Southern Protocol

Popcorn is my weakness. I would ten times rather have salty than sweet! So when I AM craving something sugary, caramel popcorn (or chocolate covered pretzels.. it’s lunch time!) is my dream satisfaction. And if I just happen to be the luckiest girl in the world, someone will magically show up with Garrett Popcorn Shop’s caramel + cheddar combo popcorn.

What is this divine Garrett Popcorn Shop you ask? Only the best place to hit on Michigan Avenue in Chicago when you need to rest your feet from shopping! The company is a legend, and their shops are set up sortof like ice cream stores – you choose the combos of popcorn you want, and they wrap it up for you!

Luckily I don’t have to wait for my few and far between trips to The Windy City to get the decadent crunchy-salty-sweet handfuls of my beloved caramel and cheddar popcorn. We have brides that get it for us! But when our sweet Chicago-dwelling (or Chicago-visiting) ladies’ gifts run out, I can always order it online – and you should, too!

Their delish flavors include caramel, cheddar, butter and macademia; you can have them mixed together or separated in a tin. If you need a REALLY great hostess gift, this is the way to go. The tins are adorable and vintage looking (they have some other options, too), and can be shipped anywhere in the country!

As noted earlier, the extra pounds that result from football season are NOT just from the early morning, sugary mimosas and carb-heavy beers. The excess calories also hit the belly in the form of dips, burgers and other addicting little bites. Enter Hungry Girl cookbooks – a very health savvy lady took all the recipes we all love and tweaked them here and there to completely change the awfulness of their nutrition. Some of my favorites for gameday below!

Spinach Dip (makes 8 servings*)
Per serving (3 heaping tablespoons): 72 calories, 1 g fat, 310 mg sodium, 9 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 4 g sugar
One 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained thoroughly
4 ounces canned sliced water chestnuts, chopped
4 ounces fat-free block cheese (any kind)
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon reduced-fat Parmesan-style grated topping
1.3 cup plus 2 teaspoons fat-free mayo
1.4 cup fat-free sour cream
1 ounce light soymilk
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cook garlic and shallots over medium heat in a pan sprayed with nonstick spray, until softened but not burned (a minute or two). Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt block cheese over a low flame with the soymilk, stirring occasionally. Once cheese has melted and the mixture is well blended, add mayo, sour cream, and Parmesan. Stir until thoroughly mixed (still over low heat).

Next, add garlic, shallots, and water chestnuts and stir. Add spinach to the pot and mix thoroughly.
Spoon dip into a medium casserole dish and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
*I always wish that I doubled the recipe – it’ll get eaten quick!

Portobello Skinny “Skins” (makes 4 servings)
Per serving (1 mushroom): 67 calories, .5 g fat, 404 mg sodium, 6 g carbs, 2 g sugar, 10 g protein
4 large portobello mushroom caps
2 slices (about 1 ounce) extra lean turkey bacon
2.3 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
1 small tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon minced scallions
1.4 teaspoon salt
1.8 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Over medium heat, cook bacon strips, in a pan sprayed with nonstick spray, until crispy (about 5 minutes). Once cool enough to handle, crumble bacon into small pieces and set aside.

Line a baking pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick spray. Wipe mushrooms clean with a moist paper towel and let them dry. Spritz caps lightly with nonstick spray (mist both sides as well as mushroom edges). Sprinkle the flat side with salt and black pepper, and then place, rounded-side down, on the baking pan.

Divide cheese among mushroom caps. Bake for 10 minutes in the oven or until cheese melts and edges begin to brown. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle bacon, tomato, and scallions over mushrooms.

Return pan to oven and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until mushrooms are thoroughly heated.

It’s FOOTBALL SEASON! Wooo! Who else is excited? I woke up this morning in such a good mood, because I absolutely love the next four months of the year. The fall season is so festive and fun, and I can’t help but get giddy every time I realize it’s finally here

With football season comes tailgating… with tailgating comes eating and drinking. And lots of it. In an attempt to show you that it is possible to have a great gameday Saturday without drinking your body weight in beer, I headed to the notorious Eat This Not That website; online home of the books that swept the health-conscious nation. Unfortunately they actually want you to BUY the book to get the comparisons… which I did! So we’re in luck!

Here we are, the best and the worst to throw in your cooler this weekend:

THE BEST
Michelob Ultra – 95 calories, 2.6 g carbs, 4.1% alcohol
Yuengling Light – 98 calories, 6.6 g carbs, 3.8% alcohol
Amstel Light – 99 calories, 5.5 g carbs, 3.5% alochol

THE WORST
Guiness Extra Stout – 176 calories, 14 g carbs, 6% alcohol
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – 200 calories, 12 g carbs, 5.6 g carbs
Corona Extra – 148 calories, 14 g carbs, 4.6 alcohol

Cheers!

