Around the Table — The Fellowship of the Pickle
Gather 'round the table and invite some friends. There's plenty here to feed a small army. It's a peculiar table I've laid today -- pickles, cheese, bagels and more. So put your expectations aside and dig in to something, well, different ...
COCKTAILS & HORS D’OEUVRES
OK — now it’s time for me to get on my cheese box. I have to tell you again that the cheeses at Hobnob are the most fab around. If you want to get me something for Christmas, I am accepting wedges of Hobnob’s artisanal cheeses, all varieties (though I’m especially fond of the Prosecco cheese .... A bottle of their H3 red wine won’t be turned down, either.)
I’m expecting Santa to put a wedge or two in my Christmas stocking (it’ll be in the fridge this year, Santa, rather than hanging near the fireplace — for obvious reasons). Last weekend, I discovered that I’m not the only one who thinks Hobnob’s cheese is king. Read on to find out what I mean.
Back to the holiday party — come out and see what both these awesome businesses have to offer. (I’ll see you there! If not, check back later and I’ll have some pics to show you.) Call (843) 413-0525 if you need to know more.
Owners Sonny and Julie Shila (of Old Europe Mediterranean Grill — another of my faves) were inside working away while Julie’s father, Donald, and brother, Jeff, were doing “taste tests” on some of the menu items. (From the looks of it, they approved!) Julie’s other brother, who is serving as “dough master” of the pizza operation, was behind the counter giving last minute pointers to the staff.
Now, if you like brick oven pizza (who doesn’t?), this is your place. Other offerings include deli items such as hot dogs, pita sandwiches, bratwurst, hot and cold subs and more. I’m particularly intrigued by the “Boss Baked Burger” — I’ll be giving it a try in the next few days and will report back to you.
In the meantime, the staff of Roma Oven is waiting to serve up some yummy eats just for you. They are also itching to put that awesome brick oven to use. So call ahead, utilize the drive-thru or pay them a visit. (With the unseasonably warm weather, you might even enjoy a bit of al fresco dining on the patio.) Let me know what you think! Call Roma Oven at (843) 676-8849 for more info.
ENTRÉE
Last time, I was waiting on another special delivery — some Tony Packo’s Sweet Hot Pickles. Michele was in Ohio on Honda business with her co-worker and friend, Debbie. Despite the snowy weather, the two of them accepted the mission to find those pickles!
A word about Tony Packo’s — this is a Toledo institution serving up mad eats such as Hungarian hot dogs, chili, peppers and some of the crunchiest, spiciest pickles I’ve ever eaten. It is my goal to visit the eatery one day. Now Toledo is nowhere near the Honda site, but the local markets in Ohio carry the picks. So, I regularly enlist unsuspecting Honda transplants to buy pickles for me when they go home for holidays, etc. It had been two years since the last delivery — a massive one. Can’t remember who brought them to me but they were driving the distance, hence they were able to transport a half case or so across state lines. Thanks again, whoever you are!
Back to the quest. The Fellowship of the Pickle battled drifting snow and freezing temps to visit one store and then another … with no luck. Michele gave me progress reports as she perused the aisles of Meijers and more. I was getting panicky. As she was about to give up, Debbie gave a pep talk. THEY WOULD FIND THOSE PICKLES! They hadn’t spent all that time searching to just give up. They would not be quitters!
So, they pushed on with courage and determination, finally arriving at Giant Eagle. And there on the shelves was My Precious — jars and jars of it, actually. Since Michele and Debbie were flying home, there was only room in the luggage for two jars of pickles, but that would do.
Michele got home last Wednesday, and was grinning from ear to ear as she placed the coveted pickle prize on the kitchen counter. I popped one jar open and checked the booty — aahhhhhh! What a crunch! What a kick! There’s really nothing like Tony Packo’s pickles …
She took the unopened jar into the pantry for storage. Then, I heard the clinking of glass and a gasp. With visions of a broken pickle jar in my head, I ran to see what had happened. Michele was pointing into the cupboard, a look of shock on her face. Was it a Palmetto bug? Had she discovered I’d bilked her of a box of Malt-O-Meal?
Nope. Inside the cupboard was a sight that shocked her — on the bottom-most shelf, next to her dwindling cache of Graber olives and Malt-O-Meal, were FOUR jars of Tony Packo’s Sweet Hots. (See evidence below.)
On Monday, I made a pickle apology to Debbie by sending a jar for her enjoyment and her trouble. And I made restitution at home by making Michele some homemade bagels. Which brings me to the next part of this entrée pairing …
As anybody within five miles of me knows, Michele gave me a KitchenAid 600 Professional stand mixer for Christmas. That’s right — I am the owner of the mother of all kitchen appliances, all 575 awesome watts of it! It’s been on my wish list for many a year, and now graces a prominent spot on the kitchen counter. Each morning, I am greeted by the lovely sight of my polished nickel machine. I pat it and swipe it lovingly with a dish towel. I even use it sometimes.
