CHRISTMAS COOKIES!

  The Sunday before Christmas we tried a New Thing at our church. A Christmas Cookie Walk!  We (the Youth Committee) asked folks to bring in 4-6 dozen of their Family Favorite Cookies.  The Cookies were delivered to the church  Saturday,  arranged on a nice platter, along with a note of  names and if they contained nuts.  We arranged all 67 trays of cookies in the Parish Life Center.  At one end of the cookie walk, we gave out boxes and plastic gloves.  You got to fill up your box with any kind of cookie you liked, (no sampling, though!)  At the other end of the line we’d wrap your box (or boxes, in many cases) with a pretty Christmas ribbon and a seal.  All this for $5 a baker’s dozen!  What a deal!

Peppermint Oatmeal 

 Buckeyes

              Sugar Cookies

Plus Snickerdoodles, Fudge, Mounds of Joy, Almond Joy to the World,  Candied Pecans, Chocolate Macadamia Nut!  All kinds of Yummy Stuff! 

It was huge success! We will definitely have one again next year!

Jim 'N Nick's

So it finely happened. It only took 18 months. In June of 2009 I found out about Jim N Nicks at the Southern Foodways Alliance Field Trip in Bristol. I met some nice folks from Jim 'N Nick's, and they had brought some Pimento Cheese, which is on their menu in various forms. It was very good; much cheesiness, some hotness, and best of all, they brought a lot!  They set it out at the gathering spot, and folks slathered it on celery and crackers. It was for a while the focal point.  The gathering spot was not a bar. It was more of large room with chairs tables and bar at one end, where people congregated. But not a bar. (It was also used as a classroom, but that’s another story.)


Anyway, I found out Jim 'N Nick's had some places in the Low Country. Well, you ask, since Catherine goes to the College of Charleston, why did it take you this long? I have some fairly good reasons: We didn’t actually go to see Catherine a lot this fall, and when we did we wound up already full when near the restaurants, or we wound up cooking for ourselves at the house in Folly Beach, or got involved in several catered events down there. But it was always in the middle part of my mind. Stewart had gone to a FBLA event last year right beside the North Charleston site, so he talked some others into eating there. Rave Reviews. Catherine went to the downtown location in order to get Brain Food before exams. More Rave Reviews.

Catherine had 6 day break between exams, so last Wednesday I left after work to get her. She was ready to go as soon as I pulled up at the dorm, but I needed to walk around some to flex my knees, and I hadn’t eaten yet, so we stopped by the North Charleston site. The folks were very helpful and friendly. I decided a Catfish BLT would probably be manageable on the interstate. When they asked if I wanted tartar sauce on it, I said no thank you, but then I had a flash of inspiration. I asked if they could put Pimento Cheese in place of the tartar sauce. The waiter kind of cocked his head, his jaw dropped a little and his eyes kind of squenched up. Then he grinned, “Yeah, we can do that! That sounds awesome. I might have to try that!”

“But not mine. You’ll get your own, right?”

“Well. . . . yeah, . . . I’ll get my own!”

A few minutes later they brought it, and it was awesome. Toasted Sourdough with a big slab of grilled catfish; the cheesey gooey goodness was married with the porcine perfection of the thicker-than-normal smoky bacon. It all fit together so nicely that I was able to eat in one handed driving up I-26!

I don’t know when we’ll get back to try out more of the menu, but hopefully sooner, rather than later. Maybe over Christmas, but I doubt it.  Who knows?  Catherine goes back to Charleston on January 9th. I can probably wait that long.

Anna Circle Christmas Party

Last night Alice and I catered her circle’s Christmas Party.  Last year we did it at our house, but we had Catherine and Stewart to help get ready.  Since the chaps are studying for finals right now, this year we did it at the church, trying to simplify the menu so we could do lots of stuff ahead of time.  It worked pretty well. Here’s the menu:

The Feast of the Seven Fishes

(Southern Style)

Iced Boiled Shrimp

Deviled Eggs with Trout Flakes

Tomato Soup with Blue Crab

Romaine Salad with Smoked Salmon & Goat Cheese

New Potatoes with Red Caviar & Benton's Bacon

Steamed Spinach

Seafood Casserole of Grouper, Shrimp & Scallops

Coffee & Tea

Assorted Christmas Desserts

We were able to put together a great deal of it at home, then just take it up to the church.  We had to prep the salads, and finish off the potatoes with sour cream and caviar, and that went off fine.  The only real issue was with the rolls and the ovens; the rolls wouldn’t rise quite fast enough and the ovens are big gas ones that don’t cooperate well.  But we got enough done in time so that a wonderful time was had by all!  We had good help breaking everything down, and got home in time to relax a bit before bedtime!

Festival of Lights! (with a side of fries!)

