Mike, Barbara, and Summer have left, but their presence shall be felt for a long, long time.  Every time I open the cabinets I’ll be thinking of what fun we had, and what fun foods I’ll be making next.

They arrived from South Carolina with a carload of goodies for us!

Bubba Cola.  The name says it all.  And it tastes like you would think it would.  Well… Like I thought it would, anyway.  I’m not a huge soda pop drinker, and completely eschew anything with high fructose corn syrup.  But right next to it is Blenheim’s Ginger Ale – and OMG is it fantastic!  Fire in a bottle!  It is Janmaican Ginger with bubbles.  Evidently – in true Southern Spirit – it’s a casual company and they make it when they make it.  Not always available, and sold out quickly when it is.  I have a case of it right now, and I plan on savoring it!  It is damn good!  (I’m drinking a bottle right now…)

Dale’s Marinade is something I’ve wanted to try for a while.  Folks have spoken about it on the Friends of South Carolina board, and it appears to be the marinade of choice.  I was hesitant to buy it mailorder, because the minimum was a bit steep for me, but… Now I have my very own bottle.  I’m psyched!  The second-favorite (and one I did buy online) is Moore’s Marinade.  THAT one was really good.  I’m really looking forward to trying Dale’s.

And Duke’s Mayonnaise.  We have enough Duke’s in the house to make potato salad for the whole summer!  It’s lookin’ good at our house!   The ingredients are real – no artificial garbage or high fructose corn syrup.  It looks divine.

In South Carolina, BBQ means pork, and they have 4 distinct types of BBQ sauce – Vinegar and Pepper, Mustard, Light Tomato, and Heavy Tomato.

We start off with Maurice’s Southern Gold BBQ Sauce.  I have to admit I’m not used to a mustard-based BBQ sauce and I’m not so sure I’d care for his political views – hell, I know I don’t – but I’ve always been a fan of regional cooking – even if the cook and I disagree on just about everything in the world.  I’ll give it a real honest try and report back on my findings.

Shealy’s Vinegar and Pepper sauce is another true South Carolina BBQ sauce.  History states the Scots started with the Vinegar and Pepper sauces, and the German’s with the Mustard.   Makes sense.  The online price for a pint of the Vinegar and Pepper is a mere $2.50.  Not bad, at all.    I’m looking forward to this one, too.  There’s no online sales right now, they have to call for a credit card – but one of these days ordering it will be easier than cooking with it!

And then we have Four Oaks Farm’s Stone Ground Yellow Grits.  I love grits, and really like corn in any way I can get it.  It’s been a real long time since I had yellow grits, though.  I shall be making some of these up this week (along with some BBQ!)  Four Oaks Farm has just about anything you could want, from hams and bacon to syrups and jams. These look real good.

Bolied peanuts.  Who woulda thunk?!?  Boiled peanuts are South Carolina’s official snack food!  Boiled peanuts are green nuts that are boiled in salty water for hours outdoors over a fire. The shells turn soggy, and the peanuts take on a fresh, legume flavor.  It takes ninety to a hundred days to grow peanuts for boiling, and they are available only during May through November.  We had two bags and are now down to one.  They go great with ginger ale!!!

And we also have a cast iron corn stick pan.  I’m definitely making corn sticks tonight.  Mike and I have had a bit of a discussion about cornbread in the past.  I’ve always used flour, he usually doesn’t.  So…  I figure I’ll just turn his cornbread into cornsticks tonight.   I’ll report back on that later, as well.

Every kitchen needs Sorghum Syrup, and we have ours!  Sorghum –  contrary to popular belief – is not molasses and has a distinctly different flavor.  I’m going to have some fun with this.  Maybe a new BBQ sauce – or, better yet – some fun holiday baking.

Oh – and lest I forget (and I did forget to include them in the picture) there’s music galore to get me in the mood for cooking!

Ther’s The Fabulous Porkskins, Vollie McKenzie, Danielle Howle, and Drink Small.

This has been – and shall continue to be – a lot of fun!

Addendum:

Here are the Corn Sticks.  They came out fantastic.  They stuck a bit in the pan, but I’ll work on reseasoning it.  YUM!