At last month’s Redwood Creek Campfire Classic event in National Harbor, MD, four semifinalists from the South (including myself) and four from the Northeast met in a combined event to compete in our respective regions.On contest day, we were each assigned to share a preparation table with a semifinalist from the other region who we weren’t competing against.

I had the pleasure of sharing a table with Melissa Mullins, a charming and talented woman who persevered in the face of unforeseen technical glitches to produce first-rate examples of her beautiful, scrumptious sounding Blackberry Hand Pies with Jar-Whipped Lavender Cream and win the finalist spot for the Northeast Region.

I say scrumptious sounding because, sadly, in all the excitement of the event I never did get a chance to taste them!

But they must have been pretty darn wonderful because, I’m thrilled to report, my tablemate went on to win the Redwood Creek Campfire Classic Grand Prize in NYC this weekend!

Hooray for Melissa! Now I really wish I had gotten to taste those pies!

As it says in an article about the 2008 Redwood Creek Campfire Classic Contest in Epicurious:

“Mullins’s empanada-like pies are baked over the campfire in mini-foil ‘ovens’ that allow the air to circulate, helping the crust get crispy. She says shortening works better than butter for the great outdoors since it doesn’t spoil and also aids in crisping the crust.”

Melissa’s love of local ingredients and culinary ingenuity gave her the inspiration for the winning dish. “The campground we were at was just surrounded by blackberries.” Then she found frozen pie crusts at the camping store, and turned her grill into an oven with tinfoil, according to New York’s Daily News.

Want to make her winning dish during your next cookout? You can see her full recipe here on the Metro Sports NY site.

Happy Independence Day!

A 4th of July Celebration, St. Helena Island, SC, 1939 (more photos from the event here.)

The Library of Congress has more historical photos taken of Independence Day celebrations around America here…enjoy!

Ever wonder where top chefs like Anthony Bourdain, Thomas Keller, and Tom Colicchio like to go on vacation, area restaurants they can’t resist, what their guilty culinary pleasures are on the road, and more?

Then you’ll enjoy this series of interesting pieces from Fodors which features 14 top chefs including Alice Waters, Anthony Bourdain, Thomas Keller, Tom, Colicchio, Ming Tsai, Suvir Saran, Lidia Bastianich, Govind Armstrong, Michelle Bernstein, Gavin Kaysen, Bobby Flay, and Suzanne Goin, sharing their favorite foodie meccas (excerpts below):

Anthony Bourdain on New York:

“What do we do in New York better than anyone else in the world?’ The answer to that question is deli…It’s the food that I miss when I’m away, no matter how well I’m eating. Even in places with fantastic food — Singapore, Hong Kong — the food that I miss first is deli.”

(You can read more from Anthony Bourdain on the subject here.)

Thomas Keller on the Napa Valley:

“When I think of lunch in Napa, I think of something quick that’s kind of comforting. And one of the places I like is Taylor’s Refresher. They have great hamburgers and fish tacos and you can sit outside in the beautiful weather because they have a big lawn right behind it. One of the things about Napa Valley, which is so unique, is that all of our restaurants are really good…People come to Napa Valley primarily to eat and drink, so we have great wine and great restaurants.”

(You can read more from Thomas Keller on the subject here.)

Tom Colicchio on Charleston, SC:

“What’s great about the South is that the idea of hospitality is second-nature. One of my favorites in Charleston is Hominy Grill. It is just the epitome of Southern casual dining. Breakfast, lunch, dinner — every single meal is just wonderful. Usually when I go to Charleston, I go right from the plane to Hominy Grill. I try to get there for breakfast — they do shrimp and grits and different egg dishes. Whatever they serve is usually seasonal, wonderful, delicious. Last time I was there I had shad roe and scrambled eggs for breakfast…

For me, going to South Carolina, it’s not so much about the beaches, it’s about the marshes. It’s just wonderful to get a kayak and go through the marshes. You see everything from redfish to alligators to dolphins. It’s amazing — the amount of birds and wildlife…

There are so many little fish shacks around Charleston. There’s a little place called Bowen’s Island, an oyster grill where you sit at a picnic table, and the guy comes by with a shovel full of oysters that come off the grill and just puts [them] on the table on top of newspaper and they’re kind of steamed open from the grill — and that’s it. You dip them in butter and that’s all they serve…”

(You can read more from Tom Colicchio on the subject here.)

