Hugging the Coast » 2008

Sat

Jan '08

Annual Upstate NY Chili Contest Reminds Us of Where We’ve Been

Posted by webmaster in Travel & Places, South Carolina, Events, Recipes, Food, Chili, New York, Cookbooks & Foodie Books, Charleston, Nostalgia

If you live in the Ithaca, NY area, a small town in the heart of Tompkins County that’s home to Moosewood Restaurant (inspiration for the bestselling Moosewood Cookbook Series) and Cornell University, you might want to enter the Ithaca Journal’s Chili Recipe Contest.

Unlike Charleston, SC, Ithaca is a place where at least one pair of good winter boots and a strong shovel is obligatory and a woodstove is a godsend.

After weeks of breathtaking fall foliage, the first snows come to the Ithaca area in mid-November and the last snows often come in April when temperatures in the Low Country are starting to rise into the mid-70’s.

Snow (such as it is) is rare here, and I often think of Ithaca when we’re walking the beaches here in December, or running errands around town looking at palm trees and Spanish moss bedecked live oaks without an icicle in sight.

Our Former Backyard Just Outside of Ithaca, NY in November

Charleston, SC This December

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Wed

Jan '08

The Food Network’s Hungry Detective Comes to Charleston on February 1st!

Posted by webmaster in Cooking, Travel & Places, South Carolina, Events, Food, Press Coverage, Crabs, Shrimp, Cookbooks & Foodie Books, Corn, Lee Brothers, Anthony Bourdain, TV & Video, Charleston, Food Network, Travel Channel, Meats, Grains & Baked Goods, Cheese & Dairy

If you love southern cooking as much as we do, you might remember that Anthony Bourdain (author of the wonderful food memoir Kitchen Confidential) focused an episode of his No Reservations Show on the Travel Channel on the food of South Carolina last November.

Now the Food Network is celebrating Charleston cuisine on the Hungry Detective in an episode that will air on 2/1/2008 at 10:30AM ET/PT.

(more…)

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Fri

Jan '08

Sometimes It’s OK to Play With Your Food: Part II

Posted by webmaster in Humor, Food

Here’s some more fun food related items to enjoy…

Crocheted Ice Cream Cones by Melbangel

Bagel and Cream Cheese Dollhouse Food by She Counts Crows

NYC Ceramic Takeout Coffee Cup by NYfirst.com

Chili Pepper Mousepad by Make Fun Crafts

Stained Glass Pickles in a Jar by Interior Glass Designs

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Wed

Jan '08

Sometimes It’s OK to Play With Your Food: Part I

Posted by webmaster in Humor, Food, Corn

We came across these wonderful non-edible food themed crafts and had to share…

Nicole Gastonguay is a fiber artist living in NYC.

They’re all great, but I especially love the happy cannoli! (See more of her work here.)

More silly/wonderful ways to play with your food:

Toast Earrings by Komodokat

Sushi Oven Mitts by HBIC

Buttered Popcorn Scarf by Diane Langan

Cherry Cheesecake Charms from OneElf

Food Love Magnet Set by Buttonarcade

Bacon Incense from Fooberry Incense

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Fri

Jan '08

Thank You, Piggly Wiggly!

Posted by webmaster in Cooking, South Carolina, Events, Recipes, North Carolina, Georgia, Barbeque, Chili, Press Coverage, Taste of the South Contest, Piggly Wiggly, Pulled Pork, Charleston

(Please click on each of the images above to see a larger version of the flyer.)

Wow! We never saw this coming!

Doug DuCap’s winning recipe for Charleston Chili is being featured in this week’s (1/1/2008) Piggly Wiggly supermarket flyer!

Today, with nearly 600 locations in 17 states, Piggly Wiggly is celebrating its 60th anniversary of service in the Carolinas. (There are 115 Piggly Wiggly stores in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Southeastern Georgia alone!)

Founded in Memphis, TN in 1916, Piggly Wiggly was America’s first true self-service grocery store. (You can find out more about the history of Piggly Wiggly here.)

As it says in Wikipedia:

“In the early days of retailing, all products had to be fetched by an assistant from shelves on one side of a counter while the customers stood on the other side and pointed to what they wanted. Many foods did not come in the individually wrapped consumer-size packages taken for granted today, so an assistant had to measure out the precise amount desired by the consumer. These practices were obviously labor-intensive and therefore quite expensive. The shopping process was slow, as the number of customers who could be attended at one time was limited by the number of clerks employed in the store.”

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Tue

Jan '08