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Triadfoodies Favorite Things & Holiday Gift Guide

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Happy Ho-Ho-Holidays, foodies. It’s our absolute favorite time of year and we are back once again to share with you so many of our favorite things and drop them all into our annual Holiday Gift Guide of Glorious Deliciousness. I forget how many years we’ve done this, but we are thrilled to be back with our favorites of 2022. We hope this guide inspires you to grab a an item or two for a loved one’s stocking or re-create this guide and be more popular than Santa himself. Everything you see here is available at local markets and of course, online. And we are happy to be giving away this basket to a lucky winner. Keep reading to find out how to win.

sippin SNAX

Our newest discovery! When it comes to noshing, a little snack mix can’t be beat. Have you ever sat at the bar, drink in hand and found yourself munching away at the salty bar snack? Melissa Wallace definitely had her eureka moment when she thought of sippin SNAX, a selection of crunchable goodies that specifically pair with wine, beer, and cocktails. With seasoned pretzels or peanuts for beer and red wine, the choices are quite fun. sippin SNAX, like all of our gift guide items, make great stocking stuffers, but they are the perfect housewarming gift. If you know a realtor, tell them about these treats for their client baskets, or you can be the star of the gift giving when you arrive with your bountiful selection. We highly encourage the sampler pack which can be delivered right to your door. We find ours at Deep Roots Market in Greensboro and sippinsnax.com

Whole Hive Honey

Your breakfast biscuit just leveled up…literally. From up here in the High Country, Whole Hive Honey has enjoyed several years of popularity and if you’re a visitor to the Boone area, you’ll see their honey on many shelves. The Hive recently released “Sweet Heat,” a hot honey that is incredible. Enjoy it on toast or biscuits, but I highly encourage you to add it to homemade dressings and sauces to add the slightest kick. Its side kicks are the maple flavored honey that is spectacular in its own right and great in a glaze for roasted chicken or your holiday ham or on a biscuit with a little sprinkling of salt, and the Better than Butter biscuit honey is a newbie as well. You’ll be reaching for these sweeties again and again. wholehivehoney.com 

Gorilla Grains

My love for the Gorilla runs long and strong. We are rarely without our favorite granola in our home. I’m pretty sure that a long, long time ago, Gorilla Grains was one of our first published “favorite things,” and so he makes his return for 2022. This year’s holiday spice tastes like a Moravian Sugar Spice cookie so we encourage you to seek that out online or in stores like Buie’s Market and the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market, Saxapahaw General Store, or buy online. I am telling you, this granola…it’s righteous…Its crispy, buttery goodness is unforgettable. There is absolutely no other granola like it. gorillagrains.com

Spicewalla Spice Blend Buxton Chicken Rub

If you’ve been to Asheville’s Buxton Hall, you know the flavors of smoking and grilling and Southern goodness abound. If you’ve been to Meherwan Irani’s Chai Pani then you know why it’s a James Beard Award winner. Irani’s spice company, Spicewalla, has created Buxton’s Chicken Rub and let me tell you, you will use it on all the things. Yes, chicken, but also roasted potatoes, veggies, pork chops, steak, next year’s turkey. It is wonderful. You can order Spicewalla online or you can find it in some local stores but do not deny yourself a trip to the spicewallabrand.com where the choices and flavors are seemingly endless. 

Fisher’s Christmas Whiskey

I feel like I’d be remiss if I didn’t add a spirit to our holiday gift guide. Fainting Goat Spirits Christmas whiskey can be a bit hard to find once it’s released. This infusion of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and orange peel is bottled in limited quantities at the distillery for a short time. And if by the time you read this, the ship has sailed, let not your heart be troubled. Look for it again next year. It’s best to get on their email list. The winner gets a bottle of this incredibly popular spirit. Check out FaintingGoatSpirits.com for more information or visit the distillery in downtown Greensboro.

Batistini Farms Vanishing Grape Balsamic

From dressings on salad (ahem, toss some pickles in it…ahem) to drizzles on risotto, this white grape balsamic from Clemmons’ Batistini Farms is liquid gold in my house. It is tangy and sweet and will forever have a place in our pantry and in our gift guide. Find it b-farms.com.  

Black Mountain Chocolate Fruit Cake

She’s the living Queen of our Favorite Things. Take her to a party and be the “popular one.” Pair it with some sipping SNAX for a salty sweet treat. Pick up more than one as she freezes great. Enjoy her all season long and find her at Black Mountain Chocolate in Winston-Salem. blackmountainchocolate.com

Now you have your list, no need to check twice. So go out and support local small businesses. We will be giving the entire contents of the holiday gift guide to a lucky winner. Follow YES! Weekly on Facebook leave a comment on the gift guide post about what you’re most excited to try. We will announce the winner on Friday, December 9, and the winner can collect their basket on or after December 14. 

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Join Me for Dinner in the Gap!

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Foodies! I have exciting things happening up on the rock (you know, the mountains).

