Translation Tuesday: The Pig
The Pig. When I first came down here it took me MONTHS to figure out what the hell my fellow hallmates from SC in my freshmen residence hall were talking about. Always asking if I needed something or if I wanted to come along for their trip to the Pig. The Pig, is Southern slang for the Piggly Wiggly… a grocery store.
I believe that it is part of a larger company, but from what I can tell a locally owned part is based in theCarolinas. Anytime I drive down I-26 toCharlestonI always pass the distribution center. And the people who do the tours of the battery always point out the owner’s house with the stone pigs on the front porch. I am using logical deduction here to say they are based in theCarolinas.
It is a small and friendly grocery store, with some good products. The big part of the southern love comes from the t-shirts that are associated with the store. There are a number of them out there, but they all have the icon cartoon pig face with his little hat cornered on his head. They usually have the phrase, “I’m big on the Pig” somewhere on them and I’ve even seen them with the little pig tail on the back of the shirt. They come in all sorts of colors… and there is even a 4th of July one! You know you have arrived once you get your very own Pig shirt.
Google it… I am sure they can ship the shirts to you!
Food Friday: Summer Watermelon!
In my opinion, one of the best things about summer is all of the fresh produce. A week or two ago my friend, EWH, gave me a watermelon from her farmshare delivery. I was excited because I had some GREAT watermelon when I was home in the Fort for the Fourth and I was craving it after that.
So, one Saturday afternoon, I realize I actually need to cut the damn thing up. I am sorry, I haven’t actually been given lessons before in how to cut a watermelon. Really, I haven’t had a part in cutting up a watermelon since middle school, and even then I wasn’t doing the cutting. I literally stood at the cutting board for a good ten minutes with the melon in front of me and a giant knife in my hand, moving the melon this way and that trying to decide what the best plan of attack was. The lesson: there is no good plan on how to cut up a damn watermelon.
I ended up cutting it in half down the middle where it is the widest, not where it is the longest. I then flipped those cuts over and cut them in to quarters. I then cut the rind off of those pieces and pulled the seeds out and chopped it into bite-sized pieces. Really, it seems so simple written out in three sentences… but it took OVER AN HOUR and was a cool, sticky mess!
While it was a pain to cut up, an experience I don’t plan on having again for at least another year, it was an excellent watermelon and a very yummy summer treat, especially with a little salt sprinkled on the top!
Hot, Hot, Hot!
I realize it is hot all over the country, but it is miserable here in the South and especially in my apartment. It is 9:30 at night and it is still 90 something degrees outside. It was over 100 as a temp today, but 115 or so with the heat index. Then, I am convinced that the air conditioning is not working in my apartment… it is 84 degrees in here at 9:30pm and I have it SET to be at 73 degrees. The rental company will be getting a call at about 9:20am… it needs to be cooler. I have replaced my air filter, I keep the blinds shut, I have all the ceiling fans on, and I keep all the doors inside the apartment open for air to flow. I don’t know if there is anything else I can do… I think they need to look at the thing. I realize that it is going to take a while to reach a cool temp with this heat outside… but I left it set at 74 degrees when I left for work this morning…. it shouldn’t have had to cool down, just STAY cool…. it clearly didn’t work.
I think the problem is probably exacerbated by the fact that the people who live people me moved out over the weekend. I bet the air is off down there and the heat is just building. Ugh. SO HOT. I may be taking an ice cold shower tonight.
The three block walk from my parking garage to my office is BRUTUAL at this point. Really, it is like you walk outside and the air is pushing down and in on you from all directions. I know we are in a heatwave, and this is even unusual for us in the South. The heat combined with the humidity… it is just hard to breathe sometimes and there is literally no escaping it from any direction. EWH and I went walking (well after 7pm) the other day and I literally was swimming in sweat after 10 minutes… swimming in it. And I was downing lots of water the whole time. Oh well, good exercise in a sauna, right? We made a froyo run in the office this afternoon, it had literally melted within two minutes of being outside. Completely melted in TWO minutes.
Here’s to drinking more water and trying to stay cool! And remember… to check on your friends and family who may not have air conditioning!
