Charleston and Spoleto 2018

 

This year we decided to return to Charleston for four days of Spoleto. It is always a treat to return to the Holy City and enjoy some gardens, plays, and music. The open gardens were very similar behind and beside the Charleston single houses. My take away, garden wise, were the window boxes. They were everywhere. We heard that there are several companies servicing these, watering, trimming, changing out plants. We heard the Westminster Choir again, but the play/musical/ballet, The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, a story of the painter Marc Chagal and his wife Bella was the hit for us this year. The choir of St. Phillip’s on Sunday morning was excellent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is also the food! Charleston is known for a food destination these days so we did try some new restaurants and some old favorites.

We did return to our old favorite, Graze, in Mt. Pleasant, SC for lunch (which I have mentioned before) and we were not disappointed with the food. We knew not to order so much food. Instead of the pulled pork and collards “mac and cheese” we ordered only one lobster “mac and cheese.” It was delish and I have a recipe for this dish below.

Our son now lives in Charleston so he and his wife had made reservations at McCrady’s which is an old favorite and one of Sean Brock’s restaurants. I was a little disappointed in the food, service, and just the whole scene. The music was loud and one could not talk. My pork tenderloin was fatty and tough. They also had mac and cheese but not as good as Graze. I will hold off on this restaurant for awhile.

 

 

Now, Sean Brock also has Minero, a Mexican restaurant on E. Bay Street and we had wonderful shrimp and cauliflower tacos and a huge burrito that we shared. This is a great restaurant for lunch. Also we had lunch on Sunday at Husk, another Sean Brock restaurant and it was delightful even if the service was a little slow. My shrimp salad with radishes, fennel, and cucumbers was just fresh and light and perfect. Everyone enjoyed their meal so I would definitely return to this restaurant. We have included it on every visit to Charleston since it opened.

We tried a new French restaurant called Chez Nous, in an old house on Payne Street. They only have two appetizes and two mains to choose from. So a limited menu which changes every day. People follow it every day to see what is on the menu. I had mussels and a duck in pastry. It was fine but not worth the trip over with Uber!!

Our last evening we drove out to Edmund’s Oast, which is a local restaurant with an interesting menu. They also had mac and cheese with peas and curry. This was delicious. Mac and cheese seemed to be the go to thing in Charleston. My husband had a wonderful chicken dish in a coconut curry sauce, but I choose a shrimp, crab, and curry salad which was mostly carrots but still good. This was not our first time and I would return again.

So that is what eating out is all about! You win and lose but all in all it is a learning experience. These recipes are my takeaway from Charleston. It is a wonderful city and one you should visit.

 

Shrimp Salad with Cucumbers, Fennel, and Radishes

Serves 8

2 lbs. small shrimp, shell on

Kosher salt

2 fennel bulbs, sliced ¼ “thick

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced

1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

Coarsely ground black pepper

½ cup small dill sprigs

Cook Shrimp in a large pot of salted boiling water until pink and cooked thoroughly about 3 minutes. Drain and let cool.

Peel and devein shrimp and place in a large bowl. Add fennel, fennel fronds, cucumber, radishes, onion, and lemon juice and toss with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and toss. Add dill and lemon zest and toss again. Top with more pepper before serving.

Salad can be made 4 hours head. Cover and chill.

 

Lobster Mac and Cheese

Serves 6-8

Kosher salt

Vegetable oil

1 pound cavatappi or elbow macaroni

1 quart milk

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided

½ cup all-purpose flour

12 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated 4 cups

8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, gated (2 cups)

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon nutmeg

 1 ½ pounds cooked lobster meat

1 ½ cups panko bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the pasta and cook according to directions on the package, 6-7 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don’t boil. In a large pot, melt 6 tablespoons of butter and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. Still whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, the pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and lobster and stir well. Place the mixture in 6 to 8 individual gratin dishes.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the panko crumbs, and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

 

 

Summer Jefferson Symposium 2018

In 2011 we attended our first Jefferson symposium at the University of Virginia. We decided to return this year and see what was new at Monticello and what was new on Jefferson.

