Sunny and Raining - Healthy Southern Food

Sunny and Raining. Healthy Southern Food. Dogs and Sparkly Silver Toenails. Jalapeno Vodka and Basil. Funny and Colonoscopy.

These are words that don't seem to go together but they do.

After a couple of weeks of work and working out and having the "when you turn 50 years old medical test" that I had put off for 5 years, it was time for a break to Isle of Palms. I won't go into the ins and outs of a colonoscopy, but it was nothing like my fears thought it would be. If you need one and haven't had one, please go ahead and do it. It's a life saver and a breeze. If you want to know exactly what it is like, read the funniest column ever written about a colonscopy. Dave Barry wrote it in 2008 and it is still the best article out there. If I knew how to link I would, but you will have to google Dave Barry, A Journey into My Colon.

In the words of Forrest Gump, "And that's all I've got to say about THAT!"

So, Susan invited me to Isle of Palms to what we affectionately call Barbie's Dream House to help babysit granddog, Stella. Stella belongs to Susan's daughter, Allie, and may be one of the cutest dogs in the world. And one of the most pampered. She even has sparkly silver toenails. Our dog, Dingo, and I have lived in our house full of males for so long, I guess we never thought about having sparkly silver toenails.

But they are perfect for Stella. She wears them with pride. The same way she rides in her little basket on bike rides. We took several long bike rides with Stella in her basket and had a great time. Stella makes friends wherever she goes.

The weather was crazy with beautiful blue skies and sunshine one minute and then dark clouds full of torrential rain the next minute. Honestly the entire weekend we could only truthfully describe the weather as Sunny and Raining.

But we knew we wouldn't melt so we took Stella on long bike rides and long walks on the beach. She even watched part of the Panthers game with us. Stella is a true Southern girl who appreciates football.

We didn't take Stella into Charleston for an interesting historical harbor tour around Fort Sumter, Patriots Point and the Battery. Maybe boats and history just aren't Stella's thing. But Susan and I enjoyed the relaxing, informative boat tour and watching dolphins frolic around in the Charleston harbor.

We also enjoyed healthy Southern food. I think you could eat out three times a day for more than a year and not go to all of the amazing restaurants in the Charleston area. We were trying to stay on our health kick so we did not eat out every meal. For breakfast we fixed Blueberry Yogurt and Cascadian Farms Granola parfaits. (recipe blogged on August 17, 2010) We typically fixed a fairly light dinner at Barbie's Dream House on one of the breezy Southern porches. One night we had a great salad with pears and blue cheese. Another night we had crabmeat quesadillas because we can't do a trip to Isle of Palms without that. (blogged April 16, 2010)

Our plan was to try some of the restaurants out at lunchtime. This is a very good plan because 1) lunch is less expensive 2) we had our big meal in the middle of the day which saved the mornings and evenings for exercise and sipping something at Barbie's on the porch.

We had some great lunches out with lots of fresh seafood (Long Island Cafe - great waiter and Water's Edge - snarky waiter), Thai Shrimp Soup (Basil in Mt Pleasant), and even a great hamburger (Poe's Tavern). But the most interesting lunch was at Husk. Husk has been given the award as Best New Restaurant in the country by somebody who knows restaurants. I meant to look up who gave this award but whoever it was has to be right.

The location is awesome on Queen Street and the atmosphere is in an old house that has been redone with very good taste. It is a wonderful blend of old Southern and new Southern in both decor and menu. As Susan explained, "Everything in the kitchen at Husk is local and seasonal, grown or produced in the South."

We had a great Tomato Salad with yellow and red tomatoes, sweet white Trigger Fish with squash and zucchini, and what may be the best Shrimp and Grits ever. I am something of a Shrimp and Grits snob so that's saying alot. They served the creamy yellow grits, spicy sausage, fresh shrimp, with local corn and tomatoes in a neat pottery bowl.

I have always thought no one could do cornbread like we do it in Lattimore. But Husk comes pretty close. They serve crispy crusted cornbread in a small cast iron pan and they have put some bacon in there that is very Lattimore like. Sometimes we add what Daddy calls cracklins to our cornbread. Cracklins are tiny cut up pieces of real country ham which is mostly the fat part of the ham. They are fried till crispy and make the best red eye gravy ever. When you put them in the cornbread you have Cracklin Cornbread and it is a real treat. Husk Cornbread with the bacon flavor is very close to Cracklin Cornbread. Not quite there, but close.

