Put even more events on your food calendar

UPDATE: Here's one more to add to your calendar. Sunday night at Triple C is  Farm Hands Charlotte, a sort of crowd-sourcing event for farm projects, from 6-8 p.m. at Triple C Brewery. You buy a $25 ticket, you get to eat food from MODPaleo and drink beer, and you get to listen while local farmers present projects they need help on. Then you vote on your favorite project and the winner gets the proceeds from the evening. That means they need a lot of people to show up -- the more people, the more money goes to a farm project. Get a ticket here and get details here.


A few events, classes and other things to jot on your calendar:

Celebrate a new shop: Remember the booth with the amazingly beautiful gelatin creations that used to be at 7th Street Public Market? Clara D'Tapiero sends word that she's opening a new shop, Gelitas, at 553 N. Polk St. in Pineville. There's an open house and grand opening at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 7. Delgados' creations have to be seen to be believed. They're like edible paperweights with flowers inside. www.gelitascharlotte.com.

Taste wine and beer: The Wine Vault, 9009 J.M. Keynes Dr. in University City, has an all-IPA beer tasting from 6 to 7 p.m. Friday. Saturday at 2 p.m.: By-the-glass wine tasting, featuring Delos Crozes Hermitage, Tribouley Orchis and Robert Craig cab. $5 each.

Take a cooking course: Central Piedmont Community College's Charlotte Cooks has a series of courses for home cooks. Coming up: Culinary Boot Camp, Feb. 7-March 28; Baking and Pastry Boot Camp, Feb. 14-March 28; French Cooking Package, Feb. 7, 14, 21, March 6 and 7; Bread-Baking Package, March 10, 11, 12 and 13. There are also single classes on Fridays. Details and prices: email charlottecooks@cpcc.edu.

Share what you know: Want to go to New Orleans in August for Farm to Table International? This is a little ambitious, but the deadline to submit papers for review is Feb. 20. They're looking for presentations on Crop to Cup (brewing, distilling and nonalcoholic beverages), Farming and Production, Food and Beverage Journalism and Media, Farm to School and Food Innovations (science, technology and trends). Details on the conference and how to submit papers: www.f2t-int.com.

A little ode to rock shrimp

2/4 UPDATE: A reader let me know that Fish On, at Afton Village, 5404 Village Dr. NW in Concord and the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market on Saturdays, has fresh rock shrimp for $17.95 a pound. The season is brief though. Get your scissors ready. OK, back to our regularly written blog post: 

 When you grow up in West Palm Beach, Fla., long road trips come with the hot, humid territory. It's six hours just to clear Jacksonville. Any destination usually takes at least 10 hours of driving.

On a recent Saturday, I had the chore of making the 11-hour drive home to Charlotte by myself. I didn't mind, though, because I had picked out my reward: With no one else along to fret about lost time, I could include a lunch stop at the Dixie Crossroads in Titusville for a platter of rock shrimp.

This is going to be a food story that frustrates you. Rock shrimp aren't something you find just anywhere. But with spring breaks coming up and half the country headed to Orlando, I thought it might be OK to tell this story.

When my family moved to Florida in 1969, we weren't rolling in dough. The economy was even rougher by 1972 than it was by 2008 and my mother always had her eye open for a deal. On Sundays, our drive home from church went by a Zayre's parking lot where there was usually an old truck with a sign that said "Rock Shrimp." Shrimp wasn't something we could afford much, but my mother quickly discovered that rock shrimp were a bargain. They were trash fish in those days, a meaty morsel hidden under a very hard shell. Most people didn't want to fool with them.

That didn't stop my mom: With three able-bodied kids she could order to stand at a sink and cut through the shells, and my dad always ready to fire up the charcoal grill, rock shrimp were a treat she couldn't pass up. Once you get inside that hard shell, the meat is firm and sweet. Grill them quickly and brush them with butter and you'd swear it was lobster. Or as close as people in our income bracket were going to get.

For years, we kept rock shrimp as our family secret. Then suddenly, the rock shrimp truck disappeared. A family restaurant up in Titusville had come up with a machine to slit those hard shells. All the rock shrimp ended up there, at the Dixie Crossroads, where they used to offer all-you-could eat rock shrimp.

