Leftovers charmed by Jimmy Dean

Leftovers from holiday celebrations, save the hard candy flavors favorite'd only by me (clove, anise, horehound, licorice) were reconfigured into other dishes or rotated out of the household by the first of the year. At least that was what I thought until I reached into my freezer today.  In a crevice wedged between two large bags of pellet and cubed ice lay a large container of frozen corn kernels.

When a left over bag of holiday corn kernels meets a two for one (BOGO) Jimmy Dean sage sausage promo at BiLo the net result is a wonderfully rich soup for an otherwise damp day in the Lowcountry. We enjoy a large assortment of chowders and gumbos in our coastal community.  We even host a charitable soup challenge at the Westin Hilton Head Resort & Spa this month (every year) ~ worth the entry fee for every taste! But today a simple and hardy recipe for Sausage Corn Chowder from Taste of Home provides the comfort I'm craving.

Biscuits, crusty bread, flatbread crackers, you pick your accompaniment as the sage flavored sausage, marjoram and luscious cream are meant to be swiped up the sides of this bowl full of yummy!

Simply clockwork shrimp for the beach

While some families traverse to the beach the same week every single summer, our family had an annual menu of meals that were produced on specific days of the week during our week at the beach (whatever week we happened to land on the beach, some years it was early in the season, other years late in the season). My mother was not an expansive cook. In fact, she seriously only mastered about nine main courses during her lifetime, two of which were made in a crock pot. Of the nine, there was one dish that my mother reserved for the beach experience and only for the beach experience. That dish was Shrimp Jambalaya and it was always served on Day #2 at the beach. I honestly haven't made this dish since my mother's death in 2001, but somehow the universe for all her glorious works seems to know how to kick something back into mainstream life without too much fanfare (and much to my delight). This year, when the reconstituted version of my family gathered at the beach, my pseudo sister Linda (a family dynamic too complicated to explain here)and I each brought recipes from our personal collections to have and prepare on demand. Thus, it was more than fitting this year that Linda brings a recipe for a one pan dish she calls Savannah Shrimp (pictured here). The dish is simply, fresh from the dock sauteed shrimp seasoned with Old Bay accompanied by sauteed Vidalia onion, chopped and cooked creamer potatoes, newly picked field peas, fresh corn off the cob and diced vine ripe tomatoes. Like clockwork this simple dish brought back a treasured favorite albeit a revision of my mother's shrimp dish, but all the same it was served on Day #2 at the beach and will be from this point forward fittingly. Life's better at the beach with shrimp back on the menu.

Beyond tots and fritters (Corn and Sweet Potato Bhajia)

As the daylight hours warmed to near summer-like temperatures and the pollen dust accumulated atop every surface it found hospitable, Mother Nature seems to be signaling the advent of spring here in the Lowcountry. Hooray! My taste buds immediately turn to memories of fresh tomatoes off the vine sliced and delicately plated with basil and homemade mozzarella as well as eating corn straight from the field and sprinkled with a bit of salt and smathered with butter. I love what summer symbolizes, most especially the dining out of doors. It heralds nightly opportunities to gather friends around a table set with a feast of local produce and the conversations lingering until no one can keep their eyes open. We've celebrated the sweet potato before on this blog from butter to cheese cake, but the kitchen experience this week was tickled by a twitpic photo from @seriouseats feauring sweet potato tots. That tweet and some encouraging words from Stevie, my favorite lady of craft brew @LadiesOCB led me to pull another Alastair Hendy creation from the cook book collection and procure the opportunity to make sambal (again). I never tire of either by the way. Thus, we located a recipe in Cooking for Friends that married a summer longing for corn and an always handy sweet potato...Corn and Sweet Potato Bhajia...do not be put off by the long list of ingredients (says Alastair). The color and combination of flavors in this dish paired with a local craft beer, Westbrook White Thai made for a delightful sendoff to winter and a big bouyant hello to Spring!