What are your essential summer songs? Tell us in the comment box below.

Click the play button below or the track title to begin listening.

Track listing

• Summer in the City by The Lovin’ Spoonful (Chip Womick)
• Carolina Girls by General Johnson & The Chairmen of the Board (Lori K. Tate)
• Copperline by James Taylor (Elizabeth Leland)
• Summertime by Billy Stewart version (Robert Long)
• A Summer Song by Chad and Jeremy (Robert Long)
• Tomatoes by Menage (Elizabeth Hudson)
• Our Last Summer by ABBA from the Mamma Mia soundtrack (Robert Long)
• At the Beach by The Avett Brothers (Lori K. Tate)
• See You In September by The Happenings (Robert Long)
• In the Summertime by Mungo Jerry (Chip Womick)
• Under the Boardwalk by The Drifters (Chip Womick)
• Twistin’ the Night Away by Sam Cooke (Lori K. Tate)
• Last Date by Floyd Cramer (Lori K. Tate)
• Summertime performed by Doc Watson and David Grisman (Elizabeth Leland)
• Slip Away by Clarence Carter (Lori K. Tate)

The Lost Colony

For show schedules, tickets, and other infomration, please visit thelostcolony.org. The 2012 season begins on June 1 and ends on August 23, with shows nightly except on Sundays.

The Other Side of the World

We receive dozens of story ideas every month at Our State magazine. The editors discuss each one to see which might make it through to the next phase of publication. Most are good ideas, but many get weeded out because we’ve done them in recent issues. This month, though, writer Jeremy Markovich came to us with something we’ve never heard of – the idea of following a line across the ocean to find out what’s on the other side. We agreed, and within a few weeks, Jeremy introduced us to Malika Squalli – from a small town in Morocco, directly across the ocean from Carolina Beach – and he told a great story that made us think differently about the other side of things. Exclusive video: Hear more from Jeremy Markovich about writing this story.

Fact Checking

In our business, we tell true stories. So each of the articles that you see in the magazine goes through an extensive fact-checking process. For Michael Graff’s story on barbers, he had to make a call to his mom to check his facts. She reminded him of the spelling of some of his childhood barber’s names, and even reminded him of a few he’d forgotten. And in this case, she went one step further. As you read his story, you’ll notice a photo of Mike in the barber’s chair, getting his very first haircut. Just goes to show, like Mike’s story says, we can always count on mom.

Making Movies

Following a career in advertising and commercials in New York, George Cochran, featured in this month’s Carolina Culture department, moved to North Carolina and began teaching photography and film at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte. When he transitioned from still photography to film, the first project he produced was a film about himself going into film, which he made for $75,000. It was a hit, and from it he launched a new career.

Battening Down the Hatches

As you’ve read here before, many of our stories are researched and written months before they’re published. Leah Hughes visited Atlantis Lodge in Pine Knoll Shores last August, at the height of hurricane season, and with Hurricane Irene in sight. “It was interesting to watch people prepare for the hurricane,” she said. “You would think that they would be rushing around and frantic, but they calmly did what they needed to do — boarded up windows, brought in patio furniture, secured boats — just like it was another day.” Irene hit land a day after Leah left Pine Knoll Shores, and while it took out a pier just down the beach from Atlantis, the lodge itself did not sustain much damage.

I witnessed it firsthand starting in 1987, when my older brother opened Captain Gordon’s Seafood Restaurant* in Sanford, N.C. On an average Friday night, we served some 500 people.

Many folks made eating seafood a ritual each week. We appreciated the business.

The senior citizens always arrived first in order to get home before dark. Everyone else wondered in throughout the evening. We turned the tables at a rapid pace.
I won’t forget the work. It the hardest work I’ve ever done. Seriously, laugh if you want — accuse me of having an easy life — but I remember the long, hard days and nights in a hot kitchen.

The heat from five large fryers could raise the temperature in that kitchen as high as 115 degrees. Large exhaust fans over the fryers quickly sucked out any cool air. As the temperature rose, so did the tempers of those cooking. Still, we turned out good food and got lots of repeat customers and many compliments.

We served Calabash-style seafood: lightly breaded, lightly fried, and served piping hot. Every fish was fried in lard, not oil. We had to get it to the table quickly or else it would cool and then you’d experience the unappetizing taste of lard on your tongue.

