Alabama Trip: Day five

Shrimp and grits, green green tomatoes, and sweet potato souffle

My last day in the south would not be complete without shrimp and grits. It is more of a South Carolina low country dish, than a traditional Alabama fare. I had it for the first time on a trip last year. I brought home some grits, and since then it has become a celebrated staple, which seems to excite the house in a food frenzy when ever I make it.

Gumbo

More pics of southern snack foods

Various Cereal Bars

These gave me a chuckle. I am used to rice crispy treats, but never thought about taking the concept to other cereals. These seems in my opinion as an over the top variations.

Boiled Peanuts

Boiled peanuts are a southern thing. I have never seen them anywhere else. These were found at a gas station. Unlike other cooked peanut preparations, boiled peanuts are soft, on the salted side, and taste in my opinion more like a starchy pea or bean. They remind me of edamame. Southerner’s eat them as a snack. I like them, but find the ones I have had to be overly salty, so I could only eat a small amount.

Alabama Trip: Day Four

“This is some of the best BBQ I’ve every chewed on.” I overheard this in the doorway from a guy waiting to be seated. And I have to agree.

The place was Jim ‘N Nick’s, in Birmingham. It s a huge place, and because there was a bowl game in town, UConn vs South Carolina, the place was packed.

Did I eat BBQ (Pork) almost was day in Alabama? I think so. That is why I bring oatmeal and fruit and cut the heavy eating I tend to do down south.

For Dinner: Meal down south come as a meat and two-three sides. Some people go for the Vegetable Plate which is three sides and corn bread. The veggies are so rich from being fried, cooked with bacon, with butter or cream, that the veggies plate is more than enough

Sweet Tea (popular in the south)

Corn biscuits

My Dinner of Pork ribs, ham, creamed spinach, collard greens with BBQ sauce

Pulled Pork BBQ, with sauce and pickles, Baked beans and collards

Turkey BBQ

Chicken BBQ with potato salad and collards

Tilapia with apples and creamed spinach

Lemon Pie

Chocolate Cream pie

Alabama Trip: Day three

Home cooked Southern meal: Corn bread, fried okra, creamed corn, BBQ, veggies, and cinnamon apples cooked with Jack Daniel’s

fried okra

chowder peas

sock doll I made with Aunt Boots (a hobby of mine) its a rooster cow

Southern flour brand

Sweet Summer Squash Pickles

Grits box with picture of a Southern Breakfast of country ham, grits and eggs

Sock doll #2, this one is called Lebin

Old Fashion Butter Press

My Trip to Alabama: Dinner day One

uncooked sweet mini sweet potato biscuits

Here are some pics of the meal on my first night in Alabama. I go down south after Christmas to visit with Emily’s relatives for the last few years. I am a big fan of the food, and food culture down south, which is a big contrast to my New Jersey/New England roots. The food can be on the heavy side because of the heavy use of pork, fried items, and cream based vegetable side dishes. This time I came prepared and brought with me oat meal and dried fruit for breakfast, and a bag of oranges to help balance out the heavy foods.

The big stand outs are the southern staples like country ham, pork BBQ, sweet potato, corn grits, creamed corn and corn bread, turnip and collard greens, okra, pecans,various pickles hot and sweet vegetable pickles, sorghum sugar, and buttermilk biscuits.

Other stands outs are the use of beans, and fresh pea varieties not found much in the north, which are called crowder pea. They called the green peas we eat up north “English Peas.”

Tonight’s meal consisted of fried oysters, country ham, my sweet potato biscuits, turnip greens, potato salad, corn dressing (stuffing), and sweet potato pie for dessert.

Fried Oysters: serves 2-4

Ingredients:

24-48 oysters (2 pints cans) or hand shucked with oyster liquid reserved

For dredge coating:

1/2 cup AP flour
1/8 cup corn meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper

lemon wedges.

2-3 cups of oil for frying (I prefer peanut oil)

Lime Buttermilk Dressing (optional)

1/2 cup butter milk
juice of 3 limes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoon of honey
5-6 scallions small diced
1 clove of minced garlic
minced parsley
salt and pepper

Procedure:

Soak the oyster in the oyster liquid and drain (don’t rinse) just before adding to dredge mix. Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pot to a temp of 350. Dredge the oysters and place carefully in the hot oil. Fry for 30 seconds and flip and fry for 30 more seconds. place oysters on a double thick layer of paper towels to absorb some of the oil.

For the dressing. Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and combine.

I eat them with just some lemon juice.

Serve immediately.

A Southern Meal

oyster being fried

Cooked Oysters

mini sweet potato biscuits

country ham which I like to eat with sorghum syrup

potato salad

cornbread dressing

turnip greens