SweetPhyl's Profile
Brunch for 20?
a nice chilled soup would be a nice addition...gazpacho or a melon soup would offer an alternative for everyone and you could make it well in advance.
food you are leary of ordering
Caesar Salad...I've given up. It's always overdressed or the dressing is some creamy version of Italian dressing. I have to have my own Caesar!
Oysters...rather steam 'em mahself or cook 'em on the grill so they aren't cooked into oblivion.
Spaghetti...nobody makes a good spaghetti and I can make my own so much cheaper.
GOOD breakfast and dinner food in Nags Head?
it's okay...certainly not the best on the beach. I would eat at Daryl's in Manteo or Lone Cedar before Queen Anne's Revenge.
What did you have for lunch today?
Homemade tuna salad with chopped boiled eggs and lots of lemon on and Arnold's Deli thin with fresh tomato slices sprinkled with sea salt, Gala apple slices and some Pickled banana pepper slices for a little kick. Crystal Light fruit punch to drink. Not bad, but not worth singing about either.
Food Blog Name
Healthy White Girl Cooks---hope you don't offend anyone with the White girl thingy...
your favorite food movie..
Big Night and Babette's Feast--both classics and both guaranteed to stimulate your appetite! Of course, the wino in me loves Sideways.
Nags Head area fine dining
Sanderling Inn is inconsistent--over the years I've had GREAT food there and then some of the worst meals ever. It's not worth the price to me to take that chance, so I tend to avoid it. But, if you want a burger at the bar, it has a nice atmosphere. In Duck, Aqua is good...fantastic sushi! Roadside has some good eats, too. Paper Canoe in Sanderling is amazing. Metropolis in Corolla is terrific, too. Good steamer type food try North Banks Seafood in Corolla and MIke Dianna's Grill Room does a great steak.
Nags Head area fine dining
Blue Point
Paper Canoe
The Pearl
Metropolis
Kill Devil Grill
Brine and Bottle
Outer Banks Brewing Station
just to name a few of MY favorites!
GOOD breakfast and dinner food in Nags Head?
Nags Head Pier has a good breakfast as well as Sam n' Omie's. For seafood, I would avoid the frozen stuff at Captain George's and hit Owen's instead...been here for 75 years and a real jewel. Kill Devil Grill is great as is The Black Pelican in Kitty Hawk. Also, it's worth a short drive to Duck to hit the Blue Point for a real terrific dining experience.
This is an old post, but some good info.: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/360805
Fair & carnival food
NC State Fair is famous for it's sausage and ham biscuits in the morning and I LOVE the roasted corn and it ain't the fair without the fried bologna sandwich...OMG! The fried banana pudding was a winner a couple of years ago....tomato salad is a favorite too. Corn dogs, sausage and peppers, country ham on sweet potato biscuits, fish and chips...love it all. Dang, I'm starving now and it's only 10 am!
Eastern NC cheese biscuits
Here on the beautiful OBX of NC, we have an awesome cheese biscuit at a convenience store affectionately called "Biscuits n Porn" in Nags Head. Funny, but I don't even know it's REAL name, but it has a BIG sign on it's red roof that reads 'Biscuits and Such." However, they sell beer koozies emblazoned with "Biscuits n Porn". They sell a cat head cheese biscuit that'll make you slap yo mama. I like the fried bologna biscuit as well.
Favorite Pioneer Woman Recipes
Her spinach and mushroom quesidilla is fab and the penne with vodka sauce always wins at my house. She's a charming writer and offers great tips:"don't use the pre-shredded cheese as it's coated with things like cornstarch and failure." She's easy and fun and I'd love to try more of her recipes....
Unexpected guests at a dinner party?
Freia, can I have their spot? I don't have kids, will bring appropriate wine, promise not to show up early or late, unless you require some assistance in the kitchen and will dazzle you and your other guests with my wit and charm, as will my SO. Your menu sounds amazing and I can tell from your posts that your are a delightful hostess. I would be so honored to receive such an invite that I can't imagine offending the host with such rude behavior. Honestly, DA NOiVE of some people! Well, at least you have an interesting story to share at your next dinner party!.
