By the Sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea...

Back from Easter vacation at Edisto Beach, SC, and am very sad to be back, I must say.  I love the beach.  The relaxation, the wind, the waves, the smells, the food...oh, yes the food...

There is no more appropriate place than the beach to enjoy a uniquely southern dish known as "Shrimp and Grits".  And oh my God, if you've never had it, then you are missing out:

I decided to indulge this weekend, and had a taste test between two local restaurants (not that there are a lot to choose from on this humble island) and tried out the shrimp and grits at the Sea Cow and the Waterfront...which doesn't have a website, which is so stupid, because they are awesome.  And they won this taste test.

Though both were amazeballs.  You know what else is amazeballs?  Pimento Cheese burgers.  Those were enjoyed courtesy of McConkey's Jungle Shack.

So, tomorrow, the diet and the dreaded workweek start again, but in the meantime, I will share with you the best recipes I have ever found for Pimento Cheese and Shrimp and Grits and just a few pics of my lovely holiday weekend.

Pimento Cheese:

6 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup Vermont extra sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup Monterrey jack cheese, grated
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
4 ounces pimientos (in a jar), chopped
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 dash hot sauce (or more!)
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1 Using a hand held mixer, beat cream cheese until soft.
2 Add the remaining ingredients and beat until creamy and combined.
3 Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.

Ta-da! Then smother it on everything: burgers, fries, celery, crackers, your face, the possibilities are endless!

Shrimp and Grits:

Ingredients

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
• 6 slices bacon, chopped

• 2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

Preparation

Bring chicken broth to a boil over medium-high heat; stir in grits. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in salt and next 3 ingredients. Set aside, and keep warm.
Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 3 minutes or until crisp; remove bacon from pan.
Cook shrimp in same pan over medium-high heat 3 minutes or until almost pink, stirring occasionally. Add lemon juice and next 4 ingredients, and cook 3 minutes. Stir in bacon.
Spoon grits onto individual plates or into shallow bowls; top with shrimp mixture. Serve immediately.

Trust me, you'll love them both. And if you ever happen to find yourself at Edisto Beach, if you find a shark's tooth while walking the shore at low tide, I hope you'll think of me...because I didn't find one this time around, dammit.  I'm usually a pro at that sort of thing.

Happy Easter everyone! And despite whatever anyone else says, it IS all about the bunny...

And the Godiva truffles...thank you,Rottenator!

Meanwhile, the Nooge survived his first overnight alone. Although he did greet us like this at the door...

Obviously, he has very short term memory and forgot who we were for a few minutes.  Oh, he was not happy with us being gone, and greeted us with fluffy tail and mohawk.  The Rottenator says it's because it was he was prepared to protect the house against strangers.  My thoughts are that he was so fucking pissed that he'd been abandoned he was ready to rip our throats out.

Nevertheless,all was forgiven. Never...leave...again...

They both had a hard weekend

I like this pic because it's kinda abstract

This let's you know that you've really arrived; famous decorated Edisto "tree"

This pic does not accurately show how fucking cold it was

 2nd place winner in the Scrimp & Grits contest

Awesome pimento cheese burgers

Oak trees, wisteria and spanish moss...telltale signs you're hitting the low country

Improved service and awesome food...preview of my Tripadvisor review...

One way in...one way out..."THE" bridge onto the island

My Mood(ring) Tone of the Day:

Just to add, the main purpose of the trip was to put together furniture for my mom's beach house.  Whilst the Rottenator excelled at this task...

He put together two of these bad boys, plus two other chairs lickety-split, whilst I was not so fortunate.  My mother ordered a microwave cabinet that was supposed to look like this...

And I gave her an end product that looked like this....

Needless to say, JC may have been a carpenter, but Kathleen definitely is not.

Spring Break, Woo Hoo!

So, this upcoming weekend, the Rottenator, the Mominator and I are going to spend Easter at the beach and I am SO looking forward to it.

Not only does this mean I have a four day work week, but I also get to be at the beach! 

Incidentally, the family beach house is at Edisto Beach,SC which is approximately here:

And it looks like this:

And this is the oak tree in the yard that I absolutely adore:

I have been craving fresh seafood for a few weeks, so this trip is a long time coming.  I'm kind of a snob when it comes to seafood; it has to be fresh from the dock to my plate for me to enjoy it.

Needless to say, I've never been a fan of Red Lobster. And rightfully so. Except for their god damn cheese biscuits.  They are amazeballs; more than enough to pull you over to the dark side.

This will also mark the first weekend that the Nooge is going to be left alone overnight.  This cat can barely stand a second by himself without going mental so I don't know what we're going to return to.

Side note: I accidentally locked him in the bathroom for a few hours while I was running errands this afternoon.  And after he wrecked the entire room, I've had to deal with this:

"Never leave again...never leave again!"  He's been passed out ever since his unfortunate incarceration.


I fully expect a demolished house upon our return.

Nevertheless, upcoming mini vacation, yay! I hope to find many shark's teeth and also am praying for no rain.

And an Easter basket on Sunday morning.  If not a basket, then at least some perfume.  I'm just sayin'...time to make up for Valentine's Day, Rottenator.

My Mood Ring(tone) of the Day:

I'm Southern And I Know It...

Don't get me wrong, I do love living in the south, and I love all the pretty little flowers of spring. The tulip trees, the azaleas, the daffodils and whatnot but OH MY GOD:

Everything is covered with this yellow crap down here.  We had an incredibly mild winter so everything is blooming full force and although it is going to be spectacular and beautiful, I will not be here to enjoy it because I will have suffocated underneath all of this pollen.

Incidentally, have you ever seen pollen underneath a microscope?

This is the nasty stuff that attaches itself to your lungs and mucus membranes and everything else and causes you not to breathe for a good four months out of the year.

However, I guess I shouldn't complain because I know that even though we are officially into the Spring season, Mother Nature is not recognizing this fact in many areas of the US of A.

Meanwhile, in Chicago...

Meanwhile, in Colorado...

Meanwhile in Indy:

Meanwhile in Florida (Florida, are you serious?!?!)

So I guess I should keep my mouth (and nose) shut and just be thankful that it's not bitterly cold and snowy and icy down here because in general, Southerners do not handle any adverse weather conditions very well when it comes to operating moving vehicles.

In fact, this pretty much sums up Southerners reaction to any inclement weather:

Roll Tide.

Anyhoo, I have spent my day doing absolutely nothing; it is gray and damp here which is preventing me from my normal spring cleaning OCD fit, so I will just sit and enjoy my marathon of Buffy courtesy of Netflix.

Incidentally, I am also watching Curtis Stone on Food Network, so that affects my Mood Ring(tone) Of The Day:

Which leads me to this:

I'm beginning to think that there is not one aspect of my life that cannot be appropriately captured in an episode of "Scrubs" or "Buffy" or in the movie "Office Space".