The most unusual thing we had at Husk was the Southern Screwdriver. This concoction included jalapeno infused Vodka, a fresh basil syrup, fresh squeezed orange juice and orange bitters. Talk about words that don't usually go together.

Recently I had been out to my own garden and the main things growing are jalapenos and basil. Somehow I never thought to put them together in a cocktail. I don't know the exact ingredients but I think it might be fun to experiment with this idea.

So it was something of a mind expanding trip to Isle of Palms and I was surprised when I returned home that the scales didn't jump off the floor. But they didn't, so we must have had the perfect blend of food sampling, walking, biking, Panther watching, history learning and porch sitting to balance everything out.

Sunny and Raining. Healthy and Southern. Jalapeno and Basil. Some things go together better than it seems.

September Skies - Cream Cheese and Olives

September skies are the prettiest skies. Maybe it's the contrast between the pure blue of the sky and the greens of the trees at this time of year. Or maybe it's the way the fluffy white clouds float around in the cool air. Whatever it is I am always struck by how beautiful September skies are.

The only thing more beautiful is getting together with people you love.

This past weekend we had a lot of opportunity to get together with people we love.

Friday night we were in the airy outdoor kitchen at Rhett's enjoying Rockfish and Chips. Saturday we picked up Jay at GWU and drove to Clemson, SC to watch the Wofford Football game. We really were excited about football, but way more excited because David IV had flown in for the game. And for a reunion with college friends and the tailgate crowd.

The Terriers played a whale of a game in the David and Goliath type showdown. We couldn't have been more proud of them. And we couldn't have been happier to reconnect with everybody. We enjoyed tailgates before and after and a lot of conversations in between. Then we had a late dinner in Clemson at the Blue Heron which was recommended by Beth and was a perfect place for us to wind down.

On Sunday, we had a late lunch and visit at our house with the boys, Rhett, KC, Mom and Dad. Sister sent over her amazing Layered Salad and visited with us after lunch. Mom and Dad brought home grown green beans, country ham, deviled eggs and Daddy's Cream Cheese and Olives. I made Crumb Top Apple Pie, biscuits, homegrown corn, garlic mashed potatoes and fresh tomatoes with basil. And David grilled his Zesty Italian Chicken.

David IV had not been home in over a month and when he saw the spread he grinned and said, "This is all of my favorite grandparent food!" Mission Accomplished.

It was so great to have everyone under one roof again and I had to laugh because while I was waiting for them to arrive, I was working in the kitchen and listening to the Bose radio. Just as the cars drove into the driveway the radio starting playing "The Boys are Back in Town ..THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN".

It was a short visit, but having the boys back in town under September skies couldn't have been more beautiful.

Daddy's Cream Cheese and Olives

Daddy makes Cream Cheese and Olives for just about every occasion. We all love them, but nobody loves them more than David IV. He can eat a whole batch by himself. Even KC who had never seen them before commented that he "was popping them like candy".

Daddy cuts 4 circles out of a piece of bread with a small biscuit cutter or small can. (I use a donald duck orange juice can like Sis did. Back in the day, Nishie would have used a snuff can. Which makes me think of Arthur Smith and Tube Rose!)

But back to the recipe. Dad mixes a block of cream cheese, a light touch of mayo and some olive juice together until he has the right consistency. Then he slices green olives into circles. He spreads the cheese mixture on the bread circle and then tops with a slice of olive.

In Raleigh there was a restaurant called Side Street that made something similar. They chopped the olives and added them to the cheese mixture and then spread onto white or wheat bread for a sandwich.

It makes for a fairly rich sandwich so we prefer them open faced as an appetizer.

True to form, Mama neatly arranges them on a pretty silver tray for serving.

Rhett's Rockfish and Chips

It seems like Rhett has been a part of our family forever. Rhett and David were in preschool together and have been as close as brothers ever since.

Same with Rhett and Jay. They share the basketball gene and have spent hours upon hours playing ball together in the backyard, at the Y, in high school and basically anywhere there is a ball and a hoop. Over the years, Rhett has traveled with us to sports events and on family vacations to the beach or the lake or where ever we were going. With his blue eyes and blond hair everyone assumed he was one of our sons. Even Mama said the other day that the three of them looked like triplets.