Over the years, I've managed to stop a few times. When my son was small, he couldn't handle 11 hours in a car without a break, so we'd work in a lunch break. It's a classic Old Florida place, with a boardwalk over a fish pond where kids can toss food pellets to the fish and try to hit the alligator fountain while their parents wait for a table. Inside, there are at least three dining rooms, all decorated in manatee murals and wildlife paintings.

When I stopped for an early lunch last Saturday, I was happy to see most things about the place haven't changed. The alligator fountain is still spitting water, the waitresses still call you hon. They've added a bunch more things to the menu, like mullet and something called Royal Red Shrimp.

These days, you don't get all-you-can-eat anymore. A dozen and a half rock shrimp will set you back $21. But the platters come with two sides, and the basket of fritters, Florida's version of a beignet, still comes to your table warm and piled with an avalanche of powdered sugar.

And the rock shrimp? Still sweet, firm and buttery. Like lobster for poor people.

As my dad always said when I was a kid, "I wonder what the poor people are eating tonight?" Rock shrimp, Dad. Rock shrimp.

The Dixie Crossroads, 1475 Garden St., Titusville, Fla. From I-95, take Exit 220 and go east about 2 miles. Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m/. Sunday-Thursday, until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. 

What are you eating?

Welcome to Wednesday's weekly cornucopia of food news. What do we have for you this week?

Better brush up on your calorie knowledge. You'll see calorie counts on a lot more menus by the end of the year, thanks to new regulations from the FDA. What does it mean . . . and how good are you at guessing which menu items have the most calories? We've got a quiz with results that might surprise you.

Yes, she has the best food-writer byline ever: Welcome Jen Lover as the new writer of our You Asked For It column.

And here's the return of the You Asked For It column: A fan from upstate New York wanted the Buffalo wings from Charlotte's own Tavern on the Tracks.

Even in winter, farm life is going on out there. Cindy Barlowe tells you about how birds shape her life, and Dean Mullis is already thinking about his CSA plans for spring.

Yes, it's true: Charlotte is No. 21 on the list of the 25 unhealthiest cities. But we also know where you can get a free map to find sonker in Surry County.

And don't forget to tune in "Flip My Food" Thursday morning to see Dilworth Neighborhood Grille.

If you're planning your weekend cooking projects, we've got some good recipes to consider:

• Yes, you can cook kale in a slow cooker.
• And while you're reveling in kale, how about a kale and apple soup?
• Cooking for 2? Linda Gassenheimer has a great dish for chicken with the year's hot color -- marsala. 

Are you ready for some football and barbecue?

If the Super Bowl is coming in a week, people in the Sardis Road area of Charlotte know what that means: The smoke signals that alert them to the annual Boy Scout Troop 33 barbecue at Sardis Presbyterian Church.

This barbecue is a massive undertaking, with all the pork shoulders cooked over wood coals in temporary pits, chopped and prepped at the church kitchen and sold to people who line up at the Boy Scout hut, 6100 Sardis Road.

It happens Jan. 30-31, meaning you can stock up on barbecue just in time for Super Bowl parties.

If you're new to the South or to Charlotte, it's a don't-miss experience. If you're not new, you know that it helps to put in your order in advance to make sure you get what you want.

Prices will be up a little this year, to compensate for the cost of pork. Barbecue is $11 a pound, Brunswick stew (limited availability) is $10 a quart. On Friday only, they have plates and two-sandwich plates for $8. Baked beans, coleslaw, rolls and sauce are all available for various prices too.

Want to put in an order? Call John Hall, 704-996-0391, or email jhall027@carolina.rr.com. Pick up your order from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30, or 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31.

Proceeds from this barbecue event help the troop take their boys on high-adventure trips.

PHOTO: Observer files.

Want that hot artichoke dip recipe?

Happy Wednesday, food readers. It's that day when I try to give you lots of cooking inspiration.