Sunday Supper- Chicken and Dumplings
I really do like to cook. The problem is that cooking for one is a pain in the butt. I am always freezing stuff, taking it into the office to get other people to eat, or throwing stuff away. I hate to throw things away, it makes me sad to be wasteful. So, I am always happy when I find a new recipe that I can easily make and eat in a few days without getting sick of it. So, for Sunday supper tonight, I made chicken and dumplings and it is about the easiest thing ever. I got the original recipe from Southern Living (love that magazine) but have adapted it a bit to my liking.
Things to go get at the store:
– 1.5 pounds of shredded chicken. I buy two packages of Publix Greenwise chicken breasts (two per package). I use two, maybe two and a half, for this and then use the rest in salads for lunch that week.
– One can of crème of chicken condensed soup
– One box of chicken broth- 32 ounces
– One small can of Pillsbury Grand biscuits (the five count)
– ¼ teaspoon poultry seasoning
– Carrots
Steps- Seriously the easiest thing ever
1) Bake the chicken. I usually toss some Lawry’s seasoning salt on the chicken and bake four 45 minutes the night before I am going to make the meal. That way all I have to do is shred the chicken when I get home from work.
2) Mix the chicken, broth, soup and seasoning in a large pot. I usually mix the soup and broth first. This helps break the soup up and allows me to pick the yucky chicken pieces from the soup out of the pot. Boil all those four ingredients in the pot over medium to high heat for five minutes, then reduce to simmer and cover with lid for 20-25 minutes.
3) While the above is simmering, take the biscuits and pat each one down in flour so it is about an 1/8 of an inch thick. Then cut into about ½ inch strips. Drag in a bit more flour… I like a nice coating on them.
4) Drop the strips one at a time into the broth, slowly so they don’t stick to each other. Then add the carrots in. Cover and let the whole thing cook for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally so the dumplings don’t stick to one another.
I love this meal and I can get about five servings out of it…. So a couple of dinners and lunches spread out throughout the week. I give it two thumbs up!
Okay, another lovely edition of my wedding tips. This has to do with the survival bag of all survival bags. And really, it lived up to that name… but it got renamed to the Mary Poppins bag.
Who doesn’t love this movie and that bag? The whole concept started out as a mention from a work friend a few years ago… a makeup bag with some emergency items in it. By the time my the whirlwind of ten weddings ended, I had upgraded mine to a full on Mary Poppinsesque magic bag. You needed an emergency hem? I not only had a sewing kit, but steam seam tape. Kiddies in the bridal party need to be occupied? Out of the giant pink bag come playing cards, coloring books and crayons. Is a little liquid courage needed before facing the photographer and a chapel full of people? Mini bottles of vodka were on hand, complete with single packets of lemonade mix to make a cool drink. Ibprofen for a headache was used by at least one parent in each and every wedding. It also showed how much people knew I was preapred, because everyone knew to come to me for the most random items. You can laugh all you want, but it was used at every wedding by multiple people. I won’t be in a wedding without my hot pink Mary Poppins bag now!
I should also add, it not only pulled a ton of items from its depths, but it actually looked like the bag in Mary Poppins. A complete carpet bag in shape, except mine was hot pink and a leather material. My Aunt Joy gave it to me for Chirstmas a few years ago and has been perfect for wedding work since then!
I Will NOT be eating more chicken, thankyourverymuch
Slight vent for this Saturday evening… two thumbs down to my local Chick-fil-a, a big two thumbs down. I consider Chick-fil-a to be a Southern staple and I am normally a big fan, but I will be avoiding them for a while and I definitely have plans to not go back to the one closest to my office anytime soon.
Why my sudden annoyance and frustration with the fast food king of the South? Well that would be this morning’s experience. I guess I can put partial blame to all of my friends on Facebook for posting all of the pictures from ‘dress like a cow day’… it had me developing a craving. So, I decided that on my way to the pool this morning, I would swing by and get a chicken biscuit. I like the chicken biscuit, good flavor and texture. I could taste the damn combination in my mouth. In short, I was looking forward to my breakfast.
