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Cupcakes For The At Home Connoisseur

Jordan Wright
August 2010

Ooey, gooey, chewy cupcakes, creamy icing sliding off the tops, finger-licking, oh heck, paperliner-licking good, crumbs caught mid-air and time-warp flashbacks – a retro rewind to the innocent indulgence of old-fashioned cupcakes, where a kid’s eyeballs over-amp in megawatt lust and grown-ups get a tiny dessert sans guilt. Something for the whole family. Something to get us into the minivan and drive for miles only to stand in line…or maybe not.

Chef Finarelli with Red Velvet Chocolate Port Cupcake batter - photo by Jordan Wright

In the midst of all the current cupcake hoo-hah Chef Matt Finarelli breaks away from the pack to say, “Let’s make sophisticated cupcakes and teach everyone how to bake them at home!”

Andy Hoyle of Republic National Distributing pairs cupcakes with spirits - Photo by Jordan Wright

Finarelli, who teaches several cooking classes a week at Open Kitchen in Falls Church, Virginia, in everything from tapas to tamales and pizza to pappardelle, demonstrates an astounding repertoire of international cookery coupled with a keen sense of humor and boyish charm. This month’s single session evening courses have included “Summer in St. Tropez”, featuring Julia Child’s salade niçoise, whole roasted branzino with lemon aioli (author’s weakness) and ratatouille. And for a light dessert, caramelized peaches with peach ice cream and peach chocolate macaroons. How’s that for a foodcation to the South of France at home!

During an island-inspired night class called “Caribbean Dream” participants learned how to prepare grilled lobster, seviche atop avocado, and flaming rummed-up bananas Foster with both pineapple and coconut. It’s no wonder his classes fill up quickly. You are both student and diner!

For his “Adult Cupcakes and Wine Pairing” Finarelli demo’ed and served six of his inspired recipes. Imagine, if you will, red velvet chocolate port cupcakes with vanilla port frosting paired with Terra d’Oro Zinfandel Port from Amador County, CA and dark chocolate and chipotle cupcakes with candied orange peel paired with Banfi Rosa Regale from Strevi, Italy. A bride-to-be with friends in tow came for a bachelorette party and were enjoying a few extra purchased glasses of champagne and port. Yes, you can do that too. How civilized.

Andy Hoyle of Republic National Distributing described and poured for the class of 40 guests, “The cork pops here”, he quipped to an increasingly cheery group. Hoyle took a tricky menu-pairing complementing sweets with spirits. My favorite combination was a pretty prosecco and almond cupcake topped with rosewater and petite flowers. It was served with Kluge Estate Cru, a divine bubbly out of Charlottesville, VA. We heart our champers and this is a lovely one. Here’s your assignment while sipping:

Prosecco and Almond Cupcakes with rosewater and fresh flowers - Photo by Jordan Wright

Prosecco and Almond Cupcakes with Rosewater and Fresh Blossoms
Courtesy of Chef Matt Finarelli of Open Kitchen

Yield ~32 cupcakes

Ingredients:
4 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 sticks butter – unsalted – softened
3 cups sugar
8 ea eggs
6 Tbsp milk
¼ cup Prosecco
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup slivered almonds – well chopped
1 recipe Rosewater Frosting
As needed Edible blossoms (e.g. pansies, marigolds, small roses, cone flowers, herb flowers, lilac, lavender – all pesticide free and well washed.)

Method:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line cupcake pan with papers.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
- With mixer on low speed beat in milk, Prosecco and vanilla until just combined.
- Add flour mixture in 3 batches, beating until just combined after each addition.
- Fold in almonds gently.
- Bake until toothpick comes out clean – about 20 minutes. Cool and top with Rosewater Frosting and then edible blossoms.

Rosewater Frosting

Ingredients:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1¾ cups confectioner’s sugar
5 tsp rosewater

Method:
- Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Add confectioners sugar and beat on low speed until incorporated.
- Add lemon juice and rosewater and beat until smooth.

Open Kitchen wears many toques. It is a full-service caterer, a cooking school with hands-on or demo cooking classes, a flex-timeshare kitchen for local chefs to launch and grow their own business, and a bistro serving lunch Monday through Saturday, and dinner Thursday through Saturday.

