Chargrilled Oysters-Rockefeller-Ala Big Dude

Bev went to the local seafood store recently to pick up a few scallops and also bought a dozen fresh oysters to grill.  I rarely create a dish and usually use one of your recipes, perhaps with a few changes. Since we like both Chargrilled Oysters made with the recipe from Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House and Oysters Rockefeller, and we had the spinach and bacon already cooked, this had to be tried.

Chargrilled Oysters Rockefeller

12 fresh oysters on the half shell

1 stick butter, melted

½ C. or so of sautéed spinach
2 pieces of bacon, fried crisp – Benton’s of course
Dash Sriracha, more to taste
1½ T. fresh chopped parsley
2 t. minced garlic
1/8 C. chopped chives
¼ C. bread plain crumbs, use Panko for extra crispy (I may try flavored next time)
1/8 C. grated parmesan

Mix together ingredients 2 thru 8 in a small bowl and ingredients 9 & 10 in another small bowl.

Shuck the oysters, retaining as much of the liquor as possible.

Top the oysters with the butter mixture.

Then top with the bread crumb mixture and grill over high heat. 

They need the flames inside a closed grill to add a smokiness to them and it won’t hurt the shell.  Cook until the liquid begins to bubble around the edge for plump, moist, tender oysters – longer if you prefer more done.

 

Does this single one not look delicious.  Below is my plate.

 

We had them as an appetizer for the main meal of grilled shrimp, scallops, and pineapple but they were the star of the meal.

The chargrilled shrimp need the flame-up to give them the flavor, but just a little as they can quickly be over cooked.  Everything was outstanding and Bev announced she was buying more oysters her next trip to town three days hence.  Our meal was seafood, pineapple, and toasted garlic bread - anything else would have been a distraction.

Sorry about the quality of the photos.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

Wine Club At Almost Heaven South

We recently joined a small wine club whose members are at the opposite end of the spectrum from wine snobs – I think the wine tasting is just a good excuse to socialize, which works perfectly for us.  We meet in a different home each month and the hosts choose the theme for the evening.  Since August was open, we opted for it so we could have it on the dock, chose a Caribbean theme, and asked folks to bring their favorite wine to drink while sitting at the beach, or lake.

We played Jimmy Buffett and Beach Boys music and made the dock as islandy as we could with the things we had on hand - Bev already had several things from the Caribbean hanging around.

Here’s Bev and good friend Joe relaxing before the rest of the guests showed up - Coco is on guard duty on her mama's lap.

It is the host’s responsibility to provide the entrée and the guests bring the rest of the food and for this meal, we served Jamacian Jerk Chicken and Mango Salsa.  I’d posted the jerk marinade before, using pork, except this time I freshly ground the thyme & allspice.  I made one batch of mild using two whole jalapenos and a batch of hot using four whole scotch bonnets - also made a few pieces of non-jerk.

The salsa was the same as I posted back in March.

We started with an appetizer of Caribbean Holiday Shrimp and sided the chicken with two salads, rice & beans, fried plantains, and sweet cornbread then finished the meal off with key lime pie.  Once the cooking started, I was too busy to take any photos and these are all courtesy of friend Laurie.

I thought everything was delicious and that seemed to be the view of the others as well.  Since allspice is a dominent flavor in jerk, I believe grinding it fresh was a nice improvement over the last time.  The recipe called for six scotch bonnets but the four I used made it right for folks who wanted it hot but not flaming.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  None

Two years ago:  None

Larry

Saturday Humor - Kids Say The Darndest Things

And sometimes so do adults.  We were recently watching the Food Channel’s Ann Burrell making ravioli wherein she cut them with a round cutter after stuffing and leaving a skeleton of dough to be wasted.  When I commented to that fact, Bev said she preferred it Ann’s way so she wouldn’t have all that extra dough with her ravioli.  When I pointed out that 95% of the pasta we eat is just boiled dough with sauce on it and that is what the extra around the ravioli was, she gave me the oddest duh look.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

Wal-Mart Pizza Ala Beverly

Bev came in the other night with a Wal-Mart Meat Lovers Pizza, intent on kicking it up several notches.  She added tomatoes, sautéed onions, peppers, and garlic (all from our garden), plus mushrooms, green and black olives.

We cooked it indirect on the gas grill until the cheese started to melt then over direct heat to crisp up the crust.

Talk about making a silk purse from a sows ear, thanks to the extra effort Bev always puts in, it was delicious.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Eric & Matthew Visit And Tomatoes

Two years ago: Pasta Carrabba Ala Steph Ala Larry

Larry

 

8/17/12 meal date

Final Day Of Our RV Trip To N. Georgia

Day three in the N. Georgia was spent with the Hoffer’s on a tour of wine country.  According to one site – “The Southern Appalachians in North Georgia are ideal for growing wine grapes.  The elevation, the soil and the climate combine to produce wine grapes of the highest quality and subsequently, fine wines.”  Stu, Sandy, Meakin, and Sam (MyCarolina Kitchen) drove the 30+ miles down to the campground, met up with us, and we headed across the mountains to our first stop at Blackstock Vineyards and Winery for a tasting and lunch, or so we thought. 

