June 30, 2008A mountain of cake
Well, I didn't make it out to Ukrop's big one-year anniversary celebration on Saturday because I was preparing for the hubby's birthday party. But from the looks of the parking lot, it was a big success. I promised Jonathan Rhudy, my PR contact at Ukrop's, that if he sent me a picture of their Mill Mountain cake, I'd post it on the blog. So here it is, before it was demolished and eaten by a crowd of Ukrop's shoppers. The fellows standing behind the cake are Jeff Ukrop, zone manager for Ukrop’s, Jim Goodman, Ukrop’s executive pastry chef, and Jason Woodcock, Ukrop’s Roanoke store manager. I think it's kind of fitting that this picture came in the week after I wrote about brightly colored wedding cakes. If anyone wants a kelly green wedding cake, this is what it might look like. Minus the little tractor trailer (or not -- whatever you're into). A few fun facts about the cake: First!
I like the way Dennis notes the month, day and year almost with the precision of a new father reporting the birth of his first child. I'm surprised that Dennis didn't include a weight in there somewhere. Ha! I have to tease him, but I'm quite familiar with that sense of pride. It was with much excitement this weekend that I discovered tiny green fruits on all four of my tomato plants, which are the first ones I've ever grown on my own. Until I saw those tiny gems hidden in the foliage, I wasn't quite sure that I could make it work. I guess I'd better not count my tomatoes before they're ripe, though. All of this reminds me of my grandfather's rivalry with my dad over who would produce the first ripe tomato of the season. One time, Paw-paw bought a fire-engine red plastic tomato and wired it onto one of his plants just to tease my Dad. Until Dad realized it was fake, he was practically crippled with jealousy. Ahhh, good times in the country. June 27, 2008Wine Down the Music Trail
We don't talk much about wine or music on this blog, but I can't see how anyone who enjoys food as much as my blog readers wouldn't enjoy a little vino and some great tunes to go along with it. That's why I want to remind you all of a special event next weekend, July 5 and 6, called Wine Down the Music Trail. Wine Down takes place right off the Blue Ridge Parkway at the FloydFest site, which is located just before you get to Chateau Morissette. Shamefully, I admit that I have never been, but my co-worker, Ralph, says it's the prettiest open ridge, complete with a permanent stage and a lovely view of the mountains. More than 16 different local wineries will be represented there, so you'll have a chance to taste a slew of samples. There are shuttle buses from Roanoke and Blacksburg this year, too, in case you're worried about drinking and driving. For our purpose, I wanted to know what kind of food will be available at the festival. Danica Mingee at Across the Way Productions, which puts on the festival, was kind enough to e-mail me a detailed list of vendors, which I will attach below the jump. It made my mouth water! You're also welcome to bring a picnic of your own; there's no rule that says you have to eat what's offered there. Of course, with offerings like pintos and cornbread, lobster mac 'n' cheese, crabcakes, green curry and fried cheesecake, you might want to bring a picnic AND sample the fare! For all the details about the festival, head to the Across the Way Web site here. June 26, 2008Saving pasta salad, one step at a time
It is the height of cookout season. You're expected to bring a side dish. At almost the last minute, in an effort to avoid another trip to the grocery store, you pull out the elbow macaroni and mayonnaise with plans to concoct one of summer's least inspiring dishes: macaroni salad. Now, I'm sure there are folks out there who adore macaroni salad, and I'm not saying it can't be good if it's prepared well. Usually "well" involves fresh tomatoes and grated cheddar, in my opinion. But overall, I agree with Sara Dickerman, who wrote a recent article for Slate.com about pasta salad, when she says "Pasta salad is the wallflower of summer foods: It almost always makes it to the barbecue, but no one quite remembers who invited it." The rest of her article is equally amusing and enlightening. Ultimately, she says the key to a good cold noodle dish is "attentive seasoning, both with salt and with more aromatic ingredients like fresh herbs and scallions." I would urge you to read the entire article here. You'll surely enjoy it as much as I did. But in the interest of time, I will boil down her twelve tips here: June 25, 2008Does this float your boat?