To check class schedules, restaurant hours and timeshare availability visit: www.OpenKitchen-DCMetro.com or call 703 942-8148.

Silver Diner - Follow that Farmer!

Special Feature to the Washington Examiner by Jordan Wright – Sunday August 1st, 2010

Nothing’s more exciting to me than a food quest. I will go anywhere foraging leads me. I’ve rambled down back roads to find a beekeeper who sells honey off her front porch and waded through fields of strawberries, stretching out as far as the eye can see, to gather the ripe fruit for homemade strawberry jam. I’ve tromped over woodlands rife with snakes and poison ivy (dicey at best) to find the edible shoots of the thorny greenbrier vine and collect the elusive morel. I follow the food wherever it leads me and farmers are my most powerful inspiration. So when I heard that the well-known family restaurant, Silver Diner, was serving local and sustainable food, my ears pricked up. I may have even cocked my head like a bird upon hearing the UPS truck thunder down the road, but initially I just couldn’t wrap my brain around the incongruity.

The scene at the Silver Diner - photo by Jordan Wright

Let’s see… a 1950’s-style diner that is also a healthful eatery with fresh fruits and vegetables and grass-fed hormone free beef. Visions of “The Fonz” and “American Graffiti” coupled with burgers n’ fries kept edging forward. I only knew the iconic diner as a fast-food greasy spoon with neon-lighting, formica-topped counters, gut-busting platters and antique car rallies in the parking lots.

I ignored the news for a few weeks longer while a friend in the local small farm movement continued to update me with newer and ever more surprising revelations. “There are on-site weekend farmers markets, money-off coupons to restaurant patrons to redeem at the farm stands, and a brand new menu loaded with fresh and local fruits, whole grains, veggies and meats,” she crowed. My curiosity piqued, but first I dug out my Holmesian magnifying glass which looks a bit like a like a cell phone because it is…and placed a call to HQ in Rockville, MD to verify her findings.

When I reached Ype Von Hengst, the Dutch chef and co-owner, I heard a-man-on-a-mission, “Families with kids want to go to places with better food options. So we’ve gone local and healthful,” he said. “I have a moral obligation to give it to the kids.“ Music to my ears…

Farmers markets are found outside some of the Silver Diners on Sundays - photo by Jordan Wright

He spoke of sourcing from local farmers and providing an outlet for them to bring their product directly to his customers. “When they eat with us they receive coupons to redeem outside at the farm stands and if they have any produce left over at the end of the day we buy it from them and use it in the restaurant.” “We have six parking lot markets going now, with plans for next summer’s expansion.”

Von Hengst, who is running his second Marine Corps marathon this October, is proud of the changes to Silver Diner and is constantly searching for new sources. “It’s a journey for us. We haven’t gotten there yet, but we have begun by rethinking our whole approach to buying and sourcing locally as much as possible.” It makes them a gleaming example to others in the family-friendly food business – low prices coupled with fresh healthful food from area farms. They deserve a lot of credit.

“Our local produce comes to us the day after it has been picked off the vine and our milk from the Kreider family farm in Manheim, PA, goes from the cow to our milkshakes in as little as two days,” he continued. Here at last a paradigm shift in the way we picture the American diner.

My husband was up for a visit. He loves this place, with its home-style food, retro vibe and cute Sebring tabletop jukeboxes. We were in high warble during our drive to the Clarendon location to confirm the rumors. (There are seven Silver Diner outposts in the Metro DC/VA/MD area and eleven others around the Mid-Atlantic, but this one was the closest for us.) We had no idea what to expect and my husband was afraid they had done away with his favorite sausage, eggs and biscuits, or worse, jacked up the prices. Instead we found the same gentle prices and some of the traditional menu options, but much more nutritious.

If you have a fondness for Silver Diner’s big breakfasts, the smoked Surry sausage and Virginia-cured center cut ham steak now come from Edwards and Sons in Surry, VA. Founded in 1926, they are the only company still producing hickory-smoked hams in Virginia and they make them the old-fashioned way, from a 1604 recipe that uses brown sugar, fresh sage, red pepper and salt and smokes them for 24 hours.

