“Miss Sadie” James ran the Big Mill gristmill
for as long as I can remember.

(Sadie James & Chloe Ann sitting out front of Miss Sadie’s country store. Photo by Joy Greyer)

In the 1940′s prior to when she and her husband, Columbus, bought it, it had been a water-powered sawmill. It was converted to a grist mill, the stones to grind the corn were shipped over from England.

Sometime later in the night, the dam was blown up. After that there was a long pulley attached to a tractor that powered the mill. It was a fascinating place where you could get the best ground corn meal ever.

I rode my bicycle there every day. Sometimes I played in the creek behind the mill, but more often I just talked to Miss Sadie. Often nephews Barney or Monk went with me – at times we rode a mule or drove an old pickup truck before we were legal.

Miss Sadie also had a small country store and sold things like penny candy and small Coca Cola in a bottle – she kept her drinks in one of those box-type coolers.

She lived in the store too. And she had a big gun…folks tried to rob her several times; but they were foiled.

Kristie, Chloe Ann and Miss Sadie in Miss Sadie’s store

Other folks thought she was odd, but not to me. She had one light bulb and no running water. She cooked on top of a pot belly stove, she wore her dead husband’s shoes. Fine with me.

Ben Roberson bought the mill and moved it to his farm. He and his wife Mary resurected a great mill. It has all the parts, but it is different – still wonderful.

The mill had such fascinating parts.

(New photo, guess you can tell by the WD-40)

Ben’s Mill on Holly Springs Church Road in Williamston -
made from gears and parts of Miss Sadie’s Big Mill

(photos by Chloe Tuttle)

P.S. thanks to all the Chloe’s Blog readers who told me that I can’t spell “Dam.” Too funny.

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I remember eating fried peach jacks whenever I went to Dinner on the Ground at a small country church in eastern North Carolina. Dinner on the Ground all over the south celebrated the end of revival – they called it Homecoming. Like peach jacks, these celebrations are a fading tradition.

A great southern treat, these jacks are made from cooked dried peaches in a crust that is fried in lard. Someone has to do it now that Paula Deen is in trouble. Well, you can fry these in canola oil if you choose, but I just wanted to recreate the goodies of my youth.

So I gathered up my stuff and visited friend Nancy and we fried up peach jacks. A Southern Plate cookbook author even cooked these up on the Today Show.

Southern Peach Jack Recipe

Peach Filling (Make filling the day before you plan to make the jacks)

• 1 6-ounce package of dried peaches*
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups water (Add water if it cooks out before peaches are soft)
• 1 cup sugar

Simmer peaches and water in a small saucepan for 45 minutes to an hour until peaches are soft. Be careful, they tend to stick. Add water if needed. Add the sugar and cook 15 minutes more, stirring often. Remove from heat and refrigerate overnight. You will have 2 1/2 cups peaches.

Dough

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup milk
• Extra flour for dusting cutting board and rolling pin.

Frying

• 1/2 – 1 cup lard for frying

Or you can use canned biscuits. Friend Nancy uses canned biscuits and her peach jacks are fabulous.

Stir together the flour and salt. Using two forks, cut in the shortening. Add milk and stir. Separate into 8 to 10 portions. Using the extra flour and a rolling pin, roll each dough piece into a 6″ round. Roll dough as thin as you can without tearing dough.

If you are using canned biscuits, roll each biscuit on a floured surface or waxed paper. Roll as thin as possible; each round should be about 6 inches across.

Put 2 Tablespoons cooked peaches in the center of the rolled dough. Fold the edges over to make a half circle. Crimp edges with a fork. Trim off excess dough.

Melt lard in a medium-size frying pan. Grease should be quite hot before you fry jacks. Fry jacks until they are golden in color. Turn and brown the other side. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels. Continue until all jacks are cooked.

The sweet, tangy taste of Peach Jacks is a treat. They are good cold but, oh, so good when they are hot.  Yum!

Yield: 6-8 jacks

* Use dried fruit . . . in the south, we used dried peaches, apples or cherries. Fresh fruit just doesn’t have the zing.

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You can smell the vinegar & red pepper before you enter
the door of the Skylight Inn in Ayden, North Carolina

Photo by Chloe Tuttle*

Since 1947, Pete Jones and family have been serving this tasty eastern North Carolina style barbecue (always pork) to locals and folks who are willing to travel long distances. They cook whole hogs, over oak. To BBQ enthusiasts, this is essential.

