For the Love of Barbecue

Thankfully the reason I traveled back to the east coast when I visited in July was for a different reason than the last time in April.  To get back as quickly as possible, I took the red eye as to not waste any time traveling the whole day.  I landed at 6 am east coast time bleary-eyed and still a little cracked out on Tylenol PM, but I was glad to get back in NC.  My sister text me to let me know they were up and ready for us with coffee and biscuits with sausage gravy.  We arrived at 7:30 am and sat down to the start of the 4^th of July weekend with family.  Promptly after breakfast and a cup of coffee I declared I needed to lie down since I was unable to sleep on the plane despite taking the Tylenol PM.  I slept for four hours. 

Usually my father’s side of the family gets together each July for the yearly family reunion.  We missed last year’s reunion since we were moving to Portland and it’s one that I won’t forgive myself for missing.  I could’ve hugged my aunt Kay one last time before she passed away suddenly this past April.  I knew I didn’t want to miss this one.  Normally, we hold it at the family farm in East Tennessee, but it was decided we would do it differently this year and would hold it in NC.  My cousins came in from Georgia and Alabama, and my aunt and uncle came in from Tennessee, dividing themselves among my sister, dad and nephew’s homes for the weekend.  Friday night was barbecue at my nephew’s house, which was a request I had made far in advance to acquiesce my need for North Carolina cue’.  Two different styles of Boston butts were prepared: one on the smoker and the other on the grill, both of which were doused in the heat-laden vinegar sauce of the East.  Two slaws were prepared, one red and one white, as well as a side of baked beans, which I didn’t eat.  After my red-eye fog had lifted, my sister and I had made a heaping portion of Krispy Kreme bread pudding to feed the barbecue stuffed crowd.  Since living in the barbecue barren land of the west, I only had a few days to satisfy my overwhelming need for real barbecue. 

I spent the next few days seeing as many friends and family as possible, but there is never enough time.  The next few days flew by and before I knew it was time to head back to Oregon.  On the way back to airport I stopped in at the Charlotte institution the BBQ King.  In all the years that I lived in the area I am embarrassed to say that I had never eaten at this long running, iconic Charlotte establishment.  BBQ King is famous for their barbecue (hence the name) and also their fried chicken dipped in barbecue sauce.  The “King” has been around since 1959 and not much has changed since.  If you want to “eat in” the restaurant, it is curbside only, or you can place your order inside and take it away.  Choosing from the menu wasn’t terribly hard, since I knew I needed to try to barbecue and the chicken.  There are several typical sandwiches and burgers on the menu, but when one eats at a place you should always go with the namesake dish.  I made eye contact with the carhop who said he would be right over.  The carhop, an older gentleman, limped over to my rental to take my order.  I settled on the barbecue combo, which includes barbecue and chicken.  Would you like white meat or dark meat he asked?  What would do you think?  He said to order the white meat, and I dutifully took his advice.  Since there was no Cheerwine on the menu I settled on ordering lemonade.  He proclaimed that I ordered an awful lot of food to eat for such a little thing, to which I replied that he might be surprised by how much I can eat.  Are you telling me that big things come in small packages?  I laughed and said you got it.  Minutes later he brought my food on a tray.  The first bites were some of the best I had all trip.  The chicken was still hot and crispy, even after being dunked in sauce and the barbecue was smoky goodness with a smattering of Western style sauce on top.  Along with the protein there were two dense little golf ball sized hushpuppies, a small container of white slaw with a pickle on top and a hand full of French fries.  Since I hadn’t eaten breakfast and by the this time it was way past my typical lunchtime, I devoured almost all of my barbecue along with a wing and breast of fried chicken, both hushpuppies and half the fries and slaw.  I told him he might be surprised.  I washed my salty lunch down with the lemonade, put the tray on the curbside ordering stand and backed out to head to the airport.  The carhop and I waved to each other as I pulled out of the parking lot.  I didn’t get a chance to talk to him before I left but I think he would have been proud. 

It's So Hard to Say Goodbye

Normally, I write about food, wine and travel, but not this time.  This time, I feel compelled to write about the trip I took to bury my aunt who died suddenly three weeks ago.

