Happy Halloween!

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The day is finally here!!  Tunnel construction has begun, and according to Walker and my dad- it is going to be a 22nd Century Scare.  The 21st century is way to passee- obviously!  The ideas that they have and are trying to institute this year are maybe beyond ridiculous, but as long as they are happy, I am not going to get in the way.  My only job so far is to download scary music for Walker to play in the tunnel.  As a quick little aside, I made the pumpkin pudding from Blackberry Farm last night and it was amazing.  It did take longer to bake than the 30-40 minutes the recipe said, but I was very please with the way it turned out.  And the hard icing is so sinfully good!  I can’t wait to post pictures from the tunnel, and I can’t wait for all of this candy to go away because the amount I have eaten is getting silly.  I feel like I need awesome salad ideas and great veggie recipes.  That will be for November.  Here is a shot of Walker’s “army man” pumpkin. Hope everyone has a great night!

 

Halloween Costumes and Pumpkin Cheese Puffs

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Halloween has always been Walker’s favorite holiday especially since we have moved back to Charleston.  He loves the carnival at school and of course the candy is great, but Walker actually doesn’t go in for trick or treating. Every year, Walker and my dad build a haunted tunnel up the front steps of my parents house, and Walker hides in the tunnel and scares the trick-or-treaters.  As he has gotten older, he has gotten much scarier in the tunnel.  We now have to ask children and their parents whether or not they want a big scare or a little scare.  If they want a big scare, then Walker has full reign to jump out and scare the living daylights out of them.  If they actually don’t want to be scared, then we have to yell to Walker in the tunnel to “tone it down” at which point he comes out completely disgusted and lets the children through the tunnel without scaring them.  While all this is going on, Corby, my dad and mom, and myself are sitting on the front porch (at the top of the tunnel) drinking wine and handing out candy.  By the end of the night, we are laughing so hard at Walker scaring people that he gets mad that we are ruining it and not making it scary enough.  To be honest, with this whole tradition, Halloween is my favorite holiday as well.  Here are some pictures of Walker through the years- first when I got to dress him up in whatever I thought was cute- then we moved on to a “Star Wars” stage (my favorite is the jazz hands Darth Vader), and then we got scary- initially with the Headless Horseman, and now he is just a zombie.  This year, I think I will add to the wine and candy aspect of the evening with this great recipe for Pumpkin Cheese Puffs that I found on www.tasteofhome.com.

Pumpkin Cheese Puffs

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 drops yellow paste food coloring
1 drop red paste food coloring
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
2 eggs
20 sprigs fresh Italian parsley, stems removed

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and vinegar. Cover and refrigerate. In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine the yellow and red food coloring; stir Romano cheese and food coloring into dough. Add eggs, one at a time; beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny.
Drop by level tablespoonfuls 3 in. apart onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
Using a star tip and reserved cream cheese mixture, pipe stems onto puffs. Add parsley sprigs. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 10 servings.

Weekend Reading and Blackberry Farm Pumpkin Pudding

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Most weekends, outside of Walker’s football or other various sporting activities, we try to keep our days pretty free since we are usually so busy during the week.  A lot of this free time, Corby designates to reading time.  He can spend hours and hours reading the Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition or various magazines that have come in throughout the week.  Sometimes, when I would like to be doing something outside, I can get very slightly annoyed by all this superfluous reading, but most of the time, and this weekend being a prime example, the reading pays off.  Walker, who was waiting for Corby to take him to the aquarium, was less enthusiastic about waiting, but he is not as into recipe finds as I am.  In the Wall Street Journal Weekend edition this past weekend, they had an interview with Blackberry Farm’s Sam Beall.  What is not good about Blackberry Farm- I mean, this is a place that has gift bags waiting for you when you leave.  Dying to go!  It is a great interview, and if you can find a copy, it is definitely worth reading.  The best part is the recipe for Blackberry Farm’s Steamed Pumpkin Puddings with Tennessee Rum Hard Sauce.  This needs to be shared!  I am so excited to try this!

Steamed Pumpkin Puddings with Tennessee Rum Hard Sauce

Ingredients:

2 tbsps unsalted butter, melted, plus 8 tbsps unsalted butter at room temperature

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1 cup natural cane sugar

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup buttermilk

Roasted pumpkin seeds to garnish

For the hard sauce:

4 tbsps unsalted butter at room temperature

3/4 cup confectioners sugar

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

2-3 tsps fine dark rum

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Brush insides of six 6oz ramekins with melted butter.  Invert ramekins on a baking sheet and refrigerate to set butter (about 5 minutes).

