This One's for You, East Coast!

Since Hurricane Irene is visiting North Carolina and Virginia (and points farther north) tonight, it might be a good idea for some of you to ride it out with one of these:

New Orleans Online has a recipe here. Cheers ... and have a safe night!

Assembling a Gift Basket of Southern Food

Have you ever wanted to send a gift basket of Southern delicacies to someone in a foreign country (like Wisconsin or Massachusetts) but weren't sure what to include? No? That's just me? That's OK. I'll share these details with you anyway because I know you'll want to do this. I'm thinking that maybe after reading this post you, too, will become inspired to share your culture via U.S. Postal Service.

Anyway ...

I recently took this task upon myself so that I could surprise a friend up North (who hopefully isn't reading this). First, I searched for pre-assembled gift baskets ... because I'm lazy. I knew that North Carolina magazine, Our State, sells gift baskets of N.C. food. And while their BBQ Battle Box does appeal to me, I wanted a greater diversity of food types ... because I'm picky. I also didn't want to pay a lot ... because I'm cheap.

So, as I continued to look around, it became obvious that I wasn't going to find exactly what I was looking for and should just make my own gift basket.

I decided from the get-go not to select anything immediately perishable. As much as I'd like to ship pulled pork or livermush, I decided against getting dry ice involved. I also didn't want the products to all come from my home state (N.C.) or all come from the grocery store (although some came from each/both). So, here's what I came up with:

• Duke's Mayonnaise 
• Cheerwine
• Mrs. Campbell's Chow-Chow
• Smokehouse Barbecue Sauce (can't be purchased retail; can only be bought at Lexington Barbecue)
• Charleston Market Benne Wafers
• Guilford Mills Hushpuppy Mix
• Anson Mills Yellow Grits
• Salem Bakery Moravian Cookies
• Salem Bakery Pimento Cheese Straws

So ... a mix of condiments, snacks, cooking products and beverage. Am I missing anything crucial? Y'all have a couple of days to let me know if there's something else I should add to this package of yum. Send me a note or comment to let me know. I look forward to your suggestions ... really.

Speaking of Biscuits (and we usually are) …

In this year’s list of Saveur Magazine’s Fascinating Saveur 100, which is an annual list of culinary finds, innovations and novelties, Biscuitville made No. 96. The writer refers to the breakfast chain, which is headquartered in Greensboro, N.C. and peppered throughout North Carolina and Virginia, as “an old-fashioned gem in a modern world.” And their product as “the quintessential Southern biscuit.”

I think that’s a pretty fair statement.

The article then links to this piece at A Continuous Lean, where Michael Williams explores the restaurant even further:

“This past weekend I was in North Carolina and couldn’t miss the always delicious and still privately held regional chain Biscuitville. To me, Biscuitville is the Southern breakfast equivalent of the West coast burger mecca In-N-Out … everything on the menu is great and terrible for you.”

Oh lawsy. I think I need to go to Biscuitville ASAP. You know, for blog research.

And, oh yeah, don’t forget to check out the rest of the Saveur 100. No. 100 is one of my all-time faves and a Southern summer staple, the tomato sandwich!