Friday, January 30, 2015

Church BBQ Dinners in North Carolina - Millford Hills Methodist in Salisbury, NC


Milford Hills United Methodist Church BBQ Dinner

One really popular fundraiser dinner in North Carolina is a BBQ dinner. North Carolina is pork barbecue country with various versions in the east (coastal) and piedmont or central. Central is called western NC barbecue, but it's not the mountains. No telling what you'll get if you order barbeque in the mountains here.

Today I had a delicious BBQ plate of western barbecue from Millford Hills Methodist Church in Salisbury, NC (which likely is the original home of western style barbecue though Lexington takes the credit).

Mr. Ralph Ketner who founded the Food Lion stores and still works at Catawba College well in his 90s gets the yearly dinners for the faculty and staff in the Ketner building (yes - he did have it built - thanks). He's just a really nice guy like that.

Here you see a very traditional North Carolina barbecue dinner. There's chopped pork, dip (thin vinegar sauce), red slaw (a tad spicy), a bun, and then versions of pound cake. This piece I think is Cheerwine cake which is the local soft drink sold in my county (Rowan County) and slated to be in all 50 states soon (the drink - not the cake).

Other areas may have slight differences. When I lived in Raleigh, the church had small boiled potatoes as the side. Brunswick stew is another common side dish but in the coastal area usually.

I think this was Millford Hills Methodist Churches 51st year of their annual BBQ dinners. They are always on a Friday at the end of January. If you live close by or are passing through Salisbury, NC, I can tell that you get a generous and very tasty traditional North Carolina barbecue meal at the church.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Henry's Humdingers Raw Honey with Heat - A New Spin on Sweet and Hot

Henry's Humdingers Honey - With Some Kickin' Heat

I was rather befuddled when I was asked to try out Henry's Humdingers honey with heat. My Poppaw was a beekeeper, and I'd only had honey as a sweetener like on homemade biscuits (yum).

As a heat lover and honey lover, I thought these products sounded interesting. I was scheduled for the annual gathering of the Winter Grillers, so I packed a couple of jars to see what the crew thought.

In addition to the two flavors you see above, there's also Dibolical Dad Habanero and Lime and also Naughty Nana Spicy Pepper and Ginger.

 Lon Lathering Up the Sausages 

Lon is the spark plug of Winter Grillin', and he was manning the sausages. The annual meeting is at his hotel and campground Roaring River Resort in Missouri and is a terrific place to stay. You'll feel just like family except pampered.

Syndi Gets Things Spiced Up with Henry's Honey

Syndi is Lon's wife, and she's a sweetheart. She went the extra mile with dipped honey along with the grilled on, and you can see she is still smiling. So, this honey has the spice going but doesn't have you running for the water faucet.

I liked the hot and spicy honey on the sausages and also have enjoyed it on ham and even chicken. It's definitely different and memorable.

My big honey eating son Eli . . . now he wasn't so happy. He likes the sweet, dark mountain honey with the comb. And, he's not a heat fan. That's okay. I keep sweet honey on hand for him.

If you're more adventuresome and like heat, then I'd say Henry's Humdingers honey is a good pick. The balance of sweet and heat is solid and quite unique. 

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Lime and Lemon Squeezers by Imusa - They were a HIT here!


Lime Squeezer and Lemon Squeezer Made by Imusa

Imusa offered me a free gadget for an honest review, and the lime and lemon squeezers jumped right out me. We have been squeezing by hand for barbecue flavoring and for guacamole for grilled nacho chips. This means quite a bit of waste, picking out seeds, and overall a mess.