I am just in the mood for somethin’ sweet today, so the Taste of the Week absolutely needed to be in the dessert category. I know there are tons of decadent chocolate lovers out there, but personally I love a dessert that is fruity and tart… which is why I’m salivating just thinking about this recipe I found on delish.com. Using the grill for a sweet treat is just so perfect for summer!

Mixed Berry Hobo Packs with Grilled Pound Cake (serves 4)
1 pound (3 cups) mixed strawberries and blueberries, strawberries quartered or halved if large
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon corn starch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 12-inch squares of heavy duty aluminum foil
4 1/2 inch thick slices of pound cake
Creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream

Light a grill. In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries and blueberries with the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch. Spoon 1/4 tablespoon of butter in the center of each sheet of foil and top with fruit. Bring 2 sides of the foil up over fruit, and fold to form a seam across the top. Fold the remaining 2 sides to seal the hobo packs completely.

Grill the hobo packs over medium heat until the fruit is sizzling, about 10 minutes.

Spread the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter over the pound cakes, and grill on each side until just toasted, about 1 minute. Transfer to plates. Open the hobo packs and pour the berries and juices over the pound cake. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream.

Yum!

Once again, it’s Monday… so what should magically appear in our inboxes? Cocktail recipes! This time courtesy of Yellow Tail wine, as they saw our delicious feature on Winesicles. Not to be out done by frozen treats, this email listed off “winetails”, as in wine cocktails. I’m especially loving the blueberry number…

Perfect for August nights on the porch with friends!

Orchard Temptation
2 oz Yellow Tail sparkling wine
1 oz pear-flavored vodka
1 oz apple juice
1 oz vanilla syrup

Add all ingredients except sparkling wine into cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into chilled champagne flute. Slowly fill with the sparkling wine, and garnish with pear or mint sprig.

Spicy Lotus (I’m including this even though I don’t like spicy. Feeling generous today.)
2 oz Yellow Tail chardonnay
1 oz Green tea liqueur
1 oz spicy mango syrup or mango puree
1 oz lemonade

Shake and strain all ingredients into a martini glass. Garnish with a strawberry. For a less spicy version, substitute plain mango syrup/puree.

Blueberry Watermelon
1 oz Yellow Tail sparkling wine
1/5 oz blueberry flavored vodka
1 oz watermelon syrup
2 oz fresh lemonade

Shake all ingredients except sparkling wine in a martini shaker with ice. Strain into chilled martini glass, or collins glass with ice, and top with Yellow Tail sparkling wine. Garnish with blueberries.

Cheers!

Brace yourself for the best thing you have ever seen. Once again, this recipe was sent to me via email (this time from a friend) – I love how my inbox has become my go-to place for new drinks and treats. The heavenly recipe? Winesicles. That’s right, adult popsicles. What could be better than that when it’s 1,000 degrees outside?!

Seriously… they sound refreshing. Sauvignon Blanc, being the lightest and most refreshing of summer whites, is the perfect choice for this cool treat. The recipe hails from Bottlenotes.com’s feature, The Daily Sip. If you love wine and entertaining, Bottlenotes’ daily emails are something you should seriously consider signing up for.

Sauvignon Blancsicles
4 oz of any wine you prefer (They used Yellowtail in the recipe)
4 oz Orangina
4 oz Pineapple juice
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lemon
Molds for making 3 oz popsicles (available at Target, Bed Bath n Beyond, etc)

Pour the wine, Organina and pineapple juice into a measuring cup. Squeeze in lemon and lime to your taste; mix well. Pour the mixture into the popsicle molds and place in freezer until solid.

NOTE: Apparently the popsicles will not freeze as well if you add more wine… so if you’re like me and were contemplating making the Sauvignon Blancsicles even more festive, refrain!

This is the simplest of all simple dip/appetizer recipes, but I could seriously eat it sans chips. No need for any food medium to get this stuff from the bowl to my mouth – I could literally just eat it with a spoon. The recipe below is a basic version… there are versions called “Lowcountry Caviar” that incorporate pimentos and jalapenos, but my sensitive pallet prefers the sweet and salty varieties.

