Author: Debbi Covington

It’s the middle of the morning on Friday and I’m still in my pajamas. Actually, it’s closer to noon on Friday and I’m still in my pajamas. Vince is on his way to visit his mother in Florence for a couple of days so Belle and I are home alone having a girls weekend.

I had to bake a couple of cakes for a catering gig yesterday. At the last minute, I thought to add my Mama’s secret ingredient, black walnut flavoring. That’s what triggered it. As the cakes baked, my kitchen was ensconced with a lovingly familiar and kind of melancholy scent. My mind was flooded with memories. Smells do that to me more than anything else. And then, hot tears started streaming down my cheeks.

Sophisticated Cuisine from the South Carolina Lowcountry   It’s getting real up in here! My new cookbook, Celebrate Beaufort, is set for release on Thursday, April 19th and I’m so excited! The cookbook arrived just in time for Mother’s Day gift giving and book signings are scheduled all over town during the next few weeks. (A current listing follows at the end of this column.) Celebrate Beaufort is a gorgeous book, full of easy-to-prepare and delicious recipes, beautiful photography, a bit of local history and folklore, and a few personal stories about some of my favorite Beaufortonians.

Celebrate Beaufort is Coming Soon! I’m tickled pink to announce that I’ve written a new cookbook. Book number three, Celebrate Beaufort, will debut on April 19th. My dear friend, Susan DeLoach, did all of the food and location photography. Celebrate Beaufort is a limited edition and will only be available through my website (www.cateringbydebbicovington.com) and at local bookstores and gift shops. There will be lots of opportunities for Beaufortonians and visitors to purchase signed copies. Keep reading Lowcountry Weekly and watch social media postings for signing dates and launch events.

Easter is my favorite holiday! It’s better than Christmas. It’s better than Thanksgiving. It’s even better than my birthday. Such a special holiday requires a special meal. Dinner during the day is a very Southern thing. Even though “dinner” is eaten at lunchtime, it’s a bigger deal than “supper.” Supper implies a less formal meal. For example, if I say I’m having a little “supper party,” you’ll figure that it’s nothing grand, not too much effort will be expended. If friends are invited over for a “dinner party,” they’ll expect something more upscale than a casserole. And yes, we eat on dinner plates, not supper plates. Holidays are big deals. They’re always dinners.

For the record, I’m a carnivore – a meatasaurus, even. I’d grab a cold piece of steak out of the fridge way before digging into a bag of potato chips or eating a piece of chocolate. So, when director VW Scheich and his wife Uyen Le asked me to participate in their upcoming feature film, “Carpe Vegan,” I wasn’t sure just what I had to offer.

Have you seen Mel Gibson’s film The Patriot? The movie was filmed entirely in South Carolina. It’s based on the life of Francis Marion, also known as The Swamp Fox, who was one of the great militia leaders of the American Revolutionary War.

Okay, so this is an admitted rip off of Taco Tuesday. I see no reason why we shouldn’t eat Mexican food twice in the same week. Tex-Mex spices like cumin and chili powder also offer a tummy-warming depth of flavor that’s most appreciated on cold evenings. Winter weeknight suppers can be so repetitive and boring – at least they have been at our house. The lack of fresh veggies and herbs from the garden and no interest in standing outside in the cold over the grill doesn’t help our dining dilemma either.

“Can y’all come over for supper on Friday night? I’m serving my next column.”€ How’s that for a formal invitation? One of my new year’s resolutions is to have more dinner parties in our home. We tend to have large events and I never feel like I have an opportunity to participate in a real conversation with any of our friends. Our dining room table only seats six, which is actually a great number for an intimate supper.

What a wonderful day! Were you in town for the Great Blizzard of 2018? It was a gorgeous and incredibly cold event. Beaufort, SC hasn’t seen a snowfall like that in over 25 years. I spent my serendipitous snow day happily ensconced in our warm home doing what I love best -€“ cooking.