eG Foodblog: Varmint - A Southern Stay at Home Vacation

[Smithy]

That sticky fruit dessert looks darned good! but I'd like to see a cobbler as you usually do it for you Saturday dessert, so I can learn how it should look. Your cooking is gorgeous.

My grandmother made cobbler differently; I think she actually put a pastry crust over the top, but I've forgotten. Yours reminds me strongly of clafouti. Is there a difference between your cobbler and a clafouti (other than the accent )?

[snowangel]

So, I know you're going out for ice cream, but how about making some for dinner. You could call it ice cream day!

[Pan]

I'm going to suggest collard greens as a side and sweet potato pie as a dessert, but hey, it's up to you.

[therese]

Sweet potato pie too cold weather. Chess pie an option, and cobbler's the most seasonal traditional dessert but I'd actually just do watermelon. Eaten outside, of course: no worries about catching drips or where to spit seeds. If you really want to put on the dog you could do fried pies. Fried peach pies...

Pole beans are in season now---pole beans would be the appropriate cooked green veg for this time of year.

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

Fresh tomatoes and cucumbers and onions.

Pan-fried potatoes.

No meat or main dish. Meat frequently not featured in a real deal southern meal.

[Varmint]

Just got back from lunch and ice cream. I had a vegetable plate consisting of the following: turnip greens, black-eyed peas, okra & tomatoes, french fries with beef gravy, and a tossed salad. Mmmm (I can never give up on the french fries with gravy, much like my son with his bacon/cheese fries).

Blackberry and peach ice cream for dessert.

I have a full belly, and dinner's only a couple of hours away. Ugh.

Pictures to follow later.

[Varmint]

So, I know you're going out for ice cream, but how about making some for dinner.  You could call it ice cream day!

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I also made some cinnamon peach ice cream earlier this week, so we'll probably not make some more.

I forgot to mention that I did make fresh lemonade yesterday!

[Varmint]

That sticky fruit dessert looks darned good! but I'd like to see a cobbler as you usually do it for you Saturday dessert, so I can learn how it should look.  Your cooking is gorgeous.

My grandmother made cobbler differently; I think she actually put a pastry crust over the top, but I've forgotten.  Yours reminds me strongly of clafouti.  Is there a difference between your cobbler and a clafouti (other than the accent  )?

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I make two types of cobbler: the first is the standard biscuit like topping. That's a much "fancier" type of cobbler that I don't hesitate to serve for a more formal affair. The clafoutis type is the other kind, and I usually make this type with peaches. It has no eggs in it, so it's not really a clafoutis. It's just kind of a sweet, doughy top that caramelizes a bit. It's ungodly good, and is a much simpler version (but the same taste) of a dessert my grandmother used to make.

[Varmint]

Lots of possiblities for desserts--buttermilk pie with a fruit sauce,

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Hmmm, we might have a winner. I love the clean flavors of buttermilk pie. It's a perfect summer dessert.

I think I might need to make some sort of squash casserole. My kids may go yuck, but there's so much of it around, I may not be able to resist. I'm also thinking that something should be smoked, although a good flank steak might be just right, too.

[SobaAddict70]

I'm sure we've discussed this elsewhere, but how do you make your lemonade?

Not the powdered kind I bet.

[Varmint]

I'm sure we've discussed this elsewhere, but how do you make your lemonade?

Not the powdered kind I bet. 

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Lemons, sugar, water. All to taste. Lots of ice.

No mint. I love the pure and simple flavors of straight lemonade.

[cakewalk]

Lots of possiblities for desserts--buttermilk pie with a fruit sauce,

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Hmmm, we might have a winner. I love the clean flavors of buttermilk pie. It's a perfect summer dessert.

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This sounds interesting. I've never heard of buttermilk pie before. (Oh I am such a Yankee.) I just googled it and glanced at five recipes -- all of which are different, which is pretty much what I expected, except that buttermilk is just about the only thing in the filling. Is there any "history" behind this kind of pie? It seems like some poor person wanted to make a pie but didn't have anything (not even any custard) to put in it and -- voila! -- buttermilk pie was invented. Am I even close?

[Varmint]

We headed to Chapel Hill for lunch at one of my old college favorites, Breadmen's. This is the restaurant where I discovered the wonderful vegetable plate. It's been about 5 years since I've been there, so we drove the 20 miles, were immediately seated, and ordered a nostalgiac lunch. Fortunately, nothing has changed, and I now remember why I loved this place so.

