Posts Tagged by slaw
How to Host a Pig Picking… and P.S., barbecue is a noun, not a verb!
Ahhh… the good ole southern NC pig picking! Here’s all you need to know to host one for yourself. Nothing is much finer than gathering friends and family to pick pork, is there?
Honey Baked Ham Salad …with wilted caraway slaw and rye croutons
| April 1, 2020 | Posted by Wendy Perry under Carolina Country, cook & eat nekkid, garden goodness, here piggy piggy!, Mt. Olive Pickles, nuts, published, salads, slaws and such |
Ready for something traditional with a nontraditional twist? Impress your table of Easter guests with this eye-catching ham salad. Or jazz up your leftover ham and skip the boring ham sandwich!
THE non-baker ‘cued up 1st Place in “Best Southern Biscuit®” Contest
1st Place Biscuits – Midstate Mills “Best Southern Biscuit” Recipe Contest *OINKERS!* Barbecue Biscuit Bites with BBQ Gravy Dip
The world’s slowest blogger and quintessential non-baker took home 1st Place last week in the 1st Annual “Best Southern Biscuit®” Contest at the 2nd Annual Midstate Mills Biscuit Day over in Newton, NC! Come along and experience the day, the WHOLE day… in this Culinary Adventurist’s “Southern Biscuit Day” journey. This is a story about biscuits, yet so much more… living a delicious life with obsessed old foodie friends… sharing food, fellowship and culinary history with new ones… making new culinary memories with all those folks… and being blessed enough to live another day to tell about it to folks like you here reading this tale. Fix yourself a jar of sweet tea and come on along…
Wendy & Jody tour the mill…
My friend Jody Currin of Mrs. Picky’s Biskits and Marmalades (and 3rd place winner of this year’s International Biscuit Festival) and I never miss a beat when we set out on our next adventure… and we weren’t about to disturb that trend on this trek…we meet the most interesting folk along our way at the backroads junktique and antique stores we swerve into! And we see some of the dangdest things… I just have to share this quick sighting here before moving on to biscuits… because in all my galavanting, NEVER have I seen a drive-up window at a hoochie coochie lingerie establishment, until now… and even though it was dark-thirty when we left our hotel and headed to Biscuit Day (just 9 miles away because we were both so giddy and ‘cited to go there and because Jody beds down at 8pm and is up by 4am!), I insisted Jody stop the truck so as to photograph this unusual phenomenon! Turns out the fellow at the hotel desk was intrigued as well to see the installation of a drive up window when they all knew there at the hotel what kind of store was soon to open… so in Hickory, NC, one can peruse the online store of this here place, order… and just drive up…never needing to grace the inside of said store!
Now don’t that just beat all??? And here’s proof…
Hoochie Coochie Drive Thru Window!
So…on to BISCUITS!
Downtown Newton, NC 
was all aflutter as folks from Midstate Mills were busy sharing their biscuits with town folk and others like us who made the pilgrimage… to b.i.s.c.u.i.t.s. 
~ Lotsa Midstate Mills biscuits… these filled with Neese’s Country Sausage! About 1600 biscuits were devoured and on hand to fill them were folks from Neese’s… and that cute and bubbly Andrea Neese you see in their TV commercials… and also a sister Home Economist!
Andrea and her folks were cook’n up sausage, liver mush (that went first!) and bacon as the perfect fill’n for all those biscuits! 
Sooooo…
as Midstate Mills Baking Expert Belinda Ellis started talking about all the entries and announced 3rd, then 2nd place winners, she started hinting around at the winning recipe… said that at first glance of the recipe and ingredients, she thought them to be rather odd… and quite frankly, didn’t look very appealing. BUT, having made them and other recipe entries for her panel of chefs and foodies to try, my “OINKERS” quickly disappeared and they asked her to make MORE! When she started saying that this recipe included chopped barbecue, slaw and Eastern NC vinegar-based BBQ sauce in their Southern Biscuit Formula L mix,
Wendy with Belinda Ellis, Midstate Mills Baking Expert and big old PRIZE!
I turned to Jody (professional biscuit maker!) and said something to the effect of… “OMG, that’s MY recipe!” Having a reputation for being THE non-baker amongst my cheffy friends, not only did this increase my giddyness level, I just HAD to snicker a little… what better poster child for the product and how easy it is to create with it than with little old ME throw’n together creative (and winning) biscuit concoctions??
In addition to being totally surprised by this accolade, I met the greatest folks in Newton… Midstate Mills is now welcoming its 4th generation into this family business… and from the founder’s granddaughter Cindy Gabriel
to her siblings 
to other folks like John Craig, who produces the International Biscuit Festival in Nashville, TN, the people were just the “butter on the biscuit!” I also had a fun chat with Tim and Jan
about their Southern Fresh Show on the RFD-TV Network… a culinary and gardening show filmed entirely here in North Carolina! Their show airs on Mondays at 4:30EST, so tune in…
Biscuit makers are a friendly lot and hearing the stories shared at MM’s 2nd Annual Biscuit Day by well-seasoned ladies and gents there was very humbling and I felt like I should relinquish the win to those more experienced than me-self… their Biscuit Tales need to be preserved as does the art of biscuit making!