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and coriander.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment or large bowl with a hand mixer, beat 8 tbsps butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, followed by yolk and vanilla, beating well and scraping down side of bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition.  Beat in pumpkin puree and scrape down bowl.

4. Add flour mixture in thirds, alternating with buttermilk, beating each time only until the batter is smooth.

5. Divide batter among ramekins, keeping rims clean.  Pick up each ramekin and gently tap on counter to remove any air bubbles.

6. Take a lidded baking dish or Dutch oven large enough to hold ramekins with at least 1/2 inch of space between and line it with a folded kitchen towel (to hold ramekins steady).  Arrange ramekins in baking dish.  Pour enough very hot tap water into baking dish to come halfway up the sides of ramekins.  Cover baking dish tightly with lid.

7.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a pudding comes out clean and the top springs back when gently pressed, 30-40 minutes.  Remove lid and let puddings cool in water bath for 20 minutes.

8. Make hard sauce: In a medium bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer set to high speed until fluffy.  Reduce speed to low and add confectioners’ sugar.  When sugar is incorporated, increase speed to high, and beat until light and fluffy.  Add nutmeg and rum and beat a few more seconds.

9. Invert each ramekin onto a dessert plate and garnish with pumpkin seeds.  Serve with hard sauce.

 

Charleston- Best City in the World!

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Conde Nast Traveler just named Charleston, SC the best city in the world (http://www.cntraveler.com/readers-choice-awards/top-cities-in-the-world-charleston-cape-town-bangkok-vancouver-photos#slide=1). Pretty impressive, and I completely agree, and I am not surprised.  Where else could my sweet Walker play on Civil War cannons looking out over the harbor- this city is amazing.  It is actually surprising how long it has taken for people to acknowledge this fact, a fact we in Charleston have known for quite a while.  And Between Mike Lata of FIG, Sean Brock of Husk, Ken Vedrinski of Lucca, Craig Deihl of Cypress and on and on, Charleston is also in my opinion the best food city in the world.  While the amazing food aspect of Charleston is relatively new- like in the last 15 years, the best parts of Charleston, the charm, the quaintness, and the history have always been here.  If you haven’t been to Charleston, you should.  Here is a very old school Charleston Shrimp and Grits recipe that would win Charleston awards even if it was a hole in the ground!  Very proud of my city.

Old Charleston Style Shrimp & Grits

Ingredients:

1 cup coarsely ground grits
3 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups half-and-half
 2 pounds uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
salt to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 lemon, juiced
1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices
5 slices bacon
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Bring water, grits, and salt to a boil in a heavy saucepan with a lid. Stir in half-and-half and simmer until grits are thickened and tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.
Sprinkle shrimp with salt and cayenne pepper; drizzle with lemon juice. Set aside in a bowl.
Place andouille sausage slices in a large skillet over medium heat; fry sausage until browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.
Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Retain bacon drippings in skillet. Transfer bacon slices to paper towels, let cool, and crumble.
Cook and stir green, red, and yellow bell peppers, onion, and garlic in the bacon drippings until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes.
Stir shrimp and cooked vegetables into the andouille sausage and mix to combine.
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; stir in flour to make a smooth paste. Turn heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is medium brown in color, 8 to 10 minutes. Watch carefully, mixture burns easily.
Pour the butter-flour mixture into the skillet with andouille sausage, shrimp, and vegetables. Place the skillet over medium heat and pour in chicken broth, bacon and Worcestershire sauce, cooking and stirring until the sauce thickens and the shrimp become opaque and bright pink, about 8 minutes.
Just before serving, mix sharp Cheddar cheese into grits until melted and grits are creamy and light yellow. Serve shrimp mixture over cheese grits.