Here's my plate: okra & tomatoes, black-eyed peas, turnip greens, french fries with beef gravy, a tossed salad, and a grilled biscuit. Sweet tea, too.

Mrs. Varmint had the salad, fries (no gravy), limas and creamed corn.

Two of the kids ordered breakfast, as Breadmen's serves breakfast anytime (and no, Clara did not order French Toast during the Renaissance, a la Steven Wright).

Finally, my cheesehead son, ordered his regular grilled cheese, but this time with bacon in it. The kid was born in Wisconsin, you know.

The highlight of the meal was my 4-year old daughter wanting not a bite of my black-eyed peas, but the entire dish.

About 6 or so miles outside of Chapel Hill is Maple View Farm and their country store. Lots and lots of good ice cream and milk.

The boys both ordered a fire cracker float.

Clara got a chocolate chip cookie dough cone.

I went with a scoop of peach and a scoop of blackberry. It is summer, you know.

We all then retired to the front porch.

Ryan had a root beer float.

Did I mention that this place is in the country?

I mean, really in the country?

There will probably be no report on tonight's dinner, as we're having left-over macaroni and cheese, limas, some fresh fruit, and that's about it. I'm quite stuffed, frankly. And then I'm taking Everett to see Star Wars (finally!).

[maggiethecat]

I sure picked a rotten time to catch up on this blog -- I'm starving, dinner's three hours away, and the food you've photographed looks so fabulous I am having a hard time not licking the screen.

The squash casserole is a great idea -- if the kid's won't eat much send the leftovers to me. I made my first squash casserole last fall, and I love the stuff.

(Not as much as I love the smile Benjamin's sporting these days!)

[Fresser]

Finally, my cheesehead son, ordered his regular grilled cheese, but this time with bacon in it.  The kid was born in Wisconsin, you know.

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That would have been during Varmint's law school interlude at Marquette U. in Milwaukee.

People in Milwaukee put cheese on EVERYTHING!!

[little ms foodie]

Your cheesehead son deserves a trip to France!! I love the idea of gravy and cheese on fries, it makes them a bit soggy though right?

[Varmint]

Your cheesehead son deserves a trip to France!! I love the idea of gravy and cheese on fries, it makes them a bit soggy though right?

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No cheese on these fries -- just gravy. And no, these fries were very crisp to start with, and stayed crisp throughout.

I ate no dinner and just got back from a movie, so I'm making myself hungry looking at these pictures!!!

[snowangel]

Here in Minnesota, we call them Cheddarheads. Not sure why.

What did the Dr. Mrs. Varmit have at the ice cream joint?

[Catew]

Here's a BBQ question I need help resolving. My mom and dad were from Eastern NC, and I remember them driving FAR out of the way to get good (non-tomato) BBQ, generally at little dive-ish shacks along roadways. I was a kid, and non-appreciative of the nuances involved in good BBQ.

Then, years later, I again had great BBQ of the Eastern NC variety, but it was served at a TN Eastman Kodak company house up in the mountains of TN (Mountain City, to be exact) at the edge of a lake formed by the TVA. And that seemed to be the norm up there -- along with places selling ammo and live bait. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Daddy's long dead, and momma doesn't like to eat much, so I throw my question to you all: How did Eastern NC style BBQ end up in the mountains of TN?

All theories, wild eyed or not, welcomed. And I'd give my eye teeth to eat a dinner up in those mountains again. I can still see that pig laid out on a foil covered picnic table (and the lovely fat congealing as time passed).

Thanks for the pictures. I need to fry my kids some chicken. They think it only comes from the grocery store.

[Young2Cook]

Wonderful blog, enticing enough to keep me reading until past 2 AM. Do you do boiled peanuts in your part of the South?

[Varmint]

What did the Dr. Mrs. Varmit have at the ice cream joint?

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Cella had some sort of ice cream that had several different types of candy in it. I think it may have been a bit of overkill.

[Varmint]

Here's a BBQ question I need help resolving.  My mom and dad were from Eastern NC, and I remember them driving FAR out of the way to get good (non-tomato) BBQ, generally at little dive-ish shacks along roadways.  I was a kid, and non-appreciative of the nuances involved in good BBQ.

