Goodbye Melet
I’ve done plenty of tough things in my life and being a Dad is definitely the hardest; the job description changes almost daily. As both parents and children grow and evolve so do the challenges of parenting. Yet I’ve known folks that have made it look easy and Melet Antonakos was one of those […]
Goliath vs. David
Want to compete in a big time BBQ contest? $275.00 is all it takes to enter the NC BBQ Championships and that gets you a 25 by 30 foot piece of grass with water and electricity. The only thing left to pay for is meat, fire, spice and beer. A few days prior to […]
“You’re gonna love my stove!”
Our friend was leaning into our car window, grinning from ear to ear. Just a week earlier he was the winning bidder for a dinner that my wife and I donated as a fundraiser for our church. His mind was racing with the expectation of a memorable meal and Amy and I were excited […]
Operation #Cronut
By now the entire food world has heard of and salivated over a Cronut. It’s a doughnut made from croissant dough, says Chef Dominique Ansel, owner of Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York’s SoHo district. Now Chef Ansel is no flash in the pan; for many years he was Daniel Boulud’s pastry chef and if […]
Goodbye Pip
It was just another late Spring afternoon, the warm May breeze had our neighborhood’s flowers dancing and our minds on thoughts of a summer filled with a lot of nothing. The four of us were walking home from the pool when Holly said we were being followed. We looked back and saw an obviously lost, […]
An Acorn Did That?
I finished my shower, toweled off then walked into the bedroom. My wife’s eyes momentarily twinkled until she saw the baseball sized bruise on the left side of my chest, just above the third rib. “What on earth happened to you?” “Oh that? An acorn did that.” She shook her head and frowned. “You’re […]
Bovinova!
Anyone can cook a whole hog, it’s not as daunting a task as it may seem. In the South, that kind of cooking happens every weekend. Whole hog BBQ is usually done in support of a big event such as a birthday party, church gathering or a fundraiser for a local charity. But if one […]
Flours for Amy
I love the aroma of butter and flour, eggs and sugar, gently mixed together then properly baked. These four simple ingredients offer so much possibility, especially in the hands of my wife. Breads and biscuits, cookies and cakes, scented with vanilla bean or cinnamon, orange or chocolate. As a young culinary student she tempted me […]
Predict a Table
When my wife and I were in the restaurant business, there was nothing I wouldn’t do for press. It was all about keeping our little place relevant and buzz worthy. When April Fool’s Day was on the horizon I would go to great lengths to write a fictitious press release then attempt to get our […]
“Mr. Ready’s Coming!”
For a cook, there’s something very endearing about a cookbook that contains a recipe that begins with, “For 1,000 pounds of pork…” For a modern chef that would translate into 12 eighty-pound cases of pork butts. And that my friends, is a lot of pork. From Rivets and Rails, Recipes of a Railroad Boarding […]