Various versions of Carolina seafood fritter recipes exist but the basic idea is an ages-old, delicious way to stretch portions and lure friends and family.
Our Coast’s Food: Layer Cakes
Our food writer Liz Biro pays homage to Linda Johnson, her culinary mentor, and to Miss Johnson’s signature dish: That delicious mound of gooey goodness known as the layer cake.
Our Coast’s Food: Collards
Snooty food encyclopedias may consider this Southern staple to be similar to kale. But Tar Heels know better. Stewed slowly with hamhocks and a dash or two of Tobasco…. well, “mmm, mmm, mmm,” as Bob Garner might say.
Our Coast’s Food: Fishermen’s Favorites
Tired of flounder and grilled mahi? Try the fish that fishermen and chefs prefer: bluefish, mackerel, sheepshead, mullet and croaker. We offer some recipes and cooking tips so you, too, can be an old salt.
Our Coast’s Food: Banana Pudding
Here’s a recipe for old-fashioned banana pudding. The soft, sweet custard full of banana flavor melts its typical Nilla Wafer crust as quickly as it does Southerners’ hearts.
Our Coast’s Food: Classic Pimento Cheese
Or “pamena” cheese, as true Southerners might say. The recipe has gotten downright uppity at some restaurants, but this one is a true N.C. classic.
Our Coast’s Food: ‘Old Christmas’ on the Banks
Descendants of North Carolina’s barrier island communities celebrate this Christmastime holiday on Jan. 6 or 7, with traditional foods, homemade gifts and visits with neighbors.
Our Coast’s Food: Oyster Stuffing
Hardly a cook on the N.C. coast gets through the Thanksgiving season without thinking about oyster stuffing, a dish so luxurious it begs a silver dish rather than a place inside the holiday turkey.
Our Coast’s Food: Muscadines
Clerks at snooty wine shops may turn up their noses at the notion, but our food writer celebrates North Carolina’s native grape.
Our Coast’s Food: Dining Over the Century
Dining culture at Wrightsville Beach wasn’t always flip flops and ice-cold white wine. Our food columnist tells how it’s changed over the last 100 years.
Our Coast’s Food: Chicken-Necking
A good crab boil starts with a chicken-necker. That’s someone who uses a dip net, a piece of string, a fishing weight and a chicken neck to catch blue crabs. We tell you how.
Our Coast’s Food: Soft-Shell Crabs
Dust with flour or dip in the lightest batter and then sautée the crabs until their lacy crusts turn honey brown. Now, bite into heaven.
Our Coast’s Food: Southern Biscuits
A warm biscuit, golden buttery around a soft center, shaped by a loving cook’s hand, remains a much-desired serving of tenderhearted Southern hospitality.
Our Coast’s Food: We All Scream for … Oyster Ice Cream?
We like our oysters any way we can get them — steamed, fried, baked, in soups and stews or just pried open and dotted with Tabasco. But we were surprised to learn that an ice-cream maker in Wilmington turns our favorite bivalve into a creamy concoction. With sprinkles, we hope.
Our Coast’s Food: Oyster Stew
Coastal N.C. natives will put up with jalapenos in their pimento cheese and bourbon in their pecan pie, but don’t mess with their steaming bowls of oyster stew.
The New Face of Fishing
Two brothers and a childhood friend got their college degrees and became commercial fishermen and entrepreneurs. Meet the new breed of fishermen.