Then, years later, I again had great BBQ of the Eastern NC variety, but it was served at a TN Eastman Kodak company house up in the mountains of TN (Mountain City, to be exact) at the edge of a lake formed by the TVA.  And that seemed to be the norm up there -- along with places selling ammo and live bait.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Daddy's long dead, and momma doesn't like to eat much, so I throw my question to you all: How did Eastern NC style BBQ end up in the mountains of TN?

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I really don't know. I may know a little about NC barbecue, but that's the extent of my knowledge. Hopefully one of our true barbecue experts has some insight on this, as it may simply be a matter of North Carolinians moving to the mountains. Great question.

[Varmint]

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

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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.

[Varmint]

Several of you have asked how my new kitchen "flows." Be careful for what you ask.

Let me first show you a somewhat rough sketch of my kitchen layout:

Where the prep sink and second dishwasher are located is my eating bar, with enough room for 7 people to sit and eat somewhat comfortably.

Where the wall oven is does not have upper cabinets, but large picture windows.

My kitchen is wonderul. The flow is perfect. Dishes and flatware are stored very close to the dishwashers (to the right of the first dishwasher by the large sink). To the left of either sink is a large pull-out trash bin. To the left of either sink is a dishwasher.

And, of course, I have a large pantry that makes most cooks incredibly envious.

I took a lot of pictures of the cabinets and what's in them. I'll point out the single thing I'd change if I had to do it over again. Brace yourself, there's a lot of tedium ahead!

In the lower cabinet to the right of the range are 3 pull-out drawers where I keep pots, colanders, and lids. I particularly like the pull-outs for the lids, as they maintain some semblance of order and I don't have to get on my hands and knees to dig in the back.

Just above this, to the right of the hood, is an upper cabinet that holds a lot of my everyday cooking condiments and oils, as well as some other frequently used cooking implements.

To the left of the hood, an upper cabinet holds my dried herbs, spices, and other seasonings. Plus my hot pads on top.

In the top drawer to the left of the range are wooden spoons & tongs, which I use every day.

Below that are less frequently used items.

And even less frequently used implements in the two lowest drawers.

Here's a quick tour of my pantry.

Just inside the doorway is a wine fridge and a small wine rack. I don't "lay down" wines -- I just buy and drink.

Above the wine rack is a simple pot rack where I keep some skillets.

Beyond that is just places for food and other items. It's too narrow to get a good picture, but we keep all the baking supplies, cereals, canned goods, and other miscellany in there. Plus, I have the big ass beer fridge in the back!

Back in the kitchen itself, near the wall oven and large picture windows, are several cabinets. The cabinet closest to the pantry door holds my coffee supplies.

The drawer above that holds some sharp items that aren't used all that frequently.

To the left is the only mistake I made in the entire kitchen. This is where I keep baking sheets and cutting boards. If I had to do it over again I would have made this a cabinet with a drawer on top, as there's no need for this to be full cabinet height. I'm wasting useful space.

To the left of that is my wonderful wall oven, then left again is the coolest cabinet in the kitchen, the Magic Corner, which Daddy A implored me to purchase. He was right.

To the left of there is my baking area, where the countertop is made of a piece of marble from my old kitchen. Below there is a large drawer containing many of the items I use in my baking and a cabinet with large bowls, food processor, and waffle irons.

I'll take a break for now and get back to the rest of the kitchen after some coffee.

[Varmint]

This is sort of dull, so let me get through the rest of the kitchen.

Here's the upper cabinet above the dishwasher, where we store most of the everyday dishes.

The other upper cabinet to the left of the sink.

Our flatware drawer, to the right of the dishwasher.

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

At the far left to the main sink is a full height cabinet that houses the microwave in the middle and some pull-out drawers in the bottom. This has been very helpful.

Above the microwave is a deep, partially useful cabinet.

It seems I've neglected to take a picture of one of my trash cans, but they're great. Much better than the old compactor we had.

There's a couple of other cabinets that don't have anything to do with food. However, I do need to show you this cabinet above the refrigerator.

Everyone needs one of these, of course.

As I mentioned a bazillion times, I like my kitchen. It works well. Others can actually join me in the kitchen, as we have a couple of working areas. Clean-up is much easier with this flow, and the two dishwashers are a nice benefit.

The space is quite compact and efficient. I'm having an "interactive" dinner party a week from today for 24, where the guests help cook a 5-course meal. We'll see how efficient it is then!

[Varmint]

I'm working on a buttermilk pie this morning, and then we head over to Durham for a late breakfast and then a dance performance at Duke for the American Dance Festival.

I'll then get to work on the rest of tonight's dinner.