Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of America-Elizabeth Town, North Carolina

 

The Location: Elizabeth Town, North Carolina

2013 population: 18,266. 55.9% African American, 37.0% white. Per capita income: $18,024.

Nicknamed, the "Harbor of Hospitality," the city was founded in 1794. It was originally a mercantile hub, but segued into a commercial and industrial center. It was originally named Redding, but since there was another town nearby with the same name, it was renamed in 1801. Two different theories exist about the name: Either it was named after Queen Elizabeth I, who had funded the colonization of the Virginia and Carolina coasts 200 years previously, or it was named after Elizabeth Tooley, a local tavern owner who donated a lot of her own land to the city.

Elizabeth Town is positioned on the Pasquotenk River, and the nearby Dismal Swamp Canal would help improve the town's financial success. In 1827, the custom house, or the government building where trade paperwork was filled out and filed, for all of Camden County, was moved to Elizabeth Town. This increased business and tolls being paid to the city.

The Confederacy had a fleet stationed in the city during the Civil War. After a brief battle in the city on February 10, 1862, the city was taken over by the Union. Guerilla warriors for the Confederacy would continue to attack Union forces, though unsuccessfully, for the remainder of the war.

After the Civil War, the railroad would alter Elizabeth Town's importance as an industrial center. With transportation moving to the railroad, it left the city less relevant than it had been, but it would be revived during the Second World War. It was made into a center for textiles, aeronautics, and shipbuilding. It would also bring commerce back to the area, due to the increase in population. Today, the city still has a strong economy, with government and agriculture-based industries.

The Food: Vinegar and Mustard BBQ Sauce and Pimento Cheese
The South has a wide variety of dishes to choose from. I have tried to spread them out over the course of this project, and not overdo certain best-known items. Barbeque is one of them. I have done one other state: Texas, and knew I was going to do this one, since the sauces are so vastly different, but I did not want to overdue it. So, two states out of fifty got barbeque, and I think that's fair, even though it's known all over the country.

This ended up being an interesting meal. The items I thought I would like, I ended up not liking, and the item I thought I wasn't going to like, ended up being really delicious! North Carolina has two very unique barbeque sauce traditions that I had never tried before. Vinegar-based sauce and mustard-based sauce are dueling sauces that, depending on where you're from in the state, you are very passionate about. I decided that since they were both simple sauces, I would try them both. I purchased a pork roast and roasted it very simply in the oven with salt and pepper. This way I had a neutral base for each sauce.

The vinegar sauce was basically what it sounds like: cider and white vinegar with Tabasco, sugar, and chili pepper flakes. I made it a couple hours before using it, so I thought it would marinate and become very flavorful. Unfortunately, it basically just tasted like vinegar. Maybe I should have heated it up to help the flavors blend better, but I feel like I shouldn't have had to. Pork with vinegar doesn't taste very good, so this wasn't a win, in my opinion. I will share the link to the recipe in the sources section for anybody interested in trying it out, but I'm not going to type out the recipe here.

The other sauce was a yellow mustard-based sauce. My taste for mustard has begun to expand over the years, so I thought I might be ready for this one. It turns out, I am not. This one just tasted like mustard and vinegar and I did not end up eating it either. It also ended up being a sort of unappealing brown color too, so that didn't help. Again, I'll provide the link, but I'm not going to write out the recipe. It turns out, I'm definitely a traditional tomato sauce-based bbq sauce person. It's what I grew up eating, it's what my palate is used to. It's just what I think is the tastiest. But at least I know now what the other kinds taste like. Barbeque fans are very passionate and particular about what they like and don't like in a sauce.

