We recently got to take a trip down to Charleston, South Carolina. The main events were my brother, Tim's, graduation from The Citadel which was only topped by his Commissioning into the Marine Corps. as a Second Lieutenant. Somewhere in between we ate a lot of food and drank a lot of wine.
Shortly after deplaning Tim, Dianna, Mom and Dad whisked us away to the
Hominy Grill, a very fun local place that illustrated its hearty reputation with a full house in mid afternoon.
While they featured delectables like collard greens, cheesy grits and a fantastic cucumber salad the bulk of the meal was outshone by their buttermilk pie.
Smooth, light and incredibly satisfying it's dead easy to make and a wonderful all-season dessert (though I vote for a summer evening with berries on top!). They make some recipes available online though they also have a small cookbook for sale.
Buttermilk Pie1 c buttermilk, room temp
6 tbs unsltd btr, room temp
1 c sugar
2 eggs, separated
3 tbs flour
1 tbs lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
1/4 tsp salt
1 pre-baked 9", deep dish pie shell
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
1) Cream the butter and sugar then add teh egg yolks and mix til combined.
2) Add the flour, lemon juice, nutmeg and salt.
3) Continue mixing while slowly adding the buttermilk.
4) In a separate bowl whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add a small amount of the buttermilk mixture to the whites and fold gently.
5) Gently fold the egg white mixture into the remaining buttermilk mixture.
6) Pour into the pie shell and bake until lightly browned and barely wiggling in the middle (about 50 minutes).
7) Let cool to slightly warm or room temperature, then serve!
Hominy Grill207 Rutledge Avenue
Charleston, SC 29403
843.937.0930
One of the best restaurants we visited on our May trip to Charleston was the most definitely un-fussy Gaulart & Maliclet. They serve up breakfast, lunch and dinner in what seems to be an always crowded dining room. We were favorably seated near the back of the place in a room off the main dining area at a counter open to the kitchen. The place does have hints of "we're better earth people than you", but that's likely a result of the staff being comprised of perhaps the only boho people I saw while in Charleston.
