HWY 12 SOUTH - Hatteras & Ocracoke

FRESH & LOCAL - that is what I preach.  And that is what you'll find on the Outer Banks.  Tender, flaky tile fish, at Ketch 55 in Avon or the Blue Moon Beach Grill in Nags Head.  Sheepshead at The Back Porch on Ocracoke.  Fresh crab cakes with remoulade at the Flying Melon Cafe, also on Ocracoke.



And beautiful dry scallops, brought in fresh that day in big, muslin bags to the Ocracoke Seafood market.  A pound of those beauties found their way to my ice chest, to appease those left working back home.  Check out how they were cooked, and a recipe, below.








HWY 12 SOUTH

Bodie Island Lighthouse

NC HWY 12 is open.  Flowing south (and north!).  Past one of my favorite haunts, the Bodie Island Lighthouse, now re-opened for climbing.  The heat and I rolled past the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, where I stopped to see if any boats were in yet with the day's charter haul.  I was too early.

Charter Boats lined up at the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center

Down HWY 12, past the temporary bridge, where the sand seems to be gathering on either side, past the high buildup of sand, pushed there ever too frequently to keep the ocean at bay, and on into Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, past Avon to Buxton, where I stopped to chat with Gee Gee at Buxton Books, one of the greatest little indy bookstores, and for dinner at Rusty's Surf & Turf.

Summertime on the Outer Banks is a real trip.  Patience must rule, with traffic, the heat, and frequent thunderstorms.  There's usually a wait anywhere you want to eat, but take it from this foodie, it's worth it.  Like at Ketch 55, in Avon, where a delightful filet of tilefish balanced on a bed of orzo with fresh veggies spilling out.

THE GRAVEYARD OF THE ATLANTIC MUSEUM is a fascinating place to explore and cool off. And they have frequent talks, about the civil war and World War II on the island, as well as culinary demos and talks by folks like myself, promoting both THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK and my newest, FOOD LOVERS' GUIDE TO NC'S OUTER BANKS.

Tuna Udon, from THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK

With beautiful, brilliant red pieces of yellowfin tuna from Harbor House Seafood in Hatteras, we chatted about foods and stories while I prepared TUNA UDON, this time with sugar snap peas, red peppers, garlic, ginger and sesame seeds over udon noodles.  The smells permeated the gift shop and artifacts, with folks seeking out where the delicious smell was coming from!




OCRACOKE UPDATE


At Dajio's, right on the main drag as you crawl through the village of Ocracoke, I smelled their delicious flatbread pizzas coming from their pub-side kiosk, now available during dinner through midnight. As usual, their terrific sandwiches and dinner menu, crafted from local catches, continues to impress my tastebuds.

Turning down the Back Road, I found where the Flying Melon Cafe had built their new, gorgeous facility, using artifacts and designs from their native New Orleans, like the charming interior doors to bathrooms and offices.  There's a beautiful spiral staircase that leads to a urbane waiting area.  But the thing that has not changed is the marvelous menu and local seafood.  As usual, it was outstanding, as was the service.

Eduardo has a new and improved Taco Truck, at the same location on the left as you come into the village.  He's added more outdoor seating in the shade.

Books to be Red, as always, is super friendly and carries a nice variety of books, including mine!  Stop in and see what best sellers you can find.  And of course, the Ocracoke Coffee Shop on the Back Road is THE place to catch up on politics wherever and the latest gossip, with the group of locals, mostly men, who gather on the porch.  Be patient, for I have never NOT had to wait in line for my morning coffee.  If you're on the waterfront, look for the relatively new Live Oak Coffee shop for a cup brewed "with intention."



OCRACOKE AND ITS FIGS

Miss Della made my day.  Actually, she made my trip.




The winner of this year's Fourth of July Ocracoke Traditional Recipe, Mrs. Della Gaskill has been making fig cakes with her own fig preserves just about her whole life, she says.  But now, "old age is bringing me good luck," she added with a grin while adjusting her gray topknot.  She hobbled with her cane to the backyard to show me her fig trees.

Ocracoke is famous for its figs, with either 9 or 11 varieties grown on the island, depending on whom you're talking with.  Just about every single house with any age on it has a fig tree or two in a sunny corner.  Islanders cover the base of their fig trees with clam and oyster shells, to allow the minerals to leach down into the soil and to provide a mulch to protect them from sun and cold.  Legend has it that fig trees will mourn when their owner dies....but more likely, they are languishing from neglect.