And now, for the recipe that I was assuming I would detest, and did because it is such a Southern staple: Pimento Cheese. Anything with the word pimento in it is generally something I try to avoid. If you are unaware of what pimento is, think of the red bits inside a green olive. It is a roasted red bell pepper that usually comes in a jar. I cannot stand the taste. So, when I decided to try it out anyway, the first thing I chose to do was to roast my own red bell pepper. I have no idea what a jar of the already roasted stuff costs, but I imagine it's probably more than the cost of buying your own bell pepper and throwing it in the oven. It is the easiest thing in the world to roast a bell pepper and I cannot recommend that over the jarred stuff highly enough. If you have never roasted a bell pepper before, here's the process: Wash the bell pepper and place it on an ungreased sheet pan. Put that into a 400 degree oven. It will start to blacken on the outside and sometimes it will pop and make noises, but don't be worried, it's just releasing the air from the inside of the pepper. Occasionally, turn the bell pepper so that the underside gets a chance to blacken. After about a half hour, remove it from the oven, place it in a mixing bowl, and cover it with plastic wrap to allow the heat to steam the skin off the pepper. When it's cooled down enough, remove it carefully from the mixing bowl(it will generate a lot of juice from the pepper. You can decide if you want or need to use this for whatever you are using it for. I drained mine off except for a very small amount.) onto a cutting board and pull out the stem and peel off the skin. This will allow you to start ripping apart the sides and carefully unfolding it. You will want to remove all the seeds. From there you do whatever you need to with it. Cut it into thin strips, or what I did was dice it very small. One average bell pepper will yield a little over 1/4 cup of roasted, minced pepper.

Fancy Pimento Cheese

20 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup minced fresh chives
1/2 cup minced roasted red pepper
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup dill pickle juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce (I used Tabasco)
1 pinch ground black pepper

Using the smallest holes of a box grater, grate half the Cheddar cheese. Grate the remaining Cheddar cheese on the next larger size holes.
Stir together the Cheddar cheese, chives, roasted red pepper, cream cheese, pickle juice, mayonnaise, hot pepper sauce, and black pepper in a bowl until evenly combined.

I have seen pictures of other pimento cheese recipes over the years, and the ingredients are all blended together. The cheese must be heated up or something, but this wasn't like that. It does feel a little odd to scoop up and spread wet cheese shreds onto a piece of bread and eating it, but it was worth working through the weirdness! One ingredient stood out to me as very unique: the pickle juice. What a brilliant idea for flavoring food! And it turns out it was great in this recipe. I served this spread out on slices of French bread and it was really good! I made a half recipe, as you see above, the recipe is enormous! A half recipe still filled that entire container and I will be sharing it with my coworkers tomorrow.

So, my dinner didn't turn out as I had planned, but that's ok. That's what is fun about this blog project. Not everything is going to turn out how you want it to. Some things will taste amazing and some will taste awful. You never quite know what you will get. And just because you didn't like something, doesn't mean something went wrong in the cooking process. Sometimes it just means you don't care for the flavor, or your palate is not adjusted for it yet. If only I knew somebody from North Carolina who would have tried the recipes and let me know if I did them right or not!! Oh well, it was still a fun experiment!

Sources:
Pimento Cheese Recipe

Vinegar-based BBQ Sauce

Mustard-based BBQ Sauce

City Map

City Pic

City Stats

City History

Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of America-Galveston, Texas

The Location: Galveston, Texas

2013 census: 48,733 people. Per capita income: $37,154. 45.2% white, 31.1% Hispanic.
The city was originally part of Mexico, and was named after Bernardo de Galvez y Madrid, the Count of Galvez in Spain. It was built in or around 1816 by a French pirate in order to help the newly-formed Republic of Mexico fight against the Spanish. The Port of Galveston was built in 1825 by the Congress of Mexico after winning their independence from Spain. During the Texas Revolution, it would be used by the Texas Navy and eventually became the capitol of the Republic of Texas. During the 19th century, it would become a vital port for commerce.

In 1900, a major hurricane came through the Port and an estimated 6,000-8,000 people were killed. It remains, to this date, the largest natural disaster in American history. After the hurricane, the Galveston Movement, an immigration plan to help repopulate the city and region, would bring in about 10,000 Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, as well as many Italians and Germans. It would permanently altar the racial background of the entire region.

During the 1920's and 1930's, tourism would become Galveston's major form of income, which remains so to this day. During Prohibition, Speak Easies and gambling houses would become a major draw to people. Add to this a robust sex industry that had been going on since the Civil War, and it was a winning combination. Since the 1950's, however, the tourism has become much more family-friendly...

During the Second World War, the Port would become home to a major Army-Air Corps base, which would also bring with it an increase in population and change the type of industries in the region. Today it is still well-known for its tourism, but the insurance and health care industry also contribute a lot to the city's success.

