Fervent Foodie

A day in Clover, SC

July 25, 2011 9 Comments

This past weekend my mom and sister made the long haul down from Ohio to visit me in North Carolina. 7 hours in the car, and they still had smiles on their faces when they arrived Open-mouthed smile

I’ve been so excited for them to come down since I relocated to Charlotte in April. When you’ve spent your whole life in one area, it’s really bizarre to pick up, move, and plop down in an entirely new city without physically sharing it with your friends and family.

One of our excursions over the weekend led us to Clover, South Carolina to visit my mom’s friend Lucy. My mom and Lucy met on the internet. Apparently, that string of crazy runs in the family Smile .

Clover is a very rural town about 45 minutes away from Charlotte and about 30 minutes from Rock Hill, SC.

By rural, I mean there was a whole lot of this going on:

I don’t know what it is about this photo, but I absolutely love it. Maybe it’s because I don’t often get the opportunity to photograph animals in such close proximity, or maybe it’s just the look in this guy’s eye. Doesn’t he look like he’s posing for the photo??

Lucy lives on a beautiful property dotted with wildlife and rustic buildings.

It’s crazy that such a short drive out of the city brings you to this peaceful, seemingly simple, town.

If it weren’t for the sweltering heat (holy triple digits!) I could have walked around taking photos for hours. Every nook and cranny bubbled over with picturesque country charm.

Are you ready to hightail it to the countryside yet?

By the time we finished touring Lucy’s house, we were starving (when am I not?) and headed to Lell’s Café in Rock Hill for lunch:

Lell is a friend of Lucy’s, and her café is about “real food and quality products.” They specifically focus on using fresh local ingredients with an emphasis on keeping the menu as organic and natural as possible. They don’t even serve pop (soda for your southerners), given the artificial ingredients and chemicals it contains.

How awesome is that?

I eyeballed the menu and the specials and spent some time drooling over these fabulous looking scones:

But decided to go with Lucy’s advice and get the French Connection sandwich for my meal:

The French Connection had sliced ham, a generous portion of deliciously melty brie (welcome to heaven), and fruit spread:

I’m not usually big on mixing sweet and savory, but I am so happy I stepped outside the box and got this sandwich because the combination was simply fabulous.

Yow.za.

Jenny tried the veggie wrap which featured the hummus of the day. Unfortunately, the hummus of the day happened to be olive hummus and Jenny happens to hate olives (even more than I do!). She took most of the wrap home with us, and Mom, who adores olives (she must be adopted) had the leftovers for a midnight snack and said it was fabulous.

I tried to be sneaky and snap a photo of mom on my way back from the bathroom. Of course the light shining in the window washed out what could have become THE ONLY photo in existence with her actually smiling.

Apparently the gods are on her side and intervened on the photo op, thus destroying my hopes of getting a natural photo of her.

One of the many great things about Lell’s is their serious coffee selection:

I went with the mocha latte:

So friggin delicious. One of these days I am going to get a job as a barista so I can learn to make delicious coffee concoctions for myself. A girl can dream, right?

Lell’s carries their local focus from the table to the walls and displays artwork of several local artists. Lucy was one of the artists featured. How cool!

After lunch we drove around Rock Hill, scouted out downtown Clover, then hit up the Goodwill where I found a new pair of running shorts (tags still attached!) and a gap skirt for $3 a pop.

Can I get a Boo.Ya.?

Dinner was courtesy of Lucy’s husband Tommy, the Red-Neck-Chef.

Hello Moroccan Chicken!

As soon as I saw the olives, I had to giggle. Poor Jenny Smile

Even with the olives, this meal was deserving of a golf clap for the chef! I adore anything with cumin, so this dish was right up my alley. Ok… yes, I picked out the olives. Maybe the Red-Neck-Chef will post this recipe to his blog so we can all enjoy it again Smile

We ended our visit in Clover on a sweet note courtesy of a large slice of Lucy’s homemade peach pie:

Only in the south Smile

I may not have gotten any photos of the people in this post, but every person mentioned has a website so feel free to get your stalk on Winking smile

Recipes

I say frittata, you say… ?

July 24, 2011 8 Comments

If I ever volunteer to come to your house and make you breakfast, you should consider yourself very lucky. You should also consider yourself forewarned:

For no dish, no matter how simple, will the kitchen be left unscathed. What can I say? I like to become one with my food Winking smile

And yes, that IS a bottle of wine next to the eggs.

I’ve always wanted to make a frittata, and this Sunday morning I was in the mood to get my cook on so I decided to give it a shot. Once I started googling frittata recipes, I realized I was lacking a major piece of equipment: a skillet that could go from stove top to oven without causing a fire. Dangit. That’s going on the T.J. Maxx list.

Since I had my heart set on eggy bliss, I decided to just use a standard glass pie pan. Does that mean it’s not a frittata anymore? Hmmmm what would its proper classification be? I say frittata, you say….. frrrrreggcasserole?

Something to ponder as the man pours your mimosa.

