June 23, 2011

An excerpt from An Irresistible History of Southern Food.

Chicken Bog

Bog is a casserole or thick stew served in the Lowcountry.

If you want to attract a politician in North Carolina, all you have to do is start cooking a pig and at least three people running for office will magically appear and start shaking hands and kissing babies. The same is true for bog in South Carolina.

There are many variations on the theme; some add more vegetables such as lima beans or corn. Bog is also frequently made with shrimp instead of chicken. This recipe is based on several from the early twentieth century.

Yield: 6 servings

1 chicken, about 3 pounds

6 cups water

1 tablespoon salt

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 cup long-grain rice

½ pound spicy bulk sausage

2 tablespoons poultry seasoning

2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped (optional)

green onion, chopped (optional)

Place chicken in a 6- to 8-quart Dutch oven and add enough water to cover to a depth of one inch. Add salt and onion and boil until chicken is tender, about 45 minutes. Remove chicken, let cool and de-bone, reserving the cooling liquid.

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Skim fat from the cooking liquid and pour 3½ cups of this broth back into the Dutch oven. Add rice, chicken pieces, sausage and poultry seasoning.

Bring pot to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until rice is tender, about 30 minutes. Garnish with egg and green onion if desired. Serve with coleslaw and corn bread.

June 3, 2011

Here are the dates for some upcoming events for food historian and author Rick McDaniel:

Sat 9 July 3 pm, Blue Ridge Books, 152 East Main St., Waynesville, NC
Sat 23 July 12 Noon,Fiction Addiction Greenville, SC (Offsite Author lunch, advanced reservations required, click here for details and to register)
Sat 30 July 1 pm,Gaston Co. Museum, 131 W. Main,Dallas, NC

August OPEN

Sat. 10 September 12-3 pm A Southern Season, Chapel Hill, NC

Sat-Mon, 17-19 Sept Southern Independent Booksellers Assn, Charleston, SC (other Charleston area signings this weekend, also)

Thurs 29 Sept Cooking class, (time TBA) 1425 Inn, Columbia, SC

30 Sept, Noon Author Lunch and Signing, 1425 Inn, Columbia, SC