The Event: 150th anniversary of Juneteenth

What is "Juneteenth"? you may be asking yourself right now. And how can it be 150 years old and I've never heard of it before? Juneteenth is celebrated in some parts of the United States more than in others, so you might not have been exposed to it before. Juneteenth is a contraction of the words "June" and "Nineteenth" and represents the date of June 19, 1865. This date is significant because it is the day that Major General Gordon Granger, leader of the Union Army, reached Galveston, Texas on his mission to occupy the state of Texas at the behest of the federal government. While the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the end of the Civil War had all occurred already, some states were still holding out on freeing their slaves and needed the federal government to step in and force them to. Texas was one such hold-out. The last hold-out, in fact.

On June 19th 1865, Major General Granger made the announcement that slavery was over with and would no longer be tolerated or allowed. This was the last area in the country to free their slaves, so this event marks the true ending of slavery, something that the 13th Amendment, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the end of the Civil War, were all unable to do by themselves.

Juneteenth is a community celebration, with barbecues, parades, prayer services, and games being held to enjoy. It has had its ups and downs over the years. It lost popularity during the Great Depression since people couldn't afford to celebrate. But during the 1950's and 1960's, it had a resurgence due to the Civil Rights movement. In 1980, Texas became the first state to declare it a holiday. Today, nearly half the states in the country do this as well.

The Food: Two foods have become synonymous with Juneteenth: Barbecue and Strawberry Soda Pop, and that is what I made to honor the day. I'm not sure about the pop, but the idea behind the barbecue is that a, it's delicious, and b, it creates a pleasing smell that, when cooked outdoors, wafts up to the heavens. This wafting to the heavens is so that your ancestors can then partake in the meal and the celebration with you. Juneteenth is a day of remembering your loved ones, the ones who left too soon, and your ancestors. Particularly if you, or they, ever lived in a time when they were unfree. You celebrate your freedom with them as they look down on you from above. In a way it's almost like El Dia de Los Muertos that way. Connecting then and now through food. It's beautiful to me.

Strawberry Pop/Soda/Soda Pop
I tried to think of how to make homemade soda pop without using sugar or corn syrup, so I looked around the internet for recipes that I could alter. I found a generic one using a simple syrup flavored with strawberries that you then add to sparkling water. This made me think about making my own syrup without adding sugar. I didn't bother to keep track of the original recipe since I would be turning it entirely into my own. I think it turned out pretty tasty! I used a recipe I've done before for one of my "pie bites" I like to make, using strawberries and lime juice to create a strongly-flavored fruit pulp. It's so easy it's ridiculous. Here's how to do it:

In a small frying pan, with a box grater, use the side with the smallest shred and grate 4-5 very ripe strawberries, leaving out the leaves. This will basically create strawberry pulp. Heat it over medium-low heat until most of the water has evaporated and it's concentrated to a thick paste. Add a few squirts of lime juice and mix.

Put a spoonful at the bottom of a glass and top it with sparkling water, or club soda and stir. The strawberry mixture is flavorful enough to flavor the entire glass and color it as well, but you've added no sugar to it besides what was in the berries. This amount of fruit paste is enough for two servings. Increase the amount based on however much you need to make. It is really delicious!

BBQ-
I made two, actually three recipes for this one, and tried it out on two separate cuts of meat with two different cooking methods. I think they both turned out really great!

Citrus Roundup BBQ Rub-if I recall correctly, this came from a Disney Insider email and is what they use at the BBQ place in Disneyland. I will write it out exactly as it's written, but will put in notes of what I changed for myself.

2 1/2 tsp. lemon pepper
2 Tbsp. seasoning salt
2 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. sugar(I reduced this down to 1/2 Tbsp.)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar(I reduced this down to 1/2 Tbsp.)
1 Tbsp. ground cumin(I reduced this down to about 1/2 tsp. because I really don't like a strong cumin taste, but that's just my personal preference.)
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir to combine.

That's it for that recipe. I used it to coat a small rack of baby back ribs and baked them in an oven. I put them in a shallow dish, put water in the bottom, covered with foil and baked it for about 2 hours. I turned the ribs and put in more water half way through. The seasoning flavored the water to create a bit of a jus that I spooned over the ribs when I served them. I think this worked out pretty well, though I think the seasoning was a bit too thick. Next time I would use less. The flavors were fine, but the seasoning created a thick crust I didn't care for. And the recipe makes enough for leftovers, so you can use this on other things too if you make it. It should keep at room temperature for quite some time, so make it once and keep it until it's gone. It was really simple but delicious!

