Yesterday Chef Chris Wilson was in Jackson, Mississippi for the Viking Classic Golf Tournament. He was among many chefs from all over the South asked to participate in this event. Chef Chris prepared a classic Southern dish “Shrimp and Grits” as such, I thought it would be interesting to find out a little history behind this dish and this is what I discovered.

HISTORY OF SHRIMP AND GRITS

• Shrimp and Grits originated in South Carolina, particularly Charleston
• It is thought the settlers of South Carolina were introduced to a version of grits by the Native Americans.
• This simple dish was eaten by local fisherman for breakfast and was often referred to as “Breakfast Shrimp”
• Shrimp and Grits were traditionally made with river shrimp and old fashioned stone ground grits fresh from the mill flavored simply with just a little bacon fat.
• Most communities in South Carolina had a grist mill where hominy was ground. Grits have become an iconic symbol of Southern food and stone ground grits are a must for this dish.
• In 1985, Craig Claiborne published an article about this dish in the New York Times turning this simple recipe into a Southern icon. Chefs across the South began creating their own upscale versions. Soon Shrimp and Grits began to appear on dinner menus in the South’s most celebrated restaurants.
• Today, rather than flavoring the grits humbly with bacon fat, they are flavored with cream, butter, spices and good shrimp stock and have been embellished with spicy andouille sausage, hot sauces, and green onions. Every chef seems to have their own version. There is even a festival dedicated in its honor celebrating every possible rendition of the now hugely popular dish.

I’ve been a big fan of the Sazerac cocktail since my first sip.  It’s a cocktail rich with history and flavor.

I thought I’d share my photo journey of some of the different Sazeracs I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing over time (forgive the quality of the photos, they were all taken with my camera phone).

 

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Picture 1 from 8: This is a sazerac I prepared in my very fitting fleur de lis glass.

This post wouldn’t be complete with out a recipe:

Sazerac Cocktail Recipe

• 1 lump sugar
• 3 drops Peychaud’s bitters
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 1 jigger rye whiskey
• 1 dash Herbsaint or Pernod or Absinthe
• 1 strip lemon peel

Fill a small old-fashioned glass with cracked ice and set aside. In another small old-fashioned glass, put the lump of sugar and just enough water to moisten it. With a spoon, crush the sugar, then add the Peychaud’s bitters, Angostura bitters, whiskey, and several ice cubes. Stir. Never use a shaker. Empty the first glass of ice, add the Herbsaint or Pernod, twirl the glass around, and shake the liqueur out. Strain the whiskey mixture into the glass, twist in the lemon peel, and serve immediately.

Yield: 1 drink

For more info on the Sazerac cocktail you can go here and here.

As a kid, I grew up eating Hubig’s Pies, as did my parents and my parent’s parents.  I got a major craving for them after reading this story from the New Orleans magazine The Gambit.  Now that I live in New York City, it’s difficult for me to get my hands on this tasty treat, but luckily I have a good friend who did me a huge favor and sent me these (minus the one apple pie I couldn’t wait to eat):

Check out this great video by writer Katie Van Syckle and director Bob Weisz on how Hubig’s Pies are made:

My favorite foodie friend Arianna brought me back a bottle of Loganberry Liqueur after visiting Clear Creek Distillery in Portland, Oregon.  And along with that bottle, she told me how the loganberry came to be.

Contrary to what I would have guessed, the loganberry is not a wild berry but in fact a cross between a raspberry and blackberry.  It was originally created by a horticulturist named James Harvey Logan in Santa Cruz, California, sometime in the late 1800’s.

We tried to make Loganberry margaritas with the liqueur, but found that the flavor or tequila was a little overpowering.  Maybe next time we’ll keep it simple and just sip it on the rocks with a sprig of mint and a little sugar.

Did you know that President Obama and family have an “Official White House Photostream” page on Flickr?   You can view photos posted almost daily of the goings-ons at the White House!  And if you are like me, you’ll be very interested in what dessert he’s serving at his next dinner party or what Michelle and local students are planting this spring in the beds of the White House Vegetable Garden.  How cool is that?!

