Author: Debbi Covington

Cooking takes on special joy during the Christmas season! Cocktail parties, Intimate dinners, casual gatherings and cookie exchanges all call for the finest holiday foods.  Christmas is also a time for remembering special neighbors, co-workers and friends with tasty homemade treats from your kitchen.  This week’s recipes all make great gifts! Make this holiday cooking season enjoyable and rewarding with these festive and delicious recipes. Merry Christmas!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! How can you tell? Christmas trees are popping up everywhere! This year, why don’t you invite the gang over for a Tree Trimming Party?! It’s a great way to kick off the holiday season! An added bonus is that when guests attend your party they expect to find a house that’s not quite ready for Christmas and you get a bunch of decorating help! Before your guests arrive, you should have purchased your tree and set it up in the stand. Light a fire in your fireplace and play Christmas music in the background.

Throughout history, every society has celebrated the end of the harvest.  Many have set aside a day of thanks.  In 1941, Thanksgiving Day became a national holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.  It’s the one day of the year that we Americans can consume an abundance of food without a second thought about calories!  The recipes this week are all Thanksgiving side dishes. 

Break out the bait balls and the cane poles, shrimp baiting season is here!   Shrimp baiting uses a cast net, bait and long poles. The long poles are used to mark a specific location and then bait is thrown into the water near the poles. After several minutes, the cast net is thrown as close to the bait as possible and the shrimp are caught in the net!

Cooler weather has me craving comfort food. I don’t know about you, but breakfast foods tend to make me sleepy! One of our favorite meals is breakfast for supper. Some nights we’ll eat scrambled eggs and pancakes, other nights we’ll opt for a fritatta and a salad. The best combination is something warm and comforting teamed with something sweet and loaded with carbohydrates. Knocks me out every time!

What are small plates? They are unpretentious bites of robust and intense flavors, more substantial than a cocktail snack, but not as hearty as an entree. They are ideal for diners who are curious about flavor, adventurous about taste, and who want to vary their dining experience as mush as possible in one sitting. Small plates are a relaxed style of entertaining and dining. There is no stress in trying to get all the courses on the table at the same time because they are served as prepared.

Earlier this month, a group of our friends came over to help Vince and me test some new recipes. Local photographer, John Wollwerth, joined us and took these great photos! Thank you to our models Mark and Audra Alexander, Mike and Kim Clark, Steve Danko and Vince Covington.  And, a special thank you to Sue Merrill for the beautiful flowers! I had so many recipes and photographs that I’ve had to share them in two parts. If you missed the last edition of Lowcountry Weekly you can read ‘Mexican Fiesta – Part I’ right here.

Earlier this month, a group of our friends came over to help Vince and me test some new recipes. Local photographer, John Wollwerth, joined us and took these great photos! Thank you to our models Mark and Audra Alexander, Mike and Kim Clark, Steve Danko and Vince Covington.  And, a special thank you to Sue Merrill for the beautiful flowers! I have so many recipes and photographs that I’m going to share them in two parts. Be sure to pick up the next edition of Lowcountry Weekly to read Mexican Fiesta – Part II.

Keep it fresh! Good salads are only made with good ingredients and freshness is all-important when it comes to purchasing salad greens. Let your eyes guide you. Fresh greens look fresh. They won’t have any leaves tinged with brown nor will they be wilted or slimy. Take a look around the produce section and you’ll see leaves in many colors and textures ranging from pearly, pale Belgian endive to bright red and white radicchio. Greens also have a variety of flavors from robust and peppery arugula to sweet, nutty and mild lamb’s lettuce or mache. 

Friday night is Steak Night at our house. We love to invite our closest friends over for a casual evening and then fire up the grill! A juicy rib-eye steak served with mashed potatoes and a fresh green salad is a delicious way to start the weekend!  When you’re in the mood for something a notch above your usual steak and baked potato, whip up these delicious and simple steak marinade and mashed potatoes recipes. The tasty marinade comes together in no time and flavors the meat beautifully without overshadowing it. The steaks can be grilled inside or out, or can be quickly seared to medium with a mere two or three minutes per side under the broiler.  Add a classic lettuce wedge salad,  dressed-up crescent rolls and grilled fresh South Carolina peaches to complete your meal. Enjoy!