So, I go to the one closest to my apartment and get in line in the drive thru. The drive thru at the fast food chain that had me sitting in line for 15 minutes to place an order. Yes… I waited in line, I wanted my biscuit. Also, they have the site designed so that once you are in line you can’t get out. Both sides of the building and the back end where you order trap you in with concrete walls or giant cones that are anchored down. So there is no leaving. I sit there for 15 minutes until I get up to the little box and I get to order my chicken biscuit and large coke (I was taking MG to the pool, I needed caffeine to survive pool time with the energetic 8 year old). SO, I place my order and what does the woman tell me? Oh, it is 10:34 and they stop serving breakfast at 10:30am, would I like a chicken sandwich instead? NO YOU NUT, I WANT MY CHICKEN BISCUIT!!!! My chicken biscuit that I was in line for well before the 10:30am cutoff time to end breakfast. I was highly annoyed. I made the comment that it was only 10:30 and their sign said they served until 10:30. She had the gall to tell me that they worked by the clock and it was 10:34. Seriously? I really, don’t think it would have been as frustrating had I not sat in line for 15 minutes. I was there before the damn 10:30am cut off time. And for the record, MY clock said 10:30!
So, since I couldn’t get out, I proceeded with my soft drink order. This had me sitting in line for another EIGHT minutes. Even after that time, I still wasn’t up to the window. I had managed to get to a point where I could pull out of the line if I angled my car just right, so I bolted. I have never been so annoyed or felt that my time had been wasted so much. Bad service, bad site design and it completely goes against the concept of FAST FOOD. So Chick-fil-a…. it is going to be a long while before you my money again. Even when that does happen, it is not going to be at this location. They’ve lost my business. Four minutes people. It was four minutes before their slowness allowed me to get to that little ordering box. Ugh.
As mentioned in the ‘About’ section of this blog, I have a lot of experience anymore with weddings. I was in or attended 10 of them in 2010… it was the year of the wedding. I learned A LOT and had many learning lessons and great times. I am happy I was able to support my freinds on their special days and I will continue to share tidbits from those. Today I want to talk about cake, and pie…
Seriously, I ate a lot of damn cake this past year. From bridal showers to the actual wedding day I had yellow cake, chocolate cake, red velvet cake, strawberry/amaretto/lemon/malt ball/peanut butter/ name your flavor cake. I ate cupcakes, monogrammed sugar cookies, and chocolate dipped brownies on a stick. I even had wedding pie (pecan and lemon meringue). I thought it was cute how each couple did their own unique little thing that fit their personality. You would think after all of this that I would be sick of cake, at one wedding I was literally serving the cake to hundreds of people as fast as I could hand it out (this group also had pie, I was surprised how fast the cake went after they had all devoured the pies on their tables) but I am still not sick of wedding cake. A highlight of having been in so many weddings, is that I did a lot of clean up and packing at the end of the night, which means that I took home a very large piece (or pieces) of cake at most of the weddings, which made a great breakfast for the rest of the week!
Translation Tuesday: Shagging!
It is time for another Translation Tuesday! There are so many words and phrase to pick from when it comes to Southern talk. Lets talk today about what it means to SHAG! So, when I moved down here about 11 years ago, a popular movie out at the time was Austin Powers, or the whole series of those films were out about the English spy who was all about his sex drive . Either way, every time I heard “shagging” I thought it was referring to sex. So when flyers around my college campus were advertising things around campus about “shagging at midnight” or “shagging on the quad” I was a little taken aback. Clearly I was still a little naïve as a freshman thinking all of these people all around me were obsessed with sex! And were blatant about it too! Granted, it was a college campus, so there were probably plenty of people obsessed with sex, but that isn’t want these ads were talking about… they were talking about shagging southern style, not British J
In the South, the shag is a style of dancing! It reminds me of swing dancing, except slower and more relaxed. Not a lot of shaking or swing of the upper body, but slow and even paced swaying with a fair bit of footwork and some lovely turnouts. As I have been told, it originated somewhere along the coast in the mid-twentieth century and is usually danced to beach music. Beach music is usually a mid-tempo melody that is just super relaxing and makes you want to sway and have fun… my go to example is Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison. It is not a rock song, it is just a great and standard beat, that just makes you want to sway. It is actually the state dance of bothCarolinas, if I am not mistaken.
