I did something really strange on Friday. A nut company hired a firm in Chapel-Hill to do some research on nuts, and I ended up participating in their Nut Focus Group at Southern Season. I arrived in time for a delicious lunch, during which we discussed how we liked to cook with nuts, what we think will encourage people to buy more nuts, and our favorite flavor combinations using nuts. After a lengthy discussion, the 12 of us participating were broken into 3 groups of 4 and asked to come up with several recipes using nuts. Then, the REALLY fun part. We were released out into Southern Season (a massive, super-stocked gourmet grocery, if you’ve never been) to gather everything we needed to create our dishes. We brought everything back to the test kitchen and were let loose. In other words, we were IRON CHEFS! It was so fun. My group made:

• Spring Tart with Cucumber, Caramelized Onions, Mascarpone, Dill, and Pine Nuts – I made a lot of this one, but the flavor combo was a collaborative effort.
• Breakfast Bar made with Dried Orange, Crystallized Ginger, Oats, Raisins, Almonds, and Ground Cardamon – But this didn’t hold together as well as we’d hoped, so we ended up putting it on Vanilla Ice Cream, and calling it “Better Than Breakfast Ice Cream”
• Mango Chili Chocolate Bark with Macadamia Nuts (That’s the one I was most responsible for, and it was AWESOME!)
• Orange Dream Brownies made with Ginger, Dried Orange, and Almonds (I actually had zero to do with this one – Brownies are yucky!)

The Delightful JNFR

So two particularly fun aspects of this adventure. First, the delightful JNFR was there. She is a special needs teacher, and was VERY good at herding us and keeping everything on track. She was definitely the Alpha that kept us focused so the creativity of our group could flow. Second, WE GOT PAID! Yes, they actually paid me $150 to give opinions about food and play Iron Chef. I can’t believe my luck!

The Day in Pictures:

Also, there is a video about barbecue that I was in a few weeks ago, along with my friend, Hugh. I keep forgetting to post it. Now’s as good a time as any: The Great NC BBQ Debate

At the chocolate counter, Kelly and I met a man named Reginald Savage. He is a chocolatier and owns a chocolate shop called Chocolate Truffles By Azurelise. He had a sign next to him advertizing his upcoming appearance on Food Network, which I thought was kind of cute. Man, sign for man, 1 foot apart. Anyway, we got to talking, and I took this picture. I will definitely put the show into my TiVo, and then no doubt that I’ll be noshing on his truffles later this week! Gorgeous food visuals… fuggetaboutit. I’m powerless. The show is Road Tasted With The Neelys at 9:30pm and 12am. I’ll be watching – or at least TiVo-ing!

I’ve been making this sandwich for probably 7 years now. I found the recipe on the internet way back when, and I’ve been loving it ever since. Periodically, I’ve tried to find the original recipe online. For a long time, I’ve come up short. This morning, I once again found it – sort of. The original version had bacon rather than smoked salmon and capers. Must try this other version, too. This photo is from the bacon version I made earlier this week.

Recipe: My Favourite Sandwich by Antony Worrall Thompson

1. Oddity the first: The “Col-Pop” (originally seen on Serious Eats)
   
   Col-Pop: The Future of Fast-Food Technology from Adam Kuban on Vimeo.
2. Oddity the second: Jazz and Poetry Reading at McDonald’s (seen on Ginny from the Blog)
   

Very odd world we live in, eh?