The new menu reflects fresh and wholesome changes - photo by Jordan Wright

Instead of white-flour flapjacks we could choose from banana granola pancakes made with local honey nut granola from a little producer in Baltimore or French toast made with wonderfully eggy challah bread from Uptown Bakery in Hyattsville where the diner sources all of its artisanal multi-grain breads. And although they still have flaky fresh-baked in-house buttermilk biscuits you can opt for leaner turkey bacon to go with your eggs from Martin Farms in Fincastle, VA. While there I spied an omelette prepared with a crab cake and sweet local corn folded in and blended with fresh scallions and Monterey jack cheese that’s still calling my name.

You begin to get the sense that big change has already come to Silver Diner when you are handed the menu featuring a chef on the cover crisply white-jacketed and cradling a bounty of fresh produce. Inside the extensive menu lets you choose from 600-calorie entreés listing the fat (in some cases a mere 5 grams), calories, cholesterol count and fiber. Lighter dishes like Mango Vegetarian Stir Fry served with whole-wheat angel hair pasta or Grilled Salmon with Lemon Garlic Sauce could satisfy even the pickiest eater, but they still feature favorites like the down-home Smothered BBQ Meatloaf made with two-week aged hormone- and antibiotic-free Angus beef from Black Eagle Farms in Piney River, VA.

We also found local Chesapeake Bay soft shell crab sandwiches, mid-Atlantic Mahi Mahi with brown rice and edamame that pair well with a selection of local beers Tupper’s from Maryland and Old Dominion and Star Hill breweries of Virginia. Wines are from Virginia’s Barboursville, Horton and Chateau Morrisette located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Even the diner’s Greenberry coffee was roasted in nearby Charlottesville, VA. I don’t usually tout a price point but believe me your wallet will thank you.

Fruits and veggies at the Silver Diner's farmers market in Clarendon - photo by Jordan Wright

Oh, yes, you can still get fries, though they’re fried in zero percent trans-fat oil just as they have done even before the new stricter standards… and all their milkshakes and malts are made with all-natural ice cream, no food coloring or preservatives, thank you. The Chunky Monkey Banana Shake and the Peanut Butter Heath Bar Shake haven’t been abandoned either, but choices now include healthier alternatives like the Acai Pomegranate Shake made with organic acai berries, pomegranate juice,banana, yogurt and wheat germ or the Peachy Blue that adds fresh blueberries and peach topping.

Here’s where they pay it forward. The diner is launching a program that reflects their commitment and transformation. They call it “Eat Well Do Well!” It not only gives the customer dollars-off on subsequent visits but also partners with Action for Healthy Kids and donates a portion of its sales to the Farm-to-School week promoted by First Lady, Michelle Obama. Oh, and did I forget to mention they have free Wi-Fi?

Before driving off we picked up heirloom tomatoes, from Chris Guerre owner of the Maple Avenue Market in Vienna and scallions from Angela Stolberg of Lucia Farm in Culpepper. It doesn’t get any fresher!

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the next generation diner.

www.silverdiner.com

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Zentan- The Legend of a Master Chef

Special Feature to The Washington Examiner by Jordan Wright – Monday July 12^th, 2010
http://www.washingtonexaminer .com/entertainment/The-legend -of-a-master-chef-98429204.html

Zentan Chef Susur Lee

Master chef Susur Lee glides through space as fluidly as a man performing his daily tai chi exercises. Exuding grace, elegance and economy of motion, he has replaced the traditional sword and sabre of a ninja warrior for the more utilitarian kitchen knife, his weapon of choice to create his tantalizing dishes.

Chef Susur Lee's "Top Chef Masters" highest scoring elimination round Roasted Chicken Curry - photo by Jordan Wright

During his 30-year career, Lee has studied classic French, Chinese and Japanese cuisines and developed his own vocabulary by fusing all three.

With the opening of his first since-shuttered restaurant, Lotus, in Toronto, he parlayed his worldwide notoriety into consulting for the posh Ritz-Carlton and starting his own string of successful restaurants. He now owns the eponymous Lee Restaurant and Madeline’s in Toronto, Shang in New York and Chinois in Singapore. And, thankfully for us, he has opened his latest outpost, Zentan, in Donovan House, just off Thomas Circle, where I found nirvana in his inspired menu.

