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The great West Virginia gas station hot dog
Filed under: Midwest Rural, Southern States, America, Meat 
Insert _____ possum/raccoon/squirrel joke here, if you must.
But don't laugh. A West Virginia hot dog has nothing to do with roadkill, and it's not simply a hot dog eaten in West Virginia either. It is a regional specialty with its own rules, legions of die-hard fans, even its own website. A true West Virginia hot dog is slathered in bean-less beef chili and topped with mustard, coleslaw and chopped onions, then quickly "steamed" in a microwave to soften the bun.
On a recent trip to Welch, WV (don't ask), I...
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Extreme Grilling: My pig pickin'
Filed under: Pork, Barbecuing, How To, Grilling, Southern States, America, Head to Tail 
I've always wanted to throw my own pig pickin,' and my departure from North Carolina finally gave me an excuse. So I went for it - whole hog, if you will, earlier this spring.
A pig pickin,' known in other parts of the country as a hog roast, or simply, a barbecue, is a Carolina tradition involving a hog, a converted oil drum cooker and a lot of time. Pickin' (ALWAYS drop the 'g') have been a stable of church fundraisers, family...
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Drink Drank!
Filed under: Stores & Shopping, Southern States, New Products, Soda  At first I thought this was some fake product that someone came up with, but apparently it's fairly popular in the south (coming to other parts of the country later this year). It's called Drank, and it takes a different track than all of the energy drinks that are on the market now. In fact, it has the opposite result: it makes you relaxed!
The press release says that it's made with melatonin, rose hips, and valerian, and is being pushed as the "anti-energy drink." The slogan is "slow your roll," and the company encourages people to...
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Kentucky Burgoo for the home cook
Filed under: Parties, Vegetables, Beef, Poultry, Pork, Southern States, America, Celebrations, Local Eating, Guilty Pleasures  Burgoo who?
Burgoo is a traditional Kentucky stew of multiple meats (at least three) and a bounty of veggies simmered down for hours until they break down to a uniform consistency. The standard sentiment is that if you can still make out an okra pod or slice of carrot, keep cooking 'cause it ain't burgoo yet -- but as the dish is usually made in such massive quantities (we're talking GALLONS), most regular utensils will just...
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Iced Tea 101
Filed under: Teas, Southern States, America, Guilty Pleasures 
AOL Food has brewed up an iced tea-stravaganza! Get recipes, tips & tricks with How to Brew Iced Tea, read our ongoing Bottled Iced Tea Reviews, and slurp up fun historical and cultural facts in our Iced Tea Quiz. Don't forget to c'mon back to share your quiz scores, tea brewing strategies, and suggestions about what store-bought blends we should sample next.
Get sipping!
And we had a few things to say about Southern Sweet Tea a while back. Bourbon balls not your thing? Try a Derby Pie instead, a fudge-sweet chocolate and nut confection invented at Prospect, Kentucky's Melrose Inn. Traditionally served around Derby time, the treat typically calls for walnuts or pecans and a splash of Kentucky bourbon. The Inn's former owners, the Kerns, have been trying to protect its rights to the name "Derby Pie" by filing various lawsuits over the years - even Bon Appetit was no match for the Kerns, losing the right to print recipes using the name in 1987. So if you're looking for a good recipe...
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Louisville, Kentucky's famous Hot Brown
Filed under: Restaurants, Recipes, Southern States, America 
Is there a less appetizingly named food than the 'Hot Brown?' Louisville, Kentucky's culinary claim to fame doesn't look like much either - an open-faced turkey sandwich topped with bacon and smothered in Sauce Mornay (Béchamel with cheese), it resembles nothing so much as a junkyard covered in a layer of dirty snow, bits of this and that sticking out from the off-colored drifts.
The inelegant Hot Brown was born at downtown Louisville's thoroughly opulent Brown Hotel, supposedly whipped up from kitchen leftovers after a 1920s dinner dance, when hungry flappers fell upon the chef like a...
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World Grits Festival begins today
Filed under: Grains, Recipes, Southern States, America, Comfort Food 
I thought ya'll might care to know that the World Grits Festival kicks off today in St. George, South Carolina. The three-day festival will include grits grinding demos, a grits eating contest, corn shucking competition, and a "rolling in the grits" contest (ages 15 and up. Is that anything like "rolling in the hay," I wonder?).
The festival website features grits recipes like savory grits pies, syrup n' bacon grits, and deep fried grits and cheese. While I'll devour a plain old dish of grits with butter and salt any day, my...
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Tales of the Cocktail 2008
Filed under: Beer, Cocktails, Raves & Reviews, On the Blogs, Southern States, America, Spirits, Festivals, Raising the Bar  Love cocktails? Spirits? Want to know how to make your own bitters, infused syrups or tinctures? Interested in bartending techniques or the history of the craft? Or, heck, do you like to drink? Brothers and sisters, have I got an event for you. . .
Tales Of The Cocktail is the only event of its kind. From July 16-20th bartenders, spirit representatives, notable authors, mixologists and enthusiastic barflies will gather in New Orleans to celebrate, attend seminars and drink...
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Paul Prudhomme is invincible
Filed under: Southern States, America, Health & Medical  Chef Paul Prudhomme was setting up his tent at the Zurich Classic (golf) in New Orleans when he felt something on his arm and thought he was stung by a bee.
When he opened his shirt sleeve, a .22 calibre bullet fell to the ground!
Fortunately for Chef Prudhomme, the bullet was apparently not aimed at him, but had simply fallen, probably shot from somewhere within a mile-and-a-half radius of the golf course.The chef's shirt was torn and his skin was cut, but he was back to cooking within five minutes.
So he wasn't shot at,...
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