As the festival concluded we enjoyed lunch across the street at Callahan’s Cafe where I satisfied my cheeseburger craving and Jody (and I) enjoyed the house special “Chicken Pie.” 
We then strolled a block away where a few of us were treated to a tour of the lab, testing kitchen and mill by yet another sibling… where I was outfitted with my “Tour de Couture” loverly paper shoes (since this flip-flop wear’n gal didn’t have any “closed toe touring shoes” in her bag)! 
As our day ended and we headed back eastward and home, our journey couldn’t simply end there… and somewhere ‘tween Greensboro and Liberty, sumthin’ happened to Jody’s truck… smoke was fly’n out the tail end like an oven full of burnt biscuits…so as we’re so good at doing, swerved OFF the highway onto a side road, jumped out of the truck and scurried up the hill (till we heard a fierce barking dog). Possible Exploding Truck Fire?… or dog bite in the rumpus… tough decision! We thought for sure the truck was on fire… and at this writing I’m not sure what it ’twas… but we met the kindest locals on the side of that road in the THREE HOURS we spent there… SO typical of fellow North Carolinians… and this story just wouldn’t be complete without thanking these strangers…
First, Highway Patrol Officer Pike, whose family owns the farm up the road where the annual Liberty Antique Sales are held… 
and who hung with us (and our diesel splattering there to the left) until he had to tear off and chase a drunk driver somebody was tailing down that road… and who also managed to move the truck out of the middle of the road (since after we jumped out and made our get-away, it wouldn’t crank again)…. then, this fellow in the bright green shirt who works for the Town of Liberty, (name unknown) whose daughter came by right after our “incident” happened and sent him to help us… 
and some time (a lotta time) later… Mr. Tow Truck Driver there with me… a most welcomed sight, second only to Jody’s hubby Mike arriving from an hour and a half away in Erwin to take us Biscuit Queens homeward bound! 
And never one far away from cookbooks… Jody managed to snap a shot of me…during our ‘detour’ home… “ditchside,” reviewing cookbooks for the “Carolina Cooking” features section for the beautimous Our State Magazine 
where I do food styling and recipe development… with hundreds of books to review to make just the right selections this gal NEVER leaves home with out a sack o’ cookbooks! ‘Cause I was a Girl Scout…always prepared!!
Reflections… Winning this contest is such an honor I will forever cherish and is a ‘culinary feather in my cap’ I feel so blessed to have… but with such a wondermous product as Midstate Mill’s Biscuit Mix (just one of their many great goodies), anybody, and I mean ANYbody can make biscuits… 
fast as you can open a can and bang it on the counter before your oven is pre-heated! Go get yourself some today and see what fun biscuits you can stir up… and while you’re at it, find a kiddo and let them help!
This product is PERFECT for getting little ones involved in the kitchen… and it’s high time we all do that…
teach a child to cook and show them what REAL food is all about!
Now, go make some biscuits y’all Printable recipe right here…
Candy Apple Slaw… fall in a bowl!
| October 23, 2018 | Posted by Wendy Perry under apples, cook & eat nekkid, cook'n with NC goodies, garden goodness, published, salads, slaws and such, sensational sides |
And just like that, it’s fall! A few morns have dang near felt like we went from summer right into winter. Time to fire up those pig cookers around here in North Carolina and gather ’round friends and family.
Each month, I create a couple of recipes for Carolina Country Magazine. The November issue is their annual food issue, so I get to do some extra goodies for that. The issue will hit mailboxes in the next few days and I’ll be back then to share the recipes I did along with my “How To Host A Pig Pick’n” article. Till then, I’ll share one of my others…
Our 2018 NC State Fair has come and gone… and I had fun again judging some of the daily special cooking contests… 3 this year. Something I think about in fall at fair time is candy apples. So I threw together this Candy Apple Slaw recipe… which would be great to serve at a pig pick’n… or just on your supper table! We have dozens of varieties of apples here in North Carolina and some farmers’ markets have rows of them available for tasting before you buy. So visit your local market and find some shiny red apples for this recipe!
Enjoy this Candy Apple Slaw… and be sure you’re subscribed to my Table Scraps newsletter… about to re-launch after being asleep for a while!
Candy Apple Slaw @ Carolina Country Magazine!
This sweet and tangy slaw is a tasty, colorful fall side dish. Enjoy the variety of textures … crispy bits of apple along with the chewy cranberries and toasty nuts.
- 6 cups chopped cabbage
- 4 large red apples, diced, not peeled
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup thinly sliced red onions
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon celery seed
- 1 1/2 cups toasted pecans, divided
- 1 1/2 cups crushed peanut brittle,* opt.
-
Put cabbage, apples, cranberries, onions, seasonings and half the pecans in a large bowl. Add dressing and stir to coat.
-
Pour into serving bowl and chill several hours.
-
At serving time scatter with remaining pecans; scatter optional peanut brittle to add a delightful candy crunch.
