LowCountry Part II

New Year’s Day

It is from the Lowcountry tradition that we have inherited the New Year’s Day custom of eating Black-eyed peas and collard (or other) greens for good luck. The actual dish enjoyed in the Lowcountry is called “Hoppin’ John,” which is a combination of black-eyed peas (or cowpeas) and rice. The following menu was for our New Year’s Day celebration with our friend Gary Elgin, artist, meditation teacher and bon vivant. But, such a feast can be enjoyed anytime for a Lowcountry celebration with a contemporary feel.

Lowcountry Menu
Starter
Low Country Martinis
Hoe Cakes
Hoppin’ John
Red Tomato Chow Chow
Homemade Crème Fraiche
Main
Shrimp and Grits
Mixed Greens seasoned with Country Ham
Dessert
Warm Gingerbread with Lemon-Orange Sauce and Crème Fraiche

…as complicated or simplified as you might like

This is a menu that can be as complicated or simplified as you might like. The Lowcountry Martini is a variation of what is usually called a “Dirty Martini”. The Martini of course is an image straight out of our cultural mythology. Purist (and there are many) prefer and adamantly claim that a true Martini is fine quality Gin, a drop of dry vermouth, stirred not shaken and maybe garnished with an olive.

Lowcountry Martini

The “dirty” Martini is made dirty by the addition of some of the juice from the olive jar. Our Lowcountry variation substitutes some pickled garlic juice from Low Country Produce’s Pickled Garlic and uses Vodka instead of Gin. The following recipe is approximate.
Per drink, mix:
2 oz. Vodka or Gin
2 tsp. dry white Vermouth
2 tsp. juice from the pickled garlic jar
a clove of pickled garlic skewered on a fancy toothpick for garnish

(yes, we do prefer shaken)

Combine liquor, Vermouth and garlic juice in a shaker with ice and shake (yes, we do prefer shaken) until the outside of the cocktail shaker has frost on it. Strain the Martini into a frozen Martini glass and garnish with the skewered pickled garlic and serve. OR… prepare in whatever fashion that you enjoy the most.

Hoe cakes

The Starter course that accompanies the Martini consists of Hoppin’ John served on Hoe Cakes and topped with Low Country Produce Red Tomato Chow Chow and a dollop of Crème Fraiche.

Hoppin’ John

Hoppin’John or something similar to it is famous in the south as a “good luck” dish served on New Years Day. Recipes abound, but the basic procedure involves cooking Black-eyed peas and rice in a savory broth heavily flavored with smoked pork. We cook this down until it is thick and can be spooned onto small Hoe Cakes, which are fried cornmeal pancakes. Topped with Chow Chow and a bit of homemade Crème Fraiche, this first course is both hearty and delicious.

Homemade Crème Fraiche

Homemade Crème Fraiche in its most simple form is made by combining 1/3 of a cup of sour cream with 2/3 cup of heavy cream and sometimes a little lemon juice. Blend well and allow to sit covered overnight at room temperature. Not only is Crème Fraiche used in savory recipes, it is also great as a sauce with the gingerbread cake.

“no dish more typically Lowcountry than Shrimp and Grits”

Shrimp and Grits have become such an omnipresent item on so many restaurants’ menus that it is amazing to me that I had not even heard of the dish before about 20 years ago. I was however familiar with a traditional brunch favorite in New Orleans, Grillades and Grits, which is pieces of fried round steak served with a brown tomato sauce over grits. I served the dish at a catering/teaching event a number of years ago and a guest suggested that I try grits “Charleston style.” I did and have loved and cooked Shrimp and Grits ever since, as well as enjoying it at many South Carolina (and other) restaurants, although it is certainly not limited to the style of just Charleston. Author and Chef, John Martin Taylor in his cookbook says he knows of “no dish more typically Lowcountry than Shrimp and Grits.”

Lowcountry delight

The key to this Lowcountry delight is fine quality grits cooked with milk or cream and served with fresh shrimp. The grits sometimes have cheese added and there are many variations to cook the shrimp. We usually just sauté the shelled and deveined shrimp in olive oil with garlic and a little lemon juice, but you can add bacon, onions or herbs. To serve: place the hot grits in a bowl or on a serving plate and top with shrimp- or mold grits in a ramekin, unmold on a plate and arrange shrimp around the grits. Serve as is or top with a sauce. We have sauced ours with everything from Hollandaise to Lobster Bisque, as well as serving it without any sauce at all.

Many approaches to cooking greens

The perfect side dish to Shrimp and grits has to be collard greens or in our case we used a combination of greens because we still have a row of mixed greens in our garden, including collards. There are again, many approaches to cooking greens. Our favorite seems to be first cooking down the well washed greens whole in stock with some smoked pork Next, we cool and chop the greens and sauté them with onions and garlic in bacon fat. Collard greens in the Lowcountry fashion are usually torn into pieces and simmered in a pork seasoned stock until tender. Collards may take 1 to 2 hours to become tender.

Lowcountry… has only become familiar to me in the last few years

Lowcountry cuisine and culture has only become familiar to me in the last few years, partially due to my wedding to my wife Gail in Greenville, South Carolina and our honeymoon on Edisto Island. Trips to Pawley’s Island, Georgetown, Charleston and Savannah, Ga. have only increased my enthusiasm for the area and its people.

…a most remarkable chef

In researching this post I have come across the work of a most remarkable chef and writer, John Martin Taylor. I spoke with Chef Taylor a few weeks ago and ordered his authoritative cookbook on the Lowcountry, HOPPIN’ JOHN’S LOWCOUNTRY COOKING published by Houghton Mifflin. You can order this online at HoppinJohn.com or call him at 800.828.4412 and he will be happy to ship you an autographed copy. I can highly recommend this book as a reference for Lowcountry cooking as well as the source for many authentic recipes. Do visit the chef’s blog at www.hoppinjohns.net; I truly think it is one of the most entertaining and interesting food blogs out there.

…not a recipe that I gleaned from the Lowcountry

To finish our feast we enjoyed a Texas gingerbread cake based on my grandmother, Clara Lowery’s recipe. Definitely not a recipe that I gleaned from the Lowcountry, but this recipe is a tradition in our family and perfectly at home with our menu.

Gingerbread Cake

Yields 12 large pieces

½ cup (1 stick butter)
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup molasses
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground cardamom
½ cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-b-12-inch baking pan and line it with waxed paper.
2. With an electric mixer, cream butter and gradually add brown sugar.
3. Add molasses, eggs, vanilla and mix thoroughly.
4. Sift flour with baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon and ground cardamom.
5. Add flour mixture alternately with milk and beat just enough to blend after each addition.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve warm with a little Crème Fraiche and Lemon-Orange sauce.

Lemon-Orange Sauce

1 cup water
½ cup sugar
The juice from one lemon
2 Tblsps. cornstarch
2 to 3 tsps. Orange liqueur
Zest from 1 lemon (stripped from the lemon before you try to juice it)
2 Tblsps. butter

1. Combine water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
2. Combine lemon juice and cornstarch and thoroughly blend. Cook for several minutes until it thickens.
3. Stir in Orange liqueur, zest and butter. Stir a couple of minutes to blend and serve warm drizzled over Gingerbread Cake. The cake is great with this sauce and a bit of the Crème Fraiche.