First it was pepper, then pear, then grape, then blueberry. Now we've got root beer vodka. Or, as the Three Olives company suggests, you could fix yourself a spiked root beer float. Okay, that's about all I can think of to do with root beer-flavored vodka, except perhaps drink it straight up. Maybe the possibilities ARE quite limited. Does this sound tasty to anyone? Anyone able to think of another cocktail that could be made with this bizarre flavor? Random recipe: Greek Cheese Torta
A few years ago, an acquaintance brought an appetizer like this to a cookout at my friend's house. I can remember being awestruck over how beautiful it was. I could only assume that she had spent a great deal of time putting it together. As it turns out, this Greek cheese torta is actually quite simple to prepare. I recently found a similar recipe in some Pampered Chef literature that might even be easier than the original version I had. The white cheeses, green spinach and pistachios and bright red sun-dried tomatoes make for a lovely, colorful dish (Sorry I don't have a picture). And of course, with all those ingredients, the flavor just explodes in your mouth. If you're heading to a cookout this weekend or next and you want to bring something a little different than the usual deviled eggs (not that I don't adore deviled eggs), check out this recipe. I always recommend that folks read recipes all the way through before they begin. With this one, you'll see when you read it that the ingredients are going to be packed into a small to medium glass bowl, then inverted onto a platter to form a nice, round mound. You could make the torta ahead of time and leave it in the bowl until you're ready to invert and serve. June 24, 2008Tomato updateMichael Sutphin with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech wrote me this afternoon with some valuable information about handling raw fruits and vegetables. He thought it would be particularly timely in light of the recent salmonella scare involving tomatoes. To read the article, click here.
Look under the lid!
Just the other day, I was telling my friend that I miss the good old days when you knew whether or not you'd won something as soon as you twisted the lid off a product. When my grandfather owned his country store in Goshen, I used to pop the top off Coke bottles and find out if I'd won a free Coke or something just by looking under the top. These days, all you get is something like LJK9BF7V. Maybe that means I won a brand new Corvette, but I'm too lazy to go online or call or do whatever it is I'm supposed to do to decipher the code. Now I'm starting to sound a lot like my co-worker, Kevin Kittredge. Maybe I should give him this topic for his next "Grrrrrr!" column. There is a point to all this whining, though -- I just got the coolest e-mail from the folks over at Duke's mayonnaise. This summer, they're having an "Under the lid" promotion. All you have to do is remove the safety seal and look under the lid to find out if you've instantly won $100 in free groceries or a free 32-ounce jar of Duke's mayo. The cash would be awesome, but I would be tickled pink to just win a free jar of Duke's. Lots of Southern cooks swear by Duke's mayonnaise and wouldn't use any other brand (I'm betting that Edna Lewis did NOT use Hellman's). So while we're all planning our macaroni salad, potato salad, deviled eggs and other mayonnaisey dishes for Fourth of July cookouts, maybe we should sneak a peek under that lid! Photo source: www.dukesmayo.com June 23, 2008...And the livin's easy
I spent the first official day of summer enveloped in hickory smoke. This Saturday, my dad and his friend, Bob, smoked three huge racks of pork ribs up at our Bath County river house. I made some zucchini and summer squash on the grill, but other than that, I had absolutely nothing to do with these beauties. Well, I did have SOMETHING to do with them: I ate some. Wouldn't you? According to Dad, he used a dry rub on all three racks. Then, for the sake of experimentation, they smoked one rack with just the dry rub and used sauce on the other two racks. One got Stubb's and the other got Kraft barbecue sauce, which had been doctored up a bit by Bob. 