Lee is on a mission to conquer the world by introducing his guests, dish by brilliantly innovative dish, to his New Asian Cuisine.

Towering Singapore Slaw at Zentan - photo by Jordan Wright

Our evening’s menu began with Singapore slaw, a stunningly beautiful tower of 19 ingredients, dressed with salted plum sauce and topped with toasted hazelnuts, daikon sprouts and scattered with orange marigolds and yellow pansy petals. Black and white sesame-crusted tuna, slightly seared and crowned with chopped egg and Thai mint, was followed by Cantonese marinated skirt steak with shallot brown butter, chili ponzu and crunchy hazelnuts. Many dishes sported two sauces, further ratcheting up the dynamic.

It was around that time that I morphed into a sybaritic diner on overdrive as we dove into Mongolian rack of lamb with chili mint, carrot cardamom chutney and Penang peanut sauce with a foil of sugary glazed bananas. There was a perfect sweet and sour soup with shards of chicken and vegetables, roasted salmon cloaked in yuzu-tarragon hollandaise, topped with avocado wedges and wasabi mashed potatoes, and a lusciously caramelized black cod that benefitted from a miso mustard sauce and Cantonese preserved vegetables, a house version of kimchi.

Black and White Sesame Crusted Seared Tuna at Zentan - photo by Jordan Wright

We tried chicken two ways. The first offering was rolled chicken breast prepared Pekin style. A technique more commonly employed with duck, it is a two-day preparation that requires the chef to blow air between the skin and flesh, and hang it to dry for 10 hours. The result renders the skin sweetly lacquered and the meat tender and moist. I imagined the accompanying delicate shrimp chips as a perfect cocktail snack. The second chicken dish we tried was Lee’s “Top Chef Masters” award-winning roasted chicken with curry. It had earned him the highest “elimination round” score in the show’s history, and it does not disappoint.

In each of the dishes I found the global influences Lee uses in designing his food, and the elements of sweet, salty, spicy, tart, juicy and crunchy that bear his unique signature and complement each dish. His mastery of

Caramelized black cod with a miso mustard sauce and Cantonese preserved vegetables - photo by Jordan Wright

technique, flavor and artistry roared off the plate, and I reveled in the most memorable Asian meal I have had since my last visit to Singapore.

This summer the restaurant has been serving some of Zentan’s nibbles and sips beside the hotel’s rooftop pool overlooking the city, where the bar scene is hot. Friends can lounge and take a dip from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. while enjoying spicy ginger martinis and grilled skewers of curried coconut shrimp, garlic chicken, Korean chili skirt steak, teriyaki pork belly, and miso and brown sugar glazed vegetables. Try the scrumptious sushi, sashimi and spicy lobster roll with shiso and caviar. On Saturday and Sunday, they grill the skewers poolside from noon to 5:30 p.m.

www.zentanrestaurant.com

South Carolina – A Food Lover’s Dream

Jordan Wright

June 2010

Lena Mae Brown's Carolina Gold Plantation Rice Pudding at the home of Campbell and Meredith Coxe - photo by Jordan Wright

A quest for the traditional “receipts” of the Old South and the emerging epicurean landscape of the New South drew me to tour South Carolina on a nine-day culinary adventure. Along the way my partner and I sampled pickled cherries, okra, mushrooms and leeks and beheld gleaming glass jars of green beans and purple baby beets. From top restaurants to roadside stands we tasted blackberry, raspberry and tomato jams and jellies and reveled in the fresh fish and shellfish from oceans, rivers, and bays starring on every menu.

We found the art of charcuterie enjoying a revival with chefs preparing their own rillettes, patés, terrines and dry-cured sausages. Here and there refrigerated walk-ins were crammed to bursting with whole pig’s heads, pork belly, fresh sausages from hogs and rabbits and bacon…tender, salty and smoky…to flavor antelope, quail and earthy slow-cooked greens.

We met and dined with chefs whose kitchens were a hive of creativity and experimentation, and whose near-religious devotion to local and sustainable foods was palpable. Notable American cooks from Greenville and Latta, to Charleston, Pawley’s Island and Beaufort are adapting and reinterpreting Southern flavors, adding French Haute Cuisine, Nouvelle French, American Modern, Mediterranean, and Pacific Rim influences to their gastronomic conversation to create a new Southern gastronomic paradigm.