What's the best thing you've ever received trick-or-treating?
I grew up in a small coastal town with 20 to 30 kids TOTAL, so trick or treating involved parents driving around the kids throughout the sparsely populated beach town. The last stop was always a retired couple who lived in a beautiful home right on the Bay. He was retired from Coca Cola and his treats were an entire six pack of COKE! AWESOME! We loved them forever for it...Nothing better than an ice cold Coke to wash down all that Halloween candy!
Did our server do anything 'wrong'?
I'm sorry, but I totally disagree that the server did anythng wrong. Servers are, in effect, salespeople, and I have been to far too many restaurants where this practice is employed to EVER be offended by it. Last night I was in an Outback, for Crissakes, and the waitress asked asked "Would you like a salad or soup with that?" Her tone implied that it was included, but I knew different. I appaluded her efforts at doing her job well. If you''re paying $10-12 for a burger, chances are that everything is ala cart. When in doubt, simply ask the question. I find it no more offensive than "What kind of wine would you like with your dinner?" or "What have you decided on for dessert?" The server was simply doing their job. As for the diner, Caveat Emptor and lesson learned.
favourite watermelon or melon salad recipes?
Watermelon, thinly sliced red onion, mint, feta and raspberry vinegarette. Awesomeness abounds!
Nags Head area fine dining
Oh, and I forgot to mention that there's a new restaurant coming to Sanderling with Tommy Carroll of Fin and Claw fame in Corolla. The Paper Canoe is in the former location of the Duck News Cafe and the Canoe just recently won the People's Choice award at the Duck and Wine Festival in Duck a few weeks back. They made a Duck Ravioli that was amazing! THey *should* be open by the time you visit. Oh and if you come up Corolla way, don't miss Metropolis in the Currituck Club. Amazing tapas and terrific wine and martini list! Metropolis Little Bar Bistro - 520 Old Stoney Rd Corolla, NC
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The Fin and Claw
790 Ocean Trl, Corolla, NC 27927
Nags Head area fine dining
You are right about May and June not being "good" months for oysters, but in reputation only. Oysters are acceptable on a year round basis these days, but the local restos tend to neglect them in the summer months. I'm more of a "homemade" oyster girl...buy a bushel and tshuck 'em myslef or throw on the grill with my own migionette or a hearty cocktail. However, you "might" try Sam and Omies or Sugar Creek in Nags Head. I'm sorry you had a "bad" experience at S&O's before, but they are usually terrific. Sugar Creek is more of a fried seafood platter kind of place, but they do some good steamed selections. Might also look into the Black Pelican in Kitty Hawk. They have good oysters in the winter, but don't know about the warmer months. Awful Arthur's in KDH might be worth a shot too...just be sure to stick to the steamed selections.
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Black Pelican Seafood Co
3848 Virginia Dare Trl N, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949
Awful Arthur's Oyster Bar
2106 N Virginia Dare Trl, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948
Sugar Creek Restaurant
7340 S Virginia Dare Trl, Nags Head, NC 27959
Nags Head area fine dining
Outer Banks Brewing Station in Kill Devil Hills is fabulous as is Blue Moon Beach Grill. I've also heard great things aboput The Pearl at theSea Ranch in KDH. More casual, Food Dudes Kitchen--shoudl be great for lunch. Bon Apetit!
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The Pearl
1731 N Virginia Dare Trl, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948
Food Dudes Kitchen
1216 S Virginia Dare Trl, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948
Outer Banks Brewing Station
600 S Croatan Hwy, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948
Blue Moon Beach Grill
, Nags Head, NC 27959
What commercially available foods are so good (though not necessarily better) that it deters you from making the homemade equivalent?
I have yet to taste a homememad puff pastry that's better than Pepperidge Farms. And, with the intense labor involved in making your own, I can't believe some people still do it.
Pasta. I haven't ever made my own because I have a feeling thatt once I start, I'll never stop and I try to avoid eating pasta at all.
