Courtney’s Friday Night Music Series

If you are in Elizabeth City on Fridays next month, check out Courtney’s Friday Night Music Series! Featuring Accoustic acts from 7:00p.m. to 10:00p.m. every Friday night starting in February 2012, featuring artists like Kevin Kelley, Phil Watson, Nick Simmons, and more! There will be food and drink specials as well! Check out Courtney’s here.

Courtney’s Restaurant and Lounge is a great place to enjoy your favorite American Cuisine. Located in the Quality Inn at 522 S. Hughes Blvd. in Elizabeth City, Courtney’s is a beautiful restaurant and lounge that has become popular with locals and travelers. The restaurant serves a variety of foods with daily specials. Stop in the lounge for a relaxing drink or join the fun with a D.J. or live band on Friday and Sarturday nights. Sporting events can be viewed on one of numerous wide screen TVs. A full menu is served in the lounge.
Courtney’s also has banquet rooms and caters weddings, birthday parties, holiday gatherings, family reunions, business meetings and training sessions. The staff at Courtney’s will be sure to make your catering event a success.

522 S. Hughes Blvd, Elizabeth City, NC 27909 (252) 338-3951 Click here for map and directions

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New Year’s Eve at an Independent Restaurant

Your local independent restaurant is the perfect place to enjoy your New Year’s Eve Celebration. Many independent restaurants will offer a special menu with reasonable prices. Others will offer live entertainment, a New Year’s toast and an early morning breakfast. You will have a great time and you will be supporting your local economy when you celebrate New Year’s Eve at a local independent restaurant. Another bonus is that you will not have to drive far. Be safe and be happy this New Year’s Eve!

Old Christmas Celebration on the Outer Banks of North Carolina

Have some fun and eat delicious food at the First Annual Old Christmas Festival January 5th and 6th. Sponsored by The Outer Banks Relief Foundation, all proceeds from these events are used to assist citizens who are burdened with financial difficulties due to debilitating desease or a family tragedy. Here is a list of events:

January 5th  Old Christmas Festival at Duck Woods Country Club  4:00 pm-7:30 pm  $20  Family friendly light buffet with holiday entertainment, bake offs, and a recycled Christmas tree contest.

January 6th Christmas Dinner and Live Auction  Sugar Creek Seafood Restaurant  5:30pm -9:00pm $35  Taste of the North Restaurants vs. Taste of the South Restaurants Contest.  Who will win? You decide. Live music and a live art auction including works from local artists.

For more information go to www.outerbanksrelieffoundation.com or call 252-261-2004.

Ginger Bread Village

What’s better than a ginger bread house? How about a ginger bread village? Kristy started making gingerbread houses several years ago to the delight of her children. This year she created more excitement by creating a gingerbread village.

Bring your children to Kristy’s Place in Edenton to view the gingerbread village. You may find that you are the one gazing at the village with wonder in your eyes.

Check out Kristy’s Place at Community Restaurants.com 

 

Edenton Christmas Granville Queen Inn

The Granville Queen Inn offers a wonderful and relaxing respite from the hustle and bustle of the Holiday Season. Beautifully decorated for the holiday season, you will be swept back to simpler times when enjoyment was gained by relaxing next to the fireplace, visiting mom and pop shops and  marvelling in the wonder of stately well adorned historic homes in downtown Edenton. Dora and David Drohen have created an elegant view of life in the early 1900′s with handsome antiques and six fireplaces.

The holiday season is the perfect time to visit Edenton to enjoy the beautifully decorated historic homes.

Special events include:

Edenton’s Christmas Candlelight Tour     Friday, Dec. 9th  and Saturday, Dec. 10th 4-8pm

Crafts Show and Sale     Friday, Dec. 9th and Saturday, Dec. 10th  10 am-4pm Shepard-Pruden Memorial Library 

Visit with Santa                Saturday, Dec. 10th 11am- 2pm  Shepard-Pruden Library 

Edenton Bell Battery Reenactment   Saturday, Dec. 10th  10am-5pm  In front of the 1767 Chowan County Courthouse 

For more information about these events visit the Barker House at 505 S. Broad Street or contact the Edenton Historical Commission at 482-7800.

Stress Management for The Holiday Season

This is the time of year when most of us have many more things to do than we believe we have time for. Here are some stress management tips to help you enjoy your holiday season.

• Take time for yourself – every day set aside at least 20 minutes to treat yourself to something just for you – quiet time alone, reading, listening to music etc.
• Plan - plan time for your important activities. This will insure that you get things done that are important to you.
• Drop some things that are not important – shorten your to do list by eliminating items that are not important
• Learn to say no – we all have to learn to say no sometimes. A good response is  “That sounds like a wonderful activity. Unfortunately, I will not be able to help out this year due to my other committments”. Remember, time for yourself is a committment.

More stress management tips to come.

Ravioli Recipe

A favorite childhood memory of mine is helping my grandmother make homemade raviolis for the entire family during the holiday season. It was delightful for several of us to gather around the kitchen, listen to Christmas music and make these delicious raviolis from scratch. This was the best gift we received. Enjoy the recipe below.