Photo by Chloe Tuttle*

Tap, tap, tap . . . that is the sound of the Skylight Inn. You can see the meat as it is being chopped, right there in front of you . . . tap, tap, tap.

As I stood there trying to see what was on the menu, a local fellow leaned in and said to me, “If you want something other than Barbecue, you have to come on Thursdays . . . they have chicken on Thursday.”

Photo by Chloe Tuttle*

The menu let me know that today I could get a small barbecue or a large barbecue. That was fine with me. I had driven to Ayden to eat barbecue. Lots of folks come to Ayden for the barbecue – George W. Bush, Daisy Duke, Ronald Reagan. According to the N.C Barbecue Society, the North Carolina Barbecue Trail starts in Ayden at the Skylight Inn.

In 2003, they received the James Beard award, have had stories written about them in the NY Times and the Roadfood series by Jan & Michael Stern.

Saveur Magazine calls it “North Carolina’s finest pulled pork.” And Southern Living lists the Skylight Inn as one of the “South’s 20 Best BBQ Joints.”

Yum, that is the taste of the Skylight Inn Barbecue – ’tis great roadfood. And, that same cute fellow who leaned in to tell me the menu, bought me lunch.

P.S. We don’t care if Rick Perry doesn’t like eastern North Carolina barbecue. Bet he is sorry he made that barbecue remark!

*You are welcome to use these Skylight Inn photos, just let me know and give me, Chloe’s Blog and Big Mill Bed & Breakfast credit. Thanks!

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It’s Christmas on the farm at Big Mill Bed & Breakfast
and what a pretty time to be in the country
(Photo of Emily & Claire Fowler and Viola Music Video
by Guy Livesay of Livesay Photography)

We have lighted trees, even under the grapevine. Guests can see a tree from every room.

This year we decorated the whole Pack House Barn with a live tree in the breezeway, candles in all the windows, greenery in the Radio Flyer and glittering lights everywhere.

On Sunday, Big Mill B&B was part of the annual Williamston Woman’s Club Christmas Tour of Homes — the “Ramble,” as they call it. All the rooms in the Pack House were thrown in suite (don’t you just love that old phrase – small town newpapers used that expression in years past to let you know the whole place was open for viewing).

(photo of Chloe Tuttle by Lucia Claire Peele)

We had a great turnout – a hundred and fifty folks attended. Decorations were done by the Salt Box Flowers & Antiques in downtown Williamston.

Violists Emily & Claire Fowler played beautiful Christmas music by the roaring fire – it was a wonderful day at Big Mill. Be sure to click below to view the video of Emily and Claire’s music at Big Mill Inn. It is sure to put you in the holiday spirit.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year and Season’s Greetings to all our friends and guests, and those who will become friends and guests in the New Year.

Moses and  

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‘Tis the season to make, give & enjoy homemade spirits with
this easy-to-follow recipe for festive Cranberry Liqueur

Photo by Chloe Tuttle

I LOVE cranberries and I try to use them any way I can – I even float them in my kitchen sink on Christmas Day. So I knew that Cranberry Liqueur just had to be wonderful – and it is. This liqueur is my original recipe and it is a gorgeous, clear-red libation.

Since it takes 3 weeks of steeping before being ready to bottle & serve, now is the time to start prepping your very own batch of homemade Cranberry Liqueur so you’ll have plenty on hand for entertaining, seasonal gift-giving and ringing in the New Year!

Another reason to love this recipe? Nothing goes to waste! After 3 weeks of soaking the cranberries in quality vodka, simply strain to separate them from the liqueur. Reserve these vodka-infused berries and serve them as-is, or as a festive topping for homemade sorbet or ice cream. Remember, they can make you tipsy!

Big Mill B&B Homemade Cranberry Liqueur

    1 cup water
    2 cups granulated sugar
    2 cups *fresh cranberries, washed & picked through, discarding bad berries *
        (See note at end of recipe if wanting to substitute frozen cranberries for fresh)
    1 tablespoon grated orange rind
    1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate
    2 cups quality vodka
         (For a stronger alcoholic mixture, swap some of the water with vodka, to taste).

Combine water and sugar in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer sugar syrup for five minutes, making sure the sugar is completely dissolved.

Stir in the cranberries, grated orange rind and orange juice concentrate. Remove syrup mixture from heat and cool enough so that the mixture can be safely poured into a blender or food processor. Using the chop setting, pulse so that the berries are just slightly chopped.  Allow the mixture to cool.

Add vodka and stir.