Also, you can see photos of Bowen’s Island on our FlickR Photoset here as well as read the full series of top chef interviews here.

When you go on a fishing trip or go camping in the mountains, do you enjoy celebrating the pleasure of the great outdoors with a gourmet meal cooked on an open fire?

Fans of outdoor cooking at its finest (as well as gourmet food in general), won’t want to miss the four Redwood Creek Campfire Classic events taking place across the country throughout the spring and summer to kickoff the 2008 camping season.

The most recent event will be held on May 17th, 2008 as part of the Food and Wine Festival at National Harbor in Maryland and will feature the semi-final competitions for the contest for already selected competitors from both the North and Southeast (with Hugging the Coast’s own Doug DuCap competing in the Southeastern Division!).

In addition to the Redwood Creek Campfire Classic cookoffs, the Food and Wine Festival at National Harbor will also feature demonstrations by Michel Richard, the critically acclaimed chef of Citronelle and author of Happy in the Kitchen as well as lectures and samples from dozens of culinary experts from around the country.

Two other Campfire Classic semi-finalist cookoffs will be held in Seattle, WA on May 31st as part of the Pike Place Market Street Festival and in Chicago, IL on June 7th as part of the Chicago Botanic Garden Wine Festival which will determine the finalists from the Northwest and Midwest divisions. (The finalists from the Southwestern division were chosen on May 3rd at Mayfest in Fort Worth, TX.)

Winners of the Campfire Classic Semi-Finals will be awarded $1,000, plus an all-expense paid trip to New York City to compete during the first week of summer for a chance to win a $10,000 Grand Prize. The finals will be judged by Redwood Creek winemaker, Cal Dennison, and Bob Blumer, host of the Food Network’s Glutton for Punishment and The Surreal Gourmet.

Like the poster above? You can get it free here. Also, please see the 2007 Campfire Classic Finalists’ Recipes below to help inspire you on your own culinary campfire adventures:

• 2007 Grand Prize Winner: Coal-Roasted Chuckbox Pozole-Stuffed Onions by Leah Lyon of Ada, Oklahoma

• Chincoteague Scallops by Julia DeCastro of University Park, Florida

• Rocky Mountain Pinon Paella by Paul Heitzenrater of Denver, Colorado

• Down East Lobster Scampi a la Campfire by Brian Mulligan of Bath, Maine

• Lost in the Woods Pork Tenderloin by Kim Wittmers of Minneapolis, Minnesota

Maxeaudela has made a wonderful video in which dancers strike up an impromptu Charleston in Washington Square Park in New York City which you can see below (or here).

According to an article in Gothamist:

“Between the New York Times barbecue cover story last week and the giveaway pulled pork yesterday in Madison Square Park, it would seem as though New York is going all kinds of rubbed and sauce-slathered crazy (don’t forget to free up the second week of June for the mammoth Big Apple Barbecue).

While the current media blitz over toasted bones and brash pit masters inevitably continues, Gothamist would like to divert just a little of your attention to some barbecue-appropriate side dishes and accoutrements, in particular, from the Carolinas and Georgia.”

You can read more of the article here.

Gothamist also has a nice article about The Carolina Country Store in Brooklyn here which was discussed here on Chowhound. Mentioned in the previous article, Poor Freddies Rib Shack was named one of the best places to eat in NY by the Village Voice and was raved about here by the folks at Chowhound.
Among the often hard-to-find items expats from the South can enjoy there are bone-in country ham, pimento cheese, hoop cheese (rat cheese), red franks, and boiled peanuts as well as the far easier to find hush puppy mixes and bags of grits.

With rising food and gas prices, sometimes it’s hard to justify the expense of gourmet food ingredients. However, according to Christiane Jory, the author of 99¢ Only Stores: The Cookbook, shopping at discount stores (at least occasionally) may be the answer.
According to the book’s description:

Tired of forking over hundreds of dollars for entertaining her friends and family, Christiane Jory challenged herself to create more than 100 gourmet recipes for appetizers, side dishes, main courses, and desserts-solely with items she found at 99¢ Only Stores. Her recipes include:

• Artichoke Spinach Bake on Homemade Pizza Bread
• Green Beans Au Gratin
• Chicken Tetrazinni
• Pinot Noir Poached Pear Tart

This 224 page book is filled with sample menus, as well as a glossary of cooking terms. Each recipe includes the estimated cost of the meal and helpful kitchen hints, such as uses for recycled milk cartons and how to freeze egg whites.