I received a text from my oldest sister that said "I need you to call me." I knew someone was dead, but I didn't know who.  I called her immediately and she shared the unfortunate news of my aunt's untimely passing early on a Tuesday morning.  Reeling from the news, my thoughts turned to my cousin Ben and cried even harder thinking of how he was going to deal with this.  As my aunt's only child, she and Ben had always been extremely close and in later years he had become her caretaker, checking in on her from afar.  I knew he was going to be devastated from her sudden loss, especially since they had just been in Las Vegas celebrating her 64th birthday days before she died.  I called him and couldn't get him so I just left a weepy message on his voicemail saying that I loved him and was so sorry.  That night I had planned to see friends who were in town during the Craft Brewer's Conference in Portland.  I couldn't muster the energy to be with friends, so my husband suggested we go to dinner at the Woodsman Tavern that evening to make me feel better.  He knew that this was the only thing that might help me feel better since after dining there last summer after we moved to town I proudly proclaimed the Woodsman to be my happy place.  The menu is small and simple, serving expertly executed American classics like deviled eggs, fried chicken served in a bucket, and a riff on a Big Mac cheeseburger that will haunt your dreams.  During that first visit we devoured our cheeseburgers and perfect fries served with Sriracha and mayonnaise and drank down bourbon, all the while old school country music played in the dining room. 

It had been years since I had been to Knoxville and unfortunately the time before was for my Nana's funeral, my mom's Mom.  I booked my ticket as soon as I could for my journey to Tennessee.  I wanted and needed to be with my family during this time of grief.  I left Portland Thursday and got into Knoxville airport at midnight.  My sister and brother-in-law were waiting to pick me up at the small airport to then head on to the hotel we were staying at in Oak Ridge together.  I couldn't sleep when I got into to the hotel even though I was exhausted from the travel and a little buzzed from the alcohol I had consumed on the plane to try to numb the pain I was feeling.  I felt guilty about missing the family reunion last July.  We hadn't missed it in years and missed it this time to make the move to Oregon.  Each July my dad's side of the family gets together to share a meal at my grandmother's house in Greeneville, Tennessee or picnic at Horse Creek Park down the road.  This tradition has been going on for years now, and really has become the only time everyone can commit to seeing each other.  The periods of time in between seeing family on my dad's side seems to have gotten longer and longer as the years have gone on, each time making it a little more difficult to talk with people you share the same blood with.

I've always loved my aunt Kay and I've always loved Ben, even though we didn't get to see each other that often growing up.  I hadn't seen him in years and finally got to see him Friday night at the funeral home.  We embraced and after we let go, he introduced me to his new partner Jonathan.  I am glad I finally got to meet this new guy that makes him so happy and it comforted me to know that he has someone that will help him get through the most difficult time of his life.  He's so unbelievably strong and put together that he was able to eulogize his mom during the service that evening.  That night Kay's former coworkers provided a meal for us from one of her favorite spots in Knoxville: Calhoun's Barbecue.  We sat in the break room of EdFinancial services eating barbecue and Ben commenting on whenever he would ask Kay where she wanted to go she would always just want to get takeout from Calhoun's.  After dinner, we met at Outback Steakhouse in Oak Ridge for beers and fellowship with my other cousins, Ben too exhausted to join us.  The burial was Saturday at Oak Ridge Memorial Park at 11:00 am.  It was sunny and warm that day.  All of the immediate family were in attendance for the burial.  We greeted each other without hugs, all of us quiet and solemn.  It seemed more real than the evening before at the funeral home, even seeing her lying there in the open casket.  We all huddled in around the burial tent, most choosing to stand and no one moving to sit in the chairs closest to casket.  The preacher had us bow our heads to pray, trying to speak loud enough for everyone to hear over the passing highway traffic.  Afterwards, I hugged Ben tight not wanting to let go, letting him sob into my shoulder.  How will he move on from this?  That evening my sisters, brother-in-law, and I met at Kay's favorite watering hole to toast her life.  She would have liked that.  Ben joined us later for one more drink at the Copper Cellar, leaving a weary Jonathan behind at Kay's condo to briefly catch up with us before we all went our separate ways again. 

I know it's cliche to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway: hold the ones you love dear, and don't take it for granted that you'll get to see them soon.  You may not.  Tell them you love them and forgive them for mistakes or things they've said.  I didn't get to say goodbye to my aunt because I thought I would see her again.   I left not knowing the next time I would see my family again but in my heart I hoped it would be soon. 