Below I give you some of the most delectably innovative food we feasted on and the historic properties where we were ensconced. Follow my dishes, if just vicariously now, until you can visit for yourself. I wouldn’t want you to miss a morsel.

Upcountry Greenville

Pickled beans, okra, cucumbers, cherries, peppers and turnips at High Cotton - photo by Jordan Wright

Shrimp and Grits at High Cotton - photo by Jordan Wright

Greenville's Reedy River as seen from High Cotton Restaurant - photo by Jordan Wright

Brunch at High Cotton with Executive Chef Anthony Gray: Elderflower Mojitos;Shrimp and Grits with Fried Green Tomatoes, Braised Beef Benedict, slathered in pimento cheese and Carolina sweet onion gravy; Plum Cobbler with peach ice cream. Chef Gray is a font of information about local farmers and growers and proudly turns locally produced Spanish heritage Ossabaw hogs from Caw Caw Creek farm into his own charcuterie.

Rejunvenated at: The Spa at West End with a Volcanic Earth Clay Ritual, Sea Salt Body Scrub and a totally addictive Vichy Shower. In case you’ve not had one yet it is a long horizontal wand with seven large showerheads attached. You lie on a soft shallow bed while a steady stream of warm water pours over your entire body. It is sheer bliss… like a tropical rain forest during a downpour but without the bugs! As soon as it started I hoped it would never stop.

Calamari Salad at The Lazy Goat in Greenville - photo by Jordan Wright

Roasted Banana Pudding at The Lazy Goat - photo by Jordan Wright

Fried Branzino stuffed with crabmeat and preserved lemons - photo by Jordan Wright

Dinner at The Lazy Goat with Chef Vicki Moore: Fresh Blackberry Mojitos; Grilled Calamari with ahi dolce and pickled pepper salad; Fattoush Salad; Roasted Mussels and Chorizo; Moroccan Braised Lamb Shank with plantain chips; Whole Crispy Branzino, with charmoula and shaved fennel; Pan-Roasted Grouper with lobster and rapini risotto, and saffron vanilla sauce; Roasted Banana Pudding; Pecan Pie with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

Last fall Moore was chosen by Esquire Magazine’s food writer, John Mariani, as one of four “Breakout Chefs to Watch”. In September she will create dishes with DC chefs, Bryan Voltaggio of Volt and David Guas, author of “Dam, Good, Sweet” for the city’s “Euphoria” festival, where nationally known chefs pair with local chefs to prepare exquisite gourmet dinners in the town’s finest restaurants. In recent years this food and music extravaganza has featured such top chefs as Thomas Keller and Bobby Flay and artists like Chris Isaak. Check www.euphoriagreenville.com to get this year’s schedule.

Beef Tartare with compressed cucumber and scallion wings at Deveraux's - photo by Jordan Wright

Rare seared tuna, pearl pasta, Honshimeiji, Edamame, sake black beans at Deveraux's - photo by Jordan Wright

Devereaux's in the old tobacco factory - photo by Jordan Wright

Dinner the following evening at Deveraux’s with Executive Chef and Partner Spencer Thomson: Beef Tartare with Japanese mustard; Bison Carpaccio; Hudson Valley Foie Gras with ice wine cherries, marcona almonds and vanilla sunchoke; Sashimi of Japanese Snapper with cucumber, cilantro and peanuts; Charred Beef Filet with portabello-potato hash; Black Grouper with summer succotash, shaved turnip, tomato concassé and truffled corn broth; Pekin Duck on white corn polenta, with duck sausage; Strawberry Shortcake in a white chocolate orb.

Chef Thomson will stage with Guy Savoy in Paris this October, where he will no doubt continue his love of reinventing the classics.

On our road trip across the state we visited owner and grower, Glenn Roberts, at Anson Mills where we learned firsthand the history of rice and its legacy in America.

