Heritage

www.em-i-lis.com

One of the items on my Christmas list that I was most excited to receive was Heritage, the cookbook by Charleston chef, Sean Brock, that was released late last fall. I've eaten at both Husk and McCrady's, two of Brock's restaurants, and really loved them both. As I've come to learn more about Brock himself, I've developed an even greater respect for him as a cook but also as a seriously knowledgeable, regional food historian working to preserve the culinary traditions and ingredients native to the part of the American Southeast that runs from southwest Virginia through South Carolina.

Heritage is a beautifully rendered labor of love. The strains of personal narrative, farmer biography and food history are as engaging as the photographs which, though frequently highly stylized, seem to both entice the palate and make me feel confident that I, too, could cook the recipes. Included are some of the very dishes I enjoyed in Charleston. Heritage is also quite educational, and I have spent several nights curled up in bed with it, becoming more familiar with many of the ingredients I tasted in Brock's restaurants and in the greater Charleston area.

Brock's book suggests a number of specific corn, wheat and seed ingredients, and continuously recommends sourcing those items from Anson Mills. So after a recent night spent in bed with Heritage, I placed an order from Anson Mills, a farm/mill committed to reviving and growing new-crop heirloom grains, legumes, and oil seeds and then cold-milling them to order. If you are committed to the food world at all, you've probably come across Anson Mills' grits which are most definitely the "grit of choice" for serious chefs and grits-lovers.

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Founded by Glenn Roberts in 1998, Anson Mills has also been instrumental in resuscitating -indeed saving- Carolina Gold rice and Benne seeds (among others), two critical Antebellum-era crops. Brock is hugely in favor of that effort. I love the synergy of the Anson Mills-Brock relationship so was happy to direct order for both support and authenticity's sake.

I was particularly jazzed about the bags of Benne seeds I ordered. Benne, a West African ancestor to today's distant cousin, sesame, is closely related to okra and was grown as a subsistence crop in the 1800s. Because it's difficult to harvest, it ultimately lost its place as a heralded ingredient and crop. I first heard of benne when I tasted it, also for the first time, at The Ordinary (a fab seafood hall with magnificent ambiance) in Charleston. If you threatened me with everything you've got, I couldn't tell you what I ordered that contained benne seeds* -because really, oysters!- but with the bartender (because really, sitting at the bar! see A, B) we talked about benne and the unbelievable depth and nuttiness it imparts to Lowcountry food.

*Ok, because I blogged about that meal, I see that in fact I ordered black roux gumbo which was black because of the benne. #somanyreasonstoblog

Few grow it these days, but Anson Mills does, and as my mouth was watering over multiple recipes containing benne seeds and/or bennecake flour, it was clear that both would be an integral part of my order.

Today, before I knew that my A.M. shipment would be arriving, I headed to Capitol Hill to deliver a meal to a couple with a new baby girl -auguri! I keep quitting catering and then not. Bygones. Now I quit for real. Anyway, because I was so.far.downtown., I decided to make a stop at Union Market on the way home because I wanted to replenish my stock of Frantoio's marvelously peppery olive oil that I'd bought there last April. Sadly, that place seems to have left the premises, but I did discover two terrific meat stalls with really specialized cured meats and cuts all made from happy, humanely raised and slaughtered animals.

I admit to seriously loving short ribs so made a beeline for those at the first, Harvey's, but then and there, y'all!, the renowned BENTON'S bacon (from Tennessee; Brock calls for this very bacon in Heritage). Plus some other skin-on bacon from Pennsylvania. I immediately bought two pounds of Roseda Farm's short ribs and a pound of each type of bacon. The smokiness is incredible; were it visible, it'd be a large, plumey cloud of eye-closing, mouth-watering goodness.

www.em-i-lis.com

www.em-i-lis.com

Once home, I found and gleefully opened my box from Anson Mills, and really, everything came together. Soon enough I'll make the oyster-benne stew, and I'll let you know how it is, but tonight I used the short ribs and some of the Pennsylvania bacon to make an unctuous, five-hour stew that we will most definitely savor tomorrow night.

Food days such as these are really something. Love!

An excellent review of Heritagecan be found here.