This frittata consisted of:

6 egg whites
3 eggs
2 Hot Chicken sausages (casings removed, cooked and crumbled)
1 large handful chiffonade spinach
S&P, to taste
Frank’s Red Hot, to taste (plus more for garnish )
1/4 cup diced tomato
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tsp minced garlic

While I cooked up the sausage, and sautéed the onion, mushroom, and garlic, I got to egg crackalacking. Once the sausage was cooked and the veggies were soft, I stirred all the goodies into the eggs then poured into a pie pan that I’d coated with cooking spray.

Into the oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, and you’ll end up with this beauty:

The frittata set up PERFECTLY. Perfect temperature, perfect cook time:

I started off with just a slice:

But ended up eating precisely half of the frittata…

Good news is the stats on half the frittata: 318 calories, 11g carbs, 11g fat, 41g protein, 3g fiber

Molto bene Red lips

Recipes

I say frittata, you say… ?

July 24, 2011 8 Comments

If I ever volunteer to come to your house and make you breakfast, you should consider yourself very lucky. You should also consider yourself forewarned:

For no dish, no matter how simple, will the kitchen be left unscathed. What can I say? I like to become one with my food Winking smile

And yes, that IS a bottle of wine next to the eggs.

Something to ponder as the man pours your mimosa.

This frittata consisted of:

6 egg whites
3 eggs
2 Hot Chicken sausages (casings removed, cooked and crumbled)
1 large handful chiffonade spinach
S&P, to taste
Frank’s Red Hot, to taste (plus more for garnish )
1/4 cup diced tomato
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tsp minced garlic

Into the oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, and you’ll end up with this beauty:

The frittata set up PERFECTLY. Perfect temperature, perfect cook time:

I started off with just a slice:

But ended up eating precisely half of the frittata…

Good news is the stats on half the frittata: 318 calories, 11g carbs, 11g fat, 41g protein, 3g fiber

Molto bene Red lips

Ramblings

My nightstand pretty much sums it up.

July 21, 2011 4 Comments

The little blue book is “Making your own biscotti and dunking delights” — I stole it from my mom 🙂

Restaurants

HOLY.HOT.DOG.

July 20, 2011 18 Comments

I’ve been doing A LOT of eating lately. It’s not my fault, really. How can a gal not fall victim to sensory overload in this food-filled city of Charlotte? Every street, every corner, every nook and cranny of this beautiful city is buttered with interesting restaurants to try–from fancy schmancy steak and lobster grilles to down-home-country barbecues to fabulous food trucks and every single flavor combination in between.

Let’s just say I’m in glutton heaven, and I’ve made it my personal goal to try each and every restaurant in the city. I’m dedicated to this cause.

As I try more and more places, I’ve started picking up on some of the soap-operaesque back stories of the local establishments. One that is particularly intriguing is the story behind The Penguin Drive-In in Plaza Midwood.

In the past, the Penguin was just one of those places you had to go. If you were a true Charlottean (yes, that’s what they call us), you’d been to the Penguin a hundred times and you’d eaten your fair share of their famous fried pickles. Newbies in town didn’t know what they were missing as they walked right by the Penguin’s dilapidated building and awfully awkward parking.

But then Guy Fieri stopped in at the Penguin for his show Diners, Drive-in, and Dives, and all hell broke loose. I’ll admit, I love the show, and I love seeing places I’ve visited on TV. It’s almost like for that millisecond when the image flashes across the screen you are actually a part of something famous. As if your emotional investment in the place somehow makes you a part owner, and you burst with pride when you see your baby on the big screen.

What, just me?

DSCF6527

Anyway, due to some disagreements, two of the four guys who ran the Penguin left to open Pinky’s Westside. The remaining two owners couldn’t come to an agreement with their landlord, so they were forced to abandon the Penguin. The landlords of the building then decided to run the Penguin themselves, and the other two guys opened up the Diamond Grill, literally a block away from the Penguin. I think I’ve got that straight…

Interestingly, all three restaurants serve hotdogs and all three have fried pickles on the menu. The newly-owned Penguin has the “famous Penguin fried pickles,” Pinky’s has “Greg’s pickles,” and the Diamond has “classic fried pickles—the neighborhood’s first and best original recipe.” Can you smell the rivalry brewing?

Of the three restaurants, I’ve only been to the Penguin so far, which many other Charlotteeans are boycotting in favor of the Diamond. Let’s hope this post doesn’t get me blacklisted.

The Penguin had a TON on the menu that I wanted strike that NEEDED in my belly.

But as I perused the menu, one item made my heart sing.

The Ma… the Meatloaf Hot Dog.

Chili. Onion. Slaw. Seriously?!?!

Seriously?!

Let’s make brief note of the MONSTROUS side salad that came along side with a balsamic dressing was to die for.

But really, chili, onions, and coleslaw on a hotdog?! My world was officially rocked. Hands down THE BEST hot dog I have ever consumed.

Now that I know the backstory I feel it is my moral foodie obligation to give all three of the brawling restaurants an equal tasting. I MUST go to the Diamond and to Pinky’s to give their Weiner Wonderlands an equal shot. Seriously, it says Weiner Wonderland on the menu… get your head out of the gutter already.

Nutritional stats on the hotdog: 1 clogged artery, 1 full belly

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