Pour into a large glass jar, cover and store in a cool, dark place for three weeks, stirring every few days.  If this is made during the winter it can be stored in a cool, dark place. If it is made in warm weather, store in the refrigerator.

After steeping for three weeks, strain the mixture several times using a mesh strainer or cheesecloth until the liquid appears clear red with no berry residue. Reserve the vodka-soaked cranberries for another use.

Pour liqueur into glass jars. Cover and store both the liqueur and the reserved pulp in the refrigerator. (This reserved pulp is great for other things such as topping ice cream and sorbet!)

Yield: 2 ½ to 3 cups liqueur. You can easily double or triple this recipe; I usually make enough to fill a gallon jar.

Photo by Chloe Tuttle

*Note – If substituting frozen cranberries for fresh, simply reduce the amount of water called for in ingredient list.

I have found that fresh cranberries will keep for weeks in the refrigerator, and for months in the freezer. Simply remove the berries from the bag and store in a plastic strawberry or blueberry container with air vents. Every week you will need to pick through and discard any bad berries.

Bottoms Up!

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Getting married on the farm, surrounded by nature has a calming effect.
What a great way to start your new life together, away from the crowd.

Photo of Francis & Laura Jo by Guy Livesay

I have friends who love their motorcycles, old trucks and all their grown-up “toys.” So why not be married beside your Harley or in your vintage Corvette?

The Kiss – photo by Guy Livesay

Photo of Liz & Josh by Guy Livesay

Big weddings can be stressful, but Elopements are fun. And we wouldn’t do this if it weren’t fun. Just a quiet, private ceremony with no stress.

It has to be easy, it has to be special, it has to be romantic … an elopement on the farm at Big Mill will be a time to remember.

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Molasses — that dark, sweet liquid that tastes so good on a hot
biscuit — was once a staple on every farm in eastern North Carolina

Melvin Price and Lucy making molasses

My dad’s family made molasses and to him molasses on a sweet potato was a meal. He told me all about how they grew the cane and made the molasses. I can almost see it.

Melvin Price and his brother William Earl still make molasses like my dad did. It is magic.  Melvin pushes the stalks between two rollers and it is mashed until the liquid comes out into a pail.

Mind you, he can’t do it without Lucy, his mule. While Melvin is pushing the cane into the extractor, Lucy is walking in a circle around Melvin. She is actually the power behind this mechanism. Every once in awhile Lucy stops to chew on some of the cane – it is so good!  Then Melvin will cluck and Lucy starts up again.

Lucy, the grand mule

Each time Lucy and the pole come by, Melvin ducks – it’s just the natural thing to do.

When Melvin and Lucy get a bucket of the sweet juice, William Earl pours it into a big container with a fire under it. This cooks off some of the water.

He opens a faucet and allows a certain amount of this steamy liquid to pour into a flat copper cooking pan with divisions in it and he stirs and stirs and stirs. This whole process takes about 8 hours. When it is thick and syrupy, the golden nectar is ready.

William Earl Price stirs his molasses

Melvin and William Earl got about 15 gallons this day – it took all day. Molasses recipes are coming, I promise.

PS – Big thanks to North Carolina’s own, Molasses Creek, for providing the soundtrack to the video. The song’s called “Still Love Fridays.” They are a wonderful band!

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It’s late summer and figs are ripe… so gorgeous and
luscious, they hardly look real. Each one is a work of art.

After I take many photos of these just-picked figs, I make Chloe’s Fig Preserves.  North Carolina mystery writer Margaret Maron shares her Fig Preserve Recipe on Serious Eats.

One of my favorite ways to eat these preserves is with warm, creamy brie. This dish makes a great presentation, it is fast and easy – guaranteed to be a hit at the party.

Creamy Brie with Fig Preserves

    * 1 wedge of Brie cheese (about 16 ounces)
    * 2 tablespoons slivered almonds (optional)
    * 1/2 pint warm fig preserves (1 cup)
    * 1 box (4 & 1/2 ounces) Carr’s Table Water Crackers or similar plain crackers

Unwrap Brie and let stand at room temperature for several hours before serving; place in a warm spot so that cheese will be soft.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread slivered almonds on a small rimmed baking sheet and toast for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often. Remove from oven, cool and reserve.

To serve, place Brie on a serving plate and pour preserves over the cheese. Preserves will run over the sides and onto the serving dish. Sprinkle toasted almonds on top and serve with plain water crackers like Carr’s.

Yield: about 1 dozen or more servings

When it is cold outside, pull out a jar of fig preserves and remember summer.

(I first published this recipe on Inn Cuisine)

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