Mid-State Latta – Quaint with a Touch of the British

Breakfast at Abingdon Manor - photo by Jordan Wright

Italian Breakfast BLT at the Manor - photo by Jordan Wright

The drawing room at Abingdon Manor - photo by Jordan Wright

Abingdon Manor, an exquisite former private estate and gardens made us feel we were at home in England. We loved that it’s a mere five-mile hop off I-95 to be coddled by owners Michael and Patty Griffin. Patty is an accomplished chef who hosts her own local cable TV show and conducts monthly cooking classes for guests in the Manor’s spacious kitchen. The inn’s china and silver grace the damask-draped tables beautifully showing off her dishes.

Dinner by Chef Griffin: Shiitake Mushrooms with Hoisin-chili glaze, Dilled Carrot Soup; Home-grown Tomato Stack; Hypnotiq Sorbet; Seafood in Parchment; Poached Pear with amaretto cream.

Breakfast by Chef Griffin: Italian Breakfast BLT; Fresh fruits; Herbed Biscuits.

Pawley’s Island Coastal Charm

Sunset over Pawley's Island - photo by Jordan Wright

Pawley's Island Firefighters - photo by Jordan Wright

Daybreak at Litchfield Plantation - photo by Jordan Wright

Litchfield Plantation, a quintessentially Southern Lowcountry inn, set on six hundred acres of a former rice plantation, channeled my inner Southern belle. Its balconies overlook an avenue of ancient live oaks dripping with Spanish moss.

Trio of Ice creams at Bistro 217 on Pawley's Island - photo by Jordan Wright

Chef Adam Kirby at Bistro 217 - photo by Jordan Wright

Asian Salad with SC Pink Shrimp at Bistro 217 - photo by Jordan Wright

Lunch at Bistro 217 with Chef Adam Kirby: Tomato, Crab and Jalapeno Soup; Pan Sautéed Vermillion Snapper with lobster sauce; Trio of Homemade Ice Creams, Mint Chocolate Chip, Strawberry and Pistachio. Chef Kirby grew up on the Island and has a strong relationship with its watermen who provide him with the freshest seafood in the area.

Eminence blueberry detox facial preparations at Stox & Co. - photo by Jordan Wright

Rejuvenated at: Stox & Co. A beautiful salon and day spa in Litchfield Beach with a stunning yoga and Pilates studio. I enjoyed a Blueberry Detox Firming Peel using Eminence skin care products, a line of natural organic skin care developed in Hungary and made from fresh fruit extracts. It was almost good enough to eat!

Blackberry Cobbler at Frank's - photo by Jordan Wright

Softshell Crab at Frank's on Pawley's Island - photo by Jordan Wright

Chef Pierce Culliton of Frank's - photo by Jordan Wright

Dinner at Frank’s with Chef Pierce Culliton: Tomato Pie with Four Cheeses; Grilled Watermelon Salad with balsamic vinegar, goat cheese and arugula; Soft Shell Crab with whole grain mustard sauce; Sautéed Flounder with Shrimp and yellow stone ground grits; Blackberry Cobbler.

Charleston – Le Grande Bouffe in the Lowcountry

Wentworth Mansion in Charleston - photo by Jordan Wright

Charleston street scene - photo by Jordan Wright

Tiffany glass windows at the Wentworth Mansion in Charleston - photo by Jordan Wright

We had posh digs in the Wentworth Mansion, a glorious property and one of the nation’s premier historic hotels. Built in 1886 as a private home for a local cotton baron, we found elegance, distinction, luxurious appointments and deluxe service.

Charleston Chews, Lemon Chess Bars and Sweet Potato Cornbread from Dixie Bakery - photo by Jordan Wright

Breakfast snacks on the run from Dixie Bakery and Café: Charleston Chews; Lemon Chess bars; Sweet Potato Cornbread.

Sous Chef, Jill Mathias, in the kitchen at Carolina's - photo by Jordan Wright

Chef Don Drake of Magnolia's - photo by Jordan Wright

Magnolia Plantation - photo by Jordan Wright

Nibbles and Sips: At Magnolia’s with Chef Don Drake, Pimento Cheese; Shrimp and Grits; at Carolina’s we quaffed Carolina Sweet Tea; at Cypress with Chef de Cuisine Garrett Hutchinson, in-house patés and dry cured charcuterie; at Tristan with Chef Jesse Sutton, House-made Mozzarella.

