A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
0
…or, the development of a theoretical cocktail… The Christmas party for Furman’s Chemistry Department was looming, and my friends Greg and Paul thought that a new drink was needed to celebrate the season. Both had agreed that Bombay Sapphire gin would be the base. Greg had lots of rosemary left over from Thanksgiving, and wanted … Read More “O Tannenbaum” »
1. In a cereal bowl, dice a small tomato. Home-grown, garden-ripened with a higher acidic content works best. In this case I just used cherry salad tomatoes from the store, cut in half. 2. Add two packets of Quaker Instant Grits with Bacon Flavored Bits. (Yeah, blasphemous to most true Southerners.) 3. Add enough butter … Read More “Grits Guilty Pleasure” »
We first had this meal in Florida at Carl’s house. He is a great chef! He had caught fresh red snapper in the Intracoastal Waterway and used some of it to make this seafood bisque. I unfortunately do not have fresh red snapper so I get tilapia from Publix and make this imitation of Carl’s … Read More “Carl’s Seafood Bisque” »
Last night Laura decided she wanted fondue for dinner. She wanted to try something other than the oil-based fondues we had done in the past, so she decided to try a bouillon-based one instead. It was a resounding success. Here’s what we did… Ingredients 2 14 oz cans of Swanson’s Beef Bouillon 2 bay leaves … Read More “Beef Bouillon Fondue” »
I’ve been tinkering with this recipe for quite awhile. I think I might have finally gotten it right. My previous attempts resulted in something that was too sweet, or just completely unpalatable. My goal was to make something that still retained the characteristics of a martini, and not just be a chocolate shake with vodka. … Read More “Chocolate Martini” »
We’ve got to come up with a better name for this. We tried recreating the rum punch from Riverside Grill in Vero Beach, and this is our own variation thereof… Ingredients: 1 oz coconut rum 1/2 oz banana rum or banana liqueur 1 oz light rum 3 oz pineapple juice 1 dash of Grenadine for … Read More “Wright-Taylor Rum Punch” »
I love trying new places to eat. I especially like it when we discover a new recipe that we can replicate at home. Such was the case with the insalata caprese served at Risibisi in Petaluma, California. As presented at Risibisi, this is architectural cuisine at its best – stuff stacked on other stuff. Ingredients: … Read More “Mozzarella Tomato Salad – insalata caprese” »
I was looking for recipes for fruit smoothies, but I didn’t find anything that fit the ingredients. So I came up with my own. Ingredients 12 oz can of frozen concentrate orange juice 6 oz frozen berries (I used a strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry mix) 1 cup water (or less) 1 cup rum dash of … Read More “Fruit Smoothie on Steroids” »
Far back in 1998 Garrison Keillor had this to say about the singing of “Shenandoah“… … And there ought to be a law against the singing of “Shenandoah” by any choir, and the penalty ought to be prison time. No probation. The singing of “Shenandoah” is a main cause of the unpopularity of choral singing … Read More “Death by “Shenandoah”” »
Brian Goess has a quest. Brian’s goal is to cook every recipe in the magazine Cook’s Illustrated. Occasionally, he brings along others to share in the triumphs and tragedies. Tonight was the second of our dinner-and-a-movie ventures with Furman connections. Several of the chemistry faculty gathered to try the Cook’s Illustrated version of easy gyros. … Read More “Dinner and a Movie – Part Two” »