Did you know that our 32nd president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, had an interesting taste for foods?  He was known to have had three favorites–frog legs, pig knuckles and scrambled eggs.  I wonder if he ever ate them mixed together…

I don’t really know if this is true because I can’t exactly ask Mr. Roosevelt myself, but it’s one of many trivial facts I found from my boyfriend’s iPhone application “Awesome Facts,” which has been keeping me entertained for the last couple of days.

This weekend is the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival.  Ponchatoula is about 45 minutes from New Orleans - a great little town that has been celebrating our magnificent, solid-through-the middle strawberries, for over 30 years.  After some rather intriguing politics and legal wrangling, Ponchatoula was declared “The Strawberry Capital of the World” in 1968.  Click on that link for very interesting reading about how the whole thing went down.  The Strawberry Festival is a dizzyingly delicious event with all sorts of local foods and most important, all things strawberry, including the “bake off” winners in categories for Strawberry Cake; Strawberry Jelly/Jams; Strawberry Pie; Strawberry Muffin, Loaves & Cookies; Strawberry Misc.; and other Strawberry Dessert.  Inspired by the bright red berries stunning bright, floral flavor, I’m heading to Ponchatoula to taste all the spectacular foods and pick up a flat of strawberries so I can whip up Emeril’s Strawberry Shortcake with Fresh Strawberry Bread.  Heavenly.

This is a St. Lucy’s “eye pie.”  St. Lucy is the patron Saint of eye ailments and blindness and even though her Feast Day is December 13, the pies appear on St. Joseph’s altars (yesterday was St. Joseph’s Day) because she is a Sicilian Saint.  The ancestors of Sicilian immigrants who settled in New Orleans in the 1800’s are vibrant and St. Joseph’s Day is a big deal, celebrated with meatless dishes and many symbolic cookies, cakes and breads.  The St. Lucy’s Eye Pie is fig-filled, and, if made traditionally, has a chick pea flour crust.  People with eye ailments are said to abstain from wheat as homage to St. Lucy.

I just started reading a new book on food history called Moveable Feasts by Sarah Murray.  I’ve only read 22 pages of the book and I’ve already learned that the banana is actually a giant herb; Spain actually produces more olive oil than Italy; and that Yves Saint Laurent was forced by French champagne grape growers to change the name of one of his fragrances called Champagne to Yvresse in the 90’s!

So far, the book is absolutely fascinating and explores the movement of food from ancient Roman times to modern day.  It compares age-old practices with current systems, which in some cases haven’t changed much.  It brings to light many of the hidden secrets kept by food producers and distributors—both savory and sweet.   And above all, it is stuffed full of enticing information that will certainly make you think differently about your future food purchases…

In New Orleans, there’s a Holiday tradition (”Carnival” being a perfectly legitimate holiday) for celebrating and feasting on Oyster Patties  - oysters gently cooked in a thick Bechamel-like sauce flavored with oyster liquor and of course, a healthy dose of seasoning (salt, pepper, onions, parsley and cayenne).  That sauce is ladled generously over what is locals call “patty shells,” but are otherwise known as vol-aux-vents.  Back in the day, New Orleanians bought patty shells (both large and small) from beloved but “ain’t dere no more” Mckenzie’s Bakery, a local classic.  Nowadays, finding freshly baked patty shells is more of a challenge, but it can be done with a little effort.  The pictured Oyster Patties were recently served at a family dinner and are the 100 year-old recipe of “Nanny,”  (my husband’s great-grandmother) from a recipe handed down by her mother, who got it from her mother before her…buttered Le Sueur peas served alongside.  Chef Emeril’s recipe deliciously subs crawfish tails for oysters, and shrimp or crab meat will work too.  If freshly baked puff pastry shells aren’t available, there are ready-to-bake versions in the freezer section of the grocery.