Sassy Southern Cooking with a French Twist

charleston

Cheese Glorious Cheese

Many mornings, I awake dreaming of cheese. It’s a strange admission, but it’s true. I believe my love of cheese goes back to my French years. Nearly every day of every seven of those years began with a toasted baguette and a layer of broiled, stinky, fabulous French cheese, drizzled with a bit of honey accompanied by a steaming bowl of cafe au lait. Not a bad way to start the day, non?

A few days ago, one of those sneaky cheese dreams jump-started my day, so I decided it was time to finally check out goat. sheep. cow, a ten month-old cheese/wine/charcuterie shop I’ve heard a lot about but had not yet visited. Subliminally, I think it’s because I was afraid I would be disappointed. Instead, I was utterly delighted.

Aptly named after the three milk-bearing animals whose milk is used to produce cheese (and just down the door from Dog & Horse art gallery – I kid you not!), the petite and cheerful space completely recalls a Parisian boulangerie/fromagerie. This particular block of Church Street, in all of its colonial splendor, is dappled with sunlight and draped with cheerful window boxes.

Pretty window boxes line this pretty stretch of Church Street, home of goat. sheep. cow.

 

The exterior of the shop has an appealing Parisian patina, as well.

Welcome to goat.sheep.cow. Come on in!

But, it’s what awaits inside that will give any cheese lover multiple reasons to beam. Gleaming cases stacked with well-labeled cheeses of every kind from all over the world tease with their endless edible possibilities – fondue, sandwich, casserole, quiche, or straight out of hand. Owners Patty Cohen (husband Mike, a certified sommelier, handles the wine side of things) and Trudi Wagner were on hand to hand-slice the cheese, kindly offering tastings to help me make what was becoming an agonizingly difficult cheese acquisition decision.

Pass the Cheese, Please!

Ultimately, I walked away with small, neatly wrapped wedges of Brebis, Raclette, Nuvola di Pecora and Rosso di Langa. But, that was just the beginning.  The shop also sells beautiful, golden, firm, oven-fresh baguettes tucked into brown paper sleeves in a brimming basket near the front door. The bread is shipped in from New York and baked off at the shop to ensure not only freshness but authenticity.

The irresistible allure of the bread basket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, I picked up a baguette, a bottle of Burgundy, and a small packet of whisper-thin, freshly sliced Finocchiona, a lovely Italian cured charcuterie laced with tiny points of fennel seeds. I decided to take my cheese cache home to make a sandwich. Sandwiches are not prepared in-house, but really, there is no need. Grab some cheese, bread, and wine and do as the French do and head on out to one of Charleston’s many lovely, nearby parks on one of Charleston’s many lovely days, and have a picnic.

Back at home, I halved a generous length of the fresh, delicious baguette, spread it with a generous layer of Dijon mustard, and stacked it with the  nutty, sweet Italian cow/sheep Rosso di Langa with a layer of charcuterie, poured a glass of wine, took a bite, and was back in that cheese dream all over again. Except, this time it was real.

You, too, can satisfy your delicious cheese (and wine, and bread, and charcuterie, too) dreams at goat. sheep. cow. Fabulous service and a winning location render it just about perfect.

goat. sheep. cow

106B Church Street, downtown Charleston, SC 29401

(843) 480-6526

www.goatsheepcow.com

Book Giveaway! Food Lovers’ Guide to Charleston and Savannah – The Best Restaurants, Markets & Local Culinary Offerings (Globe Pequot Press, December 2011)

A free signed copy of this, my latest book, is promised to the first person who correctly identifies the two thinly-veiled puns in this post relating to the types of animals in this shop’s name. Hint: The first is cow-specific and is closely followed by a goat-specific pun. Leave your answer in the comments section and I’ll get back to the winner ASAP. Good luck!

 

 

 

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Bull Street Gourmet Times Two

Bull Street Gourmet has a way of following me around, or maybe it’s the other way around. When I lived in Harleston Village, in the heart of College of Charleston country several years ago, the original corner shop, rife with gourmet sandwiches,  other-worldly chicken salad and nicely priced wines, popped up to the delight of many, including me. A small, casually elegant space, it fit (and still does)  the neighborhood’s culinary needs nicely and in a price-range that was friendly to all, especially student budgets.

