Art Walking

McCrady's Restaurant, Unity Alley, Charleston, S.C.

Artist Gina Brown is doing a Charleston series again, with most of her paintings based on my photos. I love it! Check out her painting blog to see more of the series. This particular one features two of my favorite things - good food and the adorable British style Charleston Black Cab.

Gina shows locally at Shelby Lee Gallery on Church St. just off Market so if you are in town stop by. They look even better in real life.

Okay kids, enough lolly-gagging around. Who is going walking with me?

Charleston Chef Dream Team

Seeds of Hope Dinner, Roper Cancer Center Benefit, McCrady's, Charleston, S.C.

Wowza! Check out this Charleston Chef Dream Team! This was the line up for the Seeds of Hope dinner benefiting the Roper St. Francis Cancer Center on Sunday night and I was lucky enough to be there.

Chef Sean Brock of McCrady's, Frank Lee of Slightly North of Broad, Jacques Larson of Wild Olive, Ken Verdinski of Trattoria Lucca and Mike Lata of FIG. For this dinner they were paired with the farmers whose fresh produce they used for the evening.

I have lined up the dishes in to match the picture from left to right rather than the order in which they were served - not that there is anything wrong with starting with dessert. What an incredible treat. Thank you gentlemen!

More photos here.

Any idea......

Charleston, S.C.

Any idea what this picture is of? Might surprise you.........

Edit:
Dang, you guys are good. I don't think I would have guessed it if I hadn't taken it with my little pocket camera. It looks like some kind of painted mural to me. Chef Sean Brock had just finished five hours of art work having his favorite vegetables tattooed on his arm. Ouch. Chef Brock was also just listed as a semi finalist as a James Beard nominee for Best Chef South East. If there was an award for Best Decorated he'd already own it. Congrats Sean!

Now, what would your arm look like if you had all of your favorite things on it?

Valentine Treats

Cupcake Decorating Contest, Charleston, S.C.

Do I get a little carried away? I asked Winburn Carmack, the Executive Pastry Chef and Andre' Guillet the General Manager from McCrady's Restaurant to come out to judge our employee Valentine's Cupcake decorating contest and they did! The cupcakes then get sold and a donation made to the American Heart Association.

Blog Meetup!

Queen St., Charleston, S.C.

I am on the run, kids but here is a nice link to what I did last evening. Caroline in the City had listed McCrady's Restaurant on her wish list of things to do before she left Charleston and I had been invited to sample their new bar menu (yum, yum) so we had a tasty little blog meet up!

Caroline in the City

It was great to meet you Caroline. I will stay tuned for your travel adventures.

* Photo unrelated. I took it as I was walking down to the restaurant. It is a neat antique store on Queen St. that I am always peaking in.

Down the Red Carpet

Hippodrome, Charleston, S.C.

I had a chance to attend the pre-premier party for the movie Dear John at the Hippodrome. The sold out event was a fundraiser for Carolina Autism and was attended by Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried. Fun! Chef Sean Brock and the staff from McCrady's whipped up their amazing treats for the event.

The movie was sold out so I came on home and watched Amanda Seyfried on Big Love which is one of my favorite shows. Meanwhile, the Dear John stars and fans are probably all still partying at the after party at the aquarium.

Friday Night Hodge Podge

King St., Charleston, S.C.

The picture has to be lopsided to catch the observation tower behind the building.

Yipee! It's Friday! It's been a scattered day. I started bright and early in a Vision Council at Trident United Way in North Charleston and ended the night at a raunchy and hilarious Rodney Carrington concert at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center. What personality profile do I fit in?

Check here for some lovely garden photos from another "Perry". He isn't exactly a relative but I claim every Perry who does anything cool.

Need a private office to get some peace and quiet? Check out the Office Pod.

WomansDay.com wrote to ask if they could use this picture of a dessert I took at a charity dinner. Chef Sean Brock from McCrady's had taken baby carrots and dipped them in dark chocolate to make this gorgeous dish. They didn't tell me the article was going to be titled 8 Curious Chocolate Covered Creations and include chocolate covered crickets and squid. I can testify that this dessert was delicious.

According to Fortune Magazine there are no best Companies to work in South Carolina. We didn't even make their list. Hmmmph. I think I work for a darn good company.

G'night kids. Let's have a great weekend.

More Foodie Adventures

Chef Sean Brock & Chef Tyler Brown, Charleston, S.C.