Design complaint, lovely and light dinner, Charleston recap

You know what makes me nuts? When you buy a product - usually refrigerated, usually in a lidded, plastic container as the ones in which come cream cheese or the like - and the vacuumed-on plastic seal (the one between the product and the removable lid) doesn't have a pull-tab. Why does this peeve me so? Well, because those suckers are basically epoxied on. Don't get confident and think you can grasp the tiny lip o' plastic between two fingertips -hell, even between two sharp fingernails- and pry that puppy off. Don't circle the rim hoping for a weak spot. It's not happening. You're going to have to dirty a clean knife by slicing that plastic wrap off, neatly around the perimeter of the product of course. You don't want to make things worse by slicing and slashing whatever goodie lies beneath. This almost makes me even more frustrated; like I've got to surgically remove this plastic wrap as carefully as if I were operating on my flipping dog. No one needs it, Crave Brothers mascarpone, for example. Sorry to call you out; you irk me regularly so came quickly to mind. I do like your mascarpone, so at least you win one. In any case, I'll let that go for tonight, but poorly designed anything just needs to get the boot. Like the airport bathrooms in Frankfurt. Jesus H, who thought up those?

Tonight I both needed and desired a fabulously healthy and flavorful dinner. The bazillion percent sub-par burrito at Baja Fresh today did not, in any way, cut the butter. Even Ol, and J's friend, R, were like "heck no!" Jack dove head-on into his and devoured it but as he weighs about 12 ounces, that's good and I wasn't going to get in his way. We, all of us, did think he ate in a rather slobbish manner, and I was grateful friend R called him out on it. Go good friends!

So back to my dinner. I knew I didn't have all the makings for my attempt to recreate that ridiculously good crostini T and I had at Social on Sunday night: ricotta, sage, apple, butternut squash; but I did have a b'nut so roasted it up (with some dried sage) in anticipation of heading to the market tomorrow. Half I chopped in large chunks, while the other I diced to accommodate the category, topping. I had kale, had accidentally peeled a meyer lemon earlier rather than a clementine after having been ordered to make "TWO MORE fruit salads now, MOMMY" so needed to use that, some gorgeous pumpernickel and some lovely smoked salmon. Perfect- this tasted gooooood.

I may have also opened some red wine because really, it's a) arse-cold and b) I was a champ mom today and am now pooped and slightly overwhelmed by the thought of solo-parenting for the rest of the week.

We really did find some great spots in Charleston so I thought I'd post a last recap in case anyone is heading there and wants some scoop.

Places I highly recommend for food/drink/coffee/misc in all those categories:

Husk: what a fan-fucking-tastic place; awesome food, great service, awesome bar, terrific ambiance. F.I.G.: " " though definitely more hipster than Husk; sit at the bar. McCrady's: terrific spot for a more formal, old-school dining experience; great wine list; beautifully presented food; superb service. The Ordinary: if you like Frenchie meets a raw bar, you will love this; incredible style, rockin' atmo, great wine, fab seafood. Bull Street Gourmet and Market: ridiculously awesome wine selection (to buy by the bottle) for such a small joint; it's the best 7-11 you'll ever find as it's all hardwood, top-shelf food-for-purchase (and I was told I wouldn't find Geechie Boy grits anywhere, hmph; go Bull St), yummy food to order, and it delivers. You can sit or take, and you will want to. Social Wine Bar: yes, there's a TV in the corner (egads!) but you'll get over it because there's only one, the wine list is super unique and fun, the beers are great too, and whoa! on the appetizer-like yummies. Bartenders are cool and know their stuff, good vibe all around. Dixie Supply: there is not a Confederate flag to be found (amen), good low-country food abounds, and the chef/also the owner? is awesome. In fact, everyone there -workers and patrons- are awesome; friendly, enthusiastic, hell-yeah kinda folks. We devoured our respective slices of tomato pie and were sorry to miss the fried okra and other goodies. Not open Mondays or for dinner. Black Tap: fabulous coffee made by sincere hipsters (read: you get none of the BS associated with some hipster baristas who think they're saving the world via espresso). These guys are nice and can really pull a shot; love the spare yet friendly decor; love the neighborhood. One size, don't ask for skim, just go with it. Delish!

One final spot to seek out is Lily, a charming shop on King. You'll enter with nothing in mind but, while wandering about, feel you simply must buy everything offered. I know I walked out with the most random sampling of unnecessary-but-happy-to-own-it cool.