Last fall, young owner Justin Croxall bravely flexed his entrepreneurial muscle and expanded, in a big way, adding a much larger location near the corner of King Street and Broad Street in the heart of downtown and just a few blocks away from my new (well, new/old)  house. It was a smart move, and one that was done very well. This stretch of King is growing with smart little shops (like Heirloom Books across the street) and increased foot traffic with accompanying appetites.  And, aside from nearby Fast & French and Brent’s, there are precious few places around to satisfy them.

The new Bull Street is as much of an eat-in/take-out restaurant as a gourmet grocery store.

The “new” Bull Street is bigger and brighter than the old one and has a lot more to choose from. Visitors can grab a basket and shop from a vast array of imported cheeses, wine, pasta, sauces, fresh fruit and vegetables and more, all arranged on sparkling stainless steel shelving.  Fresh bread is delivered daily from Normandy Farms and Bull Street knows how to fill them.  The smoked duck club ($10) is stuffed with juicy, deeply-flavored duck confit, smoked duck ham, smoked gouda and pickled onion and finished off with the peppery bite of arugula. The celebrated chicken salad, made with chicken roasted in-house and cut into fat cubes is just as good at this location, with the crunch of roasted almonds and the bite of dried cranberries all bound together with a pale pink, punchy, cranberry salad.  A cornucopia of salads and soups are also on the new menu here.

However, what I love most, are the breakfast sandwiches. An artsy crowd can regularly be found here in the early hours of any given day, sipping coffee and breaking into these warm, made-to-order beauties. The BYO breakfast sandwich ($6) can be made exactly the way you like. You pick the bread (croissant, bagel, biscuit or English muffin), you pick the way you want your eggs cooked (scrambled, hard, poached, egg whites only if you like), and you pick your meat of choice (my favorite is the salty, thick country ham), and you pick your cheese of choice (cheddar, Swiss, provolone or gruyere). They come out of the bright, spotless open kitchen hot and ready to start your day.

The menu at Bull Street is written out in colorful chalk (this is just on-third of it!)

The tables are constantly cleared and cleaned by the friendly staff who get the food out in a hurry, but without leaving customers feeling rushed.

It’s hard to leave empty-handed with a fat choice of excellent condiments, pickles, olives, and imaginative sauces, like a bright green walnut pesto to toss in imported pasta from Bull Street’s well-stocked shelves.

Bull Street also has an extensive catering menu and the Super Bowl is just days away. Indeed, Bull Street Gourmet has a history of being in the right place at the right time and doing things right every time. I’m personally very happy to have them in the neighborhood.

Bull Street Gourmet & Market

120 King Street, Charleston, SC 29401

(843) 722-6464

www.bullstreetcharleston.com

 

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Charitable Charleston Chefs

It’s really horrible to see horrible things happen to good people, especially hard-working farmers (one of the toughest jobs out there, in my book) who happen to bring beautiful food to our local Charleston tables.

Yet, sadly, these things sometimes do happen. Last December, a devastating fire blazed through one of  Keegan Filion Farms barns, a barn built by owner Annie Keegan’s grandfather some eighty years ago, that housed over 100 young turkeys. Tragically, the baby birds perished along with the barn, tools and more.

What happened next is as beautiful as this story is sad. As they have many times before, a team of fourteen chefs banded together along with Randall Goldman, CEO of Patrick Properties Hospitality Group, to organize an event to help raise money for Annie and Marc Keegan and Keegan Filian Farm. The goal was to raise $20,000 by offering delicious food prepared by the chefs to a paying public (tickets were $50 each) on the gorgeous grounds of Lowndes Grove Plantation near the banks of the Ashley River.

So on Sunday, a slightly overcast, slightly blustery day, the Charleston community came together under elegant white tents to support these wonderful local farmers.

From left to right, Devany-Vickery Davidson, Joan Perry, Holly Herrick, and Jennifer Goldman

The tents quickly filled with an enthusiastic crowd, eager to do what they could for Keegan Filion Farms. This, in itself, was heart-warming in a big way.

