Slashfood

Filed under: Books , Champagne , Southern States The word "septicemia" probably won't figure into the next Moët & Chandon ad campaign, but for my money, the passage that follows would be a sure-fire sell (as if I need any more reason to buy champagne). Forget Granny Clampett's medicinal moonshine, i.e., the Hollywood version of alcohol as folk curative, and raise a glass to this well-told true story from One Writer's Beginnings , the elegant memoir of a true grande dame of Southern lettres, Eurora Welty: "What had struck her was septicemia, in those days nearly always fatal. What my father did was to try champagne." Continue reading Champagne as Folk Medicine

Filed under: Snacks , Recipes , Candy There used to be good arguments for store-bought goods, but these days, someone seems to have found a DIY alternative for everything -- even Pocky! Hallelujah! Did you catch Not Quite Nigella's recipe for Homemade Pocky last month? I'm just glad that I'm finding this now, since I probably would've ballooned up and floated away from making and devouring piles of the snacks. Whip up the dough, cut, and cover 'em in your favorite flavors. Imagine the possibilities! I'm thinking some butterscotch (big surprise), maybe some toffee. Team these with a flavored hot cocoa and you have one delectable winter treat!

Filed under: Wine , New Products Wine corks. They're something of a troublesome little doodad. There's not much use for them once the bottle has been consumed and yet their substantial feel that makes many of us hesitate before chucking them in the garbage. Some folks turn their cork collections into bulletin boards (with the help of some glue and an empty picture frame) or floor tiles but for others, those projects might feel a bit ambitious.

Filed under: East Coast , Gin , Raves & Reviews , New Products , America , Celebrations , New Year's , Winter , Cocktail Hour

Filed under: Feast Your Eyes This year, in addition to making her traditional Chanukah doughnuts, Stef (of the Cupcake Project) decided to fulfill a year-long yearning and make a batch of deep fried cupcakes (what else would you expect from the cupcake queen!). Here's how she describes her alluring creation :

Filed under: Recipes , Cocktails , Rum , How To , Spirits , Sugar , Liqueurs , Guilty Pleasures

Filed under: East Coast , Newspapers , Stores & Shopping , New Products , America , Tequila , Mexico How seriously do you take your tequila? What champagne is for France, tequila is for Mexico. Mexicans drink it to celebrate national holidays, weddings, and anniversaries. It even has a government protection similar to the French AOC. The Consejo Regulador del Tequilo states that the drink must come from a region in central south Mexico: the state of Jalisco. Drinking tequila straight from a small glass is the most traditional way to drink it.

Filed under: Newspapers , On the Blogs , Food News Just how tumultuous a year was 2008 when it comes to food news? In November, a man in India died at a company-sponsored pastry eating contest . That same month a couple sued McDonald's . For what? Philip Sherman left his cell phone at a McDonald's in Fayette, Arkansas, and he claims that employees found naked pictures of his wife Tina and posted them online.

Filed under: Wine , Beer , Champagne , Comfort Food , Spirits , New Year's Confession time: what's the wine you buy on autopilot, the wine you know inside and out like a wife of many years, the one that's reliable, trustworthy, and has stood by you through thick and thin?

Filed under: Vegetables , Recipes , Barbecuing , Southern States , America , Guilty Pleasures I'll certainly admit to having one heck of a lot of 'cue country exploration left to do in my lifetime, but thus far I've yet to encounter any venue outside of North Carolina slinging BBQ slaw alongside their meat. It's an essential side for Lexington style, vinegar-kissed chopped pork, and gets its characteristic pink tint from a dollop of ketchup or barbecue sauce. Also -- it's pretty darned delicious, and provides a pleasantly crunchy textural contrast with the rich, soft strands of slow-cooked shoulder. From Searching for the Dixie Barbecue, Journeys into the Southern Psyche by Wilber W. Caldwell (2005): "In the central North Carolina Piedmont you will often find what locals there call "red coleslaw" on the plate next to your chopped pork barbecue. This tangy variation replaces the usual mayonnaise-based slaw dressing with a catsup-and-vinegar-based dressing. In fact, it is not unusual for Upcountry slaw all over Dixie to be spiked with a big splash of barbecue finishing sauce. Whether a sweet/sour tomato-based, spicy mix, either right from the store-bought jar or from some dusty bottle of secret brew, this spicy addition turns the coleslaw sauce either red or a rich brown color and creates what most Southerners called "barbecued coleslaw." Surely food experts and gourmets all over the planet will ... most certainly suggest that this "barbecue on barbecue" presentation robs the meal of balance. ... Southerners will scoff at this suggestion. Everyone down here knows that if a little barbecue sauce it good, then a whole lot is even better." If you happen by High Point, NC, do stop into Carter Brothers BBQ (from whence the above pictured platter of BBQ came on this most recent Christmas Eve) for some of the finest chopped (regular or coarse -- they're both good) pork BBQ you'll ever have the pleasure of eating. BBQ Slaw is recipe after the jump. Got one of your own? Might you please be so kind as to kick back with a Cheerwine and share it in the comments? Continue reading North Carolina BBQ Slaw