A Low Country Market, Shrimp and Blue Grits, Pimento Cheese and More.
Superior Grits with No Sweat
Welcome to Delicious Bits.
This issue’s five surprises include a visit to a Low Country Fresh Market in Bluffton, my recipe and hack for perfect Shrimp and Blue Grits, a shout-out to Pimento Cheese, and a homemade version of Thousand Island that will make you happy if you give this retro dressing a second chance, and a link to another fine foodie friend I think you’d like to know about.
Low Country Fresh Market & Café, Bluffton, SC
Today’s adventure takes us inside the spacious market to peruse a gamut of gourmet foods to jazz the soul of Low Country cooks and foodies who want to eat like they are on vacation. I haven’t yet had the pleasure of lunch in the café, but it is on my go-to list when I can grab a friend.
Bring your Bunko winnings.
There’s quite a bit to choose from here, and many of the items are in the “splurge” category for me, and that’s both on the pocketbook and the waistline. You’ll find some very nifty gifty items, too. (I sprung for the Woodford Bourbon-soaked cherries over the holidays.) Today they were featuring fancy-colored chocolate, caramel, and M&M embellished popcorn—it might be a neat Easter Basket treat.
Check out the refrigerator case.
If you’re looking for a prepared meal that you can warm up after a busy day, there’s chicken pot pie, smoked turkey, pulled pork, roasted rosemary potatoes, veggie quiche, and a nice variety of freshly prepared salads, including a kale salad that appears to be chock full of nourishing goodies, a colorful beet and carrot salad, and the classics— broccoli salad, chicken salad, coleslaw, and macaroni salad. And, if you’ve got a cooler in the car, go ahead, and grab that pint of mint chocolate chip Leopold’s…
LCF Green Seasoning.
This is a mix of greens and herbs and includes habaneros, so it’s chimichurri-like but with a kick. I’m currently marinating chicken tenders in this, and imagine it would work well for pork, beef, and even shrimp. You could use it straight up as a dip for corn chips, but I think it needs a bit of salt and a minute in the micro to open the flavor fully.
Enjoy the Shop.
This is a place where you can land in the middle of running your errands and grab a nice coffee or wine by the glass while you decide what flavor of peanuts to buy or if you really need a nice dessert from their bakery case. (Of course, you do!) Expect all the usual Carolina suspects, stone ground grits, heirloom rice, hot sauces, pecans, peach preserves, barbeque rub, fresh local shrimp, and then a freezer section packed with meats to throw on the grill, including an exceptional selection of bison.
Featured Recipe
Shrimp and Grits
This recipe features my hack of making stone ground grits in the rice cooker. (Directions also included for the traditional cooking of the grits.) What I love about the rice cooker is that you get perfect grits that can be held warm (for hours, even!) so that you can have a glass of wine on the patio with your loved one, then slip back to the kitchen when you’re ready to sauté your shrimp.
Description:
Sauteed shrimp swimming on a bed of creamy Sea Island Blue grits from Edisto Island.
Serves: 2
Portion Size: 1 cup cooked grits with 6-8 shrimp.
Ingredients
For the Rice Cooker grits:
½ cup stone ground heirloom grits
1 cup chicken or seafood stock
1 cup water
½ cup whole milk + (optional) a splash of heavy cream
2 pinches of salt
1 to 2 TBS butter
Directions:
Put all the ingredients in your rice cooker and set it to white rice for 50 minutes.
For Traditional Cooking of the grits:
Use all the above but adjust the water to ½ cup. Bring your grits to a hard boil, then simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed but the grits are creamy.
For the shrimp:
2 TBS Butter
2 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS crushed garlic
1 cluster of spring onions, chopped, using the whole stem.
Directions
Quickly sauté your peeled and deveined shrimp in butter, lemon, and garlic until the shrimp turns pink. You could consider a little cayenne pepper, paprika, or Old Bay seasoning if you wish. I did a sprinkle of Old Bay.
Now’s the time to taste-test your grits and add cheese and butter if desired. Don’t be surprised if they are so darn good, you decide they need nothing more.
Spoon a heap of grits into a bowl, then top them with a desirable mound of your shrimp. Finish with chopped spring onion. Be generous with the onion, it really makes the dish.
Say Pimento Cheese!
My ex-husband introduced me to Pimento cheese by way of a lunch spot in Columbia that served Pimento Burgers. We both worked downtown and would meet at the Palmetto grill, where people would be lined up around the wall waiting to order the dripping-in-cheese burgers and the generous side of greasy fries.
While my lunchtime diet has become more sensible since those crazy days in the late 1980s, I’ve retained an appreciation for the Southern tradition of keeping Pimento cheese at the ready.
Last week, we were invited to a friend’s place for cocktails. I rubbed a tray of sourdough bread with smashed garlic, drizzled it with good olive oil, and slipped it into the toaster oven to make a plate of crostini. When it was time to head out, all I had to do was plate the crostini alongside a bowl of Pimento cheese, and we were ready to roll.
Thousand Island Dressing was Never My Fav…
But here’s the breakthrough; homemade is 1000X better!
I discovered this while making the best Reuben sliders ever on St. Patty’s Day. Just have to share this with you because you probably have everything in your fridge to do this right now.
1 C Mayo-Dukes it is for me.
¼ C Ketchup-Heinz, I’m originally a PA girl.
½ C Relish-Wickles is the best if you can find it.
½ T garlic salt
1 T lemon juice
½ small onion, diced
Mix this, adjust it to your own taste, then let it sit in the fridge for the flavor meld process. Serve it over sliced cucumbers and cherry tomatoes, perhaps with some sliced sweet onion. You’re welcome.
That brings us to our final bit for today.
I’m finding there’s a whole wide world of cooking talent out there besides the people on Food Network. I really dig Alison Roman; she has several cookbooks, but what I enjoy most are her videos. If only I could make it all seem so effortless…(sigh!)
Meanwhile, thanks for reading and sharing with friends if you feel so motivated!
Until next time, let’s enjoy the little things that make life more delish!
Susan