yeah, so.

i've been totally slacking at this blogging, wearing my "driving googles," as casey calls them, mostly to drive his dog (who seems to have a thing for australian shepherds) back and forth to the dog park while he vacationed in jackson hole. YEAH, seriously.

 

however, last week, he returned and so i am back in action, crafting it up with miss alex and baking sage biscuits and drinking dark beers and eating fried eggs. not all at one time. but mostly.

 

i swear i will tell y'all more things. sometimes life just gets in the way, which is kinda sorta why you can just read my twitter and know all of the minutia of my eating life. 

when we sing, we begin with do-re-mi.

perfection: an egg and cheese biscuit from sunrise biscuit kitchen, with hashbrown. 

the sunrise biscuit kitchen is a local institution. it's a drive-thru biscuit shop in chapel hill, with lengthy lines of cars every weekend morning. it's greasy and lovely and cheap and is, quite possibly, the best cure for a hangover. most people, after they buy their biscuits (with chicken or bacon or whatever you might want), scoot their cars and trucks into the small parking lot next door and eat the goodies in the car! for the most part, there's no waiting 'til you get home.

carolina barbeque.

let's begin with the fact that i apparently don't know how to spell barbeque. the computer really wants me to spell it "barbecue," and i accept that, but i think it should have a "q."

yelena was visiting so shira and i took her to the pit. i knew i would eat this barbeque at some point while i lived here and, well, yelena just brings out the meat-eater in me.

north carolina bbq differs from texas in that it is usually pulled pork, but definitely pork, and no ribs or brisket or anything like that. and the sauces are less sugary and smoky, more vinegary, but certainly delicious. it's another beast altogether. it's like they should not even share the name "barbeque."
the pit starts by bringing us a basket of biscuits and hushpuppies and i swear those goods are not vegetarian anyhow; it was all too delicious in that way that there must be lard or bacon fat or something in the batter. like a good pie.

and so i ate a chopped pork sandwich with sweet potato fries (sweet potatoes being a major crop in north carolina) and cole slaw. and a beer. and since yelena got a platter of pork, not a sandwich, there were mashed potatoes and mac n'cheese to eat as well.
it was really was a vacation meal. to say i was full is an understatement.

**and, these incredible photographs that scream 1970s are courtesy of shira and the hipstamatic, where everything looks dated in the best way.

biscuits!!!

we have a potluck christmas party for my office. we are supposed to sign up to cook something in a particular category, and i usually make dessert. alas, i was way too slow this year, and spent much time deliberating about what to make. finally, i decided on biscuits, which i had never made before. and they were so easy; it was ridiculous.

i found a base recipe from cooking light (again!), and edited it.
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp chilled butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup milk
3 tbsp honey

1. combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. put the bowl in the fridge for about 10 minutes.
2. mix together milk and honey, stirring with a whisk until blended. add mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moist. (do this by hand with a wooden spoon or spatula. you do not need a mixer for this recipe.)
3. this is the part that i definitely copied: "Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 4 times. Roll dough into a (1/2-inch-thick) 9 x 5–inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds (as if folding a piece of paper to fit into an envelope). Reroll dough into a (1/2-inch-thick) 9 x 5–inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds; gently roll or pat to a 3/4-inch thickness. Cut dough with a 1 3/4-inch biscuit cutter to form 14 dough rounds. Place dough rounds, 1 inch apart, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper."
4. bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until golden. remove from pan and cool on wire racks.

*i also made some with cheddar. i shredded it and folded it into the dough during step 3. i also sprinkled a bit of cheese on top.