HAMPTON RED HOT BBQ CONTEST

October 15th, I had hoped to get over to Hampton yesterday for the Hampton Red Hot BBQ contest at Mill’s Point Park but alas it was not to be. My wife and I are contemplating moving and spent most of the day looking at modular houses. We got a much latter start than anticipated as we got wrangled into babysitting the grandson, Nate, last night. My wife really enjoys the grandchildren and it takes a while to tear her away. I’m not even sure if the event took place as the contact number stated the events promoter was no longer in business. The event was still listed in the Daily Press. If the event did happen and you have pictures or info from the event please share. I’d be happy to have them posted. Well since today is a day of rest I’ll be getting up with Greg to see what we can do to finish getting the blog up and running. Hope it only takes a few weeks. Today I’ll be making a recipe that I got from Food Network, http://www.foodtv.com/ called Hoosier Fried Chicken, Buttermilk and Roasted Garlic Mashed Tatters, Green Beans and Corn Bread. I tried frying in a "new" cast iron skillet today. I had seasoned the skillet by rubbing it down with Crisco and putting it in a 250 degree oven for 14 hours as advised by Paula Dean. It is not as heavy as my other skillet but has high sides and I was hoping to keep the grease splatter down. I wound up having a hard time keeping the heat regulated and it also tended to scorch the chicken unless it was constantly being moved. I can always give it back to the thrift store. I also made cornbread in a cast iron pan. It came out drier than I like but I believe I caused that particular problem. I was using two boxes of Jiffy corn bread mix. I added ¼ stick melted butter per box to bottom of pan as usual. I cooked according to package directions and almost burnt the bottom. Next time I’ll reduce the cooking time to 30 min and 350 degrees.