By the way, Christine has a blog in which she shares recent bargain store finds, photos, and recipes.

There are 262 99¢ Only Stores in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas. (Here’s a link to the store locator.)

Because we live in South Carolina, I have never been to a 99¢ Only Store. However, we do have Dollar Tree Stores which offer all items for $1.00 which are located all over the East Coast.

Among the things we’ve found there are gourmet snacks and crackers, organic soups and broths, large containers of spices, bread and baked good mixes, marinated artichoke hearts and musrooms, Hungarian Ajvar (and myriad other condiments), kitchen knives and cutlery (not exactly Henckel quality, but if you’re bringing over a cake to a friend you won’t weep if you lose your implements), microfiber kitchen towels, and more.

When we lived in Western New York State, there was a small, local supermarket chain that offered all groceries for $1 as well as a variety of independent dollar sores that sold everything from #10 cans of chocolate syrup, an assortment of gourmet ice creams and cheeses, large jars of various pestos, fancy honeys and mustards, imported olives, and tapenades, and other culinary items that make me weep at the memory of the incredible savings.

Here’s a funny video of Ellen DeGeneres clowning around in a 99 cent store.

Courtesy of Travel Industry Wire.Com:

A recent Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) study, showed that 58% of all American leisure travellers say they are somewhat/very interested in taking a trip to engage in culinary or wine-related activities.

With this in mind, editors of the website Travelocity say they scoured the globe to highlight unique foodie finds.

Due to its access to top-notch chefs and fresh ingredients, Charleston, SC made the list

Travelocity’s 10 Delicious Destinations for Foodies: (in alphabetical order)

• Barcelona, Spain

This Spanish city started getting recognition just within the last five years. Catalan influences dominate both the culture and cuisine with French and Mediterranean inspired dishes more prevalent than traditional Spanish fare. Catalan cuisine features a unique combination of ingredients such as red meat and fish; poultry and fruit; and pork sausage with white beans. Each dish is unique, original and utterly impossible to put down.

• Boulder, Colorado

It’s no secret that Boulder is about as eco-friendly and earthy as it gets, but what may come as a surprise is how the recent addition of urban dwellers has led to a more sophisticated and trend-setting approach to organic dining. Take The Kitchen Café for example, which offers an eclectic menu with superior organic ingredients, but moreover, is completely green-they even compost all of the kitchen scraps and use wind power. On top of this green approach, Boulderites have access to some of the country’s finest boutique ingredients, such as hormone-free Colorado lamb, local cheeses, and even organic microbrews.

• Charleston, South Carolina

Some may call it soul food, but in Charleston they call it Low Country cuisine. Prevailing as the undisputed local favorite, this culinary specialty infuses restaurant menus with dishes such as Frogmore Stew, She-Crab Soup and Hoppin’ John. Rice, grits and fresh, local produce play an integral role in the creation of these truly Southern meals, and the waters that surround South Carolina’s Low Country inspire local cooks more often than not with seafood dishes found on just about every menu.

• Las Vegas, Nevada

In the spirit of Liberace, Vegas’ recent restaurant boom is completely over the top-and we mean that in the best possible way. If you want your foie gras topped with shaved truffles and dusted with gold, it’s a sure bet it can be found here. Top chefs from NYC, Paris, and London are opening namesake outposts in hotels and casinos with much fanfare, so keep an eye out for Emeril, Thomas Keller, and Bobby Flay. Fortunately for our wallets, Vegas’ famous buffets are still a beloved part of life on The Strip.

• London, United Kingdom

London is shaking its reputation for having mediocre cuisine (we think it was undeserved anyway!). Celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsey have built on the English penchant for exquisite service and fine surroundings, and have made the current restaurant scene world famous. All the while, specialty gourmet shops have continued operations for nearly 300 years, as in the case of Fortnum & Mason, known for its fine teas, and Paxton & Whitfield, cheesemonger to the royal family. Choose from afternoon tea, Indian curries, and classic pub fare, like shepherd’s pie-then wash it down with a black and tan before hitting the museums.

• Montreal, Quebec

Known ubiquitously for its French cuisine, the Montreal culinary scene also boasts imaginative carte du jours from more than 80 countries. Dine at one of the city’s 5,000 restaurants, or spend the day meandering through local markets in search of the same culinary treasures used by Montreal chefs. While there, sample a Montreal-style bagel topped with cream cheese or a smoked meat sandwich, two local treats.