Outer banks special dinner
The Blue Point Bar & Grill is your best bet for a great meal in Duck. http://goodfoodgoodwine.com/
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Blue Point Bar & Grill
1240 Duck Rd, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949
Best candy for office
I keep a jar of mixed candies on my filing cabinet for my office. Most popular--chocolate, any kind; lemonheads; peppermints--the air filled kind, not the round disc shape; Werthers; gummi life savers...I buy whatever is on sale and they love me for it!
What do you like to cook for yourself when your spouse or family isn't around?
a Quesidilla with fresh spinach, mozarella, sautee'd mushrooms and feta cheese--nice glass of vino to go with it and anything with vinegar--he hates it and I'm addicted. A slab of stinky cheese and anything with saurkraut. What's so bad about salty/vinegary/tangy things anyway?
corned beef and cabbage in the slow cooker
I cooked one yesterday--no liquid in the pot at all--it produces pleanty of liquid all on its own.. Four pounds, about 8 hours and it was amazing. I don't like to cook the veg with the meat(makes them too greasy for me), so I make a nice colcannon with cabbage sauteed in a wee bit o' bacon fat and mixed with creamy mashed potatoes. It was perfect and looking forward to the leftovers tonight, though I might add some steamed carrots to go with it. Erin Go Braugh!
Pimento Cheese Recipe
Here is the post you were originally searching for:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/297400
Good Luck!
Pimento Cheese (Long)
As a long time Pimento Cheese Connosieur, I agree that one MUST NOT USE pre grated cheese. As the Pioneer Woman so aptly puts it, "it's coated with things like corn starch and failure."
My grandmother made hers with 'merican cheese, pimentos and Hellmans along with some of the juice from her homemade lime pickles. The crisp, sweet pickles were eaten alongside the sandwich with squeals of delight.
However, I can't have my grandmother's lime pickles, so I've resorted to perfecting my PC with my own additions. Hellmans is out as they've changed the recipe. I now use Duke's Mayo, grate my own cheese--usually a combo of cheddars and some pepper jack for a kick. I also add a small amount of grated onion--it contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the mayo & pimentoes. Chopped Pimentoes, juice and all, and lots of 'em. I get requests for my recipe often, but other than the above, I do it all to taste and feel.
Grilled on rye, stuffed in celery, atop a saltine, or a ritz, on toasted multi grain bread, stuffed in a meatloaf, mixed in your scambled eggs on sandwiched between two peices of wonder bread--it's a southern staple and is always met with boisterous applause when encountered in a family member's refrigerator.
Y'all have inspired me and I'm gonna mix up a batch this weekend. Bring yer own saltines...
The worst thing, bar none, that you ever did or that ever happened to you in a kitchen"
not on yer life! Martini, yes--chocolate, hell to the NO! LOL
The worst thing, bar none, that you ever did or that ever happened to you in a kitchen"
I was working as a pastry chef in a wonderful, small restaurant with a tiny back kitchen in addition to the open kitchen at the front of the house. I normally worked after close, but my schedule dictated that I bake in the back kitchen during service on a particular evening. With the hood system running full blast, I accdidentally dropped a large plastic bin of cocoa powder on the floor and the lid popped off when it hit the floor. The hood system sucked the cocoa powder up in a cloud and dusted the entire back kitchen with chocolate powder--the floor, the racks, the cookware, the prep tables, the walls, EVERYTHING, including me!. While I was standing there with my mouth agape and stunned at my dilemma, one of the wait staff came to the back to grab the coffee pot and simply gave a silent burst of laughter stifled by a hand over her mouth. Presently, the entire staff of the restaurant came back in small groups to view the catastrophe. I suffered several humiliating comments and quite a few rounds of applause, The chef, a long time personal friend, came back, simply shook his head, and walked away. It took me HOURS and HOURS to clean up the mess and I found the brown dust for months afterward. And, of course, my nickname henceforth--Cocoa. Needless to say, the after work cocktail was much appreciated that evening.