So all of those ads about shagging at midnight or shagging on the quad are all about DANCING! Even though I have been down here for years, it is still fun to watch the reaction that people have when they are not from around here and someone starts talking about how they can’t wait to shag that night! So now you know… shagging in the South is dancing! Happy translation Tuesday, y’all!
Low Country Love Affair
I am having a love affair… if I am honest, I will admit that I’ve been involved in the love affair for years and years. At least since I was in college and I made my very first trip to Beaufort,South Carolina. I have seriously fallen head over heels in love with the coastal low country. And really, have you ever been there? One trip and it is not hard to see why, it is gorgeous. Recently, I spent a weekend camping atHuntingIsland, as I do every year, and I was reminded why I love the South so much. A few highlights to share in case anyone else wants to discover the beauty of the area.
– Hunting Island is a South CarolinaState Park… so there are no hotels or restaurants on it. It is nature at its best… with some clearing for campsites and plumbing for bathrooms (sorry, I can’t do camping without bathrooms… I like nature, but I am still a city girl). The campsites are literally just set a few feet back from the beach, so when I fall asleep in my tent I can hear the ocean waves just 20 feet or so away. It is also super easy to catch the sunrise. A number of movies were filmed there: theVietnamscenes from Forest Gump, GI Jane, The Jungle Book and the list goes on. There is also a light house on the island, which is a fun trip to check out.
The view from the beach!
– Aside from the beach, the other reason (and maybe a bigger reason) I love the area are the salt marshes. Most people hate the sulfur smell that comes from them but I adore it and it is such a part of the area. You smell that and you know you are in the low country. Watching the tide go in and out as it floods or drains the tall grasses is a cool thing. And then seeing all the cool life that lives there… awesome. I love sitting on the dock going out into the marsh and watching the little crabs and fishes. So cool. I could easily spend a whole day laying on a dock, watching the tides come in and out, while reading a book. It is heavenly!
No hotels or houses!
– FOOD! Ok, so we do get our camp food in over the fire at least once a day, but we make sure we take some time to go get some local food. There are a number of quick places to eat and they are so yummy. Because lets be honest, if you are in the low country you need some fresh shrimp! Yum! We ate a couple of times on the next island,HarborIsland, and the Johnson Creek Tavern. The food was super yummy…. Deep fried local shrimp, loaded up with lemon and cocktail sauce. Plus super tasty hushpuppies. Also, crab and cheese stuffed mushrooms in a white wine sauce… all served overlooking the creek that leads the marsh to the ocean. It is a run down little shack with reasonable prices and good portions. The service however definitely leaves something to be desired… some rather rude and unhelpful staff. Other than that though, a good experience and we always make the stop.
I guess it is the whole combination of the trip. The ocean, the marshes, the warm and humid weather that is usually manageable because of the constant breeze… the smell in the air, the local food, the overall beauty of the place. I can’t help but roll the windows all the way down on the car, blast some good music and smile as I make the 15 mile drive from downtown Beaufort out to Hunting Island… it is my own version of heaven and I am in love with it. Now, if only I could find a way to live there year round!
perfection
Check out the link for the state park here, it really is a great place (do be aware of UN-afraid raccoon population though): http://www.huntingisland.com/
Be A Good Alum!
One of the joys of working at my alma mater is the perk of being able to help out at alumni events. Being the good little alumnus that I am, I signed up for my high school alumni association back in the Fort and my college alumni association as soon as I realized they existed. I appreciate that some of the money for each membership goes to scholarships or to help the schools in some way. They also provide formal avenues to keep in touch with people who also graduated from those places and the opportunity to remain up to date with how the schools are doing and so forth. As an undergrad I was even a member of the student alumni association and loved the unity they provided to the campus. Of course, the college alumni association has all sorts of great discounts and provides access to a lot of great resources. Seriously, I am such an academic dork…. When I started my PhD last year at another school I was pumped because I had access to that school’s library, the library at the school I was working at AND the library at my alma mater… because I was a member of the alumni association J Yes, I totally realize how much of a nerd that statement makes me.