"Miss Della" has several HUGE trees, one that almost blocks the steps leading to her tiny shop, WOCCOCON NURSERY & GIFTS.  She points to one budding fig.  "It's started swelling.  I been praying for it, otherwise, there will be no fig cakes."  She takes phone orders and ships her cakes all over the country.  (252) 928-3811.  Her husband Owen, until his death, sold veggies and fruits at the nearby stand, and she has self-published her memoirs, A BLESSED LIFE:  Growing Up on Ocracoke Island, sold at several of the island's shops.

Ocracoke Fig Cake, recipe from THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK

 About that recipe?  She grins.   "Well, I do add more nuts.  And it's real moist, because I use a full pint of preserves."  But she's not about to divulge any more about her winning recipe.  I'll have to stick with the one I extracted from Dale Mutro for THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK.






REMEMBER THE SCALLOPS.......
Before the ferry left the dock, headed to Cedar Island and home, I visited with Patti at the Ocracoke Seafood market, run and owned by the Ocracoke Working Watermen Association.

There are 40 of these dedicated souls, commercial fishermen, who worked and fought to save the last remaining fish house on Ocracoke Island.  Everything sold is caught locally, brought in by one of the members, except for the wild Atlantic salmon they contracted and bartered for in Canada.  "Our folks here asked for it.  They like a little variety, too," says Patti.






The scallops she showed me were huge, firm, fresh, smelling like the brine of the sea.  And they were packed dry, meaning they had been treated with the utmost care from the water, while stored on the boat, shucked, and then brought into the shop.

Don't crowd scallops while searing.

I find the that scallops scream for a simple prep.  Sear them quickly in just a little oil, cooking on one side for about 2 to 3 minutes.  Don't crowd them in the pan, or else they'll steam.  Flip them, and add a nugget of butter.  After a minute or two, no more, take them off the heat.

I served these with a quick saute of spinach with garlic and mushrooms, a little red pepper strips, on top of some leftover, warmed up udon noodles.  A little dusting of chopped chives, salt and pepper, and there you have it.

Delicious.  Simple, easy, fresh.  Wow!

NEW! FOOD LOVERS' GUIDE TO NC'S OUTER BANKS

Hey you beach lovers of the Outer Banks! Know where to find crab grenades?  Apple Uglies?  Hatteras Flats?  And fish so fresh the name of the fisherman who caught it is on the menu?

You'll find that, as well as where to sip local brews...... do wine tastings....... get dinner in flip flops and ON frisbees ...... have pizza delivered on the beach ..... where kids and large parties are accommodated .......food festivals to attend, culinary tours to take ....... kitchen stores with steamers and crab pickers ...... and anything and everything to do with food on the Outer Banks.  Even personal chefs who'll come to your rental kitchen, make and serve you dinner, then clean it all up.  You get a price range, what style of food, addresses and contact info.

And, there's a dozen great, simple recipes from chefs and foodies for you to try at home.

Here's a sampling of dishes and scenes you'll find on the Outer Banks:

                                          A Hatteras Flat, at Cafe 12 in Avon

 
                                   Tempura-fried soft shells over jasmine rice at Dajio on Ocracoke.......do you know what Dajio is an acronym for?

         
        Get to Ocracoke on a ferry, ditch your car, and ride a bike to dinner and everywhere!

                   This, folks, is what the food scene is all about on the Outer Banks!

               




       The herb and vegetable garden outside of Basnight's Lone Cedar Cafe

You'll find the fisherman's name on the menu who caught this fish at Basnight's Lone Cedar!

       

Scallops and greens at The Brine & The Bottle, Nags Head, on the Causeway

Beet juice flavors this John Dory caught in the Pamlico Sounds, served up at Ketch 55 in Avon

Fresh tuna at Blue Moon Beach Grill
        in Nags Head














Look for this logo at restaurants and markets while on Ocracoke Island












And there's so much more, about 200 restaurants, markets, and stores described, and a dozen great, simple recipes from chefs and foodies, and a heads-up on what kind of food you'll find, brief histories, and interesting food tidbits!