Redneck Caviar, courtesy of TasteBook.com
2 cans black eyed peas, drained
2 cans shoe peg corn, drained
2 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes, drained
2 large bell peppers, chopped (it looks pretty to get 2 different colors, too)
1 can black beans, drained
12 small green onions, chopped
3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp parsley flakes
16 oz bottle Zesty Italian Dressing

Mix all ingredients together in large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours. Serve with blue tortilla chips… or some spoons

Holy Tapas! Usually Sara is the food guru around here, but oh my gosh I just had to write about this. My brother and I decided to go to Et Cetera on Daniel Island for tapas and wine. Not only do they have fantastic tapas from 6 pm to 9 pm every night for $6 each (yes, $6 each!), but they serve lunch AND they are a gourmet food store all in one. If you have not been you need to go! We had an amazing wedge of brie with fruit preserves, tilapia on a bed of spinach, feta, and olives and Italian sausage with peppers. Everything was fantastic and the service was superb! It is such a warm atmosphere and I absolutely loved it. I had been in before to grab coffee and I was intrigued by all of the fresh cheeses, olives, pasta and many other products in the store, but this was the first time I dined in. It was fabulous and I have not seen or been to any place like it in Charleston. This would also be a great place to pick out a gift for a friend or family member. I am for sure heading there to try lunch within the next few days

Posted by Quinn

Vodka. It’s the happy hour drink of choice here at Southern Protocol. Did we realize everyone knew that? Not necessarily… which is why we were curiously delighted at the email we received this morning from a mystery New York company outlining three (quite tasty looking) drink recipes, all using Van Gogh Vodka. We’re not selfish people, so we decided to share!

These drinks are perfect for late summer fetes… they can be made ahead of time, and are fun updates on tried and true warm weather classics!

Blueberry Mojito (you know I love my mojitos!)
28 oz Van Gogh Acai-Blueberry Vodka
14 oz fresh lime juice
7 oz simple syrup
Mint leaves
Fresh blueberries
Club soda

Muddle mint leaves, blueberries, and simple syrup in a pitcher. Stir in Van Gogh Acai-Blueberry Vodka and lime juice. Then add ice and top with club soda. Serve in a highball glass garnished with a mint sprig or skewer of blueberries.

Sparkling Dutch Red Sangria
1 bottle dry red wine
3 oz Triple Sec Liqueur
3 oz Van Gogh Pomegranate Vodka
6 oz Grenadine
1/2 Bottle pomegranate juice
1/2 bottle Pommery Brut Royal Champagne
1 orange, sliced
Cinnamon sticks

Combine the first five ingredients. Add champagne and give a quick stir. Pour mixture over ice and add slices of orange. Garnish each glass with a cinnamon stick.

(I just realized this last recipe isn’t made with vodka… oh well! It still sounds nice and refreshing!)

Early Riser
19 oz Ron Abuelo Anejo
6 oz Jumbie Coconut Splash
13 oz fresh mango juice
13 oz fresh pineapple juice
Maraschino cherries
Orange slices
Sugar cane stick

Pour all ingredients into a pitcher and stir vigorously.  Add ice, cherries and orange slices. To serve, pour into a tall glass and garnish with sugar cane stick.

All recipes came our way via Talbert Communications, Ltd in New York. Cheers!

I was lucky enough to get to travel to Athens, Georgia this weekend for a little get together with some friends – I know everyone is biased towards their college town, but The Classic City is just hands down the best place on Earth. One of the hardest decisions you have to make when only visiting for a short amount of time is where to eat! It amazes me how many fantastic restaurants are in one little college town.. one of my favorites being DePalma’s.

Try as I may, every single time I dine at DePalmas – which is pretty much any time I head back to Athens – I can’t resist getting their Pasta Margherita. I know I should branch out, and that this dish is one of the simpler ones on the menu, but I absolutely crave it. Naturally I wanted to share it, and remembered that the University of Georgia’s campus paper, The Red & Black, featured a recipe for the pasta while I was still there!

Pasta Margherita (serves 4)
1 lb (16 oz) rigatoni egg pasta
1 medium red onion, cubed into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup olive oil
8 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup white wine (they use pinot grigio)
20 basil leaves
1/2 of  a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 4-oz balls of fresh mozzarella chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
Salt and pepper to taste

Layer the basil leaves on top of each other, roll them crosswise and cut into 1/4 inch strips.

Cook pasta in boiling water to al dente. When you add pasta to boiling water, start sauce. Add olive oil to saucepan and heat on medium heat. Add in cubed onion. Heat for 60 seconds and add garlic. Cook until both start to soften.

Deglaze with wine.

Add salt and pepper, then toss. Add tomatoes, toss, and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Drain pasta and add to saucepan, toss with basil. Place in serving bowl and top with mozzarella.

Enjoy!