*Store bought or your own.
my almost famous “Pickled” Pickled Shrimp and Eastern NC Cotton Honey-Mustard Slaw
Happy July y’all…. the world’s slowwwwest blogger dropping by! I’m gonna be ramping things up (yes, I know I’ve said THAT before!) since I’ve been doing so many shindigs lately and have lots of NEKKIDness to share… plus, I’ve been getting requests from clients and their guests for recipes. I don’t keep many recipe secrets and am always happy to share (most), so feel free to ask for others anytime… happy to oblige.
A couple of weeks ago, I had a fun afternoon in the kitchen with a fun family celebrating a high school graduation. Instead of going out to a noisy restaurant to celebrate this momentous event, they decided to have an intimate afternoon and supper at home. They enjoyed playing board games, Wi and other fun stuff. Dad, who hired me, had put together a really special video with snippets of all the important folks in his daughter’s life. I didn’t even know these folks, but that was so heart-warming to see well wishes from around the globe… but I think perhaps most touching were the words of wisdom from her little-bit-older-but-VERY WISE sister. She is one smart cookie! They have an ”international” family of Germans and Japanese… (who says I can’t come up with a crowd pleasing menu?)…. and it warmed my heart to be there in the open kitchen putting together their dee-lish Nekkid Supper while seeing them enjoy each other’s company on this special day!
This is the menu created for their casual family-style meal…
“Pickled” Pickled Shrimp (recipe below)
Toastettes topped with a dollop of Greensboro’s
My Three Sons Pimiento Cheese garnished with fresh chive from my garden and topped with a dollop of cherry preserves
Eastern North Carolina Cotton Honey-Mustard Slaw (recipe below)
As requested, REALLLY Cheesey Taters... so I made some…
“The Bestest Cheesyest au gratin ‘taters EVER!” …
with Gruyere, Jarlsberg, and Fontina topped with Asagio!
(AMAZING and I think the BEST I’ve ever made!!!)
“Crispy Toastettes with Honey Carrot Butter”
Skillet Seared Beef Tenderloin Medallions with sides of
“Mushroom Menagerie Marsala Gravy” along with
Whipped Horseradish Cream, and…
Fresh herbed chicken tenderloins
…sauteed in browned butter
Dessert was left warm in the oven… an ooey gooey Chocolate Pudding Cake!
I hope you’ll enjoy, and call me if you’d like to enjoy life’s celebrations at home instead of out in a busy…loud and noisy… impersonal restaurant! We can even do an interactive party if you wanna roll up your sleeves and throw-cook with me!
Wendy’s Almost Famous “Pickled” Pickled Shrimp!
What to throw together...
- about 2 lbs. jumbo sweet North Carolina Shrimp, peeled/de-viened with tail on
- 1 jar NC's Mt. Olive Sweet 'n Hot Pickled Peppers WITH juice
- 1 pint jar Pierce Foods Watermelon Rind Pickles WITH juice
- 1 pint jar Pierce Foods Okra Pickles, DRAINED
How to throw together...
- Cook Shrimp. I prefer to steam in microwave or stove top vs. boiling as steaming keeps the good flavor and nutrients IN the shrimp instead of boiling them out into the water!
- Place cooked shrimp into non-reactive container. Pour peppers with juice, watermelon rind pickles with juice and DRAINED okra pickles over shrimp. Toss well. Refrigerate and chill. I like to do this a minimum of 8 hours before serving for the juices to "pickle" the shrimp and get nice and cold.
- Pierce Foods is a shop I frequent at the Raleigh Farmers' Market. If you go by there, tell Mr. Pierce I sent you. If not in this area, you can sub any similar products, but try to buy LOCAL and from your area farmers' market too!
Notes
Don't be alarmed with the color change to a yellowish tint. That simply means the pickle juices are "pickling" the shrimp just as you want to happen!
The reason I drain the okra pickles is because that juice is twangy and I want my pickled shrimp to be sweet.
What to throw together...
- Cabbage and/or other similar greens
- turnips
- carrots
- jicama
- any kinds of radishes
- spring onions-red onion-sweet onions…any sorts of onions or combination
- cilantro
- and any other nekkid veggies you'd like!
How to throw together...
- A variety of cuts makes this slaw pretty and far from boring. I thinly slice cabbage into ribbons... cut turnips into matchsticks, make long wide shreds of carrots using a vegetable peeler, slice/dice radishes and throw in thinly sliced red onions and chopped green onions (white and green parts).
- Just at serving time, throw in a heap'n help'n of chopped cilantro. This not only gives the slaw a pretty and vibrant punch of green, but throws in one more level of flavor... and THAT is rarely not a good thang!
Notes
The fun thing about this slaw is it can be whatever you want it to be... and can throw in any old things you wanna. If you have some of these nekkid ingredients on hand but not others, fix it anyway. This is a great way to clean out that produce drawer with those tidbits of this and that... not enough on its own, but perfect with thrown together with sister veggies.
Wouldn’t you love to make memories around your supper table at home… instead of a noisy restaurant with strangers?
It was my pleasure Robert… thanks to you and your happy family!!
Follow Me!