But, what I found the most profoundly touching, was to see fourteen chefs and their teams come on out on what’s usually a day off, after a long and grueling twelve days of Charleston Restaurant Week, to share their talent, love and support. And, they did it with smiles on their faces with camaraderie (not rivalry) amongst their fellow chefs.   It was just grand to see the likes of Nico Romo of Fish Restaurant chortling and joking with Ken Vedrinski of Trattoria Lucca. Or to see Craig Deihl of Cypress hugging and beaming with joy at his young daughter. It felt like community, the special kind of community that is Charleston.

Despite the short-comings of the cooking setting, the chefs dished out delicious food, plate after fourteen plates of goodness.  Though I only sampled six dishes, each was nearly as delicious as the next. Two that were especially divine included FIG‘s pillowy gnocchi and Wild Olive‘s lasagna. Both featured perfectly prepared and paired lamb bolognese, pasta and plenty of cheese.

The gnocchi was ultra-moist and tender, effortlessly yielding even to a plastic fork. It was perhaps the best I’ve ever had. The sauce was layered in mild-sweet flavors of slightly acidic tomatoes and wine and the fragrant essence of ground lamb. It was finished with a dusting of finely chopped parsley and mint. On the other side of the tent, Jacques Larson and his team were dishing out generous squares of a piping hot lasagna, ribbons of tender, house-made pasta, holding together layers of tart, fresh goat cheese and another exquisite lamb bolognese.

FIG's amazing Ricotta Gnocchi with Lamb BologneseRegardless, all the dishes shared the same ingredient – generosity.  That’s something Charleston’s fabulous pool of chefs share a’ plenty. Thank you to all involved to help one of our farmer’s in need. By the end of the four-hour long event, $15,000 was earned towards the $20,000 goal. That’s saying something!

 

 

 

 

FIG’s amazing Ricotta Gnocchi with Lamb Bolognese (pictured above).

 

Wild Olive’s Goat Cheese and Lamb Bolognese Lasagna – out of this world (pictured left).

 

 

 

 

 

Go Charleston!

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A Year of Comfort Foods and Old-Fashioned Southern Goodness

In many ways, 2011 was a truly calamitous and difficult year, a year many of us would rather forget. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, war, and the ongoing drudgery of the economy seemed to bombard the world with relentless, reckless cruelty and destruction.

This had to have had  a powerful effect on our collective humanity consciousness. I feel like levels of compassion, kindness, and simple goodness were higher than I’ve sensed in a long time, and a lot of that was expressed through the many restaurant kitchens and meals I enjoyed this past year. Let’s face it – there was a lot on my plate in 2011 and a lot of mandatory eating in both Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA as I was researching Food Lovers’ Guide to Charleston and Savannah and the upcoming Savannah Chef’s Table.

Time and again, my palate kept going back to simple things. The stuff  that really wowed me was not necessarily “haute”, but down-home, done really, really right. Think fried chicken and panna cotta, burgers and pimento,  crispy, crunch salads, pickles and fried pig skin, and you’re sort of on the same track I’ve been following all year here in the south. I call the style “Southern rustica” and I’m thrilled that chefs like Sean Brock, Mike Lata, Craig Deihl and so many other are bringing it home, again and at last. Local, national, and international chefs heard our collective call for comfort and answered with a potent brew of meticulously sourced produce/products, prepared with simplicity and precision, and a generous dash of love.

I’ve been thinking about some of my favorite dishes that I’ve eaten this  year, and the dishes that follow below are the ones that I’m still thinking about, in some cases, many months later. That’s some powerful goodness.  Thank you to all who helped make that happen!

Panna Cotta

What is it about this cooked cream that almost immediately transports me to that cocoon of safety and comfort that was my childhood? It seems like it was everywhere this year and that is a good thing. I don’t have a photo of the creamy, just right panna cotta layered with silky butterscotch and a mountain of whipped cream that I enjoyed at Husk, just a few short weeks ago, but it’s one of the best things I had all year. A close second was this slightly more elegant version I had at sister restaurant, McCrady’s.

McCrady's Bay Leaf Panna Cotta with Pomegranate and Vanilla

The panna cotta barely quivered, just as it should, and was infused with the subtlety of bay leaf. Crunchy bites of freeze dried white chocolate and ruby red, tart/sweet pomegranate seeds were exquisite, and talk about beautiful to look at.