Ok, so I have another recipe that makes me salivate from Carolina Cooking. Quite a few actually. So I figured since we’ve slacked on getting you weekly Tastes of the Weeks recently, I’d hit y’all with TWO today! Woo, what a wacky Wednesday.

I personally love a good meatloaf, although I don’t remember the last time I had one. This version, a semi-gourmet twist on your average ’50s meatloaf, is sure to be a hit with all ages and for all occasions.

Meat Loaf Stuffed with Blue Cheese, Tomato and Bacon (Makes 6-8 Servings)
From Fenwick’s on Providence, Charlotte, NC (Where are all the Charleston recipes, by the way?!)

Meat Loaf
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/3 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1.3 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Filling
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 to 2 cups blue cheese
9 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Mix the meat loaf ingredients in a large mixing bowl. (Ot is best to use your hands to mix all of the ingredients together.) Add breadcrumbs so that the meat loaf holds together. It should have the consistency of soft Play-Doh.

Line a baking sheet with a generous amount of foil. Spray the foil thoroughly with non-stick spray.  Pat out the meat loaf so that it completely covers the baking sheet evenly.

Lay the tomato slices along the center of the meat loaf. Top with blue cheese and bacon. Use the foil to help fold the edges to the middle, shaping tightly into a loaf. Make sure the loaf is smooth and sealed. Bend the foil over the loaf and seal completely.

Bake for about 1 hour. Unfold foil and bake 15 minutes more. At this point, if you like, brush ketchup or BBQ sauce on top of the loaf. Remove from oven and cool. (You can even prepare this the day before.) Slice when cool and serve with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable.

Suggested wine pairing: Chase – Centennial Harvest Zinfandel.

I had a lovely visitor last week: my mother! Amongst our numerous activities, she needed to find a cookbook with some delicious recipes to use for her dinner club in a few weeks. She found exactly what she needed one day when she was strolling around town in Carolina Cooking (she purchased her copy at Waldenbooks on Meeting), the cookbook version of the hit local show.

I met her at her hotel later, and after browsing through only 3-4 recipes in the book decided I absolutely HAD to have it! It’s a great cookbook for entertaining, as all recipes look mouthwateringly delicious and take relatively little time. I haven’t had a chance to experiment with any of the dishes yet, but here’s one that’s making my stomach rumble…

Prosciutto-Wrapped Wild Salmon with Mushroom Risotto and Garden Peas (4 servings)
From the Inn on Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC

5 tablespoons butter
1/2 white onion, finely diced
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup Chardonnay
4 cups hot chicken broth
salt and white pepper
8 slices prosciutto
4  (7-ounce) salmon fillets
Olive oil
3/4 cup English peas
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon minced shallot
12 fresh shitake mushrooms
8 chanterelles, morels or other fresh mushrooms
12 baby tomatoes

PReheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter, then the onion and sweat. Next add rice. Stir rice around in the butter and onions. Deglaze with Chardonnay and stir using a wooden spoon or spatula. Add enough hot broth to cover the rice. Continue to stir comstantly over low to medium heat. Add broth two more times while continuing to stir. Season with salt and whit e pepper.

While the risotto is cooking, lay 2 slices of prosciutto flat, then wrap around each piece of salmon. In a hot skillet, add a touch of olive oil. Sear the fish on all sides. Transfer the fish to the oven and continue to cook for about 5 minutes more, or until the fish is cooked through.

In a blender, add English peas with garlic, shallot and 3/4 cup chicken broth; puree. Season with salt and pepper. Strain through a wire mesh strainer.

In a small hot skillet, add a teaspoon of olive oil. Add the mushrooms and saute. Fold the mushrooms into the risotto and finish the risotto with 3 to 4 tablespoons cold butter.

Saute the pureed English peas and baby tomatoes. Ladle peas and tomatoes on plate. Top with mushroom risotto. Place salmon on risotto.

Enjoy!

This week I was lucky enough to interview two awesome entrepreneurs, Martha and Lee Anne from A Bit of a Pickle. I had such a wonderful time finding out about their newest business endeavor into the world of pickled okra, peach preserves, pepper jelly and so many other fabulous things. These two lawyers in the City of Charleston decided to make their lives even crazier by starting what was once a fun give-away gift into a successful small business. This past weekend we used their peach preserves and pepper jelly as wedding favors and let me tell you it was fantastic! (I had the pleasure of trying the peach preserves myself!) Not only are these two gorgeous and fun to be around, but they sure do know what they are talking about!

Q: What has inspired you to get into this?

A: Martha’s mom and Lee Anne’s grandmother always did it when they were growing up. They both always went to farmers markets where you can enjoy all types of preserves. Martha and Lee Anne started out just doing it for friends and everyone LOVED it so they figured they might as well make something out of it!