So, now as of this August, I am working back at my alma mater which means that I get to help out and give back. The admissions office held an open house a couple of weeks ago and I worked the table for my office. It was so much fun! Yes, I was there for work, but I talked more about how much I valued my experience there as an undergrad and what great opportunities were available for students than anything else. It was so great to be able to give back like that! Then, one afternoon and evening this past fall I got to help judge a homecoming event! I served as a judge for the semi-final round of theHomecoming Court. We narrowed it down from 21 candidates to 10… 5 guys and 5 gals. All were very qualified candidates… lots of different student organizations and majors represented. We have some really amazing students enrolled here who want to do a lot of good in the world. It was nice to be reminded of that. My constant question in all the interviews was: “What is your favorite tradition about this school and why.” One or two people mentioned the historic part of campus and studying there. The rest of them however, all talked about something that went along with football. Tailgating, our mascot, our specific intro music, the energy of the student section… like I said in a previous post- football is only second to God down here. However, everything they said… from football to mascots to historic campus quads…. All true and all wonderful.
Love this job, love this place, love what this school has given me and I am thankful I can give back a bit.
Forever to Thee
Today I went to a memorial service for the former President of my alma mater. He was in his seventies and he passed away very unexpectedly last week. He became president the summer in between my sophomore and junior year and he was there for those years and while I was there for grad school, he stepped down as President about two year ago while I was working up at the Country Club College. He stayed on as an advisor to a number of initiatives and professor over the last few years. I fell in love with this sweet little old man my junior year when I was the President of a student organization and I got to go to a number of events, meals and ceremonies that he was at. Really, I never failed to have a nice conversation with him anytime I saw him. From the random events to stopping to talk when he was crossing the historic quad on campus and I was out studying or jogging… he always had a smile and a nice word. He had a great vision for the university and worked tirelessly to see it through. He was a bridge builder with the community and he always advocated for students, and was never too busy for them. He really was wonderful.
But this memorial service today, it was amazing. It was slated to be an hour long and ran close to two hours. There was a huge turnout… all the Associate and Assistant Vice Presidents were in attendance, Deans, Faculty and staff, alumni, the current and former mayor, state senators/ representatives, Board members, presidents of other universities and various others. The current university president, the former mayor, the former student body president and mentee of his and a number of other people spoke. The speakers were not only eloquent, but they talked about the wonderful man that he was. Reminding all of us, how even as we will miss him, he will live on in all that we do. He made a difference. He built bridges that had been burned by people before them or built them where they hadn’t even existed. He reached out, he stepped out of the comfort zone and built a better university, but did so with the awareness of everyone who was there. He loved his family and anyone who met him and his wife could see that. One of his sons, who is a few years older than I am, got up to speak last and it was so sweet, it nearly broke my heart. Talking about what an amazing father he was, and how he always had the best view of people and what got his “heart pumping.” You couldn’t help but tear up as you watched him struggle to keep himself together and finish his comments.
And as I walked away from the memorial, I couldn’t help but realize how much it puts things in perspective. I work at a university, I have no desire to ever be a president (or even a vice president) I don’t expect there to be a giant memorial service when I do leave this world, but I hope I can leave even a small legacy like this man left. I want to be able to help people, to make a difference in the lives of others and give to something bigger than myself. That is what matters in life, I was lucky enough to know a man who modeled that for me. Rest in peace sir, you will be desperately missed and thank you for the lessons you have given.
