I'm back!

Sorry it's been a while.  We had illnesses and surgeries of various sorts over the last month, but things are more better now! Lots of stuff to talk about and hopefully I'll catch up over the next couple of weeks.  

Spring Break started for the Chaps last Friday, so we were all at Surfside for a long weekend. Catherine's roomie, Anthea, had to go back to Charleston yeasterday, so as we drove down Highway 17 we stopped in Beautiful Scenic Awendaw for lunch at the SeeWee Cafe

My dad found out about this place when he was volunteering at the United Methodist Retreat center just down the road. His crew would come for breakfast and/or lunch. Excellent Salads, Fish, Scallops, Veggie Plates, and FREE HUSH PUPPIES! The Fried Green Tomatoes and Butter Peas were good, but the Collards and Red Rice stole the show!  The Collards were almost creamy, while the Red Rice had bits of smoked sausage that gave up a wonderful flavor.  Very Very Nice!

Bacon and The Book of Harold

Today's reading is from The Book of Harold, Chapter 3, Page 175:

Modern ham and bacon contain more moisture that the dry-cured versions (sometimes more than the original raw meat!) and about half the salt--3-4% instead of  5-7%.  Where slices of traditional ham and bacon fry easily and retain 75% of their weight, the wetter modern versions spatter, shrink, and curl as they give up their water, and retain only a third of their initial weight.
         The illuminating passage above comes from On Food and Cooking, by Harold McGee.  If you do anything in the kitchen more than boiling water for Jello, placing Pop-Tarts in the toaster, or microwaving fudge sauce for the two month old vanilla ice cream in the freezer,  you really should consider getting a copy.  Mr. McGee can teach you something wonderful about anything you're doing or want to do. Really, you should.  If you aren't sure, go check out a copy from your local library.

So lets figure this bacon thing out.  Regular name brand bacon costs at least $3 a pound.(but it is usually sold in 12 oz packages--go figure).  You get about 20 slices per pound. That is 15 cents per piece. (usually pretty rinky-dinky pieces!) Artisanal bacon from Allan Benton or Caw Caw Creek is $6 a lb., but with them you get less slices per pound because it is a thicker cut. Last week I got 14 pieces that weighed in at exactly 7 ounces after cooking. That's 42 cents per piece. I would not be ashamed to serve only one piece to a guest: yes, it is that good. Cooking Light, (the magazine) amongst others, toast artisanal bacons for that very reason!  You will, for real, remember what you had for breakfast!

That's not all, brothers and sisters!  You get the bacon grease. You need to keep this! And folks, let me tell you one thing before you start in on the cardiovascular righteousness.   You don't have to use a lot of this. Use maybe a teaspoon to saute a whole big frying pan of onions, and you've got something that'll make any sandwhich stand up and take a bow. A pot of butter-peas never had such a friend! If you use a tablespoon of it for a whole pone of cornbread, (8-10 servings) you will not leave any crumb to fall by the wayside.You just can't do that with normal bacon drippings.


Can I get an AMEN?

Busy Weekend!

         Wow!  What a busy weekend we had!  We left Thursday evening ,heading to Birmingham and FoodBlogSouth, at which I had a blast.  Some SFA folks were there, and I made some new friends from Dallas Texas all the way on back this way to Cameron SC!  I learned some neat stuff from some great folks and . . . .I won a door prize to the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival. How cool is that?

        Birmingham is home to a great many Greek immigrants, many of whom started restaurants.  One endeavor has become a fairly large chain in that part of the South.  We tried Zoe's in the Federal Building downtown.  It reminded me somewhat of SUBWAY with a Greek attitude, except you didn't see the folks making your food. It was very good, and when we told them it was our first Zoe's experience. . . . FREE CHOCOLATE CAKE!  

         Birmingham is also the home of Jim 'N Nicks, who helped sponsor FoodBlogSouth. Alice got to partake there for the first time and was duly impressed by their collards, among other things. Good Stuff all around!

         On the way back we stopped in Oxford, Georgia, and ate at a placed called Jefferson's.  They specialize in wings, burgers, and oysters(?).   As we are want to do, we asked the waitress what her favorite menu item was, and she told us about the double dipped wings. Fried, dipped in hot sauce, and fried again. Well, we just aren't that big on wings, but she sold us, so we got a platter.  They were very good: crispy hotness, or hot crispiness, however you want to call it. Enough of each, but not too much.

         When we got home on Sunday afternoon, Alice made a big pot of Liver Nips for a Soup Supper we were having at church last night. (She already had everything pretty much ready before we left.)  The Annual Soup Supper is a very fun event the Worship and Music Committee does every January to raise money for a Summer Music Camp for children in the community. Check out all the soups:

You can get regular sized bowls or try several smaller amounts of different kinds.  In addition to the soups and stews,  folks bring salads, deviled eggs, pimento cheese sandwiches, etc, and a variety of desserts.  It's not near as heavy as your basic Dinner-on-the-Grounds type of event, but it's still a great meal and a great time! Man, the Liver Nips were some of her best ever!  We took about 2 gallons up to church and only brought back about a quart, (which Stewart took back to USC-not sure if that's legal, what with crossing the county lines and all).

Tonight, however: Salad!

HUSK!

Last week when we took Catherine back to the College of Charleston we finally made it to HUSK. I’ve been eagerly anticipating that event since last summer when I first heard that James Beard award winning Chef Sean Brock of McCrady’s was opening a new place. HUSK opened November 9th, so we were exactly at the 2 month mark. Husk is like no other restaurant I’ve ever heard tell of. It’s Southern Food, which doesn’t mean everything is pork and collard greens. It does mean food from the South and the South Only. Chef Brock is adamant: “If it doesn’t come from the South, it’s not coming through the door.” Husk showcases the phenomenal products of the South with diversely incredible ways. As soon you walk in the door, they have a Big Board (not like the one in Dr. Strangelove, though) that lists ingredients and where they come from. Stewart did a count and came up with at least half from South Carolina. Everything from James Island Peas, to Happy Cow Creamery butter from Pelzer. Lamb from Virginia, Trout from North Carolina, and of course Ham and Bacon from Allan Benton in Tennessee. It was all exceptional! Here’s what we had:


Duck Leg Confit, Anson Mills Farro, Maria’s Greens, Winter Squash, Red Eye Gravy, with a Duck Fat Fried Egg $12

Sausage Stuffed SC Quail with Benne and Honey, Johnny Cakes, Slow Cooked Egg, and Spicy Hollandaise $14

Wood Fired SC Beef Tenderloin, Sunny Side Up Egg, Surry County VA Pork Sausage and Potato Hash $16

A Stew of LA Shrimp, Carolina Mushrooms, Charred Scallions, and Benton’s Bacon over Carolina Gold Rice $14

The quality of everything was amazing. The kitchen is kinda-sorta open so you can see the folks preparing the dishes, and while I saw Chef de Cuisine Travis Grimes lightly doing a touch up here or there, mostly I could tell that the cooks (who served the food they prepared) took ownership and pride in their creations. (On a side note, our server Caddy said that over 570 folks applied for 50 Front-of- the-House positions!)

The next time you’re in the Holy City, you really ought to go by. The menu changes depending on availability of product, so don’t get your hopes up that you’ll be able to get the same thing we did. Whatever you get, it’ll be fantastic. That’s a given.