I’m so thrilled to be a part of the inaugural Dinner in the Gap, the farm-to-table gala of the year. My friends at BFR Meats will be hosting this incredible multi-course event at their farm on Hwy 421 in Deep Gap near the New River. It’s a NC food collaboration between local producers and two of the best chefs in the High Country, Kyle Martin of Cafe Violette in Blowing Rock, and Robert Strom of Beacon Butcher Bar in Boone. When I tell you these two chefs are truly emerging as the best in the area, if not the state, well you know I’m speaking truth. Kyle and Robert will be presenting a multi-course dinner prepared with local ingredients from North Carolina and it will all be hosted by me! Click here for tickets!

I have spent lots of time with Daniel and Alex and I’ve come to know them as friends and partners here in the local food scene. I truly appreciate their knowledge and care of their farm and their animals. They have a heart for the mission of getting to know your farmer and where your food comes from. They have a wealth of knowledge and their excitement is contagious.

Ann, Daniel and Alex Brown

Chef Kyle Martin, Cafe Violette
Chef Robert Strom, The Beacon Butcher Bar

We are thrilled as well to announce the NC SweetPotatoes Commission as a sponsor.

We have quite a few contributors to the evening as well and part of the fun will be a live auction with proceeds all going to F.A.R.M Cafe in Boone, working to “feed all regardless of means.”

Ticket Includes:

Welcome Bag

Free Range NC Charcuterie Table (First Course)

3 Drink tickets to Carolinas best Breweries, Wineries, & Distilleries

4 course Curated & Narrated Local NC Dinner

Bidder Card for the F.A.R.M Cafe Live Auction

Dancing the Night Away with one of the HIgh Country’s most engaging bands

Click here for tickets!

Corn Dog Minis w/ Lusty Monk Mustard

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The following is the first in a series of posts featuring NC’s Lusty Monk Mustard. I was gifted a set of mustard to give some new recipes a go. We are so thankful to Lusty Monk to be invited in on the fun.

It might make me a grown child, but I love hot dogs, fixed all kinds of ways. I love corn dogs just as much. Here’s my once a year do-it-myself treat featuring corn dogs using local corn meal, with Lusty Monk Mustard waiting close by for the dipping. Actually it’s so yummy, I might do this more than once a year.

Ingredients
2/3 cup flour plus another 1/4 cup for dredging
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal (I used Old Mill of Guilford)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbs. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper (I like it speckled)
sprinkling of onion powder, garlic powder or any seasonings you desire
1 cup milk
1 package of regular hot dogs, cut into thirds or fourths (smoked sausage is also great)
Vegetable or peanut oil for frying

Instructions:

Preheat oil in a pot or pan. You’ll need about 3 inches. When the oil sizzles with a tester of batter, it’s ready. About 350 degrees is what you’re aiming for.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the milk. You want the batter to be almost pancake like, not too thick but not runny. The longer it sits, the thicker it gets.

Toss the hot dogs or sausages in the 1/4 cup flour until lightly coated. Then dip into the batter ensuring even coverage and shaking off excess.

Note: There are a number of ways to do this and I find a fork is great. But if you skewer the ends and you’re using sausages, they make these perfect round balls (you can see in the photo) which I love. Longer skewers allow you to place them in the oil and pick them up by the stick.

Place a few in the hot oil and cook until completely golden brown. You may need to turn them a bit for even cooking. They might look a bit rustic. I wasn’t going for perfect ovals here. But the sausages did get round like hushpuppies and they were super cute!

Place cooked doggies on a paper towel lined plate. You may need to keep warm in an oven while the rest of them fry, if they make it that far.

Serve with ketchup and/or mustard …we recommend Lusty Monk Mustard’s Original Sin, which is a grainy, almost dijon like mustard with a great kick of heat.

About Lusty Monk:

Our fellow mountain-dwellers are located in Candler, NC, just outside of Asheville. It’s made in small batches and I love the grainy, course texture and spicy kick. Perfect with pretzels, on a hot dog, on sandwiches. You can choose from Original Sin, Temptation (a spicy honey mustard) or Burn in Hell ( a chipotle version of Original Sin and my personal favorite). Lusty Monk can be found in the Triad and High Country and in 22 states nationwide. You’ll find them in the refrigerated section at markets like Earth Fare (Boone), Town & Country Meats (Greensboro), Canteen Market (Winston-Salem), Over Yonder (Valle Crucis). Check their website for locations. You can also order online.

Stay tuned for more ways I’m using Lusty Monk as we dive into the sweet and heat of this amazing mustard.

Mozzarella Fellas Menu is now 100% Plant-Based

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Photo: Lindley Battle Photography

That’s right…Mozzarella Fellas, the popular pizza/Italian restaurant with a heavy emphasis on vegetarian and vegan specialties has gone off the meat and dairy. Straight from pandemic to plant-based.

It might seem odd when your name has Mozzarella in it.

