In honor of New Year’s Eve and the start of 2009, the folks at Foodbuzz have helped coordinate a special series of blog posts featuring some of the best food bloggers reminiscing about the meals and the memories they shared on New Year’s Eve 2008.

You can enjoy this special, international food blog event below:

In Alphabetical Order, By Blog Name

Blog: Alchemist Chef
Post: Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A Caribbean New Year’s Eve: Merengue, Mojitos and Meeting The Family

Blog: Chef at Large
Post: Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Punjabi Winter Warmth

Blog: Chez Us
Post: Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A Night in Argentina

Blog: Cloud 9 Food
Post: Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: 3 Generations, Cruising to 3 Countries, for 1 Big Celebration

Blog: Cooking In Stilettos
Post: FoodBuzz 24, 24, 24: A Very Cranberry Soiree

Blog: Cooks Think
Post: Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: New Years on Hawaiian Time

Blog: Cucina Nicolina
Post: Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Celebrating St. Basil

Blog: Eatingclub Vancouver
Post: Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A Starry, Starry Night in Vancouver — Evoking the Philippine Christmas Spirit

Blog: Entertaining Made Easy
Post: Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: NYE Sydney-Style - Barbequed Seafood Degustation Dinner

Blog: Food Good to Eat
Post: Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A Traditional Estonian Feast

Blog: The Food Site
Post: Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: 24 Cookies in 24 Flavours

Blog: Gluten Hates Me But I’m Surviving
Post: Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: 12 Months, 12 Martinis

Blog: Mochachocolata-Rita
Post: Foodbuzz 24,24,24: Ending 2008 with Love - A Classic Hong Kong Wedding

Blog: Palachinka
Post: Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Petits Fours Galore

Blog: The Pink Apron
Post: Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: An Indulgent Last Meal Before a Healthy New Year

Blog: Puget Sound Cookery
Post: Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: The Year of Eating Locally

Blog: Sippity Sup
Post: Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A Nostalgic Look Forward

Here’s to a Tasty and Delicious New Year!

By the way, if you have a food blog and want more information about joining the free Foodbuzz Publisher Program, you can find it here.

Please join us here tomorrow for our new article: Looking Back: The 50 Most Read Food Articles of 2008 on HuggingtheCoast.Com. It’s been a wonderful year!

If you liked this article on HuggingtheCoast.Com, you might also enjoy reading:

• Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: The “Hand-To-Mouth Meals” Series: Shrimp
• Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: The Four Corners of Carolina BBQ Road Trip

(This piece is part of the oyster chapter in the upcoming Hugging The Coast book.)

Oysters are, by design, dissuasive.  Everything about them says ‘Go away. Eat something else’.

Unlike clam or scallop shells, which can be quite pretty, oyster shells are gnarly, butt-ugly, and unpromising. Oysters can also be absurdly contentious to open, and they’re outright gooey on the inside when you do. Why, it seems, would anyone want to put something so nakedly antagonistic in their mouth?

Was it “a brave fellow what first et an oyster”? Oh no, that was one truly hungry hominid. If there had been a lizard or an artichoke or a termite nest or absolutely anything around that even vaguely resembled food, do you think this poor starving knuckle-dragger would have wasted time banging on gnarly, butt-ugly mollusks? I think not.

Growing up, I didn’t even have to meet an oyster face to face in order to be dissuaded. My entire childhood experience with oysters amounted to once asking my mother, after she’d come home from a dinner party where they’d been served, what eating a raw oyster was like. She told me it was, quote, “like swallowing a big wad of snot.” No further questions, your honor.

As an adult, I ate plenty of oysters: smoked, stewed, Rockefeller-ed, etc., including one very memorable, very gently deep-fried panko-crusted Japanese version. But never, ever raw. I just couldn’t bring myself to voluntarily order a plate of Snot Wads on the Half-Shell and then, of course, have to eat them — in public, no less (unlike some people, I was raised to believe that snot eating is a private matter, best reserved for quiet, reflective, and solitary moments.)

But I’d read so much eloquent waxing about the sensual glories of raw oysters from otherwise credible belletrists, I knew I had to be missing out. Some writers even made the whole thing sound kind of refreshing: lifting an iced shell, spritzing it with lemon and a dash of Tabasco, tilting it back and swallowing the cool/tart/spicy oyster in a gulp. It sounded bracing and briny, in a Clamato Bloody Mary sort of way.

My thoughts began to run to casual tropical fantasies, like imagining myself at a palm-thatched stand, eating a dozen freshly shucked specimens right off the playa of shaved ice, savoring the contrast of the cold shell against my sun-warmed lips as I let the sweet, salty delicacy slip down my grateful throat…

Then, unfortunately, my casual tropical fantasies and I ran smack into Ali-Bab.