Sam suggested this as our first stop because they opened at 10am and they served lunch but upon arriving and inquiring about lunch were told, “yeah, we need to update our website” – no lunch.  This was too bad as they had a magnificent place to serve it as you can see from these views.

The nice young lady poured us several wines to taste and we bought a few bottles and decided to head down to Dalonega for lunch at the Back Porch Oyster Bar.  Like many towns in the area, Dalonega, has changed into a tourist town and appears to be more successful at it than others.

I’m sure having the steady income brought in by a college helps with their improvement efforts.  None of us took restaurant shots, but several of the dishes were memorable – I wanted raw oysters, but refused to pay $24/dozen for them.  Two of us had their Hatteres Style New England clam chowder and Bev and I loved it and Stu ordered a Thai Chili calamari for all to taste and it was also a big hit.  The other memorable item that Bev and I got a taste of was Sam’s shrimp and grits and we all thought it was very good.  We would definitely eat there again if in the area.  Bev’s fish taco and my fried oyster sandwich were also good but not in the same league as the others.

After lunch and brief walk in town, we headed back North with a stop at Frogtown Winery and like the Blackstock Winery, this tasting room sits on a hill with a great view.

These are shots of the tasting bar and us at it.

This place is really set of for event hosting with large indoor and outdoor areas.

We got back to the campground, said our good buys and settled in to our outside chairs to watch the light rain – right before the serious thunderstorms roared through, followed by a long, steady rain – hey we’re camping and it nearly always does that.  It was fun, as always, to spend time with the Hoffer’s and we thought it was the highlight of the trip.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Salmon Leftovers

Two years ago: Creamy Pasta Puttanesca

Larry

8/9/2012 event date

Eggplant Patties Ala Marie

Our eggplants are now producing well and we’re always on the lookout for new ways to use them and as is often the case, one of my blog reads delivered a recipe for us to try.  Marie, over at Proud Italian Cook, recently posted her Eggplant patties and they looked too good to pass up.  As a fan of Italian food, hers is one of the three that I read and you should pop her to her blog for some very good step-by-step photos and instructions.

In the heat of the summer, we avoid using the oven unless absolutely necessary so we used the grill instead to get this recipe.

Eggplant Patties – Adapted from Proud Italian Cook.

Ingredients:

3 small and 1 medium eggplant, sliced about 1/3 inch thick

1 small garlic bulb, top 1/3 removed.

Olive oil

½ sweet bell pepper

½ sweet onion

2 ears fresh corn, kernels cut off

10-15 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Parsley, about the same amount as the basil

Handful of Panko bread crumbs – all we had

½ cup grated parmesan – we had it and no romano

2 eggs, beaten

S&P to taste

Directions:

1. Salt and pepper the eggplant and drizzle with olive oil.  Drizzle the cut part of garlic and wrap in foil.

2. Over medium heat grill the eggplant until just softened and the garlic, turning several times – it was done when the eggplant was.

3. When cooled, cut the eggplant into cubes and mix with everything but the eggs and S&P. Taste and adjust herbs, cheese, and S&P then mix in the eggs.

4. Line a sheet pan with foil and spray with Pam.
5. Form the eggplant mixture into six patties, lay on the sheet pan and put on the grill over medium heat with the lid closed. 

6. When the bottom is brown, flip, add grated mozzarella cheese, and close the lid.  Remove when the bottom is browned.

Bev had turned some tomatoes into sauce that morning so we decided to side the patties with pasta and sauced both.

It was a very good meal and a nice addition to our eggplant recipe file.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago: Grilled Salmon And A Boat Ride

Two years ago:  Tuscan Steak And Beans

 

Larry

8/11/2012 meal date

SIMPLE HOME REMEDIES (That Really Work!)

1. AVOID CUTTING YOURSELF WHEN SLICING VEGETABLES BY GETTING SOMEONE ELSE TO HOLD THE VEGETABLES WHILE YOU SLICE.

2. AVOID ARGUMENTS WITH THE FEMALES ABOUT LIFTING THE TOILET SEAT BY USING THE SINK.

3. FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SUFFERERS ~ SIMPLY CUT YOURSELF AND BLEED FOR A FEW MINUTES, THUS REDUCING THE PRESSURE ON YOUR VEINS. REMEMBER TO USE A TIMER.

4. A MOUSE TRAP PLACED  ON TOP OF YOUR ALARM CLOCK WILL PREVENT YOU FROM ROLLING OVER AND GOING BACK TO SLEEP AFTER YOU HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON.

