Gullah Geechee

We won't be forgetting our culinary visit to the sea islands of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida that are home to the Gullah Geechee people. Low Country native, Pamela Jones, filled our bellies and our souls with her home-cooking.

Homemade Muscadine Wine

Muscadine grapes are native American grapes (all other grapes grown in the U.S. are of European stock). Growing up, we had our own muscadine vineyard on our family property! This tasty brew is a delicious treat!

Boiled Peanuts

Our family grew peanuts on our farm when I was a child. It was so interesting to see how they were harvested from the ground and then boiled in large batches and given to neighbors as gifts! My boiled peanut are garlicy and, of course, salty. Suck on the shells to get all the flavor!

Frogmore Stew (aka Low Country Boil)

Although there are many versions of this dish around, the name Frogmore Stew was coined in the 1960s by Richard Gay, one of the owners of Gay Fish Company on St. Helena Island. With a spicy broth, sausage, shrimp, potatoes and corn; this dish is an all-in-one pot all-you-can-eat buffet!

Fried Catfish

Delicately fried catfish fillets with cornmeal and flour seasoned to perfection, cooked in peanut oil. This is our version of fish and chips without the chips! You can find this on any low country table on a Friday night or any night for that matter. Served with homemade tartar sauce.

Sticky Carolina Red Rice and Smoked Sausage

In Charleston, red rice and sausage is a way of life. Not an everyday dish, we would eat red rice on Sundays. My kicked-up version is flavored with garlic, onions, peppers, tomato, and smoked Roger Wood beef sausage. It;s not the fanciest sausage, but it's what I grew up with.

Collards Greens & Pot Liquor

Smoked hammocks and neck bones give my collards a smokey meaty, flavor. One of the ways that the slaves made the most out of the vegetable scraps was to drink the “pot likker” or “pot liquor,” the water that’s leftover in the pot after the collards are cooked. Dip your cornbread in your pot liquor to soak up all the flavor!

Homemade Cornbread

The perfect accompaniment for collards greens and pot liquor. Served with honey butter.

Blackberry Dumplings

This recipe has been one of my favorites since childhood. I can remember my Mama making blackberries and dumplings with wild blackberries we picked from the field. These fluffy & delightfully tasty dumplings are simply made on the stove with a blackberry compote and dollops of flour, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla cooked until the dumplings are have absorbed all the flavors of the blackberries!