Ali-Bab, AKA Henri Babinsky wrote the fascinating, extravagantly opinionated, and very French Encyclopedia of Practical Gastronomy in 1906. Remarkably, his descant on the subject of oysters, though written over a hundred years ago, still has the power to nauseate (italics mine):

“Here is the way of the oyster lovers, who feel that a good oyster deserves to be loved for itself.

Have them opened, but only just at serving time. Select your favorite oysters, plump, fleshy ones, and make sure in each case that the oyster is alive, by testing its reflexes. This is an infallible sign which cannot fool you.

Then, gently remove it from the shell, bring it immediately to the mouth, all naked, without any other accompaniment, and, at once, with one bite, pierce the liver. If the subject responds in the manner you expect of him, your gums should immediately be bathed and your mouth flooded with juice.

Remain like that a moment and then slowly swallow the juice and continue chewing and swallowing the mollusk. Then spark yourself with a swallow of good dry white wine, eat a mouthful of dark bread, either buttered or not, to neutralize the taste buds of the tongue so that you will be ready to enjoy the next oyster.”

After reading that harrowing passage, I had to spark myself with jumper cables, swallow a bottle of plonk, and neutralize the cells of the brain by eating a mouthful of Zoloft and huffing a handful of uncapped Sharpie markers. Only then did the urge to gouge out my eyes with a shrimp fork for having ever read it subside.

It’s not old Hank’s fault, though. He was French, and consequently had that unique French attitude toward food, i.e., absolute cold-blooded ruthlessness. Of course he’d have no qualms about making certain that an oyster was totally awake for the experience of having its liver pierced, just so the oyster could spurt the maximum amount of gum-bathing “juice” in that precious moment before it was slowly eaten alive.

Why would he? This, after all, was the man who shared recipes for Roast Saddle of Fawn, Larks in Shrouds, and my personal favorite, Ortolans in Sarcophagi, which involves (I kid you not) drowning — literally — a dozen tiny songbirds in aged cognac, stuffing them with pureed foie gras, and cooking them inside twelve large, hollowed-out Perigord truffles, making it not only morally repugnant but also, at least in the present time, one of the most expensive dishes imaginable.As if that weren’t decadent enough, the recipe also calls for three thrushes to be roasted and crushed in a meat press — just to enrich the sauce. Oh, by the way, this is an appetizer we’re talking about.

But as you might imagine, I was in even less of a hurry after that to be in the same room with a raw oyster, much less eat one of the bile-spewing pustules. No amount of fresh-squeezed lemon or Tabasco would ever take the taste of Ali-Bab’s lurid, appallingly graphic description of the “way of the oyster lovers” out of my mouth. It would haunt me to the grave and/or to any seafood restaurant I would ever visit, of that I was certain.

And yet I knew, without doubt, that the day of reckoning was coming…

(Photo Credits: Sittin’ by the Dock of the Bay, Piggin’ Out by Amoeda, Three Dozen Oysters by Kent Wang, Deep Seafood Cafe - Lunch by VirtualErn, Orange and Oyster Parking by DonovanHouse)

Please join us tomorrow to read our article, New Year’s Eve Dinners Around the World, a culinary remembrance of the last meal of 2008.

Here’s a look back at the posts that appeared earlier in the week here on HuggingtheCoast.Com…please join us tomorrow for the start of next week’s exciting food features!

Looking Back: 12/29/2008-1/4/2009

Monday: Crispy Benne Seed Party Bites With Louisiana Honey Mustard

Tuesday: The Top 10 Hottest Food Trends of 2008 (and a Few Predictions for 2009)

Wednesday: 25 Lucky New Year’s Day Regional and Ethnic Food Recipes From Around the World

Thursday: Happy New Year’s From Hugging the Coast.Com!

Friday: Fish For Friday Recipe of the Week: Drago’s Style Charbroiled Oysters Recipe

Saturday: Weekend Video Spotlight: Raw Truth: Louisiana’s Oyster Industry

Sunday: You are here

Please join us tomorrow to read The Way of the Snot Wad Lovers, a humorous look at the pleasures of eating oysters.

TRyanNOVAC has made an interesting video about Louisiana’s oyster industry, before and after Hurricane Katrina. You can see it below (or here). Enjoy!

Here’s a sensual and delicious recipe for Drago’s Style Charbroiled Oysters Recipe from the folks at NOLA Cuisine.