• New Orleans, Louisiana

Many first time visitors head to New Orleans to experience events such as Mardi Gras or JazzFest, but they return time and time again for its food. NOLA’s most famous restaurants include Emeril’s, Commander’s Palace and Antoine’s, but local favorites such as Jacques-Imos and Port of Call deserve a spot on the map of culinary treasures as well. Cajun and Creole dishes throughout the city tempt the taste buds, and no visit to Crescent City is complete without indulging in a beignet dusted with powdered sugar and a cup of café au lait laced with chicory at Café Du Monde.

• New York, New York

Cabbies and billionaires alike clamor for the city’s famous slices, pretzels with mustard, and roasted chestnuts in paper bags, but beyond streetfood, NYC boasts more restaurants per capita than any other American city. Whether one is looking for a neighborhood Italian joint or sweeping views of Central Park at Per Se, there’s something for everyone. The city is also home to some of the best foodie souvenir shops around, including DiPalo’s homemade mozzarella, the Doughnut Plant’s pistachio glazed version, and Vintage’s Long Island wines.

• Rome, Italy

Dining in this Italian capital is an experience that’s arguably just as pleasurable as seeing the sites the city has to offer and surprisingly, finding the best fare is as easy as pie. While Northern Italy is famous for its pesto and truffles, Tuscany for its olive oil and beans, Sicily for its sweets, and the south for its seafood and spice, Roman cuisine boasts all of this and more. From home-style Italian cooking in charming trattorias to innovative fare in designer restaurants, the old streets of Rome will have you savoring la dolce vita.

• San Francisco, California

Alice Waters is credited with changing the way Americans eat, and now her local, seasonal approach to cuisine is now an integral part of San Francisco’s venerable restaurant scene. With Wine Country vintages at hand, Bodega Bay oysters on the half-shell, and Northern California’s bounty, visitors are able to try ingredients they wouldn’t have access to at home. As if that weren’t enough, the City by the Bay is a hotbed for artisanal products, such as Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt. Tam cheese, McEvoy Ranch olive oil, and Scharfenberger chocolates, all of which can be found at the foodie mecca known as the Ferry Building.

And you thought your food bill was crazy! Find out more about…

The Most Expensive Junk Foods in the World (CNNMoney.Com)
$120 truffle burgers, $1000 gold leaf ice cream sundaes, and more!

The Most Expensive Restaurants in the U.S. (Forbes)
Dinner averages $366 per person at NYC sushi hotspot Masa. Other restaurants on the list include The French Laundry and Charlie Trotter’s.

The World’s Most Expensive Foods (Wacky Archives)
(Believe it or not, if you’ve ever been to a restaurant, there’s a good chance you’ve eating something with at least a tiny bit of at least one of these ingredients during your lifetime.)

Charleston, SC’s too big to have made this list of The Best Fishing Towns in America from Field and Stream. (The places on this particular list all have less than 100,000 residents. Charleston has almost 119,000.) However, scenic Beaufort, SC did make #17 on the list.

Charleston was named one of the best fishing spots in the South on another F&S list that was mentioned in a previous post).

Here’s the full list of notable fishing towns…

1. Glenwood Spring, CO
2. Mountain Home, AR
3. Traverse City, MI
4. Bozeman, MT
5. Minocqua, WI
6. Apalachicola, FL
7. Nantucket, MA
8. Bend, OR
9. Guntersville, AL
10. Morehead City, NC
11. Missoula, MT
12. Ely, MN
13. Page, AZ
14. Driggs, ID
15. Jasper, TX
16. Tahlequah, OK
17. Beaufort, SC
18. Eufaula, AL
19. Redding, CA
20. Montauk, NY

Here down South (especially in Charleston), we’re lucky for much of the year to have access to fresh local seafood. However, other parts of the country are not so lucky.

As it says in an article on AirCargoWorld.Com…

“In order to dine upon day-old Copper River salmon in a trendy New York City bistro or freshly farmed shrimp in the comfort of a Manhattan, Kansas, household, air cargo shipping is necessary to ensure quality of fish and shellfish…

According to the National Fisheries Institute, Americans eat 16.5 pounds of seafood annually per capita, 74 percent of which is of the fresh and frozen variety…

Alaska plays a significant role in transporting fresh Alaska seafood, flying more than 26 million pounds of it to the lower 48 states and beyond each year.”

You can read more of the article here.

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