Milk—does a body good. Does vacation do a body good too? In my case, I ate my way through South Carolina and am not quite sure. The day after returning to Chicago there was snow on the ground and I did not fit into my jeans. I was grumpy.
Vacation log: Eight of us piled into two cars and headed to Hilton Head Island. Everyone in the group was ready to relax and in hindsight, eat. We rented a house, we rented bicycles, we brought Jenga (at least the generic kind), Left, Right, Center (dice game), tennis rackets, etc.; this was a well planned trip.
We made many of our meals at the house; feasting on shrimp boils, grilled flank steak, and fresh tuna. But when we went out, we made it count. My most memorable meal of the trip was at the Sea Shack. The Sea Shack touts that is is “where the locals go to eat.” This comes to no surprise since it is tucked away in the dense shrubbery and has an uninviting exterior. When you walk in, you know you hit something big. The menu has everything seafood and everything southern. I ordered the grilled grouper sandwich, cheesy grits, and coleslaw. Brian ordered the buffalo shrimp po-boy, sweet potato corn bread, and collared greens. The fish was cooked just right, the grits were unbelievably comforting, and the shrimp had as much kick as a Rockette. The meal was perfection, except for the cornbread. Had they advertised the cornbread as a sweet potato cake, I may have taken a greater liking.
The Sunday we returned I started to miss my wide wheeled bicycle with the basket. I missed only worrying about what we were going to eat that night. And I really missed living near the water with a bunch of friends. I started to not care that I may need to make it a power week at the gym or even be lazy and hit up the Gap for jeans the next size up. It was a week of break and it did a body good. Brian and I took a “pause” on not drinking for lent in Hilton Head, so I guess it is back to milk mustaches for now.
I had to get my cornbread fix.
Cornbread Salad
Cornbread
Adapted from Bon Appétit
8 inch square serving size
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup (packed) coarsely grated Monterey Jack cheese
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
4 TBS honey
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 425°F. Butter 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan. Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Stir in cheese. Whisk buttermilk, eggs, and honey in another medium bowl to blend. Add butter; whisk until blended. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients; stir just until combined (do not overmix). Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center of bread comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; store at room temperature.)
Vinaigrette
1 part red wine vinegar
3 parts olive oil
½ shallot – fine dice
honey
s and p
Combine ingredients and wisk or shake together until emulsified.
Salad
1 box cherry tomatoes – medium dice
1 red onion – small dice
½ shallot – small dice
2 peaches – medium dice
1 roasted red pepper – medium dice
1 roasted yellow pepper – medium dice
1 recipe of cornbread – large 1×8 inch strips
Greens (arugula, field greens, or spinach)
Goat cheese
s and p
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare the tomatoes, red onion, and shallot; place in a roasting pan and dress with olive oil, s and p. Roast the vegetables for 20 – 30 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, roast the red and yellow peppers on the stovetop. Let cool, peel and chop; set aside. Prepare the peaches and cornbread; dress with olive oil s and p. Skewer the peaches—place peaches and cornbread on hot grill or grill pan; grill all sides. Once cornbread is grilled, cut strips into a large dice. In large bowl combine all ingredients with the greens. Top with crumbled goat cheese; toss in vinaigrette and serve.