We all decided that the dry rub finished off with sauce is the way to go. But all three racks were absolutely delicious. I believe I may have to invest in a smoker one of these days. I can't seem to get the thought of smoked trout out of my mind now. Anyone out there like to smoke meat? I'd love to hear some of your tips. June 19, 2008This 'n' thatAnd now, for your occasional round-up of random, food related news: * Update: The online local food guide has been updated with about a dozen new farms! If you haven't checked it out yet, please do. You can search by the type of local food that interests you, such as eggs or fruit or pork, as well as your location. You could even search by both! * White Lily, the queen mother of all light, fluffy Southern biscuits, has been produced in Knoxville, Tenn. since 1883. But the new owner, the J.M. Smucker Company, has seen fit to move production of this Southern specialty to two Midwest plants. It's a change that has some biscuit lovers recoiling in shock. As blog reader Deb, who sent me this tip, put it: "Oh, the horror!" * Chocolatepaper, Southwest County's trendiest sweet shop, is opening a second location in downtown Roanoke. Matt Burkett, who owns the card shop/chocolate shop with his uncle, Mark Burkett and Stan McCulloch, says they hope to open the new store by September 1. * Finally, Thai Orchid, which was formerly housed at the Jefferson Motor Lodge, has re-opened in downtown Roanoke. The new location is in the former Swagat Indian restaurant spot on First Street near Florabella. June 18, 2008More summer bounty
Here's my first attempt at fried green tomatoes. I threw them together last night on my husband's dinner break, and they turned out pretty good. As you can see, I served them with summer squash and a piece of sauteed tilapia. I thought I had cornmeal in the cupboard, but I didn't. I ended up dipping the tomato slices in a mixture of egg and milk with a few drops of hot sauce, then dredging them in seasoned flour and frying in oil. Flavorful, but not as crunchy on the outside as I would like. I suppose practice (and a little cornmeal) will make perfect. If anyone else decides to attempt fried green tomatoes as a result of our discussion this week, please try to send a picture. I would love to see them! The produce fairy came again yesterday while I was at work, leaving a huge armful of fresh rosemary and basil. I plan to use some of the fresh rosemary within the next few days, but I cannot possibly use it all.. Since I love the herb so much, I'm going to dry it and save it for future use. I did a little research about drying herbs and found out that not every herb dries well. June 17, 2008Fried green tomatoes
This morning, my friend Randy from down the street brought me my first big mess of summer squash. They are beautiful little things, only about the length of my hand and pale and tender as butter. I plan to incorporate them into my favorite summer side dish -- sauteed squash and/or zucchini with sweet onion, garlic and tomatoes. Also in the bag were a few lovely banana peppers and two small green tomatoes. It was the latter that got me thinking about my next kitchen experiment, though. I've always liked fried green tomatoes but I've never made them myself. It is just me, or are fried green tomatoes appearing on more and more restaurant menus these days? And it's not just restaurants with low country fare, such as Trio in downtown Roanoke. I've had them topped with lump crab meat and dressed with ham and balsamic vinegar reduction. The best fried green tomatoes I've had in recent past were prepared by a chef with Jim Schaal's Catering. They were light and crispy and perfectly seasoned. Jim didn't make them himself, but it could very well have been his recipe. I asked his assistant how he made them that night and he just shrugged and gave me one of those "I don't know, a little egg, a little cornmeal, some seasonings" replies. Maybe it really is THAT simple. I could see all sorts of seasoning possibilities for fried green tomatoes -- seasoned salt, a little creole seasoning, a dash of Tabasco. And they are incredibly versatile in terms of toppings, as well. Remoulade? Feta cheese? A chili/sour cream sauce? Does anyone out there have a tried-and-true recipe for fried green tomatoes? I've got a couple of 'maters at home that are just dying for a dip. June 16, 2008Ahhhh, look at all the lovely cherries!