Frying fish was simple, really. But the hushpuppies and coleslaw had to satisfy a picky crowd. Some folks like soft and fluffy hushpuppies with a slightly sweet taste. Others prefer a firmer, higher-concentrated cornmeal type. However you like them, hushpuppies are usually served the same way: rounded in a ball, crescent shaped, or even doughnut shaped. Personally, I never thought a hushpuppy should look like a doughnut.

As for coleslaw, I prefer mine with a bit of sugar and want a mound of it with my meal. I don’t want a little styrofoam cup with about two tablespoons of slaw. No, it makes the meal and I want enough of it to enjoy.

Most folks liked the coleslaw at Captain Gordon’s, but every now and then, we’d get some patron who wanted the cabbage chopped a little finer. We made about 50 pounds of slaw for the Friday night crowd.

While you know I can’t share the actual recipe from the restaurant, here’s one of my favorite slaw recipes. Maybe it’ll remind you of Friday night seafood. Let’s get cooking.

Creamy Coleslaw

• 1 cabbage, grated or chopped.
• 1 carrot, grated or chopped.
• ½ cup sweet pickles, chopped (or substitute sweet pickle relish)
• ½ cup Duke’s mayonnaise
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt

Peel away and discard outer layers of cabbage. Rinse cabbage under cool running water. Slice the stem end off of the cabbage, cut cabbage in half, then cut again into quarters. Grate the cabbage quarters. Grate the carrot. Finely chop the sweet pickles if using them instead of sweet pickle relish. In a large mixing bowl, add the cabbage, carrots, pickles, mayonnaise, and sugar. Stir gently. Add the black pepper, salt, and vinegar. Stir all ingredients again until mixed well. Chill and serve.

*Note: Captain Gordon’s Seafood Restaurant in Sanford, N.C. is no longer open.

This recipe originally appeared on Steve Gordon’s Taste of Southern website. Click here for a complete step-by-step photo illustrated version of this recipe.

Serves 4.

• oils for frying
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup self-rising cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• 2 pounds trout fillets
• 2 teaspoons Old Bay or other seafood seasoning
• fresh chopped parsley
• lemon wedges

In a large skillet, heat about 1/4 inch of oil over medium-high heat while preparing trout.

Spread flour onto a large plate. Crack eggs into a large, shallow bowl, and beat lightly with a fork. Spread cornmeal onto a large plate, and stir in thyme leaves. Season each trout fillet with Old Bay, and dredge through the flour, dusting off excess. Dip trout into egg, and then dredge through cornmeal and thyme mixture, pressing to adhere.

Place trout, skin side up into the hot oil, and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the second. Do not overcrowd the pan. (This may require frying in two batches.) To keep the first batch warm and crispy, place cooked trout on a wire rack in a 250 degree oven. Garnish with parsley, and serve with lemon wedges.

This recipe first appeared in the July 2008 issue of Our State.

Serves 4.

• 2 pounds large shrimp, deveined, tails and shells intact
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons Old Bay or other seafood seasoning
• lemon wedges
• crusty bread

Preheat broiler. On a large, rimmed baking sheet, toss shrimp with butter, Worcestershire sauce, and seafood seasoning. Transfer to broiler, and cook until shrimp are pink and opaque, about 5 to 7 minutes. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and bread.

This recipe first appeared in the July 2008 issue of Our State.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

• 2-3 pounds fresh grouper (thick fillets)
• Asian marinade (recipe below)
• 1 package grape tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 mango, diced
• 1/2 fresh pineapple, chunked (or 1 can chunked pineapple, drained)
• 1 can mandarin oranges, drained

Asian Marinade

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced (yielding about 2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 large red onion, roughly chopped
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all marinade ingredients. Place fish and other ingredients in a glass baking dish, and top with marinade. Let marinate 2-3 hours. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until fish flakes. Garnish with freshly shredded Parmesan cheese and more chopped cilantro.

This recipe first appeared in the October 2006 issue of Our State.

Serves 4.

• 2 pounds black sea bass filets, skin removed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 slices of bacon, cut in half
• 8 12-inch bamboo or metal skewers
• lemon wedges

In a large bowl, toss fish cubes with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Wrap a bacon strip around each cube and skewer, using the skewer to secure the bacon. Thread only 4 to 5 fish pieces onto each skewer. Heat outdoor grill or indoor grill pan to medium-high heat. Cool skewers, turning once, for about 8 to 10 minutes or until bacon is crisp and fish is opaque and cooked through. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Note: If you are using bamboo skewers on an outdoor grill, soak them in water for about 15 minutes before skewering on the fish.