Translation Tuesday: Y’all
Translation Tuesday! I remember when I first moved down here, I felt I needed a translator at times to understand what people were saying. Like any part of the country, the South has its own slang and phrases that are a part of everyday life. It gets real fun when you add in the accent, or a sub-dialect of a distinctive area of the South (New Orleans is different Florida, as Florida is different from eastern Tennessee and so on). An example of a confusing sentence: “Hey y’all, I am fixin to grab a buggy at the Pig to get the fixins for our spread tonight before we shag.” Translation: “Hey all, I am going to be getting a grocery cart when I go to the Piggly Wiggly grocery store because I need to get a lot of food for the party we are having before we all go dancing to beach music.” Yep, you need a translator at times. So, until I run out of translations, Tuesdays will be devoted to that topic!
For the first one, I am going with my favorite Southern saying, and the one I joke was a reason I moved down here: Y’all. I don’t know a single person down here who does not use this daily… even Gail, who avoided it for the first few years we were in college, has given in and uses it occasionally. I knew it was an okay word to use in any sentence when my English 101 instructor freshmen year said it was perfectly fine to use in our formal papers because it was just an example of a contraction. My kind of instructor! Simply, it is a contraction mixing YOU and ALL. In an effort to just make it seem a little more friendly and be a bit more expedient with the time to talk, Southerners have just mushed them together in one word. Add a nice little accent with a bit of a drawl on it and you have what I think is the South’s most common phrase. Y’aallll. Give it a try sometime, like I said, I love it so much it was a contributing factor to coming down here all those years ago. It just makes one feel welcome! But people please note the apostrophe goes after the Y, not after the A. Please try and get it right 🙂
As a side note, today marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. The first shots were fired on Ft. Sumter and over the course of several years, over 600,000 people died. I will come back to this topic in a later blog because it does still play a part in the life of someone in the South, but check out this article from CNN about how we are still fighting the Civil War: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/08/civil.war.today/index.html?iref=allsearch. Fascinating!
A horse is a horse, of course…
So, this isn’t MY story, but it was so hilarious, I just had to share it. Besides, my last entry was about horse races, so I am just keeping with the equine theme. Claire is one of my very good friends from grad school and we currently work in the same office suite, so we see each other all the time. I hang out with her and her husband, Matt, a fair bit and usually always have an entertaining story or two to tell from a trip or party with them. This particular story literally had me falling onto the couch in her office, laughing so hard that I had tears running down my face and I was gasping for breath. It is such a hilarious story, I am not sure writing it out gives it the same justice of either of them telling it in person.
Matt and Claire live in a lovely home that they built new in a subdivision about six or seven years ago. They live in the suburbs, and are only a few minutes from two major interstates, and their subdivision is off a main road, off a big road/ highway. It is a subdivision…. Near a middle school, some shopping centers, 15 minutes from downtown C-town. While it may have been the country 40 to 50 years ago, it is most definitely a suburb now. This description is an important distinction because if it WAS the country, this would have made so much more sense!
Matt and Claire live in their adorable little house, in their cute little subdivision in suburbia with their two dogs… Katie and Carly. LOVE these dogs, they are medium to large sized and are very sweet and well behaved. Unless, of course, there is another animal around (this is highly entertaining when we all go camping at the beach and the raccoons come out, but that is another story). So, it is about 3AM a few months ago when Katie and Carly start going nuts. I mean, the way Claire describes it, it was like they were leading the doggie version of the Army’s Reveille wake up song. The dogs are barking away, they are running from the master bedroom upstairs, down the steps to the giant front window, back up the stairs to the bedroom and repeat (about a million times). Finally, Matt, being the good husband he is, goes to see if they are okay and make sure that some random squirrel wasn’t intentionally giving the dogs a midnight terror. Five minutes later, he gets the dogs back upstairs in the crates and collapses back into bed.
Claire: “What was it?”
Matt: “Nothing, go back to sleep.”
Claire: “No, really, what was it?”
Matt: “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Claire: “Tell me.”
Matt: “There is a horse in the front yard.”
Claire: “Matt, seriously, what was making them go nuts?”
Matt: “If you don’t believe me, go look.”
