The cookbook “A Little Piece of Heaven Since 1857” offers an engaging account of Morehead City’s history and culinary past.
Our Coast’s Food: Seafood Fritters
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.