Only appropriate that we talk about Jefferson at this time of the year---the 4^th of July, the Declaration of Independence. And if you didn’t know Jefferson died on July 4^th, on the 50^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. His friend, John Adams, also died that day. Monticello has many visitors every year. The Foundation that owns and interprets it, continues to investigate, and interpret the plantation, the only President’s home that is a World Heritage Site. Visitors have been coming to the mountain top even before Jefferson died to see where this founding father lived, thought, and worked. More is being done now to interpret the contributions that the women made and the role that the enslaved had on the mountain. As one of our speakers noted, it is important to recognize these contributions; let us not forget that it is Jefferson, the President, the ambassador to Paris, the author of the Declaration of Independence, the author of the religious freedom in the Virginia Constitution, the founder of the University of Virginia, the President who was responsible for the Louisiana Purchase, the sponsor of the Lewis and Clark exploration, who is at the center of this place.

It was a delightful weekend. Many of the participants chose to stay in one of the coveted rooms on the Lawn. (The Lawn is the center of the university; the rest is the grounds, not the campus.)  We stayed in a dorm room but only the bed was hard. We at least had air and a bathroom which the Lawn rooms do not. We were trying to pretend we were college students again.

This symposium focused on Jefferson and his retirement years which included one of the three things he thought important enough to carve on his tombstone---the founding of the University of Virginia. As well as looking at Monticello with a special tour and guide, the lectures covered the building of the University and the role that the enslaved played in the building and the running of the University.

One morning was spent at the Jefferson Library, located on an estate near Monticello. There they are working on editing the papers of Jefferson. A surprise was finding that this was a retreat for President Franklin Roosevelt. It belonged to one of his generals and was close to Washington. It was where he was to give his D-Day speech until the date was changed.

Our foods were mostly good. Our dinner at the Rotunda in the Dome Room was the best, with a great salad and a tender steak. Our lunches were Greek one day and sandwiches on the other days. But you have to be flexible to feed 45 people. We had a barbecue dinner on the rooftop of the Graduate Hotel which had a great appetizer of pimento cheese fritters.

 

Our last night at Montalto (the high mountain that Jefferson owned but did not build on) had a fabulous view but food was just so-so. We had salmon with an asparagus pea risotto which was not that tasty. I am sure if we could have dined in Charlottesville in some of the finer restaurants our food would have been better but that is for another time.

Here are some of my take away for the food for the Jefferson weekend.

Great appetizer from the Rotunda: Cut a piece of pita bread in squares, add some hummus on top and then place some really small slices of zucchini (yellow or green) on top with small bites of red onion and red pepper. Delicious.

 

At The Graduate Hotel our appetizer was pimento cheese fritters. I asked how it was done and the chef said you must freeze your pimento cheese first. Then roll in bread crumbs and fry for 2 minutes. Also delicious. Add some Tabasco, too.

I bought a new cookbook called “Dishing up Virginia”. Of course there was a section on Monticello and the food produced there. According to the folks at Monticello, salads of the time included a mix of “garden stuff,” such as lettuce, spinach, herbs, and sprouts. Dressings were often made with a base of sesame seed oil, extracted by pressing the seeds at the estate. Benne (the Bantu word for sesame, which is still used In the South) probably came to this country with African slaves in the seventeenth century.

Mixed Garden Salad with Monticello Dressing from Dishing Up Virginia by Patrick Evans-Hylton

4-6 servings

Monticello Dressing:

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon white pepper

¼ teaspoon sugar

Salad:

1 head butter or Bibb lettuce

1 head Belgian endive

1 bunch watercress

2 cups red oak or red leaf lettuce

2 cups baby spinach

4 scallions, chopped, white and light green parts only

Whisk the olive oil, vinegar, sesame oil, Dijon, salt, white pepper and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.

Tear the butter lettuce and endive into bite-size pieces. Toss with the watercress, red oak lettuce, baby spinach, and scallions. Divide among serving plates and drizzle with dressing. (Reserve any remaining dressing for another use.) Serve immediately.

Have a great 4^th!