So, Ms. Claire hauls herself out of bed in the middle of the night, goes down stairs, walks out the front door to stand on the porch and stare at… a horse in the middle of her front yard. A horse, with no farm near by, in the middle of their subdivision, in the middle of suburbia, in the middle of the night… sounds odd, right? Yep, it was a pretty, light colored horse, rather large, and just eating the grass in the front lawn, about as happy as it could be. Claire, being the intelligent person she is, logically thinks, “I must be hallucinating.” So, she moseys on down the steps and into the front yard and reaches out and pokes the horse. Yep, it was a real horse and it went right on eating the grass in the front yard. So, Claire turns around, goes back in the house and up to the bedroom, climbs back into bed, and tells Matt: “There is a horse in the front yard.” Matt: “Yep.” And they both go back to sleep (the dogs, kind of, they calmed down though).
The next morning, the horse was gone, the grass was most definitely eaten and they never saw the horse again.
I personally would have called animal control, but I don’t think their brains actually went there in the dead of night. To this day, which is months later, they still don’t know where the horse came from or what happened to it… but the grass was eaten and Claire actually touched the horse, so it DID happen. I can’t even claim this is a Southern thing, but it sure is funny! I may have to record her telling the story sometime and post it, because it quite literally had me in tears AND singing the theme song from Mr. Ed all day long!
Cup: A Southern Spring Tradition
Carolina Cup! It is hard to find the best words to paint a picture of the Carolina Cup experience. In its simplest form, Cup, is a steeplechase horse race that takes place every spring at the Springdale Race Course in Camden, South Carolina. People from all over the Southeast drive in for this traditional Southern event every spring. My college friends and I used it as an opportunity to pull a big group together for a reunion weekend. Not that we really needed an event to do it, we always seem to find a reason to go to someone’s city or town for a reunion weekend several times a year.
Now, a horserace is a great thing to watch. The horses are absolutely gorgeous… so sleek and powerful and intelligent. They’re truly amazing to watch. I am somewhat aware of the work that goes into breeding, raising and training such tremendous animals and athletes… to see them race is big part of that process, so I appreciate being able to see that.
See, we do actually watch the races!
And while the point of Cup IS the horse races, it isn’t actually the point for the vast majority of people who go. Most go for the time honored tradition of tailgating. But one doesn’t just tailgate at Cup, one tailgates with southern grace and style. Women wear sundresses, stylish hats and pearls. Men can be found in nice pants and oxford shirts with ties (bow or straight)… generally the men’s outfits involved some sort of the following in all sorts of colors: plaid, geometric shapes, solids with embroidering ALL over them (whales, horses, scorpions, college mascots). I have more commentary on the dress, so I will come back to this topic in a minute.
Now, the physical layout of Cup is important to note. One, it separates the calm from the crazy. Two, it is a bit of a hierarchal class system in seating. So first, imagine a gigantic field… several football sized field. Now, place a giant circle in that field, the circle (oval really) has fencing on either side and jump pieces throughout… this is the actual horse track. Now on the north side of the outer fence is a grandstand platform, the paddock, and Lexus tent area where all the super ritzy (and by ritzy, I mean super rich) people are hanging out. Off to the west of the field is a smaller tailgate area that is not pricey and to the east is the giant parking field for all the cars that won’t fit in the tailgate areas. To the south of the track is the infamous,College Park.College Park is where all of the fraternities, sororities and other college groups tailgate. Apparently this year there were 15,000 college-aged students in that section… a majority of them brought in on 190 tour buses. They have to be brought in on buses so that there is a lesser risk of drinking and driving, because they drink- A LOT. It is rather embarrassing to see actually. They are a stumbling, drunken mess in an area that smells (on the warm days) of sweat, alcohol and puke… not a pretty combination. I haven’t gone intoCollege Park since I was in college, and even then it was just to find someone. One smell was enough to last a lifetime.
Now, the section that we sit in is called the Infield. It is in the middle and the track runs around the area. It is not the super ritzy area, but we aren’t talking cheap seats either. The tailgate next to us had crystal serving bowls and sterling silver cracker and napkin holders. A couple of years ago the spot next to ours couldn’t be happy with just a simple tailgate tent, no, they had a portable gazebo with wisteria growing up the sides and mini picket fences. Get the picture of what our areas look like? Slightly hoity-toity, but not loaded. This is my type of scene.