Rhett loves to cook and has always been a part of the kitchen action at our house and at his own house.

So when he called to invite us over to try Fish and Chips, we accepted without hesitation. Rhett and his Dad had been to Alaska this summer and caught a lot of fish so I knew this was going to be a treat. Besides it's sweet to be invited to dinner by someone that you have watched grow up.

Rhett was experimenting with his recipes but I don't think the fish and chips could have turned out any better. The Alaskan Rockfish was light and crispy and the chips were crispy with a perfect blend of spices.

Rhett's Rockfish and Chips were a treat in many ways.


For the Fish:

Rhett dredged the rockfish with flour and then coated with a thick beer batter that kind of had the consistency of a pancake mix. I didn't get Rhett's recipe but beer batter generally is a combination of flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, beer and salad oil. He dipped the floured fish into the beer batter and then fried in a deep fryer for a few minutes until the fish was golden brown on both sides. He drained the fish on brown paper bags and then served it with tartar sauce.

For the chips:

Rhett sliced potatoes with skin on into strips, fried until about half done and removed to a pan to drain. Just before serving he finished frying the potatoes and seasoned with a concoction of chopped rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. He used a brown paper bag to coat the fries with the seasoning, drained them on a brown paper bag, and then served with Malt Vinegar. Yum. Better than fries at the Fair!

Whirlwinds - Rotel Sausage Dip

It's been a whirlwind of a time in the last few weeks. Literally and Figuratively.

Hurricane Irene blew in to North Carolina and, while western NC had no impact, the Eastern part of the state had a different story. The picture on this post of Irene's arrival was emailed to me by Jamey who said it was taken by an Eastern NC TV station.

Our plans had been to go west for a weekend break but we quickly changed plans and drove East, staying for several days to work on property damage issues. It was amazing to watch as many many people from all over swarmed in to work together and get things moving in the right direction as quickly as possible. I noticed how calm everyone remained and how all the conversations were practical and no nonsense. No bickering or finger pointing, but everyone focused on the goal of getting the ship back in order.

And almost everyone at one time or another expressed gratitude that, at least where we were working, there were no injuries to anything but property. With the 9/11 anniversary coming up this weekend, the task of getting through a hurricane with property damage is tough but not unbearable.

Fortunately we have a good place to land in Raleigh, NC and had quick visits with a variety of folks. I didn't get pictures of everyone, but I did take a quick snapshot of Paul, Kai, Melia, Mom and Libby at the Triangle Stone Food Court. After spending the day before in disaster mode, it was relaxing for me to watch 4 generations of sweet people having lunch at the food court. Perspective is a wonderful thing.

Aside from storms, the figurative whirlwind swirled about. We enjoyed a good time with Thomas, Susan, Walter, Lucille and Cindy at the Lake. Never a dull moment with that group and there is always a lot of sports, cooking and laughing going on. Susan brought a lot of healthy food like fresh blueberries and bean dip. I brought alot of recipes that started with cheese and butter.

Susan and I took an interesting side trip to Hendersonville and then an emergency stop for lunch at Hot Dog World. A great hot dog can cure most anything.

We have watched a ton of US Open Tennis and I think this has been one of the best years ever for men's and women's matches. It's good tennis with old and new players and alot of discussion about strategies, personalities, style and the color of their shoes.

I have actually played tennis several times recently since it's not wicked hot anymore. Sometimes it's good to take a break from a sport because I realized how much fun it is to play and to be with others who love the game.

And on the subject of games, I knew it was football season when my phone and facebook started blowing up with requests from boys all over the place asking how to make the sausage dip.

I love that even though the boys and their friends have scattered, they remember sausage dip in a crockpot at our house during football season. So I had several good chuckles when, within a few hours of tailgate time at colleges all over, I was replying via text, email and facebook with this quick and easy recipe.

Let the football whirlwind begin!

Rotel Sausage Dip

1 pound ground sausage, browned (I use Jenkins or Neese's Hot Sausage)
1 8 oz block of cream cheese
1 Can of Original Rotel

Brown and drain sausage in a sauce pan. Add rotel and cream cheese and heat till melted and hot. Transfer to a crock pot and serve with Tostitoes.