Ingredients:

The Sauce:

1 Stick Unsalted Butter, very soft
1 Pinch Kosher Salt
1 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
4 Tbsp Pecorino Romano
1 pinch Cayenne
1 pinch White Pepper
1 Spritz Lemon Juice
1 tsp Minced Italian Parsley

For the Oysters:

1 Dozen Large freshly shucked Oysters on the half shell (preferrably Louisiana)
1 Recipe of the Sauce, above
Pecorino Romano to finish
Minced Italian Parsley for garnish
Fresh Bread
Lemon wedges

Here’s to a Tasty and Delicious New Year!

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Wondering what everyone else is eating to celebrate New Year’s around the world (and across America)?

Here’s a list of 25 lucky regional and ethnic foods and their recipes that will help you start the new year right. According to legend, all of the New Year’s foods below are reputed to attract prosperity for the new year.

Organized By “Lucky” Ingredient

Black Eyed Peas (Cowpeas)

• U.S. South: Black-Eyed Peas with Andouille Sausage and Rice (Hoppin John) from The Cook’s Tour
• U.S. South: New Year’s Day Good Fortune Soup from Homesick Texan
• U.S. South: Pork and Black Eyed Pea Jambalaya from About.Com: Southern Food

Cabbage

• Croatia: Sarma (Stuffed Cabbage) from All Recipes
• Germany: New Year’s Day Sauerkraut from Sauerkraut Recipes
• Korea: Oi-sobagi Kimchi Stuffed Cucumber Kimchi from Chow.Com
• Korea: Sweet Potato and Kim Chi Pancakes from Epicurious

Grapes

• Spain and Cuba: 12 grapes are rapidly consumed just after midnight.

Greens (Collard Greens, Spinach, etc.)

• U.S. South: Collard Greens from What’s Cooking America 
• U.S. South: Creamed Turnip Greens from Andrea’s Recipes

Lentils

• Hungary: Hungarian Lentil Soup (Lencse Leves) from Yum Recipes 
• Italy: Risotto with Lentils and Pancetta from About.Com: Italian Food

Pork

• U.S. South: Crispy Benne Seed Party Bites With Louisiana Honey Mustard
• U.S. South: Charleston Chili
• U.S. South: Pork and Black Eyed Pea Jambalaya from About.Com: Southern Food
• Germany and Poland: Stuffed Pork Chops with Kielbasa and Sauerkraut from Simply Recipes

Seafood

• Denmark: Torsk (Broiled and Buttered Cod Fillets from Cooks’ Recipes
• Germany: German New Year’s Herring from Yum Foods
• Italy: Salt Cod With Polenta (Baccala alla Vicentina) from the Food Network
• Poland: Polish Rollmops from About.Com: Eastern European Food

Misc.

• Greece: Vassilopitta (St. Basil’s Cake) from In Mama’s Kitchen
• Holland: Olie Bollen (Dutch Doughnuts) from Fabulous Foods
• Native American (Cree Indian): Boullets (New Year’s Meatball Soup) from The Perfect Pantry 
• U.S. South: Huguenot Torte from Discover South Carolina
• U.S. South: Real Cornbread from Aol.Com: Food

Enjoy!

If you liked this article on HuggingtheCoast.Com, you might also enjoy reading:

• 10 Last Minute Dessert Recipe Ideas for Delicious Home Holiday Entertaining
• Crispy Benne Seed Party Bites With Louisiana Honey Mustard
• The Top 10 Hottest Food Trends of 2008 (and a Few Predictions for 2009)

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1. The Rise of Local and Regional Foods

Horrifying gas prices and increased press attention for such topics as local farmer’s markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) the slow food movement, as well as the revival of community dinner clubs in 2008 all helped bring the concept of eating local home.

Additionally, renewed interest in local restaurants (and home cooking) is likely to increase in response to the economic downturn, even as ssuch generic restaurant chains as Bennigans and Steak and Ale ended up declaring bankruptcy earlier this year.

Another recent restaurant chain to face bankruptcy this year was R.J. Gator’s (with locations in Florida, Texas, and North Carolina), while the Cheesecake Factory experienced disappointing earnings. In addition, such food chains as Ryan’s Family Steak House, Krispy Kreme, Boston Market, and Waffle House had to shutter some locations.

2. Fear of Food

2008 was also the year where the bogeyman was found in the kitchen cupboard, instead of under the bed, due to dozens of widespread food scares and recalls.

Tainted foods distributed by a wide variety of companies rightfully came under scrutiny, as such foods as tomatoes, pork, lettuce, hot dogs, ground beef, etc. all became part of massive recalls and product alerts for reasons that ranged from melamine contamination to listeria.