Check out these babies. Do they make your mouth water? My editor, Kathy Lu, went cherry picking for her birthday on Saturday and lugged home 20 pounds of sweet dark and white cherries. She was kind enough to bring me a half-gallon of the little garnet jewels. The orchard is called Levering Orchard, and it's located out near Fancy Gap. Kathy says the cherries were $2.49 per pound. She and her husband pitted and froze most of theirs with plans to make ice cream, cherry sauce or smoothies. Since she's also a talented baker, they may show up in a dessert at some point, too. Unfortunately, while these cherries do make my mouth water, they also make my throat and ears itch like mad. It's a mystery allergy that I seem to have developed over the past couple of years. Some call it "Oral Allergy Syndrome." Here's an interesting article on the topic that appeared in U.S. News and World Report. Continue reading "Ahhhh, look at all the lovely cherries!" » June 13, 2008Summertime sipping
If the hot weather and countertops covered with green beans and tomatoes didn't tell me it was summer, I always had another telltale sign when I was a kid. Mom would take out her tall, slender, frosted glass and mix herself a gin and tonic with a fat wedge of lime. That was her special gin and tonic glass, meant just for her favorite summertime cocktail. Although I've met many people who also find gin and tonics refreshing, I've never been able to stomach them myself. Maybe because I dislike gin and I dislike tonic. I could suck on the lime wedge, but what good would that do me? I've always been fascinated by people's "signature" drinks. I know some folks stick to their Jack and Coke no matter the season, but I do find that some people switch up their drink of choice in the summertime. My personal favorite summertime cocktail is a Cape Cod: vodka mixed with cranberry juice and garnished with lime. I like margaritas, but they can sometimes be overly sweet and heavy, in my opinion. And mojitos are good, but take a little time to throw together. What makes a good summertime cocktail, besides simplicity? I would say light flavors, no dairy ingredients and lots of ice. Citrus flavors are typically very refreshing during hot weather, too. I've got a fantastic book called "Slurp" by Nina Dreyer Hensley, Jim Hensley and Paul Lowe (I guess it took lots of people to test out all those concoctions). I'm going to share a summery recipe or two from this book, and I'd love to know: What's your favorite summertime cocktail? June 12, 2008Farmers markets, part deux
Since yesterday's blog post, I've received a number of insightful comments from readers. So far, here's what folks have said: * Good deals I am particularly interested in Jen's suggestion that we might need a designated time when the market is focused solely on local food. Mainly because while reporting the local food story, one farmer talked about that very issue. Read on to see what he had to say... June 11, 2008What makes a great farmer's market?
At least, it looked like a fiesta. There were tents set up, live bluegrass music was playing and we could smell barbecue. But then we saw the sign "Mt. Pleasant Farmer's Market" and decided to check it out. Obviously, it was a temporary farmer's market. But we were excited by the mix of fresh vegetables and seafood, canned goods, honey, homemade tea bags, prepared barbecue dinners, baked goods and music all in one spot. 
There were even people cooking huge, gourmet crepes to order at one booth (see pic)! It got me thinking about farmer's markets and what makes a good one. It's an important question now as Roanoke leaders ponder the very best use of our market space. Should it be all food? Should prepared food be available? What about the crafts? Do they have a place there? Continue reading "What makes a great farmer's market?" » Update from the FDAThe Food and Drug Administration yesterday updated its list of states and countries exporting SAFE tomatoes. Namely, Florida tomatoes have been approved. But here's the whole list, followed by a few paragraphs of additional information that I found on the FDA Web site. If you have other questions, I would encourage you to visit the site. I'm off to a neat assignment now (for next week's column), but I'll be back this afternoon with another entry. The list of APPROVED states: June 10, 2008You say tomato, I say salmonella
In case you've missed it, the Food and Drug Administration is advising against the consumption of certain kinds of raw tomatoes, including red plum, red Roma and red round. Apparently, folks across the country have fallen ill with salmonella infection and the FDA believes it has been linked to tomatoes. I'm really disappointed by this outbreak. It's almost tomato season here, which should be a time of joy for tomato lovers everywhere. It's a time to savor that first tomato sandwich or a big bowl of warm, juicy fruit with cottage cheese. And while the best tomatoes, hands down, come right out of a backyard garden, people with no time to garden deserve the very best of the season, too. When I went grocery shopping on Sunday, many tomatoes had all been pulled from my Kroger store. Cherry, grape and on-the-vine tomatoes are still okay, according to the FDA. The administration has released a list of states where tomato production has NOT been affected by the outbreak. Read on for the list. Dinner....on ice
