A Return to Hilton Head...

Once upon a time there was a Princess who decided, oh let's say around 1994 or so, that she needed to leave the comfort of her home town and embark upon a new land.  A land filled with new people, new sights and sounds and new adventures!  So, she packed up and left for this new land.  Where did she go?  Hilton Head, South Carolina:)


Yea - ok so it didn't go exactly like that.  It went more like this...I had a friend who moved to Hilton Head, I went to see her and decided this place is pretty cool!  Got home, found a job in Hilton Head and packed up and left.  Not quite as story-book, but oh my time in Hilton Head had many a story. *as she looks every so innocently into the heavens* Stories, that should probably forever remain in the "vault".  :)


So, as luck would have it - I had a friend that wanted to sell a week of her timeshare, I bought it and ended up in Hilton Head.  I knew it would be quiet this time of year - cold even.  But oddly enough, that sounded heavenly to me.  So off I went!

I stayed at the Marriott Grande Ocean which I HIGHLY recommend. It was a fabulous property and the villas were huge!  This property had several pools, nice courtyards and a great piece of real estate on the beach.  Although there were other guests staying at the property, you certainly wouldn't know it.  It was so quiet - something I desperately needed.

My favorite ATL gal-pal accompanied me for the first two nights while I was there and like always, we had a great time.  Now to us, a great time doesn't mean two days packed full of activities.  It means jammies, sleeping late, coffee, maybe a little shopping and for this trip one purpose....one activity that was a must.  Lady and Sons in Savannah:)  Now, said friend is quite the wimp when it comes to cold weather so she wasn't for exploring much of anything on the island -- so our Saturday started with a 10-minute trip to the beach primarily so we could say that we saw the beach.  Then a few turns around the shopping area and then off to Savannah to experience Paula Dean.


We were both expecting Lady and Sons to be packed and had prepared ourselves for a good wait.  But the January vacation gods were smiling down on us and we walked right in!  Interesting place Lady and Sons.  It has three floors and for lunch it's a buffet.  Now, this princess generally doesn't do buffets but I thought I would give a pass to Paula Dean:)  The lunch menu is pretty limited....you can get the buffet or 2 other entrees.  That's it - which I found interesting.  I ended up with the buffet and it was pretty darn good.  Especially if you're in the mood for home cooking.  Definitely worth a go - especially if you don't have to wait in a line!  :)  I know, I know, I know.....I'm spoiled and probably a little lazy - but I hate waiting in lines!

So, cut to Sunday - I'm dropping my friend off at the Savannah airport and decide I need to take a trip to Beaufort.  I managed a drug store here for a while too, plus I figured heck.....maybe just maybe I'd get a glimpse of a few thousand Marines at Parris Island:)  Actually, Beaufort is a great little town - perfect for leisurely walking around just for the heck of it.


As for my culinary adventures while in Hilton Head, I ventured out a few times, cooked in a few times - but really kept it pretty simple.  The quiche (as mentioned in an earlier post) and then one of my favorite finds a restaurant called "A Lowcountry Backyard".  It was a really cute place which brought a little bit of Charleston to Hilton Head.  Charleston of course being my favorite Southern city:)


I had Lowcountry's shrimp and grits (because you KNOW how I love my shrimp and grits) and their fried green tomatoes.  Of the two - gotta say that the friend green tomatoes were my favorite.  The shrimp and grits were good - but they were in a white gravy and I prefer the other...the red/brown gravy.  But definitely still good:)


All in all a great trip.  Some may not find going to the beach in January at the top of their list, but if you're looking for quiet and relaxing and don't mind it being a little chilly, it's worth a go.  

Presto!!! Pasta and Pesto!

Pasta and pesto is one of my favorite "go to" meals.  Not only does it taste great, it's quick and easy! It's REALLY quick and easy if you have some pesto on hand - which I normally do thanks to my garden:)

The formula?   Cook pasta, add pesto, top with cheese.  

Now because I really can't do anything simple, (story of my life!) I added a little to this one today.  I knew I had some frozen pesto in the freezer, but I also had some spinach I wanted to use up so I knew what I wanted to do.

Let me talk just a minute about the pesto.  Making your own pesto is really easy (I'll save this for another day) but the best thing - it freezes great.  I have my own garden and patio and I always have 2-3 basil plants for this express purpose.  Throughout the summer I pick basil and make small batches of pesto and then freeze them in sandwich bags.  Then whenever I need some pesto, I've got it on hand.

OK back to the pasta.  Provided you have your pesto pre-made, go ahead and get your pasta water going on the stove and cook your pasta.  As with almost all my recipes it seems, I started with diced onion and garlic in some olive oil.  Cook these over a medium low heat until translucent.  I added just a few red pepper flakes. At this point, you could easily skip to adding the pesto but today I decided to add some anchovy paste.  Anchovies add a great saltiness to the dish and unlike what you may think...it doesn't make your dish taste like fish:)  As mentioned, you can easily leave this step out.  I added about 1 tsp of anchovy paste and stirred it about with my onion for a minute or so.  At this point, I would taste it to determine if you need salt and pepper.  The anchovy paste is pretty salty, so I wouldn't add it unless your personal taste requires it:)

Tip:  Anchovy paste may not be the easiest thing to find so 2 small anchovy filets = 1/2 teaspoon.

Once the onion mixture was ready I added my pesto.  Today, it was probably 2/3 cup.  But it again, it's a matter of preference.  Sometimes I want A LOT of pesto...other days I want just enough to lightly coat my pasta.  Today I didn't go with to much because I knew I had a lot of other things going on in the pasta - my onion mixture and my spinach primarily.  Make sure the pesto is incorporated well with the onion mixture and then add the spinach.  I'd start with about 2 cups of coarsely chopped spinach.  Stir this well and cook for about 30 seconds to a minute.  It really depends on how you like your spinach.  In the above recipe, you can see I didn't cook my spinach too long because it's still holding its shape pretty good.  However, if you like more wilted spinach (some days I do!!) cook the pesto/spinach mixture just a bit longer.

Once my pasta was ready I ladled it out of the pasta water and directly into my skillet.  Don't drain it, ladle it into the skillet.  (With a pasta ladle mind, you....not the regular kind...thought I better mention that!! :)The starch from the pasta and the little bit of water will enhance your pasta.  To top if off - I grated some Parmesan cheese and topped it with some lemon zest.  The lemon zest just gives it a little pop of freshness when you take a bite.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can easily tweak it to suit your personal taste preference.  Want more onions?  Add them.  More spinach? Add it! No chili flakes? Fine!  There's no hard line recipe to follow here, which is what I love about it.

And there it is...Presto!  Pasta and Pesto!

...and then the Heavens parted and angels began to sing....

FINALLY!  After much "ado" (and through contributions of family as my Christmas presents) -  I finally got a Kitchenaid stand mixer!   *Jodie doing the happy dance*

After doing my research I landed on the Pro 5 Plus.  5 Quarts, bowl that lifts and three attachments.  (the spiral dough hook, paddle and wisk) But let me tell you..... I love, love, love it!  Of course I had to go with a sassy red:)  I've been using it to work on my perfecting homemade bread and it is so much easier than kneading that stuff by hand.

I'm sure you'll be seeing more posts regarding this baby, but for now.......isn't she pretty????  Maybe I need to find a good name for her.  Hummmmmm....