Beaufort Stew and other Southern Specialties

So we survived the trip down south... the heat, I mean... ; )

Some of you may know that I don't visit the south very often. My dad lives there and I love him and all but I'd rather he make the trip up north to visit us. I even do my best to fly him up here as much as I can (although he does drive on occasion....) I usually use the heat as my main excuse. It's true! I really despise the heat and humidity. Although there are a few other reasons that I try to stay above the Mason-Dixon line as much as possible...

But I'll admit there are a few redeeming qualities found in South Carolina. Like the Beaufort Stew dad served at his party on the 4th. What is Beaufort Stew, you ask? Maybe you know it by it's other name, Frogmore Stew. No? Still doesn't ring a bell?

Well, let me explain. It's generally found down around Charleston and I'm sure there are many different takes on the stew depending on where you live and what's in season. But the gist is you take a HUGE stock pot and add in halved cobs of corn, small potatoes, shrimp, sausage, onion, maybe some crab and/ or crayfish (like I said, depends on where you are), water, seasoning and let it "stew up".

The best part is how you eat it. No one up north believes me when I tell them this. You take a long picnic table, cover it with newspaper. Then you drain off the liquid from the stew and pour the rest ONTO the table. Everyone then just picks out what they want to eat.

Simple as that. And no, I didn't just make that up. It's really done that way.

Let's see - other southern delicacies... boiled peanuts. I made my husband do a U-ie in the middle of the road in a terrible thunderstorm to go back to a store so I could get some. YUM!!

Sweet tea. I make this at home. And no - it's not unsweet tea with just regular sugar mixed in when you're ready to drink it... and best of all you can buy it in concentrate form at the grocery store where my dad lives!! It's almost like thin molasses!! You just add water. I LIVED off of it when I was in college.

Then there's Cheerwine and Sundrop. Those are soda's mostly found in NC and in SC, close to the NC border.

And there's the shrimp and grits. Now, I'm not a grits kinda girl. But I will eat shrimp and grits. I didn't have any in a restaurant this time but dad made some for breakfast while I was there. YUMMY!!!

So, next time you're down south you need to partake in some of these yummies. Although you'll be hard pressed to find Beaufort Stew - I'm pretty sure that's the kind of thing you make at home for a party - it's not really something you can find at a restaurant. (maybe you can in Charleston...) But you should really try boiled peanuts - they're great!! Especially with Cheerwine or a beer!!