Sunday, September 20, 2009

Cooking from the Low Country

An interesting week....a bit of overachieving. I used 2 books for the menu "Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking' and 'Cooking from the Lowcountry from The Old Post Office Restaurant' Low Country is a term that refers to the coastal plains and sea islands of South Carolina and Georgia. The cuisine has roots in Western and Central Africa culture knows as Gullah. Gullah culture is known for storytelling, music, quilt making and sweet grass basket making.

Firefly Sweet Tea
Benne Crackers
Pimento Cheese Spread

Shrimp & Cheese Grits
Okra and Tomato Skillet
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Bourbon Balls

Sweet tea is a favorite in the south. Firefly Sweet Tea has the addition of vodka. I mixed it half and half with lite lemonade. A sort of Arnold Palmer taken up a notch. A refreshing drink with the crackers (Benne's are toasted sesame seeds and are thought to bring good luck) and pimento cheese (not the pale stuff you see in a jar in the dairy case) The cheese is another southern favorite and served alone or on hot dogs and burgers. I was very happy with all of these.

The Shrimp and Grits was an excellent choice and I had a lot of great dishes to choose from. The addition of sharp cheddar gave the grits a rich flavor. I used half cheddar and half the pimento cheese in the mixture. The grilled shrimp look great on top of the pale yellow grits.

The Tomato and Okra dish was not my favorite, but I have never liked okra... The seasonings were a bit sharp, but it is a pretty dish. The sweet potato bicuits were a nice surprise. The bits of potato gave the lightly browned biscuit some extra color.

I finished dinner (a couple of hours later) with a cup of tea and Bourbon Balls. A no bake cookie. The ingredients go in a food processor, rolled into balls and rolled in powdered sugar. Pretty strong cookies, but a simple end to a rich meal.

This was an educational week. I learned about the culture and history of the Low Country. Next week? Don't know. Stop by and take a look!

2 comments:

  1. Interesting sounding menu. An awful lot of food for on person. You're gonna have lunch for the next week and a half. Am sure I would love the Shrimp and Grits, as well as the bicuits. So what is the pimento cheese if it's not like the stuff in the jar? Can't imagine anything beyond that. I am with you on the okra. Just can't get enthused. Maybe I've just never had them done well. Looking forward to next weekend!

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  2. Most recipes serve 4 and I cut them in half. That leaves me meals for a weekend. Not necessarily consumed all at once. I do have leftover biscuits, but they freeze well. Quantities of the rest were manageable. Tell you a secret....the okra/tomato skillet went down the disposal!

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