eater I know, and she actually cooks now and then. Your charming children will too. They will.

[Pan]

Varmint, thanks so much for sharing this week with us. It's great how much your kids obviously like people and evidently enjoyed being part of this blog, and how much they appreciate good food and don't seem to take it for granted (do they?). You all seem to have a really pleasant life together.

Enjoy the festival!

[Chufi]

thank you so much for adding the workload of a blog to your vacation. It was wonderful to share this week with you and your family.. blogs are such a fascinating way to encounter unfamiliar foods (to me, grits, chcocolate pancakes, buttermilk pie and cornpudding are very exotic.. ) and this week was another great example.

Thank you!

[bavila]

This blog may have started as one about Southern food, but I think it morphed into something more about how we raise our children. I'm excited about the prospect of sharing my own joy of food with my (soon to be) two children, and I almost cried last night as I watched my 2.5 year old climb onto a stool at the kitchen counter and eat her first ever piece of red velvet cake. Thanks for the inspiration, Varmint family!

[Fresser]

Corn bread (no sugar---prove to us once and for all that you've left your Yankee ways behind you).

←

This piques my interest. How many of these desserts could you make without sugar, Varmint? Given that I'm acutely sensitive to sweetness, I bet that your many fruit pies with blackberries, blueberries and whatnot would taste marvelous without added sugar (at least to me, anyway), given the fructose that the fruits already contain.

While a part of me asks out of selfishness--I hope to visit North Cackalacky soon and would love to partake of no sugar added-desserts--I wonder how these dishes would taste to an audience that is used to more traditional recipes (read: with added sugar).

[Gifted Gourmet]

Food often defines our cultures -- it is across the dinner table where one truly begins to understand another, whether it be a future spouse, a stranger, a family member, or a business colleague.  The joy I get from cooking and eating is not just a matter of gluttony, it's one of history, sociology, anthropology, culture, and family.

←

If anything, this could be the Mission Statement for eGullet and for many of us who participate, learn, and share the daily blessings which issue forth from eGullet.

Thank you, Dean, for opening our eyes and souls to what food can impart to our progeny.

And what a glorious week the McCords have afforded us all! May you all go from strength to strength!

[racheld]

I wanted this to go on and on. You could just keep going with a day in the life...from time to time.

It was a wonderful glimpse into a family scene, a home with parents and children and their everyday interactions and enjoyments and travels and life. Thank you for all the sharing...we're all going into Varmint-withdrawal now.

rachel

And I may have rubbed elbows with you in the Chelsea store...we were there in June '03, and stayed at the Chelsea hotel for a bit before and after all our bus touring. I was the Grandma in the BIGGG hat.

[Verjuice]

Absolutely fantastic blog. Thank you very much!

[Varmint]

Corn bread (no sugar---prove to us once and for all that you've left your Yankee ways behind you).

←

This piques my interest. How many of these desserts could you make without sugar, Varmint? Given that I'm acutely sensitive to sweetness, I bet that your many fruit pies with blackberries, blueberries and whatnot would taste marvelous without added sugar (at least to me, anyway), given the fructose that the fruits already contain.

While a part of me asks out of selfishness--I hope to visit North Cackalacky soon and would love to partake of no sugar added-desserts--I wonder how these dishes would taste to an audience that is used to more traditional recipes (read: with added sugar).

←

I really couldn't imagine making any of these desserts without sugar, as even the blueberries need a little help. However, I'm sure that's as much to do with my taste as anything else. If I were diabetic, I'd examine the situation in an entirely different light.

I would mention that my corn pudding had zero added sugar, and it was noticeable. However, the pudding tasted like fresh corn, which is what I desired. Most corn puddings are slightly sweet -- often too sweet for my taste. Could my pudding have withstood a slight addition of sugar? Yup, but I just didn't want it.

[Varmint]

Thanks for all the kind thoughts. I of course painted a nice Rockwellian picture of the week, where all was happy and content. But we also know that even Norman Rockwell was hardly the man we expected him to be, so we've had our ups and downs this week. Fortunately, however, I've shared over 20 consecutive meals with my family, and for that I am grateful. It's been a lot of fun to share a small portion of this experience with y'all, but don't count on me doing another one of these any time soon. I find that when I'm so focused on getting the picture right, I become more of a voyeur than a participant. That's not what food is all about. I've posted over 250 pictures from this past week, and I'm glad I have a nice little journal about it here on the eG Forums. But next time I get to share so many meals with my family, I think I'll take a few pictures and then focus on my wife and children, not getting the focus right on the camera.

And by the way, at the Eno Festival today, I had black beans and rice, a Jamaican meat pie, and later on a slice of watermelon. Yum! Haven't a clue what's for dinner in an hour. Uh oh!

[Smithy]

I've been wondering how much this blog might have interfered with your vacation, or at least added to the workload, and you've addressed that just now. Thank you so much for sharing your time and thoughts, and taking the trouble to do it so thoroughly! I'll bet the kids will be talking in the future about "that time Dad took pictures of everything we ate for a week". Maybe, after you've had time to forget how much work it was, you'll be willing to do it again!

One more Southern-food question, at least from me: what is the difference, if any, between polenta and grits?

It's been a wonderful week. Thanks, and bravo, to you and your family!

[Varmint]

Actually, I often take pictures of our meals when I'm on vacation, but I was a bit more concerned with getting decent shots. Moreover, I had to post several times a day to keep from falling behind. That's the big difference.

Mind you, I had a blast with this blog and the vacation, and we experienced some adventures that might not have happened but for the blog. So don't misinterpret my sentiments as anything as positive -- it was fun, but it's a one-time deal.

Plus, I have this little pig pickin' to organize. It's only 2 months away, so come on and join us!!!

As far as the difference between grits and polenta, here's a decent resource.