MyrtleBeachOnline.com: Food

Hot shots: Cupcake shops doing shots of sweetness

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:13 EDT

By TERRY TANG

Associated Press Write

Think you can handle a shot of the hard stuff? Better saddle up to the bar with your toothbrush. The bake shop boom that has fueled the oh-so-retro love affair with cupcakes has spawned a new _ albeit micro _ trend that has Saturday night hipsters doing a new style of shot that won't burn your gullet like 150 proof.

Popsicles: Summer's great frozen treats

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:30 EDT

By Kate Lawson

Detroit News Food Writer

Being smack dab in the middle of summer there is nothing like a posicle to cool things off. There's just something so refreshing about a hot day and a cool treat.

Beyond sweet & sour

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:58 EDT

Chinese food in America today is a monolith, abundant and often delicious but with only faint echoes of China's culinary regionalism.

The reality of eating in China is far more varied and subtle, as will become obvious next month to any American visitor to the 2008 Beijing Games who ventures past the confines of the globalized Olympic juggernaut.

The old joke goes like this: What do you call Chinese food in China? "Food." But behind the punchline is an important notion: "Real" Chinese food is a compelling crazy-quilt of cuisines as diverse as the world's most populous nation itself. Your taste buds will never be bored.

Cool off with flavorful iced tea

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:38 EDT

By Joe Stumpe

McClatchy Newspapers

Iced tea has always suffered a bit from the too-good-for- you-to-taste-really-good stigma.

Teen enjoys cool job

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:24 EDT

Editor's note: This is part of the weekly "Take Five" series of Q&As that give you a glimpse of what it's like working in various fields along the Grand Strand and introduce you to the people doing the work.

Hundreds of beach-goers each day get their frozen treats from Catherine Goyak in Myrtle Beach.

The 17-year-old Myrtle Beach High School student is an ice cream scooper at at Breyers Scoops and Smoothies on the corner of 21st Avenue North and Ocean Boulevard. It's her second year on the job, serving ice cream, smoothies and milkshakes to people who venture in off the sand after a day in the hot summer sun.

NC author's Southern cookbook takes big award

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 19:19 EDT

By Andrea Weigl

McClatchy Newspapers

RALEIGH, NC| Jean Anderson is the highly regarded author of more than 20 cookbooks, and she’s right here in the Triangle’s kitchen, but most wouldn’t recognize her if she walked down Raleigh’s Fayetteville Street carrying a dish of flaming cherries jubilee.

Cookie Perfection: Try these to enter Chocolate Chip Heaven

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:44 EDT

By DAVID LEITE

New York Times News Service Too bad sainthood is not generally conferred on bakers, for there is one who is a possible candidate for canonization. She fulfills most of the requirements: (1) She's dead. (2) She demonstrated heroic virtue. (3) Cults have been formed around her work. (4) Her invention is considered by many to be a miracle. The woman: Ruth Graves Wakefield.

Her contribution to the world: the chocolate chip cookie.

Eatery dishes up food, friendship for decades

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:14 EDT

Trays of sweet tea and white frosted cake were carried around the room at the Ball & Que Restaurant on Highmarket Street in Georgetown - a day for the owner to take a short breather to celebrate 38 years in business.

In an era of chain eateries and impersonal drive-throughs, the restaurant has operated as a central news-swapping location and a place to fill hungry bellies, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week since July 1, 1970.

On Wednesday, generations of Georgetown residents dug into plates of squash casserole, chicken and dumplings and homemade biscuits as Joann Pope Elliott dashed around the room, hugging her longtime customers and exchanging quick bites of Georgetown news among tables.

Local tomatoes in demand

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:08 EDT

While the Food and Drug Administration expands its investigation of the nation's salmonella outbreak beyond tomatoes, area farmers said business continues to be brisk for homegrown tomatoes.

"I can hardly keep my tomatoes," said Wanda Bellamy, of Bellamy Farms in Loris, where the average customer is buying at least five pounds of tomatoes. "They have been going, and our customers don't care how they look. They don't care if they have spots or anything on them. They just want them to be homegrown, which ours are, and they want them to taste good, which ours do."

Tomatoes harvested and grown in the Carolinas are deemed safe to eat by the Food and Drug Administration.

'Outstanding' Thai Season attracts fans

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:52 EDT

Sak Yiengjuntuek, owner of Thai Season in North Myrtle Beach, is creating buzz among lovers of Thai food.

Jerri Brewer and her husband, Ray Brewer, and her sister, Joy Secret, are among its fans.

"We've eaten there now four or five times, and all the meals are outstanding," Jerri Brewer said. "We've had plain fried rice, with both chicken and beef, cashew nuts with chicken. A friend had Thai Season fried rice and raved about it."

BAMBOO BREAD BAGS: Beyond paper or plastic at grocery store

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:56 EDT

McClatchy Newspapers

Whether you've moved away from conventional grocery bags or not, bagging bread usually requires some extra thought _ unless you like yours smashed.

Bamboo bags, by Bamboo-bag, are made from natural antimicrobial bamboo fabric and are an alternative to paper and plastic. Available in three designs, the bags are tailored for carrying and storing bread, keeping it fresher longer.

Premium chocolates get poltical

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:50 EDT

By J.M. HIRSCH

AP Food Editor Care for some politics with your premium chocolates?

The hand-crafted chocolate experts at L.A. Burdick have created two new boxed chocolate offerings, one honoring Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and one for Republican John McCain.

& sour sweet Beyond

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:18 EDT

Chinese food in America today is a monolith, abundant and often delicious but with only faint echoes of China's culinary regionalism.