Lowcountry Local First Field Feast- Food is Good

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We went to the 4th annual Lowcountry Local First Field Feast on Sunday, and it was as expected- AMAZING!! The setting was spectacular out at Rosebank Farm on Wadmalaw Island.  The tent  was set up by the river, we enjoyed cocktails on the lawn with Long Miles played, and then we moseyed down to the dock for a cool breeze and a raw bar.  I had gone over the menu when we arrived, and by the time we sat down, I almost couldn’t contain my excitement for the meal.   Fire charred bread was served with pumpkin seed condiment and a yogurt dip.  We snacked on this yumminess while introductions and thank yous were given, and then we heard from the farmer about the cow named Link that we were about to enjoy.  Okra soup followed, and then we were onto the meat.  Plate after plate of the best meat and sauces and vegetables and beans came out of the side yard where it was all prepared by Chef Mike Lata and his unbelievable staff from FIG (which stands for Food Is Good and they are so right).  I am in awe of this group.  It was a little warm on Sunday, the bugs were out, and the serving staff from FIG had been there all day on their day off no less.  While they passed around the drinks and appetizers, helped cook and serve us all dinner (and there were about 180 of us), dealt with the rain that came pouring down right after the soup course- they all smiled, were cheerful, were the best wait staff I have ever seen.  I could not be more impressed.  Now, I need to make special mention of dessert.  Because I am still dreaming about it.  On the menu, it just said Sea Island Milk Candy.  I was curious.  When dessert was served, it was cream stuffed crepes with a caramel sauce that was just special.  I don’t want to even degrade it by superfluous adjectives.  It was just special. This is by far and away my favorite event in Charleston, and if you are ever able to go, I would jump on the tickets as fast as possible, and if you can’t make it, then you should just eat at FIG because it is the next best thing.

The Whole Pig

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I have eaten a lot of pulled pork in the last two weekends.  It has been pretty awesome.  What I have been amazed at is the different ways said pork has been prepared and how tasty each different one is.  The first round of BBQ sandwiches was last weekend when we spent the day on the dock down in Wadmalaw.  My fantastic friends Brooke and Jodie said they were bringing some BBQ which was great because while I had dinner planned out, I had not done anything for lunch.  When we all got hungry from not catching any fish, Brooke ran up to the house to heat up the BBQ.  He came down with Jack Daniels new line of “ready to eat meats” Pulled Pork (http://jackdanielsmeats.com/products/PulledPork/index.html).  I must admit I was skeptical as I am not usually a fan of that kind of stuff, but this was really good.  The sauce was great, the meat was delicious, and it was so easy, and also the perfect size for just a few people.  Definitely a great thing to have in the fridge when you have a craving for BBQ.

The second event for pulled pork was this past Saturday night.  My brother and his wife have just recently moved to Charleston, and they had a house warming party.  Mac and cheese, biscuits, and pulled pork were on the dinner menu, and bourbon banana pudding and apple pie was for dessert.  It was pretty special.  Corby has cooked pulled pork on the grill a couple of times before, and it has been really delicious, but it takes forever!  He has to let it marinade in a brine for 24 hours and then he puts it on the grill for 8-10 hours, and it is just a huge effort that doesn’t happen very often.  Clearly, the low and slow technique is what good BBQ is all about, so why had I never thought to cook it in my crock pot like my sister in law did for Saturday night- genius!  As much as I love my crock pot and BBQ, I can not believe I have never done this!  Here is a great recipe I found for crock pot pulled pork- it is at the bottom.

Now, the third eating of pulled pork was last night at a Lowcountry Local First (www.lowcountrylocalfirst.org) event out at some friend’s house on Sullivans Island.  It was a great event to raise money for LLF which is a great group supporting local farmers and connecting them with restaurants and people to buy local and eat local.  The hosts had spent some time getting ready for the party.  The house is amazing and looked beautiful, they had a great band, and they had cooked an entire pig in a pit in their yard.  A big, huge pig in a hole- slow cooked for hours and hours.  It was pretty impressive and oh my god good.  So basically, from store bought to crock pot to whole pig in the ground- pulled pork BBQ is pretty awesome no matter what.

Crock Pot Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

1 pork roast or butt (size depends on how much you want)

1 large Vidalia onion, sliced thin
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (4-6 lb) boneless pork butt or shoulder
¾ cup cider vinegar
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoons dry mustard
½ teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

Rinse pork roast under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.

Place onions in crock-pot. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, kosher salt and pepper; mix thoroughly. Rub mixture all over roast and place the roast on top of the onions.

In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, Worcestershire, red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic salt and cayenne pepper; whisk to combine. Drizzle about 1/3 of vinegar mixture over roast. Cover and refrigerate remaining vinegar mixture.

Cover crockpot; cook on low for 10-12 hours. Drizzle about 1/3 of reserved vinegar mixture over roast during last ½ hour of cooking.

Remove meat and onions; drain. Chop or shred meat and onions. Serve with remaining vinegar mixture or your favorite barbeque sauce.