Pork, Pine, Morels and Green Garlic at McCrady's in Charleston - photo by Jordan Wright

SC Crawfish, Sweetbreads, Sweet Onions and Artichokes at McCrady's

Seared Grouper with Courgettes, Cucumber and Bonito at McCrady's

Dinner at McCrady’s with recent James Beard award-winning Chef Sean Brock: Stone Crab with orange, coconut and sour mix; Seared Grouper with courgettes, cucumber and bonito; Crawfish, sweetbreads and artichokes; Pork Pine, morels and green garlic; Beef Marrow and carrots four ways; Banana Puddin’; Chocolate Hazelnut, Chewy Caramel and Malt.

Chef Frank Lee of S.N.O.B. - photo by Jordan Wright

Fried Chicken Livers with Cheese Corn Grits - photo by Jordan Wright

S.N.O.B. Restaurant - photo by Jordan Wright

Lunch at S.N.O.B. with Executive Chef Frank Lee: Gazpacho; Corn Bread; Fried Chicken Livers with Cheese Corn Grits; Southern Crab Salad with fresh fruits; Shrimp and Black Beans. The charming and self-effacing Lee is a mentor and guru to many nationally known chefs who cook in the Lowcountry style.

Countertop pies at the Carolina Cider Company - photo by Jordan Wright

Tasting room at Firefly Distillery and WInery - photo by Jordan Wright

Third generation tea grower and taster, William Barclay Hall at Charleston Tea Plantation on Wadmalaw Island - photo by Jordan Wright

Breakfast at the Wentworth: Fresh orange juice, Rabbit Sausage, Waffles with piles of fresh berries, and Eggs Benedict.

Rejuvenated at: The Spa at Charleston Place with a relaxing Swedish massage and dip in the saltwater pool overlooking old Charleston.

Nilgai Antelope Filet with lentil and foie gras stew, heart of palm, crispy leeks and baby carrots at Circa 1886 - photo by Jordan Wright

Jelly Doughnuts, house made strawberry and peach jellies, John's Island honey and peanut butter milkshake at Circa 1886 - photo by Jordan Wright

Carolina Flounder with crab and shrimp pilau, grapefruit sabayon, candy striped beets and basil lacquer - photo by Jordan Wright

Dinner at Circa 1886 at the Wentworth Mansion with Executive Chef Marc Collins: Vichysoisse with toasted haricots verts; Crab Cake Soufflé with mango purée, pineapple relish and sweet potato frills; Foie Gras “Cherry Coke Float”; Nilgai Antelope Filet with lentil and foie gras stew, crispy leeks and baby carrots; Country Ham-wrapped Angler Fish with black-eyed pea “baked beans”, fennel pollen onion ring and apple cheddar slaw; Carolina Flounder with crab and shrimp pilau, grapefruit sabayon, candy striped beets and basil lacquer; Jelly Doughnuts with house made strawberry and peach jellies, John’s Island honey and peanut butter milkshake (Oh yes, he did!); Pan Fried Vanilla Bean Angel Food Cake with fresh berries and honeysuckle ice cream. The notoriously shy Collins never peeked his head out of the kitchen to accept kudos or give up his honeysuckle ice cream recipe. One can only swoon with the memory.

After dinner: Port, sherry and an assortment of liqueurs are offered to guests of the Wentworth, and taken on the veranda.

Beaufort – The Sea Islands

Beaufort Inn in the Sea Islands - photo by Jordan Wright

Beaufort - photo by Jordan Wright

Beaufort in the Lowcountry - photo by Jordan Wright

On our final evening we lodged at the charming Beaufort Inn, a pink and white Victorian home built in 1897 in one of the most beautiful towns in America.

Pink Shrimp at Gay Fish Company - photo by Jordan Wright

Stone Crab at Gay Fish Company in Beaufort - photo by Jordan Wright

Gay Fish Company in Beaufort - photo by Jordan Wright

Here in the Lowcountry, where Daufuskie Island Gullahs still speak their West-African patois, we found a thriving seafood industry with Bulls Bay oysters, stone crab, pink and brown shrimp and restaurants that reflected the local catch.

