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Culinary Institue of Charleston
November 6,7,8
Spend a weekend in learning at the Culinary Institue of Charleston with culinary guru Nathalie Dupree in November. Kick things off Southern style with wine and cheese at Nathalie’s home Friday before dining at a restaurant of your choice. Then join Nathalie for two days of holiday entertaining classes at the [...]
C’est Fromage Comte Cheese worth the fare to France
Foodies, of which I am one, pride themselves on knowing the newest thing. Many times, ironically, these are age-old products that are just coming to the attention of communities beyond their own. I first heard of Comte cheese when I was given a sample at a local [...]
Fear of Falling
Over the holidays, our teenage granddaughter, Rachel, wanted to make a cheese soufflé like the one we enjoyed together in Paris in one of our favorite small restaurant. It serves cheese soufflés year-round as if they were shrimp and grits. And believe it or not, as I showed Rachel, soufflés are nearly as [...]
National Chicken Cooking Contest
I’ve had a wonderful few days, starting with attending the National Chicken Cooking Contest in Birmingham, Alabama. We had many wonderful meals in Birmingham, starting with a tour of Southern Living’s multi-terraced magnificent buildings. We wandered outdoors in candlelight, eating Shrimp and Grits, chicken and other wonderful delicacies, in a perfectly balmy [...]
Buying and Cleaning Shrimp
It is difficult to determine which is the better value – head on or head off – when buying fresh shrimp. Obviously, if you intend to eat the heads, or make stock from heads and shells, buying them whole is economical. If not, buying them with the heads removed is usually most [...]
Shrimp!
During the BB&T Charleston Food and Wine festival, Chef Bob Waggoner of The Charleston Grill served a group of media people an unusual first course. Three shrimps each were alone on a plate, shell removed but not the heads. They were white, pink and gray. We were invited by our host, Eddie Fisher of Wild [...]
Democratic Presidential Candidates Visit Charleston
Leave it to South Carolina to host the Democratic candidates’ spouses in a way that other cities haven’t. For the first time, they were entertained together. They were in high cotton at High Cotton on East Bay Street in Charleston, eating an unbelievably good lunch.
Grace was the order of the day. [...]
September 18, 2009
This morning I saw Carolina Gold harvested, the dew still on the ground. Some people want gold metal, I wanted to see the Gold of novels and books, the heart of the culture of the state of South Carolina for centuries. One look at the field of rice makes clear the reason for the name,Carolina Gold. The most coveted and sought after rice of those centuries is golden, riding on a sea of tall green stalks. The rice’s gold signifies it is the right time to start to dry the rice. The stalks are removed with a hook (a scythe) leaving a foot or so of stubble that will be turned back into the ground later. The sheaths of rice are then spread on top of the stubble to dry before being collected. At one time it would have been harvested starting at four in the morning, to beat the heat of the day, after a cold breakfast. 
August was the usual time in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, according to the meticulous records the planters kept – detailing dialing weather and rainfall, among other things. Thomas Jefferson loved this rice, his favorite among 98 varieties he collected. (Stories abound about people coming up to him and slipping rice into his pockets. Finally the planters had to tell him to stop sending new varieties – they liked what they had.) The fields have been flooded with fresh water and drained three times. Now it is up to the sun. At Middleton, historically dressed workers scythe the tall grasses that were formerly worked by slaves. 
Charleston, once the richest city in America, had a population that was more slaves than whites. When South Carolina was at its richest, the rice most plentiful, the economy collapsed with the aftermath of the civil war. Makes me think about the adage about riding high before a fall. Feels similar to the economy’s collapse last year.
Demonstrations will be held the next two Saturdays at Middleton. Contact them for more information.
