View from Hilton Head Island... Dye's Gullah Fixin's

We all find ourselves trekking off to see family, wherever they are. Some of my family live in Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. Unless you play golf, you may not be familiar with the island. Twelve miles long and five miles wide, it was inhabited thousands of years ago by native Americans, a Union base during the Civil War and the place hundreds of ex-slaves settled so they could be free. Charleston, nearby had been an Atlantic slave-trade port and the Gullah culture, derived from the large number of Angolans brought to the states through that port. You would think that HHI might reflect that rich heritage of mixed cultures and races, but it's hard to find. The restaurants are nice, average, even boring fare. Grilled chicken? Yes. Shrimp? Yes. Ceasar Salad? Yes... But if you want food steeped in that rich, local Gullah culture, you'll have to look for it.

We found it at Dye's Gullah Fixin's. If you are anywhere close to this restaurant you need to get yourself there for dinner. It's at the back of the Pineland Station. Dye's place is homey and warm. All the ingredients are locally grown and fresh. The collard greens are perfect, taste like greens without the slightest hint of bitterness. The butterbeans are rich and even my vegetarian husband was not put off by the bacon fat used for flavoring. My toddler at them like there was no tomorrow. The crabcakes with lump blue meat was more crab than breading and the notion that they were fried was an afterthought because there was no greasy residue. The fresh fish was simple and yet interesting with spices that you could name, and yet they all lingered on your tongue. The mac and cheese was a huge hit with my kid. And the okra with tomatoes, sweetened I think by fresh sorghum, was addictive... even if you've ever thought okra was slimy. There's sweet potato pie, which is the best I've had since Lois the Pie Queen in Oakland, California. And there's something with the inelegant name (until you try it...) of blackberry dump or peach dump. Cooked on top of the stove for hours the crust is within, lumps of crust inside the berries or peaches served with a cream sauce. Dye said the recipe came from her great-grandmother and it took her ten times to get it right. Trust me, she got it right.

Dye is the real deal, a woman who learned to cook at the hand of her great-grandmother and then studied in Atlanta. She obviously knows her way around kitchens, large and small. She's a woman of faith, the fierce kind that moves mountains. She earned that joint with hard work and she owns the place heart and soul. We all know it's better to support the mom and pop's than push our carts down the aisle at Wal-Mart, but it's not always easy to seek those places out. This is why it's worth it. Dye's restaurant, Dye's spirit, it's in the food.

Unearthing Treasures

(You can click on the images above to enlarge them... And I know you'll want to read about what to do with your old felt hats and how to paint your stove.)

There are so many recipes in my mom's house, recipe cards, cookbooks and organized files filled with things she copied from friends or magazine clippings. I almost overlooked this book. I was in a purging mode and it was on a pile of books to be donated, and then ... I just couldn't do it. I created a pile of all of the homemade, self-published cookbooks from the church groups and PTA's and tossed this one in as well. Today, I was waiting on a call and procrastinating when I picked it up and thumbed through. It's wonderful, absolutely wonderful. Not only has it found a new home, but it's going on the shelf next to the books I refer to once or twice a week.

Here's the most interesting highlights.

It was originally published in 1977, but there are over nine reprints listed. There's no author's name. The dedication was written by someone who refers to herself as Aunt Becky. Otherwise, there's no credit for these wonderful tips and recipes. What a simple, generous act.

There are two pages of various pie recipes, including the one my mom swore by with vinegar and cold water. There are twenty pages of vegetable dishes and another 15 for one-dish casseroles. There's a whole section on leftovers, preserves, canning and miscellaneous recipes for everything from window cleaner to cough medicine.

At the moment everyone and their marketing mother is telling us what to buy to be environmentally aware and thoughtful about our choices. These recipes are from women who make the most of what they have and see excess as absurd. Having less, consuming less isn't about buying more, and traditions like these prove it.

"I am old, I am fat, but I am still Tetrazzini."

I'm into casseroles and comfort food at the moment. We have friends with a new baby, a little guy... which means all their time and energy should not be spent searching the fridge for something to eat. I love making one dish meals for friends and I'm always hunting for new recipes. When we had brunch at a friend's recently they brought Chicken Tetrazzini. It was great, chicken, pasta, mushrooms and green olives. Comforting, one dish and kid-friendly. My host mentioned that the Southern style features toasted pecans as well. When I looked for a recipe online, I found dozens of variations. I dug a little more and discovered that the dish is named after Luisa Tetrazzini, an Italian soprano. She was a cheerful, unsinkable type who survived three marriages, being bilked out of her fortunes and the indignity of age. That's her famous quote above... (but she doesn't look fat to me). She's thought to be the inspiration for the dish, which originated in San Francisco, a city she loved.

Here's some recipes from Food Network, Epicurious and All Recipes... Cheddar or parm? Olives? Pecans? Breadcrumbs? What's your style?

Grace Kelsberg's Sugar Cookies

It's been almost a year and I'm back. Suffice to say that grief is not simple. But here I am. I'm packing up my mom's house and putting it up for sale. I've found googley school photos, plaster hand prints, Gregg Shorthand study books and hundreds of thousands of recipes. There were two things that were a mystery to me when my mom died, one was her wedding ring. She wasn't sure where it was in the house and cringed when we talked about it. I knew she felt bad and would say, "I'm sure we'll find it," but it's looking less and less likely. And Grace Kelsberg's sugar cookie recipe. Grace Kelsberg is one the Graces that my daughter is named after, a lovely Methodist minister's wife who lived in a group of retirement homes near us. She was an amazing cook, and a strong woman. She had to be strong. She moved all over the world, following her husband and his job in an age when letters took weeks and phone calls were for emergencies. So to be honest, I don't even like sugar cookies. I can pass one of those pre-fab, might-as-well-be-a-dog-biscuit-covered-in-sprinkles-cookies any day. But Grace's cookie was another story. It's not a cut out cookie. It's far too delicate, too light. It's as if the essence of the sugar cookie has been distilled into this cookie. You won't need milk or tea or anything else to get these down. The only thing I can compare it to is cotton candy or sake. You know how they simply disappear on your tongue? It's more like that than anything else I can describe. Anyway, we searched for it when my mom was alive, but had no luck at all.

Then one afternoon, not long ago, I discovered that the recipe had simply been misfiled in my mom's recipe box under Breads. It was there all the time. I wish I could share it with my mom. I wish I could tell her we found it. I wish I could make them and see her face when she realizes they were every bit as good as she remembered. These days, I make the cookies at every opportunity and blow away everyone who tries them. One note, instead of vanilla, lime lemon, or orange oil work wonderfully.

So have one of Grace's cookies and cross your fingers that the wedding ring shows up someday.