One of those times was last Saturday when I decided to make bagels for Michele to make up for the pickle incident. Now, a good many of you know that back in the ’90s, I owned and operated a bagel shop downtown. Everyday, my mother and I hand rolled all kinds of bagels, and my dad boiled and baked them. It had been years since I last made a bagel, but my new machine had the power to stand up to the demands of bagel dough, which requires high-gluten flour for that “lusty” bagel chewiness.
I made a beautiful dough, then popped it into the refrigerator for some overnight proofing. The next morning, I had a nicely risen dough ball. My parents (aka Nonni and Poppi) came over to lend a hand and enjoy a bit of nostalgia. We rolled, boiled and dipped. In just a matter of minutes, we had a half a dozen fragrant sesame bagels and half a dozen of Poppi’s famous Cinnamon Dip bagels. (Background: Back in our early bagel shop days, we had run out of cinnamon raisin so Poppi improvised by dipping a bagel in melted butter, coating it in cinnamon and sugar, and baking. The result was the Cinnamon Dip, our most popular bagel.)
Well, folks, I’m proud to say that we haven’t lost our touch. Those bagels we made on Sunday morning were fabulous! Nonni enjoyed being in the kitchen. Poppi was excited to have an encore bagel-making day. Michele had fun making maple walnut cream cheese, and even more fun eating it on her Cinnamon Dip bagel.
And, she forgot all about the pickles. I didn’t though. Later that day, I ate nearly half a jar with some ham and a sesame bagel. And I had more the next day. And the next.
You see, it’s the time of year when I get that familiar pickle craving. So let’s just say that the Tony Packo’s assignment was, well, a bit of strategy on my part, a bit of planning ahead.
Now let’s keep that just between you and me, OK?
DESSERT
Enjoy this very amateur slideshow that captures some of the moments of our glorious bagel-makin' morn':
TAKE OUT
So I got an e-mail from my friend Melanie McMillan last week. She was having a Christmas crisis. Seemed she'd been in the studio all day recording new material and the tree was still sitting in three pieces on the living room floor. The Tree Squad came to the rescue later that evening — I’d prepare some food while Michele and Jordan helped Mel whip that tree into festive shape.
I decided to try the frozen porcini ravioli I had picked up at New York Butcher Shoppe earlier in the week. A nice alfredo would complement it just right, so I grated some parmesan reggiano, assembled my butter and cream, and got busy. I have to tell you that this ravioli far exceeded my
flavor expectations — it was downright decadent. I had expected the mushroom filling to either seep out during simmering or turn to mush. WRONG! Not only was it intact, but it was generous and had that mushroom meatiness that you’re dreaming of when you buy mushroom ravioli in the first place. I can’t wait to try some of the other offerings at NYBS — perhaps the roasted eggplant or artichoke ravioli. If you’ve tried some, drop me a line and give me your impressions.
We also brought Melanie a little holiday present — one of those great artisanal cheeses from Hobnob. This one was appropriately named for the occasion: Hoja Santa. It’s an American-crafted goat cheese, though it is quite exotic in appearance. The cakes come wrapped in the leaves of the Hoja (pronounced HO-ha) Santa plant. You eat it, leaves and all. We decided to have it as an appetizer that night (as if Melanie had a choice!), and I’ll have to say it made a great lead-in to the ravioli. The Hoja leaves infused the soft cheese with a citrusy flavor. It almost tasted as if I was eating lemon cheesecake — minus all the sugar. It was a lovely cheese. Thanks for sharing, Melanie.
If you’d like to try it or give it as gift, check any of Hobnob’s three locations (Red Barn at the Farmer’s Market, Florence Mall, downtown Hartsville) and see if it’s available.
Hmmm — I wonder how it would go with pickles …
McDermott’s Irish Pub is now serving lunch weekdays. Salads, wraps, sandwiches and specialties of the house such as Shepherds Pie and Guinness Stew are featured on the menu. Wash it all down with something hearty — but only if you have the luxury of napping before returning to the office! McDermott’s is located at 436 Second Loop Road in Florence. For more info, call (843) 667-0155.
Back to Blease’s: They left. Now they’re back. It’s only been a couple of months since I reported that Blease’s changed its name to Joe’s. Now, a sign out front of this split personality eatery (located at 205 Second Loop Road) indicates the name is Blease’s once again, and that the business is about to enjoy a grand opening. A call to the place resulted in a lengthy on-hold wait, so I didn’t get the full scoop, yet. I’ll try to have more for you on this dining identity crisis later. If you have any info, leave a comment on the blog, OK?
NEXT TIME:
I'll share my recipe for Southern Pecan Pralines ...
Like to cook? Try these great recipes courtesy of The Food Channel:
Posted by
on 12/17 at 10:36 AM
The one complaint I have heard about McDermotts is that it is smokey. How is it at lunchtime?