Tour of Fifty States: South Carolina's meal

For our gorgeous Palmetto state of South Carolina with SO MANY wonderful food choices, it was hard to narrow it down.  So here's what we ended up with: shrimp, shrimp, shrimp!  MMMMM shrimp!

Speaking of which, I can't find the paper that I wrote the Shrimp and Grits recipe on...it's here somewhere and I'll post an update when I find it!

Menu:  Lowcountry Boil, Shrimp and Grits, Benne Wafers
Outcome:   News flash -- Bill LIKED the grits!!!!  Maybe because they were loaded with cheese and bacon and shrimp?  Who cares, he said he liked it!  Ben, not so much.  That's okay, he ate the Caesar Salad that accompanied it.  The girls and I are big "grit fans" and we're looking forward to the World Grits Festival that will be held next month in our new home in Saint George, South Carolina!
(also, the Benne Wafers were packaged...sigh.  Just didn't have time to make them.  But they were still good!!)
Next up:  Paula's turn!  She chose Illinois!

Lowcountry Boil

Shrimp and Grits

Low Country Boil

Lowcountry Boil is also called Frogmore Stew in some parts of S.C.  It actually originates from a small fishing community near Beaufort, SC named Frogmore and though the town no longer exists, the stew carries on the great tradition started there!

Prep time:  20 min. Cook time:  43 minutes Total Time:  1 hour 3 minutes

Ingredients

·         Crab boil (Old Bay), 2 tsp. per quart of water

·         12 red new potatoes , halved if large

·         2 1-lb. ropes smoked sausage or kielbasa, cut into 1 inch chunks

·         6 ears corn, broken in half

·         3 pounds fresh shrimp, unpeeled

Directions

1.      Fill a large pot with enough water to cover all of the ingredients.

2.      Add the crab boil and bring to a boil. Adjust the crab boil to suit your taste.

3.      When the water boils, add the potatoes and sausage. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.

4.      Add corn and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

5.      Add shrimp and cook for no more than 3 minutes.

6.      Drain and serve with ketchup, cocktail sauce, hot sauce, butter, and a lot of paper towels.    Traditionally this is dumped on top of newspapers that are covering the picnic or kitchen table and no plates or utensils are used, just bowls for the condiments. 

Serves 6.

Benne Wafers

Over 300 years ago, the slaves from West Africans managed to bring a very small amount of sesame or “benne” seeds with them. Only a few handfuls made the journey but it was considered very lucky. They used the seeds for many things including breads and the oil was used for cooking. They actually introduced the sesame seed into the Charleston area for the first time and it was considered extremely lucky. 

The recipe for Benne Wafers began to spread and it is known that when plantation owners had large parties, their guests took benne wafers home as a sign of good luck.

Ingredients

·         ¼ cup butter

·         1 cup brown sugar

·         1 egg, beaten

·         ½ cup all-purpose flour

·         ½ cup sesame (benne) seeds

·         1/2 tsp. vanilla

·         1/8 tsp. salt

·         ¼ tsp. baking powder

Directions

1.      Toast sesame seeds and let cool.

2.      Cream butter and sugar, adding beaten egg, then flour and salt and baking powder.  Add the vanilla and sesame seeds.

3.      Drop by teaspoons full onto a well-greased cookie pan, far enough apart to allow spreading while baking.

4.      Bake in a 325º F oven for 7-10 minutes. Allow to cool for one minute before removing them from the cookie sheet.  Watch closely, as these will brown quickly.

Makes 50 cookies.