Last Saturday we were part of a SPY expedition (St. Peter’s Lutheran Church Youth). We took about 25 teenagers to Charleston to see the James Island County Park’s Holiday Festival of Lights. It is a very cool thing to see. It takes about 30-45 minutes to drive though the park to see the lights. You can also park and do other Festival things (Gift Shop, Sand Sculpture, Trolley Ride, etc.) This was the first time the Youth Group has been to it, and it was a big success.  Next year we'll factor in a bit more time on the ground.

Before we went to the Park, we had to feed the group. So we took the chaps to Jack’s Cosmic Dogs on Folly Road! Think of a roadside diner you might have run across in the 1960s on the Space Coast of Florida. Great Place and great dogs! Blue Cheese slaw, hand cut fries, draft root beer! We had a blast and they gave us an incredible deal!  Many Thanks to the folks at Jack's!

Catfish Anyone?

Occasionally, for various reasons, we have a catered lunch at our corporate offices. Even though we are in the South, we have a whole lot of Non-Southerners. (which, generally speaking, is not a Bad Thing) So, in an effort not to Freak Anybody Out, usually our menus consist of pretty standard vanilla items. Usually it is baked chicken, or fried chicken strips, or pizza, or something Italian. Green Beans frequently show up. Lots of Salads with breadsticks. Good food, but you get the idea.

This time, however, we went out on a limb, or rather a Pirogue, and had kind of a New Orleans’s theme. We had Cajun Fried Catfish, Chicken and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya, Cole Slaw and Fried Okra. It was great! We got some folks from Belly’s Southern Pride in Lexington to come out, and they actually fried the stuff in the parking lot! From one of committee members who helped plan it:

“There were more than a few "skeptics" about the fried fish BEFORE they actually saw it cooking downstairs.....then, after they saw how great it looked they decided to try it! Well....needless to say, the fish is gone!”

I was very happy to see people jumping in to try it, and heard lots of comments about how good it was. Maybe soon we’ll have them soppin’ potlikker with big ole pieces of cornbread! (Well, maybe that will take a while!)

Next week: November is Pimento Cheese Awareness Month.

Righteousness at the Beach

Recently, Alice and I spent a week at Surfside celebrating our 25th Anniversary. The last time we did that we played "Test Kitchen",  trying out all kinds of new recipes.  We did a little bit of that this time, but we're really trying to watch what eat, so we behaved, mostly, by eating lots of fruits and veggies.  Here's what we did with an eggplant:

Pretty Gouda Eggplant Sandwiches


Slice a bell pepper into strips, with about ½ cup of onion in strips. Stir fry this until it is slightly browned and the peppers are somewhat wilted.

Take 4 slices of eggplant, sliced about 3/8 ths of an inch. A table spoon of garlic oil in the pan. Sprinkle about 1/8 teaspoon of salt in the pan. Heat over medium stove. Add eggplant, sprinkle salt on top of eggplant and cook for about 5 minutes on each side. You want it browned but not really caramelized.

On toasted buns or bread, place a slice of hot eggplant, add some of the peppers and onions, and then a slice of Smoked Gouda cheese, top with another slice of eggplant. Add bun top or another piece of bread. Allow this to sit for 30 seconds so the cheese gets kind of gooey. ENJOY!

Eggplant Eggs

Eggplant, sliced about 3/8 ths of an inch. A table spoon of garlic oil in the pan. Sprinkle about 1/8 teaspoon of salt in the pan. Heat over medium stove. Add eggplant, sprinkle salt on top of eggplant and cook for about 5 minutes on each side. You want it browned but not really caramelized.

Take 1 slice eggplant, offset one slice of gouda, then another slice of eggplant, then a poached egg. Sprinkle with a few grilled onions. Enjoy with a slice of Benton’s bacon!  Look! You just had a veggie for breakfast!

What are These?

The picture above looks like what? Like a nice bowl of field peas with a few snaps, cooked with some peppers and onions, right? Maybe some hamhocks gave it that nice reddish sheen, right? All you’d need is some cornbread, and you’d have good start on a nice hot lunch, right? Well that’s WRONG! It’s a SALAD! Yes, a salad! Earlier this year Alice started making this Marinated Carrot Salad, where she cooks some carrots for a few minutes, then she pours this marinade over them and after a couple hours in the fridge, we’ve got this wonderful salad. It keeps for a week, at least. 

        About a month ago, I came across several pea or bean salads, and decided to try it out. The first time I cooked some dried black beans with nothing in the pot but water. I actually drained the marinade off the Carrot Salad and poured it over the beans. It was pretty good. This time I had a bag of frozen field peas with snaps, and some pork broth I had made from the bones of some smoked boston butts. I just brought them to a boil, and put the top on the pot and let them sit for couple of hours to cool. Then I drained the broth off. I made the marinade, let it cool a bit, and poured it over the peas. The next day, they were a big hit! My son didn’t know what I had done. He served his plate, tried them he said, “Hey, these are cold!” (But he went back for seconds!)