Home for the Holidays

My heart is full.  I am so happy that over the nine days I was home for the holidays I was able to see so many friends and family, that my heart fills so utterly and completely full that it may burst.  In fact, this may go down as one of the best Christmas holidays I think we’ve had in a long time.  After spending time with family for the first half of the trip, we then booked it back to Greenville for a few days to see friends.  The order of the day was to catch up with as many people as possible during happy hours, dinners, and lunches.  It is almost impossible to see everyone, but I will say we came pretty close.  We drank loads of Rosé Champagne with close friends and burned pieces of paper with our wishes written on them to ring in the New Year.  On New Year's day, we got to enjoy a traditional Southern New Year’s Day lunch of black eyed peas, collard greens, cornbread, and braised pork shoulder.  Not only is this meal a longstanding tradition in the South dating back to the Civil War era, but also a tradition we celebrate among friends and have done so the last four years.  We put our best foot forward each New Year's day, each of us vowing to do better than we had in the previous year, and also hoping that by consuming this traditional meal it will actually bring us good luck and money. 

As far back as I can remember growing up my mother made sure that each New Year's Day we ate our traditional meal of pork with Hoppin' John and the addition of either spinach or mustard greens.  We didn't eat the Southern green of choice, collard greens, since she didn't like them and she was the person cooking.  It wasn't until I was well into my 20's that I realized that I actually liked collard greens.  According to Southern lore the pork and peas are for luck and the greens are for money and prosperity in the New Year.  I've also read that the peas are representative of coins, but either way, eating this meal is meant to bring you luck and money.  It wasn't until last year that I actually made Hoppin' John for the first time.  Hoppin' John is a heritage dish with roots in the Low Country of South Carolina.  Like many dishes in this area and the rest of the South the roots run further to the origin of West Africa.

On a weekend visit to Charleston, SC we stopped by the farmer's market, where I found an heirloom variety of peas called Sea Island Red Peas and and an heirloom variety of rice called Carolina Gold from Anson Mills.  According to Anson Mills Carolina Gold rice is:

"The grandfather of long-grain rice in the Americas, Carolina Gold is a delicate non-aromatic rice with rich chameleon properties that allow it to produce fluffy, individual grains; creamy risotto; or sticky Asian-style rice, depending on how it is cooked.  Exclusively new crop and milled to emulate fresh, hand-pounded rice, Anson Mills Carolina Gold rice has a clean, sweet flavor and mouthfeel superior to modern long-grain rice." 

Southern Chef Sean Brock of Husk and McCrady's fame has been using Carolina Gold rice and other Anson Mills products for years now.  And rightfully so, you can taste the difference in using quality ingredients such as these in the final product.  Once we got home, I trolled the internet for Sea Island Red pea recipes and I came across the delicious one below from Anson Mills website.  It's a great recipe that can be made anytime of the year, but particularly on New Year's day.  Serve with collard greens and cornbread, and you've got yourself a wonderful meal.  

New Year's Day Hoppin' John (recipe slightly adapted from Anson Mills)

Serves 4-6 people

• 1 quart Chicken Stock 

• 1 cup Sea Island Red Peas or Black Eyed Peas, covered with water, soaked overnight, and then drained

• 2-3 slices of bacon or 1 ham hock

• 1/2 yellow onion

• 1/2 carrot, peeled

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tsp Curry powder

• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

• Kosher salt to taste

1. Bring the stock to a simmer over medium-high heat in heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan. Stir in the soaked and drained peas, the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaf, bacon and curry powder. Return the liquid to a simmer, and then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan partially and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the peas are tender, 1 to 1¼ hours.
   
   
2. Remove and discard the vegetables and bay leaf. Season with the red pepper flakes and salt to taste. Remove ¼ cup or so of peas and broth and puree them in a blender or food processor or with a burr mixer. Return the puree to the pot with the peas. (Alternatively, you can mash the peas directly in the pan with a potato masher or fork.) If the gravy is too thick, thin it with a bit of water. Cook just until heated through. Taste for seasoning and serve hot over long-grain rice (Carolina Gold if you can find it) or  Simple Buttered Carolina Gold Rice Grits.

Ashley Christensen's "Luck and Money" dish of peas and greens at Poole's Diner Raleigh, NC.  Photo taken from Garden & Gun

I have my own resolutions and wishes for the New Year.  I want to explore the wonderland of the Pacific Northwest, I want to focus on my fitness, and I want to do the things that make me happy like cooking, writing, and spending time with friends and family.  Here's a toast for the New Year: I wish everyone happiness, health, and wealth in 2015.  May the New Year give you the courage to try new things in your life, face your challenges head on, and may your hopes and dreams come true.

Salud!