Up today, at www.charlotteobserver.com/food, think about these:

Get a sheet pan. They're heavy-duty, double-duty and cheaper than you'd expect at restaurant supply stores (here in Charlotte, I like to drop by Fadel's for half-sheet pans and other cheap-but-useful cooking gear). Andrea Weigl gives you a rundown on why sheet-pan cooking will make your dinner prep easier.

Do you need red velvet Oreos on your life? We gave them a quick taste test. Results? Go here to find out.

Need a tasty but healthful little bite of sweetness while you're trimming calories? The Kitchn gives you Carrot Cake Bites.

You don't have to make huge amounts of soup to make soup. Linda Gassenheimer has a good, warming small-batch soup.

Need a short list of food-related things to do? We've got haggis and new cooking classes.

What's the difference between Dutch-processed cocoa and regular cocoa? I tried to clear it up a little. 

If you don't want to use canned cream-of soup, you can make your own. 

And finally, my column on how great it is to have a few go-to recipes for special occasions. If you read the column online, there is a link to my Broccoli Pecan Salad. And yes, everyone wants the Hot Artichoke Dip. As your reward for reading my blog, here it is:

Hot Artichoke Dip

From Mary Stewart Duffy, who got it from a Junior League cookbook.

1 (14-ounce) can artichokes, drained and chopped


1 clove garlic, mashed

2/3 cup mayonnaise

1/2  teaspoon  Worcestershire sauce

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Paprika (to sprinkle on top)

COMBINE all ingredients in small baking dish (greased).  Sprinkle with paprika.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Serve hot with Triscuits, taco-flavored chips or your favorite crackers.  (She serves it with Wheat Thins.)

YIELD: 12 servings.

One Great . . . pantry shortcut

In some circles, "Cream Of" soup is the worst thing you can say about a dish. Opening a can of Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Chicken is a shortcut that's loaded with sodium and artificial ingredients, the very definition of glop.

But there's a reason it's such a common ingredient: Opening a can is an easy way to get a bechamel without cooking a roux.

Is there a way to get the best of both worlds? In the new book "The Southern Pantry Cookbook," author Jennifer Chandler includes a handy idea: "Cream Of" soup from scratch. You can make chicken or mushroom, and it makes just over a cup, the equivalent of one 10.75-ounce can of soup. Even better: You can control the sodium, lower the fat by using reduced-fat milk and there are no artificial thickeners. You can also make it when you need it.

Handy idea. Thanks, Jennifer.

Homemade Cream of Chicken Condensed Soup

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup 2% or whole milk
1/2 cup chicken stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

MELT the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. When the butter starts to foam, add the flour and cook, whisking, until it turns golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

CONTINUING to whisk, gradually add the milk and the chicken stock. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, 5 to 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

VARIATION: For Cream of Mushroom, cook 1 cup finely diced mushrooms in the butter before adding the flour, milk and stock.

YIELD: 10.75 ounces, or just over 1 cup. 

Need pork carnitas? Make your own tonight

With pork missing from a big chunk of the Chipotle locations nationwide, including all of the restaurants in Mecklenburg County, we reached into The Observer's recipe archive for a quick solution. 

Just get some pork and get out your slow cooker. You'll be filling your own burrito bowls by lunch time tomorrow. 

Slow Cooker Carnitas

2 pounds pork shoulder, Boston butt or picnic, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1/2 large onion, cut into 4 pieces
1 avocado, halved, pitted, sliced
Fresh cilantro sprigs
Sliced red bell peppers (optional)

TOSS pork in bowl of slow cooker with salt, black pepper and dried oregano to coat. Place onion pieces atop pork. Cover slow cooker and cook pork on low setting until meat is very tender and falling apart, about 6 to 8 hours.

TRANSFER pork to cutting board. Discard onion pieces. Using fingers, shred pork; transfer carnitas to platter. Place avocado slices, cilantro sprigs and sliced red bell peppers, if desired, alongside.

WRAP tortillas in damp kitchen towel; microwave until warm, about 1 minute. Serve carnitas with warm tortillas.

YIELD: 

NOTE: Leftover pork also freezes well, or you can reheat it in a skillet before using.