        The picture above looks like what? Like a nice bowl of Red Rice, right? Like you’d find in Charleston, right? Well, that’s RIGHT! I got the recipe from a lady at work, and she’s a Nutrition Specialist! (so it's got to be healthy, right?) You can cook it in a rice steamer, or you can do it in the oven in a covered casserole, (which is what I did.) I used brown rice, and didn’t put the 9 PIECES OF BACON in like it calls for, though I did sauté the onions in Benton’s Bacon grease.  When cooled enough to sample, we did. Then we got a bowl full of it.  There was enough left for a family meal on Sunday, but not much after that. It was a bigger hit than the Pea Salad.  It will be a wonderful new Page, that I’m sure we’ll turn to often.

Two New Items

So here we have two new items. While perusing some old Southern Livings a couple of weekends ago, Alice came across this Pear/Peach/Tomato Relish. As luck would have it, due to current climatological conditions, all three types of produce were available to us (at a reduced cost!) We have not actually used the relish on anything yet, but we have tasted it. We’ll be trying them with field peas or butter peas this weekend. Confidence is high, as it reminds me of the Tomato Chutney from the Blue Willow Inn.

The deviled eggs are my rif on Bill Smith’s of Crook's Corner :

1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoon mustard
2 tablespoon mayo (Dukes?)
2 tablespoon fresh finely chopped chives
24 rings of pickled jalapeño (Chapsmackers?) finely chopped
12 boiled eggs

I’m not going to tell you how to make them. Bill’s recipe uses way more jalepenos, and purple onions, which I have nothing against. It’s just that I have a surplus of chives right now. The good thing about this recipe is that with the mustard, mayo, and pickled peppers, you don’t have to add salt . . . . and that helps keep my blood preasure down (126/78 on Monday!)


yeah I know the white borders are stupid,  but I was in a hurry.

Charleston Farmers Market and McCrady's

We went to Charleston for the weekend to visit our daughter. Catherine had raved about the farmers market at Marion Square conveniently located to CofC, so we hit it Saturday morning. It was wonderful! I had to restrain myself from getting some of all types of the Heirloom tomatoes (I only l got 5 kinds) It’s not all farmers produce. They have various food kiosks, and home-squeezed lemonade, crafts, plants, and entertainment.

Catherine is taking a class at CofC, the Sociology of Food, and her professor had spoken of restaurant week in Charleston. We took this a great excuse to go to McCrady’s, where Chef Sean Brock’s crew did a fantastic job. It was the first time ever for us there, though Alice and I had sampled Chef Brocks faire at the SFA Bristol Field Trip. It won’t be the last!

Catherine’s dorm as a huge kitchen on her floor, so we started talking about coming down and serving brain food right before midterms and\or finals. Not sure what we’ll have, but Frogmore looks promising.

WHOOSH!! Labor Day Surpise!

Yesterday around 2 we talked to our son, at USC, to see if he was coming home, for there was left over homemade pizza to be had. He said he'd probably be home later in the afternoon, maybe pretty soon, because he hadn't had lunch yet. He said he didn't know if he'd bring anybody with him or not. . . . . hard say. . . . he'd let us know. At 7:13 pm, he calls, he's on his way, he'll be home in 20 minutes. . . with 7 others to have the pizza we'd told him about. Uh oh, we had 2 small halves left. Luckily, I was fixing to make some flat bread from a recipe I saw on Serious Eats. Alice had me make that into two pizza crusts, and we had a store bought crust in the fridge. We scrounged in the freezer, pantry and fridge to come up with these toppings: ground beef, pepperoni, chopped black olives, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, thin sliced green tomates, onions, mushrooms, Peruvian Hot Pepper Paste, Sun Dried Tomato Pesto, and Alice's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce. We blenderized the spaghetti sauce, since it is pretty chunky, and had everything set out on the kitchen table when the kids blasted in. For a bit they just kind of milled around looking at the ingredients. Then they started creating. They made one cheesy vegetarian pizza (Sunny: "No, take some of the cheddar off. It needs way more mozzarella."), one MAN PIZZA -lots of meat and the pepper paste(thanks to Jay-bird from Memphis) and one mostly normal pizza. With home-canned Lexington peaches and imported pears (from Williamston, SC) sweet tea, some peach-blackberry smoothies, and a spice cake one of the girls brought(YEA! SARAH!), I believe they were well content. At 9:09 they were pullling out of the driveway! They did say thank you and they helped bring the dirty dishes into to kitchen. WHOOSH!

A NEW DAY

OK, we’re starting over. I had all these great plans about posting often. And then life happened. And I forgot, and we all got sick and the dog ate my homework, and all kinds of other stuff. Now we’re all well, the children have now gone off to college in order to get educated so they can find a great job in order to support us in our old age. So today is a new day, and I figure it’s a good time. We’ve been inspired by a lot of folks and events in the last year, many of whom are part of the Southern Foodways Alliance. I’ll try to do them proud.