One Great . . . Late Summer Pasta Dish

With the good-tomato season running out faster than a kid who's missing the bus, I can't resist buying as many as I can at the farmers market. Which means that I look up late in the week and realize I have several fat tomatoes that are crossing the border from ripe to too-ripe.

Casting around for a way to turn a few juicy specimens into dinner, I spied the new book "Cook This Now," from New York Times food columnist Melissa Clark. Organized by seasons, it was easy to find the dish "Pasta With Bacon, Rosemary, and Very Ripe Tomatoes." It was fast and easy, and piled next to a piece of wild salmon, it made a tasty summer supper.

Pasta With Bacon, Rosemary, and Very Ripe Tomatoes

Serves 2 (4 at my house, thanks to the salmon)

8 ounces pasta shape of choice (she suggests farro spaghetti; I used farfelle)
3 ounces bacon, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces (I used a little home-cured slab bacon from the freezer)
1 large, bushy rosemary sprig (I pulled the leaves off the sprig and minced them)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 very large or 3 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped
Balsamic vinegar (optional)
Soft herbs, such as minced thyme, if you want (very optional)
Grated Pecorino Romano (optional)

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions (11 minutes for farfelle).

Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel, leaving the fat in the pan; if it looks really greasy, spoon some out to just leave a thin layer. (Since I was using thicker slab bacon, I just left it in the pan and cooked it into the sauce.)

Add the rosemary, garlic, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste to the skillet and cook until the garlic is lightly browned but not burned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and let the sauce simmer until the pasta is cooked. Season aggressively with more salt and pepper. If it tastes flat, add a few drops of vinegar.

Drain the pasta and add to the sauce, tossing to mix. Sprinkle with the bacon and herbs if you're using them. Grate some Pecorino Romano over the top if desired.

A win for Mooresville's Race City Sauce Works

My colleague, Raleigh food writer Debbie Moose, is an annual judge for the N.C. Hot Sauce Contest in Oxford, N.C. Tough duty, but good news for a local saucer: The winner of Critics' Choice this year is El Verde Sucio -- The Dirty Green, from Race City Sauce Works in Charlotte.

Winner of hottest sauce was Bhut Jolokia, made by Bailey Farms, while Most Unusual went to Smoking J's Jamaican Ginger.

Read about the contest and the painful duty of Hot Sauce Judge at Debbie's blog.

Who won the barbecue contest?

I was on the road this weekend and had to miss BBQ & Blues on Sept. 10 at the N.C. Music Factory.
But I got the winners bright and early this morning.

The big prize was kind of a double header: The Grand Champion crown went to a team from Jack's Old South BBQ. But since Old South already has a berth at Memphis in May, Charlotte will be represented by Rannucci's Big Butt BBQ of Belmont. Here are the remaining winners.

Pork shoulder:
1st - Jack's Old South.
2nd - Smoke Shack.
3rd - Black Jack Barbecue.
4th - Rannucci's Big Butt.
5th - Muck's.

Whole hog:
1st - Jack's Old South
2nd - Yazoo's Delta Q's.
3rd - Black Jack
4th - Uncle Mac's BBQ Crue.
5th - Rannucci's.

Ribs:
1st - Rannucci's.
2nd - Doc & Dicie's BBQ.
3rd - Uncle Mac's.
4th - Mountain Grillas.
5th - Smoke Shack.

In the Backyard Grillers category . . .

Boston Butt:
1st - Rocky Top Smokies.
2nd - QCQ.
3rd - Pork Busters.

Ribs:
1st - Moonswine Racers.
2nd - Fast Eddie's Lo & Slo.
3rd - Mad About Que.

A "Splendid" Cookbook Giveaway

I was away from my office with no online contact last week, so I didn't realize that our giveaway for "The Splendid Table How to Eat Weekends" didn't get posted. So let's give it another try:

The always fabulous radio host Lynne Rossetto Kasper was kind enough to give me a great tip for my story on convenience-food shortcuts (read it here if you missed it). In her honor, I wanted to get your favorite convenience-food shortcut. Post your idea here (a great convenience product, how you use it and what, if anything, you do to improve it). Include a unique name (not just Anonymous) and I'll include you in a drawing for the new book by Lynne and her co-author, Sally Swift.

Don't forget to check back and find out if you won. I'll announce the winner at 9 a.m. Wednesday, so the deadline is 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Carolina food travel: Go, do, be

I'm on the road myself for the next week. In the meantime, keep these in mind:

• The Asian Moon Festival, one of the two biggest Asian festivals, is Sept. 12. If you've ever wondered about Moon Cakes, those puffy cakes with elaborate writing, there's an Asian Culture Meetup at 4 p.m. Sept. 12 at Grand Asia, 4400 Potters Road in Matthews. You'll learn the significance of the food, learn how mooncakes are made, and get a sample (and probably eat a little). It's $5. Sign up here.

• Greenville, S.C., has been a food-focused city with a small but dedicated restaurant scene. For $39, you can join a culinary tour every Tuesday at 6 p.m. or Saturdays at 1:30 p.m. You visit five restaurants, getting something to eat and drink at each stop. The stops: The Loft at Soby's, chef Rodney Freidank; the kitchen at Soby's on the Side; The Lazy Goat, chef Victoria Moore; Soby's New South Cuisine, chef Shaun Garcia; and Devereaux's, chef Spencer Thompson. Details and tickets: www.greenvillecvb.com. That's also the place to find details on the big food weekend, Euphoria, Sept. 22.

• It's getting to be the best time of year to hit the wine country. If you need an excuse, here's one: Raffaldini Vineyards in Ronda is celebrating its 6th annual Festa Italiana from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 17. Admission is $15 and includes a wine tasting, live music and food vendors (and a gorgeous view, from their Italian-style villa, one of the prettiest winery locations around). Details, including directions (it's an easy drive, 75 miles north of uptown Charlotte on I-77): www.raffaldini.com.

Too much zucchini? Keep your cool

File this under "the most interesting recipe I saw before 9 a.m. today":

On Seriouseats.com, Max Falkowitz has a post on a novel way to take your revenge on all those zucchini: Zucchini Bread Ice Cream.

"When you've reached the point of zucchinipocalypse where even baking won't save you from the overrun, there's one last dramatic course of action to take. I'm talking about ice cream. Specifically, zucchini bread ice cream. It's a novelty to bust you out of zucchini malaise, and it's so good you may finally have the weapon you need to repel the invasion of the summer squash."


Falkowitz does not merely make zucchini bread and crumble it into ice cream. His method involves browning grated zucchini in butter, pureeing it with cream and spices and adding a glug of beer - yes, beer - to add that essential baked breadiness.

Sounds to me like the perfect thing to scoop on top of that other great zucchini-hider, the Mock Apple Pie.

Here's a link. And if you make it, please let me know if this idea is a keeper.

Look, it's Looking Glass

As a local-cheeses fan, I'm always happy to see Carolinas cheesemakers get attention:

Asheville's Looking Glass Creamery's Ellington Cheese is included in the October issue of Cooking Light magazine, in a roundup of great artisanal and small-batch foods from around the kitchen. Ellington is a goat's milk pyramid-form cheese with black ash under the rind.

Looking Glass is a family-owned operation owned by Jennifer and Andy Perkins in Fairview, near Asheville. They opened in January 2009.

Looking Glass has popped up in a few locations in Charlotte. It was recently on the cheese plate at Harvest Moon Grille at the Dunhill Hotel, although it's not on the chalkboard at the moment. It's also available all around Asheville and Hendersonville. For more details and sightings, go to www.ashevillecheese.com.