This recipe by Charlotte Fekete first appeared in the July 2008 issue of Our State.

Serves 10 to 12.

• ½ pound cooked shrimp, peeled, de-veined, and coarsely chopped
• 2 ripe avocados, preferably Haas, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
• ¼ cup finely chopped tomato (or prepared chunky salsa)
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• salt to taste
• cilantro sprigs for garnish
• blue corn tortilla chips

Combine first nine ingredients in a medium bowl until just mixed. Mixture should be nice and chunky. Place mixture in a small serving bowl; add garnish if desired. Place bowl on platter, and surround it with blue corn tortilla chips. Cover any remaining salsamole with plastic wrap pressed flat against the dip (so that air will not oxidize avocado and turn it brown), and refrigerate.

Recipe first appeared in the April 2007 issue of Our State.

“Even before I worked here, I always knew Sunburst was the best-tasting, freshest fish I could get,” Sunburst’s Research and Development Chef Charles Hudson says. And that’s because Sunburst does things just a little differently. The feed is all-natural with no animal by-products, no antibiotics, and no growth hormones.

As for the water, it can’t get much cleaner than Sunburst’s, coming straight from the Pisgah National Forest and flowing at a rate of about 12,000 gallons per minute. “The water is super clean and has been tested,” CEO Sally Eason says. “It has zero traceability for anything.”

And lastly, the size: Sunburst grows the trout just a little bigger than the norm so the fish have time to produce more fat (the good kind of fat).

Fish this simple doesn’t require any fancy recipes, but there’s plenty of room for creativity. Chef Hudson is constantly coming up with new recipes and preparations — like a trout carpaccio or trout poached with saffron and apple cider vinegar.

“It’s so versatile you can really cook it in any way,” he says. Or, if you’re new to cooking trout, take some of Hudson’s advice, and give broiling a try. “Broiling is quick,” he says. “You can season the trout however you want, and it’s done in 5 to 7 minutes.” Hudson’s bottom line? “Don’t be afraid to experiment with it,” he says. After all, it’s nearly impossible to make fish this good taste bad.

Sunburst Trout Company
128 Raceway Place
Canton, N.C. 28716
(828) 648-3010

Pan-Cooked Trout with Olive Topping

This topping dresses up the trout without overshadowing it.

for topping

• 1 1/2 cups chopped assorted olives
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• grated zest and juice of one lemon
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

for trout

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 large red trout fillets (about 6 ounces each)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Prepare the topping. Mix together chopped olives, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil in a medium-size bowl. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.

Begin heating vegetable oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Season trout fillets liberally with salt and pepper; dust all over with flour. Cook trout, skin side up, for about 3 to 4 minutes to lightly brown. Turn and continue cooking another 2 to 3 minutes or until fish is opaque and cooked to your liking. Serve with prepared olive topping.

Lemon Roasted Trout with Lemon Butter Sauce

This simple, special recipe is full of fresh lemon flavor.

Serves 4

for trout

• 4 large red trout fillets (about 6 ounces each)
• 2 lemons, very thinly sliced (try to get 16 to 18 slices from one lemon)

for sauce

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, optional
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, optional
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425˚. Place trout fillets, skin side down, on a nonstick baking sheet; season liberally with salt and pepper. Arrange lemon slices over top of trout so that they are completely covering the flesh. Roast for about 15 minutes or until fish is opaque and lemon slices are starting to curl.

While trout cooks, prepare the sauce. Pour lemon juice into a blender. If using basil and parsley, add, blend, and scrape sides down with a spatula. Add melted butter with the motor running and blend until a sauce forms, about 20 seconds. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, take fillets straight to the table and let each diner remove his or her own lemon slices. Serve sauce on the side.

Cook’s Note: Try adding the herbs for a variation on the sauce, but if you’re in the mood for something simpler, just skip the sauce altogether.

Quick Broiled Mustard Trout

This recipe comes courtesy of Chef Charles Hudson at the Sunburst Trout Company.

Serves about 4

• 4 large red trout fillets (about 6 ounces each)
• 1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup whole-grain mustard (Chef Hudson likes to use Lusty Monk brand: lustymonk.com)

Preheat broiler to high with top rack placed about 6 inches away from heating element. Place trout fillets, skin side down, on a nonstick baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix together seasoned salt, Old Bay, lemon juice, and mustard. Spread mustard mixture evenly over top of trout. Broil for about 5 to 7 minutes or until fish is opaque and cooked to your liking.

Charlotte Fekete lives in Marshall.