Shrimp and Grits

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:18 EDT

Start to finish: 25 minutes

1 can (14½ ounces) reduced-sodium, fat-free chicken broth, divided use

1¼ cups water

NUTRITION

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:18 EDT

Lentils lead the way

Lentils are not a glamour food, but from a nutritional standpoint they are the belle of the ball.

Here's a quiz about lentils to find out how much you know about these little legumes.

Covers hint to quality of two new releases

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:18 EDT

Sometimes - but not often - you can judge a book by its cover. In this case, there are two new cookbooks that tell you right up front that there are good fixin's to be had inside.

It is somewhat remarkable how similar the covers are for "Screen Doors and Sweet Tea" by Martha Hall Foose (Potter, $32.50) and "Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes" by Jeanne Kelley (Running Press, $35). Both depict the hands of a woman holding food that includes a tomato. Each has an appealing homespun quality to it. Much the same can be said for the contents inside.

What says summertime in the South more than screen doors and sweet tea? Foose was born and raised in Mississippi. She recalls "the smell of the skillet bread browning on the stovetop [that] transports me back in time to when this land was cleared at the end of the century before last. The slow simmering of my gumbo mimics the pace of our speech down here. The unadorned perfection of home-grown tomatoes paired with delicate lady peas is just one way for me to explain this place - and I guess myself, too."

7-Day Menu Planner By Susan Nicholson

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:18 EDT

Sunday | Family

Surprise the family with this delicious mustard chicken with greens (see recipe). The bright grape tomatoes added to the plate, along with roasted red potatoes, make a colorful presentation. Add baguettes. Buy a Boston cream pie for dessert.

Plan ahead | Save enough pie for Monday.

Across-The-Bridge Noodles

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:17 EDT

From Yunnan Province

Yunnan province is filled with ethnic minorities, and because of that has a cuisine that can defy description. Some dishes have undertones of the cuisines of Southeast Asia, which the province borders, and Yunnan hams are renowned through China for their subtle tastes. Spiciness makes frequent appearances but is far from predominant. Yunnan is also famous for its teas. Start to finish: 30 minutes; Servings: 4

½ teaspoon rice wine

Lamb Kebabs From Xinjiang Region

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:17 EDT

Xinjiang, a predominantly Muslim region of western China, is home to an ethnic group called the Uighurs that has more in common culturally with Central Asia than with most of China. Lamb is an exceedingly popular dish, and food often is seasoned with cumin and other spices rarely used in the cooking of China's more central and eastern regions. Start to finish: 2½ hours (30 minutes active); Servings: 4

1 medium yellow onion, quartered

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Beef up your skill in the kitchen

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:12 EDT

Don't let the kids be the only ones heading back to school this year.

Check out this crop of new how-to books to help you fine tune your kitchen smarts.

"An Edge in the Kitchen" by Chad Ward (William Morrow, 2008) | Too few people know how to properly use and care for their knives, arguably the most essential tool in any kitchen. Chad Ward aims to fix that with his exacting and exhaustive "An Edge in the Kitchen." Ward covers it all, from buying and using them to maintaining their edge. Casual cooks might find a 230-page book on knife use a bit dense, but those who appreciate the pleasure of a well-cared-for knife will enjoy the depth of coverage.

Be a bartender in your own home

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:12 EDT

James Bond has no problem shirking the establishment, even when it comes to his cocktails. The tuxedoed secret agent orders his martinis, "shaken, not stirred."

Good choice, 007. The shaken cocktail is frosty and frothier than the stirred variety preferred by traditionalists.

Mixing a drink in a shaker is a step most home bartenders skip, but they shouldn't. Shaking a drink isn't just for show. It helps meld and chill the ingredients, and it adds just enough water to cut the sharpness of the alcohol.

RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:12 EDT

Department of Health and Environmental Control food inspectors spend at least an hour in each business they inspect and use a 42-item, 100-point checklist.

An A grade is 88-100, a B is 78-87 and a C is 70-77. Follow-up inspections are conducted as necessary. Thirteen priority items, when found deficient, must be corrected within 10 days.

In Horry and Georgetown counties, routine inspections, noted with an R, are unannounced. Follow-up inspections, noted with an F, are announced; only items that were in violation are inspected. Inspections were performed between July 4 and July 10.

Broccoli Linguine

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:12 EDT

Makes 2 servings.

¼ pound linguine, preferably fresh

½ pound broccoli florets (about 3 cups)

1 cup canned, drained, low-sodium diced tomatoes

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:12 EDT

Sicilian SwordfishMakes 2 servings.

3 teaspoons minced garlic

5 pitted black olives

Chinese Grocery Roast Pork

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:12 EDT

The Mississippi Delta was home to a large community of Chinese-Americans at the turn of the century, the author of "Screen Doors and Sweet Tea" reports. "Many versions of this red-tinged pork have been cooked on stoves in the back of family-run groceries in the area for years and years." Makes 6 servings.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 green onions, white and green parts, chopped

Honeydew Lime Soup With Fresh Mint

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:12 EDT

4 cups chopped peeled ripe honeydew melon

3 cups apple or white grape juice

1 tablespoon honey

Buttermilk Bisque With Cucumbers and Vidalia Onions

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:12 EDT

1 large hothouse cucumber, chopped (about 3 cups)

½ cup chopped Vidalia onions

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish

Limoncello

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:12 EDT

Start to finish: 1 week (10 minutes active); Makes 1 liter

12 whole lemons

1½ cups sugar

Raleigh Collins

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:12 EDT

Start to finish: 5 minutes; Servings: 2

Ice cubes

4 ounces tequila blanco

Mexican Fruit "Gazpacho" Salad

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:12 EDT

All the ingredients for this refreshing salad, including the large root called jicama, now can be found in most supermarkets. The recipe is from "Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes." Makes 6 servings.

1½ pounds Mexican papaya

¾ pound jicama