So, it was a lovely day. Slightly cool at first, so we wrapped up in blankets to fight off the wind and covered our cute sundresses for a bit. But I had a great day sipping mimosas, eating chicken salad on croissants and munching on fresh strawberries. I hung out with great friends and caught up with what was going on in life… and then, I got to do what you only truly get to do with very good friends, who don’t judge you…. We people watched and totally judged and cracked jokes about what other people were wearing and doing J. Examples that are too priceless to not mention: a older woman in a motorized scooter. She was dressed very nicely, had a great hat, and I was getting around pretty well in that scooter. It was hilarious because she (or someone) had cut a giant piñata of a horse in half and had the front part hanging off the front of the scooter and the rear end on the back. Seriously… papier-mâché in full on attempted gallop. Then there was the woman who took her lovely hat and stuck two plastic pink flamingos in it. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the women who had giant plastic horse heads sticking out of their hats, with the horses’ muzzles holding beers. There were plenty of way too short dresses and a little too much cellulite hanging around… I have cellulite myself, but I make damn sure it isn’t hanging out. Of course, there are all the drunk college students who are stumbling around… highly entertaining as the girls try to walk in the wedges and not fall on their face, or the drunk guy running after a hat that has blown away. One never ceases to find entertainment at Cup.
Photo credit to Gail, she had the better photo!
So, we got there after 9am and the group I drove out to Camden with loaded up our junk and headed back to the car around 4pm. It was a lot easier to have all the stuff carted out in the truck, but since we left after the fourth race, we had to haul all our chairs, coolers and food back to our car in general parking at the end of the day. It was an amazing day with great friends, the only thing that would have made it better was a back rub after carrying all that stuff back to the car… I need to remember that for next year.
Food Friday: Pimento Cheese!
Fridays on this blog will often be devoted to food. Food Lover Fridays. I am most definitely a lover of food. Actually, my whole family is. As dysfunctional as we may be as a family… anytime we get together we always eat well. Today’s food edition is in honor of one of my all time favorite events that is currently underway: The Masters. Augusta National Golf Course may be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. My Dad and I scored last minute tickets to the 3rd round (that would be Saturday) a few years ago and I was close to tears as I walked onto the grounds. Not a blade of grass was out of place and everyone was as kind as could be, from the fellow attendees to the staff working the event. Now, while the polo shirts and merchandise being sold in the gift shop were outrageously expensive, the food on the ground was super cheap. And by cheap, I mean like $2 for a sandwich… all wrapped up in cute little green plastic wrap. Egg salad sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, pimento cheese sandwiches… you name it, the whole menu is cheap.
So in honor of the Masters, lets talk about that great Southern concoction: pimento cheese. Now, many people like pimento cheese as a plain, cold sandwich. I like it as a grilled cheese sandwich or served as an appetizer or snack served on pita chips or crackers. I have not tried it on celery, but I imagine that would be rather tasty as well. I also love it on a cheese burger as the cheese component… yum! Pimento cheese is a cheese spread that is beloved by just about every Southerner I know. The basic recipe is sharp cheddar cheese (freshly shredded), diced pimentos (which is a red looking pepper), mayonnaise, salt and pepper. I don’t have a particular recipe that I use, but I can recommend the best place to get it! I was visiting a friend for a long weekend few years ago and she took me to a place called DiPratos Delicatessen (http://www.dipratos.com). They have a regular cheddar version and a Vermont white cheddar version that are both to die for. Several friends and I have made our way back to that place over the years and we literally sit there and try to figure out what they have put in it. We are convinced some cream cheese has been mixed in, it just melts so well. The thing I like about this place’s spread is that you can still see the shredded cheese, it is not all a paste. Some people like the paste style, not me. I also think there may be some garlic in it. Regardless, it is the best pimento cheese spread I have ever have, and I cart some off in a to go container every time I manage to get to the restaurant! So, if you can’t get it fresh from the delicatessen, look up a recipe online and try it sometime. You may find you like something new, and so Southern!
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