Brick oven Spinach and Sausage Pizza at Paninis Grill - photo by Jordan Wright

Cinnamon Pillows with Creme Anglaise at Paninis Grill - photo by Jordan Wright

Chef/Owner Nick Borreggine at Paninis Grill in Beaufort - photo by Jordan Wright

Lunch at Panini’s Grill with Chef/Owner Nick Borreggine: Buttered “Coosaw River” little neck clams; Italian Sausage Panini; Almond Crusted Calamari with spicy aioli and burnt honey; Rosemary-infused Crème Brulée and Cinnamon Pillows with crème Anglaise. Borreggine was the former pastry chef at The Inn at Little Washington under chef/owner Patrick O’Connell.

Saltus River Grill - photo by Jordan Wright

Fricasseed lobster tails with creamed corn - photo by Jordan Wright

Executive Chef Brian Waters at Saltus River Grill - photo by Jordan Wrigh

Dinner at the Saltus Grill with Executive Chef Brian Waters: Raw Bulls Bay Oysters; Seviche of Dorado; Crispy Fried Lobster tails with cream corn and pea tendrils; Pommes Frites with truffle butter; Braised Pork Belly with soy glaze, bok choy salad and pineapple sambal; Pecan pie.

During our madcap epicurean escape we relished sweet potato butter on biscuits, tomato pies, and Hoppin’ John salad with country ham at a small private luncheon cooked by Lena Mae Jackson whose Carolina Plantation Gold Rice Pudding with blueberries sent us into a chorus of hallelujahs. We fell hard for fried peanuts, pork BBQ at Mama Jean’s, blackberry cider, rice grits (pronounced as one word) and cowpeas, real pimento cheese, and “Charleston Chews” from the Dixie Bakery and Café. To hold our memories close, we slowly made our way back north with treasured family recipes, Low Country Winery’s Blueberry Wine, Firefly Sweet Tea Bourbon, the Mast Store’s Toasted Pecan Syrup, Breakfast Tea from the Charleston Tea Plantation, and sacks and sacks of Carolina Plantation Gold Rice, without which no self-respecting Southern hostess would dare serve her guests.

Sweet Potato Butter from Lowcountry Produce - photo by Jordan Wright

Soda pop for sale - photo by Jordan Wright

The road less traveled - photo by Jordan Wright

Already we hear the clarion call to revisit the chefs, watermen, tea and rice growers, dairymen, farmers and innkeepers of South Carolina whose generosity of spirit and indomitable passion to share their journey have inspired us to further explore America’s culinary roots. I hope you’ve been inspired too. May your travels be as delicious and memorable as ours!

For questions or comments about this article or to tell of your best experiences in the Palmetto State, contact Jordan@WhiskandQuill.com. Visit us on Facebook to see more photos of our stay.

Nibble and Sips - Poste Moderne

Jordan Wright
May 2010

Poste Moderne Brasserie in the Hotel Monaco

A sample of Poste's herbal spirits - photo by Jordan Wright

A lunch at Poste Moderne Brasserie in the Hotel Monaco’s garden took advantage of a temperate but breezy afternoon. Sous Chef, Jenn Flynn, was at the helm at last week’s lunch hour and I sampled many a wonderful dish

Poste Moderne's Sous Chef Jenn Flynn in the organic garden - photo by Jordan Wright

from the open kitchen. In particular a knockout Asparagus Carbonara made with tesa (an in-house two-week cured pork belly) ramps (get’em while you can!), spring onions and morels (see my story on Morels recently posted). Another unimpeachable dish is the Pineland’s Farm Steak tartare on house-made brioche, and a curious but playful Tasting of Salted Caramel with caramel ice cream, coffee-caramel crème brulee and caramel popcorn. Crunch, slurp, lick. A crisp 2007 Tavel Rose from Ferraton Pere et Fils sealed the deal.

By now those of you who know the restaurant are well aware of Executive Chef, Rob Weland and his total commitment to local farm sourcing. But it doesn’t get more close-in than his patio gardens with their vast assortment of organic vegetables, lettuces, fruit trees (pawpaw!) and herbs used in both the dishes and cocktail flavorings.

Asparagus Carbonara at Poste Moderne - photo by Jordan Wright

www.PosteBrasserie.com

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Nibble and Sips - Poste Moderne