Cloth Bologna: What the Heck is It?

My dear husband, who often works long hours on the road in rural parts of Virginia (he is in sales) snapped this gem of a photo while touring the back roads of Grottoes, Virginia, which is not far from Weyers Cave (pronounced Weeerz not Wirez FYI), and is home to the fabulous Grand Caverns a.k.a. "America's Oldest Show Cave" (who knew?) and I just had to share it. You see...this sign spoke to me, and not just because it has a whole mess of hammy goodness drawn all over it (and cabbage for .44 cents a pound), but because they sell cloth bologna.

Image credit: Northern VA Daily

So, what the heck is cloth bologna? Basically, cloth bologna it bologna (a.k.a. various pieces parts, and let me emphasis the word "parts" here) all smushed up together and stored in a cloth bag instead of a more traditional casing (as in the red plastic stuff) with the argument being that the cloth bag lets in more air so all the pieces parts can "breathe" (this, and the fact that cloth bologna is homemade all the way).

Personally, I never grew up eating the stuff, mainly because it wasn't readily available where I lived, but I am seeing it offered more and more at produce stands throughout Virginia, so it has piqued my interest. I dig nothing more than a bologna sandwich on soft white bread (with just a squeeze of yellow mustard) and I figure a slice of the homemade stuff will make the perfect addition. Total, awesome kid food.

With a little assistance from the interwebs, I did find this article from Northern Virginia Daily featuring Crabill's Meats out of Toms Brook, Virginia, who apparently make a pretty fine version of cloth bologna that they boast isn't "junk bologna" (slaughter room floor goodies). Instead, they've "upped the quality" by using the same meats they use for making homemade sausages. I'm curious to check this place out, and the next time my husband passes through Grottoes, I'm gonna send him with a $20 bill to pick me up some of the good stuff

Have you tried cloth bologna? I'd love to know what you think and where you found it.

©2012 Fatback and Foie Gras. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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First Cooking Show Segment: BLT Deviled Eggs Recipe

So, my first cooking segment with The Virginia Farm Bureau's monthly program "Real Virginia" which features Virginia-focused agricultural news, profiles as well as gardening segments is officially up and running. About a month ago, I was contacted by the Farm Bureau to step in for Chef John Maxwell (who has since taken a teaching position in Florida) as the new culinary segment host for "Heart of the Home", a televised cooking demonstration featuring the best of Virginia's produce, meats and locally made products.

We spent an afternoon shooting three segments at Sur La Table at Stony Point which houses my dream kitchen as well as a collection of cooking tools worth weeping over. If you haven't taken a cooking class there yet, by all means do. By the end of the day, we had all three segments in the can including this recipe for BLT Deviled Eggs, which essentially combines all the deliciousness found in a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich and stuffs it into a classic Southern-style deviled egg. It's a great recipe that's super easy to make, and man oh man, is it satisfying. Salty bacon meets creamy eggs yolks and home-canned bread and butter pickles for a sweet and savory combo that really hits the spot. Be sure to visit your local farmer's market to buy some Virginia farm-fresh eggs for this one. Check out the full recipe below or visit Heart of the Home online. In the meantime, check out the video.

Not my best "still" shot here ;)

Sweet and Savory BLT Deviled Eggs

Makes 12 deviled eggs

6 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon bread and butter pickles, finely minced
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled into small bits
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
A handful of shredded iceberg lettuce, for garnish

Slice eggs in half long ways and pop out the yolks. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together yolks, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, bread and butter pickles and bacon. Add cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper, to taste.

Fill a piping bag or plastic storage bag (with the corner snipped off) and pipe filling into each of the eggs. Hint: place eggs on a paper towel so they don’t slide around while you fill them.

Once you’ve used up all the filling, assemble eggs on a platter and top each one with a cherry tomato half. Then sprinkle each egg with a little shredded iceberg lettuce. Chill until ready to serve.

©2011 Fatback and Foie Gras. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Exciting News: I'm Going to Be Cooking on TV

Image courtesy of Virginia Dept. of Agriculture

Yes, it's true, and dang-it, I am so excited I'm about to blast-off. As some of you may know, I had a pretty big setback this past month when my cookbook proposal, which I spent many months working on, was rejected at the last minute. Since then, in addition to doing quite a bit of pouting and moping around, I've been keeping my eyes peeled for interesting opportunities because I refuse to give up on the dream.

Well, someone upstairs must have be looking out for me, because about a week ago an email arrived in my inbox from a producer asking me if I was interesting in coming on to host a few cooking segments for "The Heart of the Home" which is part of the show, "Real Virginia" created by the The Virginia Farm Bureau which profiles local farmers, foods and purveyor's all across the Commonwealth. In a nutshell, this is a program that is all about Virginia grown, buying local and supporting Virginia's farmers. What could be cooler?

Currently, "Real Virginia" airs on Dish, DirectTV, and many independent cable operators throughout the state. It's a show that has been in production for over ten years with Sherri McKinney as lead host, Mark Viette as the garden expert, and one of my favorite people, Chef John Maxwell (a.k.a. Chef Maxwell's Kitchen), serving as culinary expert and cooking segment host. However, Chef Maxwell has since taken a position at a culinary school in Florida.

Words cannot express how excited I am about this opportunity, not only because it will get me out of my rejection rut, but because I'll have the opportunity to actively promote and support Virginia growers and purveyors.

Keep an eye out here for more...much, much more. I'll be sharing great recipes that celebrate local food, wine, cheeses and other Virginia products. I'll also be posting links to view the show online (along with my cooking segments). Shooting begins next week, and the first episode should be up and running in March.

I hope you'll watch!

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