Ingredients for dough:  3cups flour, 2 eggs, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 cup warm water

Ingredients for filling: 11/2 lbs. ricotta cheese, 1/4 lb. parmesan cheese, 2 eggs, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper

Making the dough: Sift flour and salt together. Place on large cutting board and form a well in the middle. Drop eggs into the well and beat slightly with a fork. Combine eggs and flour together. Add water gradually to form a rather stiff dough. Knead until smooth. Cover the dough and let it stand for 15 minutes. Cut the dough in half and roll it into two thin sheets.

Making the filling: Combine ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs, salt and pepper in a bowl. Drop one full teaspoon of filling 1 1/2″ apart on one sheet of dough. Cover with another sheet of dough. Gently press together with your finger tips around each dab of filling. Cut the dough into squares and press the fork around the four sides of the squares meshing the two thin layers of dough together. Allow the raviolis to dry one hour before cooking them.

The best part of all of this was the fun we had together. There was something for each of us to do. Of course there were few things better than eating homemade raviolis we made ourselves.

Shrimp Facts!

Whether you’re a fan of shrimp or not, these shrimp facts will give you a new appreciation for these little crustaceans. Just to clear the air–because believe it or not, some people truly don’t realize this–but shrimps and “prawns” as they are referred to in some parts of the world, are essentially the same thing. The only true difference between shrimp and prawns is that a prawn’s second abdominal flap rests on top of the first and third flaps. Crayfish is another term you might have heard associated with shrimp, but again, it is simply another name for members of the shrimp family! Let’s move on to our collection of shrimp facts…

• Shrimp is high in calcium and protein but low in food energy

• Shrimp are sold by count, which is expressed as a numerical range of shrimp per pound.

• Shrimp can be served cold or hot.

• About 2000 species of true shrimps are known

• In the United States, according to the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, the word “prawn” usually indicates a freshwater shrimp or prawn

• The first mention of  shrimp scampi in the New York Times was a restaurant advertisement published May 9, 1956 for The Tenakill Restaurant in Englewood NJ

• To test a shrimp for freshness make sure they are dry and firm.

• 1 pound of shrimp in the shell is enough for 3 servings

• Uncooked shrimp in the shell is often called “green” shrimp

• To end up with 1 pound of cooked shrimp you need to buy between 2 and 2 1/2 pounds of raw, unpeeled, or “green”, shrimp.

• Shrimp can be cooked both in the shell or peeled. Cooking in the shell adds considerable flavor.

• To avoid tough curled shrimps, drain them immediately when finished cooking.

The fact is…shrimp are one of the most popular kind of seafood in the United States. So go out and try some locally harvested shrimp, either in an independent restaurant or grab some from your local fish market! 

Is your favorite seafood in season?

Quality counts…

especially when selecting which shellfish to eat. In the winter season we like to enjoy oyster roasts and steaming bowls of clam chowder, but there are a few things to remember and look for when selecting live oysters and clams.

Be sure the shells are tightly closed, if open, they should shut when tapped. The shells should be intact and moist, and there should be a mild scent.  Always avoid gaping shells that do not shut when tapped, shells that are cracked, chipped, or dry and there should not be a strong “fishy” odor.

Be safe and enjoy our local seafood!

For more information on when our local seafood is available, go to the Outer Banks Catch link below. See which fish and shellfish are in season so you know what’s the freshest fish for your plate!

http://www.outerbankscatch.com/sites/default/files/seafood_availability_chart2.pdf

Support the local commerical fisherman of North Carolina’s  
Outer Banks – stay local, eat local!

 

Spring is just around the corner!

Wright Brothers National Memorial

Site of the world’s first controlled powered flight on December 17, 1903. The Visitor Center features full-scale reproductions of the Wright 1903 Powered Flyer and interpretive presentations. A pavilion boasts an exhibit hall with special exhibits, including a replica of the 1902 Wright Glider and a multipurpose auditorium.

The grounds include historical markers of each attempted powered flight, replica camp buildings and a 60-foot granite monument on top of Big Kill Devil Hill (a 90-foot dune) honoring the Wright brothers.

Location
Milepost 8, Kill Devil Hills

Hours
9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (hours are extended during summer months). Open year-round. Closed Christmas Day.

Entrance Fees
$4 per person – valid for 7 days
Free – 16 and under
$10 – Annual Park Pass
Free – Golden Age, Golden Access, or National Parks Pass

Commercial Vehicles
$40 – Vans / Small buses holding 7 – 25 people.
$100 – Commercial Tour Buses

National Park Service Passes
Golden Access – Free – Valid for a lifetime
Golden Age – $10 – Valid for a lifetime
National Parks Pass – $50 – Valid for one year
Golden Eagle holograms – $15 – valid for one year

Note
School sponsored programs may be eligible for a waiver of fees.

Services
Interpretive tours available.

Facilities
Visitor Center facilities include a bookstore, rest rooms, and telephones.

Contact Information
(252) 441-7430