Simply Salads and Crab Cakes

EVO in Park Circle, North Charleston is nationally celebrated for their amazing, wood-fired pizzas, but their salads, always composed of the freshest ingredients from local purveyors and idyllically dressed, are some of the best around. This white melon beauty, dressed ever so slightly with ribbons of salty, savory prosciutto, fruity, extra virgin olive oil and a dash of freshly ground black pepper, was a late summer menu special that remains perfectly fresh in my mind some six months later.

EVO's Summer Melon Salad with Prosciutto and Olive Oil - Simply Perfect!

Another memorable salad moment was enjoyed on the sunny, back porch of The Starland Cafe on a hot, hot August day in Savannah, GA. This colorfully painted Victorian house on the south side of town is widely recognized for its veggie/vegan magic, and The Kitchen Sink salad, dressed in a succulent Tomato Oil Infused Buttermilk, miraculously marries ingredients as diverse as red grapes, artichoke hearts, asparagus, golden raisins, red onion, green apple, crunchy noodles, fire roasted tomatoes and more into a unified, heaping bowl of garden fresh deliciousness.

Just because, I’ve indulged in Michelle Weaver’s of Charleston Grill fame quite-possibly very-best-in-the-world crab cake on several occasions this past year. Binding-free chunks of sweet lump crab with a crackling, crunchy, caramelized sear and a puddle of a silky beurre blanc, fresh herbs and candy sweet tomatoes are all great reasons to give this beauty a try!

Charleston Grill's Best-in-the-World Crab Cake

 

Crazy for Fried Chicken

Though I was born in ‘Bama, I was deprived of real-deal fried chicken until I moved to Charleston 11 years ago. Its prevalence and perfection in these parts is one of the reasons why I personally thank God I live here at least 12 times a year, and that usually happens after I’ve visited Martha Lou’s Kitchen in Charleston, or Mrs. Wilkes’ Boarding House in Savannah. One as succulent as the other, both are custom made to order, have a light, yielding but toothsome crunch, and are deeply seasoned down to the very last bite.

This year, Husk and The Glass Onion, started doing their own versions of the stuff. I haven’t sampled either yet, but the crispy fried chicken leg at The Glass Onion is always delicious and one of the best things I ate this year. Perched on a generous bed of whipped mashed potatoes and sauteed turnip greens, it’s as good as fried and served piping hot from the pan with a zippy sauce that changes with the day and what’s available.

Crspy Chicken at The Glass Onion

Brandade Puffs and Alabama Barbecue Sauce

Brandade, a virtual French peasant food composed of salt cod and potatoes, takes on a new, rustic, elegant twist at The Macintosh, one of Charleston’s newest and best restaurants.  In the hands of super talented executive chef Jeremiah Bacon, the brandade is formed into individual little balls and puffed into ethereal lightness, breaded and fried. Served with a creamy, vinegar rich sauce, it’s another one of the best things I had the pleasure of eating this year.

The Macintosh takes Brandade to new heights!

Big Surprise!

Some of the best things in life are surprises, and that includes finding exquisite food at a time and a place you weren’t really expecting it.  That happened to me this year in a big way at the brand new Butcher & Bee. Predominantly a sandwich shop with a hyper fresh and local angle situated well uptown, I visited on a sleepy, lazy Sunday for what turned out to be the best meal I had all year, and with two of the best dishes in ONE place. The artist in the kitchen? Chef/Partner Stuart Tracy, and does he ever know and love his cooking stuff.

The burger, a softly packed patty of grass-fed beef is sandwiched between oven-fresh brioche they bake in house (along with many other types of bread) and topped with an oozing layer of gorgeous pimento cheese and an inch of cold, crunchy, tangy pickles. It is insanely delicious. I think it’s the best burger I’ve ever had in my life.

Burger of the Year at Butcher & Bee

As if all that  weren’t enough, the ketchup is made in-house!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before the burger, I enjoyed a gorgeous plate of nutty, roasted Brussel sprouts graced with a  bit of bacon, crispy, tart Granny Smith apple slices, browned butter, a dusting of salty peanuts and a sweet/spicy vinegar.

Butcher & Bee does Sprouts Right.