Related Links:

• The USDA’s Food Recall List
• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency Recall List

3. Superfruits

2008 was clearly the year of the superfruit. One could hardly go anywhere without coming across breaking news about the myriad health benefits of pomegranates, acai, and goji (also known as the wolfberry).

The good news: most of these superfruits are easy to love once one tries them, are fun to cook, and are considered to be high in phytonutrients.

4. Food Blogs

Are you passionate about food and cooking and love to write? Then you might want to join the thousands of food bloggers (both professional and amateur) who find the time to share recipes, cooking tips, food photos, and local restaurant reviews several times a week on their food blogs.

Even musician John Mayer (also known as Jennifer Aniston’s on again, off again boyfriend) has a food blog.

As books from some of the best food bloggers continue to end up in bookstores and grow in popularity, watch for independent food blogging to become more and more accepted by the mainstream press.

Books written by food bloggers so far include:

• Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julia Powell (soon to be a movie starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, and Stanley Tucci)
• Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back…And How You Can Too by Shauna James Ahern
• Clotilde’s Edible Adventures in Paris by Clotilde Dusoulier
• Chocolate and Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen (also by Clotilde Dusoulier)
• The World Is a Kitchen: Cooking Your Way Through Culture edited by Michele Anna Jordan and Susan Brady
• Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip–Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by Steve Dublanica

5. Molecular Gastronomy

Both controversial and thought provoking, Molecular Gastronomy’s (sometimes bizarre) marriage of food and science has both intrigued and confused gourmets for years.

However since such Molecular Gastronomy proponents as chef Grant Achatz of Alinea’s 2008 James Beard Award win and El Bulli chef Ferran Adria’s frequent mentions in the press, Molecular Gastronomy has truly hit the mainstream this year.

Related Links:

• The Father of Molecular Gastronomy Whips Up a New Formula
• Meet the World’s Best Chef

6. Cooking for Kids

From the Food Network, to childrens’ cooking camps and kid friendly cooking classes, both boys and girls are finding it easier than ever to develop a passion for good food and the culinary arts at an early age.

7. Organic Food Goes Truly Mainstream

Sure, if you’re a regular shopper at your local health food store or farmer’s market, organic food is nothing new to you.

However, even those who do most of their food shopping at conventional supermarkets outside of major metro areas couldn’t help noticing increased choices for organic food were popping up this year; from organic baby food to organic wines and beers.

Unfortunately, due to the economy, this trend may lessen somewhat in 2009.

As it says in this New York Times article about projected sales of organic foods:

“The sales volume of organic products, which had been growing at 20 percent a year in recent years, slowed to a much lower growth rate in the last few months, according to the Nielsen Company, a market research firm. For the four-week period that ended Oct. 4, the volume of organic products sold rose just 4 percent compared with the same period a year earlier…”

“Organics continue to grow and outpace many categories,” the Nielsen Company concluded in an October report. “However, recent weeks are showing slower growths, possibly a start of an organics growth plateau.”

8. Farm to Table

As organic food hit the mainstream, the farm to table movement also took hold as more people became interested in both where and how their foods ended up on their tables. A corresponding interest in quality over quantity led to a boom in artisanal cheeses and heirloom meats.

James Beard Award nominated chef, Sean Brock of McCrady’s in Charleston, South Carolina started a farm on Wadmalaw Island to grow fruits and vegetables for the restaurant’s season based menu. A proponent of the farm to table movement, Brock regularly gives lectures encouraging the next crop of chefs to do the same.

9. Probiotic Foods

As the baby boomers get older, there has been a renewed interest in the use of probiotics (friendly bacteria) to help maintain their digestive health, a practice already popular among those in Asia and Europe.

Such food manufacturers as Dannon, TCBY, Attune Foods, Stonyfield Farm, and Lifeway Foods have started to take notice, offering everything from probiotic yogurt, snack bars, cereal, shakes, and (oddly enough) even energy drinks.

According to a 2008 report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., San Jose, CA, the global probiotics market is expected to reach $20 billion by 2010.

Related Links:

• In Live Bacteria, Food Makers See a Bonanza

10. Bacon Everything (and We Mean Everything)

Here’s a disturbing trend that must keep cardiologists up at night; bacon on everything and in everything.

2008 saw such foods as bacon brownies, bacon vodka, bacon and egg ice cream (from triple-Michelin-starred restaurant, Fat Duck) and perhaps most alarming of all, a product called Uncle Oinker’s Bacon Mints.

You can see more unusual bacon-centric foods here.