BBQ Sauce for Chicken or Pork
This was also a recipe card, though I don't know the source, unfortunately.
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. grated, peeled ginger
3/4 cup chili sauce(I found a recipe, the link will be in my sources, and made the chili sauce by scratch. The only alteration I made to the recipe was to cut the sugar listed in half. Feel free to use commercially-prepared chili sauce if you'd rather.)
1/2 cup ketchup(I don't eat ketchup anymore and used 1/2 cup tomato sauce and it turned out just fine)
1 Tbsp. sugar(I reduced this to 1/2Tbsp.)
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce(I used reduced sodium)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1.) In nonstick 10" skillet, heat over medium heat. Add onion and ginger; cook 10 minutes or until onion is tender and lightly browned.
2.) Stir in chili sauce, ketchup, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, Worcestershire, and 1/3 cup water.(I actually didn't see this part about the water and didn't add it. I think it was just fine without probably because I used tomato sauce instead of ketchup. Ketchup is thicker and would need to be watered down. If you use tomato sauce like I did, I wouldn't recommend adding the water. It would be too watered down.) Cook 5 minutes, partially covered, to blend flavors.
3.) Brush sauce onto spare ribs, pork roast, or chicken during last few minutes of cooking. (Makes enough for 4 lb. spare ribs or 2 chickens.) Cover and refrigerate sauce if not using right away. Sauce will keep up to 1 week in refrigerator or up to 2 months in freezer.
Makes about 2 cups. Per 1/4 cup: 70 calories, 2 g. fat

I made the sauce ahead of time but didn't have time to saute the onion or ginger, so I did that after I got home from the birthday party I had attended yesterday. Once the sauce was assembled, I place a few spare ribs in my crockpot and covered it with the sauce. Not all of it, but just enough to cover it. I cooked it on high for several hours and it came out amazing! Though, I think it needed a bit more vinegar for my tastes. Next time I'd add more vinegar. The meat was flavorful and tender and I used the sauce to cover the plain rice I had made to accompany it. This was a winner dinner! I highly recommend trying these recipes out. The sauce and rub made enough that I might have to use them again for the 4th of July.

Sources:
City Map

City Info

City Pic

Homemade Chili Sauce Recipe

Juneteenth History

 More Juneteenth History

New Year's Pulled Pork

So this year, for New Year's, my sister and I were still turkeyed out after Thanksgiving, so I wanted to do something different. I decided on pulled pork, so we went to Central Market and bought a huge pork roast. I always splurge and get the Niman Ranch, free-range pork. It was about 4.5 lbs in weight, with a good layer of fat on the top, but not so much that I needed to trim it down at all.

Originally I was going to do it in the slow cooker, but when I realized that we had to do it for a lunch earlier in the day I scrapped that idea at the last minute and did it in the oven instead. I had three bbq rub recipes I looked at and based my own recipe off of them. I didn't measure anything, but the base of the rub was smoked paprika. The rest of the rub consisted of: kosher salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, dried oregano, and dried thyme. Rub this into every side of the meat and place it in a large baking dish. Mine was a 9"x13" Pyrex dish. I poured some water into the dish, about a half inch up the side, and then put several shots of Tabasco sauce into the water. Cover with foil and place in a 350 degree oven for three hours.

After three hours, remove the dish from the oven and take off the foil. The water will be infused with the juices from the pork. Carefully drain this into a saucepan and add the pre-made bbq sauce of your choice. I used a combination of two kinds that I had on hand. With the liquid drained from the dish and the foil off, return dish to the pan to allow the meat to cook longer and to crisp up on the outsides for about a half hour more.

When the meat is done, remove from the oven and let sit for at least 15 minutes before touching it. When it's time, take two forks and shred the meat. This will take some time. When it's shredded, pour in some of the sauce and mix to moisten the meat but let other people add the sauce to their liking. Some people don't like sauce at all and some people like to drown it. I served this with rice, cornbread, and salad and it was soooo nummy!

 Pre-shred

Post-shred