 

 

Dessert was a cream puff dream. C’mon! Talk about comfort done right.

It’s been a wonderful year for food and friends. Thank goodness, they’re always there for us, even when the rest of the world gets crazy. Wishing you a healthy, happy and delicious 2012!

Book Give-Away – Food Lovers’ Guide to Charleston and Savannah

What were your favorite food finds in 2011? I’d love to hear about them in the comment section here. The most compelling entry, submitted before the end of New Year’s Day, January 1, 2012, will receive a signed copy of my just released new book. The winner will be notified on this blog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good luck!

Food Favorites in order of appearance in this blog post:

www.huskrestaurant.com

www.mccradysrestaurant.com

www.evopizza.com

www.yelp.com/biz/starland-cafe-savannah

www.charlestongrill.com

www.yelp.com/biz/martha-lous-kitchen-charleston

www.ilovetheglassonion.com

www.themacintoshcharleston.com

www.butcherandbee.com

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Sweet Street Newly “Glazed”

First there was Cupcake, then there was Macaroon (now with a second location). With the recent and closely timed openings of P.I.E. and Glazed Gourmet Doughnuts (both within a chocolate quarter’s throw from one another), Upper King Street just got even sweeter.

It’s a nifty and whimsical trend that’s well-suited to the eclectic crowd – from farmers’ market denizens to COC students, families and business types – that flock to this hip part of town for food, art, and drink.  For Pastry Chef Allison Smith, who opened Glazed back in early October, it’s all for the love of pastry, especially doughnuts. A 9- year veteran of the F & B business, the Culinary Institute of Charleston grad left her most recent post at Anson to dedicate herself entirely to her funky, fun and delightfully delicious new doughnut shop. For Smith, the time to make the doughnuts is 3 a.m. on weekdays when she joins her staff of two bakers to crank out a daily array of at least 8 – 10 rotating doughnut flavors.

Doughnut Lover's Glaze Over with Choices at Glazed

 

Smith has two core recipes for the doughnuts: cake and yeast. While the cake doughnut is crumbly, tender on the inside, and crunchy on the outside, it’s the yeast doughnuts (almost exclusively the “glazed” variety) that truly shine, in more ways than one. She tweaked her recipe over the years, comparing and contrasting it with “tons” of others she encountered to come up with her own. The results are airy and irresistible. It’s the kind of doughnut that slightly resists with sweet crunch as you sink your teeth into it, then slowly implodes and melts into its delicious self, until it’s all gone, leaving a lingering happy memory in its admittedly fattening wake.

Glazed cranks out at least 8 to 10 doughnut flavors daily. Glazed fans can count on at least 7 doughnut regulars daily: raspberry glazed, berry-filled, cream-filled, “some kind of chocolate,” and two “seasonal” doughnuts. Right now, the seasonal choices include Ginger Cranberry and The Sweet Potato topped with a brown butter glaze and pecans, that is until Smith comes up with something new.

Mexican Chocolate and Raspberry Glazed Doughnuts on display at Glazed.

 

As far as coming up with her exceptionally creative and balanced flavor inspirations ( a huge part of the fun for both her and her customers), Smith just rolls with “whatever combinations I like to eat.” For example, yesterday, it was a banana pudding doughnut based upon the “most amazing banana pudding,” she says. Other days, it’s been as inventive and delicious as Strawberry Lime Basil, Salted Caramel Apple and The Purple Goat filled with berry goat cheese and a lavender glaze. It’s pairings such as these that give some of Glazed doughnuts an almost savory edge; a kind of true “cook’s” doughnut not unlike the many delicious mixed drinks being muddled and concocted at nearby bars and restaurants such as The Cocktail Club and The Belmont.  At the latter, the drinks seem more like a layered, complex meal to be savored, while the former definitely are a testament to Smith’s ability to think and bake her way well-outside of the mundane doughnut box.

While a little pricey at almost $2 a pop, Glaze offers a worthwhile indulgence for any bona fide doughnut lover. There is coffee, too, and the always welcome service with a smile.

Glazed Gourmet Doughnuts

481 King Street, Charleston

(843) 577-5557

www.glazedgourmet.com

Mon.-Fri., 7 a.m.-3 p.m., Sat., 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Sun., 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

 

 

 

 

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