What does your work refrigerator say about you....and your co-workers? Well, from the looks of the fridge in the Features department at The Roanoke Times (I took this picture this morning), it says at least one thing: We bring Lean Cuisines to work, but we never eat them. Notice the TWO Lean Cuisines that have been permanently encased in ice in the upper right hand corner of the picture. I can't even tell if they were sesame chicken or macaroni and cheese or salmon or what. Now, Wendy admitted that one of the Lean Cuisines was probably hers. Who brought in the other one? Okay, I admit. It was me. This is cold, hard evidence that while I often have good intentions about eating a healthy lunch at work, the Lean Cuisine goes untouched in the freezer while I make my way to Alejandro's, the market building or some other spot for tasty grub. Of course, one of these days I'm going to be too busy to run out and I'll remember that I have an emergency frozen dinner. Anyone got an ice pick? June 9, 2008One more thing... shrimp and grits!Here's an addendum to my comments about Oak Steakhouse in Charleston. My father asked me to bring him back a good recipe for shrimp and grits, and this one came straight from the man himself, Chef Brett McKee. For a twist, these shrimp are served over creamy polenta instead of grits. Eating my way through Charleston
Charleston is a food city, there's no doubt about it. The most upscale meal we had was at Oak Steakhouse in downtown Charleston, which is housed in a historic former bank building on Exchange Street. Oak is run by Brett McKee, the same chef who headlined the Puttin' on the Dog event at Roanoke Country Club not long ago. My husband drew the line at letting me bring my camera inside the steakhouse, but I can still picture the meal in my mind: tender, rich oysters Rockefeller, a perfect filet, lobster and shrimp macaroni and cheese and the best brussels sprouts I've ever had. They were roasted with applewood smoked bacon and sugar. I must have that recipe. 
The best seafood house in Charleston, however, is slightly less beautiful on the outside than the Oak Steakhouse. It's called The Wreck of the Richard and Charlene, and it's difficult to find if you aren't looking for it. Check out the picture (at left) and you'll see that it's no wonder The Wreck is one of Charleston's best-kept secrets. I found recommendations for The Wreck on the boards at Chow.com, and I will never take another vacation to an unfamiliar city without checking Chow first. When we checked into our hotel, I asked the clerk: "Isn't The Wreck near here?" The Wreck is housed in a tiny, nondescript building on Shem Creek. There are no signs. As you can see, the view from the inside is quite a bit more becoming (and not just because my wonderful hubby is in the picture.) 
Continue reading "Eating my way through Charleston" » June 6, 2008In search of the sweet melonsHello again. Its Nona again, the food lover-gone-WeightWatcher on a mission to find healthy yet tasty dishes. One of the best parts of WeightWatchers is that, on the flex plan, no food is really off limits. You just have to account for what you eat, and you quickly learn to get the most food for your daily points ration, it's best to find lower calorie foods that are higher in fiber and lower in fat. For a dessert lover like me, that means a small portion of something sinful, or a heartier portion of something less decadent. 
With that in mind, I am thinking a nice melon salad would be a great dessert this weekend. Satisfies the sweet tooth and I get a lot of food for relatively few points. It's still a little early for most melons in this region, but I did pick up a nice mini-watermelon and a very sweet cantaloupe last week at Kroger. Have you ever observed people as they shop for melons? Some are thumpers, some are bouncers, some are smellers. Seems like everyone has a different idea on how to select the best melon. I usually go by the "does it feel heavy for its size" guide. That means I pick it up and handle it for a few seconds, kind of bouncing it in my hands. This usually works for me but you do have to pick up several melons until you find one that feels right. Other ways to judge the worthiness of a melon include looking at the field spot, the point in which the melon rested in the field as it grew. This spot should be yellow on a green-skinned melon. I have observed people sniffing this spot. Their noses must be more sensitive than mine, because I get nothing from that experiment. I am venturing out at lunch to the Farmer's Market. If anyone there is selling melons, I will see what they recommend for choosing the freshest and ripest in the bunch. What tips do you use for spotting the best melons or other fresh produce? June 5, 2008Spice it up, rub it inThis is Nona again. Lindsey missed out on the goodies today. Another nice promotional package arrived from McCormick. This big box was stuffed with various grill rubs, marinades and a Montreal steak seasoning grinder. 