Email me for a signed copy, or get to your independent bookstore, or go online to your mega-favorite.

OCRACOKE & FRITTERS

Built in 1823, this simply beautiful lighthouse is the oldest operating beacon still operating in NC.

"OCRACOKE is at the end of the world," said my fellow diner at the lovely Dajio, (www.dajiorestaurant.com),  a relatively new restaurant nestled under live oak trees near Silver Lake's waterfront.  "I wanted to take my wife to  where there were no lights, no cities, just peace," he explained with a bit of Quebecois accent.  The satellite image on his GPS pointed him to a strip of darkness that took them three days of driving from Montreal to get to.  He was a happy man.  He had devoured a pair of soft shells, his wife toasted him with wine, and he was trying Ocracoke's famous fig cake.

The British Cemetery on Ocraocke, where four British sailors who washed up during WWII were buried by the islanders, following seamen's traditions.

AN INTERNATIONAL PORT

This Canadian couple was just one of several "foreigners" at Dajio's that night.  Another from Switzerland, another from Germany.  And for centuries, boats from all over the world have carefully made their way through the shoals leading to this tiny port.  Blackbeard, a native son turned pirate, met his demise there at the hands of a British captain, anxious to stop the looting of their royal ships. 

During World War II, four British sailors washed ashore in May of 1942, when a German submarine torpedoed the HMS Bedforeshire, a retrofitted fishing trawler that was helping the US ward off the U-boats preying on tankers and freighters along the East Coast.  None of the crew survived.  When two, then four bodies washed up on Ocracoke, the islanders buried them in a donated plot under live oaks.  That's what seamen do for each other, sort of a unwritten code.  Recently, the son of one of those men arrived in Ocracoke to commemorate those four sailors.

Arrive by ferry, park your car, then bike or hoof it around town.  Sweet.

 I arrived in Ocracoke to eat.  I'm revising THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK, and wanted to check out some new sources and gather some new tastes.  It's hard work.

Guess this rooster can't read the No Trespassing sign

Ocraoke is famous for its figs.  Over eleven varieties grow on this 14-mile stretch of sand, mostly in the village that surrounds the harbor, Silver Lake.  Late April, I was outta luck. I found out the homemade fig preserves, used to make their equally famous Fig Cake, go like hotcakes during the summer.  Woccocon, by the way, was the Native American name of this island.  I can see how Ocracoke sorta came out of that.

Fig preserves are sold out, but what's the fish emulsion for?

 At the Ocracoke Seafood Company, I found fresh clams, delivered by ClamDigger Jane.  She takes her skiff out into shallow waters surrounding the island, and tends to her leased bed where she continuously sows baby clams, then covers them with matting to ensure their harvest.  The matting keeps the skates at bay.
 The clams of Ocracoke are prized for their salty but sweet taste.  They grow in the ever flowing, cleaner waters of the Pamlico Sound, which is miles and miles wide at that point.  Back in the day, there was a clam factory in Ocracoke, where local young women worked for pennies, shucking clams and packing them into cans.

That got my mouth watering for some clams, steamed, and then in the clear chowder broth the Outer Banks is known for, and especially for clam fritters.

Clam fritters made in the Outer Banks style are more like pancakes than thicker hushpuppy style fritters.  And they are usually chock full of clams.  So here's the very traditional recipe that I used in THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK (by Elizabeth Wiegand, Globe Pequot Press, 2008).

Traditional OBX clam fritters

The recipe is rather simple:

About 1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped clams
1 beaten egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
about 1/2 cup flour
Optional:  a tablespoon of chopped fresh chives or parsley
Canola oil for frying

Drain the clams; reserve the juice.  Mix together the egg and seasonings, then add enough flour to hold the mixture together.  Add the clams, and stir.  Add more clam juice, or flour, whatever is needed to make a nice, thickened batter.
Heat enough oil in a heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, to cover the bottom well.  When hot, add spoonfuls of batter, and fry until golden brown.  Flip and brown again.  Place on paper towels to drain.
Serve with softened butter, or softened cream cheese or goat cheese, that's enhanced with herbs or honey.  Enjoy!

As renowned Southern chef and writer Virginia Willis says as she closes her blog and recipes, please be nice.  If you decide to use or copy or re-post, please be nice and give credit.  Thanks!