5. IF YOU HAVE A BAD COUGH, TAKE A LARGE DOSE OF LAXATIVES. THEN YOU'LL BE AFRAID TO COUGH.

6. YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE ~ WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN'T MOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THE DUCT TAPE.

7. IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.

DAILY THOUGHT:

SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING, BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago: Gardening Thursday – Growing peppers

Two years ago: Pancakes For The Grandkids

Larry

RV Trip Day Two In N. Georgia

This day started off as a bummer when I realized I’d left my camera at the wind chime store in Helen the day before, only to be compounded by the inability to call them because the IPad and cell phone picked this time for no service, therefore no way to get their phone number.  No shots for today, so I’ll post some from the web.

Several years ago, we came to North Georgia to buy fruit trees and bushes (our blueberries for one) from the Johnson Nursery and we went through Ellijay on the way – this is a big apple growing region. 

We noticed it had morphed itself into a little tourist town with shops around the town square and said we should go back sometime, but had yet to make it.  Since we had an unplanned day and it was only about 50 miles from the campground, this was definitely the best time to make a visit.

After breakfast at the Sawmill Place, including country fried steak and the biscuits and gravy I’d passed on at The Hole In The Wall the day before, we headed for Ellijay – breakfast was okay but nothing to write home about, even though it had high ratings from Urban Spoon and Trip Advisor.  Here are a couple of shots from their Facebook page.

We got into to Ellijay and circled the square to see what was there and Bev saw one shop that interested her – PJ’s Rusted Buffalo, whose main product is Himalayan Rock Crystals, which are advertised to cure all kinds of things.  Check out their site for pictures and the story – we took three of them home with us and they are touted to cure about everything by cleansing the air – we’ll report back later.  These are the ones we took home the first one is with a flash, so you can see the pig, and the second one is as it actually looks.

These are the other two and they have the same lighted salt color as the pig.

From Ellijay, we headed back to Helen to retrieve my camera, but stopped at Cartecay Vineyards, about 7 miles south of Ellijay, where we could taste not only their wines but also those of Habersham Winery and Crane Creek Vineyard.  Here are some shots from their Facebook page of their tasting room and attached patio – check out their site for a short video.

As is often the case, it’s the people I meet that make the trip for me and we ended up talking with a guy who was retired from the Army and had similar experiences to our son, Rhett’s.  We also liked many of the wines and left with a full case.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Baked Haddock Ala Claudia

Two years ago:  Pasta Puttanesca

Larry

8/8/2012 event date

Full Day One In North Georgia

When we camp, we eat most breakfast meals in, but this area had several places with good ratings and we had to try a couple of them.  We began this day with a visit to The Hole In The Wall Restaurant on the town square in Blairsville.

The place was about 2/3 full when we showed up around 10:30am and found it to be a cozy place with an efficient and very friendly wait staff.

The menu was just what you might expect – well-worn sheets of paper stapled together.

They served lunch from 7am til 3pm and lunch and supper from 11am til close.  The ladies (Bev & Pat) decided to split a pork tenderloin croissant and cream cheese custard and blueberry stuffed French toast.

They thought both were very good and Bev especially liked the tenderloin.

I was torn between something with biscuits and gravy and something with potatoes and I opted for The Mountain Breakfast which was two eggs any style and All-The-Way-Home-Fries (mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes, cheese and choice of sausage, ham, smoked sausage, or bacon).

Of course, I put my eggs on the potatoes and mixed it all together and it was very good.  The potatoes were very similar to what I do at home and equally as good.  We’d planned to come again for lunch before leaving on Friday, but I ended up needing to get back early to deal with a rental property issue and we had to pass.

After breakfast and a quick stop at Wallyworld, we headed to Helen, Georgia, about 25 miles away so the girls could shop a little.  Fortunately I found a nice spot in an open air pub called the King Ludwig Biergarten which was obviously pet-friendly as the owners dog was tied to a bar stool.

I spent a couple of hours tending to the high-energy Coco (Willie and Sweetie just laid around) and sipping three types of good German beer – Konig Pilsner, Warsteiner Premium Verum (pilsner), and Warsteiner Premium Dunkel (dark).  Per Wikipedia - Warsteiner beer is brewed in the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park outside of Warstein, North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany. Warsteiner has been a product of the Cramer family since 1753 and is Germany's largest privately owned brewery.  The König Brewery is situated in the Beeck area of Duisburg; amongst other beers.

 All were good but I liked the dunkel the best, as did the owner and according to him, during October Fest, the place is so busy that it’s nearly impossible to even move among the tables.

By the time we got home, we decided to call it a day, ate a sandwich from smoked chicken we’d brought from home, and chilled out sipping wine and watching the world go by.  A pretty good first day, except I left my camera in Helen.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Freezing Peppers For Winter

Two years ago:  Deer Sausage Sandwich

Larry

8/7/2012 event date