Turkey Days dressed to the Nines - Island Style, SC

Dressed to the nines on the 19th Hole is more my style than a slog down the links with golf bag and spikey two-tone shoes. But that's fine, all around Charleston, SC there's plenty opportunity to  enjoy what interests you most, i.e. eating, drinking, cooking, riding bikes on the beach, fishing, sailing or playing & watching sports.

As for me, I get excited selecting prawns at Ravenel Fresh Seafood, filling my buggy (shopping cart) at a Piggly Wiggly Supermarket, arriving hungry at any Waffle House diner for the breakfast special with a side of grits and savoring Low Country Cooking with Chef Charlotte Jenkins at her restaurant Gullah Cuisine, Chef Jenkins is one of the foremost practitioners of this regional cuisine in the Gullah Geechee Corridor and who most often will greet you at the door.

Adding to the festivities, our cooking at the beach (five houses rented in a cluster) was monumental, five days of people flying in and then out again made for a boisterous crowd at the table nightly. The rented catering chairs and tables were a must. And the brilliance of hiring a local Oyster Roast Master for Thursday was key resulting in light work putting together sides and salads. Wasn't a traditional Thanksgiving but we´d had plenty bird the day before. Spirits plus conversation volume were high and so was the champagne tab in final review. A true highlight was cooking Italian Style with irrepressible Chef Betsy Devine of Salvatore Bklyn, maker of "small-batch ricotta cheese." But the pinnacle, the most memorable part is the thrill of coming together; rubbing shoulders, breaking bread, indulging in an impromptu rainy day pizza session with triplets and whipping up much needed tacos at 3am for the collegiate amongst us.

 With all the activity, keeping it simple is always a blessing. And so it was, I allowed the fresh shrimp, Bourbon Mist Cocktails and a small purple Hermes scarf to get me through the fast paced days of giving thanks on the shore...

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2013. All Rights Reserved.
http://mickhuerta.blogspot.com
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Seafood Thanksgiving - Charleston, SC

A Sunday afternoon on the Savannah Highway (U.S. Route 17) slipping east into Charleston, we saw men landscaping a colorfully painted seafood store while others cleaned bags of oysters just 'round back. Being out-of-towners arriving for the Thanksgiving Holiday, we mistakenly assumed we could get seafood on a Sunday, any Sunday. We jumped out of the car filled with greetings and chat. The men pointed to one jovial sort who explained that they were closed but if we wanted crab-meat "we can take care of y'all." He keyed the door, turned on the lights and sold us the best quality lump crab-meat, oysters and also red, red tuna steaks. He went out of his way! And he was perfectly cheerful about taking care of us! Ravenel Fresh Seafood - above and beyond? Oh Yeah! Kindness like this sweetens any visit to anywhere. But it happened just outside Charleston. And on our holiday we had one more thing to be thankful for!