Bounty for the guest bloggers! I have used the McCormick's Montreal steak seasoning before and I highly recommend it. Lindsey gave me the smokehouse pepper they sent her last week, and I used it this weekend and loved it. It added a nice smoky flavor without being overpowering. My hubby and I joined Weight Watchers last night, so I am looking for ways to add more flavor to food as I try to whittle away fat and calories and keep to our daily points goals. Of course, I have to be careful with sauces and marinades that can actually add too many calories to what otherwise would have been a lean, low-cal dish. I want to try the seafood rub, which contains chili pepper, lemon peel, garlic, tomato and brown sugar. Sounds pretty tasty for some salmon filets that want to get out of my fridge and onto my grill. I promise we will save some of this spice swag for Lindsey. So what's grilling at your house this hot and steamy weekend? June 4, 2008The magic of Mojo
Hi everyone, this is Kathy Lu, Lindsey's editor and fellow foodie. I'm here to attest to how I love Goya's Mojo marinade and produce from the farmers market. Last night, after the storms blew through (hope everyone's OK! But if you happen to have any funnel cloud pictures, send them on to roanoke.com!), we made a huge salad. After marinating a few chicken breasts in the Mojo (you can find this at Kroger, in the Mexican food section), we put them on the grill. The beautiful Bibb lettuce came from Roanoke's farmers market on Saturday. It was $1.50, I believe, and really worth it. June 3, 2008Seeking tips for tilapiaHey FM readers. This is yet another guest blogger, Nona Nelson from The Happy Wag. I love to cook almost as much as I love to eat, but I know my family needs to eat healthier. That started this weekend with me making better choices at the supermarket: lots more fruits, veggies, whole grains and fish and less of, well, all the other stuff I usually buy. Last night I made kabobs with chicken, lean pork, peppers, onions, mushrooms and pineapple wedges. I soaked the meat in a little soy sauce, then assembled the skewers, seasoned with a dash of salt and the delicious smokehouse pepper that Lindsey gave me last week, and brushed them with a tiny amount of olive oil. My hubby grilled them and they were very tasty and moist, and fairly low in fat and calories. Tonight I plan to serve tilapia filets, and typically I would bake them in the oven with butter, lemon and dill. But tonight I want to grill them, and I am looking for suggestions on ways to add flavor to this mild fish without adding too much fat and calories. I know I can use olive or grape seed oil instead of the butter for a lighter dish. Anyone have a great combo of seasonings or a recipe for a rub that works well with delicate fish? A partner who cooks is a treat indeedThanks to all of you who commented and/or e-mailed me with suggestions and tips on cooking. And to give myself a little credit, I can boil an egg! (Thanks, Rich!) :-) Fortunately for me, I have a partner who cooks. And cooks very well! We have unbelievable dinners on the most random nights. An exotic Mediterranean chicken dish on an average, run-of-the-mill Wednesday. Or grilled salmon with a homemade dry spice rub, grilled corn on the cob, salad with strawberries and mangoes on an ordinary Monday. Last night, for instance, we had a Thai dish with tofu, peppers, zucchini (from the market downtown!), rice noodles, cilantro and Thai basil. It had just the right spice and flavor, a tough balance to strike when cooking Thai food. I've got leftovers for lunch. June 2, 2008Lindsey is on vacation, lucky duckSpeaking of duck, I'm a lame one when it comes to anything food-related. I'm one of Lindsey's guest bloggers this week while she's out. My name is Wendy Maxey and I work as the online entertainment editor of roanoke.com. You might remember me from the "American Idol" blog I ran during the latest season. I think some of you folks even said we were a little "too serious" over on the "Idol" blog. :-) Maybe so, but I doubt I'll be very serious on this blog as I know very little about food. (I eat instant oatmeal for breakfast everyday.) This is exactly what Lindsey said to me before she left: "Maybe you can blog about what it's like to be cooking-disabled." So, that's what I'll do this week. Fortunately for loyal readers, there are other guest bloggers who know a lot more than I do, so don't worry too much. |
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