The Fella, Brian Ricciardi, has been vegan and gluten-free for years all the while making homemade mozzarella on the regular and piling sandwiches and salads high with Italian meats. And when Mozzarella Fellas was founded several years ago, there were several vegetarian and vegan items on the menu, from the mushroom “calamari” to Jack Fruit BBQ pizza and beyond burgers of late.  Little by little, Brian was making his way to completely plant-based. Last week, he made it official. He says the prospect was terrifying and he “wonders if he’s crazy.” Trust us when we say the vegan dishes at Mozzarella Fellas are every bit as good as any of the former meat and dairy based products.  And plenty of people are excited about it. Click here for the menu! 

Brian assured me last week that he still has mozzarella and pizza and all the great things, only now they’re plant-based. The mozzarella is dairy-free, the parmesan is from almond milk. Ceviche features hearts of palm and no seafood, nachos have jackfruit, which trust me, tastes exactly like pulled pork. Beyond meat is also strongly featured throughout.

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Photo: Lindley Battle Photography

Now that restaurants are phasing in, Mozzarella Fellas continues with its takeout and delivery menu and reservations are strongly recommended for dinner.

Mozzarella Fellas is located 336 Summit Square Blvd, Winston-Salem

 

 

 

 

Sweet Changes in store at Black Mountain Chocolate in WS

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Hi, foodies!

Well I kind of felt it was inevitable that little Black Mountain Chocolate might be thinking “bigger and better”. And here we are. The folks at BMC have just announced that they will be moving their Trade Street operations to Bailey South in the Innovation Quarter.

They’ll be doubling their square footage, adding hours, events, a bar and jobs! We’ll also see a slight name change. Keep reading for details. We just love these folks and we are truly excited for them.

Service Counter

Here’s the hot off the presses announcement:

Black Mountain Chocolate Factory today announced a move from its current Trade Street location to Bailey South in downtown Winston-Salem’s Innovation Quarter. Along with the move, Black Mountain Chocolate Factory will be rebranded as Black Mountain Chocolate Bar and add coffee and cocktails during extended morning and late night hours at its new 4,800 square foot location.

Black Mountain Chocolate Bar is excited to offer a unique culinary experience in the Winston-Salem area, with a desserts-focused menu that will attract Winston-Salem visitors and locals alike. The expanded lounge will accommodate 75 guests indoors, with additional seating outside and place an emphasis on offering hospitality, fostering community, and showcasing the excellence of the fair-trade craft chocolate created at the factory.

The new space will almost double the Chocolate Bar’s square footage, include a generous and inviting seating area for guests, and enhance the ability to host chocolate tasting events and classes. This move is also expected to double Black Mountain Chocolate’s workforce to approximately 20, creating new jobs for both back and front of house employees.

“We can’t wait to share with the community our inviting gathering space, featuring rich experiences like truffle classes, chocolate tastings, wine pairings, and cocktail labs,” say Black Mountain Chocolate Bar co-owners, Brent and Millie Peters. “From morning coffee to an afternoon cookie treat to an evening cocktail, the Black Mountain Chocolate Bar will offer sweet fun for every age at every hour.”

Lounge Seating 2

The anticipated move will happen in early summer. Black Mountain Chocolate has been a key member of the thriving Arts Scene on Trade Street since 2014. They will continue to support Winston-Salem’s thriving arts culture from their new location while also connecting with the heartbeat of the Innovation Quarter. “There are so many exciting developments happening in downtown Winston-Salem right now,” says Marissa Joyce, marketing director at Black Mountain Chocolate. “We are proud to be a part of what makes this city unique and enjoyable, and we plan to continue to be a sweet spot in Winston-Salem’s culinary culture.”

“From morning coffee to an afternoon cookie treat to an evening cocktail, the Black Mountain Chocolate Bar will offer sweet fun for every age at every hour.”

– Brent and Millie Peters, Black Mountain Chocolate Bar Owners

Black Mountain Chocolate Bar will be a unique establishment in the city, with a sophisticated gathering space and a menu that caters to coffee, sweets, and spirits.  Their commitment to creating fair trade, organically sourced chocolate will continue.  Their chocolate is distributed to over 100 retailers across the country. The new location will be located in the Bailey Power Plant complex at 450 N Patterson Street, across from Bailey Park and adjacent to the Coal Pit.

“The more people who come here to live, work or learn, the more places we need where people can gather, unwind and enjoy great food and drink,” says Graydon Pleasants, head of development for Innovation Quarter. “Black Mountain Chocolate Bar is the perfect mix of all those elements you’re looking for when building a sense of place, and we look forward to their opening later this year.”

Black Mountain Chocolate has been working with STITCH Design Shop, Eastern Restaurant Supply, Sunnyside Millwork, and Designer Alice Webb in the creation of their new space. Construction has already begun, with an anticipated completion in late May. Black Mountain Chocolate Bar is looking forward to joining and contributing to the thriving nightlife and special events that already occur in the Innovation Quarter community.