Returning to My Roots...for the first time

Birthdays are funny things.  For me, no other day is filled with as wide a spectrum of feelings as September 24th.  Obviously there is excitement.  I think I will always feel that childlike bubbling over of "It's my birthday!  Did you know tomorrow is my birthday?!"  But then, reality sinks in and that big black rainy cloud moves over and bursts those "yay, its my birthday" bubbles and replaces them with "oh, yeah.  it's my birthday".  wow.  another year has gone by, and am I really that much closer to my life long goals...whatever they may be?  But alas, as fast as those dark clouds moved in, they are swept away and replaced with warm calming rays of sunlight.  Another year is ahead of me.  Another year that is untouched, and ripe with possibilities.

This year, I went back to my roots by spending my birthday weekend with my parents.  We loaded up the car and headed to Charleston SC.  It was my first time visiting the historic city but I am confident it won't be my last.  From the moment I heard about Husk Restaurant, I knew I had to go.  My parents recommended we make a weekend of it and go for my birthday.  Sold!

Never heard of Husk, you say?  Please.  Do yourself a favor and keep reading.  Two words:  Sean Brock.  The Executive Chef, and mastermind behind the keystone restaurant.  My ears perked up a few years ago when I heard Chef Sean Brock's name casually thrown out on the Food Network.  Sean?  The same Sean who used to live across the street from me during high school?  With cooking being one of my greatest passions, I immediately tuned in and became a Sean Brock groupie.  It was quite an inspiration to realize that someone I had known, had become such a successful chef.

Before long, Sean's name was everywhere.  I couldn't believe my ears when I heard he was a James Beard nominee.   But the surprises kept on coming as I read a few weeks later, he won!  What really won me over, however, was when I read about the creation of his newest restaurant, Husk.  It was as if all of my philosophies about food were wrapped up, and put into a neat little package called Husk.  Here, Sean offers a new menu daily, celebrating traditional southern cuisine.  If that weren't enticing enough, he only uses ingredients he can find below the Mason-Dixon Line.  Something else that sets him apart from the crowd, is that on his website and even on each menu, he celebrates the hard working folks who have brought the food from the farm to the kitchen and ultimately to the table.  Sean lists the farmers, fishermen, millers, etc. by name, who provide their goods, as well as links to their websites.  This is a service that is almost unheard of in the restaurant business.

If you can't tell, I'm smitten.  There wasn't a doubt in my mind, I HAD to go.

B L(icious) T

BLT's are truly one of life's simple pleasures.  There was a time in my life when I didn't like tomatoes.  I also didn't like mayonnaise.  With these being two major ingredients in a BLT you could place a pretty secure bet I would not like this southern classic.  Well my friend, you would be wrong.  I am not sure how it happens, but when the chewy bacon meets the tangy tomato, cool crisp lettuce, and smooth creamy mayo...OMG.  A little piece of heaven.

Hurricane Party

What better to do when a hurricane looms in the distance? Cook, eat, and catch up on DVR of course.

What to cook, what to cook, what to cook?  I love those times when dinner is a blank slate and you can literally choose anything you want.  After some serious deliberation, we finally decided on...Blueberry spinach salad with goat cheese, fried calamari, and penne with sun-dried tomato cream sauce with chicken.  mmmmkay?

This salad was so good, and actually just thrown together on a whim.  I visited a new store in Raleigh recently, which is amazing by the way, called Midtown Olive Press.  I picked up some blueberry balsamic and lemon olive oil while I was there.  

Don't get me wrong, both of these are so delicious I would have no problem turning up the bottles and just straight drinking them, BUT since I have guests and all, I needed to decide on a vehicle of consumption.  So, I opted for a flat out blueberry explosion.  I really cant give exact measurements here because we just through stuff in a bowl and hoped for the best.  But I will tell you, it didn't disappoint.  

Blueberry Explosion Salad:

Spinach

Sweet Onion

Toasted Walnuts

Blueberries

Blueberry Goat Cheese (I found this at Trader Joe's)

For the Dressing:

Blueberry Balsamic

Lemon Olive Oil

Honey

Lemon Juice

Salt and Peppa

For the next course, we turned up the heat a little.  Sue (sous) here, handled the dirty work.  

Due to the dietary restrictions of the one and only EmC, we looked for a gluten free calamari recipe.  Come on, once you batter this stuff up, submerge it in hot oil and dip it in marinara, are you really going to miss the gluten? I think not.  You can find the original recipe here.

Fried Calamari

1/3 lb calamari, cleaned

1/2 c rice flour

1/2 c cornmeal or fine polenta

1/2 t salt

1/2 t paprika

1 egg

1 T milk

oil for frying (I used only 1/2 inch in my pan and flipped them halfway through)

Slice your calamari tubes into slices about 1/3" thick, across the tubes so you make rings. Cut the tentacle parts in half. Combine the rice flour, cornmeal, salt and paprika in a ziplock bag. Zip closed and toss to mix. Beat the egg with the milk. Dip the calamari parts into the egg, then drop them in batches into the bag, seal, and shake. Repeat until all calamari is coated. Heat the oil until a bit of flour dropped in sizzles, then fry the calamari until lightly browned. It will only take a minute or so. Sprinkle with salt when they're still hot.

Last but not least, the good stuff.  Sun-dried tomatoes. cream. pecorino romano. spinach. pancetta. chicken.  

O M G.  It is exactly as good as it sounds.  This recipe had been submitted to the newspaper by a local restaurant.  Why they let this one slip I'm not sure.  But I am so glad they did.  Unfortunately I didn't get a great picture, but you will get the idea I think.  Yum.

Penne alla Casa
1 TBS olive oil
1/4 lb pancetta, diced
1/4 cup freshly chopped garlic
2 C heavy cream
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienne
1 1/2 C marinara sauce
Salt, pepper and granulated garlic, to taste
1/2 lb fresh spinach
1/2 C grated pecorino Romano cheese
1 lb penne pasta, cooked al dente and drained (we used brown rice pasta which was actually really good)
Grilled chicken or shrimp

Heat olive oil in a large pot over high heat.  Add pancetta and saute until crispy.  Remove and set aside.  Add garlic, and saute until it just begins to brown, being careful not to burn, about 1 minute.  Add cream and sun-dried tomatoes and bring to a boil.  BE CAREFUL!  It will boil over if you get distracted :)  Add marinara sauce.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until it thickens and is reduced by one fourth.  Season with salt, pepper, and granulated garlic.  Fold in spinach, pecorino, pancetta, and shrimp or chicken.  Heat just until spinach is wilted and cheese is melted.  Toss with pasta and serve hot.

                                                                           And thats all folks.