If you liked this article on HuggingtheCoast.Com, you might also enjoy reading:

• 10 Last Minute Dessert Recipe Ideas for Delicious Home Holiday Entertaining
• Crispy Benne Seed Party Bites With Louisiana Honey Mustard
• 25 Lucky New Year’s Day Regional and Ethnic Food Recipes From Around the World

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There are certain words that mark me as a ‘Comeyah’ (i.e., someone who’s just ‘come here’, as opposed to a ‘Beenyah’) in the South Carolina Lowcountry. I still say ‘Autumn’ instead of ‘Fall’, for example, and ’scallion’ instead of ‘green onion’.

However, I am making some progress in one important area: I’m getting a lot better at remembering to say ‘benne’ instead of ’sesame’.

Folks here refer to the seeds by their African name, and use them in such local goodies as the thin, sweet benne seed wafers that are a staple of holiday entertaining. This recipe combines versatile benne seeds with savory Southern flavors for a deliciously addictive appetizer or cocktail snack. Best of all, they’ll save you time in the kitchen, since you’re not making one at a time, but sixteen at a time!

Even though these are fried, they’re light and not at all greasy, and because they’re so thin they don’t require very much oil. They’re perfect paired with the spicy Louisiana Honey Mustard dipping sauce, but would also be nice with a mild barbeque sauce.

Here’s a photo of the Crispy Benne Seed Party Bites With Louisiana Honey Mustard Dip below.

Ingredients:

For the Honey Mustard Dpping Sauce:

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp hot pepper sauce (such as Crystal or Trappey’s)
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients and chill. This recipe can be doubled.

For the Party Bites:

2 scallions, minced
1/4 cup green pepper, minced
1/4 cup celery, minced
1-1/4 lb lean ground pork
1/2 tsp ground thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
12 egg roll wrappers
1 large egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp water
Sesame seeds
Canola or vegetable oil for frying

PREPARATION:

Thoroughly combine the first nine ingredients (scallions through peanuts) in a bowl, and divide into six roughly equal parts.

On a lightly floured or non-stick surface (I use a silicone baking mat), lay out two egg roll wrappers (keep the remainder in plastic or under a lightly dampened paper towel.)

Brush the surface of both wrappers with beaten egg. Spread one-sixth of the meat mixture evenly over one of the wrappers (a fork works well for this), then lay the other wrapper (egg side down) on top. Gently press down on the surface to remove air pockets. Brush the top with additional egg, sprinkle generously with sesame seeds, and press down lightly to help seeds adhere.

Cut the wrapper cross-wise into four squares, then cut each square diagonally to make four triangles. Use the knife blade to lift the triangles, and place them seed-side down (it’ll make them easier to pick up again) on a cookie sheet or tray. Cover with plastic while you repeat with the other egg roll wrappers.

In a skillet, heat about 1/2 inch of oil over medium-high heat to 360 degrees, or until the tip of a chopstick inserted into the oil sends up a steady stream of little bubbles. Gently place several of the triangles in the oil, taking care not to crowd the pan so the oil temperature doesn’t drop too much (low oil temp is the main cause of ‘greasy’ fried foods.)

When just golden, turn and brown the other side (watch closely as these cook very quickly.) Remove and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining triangles. Makes 96 party bites.

Enjoy!

You Can Read More of Doug’s Recipe Corner Here.

If you liked this article on HuggingtheCoast.Com, you might also enjoy reading:

• 10 Last Minute Dessert Recipe Ideas for Delicious Home Holiday Entertaining
• The Top 10 Hottest Food Trends of 2008 (and a Few Predictions for 2009)
• 25 Lucky New Year’s Day Regional and Ethnic Food Recipes From Around the World

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Here’s a look back at the posts that appeared earlier in the week here on HuggingtheCoast.Com…please join us tomorrow for the start of next week’s exciting food features!

Looking Back: 12/22/2008-12/28/2008

Monday: Carolina Christmas Pomegranate Milk Pie

Tuesday: Our Top 10 Favorite Christmas and New Year’s Eve Holiday Recipes!

Wednesday: 10 Last Minute Dessert Recipe Ideas for Delicious Home Holiday Entertaining

Thursday: Happy Holidays From HuggingtheCoast.Com!

Friday: Fish For Friday Recipe of the Week: Panko Crusted Shrimp Lollipops

Saturday: Weekend Video Spotlight: Holiday Festival of Lights in Charleston, SC

Sunday: You are here

Please join us tomorrow to see our new recipe for Crispy Benne Seed Party Bites With Louisiana Honey Mustard, an easy and addictive finger food appetizer just in time for New Year’s Eve.