by David Cecelski When I saw the daily specials board at Clawson’s Restaurant in Beaufort the other night, I couldn’t believe my eyes:clambake, it said. Impossible, I told myself, it can’t really be true. I had never seen clambake in a restaurant or café before. It’s old, traditional fare and a dish that you find only at… Read More →
Muscadine Grape Preserves
by David Cecelski I put up 5 quarts of muscadine grape-hull preserves yesterday. My daughter and I picked the grapes from a vine that my grandfather planted in the 1930s. I picked on the side of the arbor near the chicken coop, she picked on the side near the barn. She sang… Read More →
Fresh Shrimp
by David Cecelski You can tell the shrimp are running Down East. My daughter and I drove from our farm to HarkersIsland yesterday, which is only 20 miles, and everywhere we looked there were signs for fresh shrimp—in front of fishermen’s homes, little roadside stands, and fish markets. Other roadside signs announced community fundraising suppers featuring fried… Read More →
Moore Square Farmers Market
by David Cecelski When I was in downtown Raleigh today, I had lunch with an old college friend at the farmers market that’s held every Wednesday in Moore Square. I hadn’t been there before, but I really enjoyed seeing a market in the middle of a busy city. The market is held in the shade of old oaks… Read More →
A Day Cooking Pig
by David Cecelski Yesterday my daughter and I kept her godfather company while he cooked a pig. We found Tim in a field by the railroad tracks. Bathed in sweat and smoke, he was shoveling fresh coals into a heavy cast-iron cooker. The air smelled of hickory wood burning, pig cooking, vinegar and red pepper…. Read More →
Cousin Eloise’s Sweet Pickles
by David Cecelski A few days ago, I visited my cousin Eloise to pick up a half-gallon jar of sweet pickles. Her pickles are famous in these parts and it’s a trip that I look forward to every summer, partly because I like her pickles so much, partly because I enjoy her company so much, and… Read More →
Bogue Sound Watermelons
by David Cecelski An enthusiasm for Bogue Sound watermelons runs deep into my family’s past. My mother says that my great-grandfather, Guy Sabiston, used to make a trip to Bogue Sound every summer to fetch the famous watermelons. He was a farmer in Core Creek, a little community next to the Newport River. He had plenty… Read More →
Class of ’45
by David Cecelski I wrote this after my mother’s last high school reunion. It’s not about a recipe or a good place to eat, but about one of the things we do when we gather at the table. I recently took my mother to her 62nd high school reunion.BeaufortHigh School burned down over the Christmas break… Read More →
Bread of Heaven Bakery
by David Cecelski On the way to a 60th wedding anniversary party the other day, we stopped at Bread of Heaven Bakery in Goldsboro. This is one of my favorite bakeries. Located in a little strip mall at 301 South Ash Street, Bread of Heaven has the feeling of a dessert table at a big church supper. They… Read More →
Aunt Dot’s Squash Casserole
By David Cecelski One of the things I most like to do this time of year is sit out by the garden at dusk and watch the fireflies. I like the summer air and I like the way the silhouettes of the garden’s architecture look in the fading light: the trellis that… Read More →