Frequent visitors here know how much I love figs. In The News & Observer today is a story on the popularity of figs on Ocracoke Island plus a recipe for fig cake. I’ll be trying that out, since figs this year were overflowing – I have about six quarts in my freezer to be turned into jam this weekend. I won’t have to hoard every precious jar and can indulge in cake. Read the article here.

The UNC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem is offering students a literal taste of home. The cafeteria asked students to provide their favorite recipes from home and incorporated them into the menu. Read more from the Winston-Salem Journal article here.

Find out how to make pomegranate liqueur at the Wilmington (N.C.) Star News. The recipe’s here.

And at the New York Times, read about the White House chef who is doing more than just serving the First Family. The article is here.

Not surprisingly, pork is the Official White Meat of the Southern Foodways Alliance’s annual symposium in Oxford, Miss., from which I just returned. Pork, the food of the South. Participants ate pork in the form of heavenly Asian-style slow-roasted pork shoulder created by David Chang, chef of Momofuku in New York That lunch included a salad with thinly sliced ham and dusted with a finely ground bacony powder, and kimchi brussels sprouts topped with peanuts. We ate pork in the form of New Orleans hot sausage from Susan Spicer, chef of Bayona in New Orleans. And in catfish fritters with andouille from Duane Nutter, chef of One Flew South in Atlanta. The only thing missing was bacon-flavored beer – although Durham’s Fullsteam Brewing offered sweet potato and scuppernong brews.

The event focused on the relationship between music and food, mostly talking about the blues. So there was plenty of good party music in between the eating and lectur-izing. Yes, lecturizing. We do like to look erudite, at least.

If a herd of angry porkers had stampeded the events, the Triangle restaurant scene would’ve taken a big hit. Attendees included chefs Bill Smith of Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, Ben and Karen Barker of Magnolia Grill in Durham, and Ashley Christensen of Poole’s Diner in Raleigh, plus bakers April McGreger of Farmer’s Daughter in Chapel Hill and Phoebe Lawless of Scratch Baking in Durham, who provided baked doughnut muffins for breakfast (pork-free, but still good).