Q: How did you start? How long have you been doing this?

A: It is a very young project of only two years. They started out just doing it out of Martha’s beautiful kitchen with some basic cookbooks and a little tweaking of family recipes to make it their own. “We always use local and in season products.” Their product includes homemade limoncello, strawberry balsamic jam, pickled okra, bread and butter pickles, blueberries, blackberries and an array of other things that you can serve with anything from fish to toast.

Q: In what ways do you incorporate the South?

A: “It’s such a southern tradition to begin with and who wouldn’t want strawberry jam in the winter.” They are great gifts and why wouldn’t you preserve in season things so you can have them out of season and year round!

Q: What is your favorite southern staple food? Favorite local restaurant?

A: Martha – “Macaroni and cheese.” Her favorite local restaurant is Fig on Meeting Street because it is how she puts it “from the farm to the table and everything is local.” Lee Anne – “Shrimp and grits and fried okra.” Lee Anne’s favorite restaurant is McCrady’s known for its cutting edge menu.

Q: Is it more difficult to be a southern woman entrepreneur?

A: Martha – “No, because southern women are so resourceful and we love to entertain for our friends, so why not turn it into a business because southern women do it best.” Lee Anne – “ I wouldn’t know because it’s all I’ve ever been.” It is definitely apparent that southern women are super resourceful because I have only met fabulous, independent, resourceful women since I have been working at Southern Protocol.

Q: What is the most rewarding and what is the most challenging part of doing this?

A: Martha – “Friends rave about it and love it!” The difficult part about the business is going from friends and turning it into a bigger business. “Trying to figure out how to do this out of a small Charleston kitchen and figuring out a schedule and timing are the biggest challenges.”  Lee Anne – “ Giving it away and having people enjoy it  – I love that.” The challenge is trying to find the time with full time jobs as Charleston lawyers. (I would say that’s pretty impressive!)

Q: What is your advice for other entrepreneurs or people struggling with a small business?

A: Martha – “Why not try? If you want to make it work, you will. People just need to consider capital and how much time to put in, but why not try on a small scale first.”  Lee Anne – “It’s not worth stressing about. You can do anything you want to do it’s just deciding what that will be and going for it!”

In my opinion these wise words are helpful for anyone. Martha and Lee Anne know exactly what they are doing and have a wonderful positive outlook for their young business. I am so excited for these two because they have everything it takes to make this successful and they are certainly going to have a blast while doing it! Check out their blog for great recipes, tips, and just to simply follow these entertaining ladies on their journey!

Posted by Quinn

Looking for a fun way to spend quality time with little ones? One of the best places to go is your very own kitchen! I used to love cooking with my mom and grandmother when I was little, and it’s so great to have those sweet memories as we get older – not to mention my love of cooking was sparked there!

Obviously children aren’t going to be capable of creating a 5 course 5 star meal, but there are millions of kid-friendly recipes that are super simple and equally delicious. Perfect example: Pigpen Sandwiches, a recipe from Dierbergs School of Cooking that they actually use in their kids-oriented cooking classes. They are SO cute, beyond easy to prepare, and will give you plenty of time to laugh with your children – or just make them for yourself!

Pigpen Sandwiches (Makes 8 “piggy” sandwiches)
1 can (7.5 ounces) buttermilk biscuits
1 can (17.3 ounces) golden wheat biscuits (like Grands)
1 wooden skewer
16 raisins
8 slices of ham, thinly sliced
8 slices of American cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Place buttermilk biscuits on cutting board; using bench scraper, cut each biscuit in half. Cut 8 of the biscuit halves in half to form 16 triangle shapes for ears, and set aside.

Using a 1-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out 8 circles from remaining biscuit halves for snouts; set aside.

For each “piggy”: place wheat biscuits on prepared baking sheet. Place 2 triangles on top of each wheat biscuit for ears. Press firmly. Place 1 circle cut-out in the center of each wheat biscuit, not touching the ears, for the snout. Press firmly. Using wooden skewer, poke 2 holes in each “snout” for nostrils. Insert 2 raisins above each snout for the eyes.

Bake biscuits in a 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Place 1 slice of cheese on top 1 slice of ham; roll up. Serve next to warm piggy biscuit.

The Charleston City Paper can always be counted on to provide a ginormous list of everything wonderful to do on any given weekend – and with a big holiday weekend looming, they didn’t disappoint.

Click here to see a list of parties, specials and all kinds of fun taking place around town this weekend. Personally, I can’t wait for the Folly fireworks at 9:00 on Saturday evening… I’ll take as many extra showings of fireworks as I can get!