I am still eating dangerously well, folks. Can't believe my luck really. I was taking pictures at a benefit dinner not too long ago where friends Joe and Maddy bid and won an auction item. The prize was to have Executive Chef Tyler Brown from the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee come to their home to prepare dinner. I slid under the wire and was included as a dinner guest. Woohoo!

I've always wondered how these things worked. Since Chef Brown is good friends with Chef Sean Brock from McCrady's Restaurant he came along and both of them whipped up the most magnificent feast. Joe and Maddy have a lovely home on the marsh in Mt. Pleasant and the perfect kitchen for an event like this.

There were a couple of things that I really enjoyed - one was watching the gentlemen's manly fingers doing such dainty work, sprinkling the dishes with tiny edible flowers and turning the shrimp into a Monet painting. The other thing, besides the delicious food, was listening to these two talented friends laughing their heads off as they worked in the kitchen. It really was fun.

I may need to take some food photography lessons if I am to keep up this trend.

We ended the evening sitting on the porch looking at this sunset.

Early morning dinner on the farm

Thornhill Farms, McClellanville, S.C.

Ever wonder who the lucky people are who get to be guests in magazine dinner party photo shoots? This time it was me! Lucky me and my friends. Wowza. Charleston Magazine was doing an article on Chef Sean Brock for their October issue and I was allowed to invite a few friends to Thornhill Farms in McClellanville for the occasion.

While Chef Brock was busy with piles of fresh produce in the farmhouse kitchen, we lazed around on the porch sipping wine at 9:30 in the morning. The photo shoot was to represent a dinner party so we were forced to eat the most delicious four course meal with wine, Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka and sip bourbon.

Fellow lowcountry blogger Heather from Home Ec101 joined the party. I stayed out of photographer Peter Frank Edward's way and won't steal any of their thunder describing or showing too much of the incredibly delicious meal. You will have to wait for the October issue of the magazine. I know I will. I need a couple of the recipes. If you notice, our plates are completely empty. :)

Planting the Seeds of Hope Dinner

Planting the Seeds of Hope Dinner, McCrady's Restaurant, Charleston, SC

I can check my googled search words and see that folks have been looking for pictures from Sunday evening's fundraising dinner at McCrady's so here we are.

I'm clearly playing with the big kids now! Check out this line up of top executive chefs all at one event. Left to right: Sean Brock from McCrady's did the dessert, Chef Craig Diehl, Cypress did the local beef dish, Chef Jeremiah Bacon from Carolina’s did the appetizer and Chef Anthony Gray of High Cotton served the local fish course.

What a treat. The whole event started after I suggested it as a fundraiser for our new Cancer Center and Andre' Guillet and his staff at McCrady's turned it into a wonderful event for about ninety people. They even let our Cancer Center nursing staff do a crash course to serve as waitstaff!

Lowcountry Foodies......

Chef Sean Brock agreed to work with the hospital I work for on a fund raising dinner for our Cancer Center. Then he went overboard and recruited three friends, each a top chef in town to do a course. I know it is expensive but it will be an incredible evening, it is a donation to an important cause and heck, I'll be there to take your picture.

Here is the info:
When you plant a seed you foster and care for it. Willing it to grow to its greatest potential. The Roper St. Francis Cancer Center is planting the seeds of hope in its patients. Hope for a cure, hope for endurable treatments, hope for more tomorrows.

Top local chefs have also been planting seeds across the Lowcountry. Seeds for fresh local foods that will nourish and satisfy. These chefs are teaming up to offer a truly unique evening of fresh, locally grown cuisine in an effort to support the Roper St. Francis Cancer Center.

Sunday, June 14, 2009
McCrady's Restaurant
$125 per person
5 p.m. Jazz Champagne Reception with The Charlton Singleton Group
6 p.m. Four-Course Dinner in the Long Room at
McCrady’s Restaurant
Join chefs Sean Brock, Craig Deihl, Anthony Gray and Jeremiah Bacon. Each will prepare and present one course.

A Memorable Menu created by Local Chefs
Appetizer - Chef Jeremiah Bacon, Carolina’s
Local Fish Course - Chef Anthony Gray, High Cotton
Local Beef Course - Chef Craig Diehl, Cypress
Vegetable Dessert - Chef Sean Brock, McCrady’s
All produce for this exceptional event are from the McCrady’s Farm on Wadmalaw or Thornhill Farms. Courses will be paired with a selection of premium domestic wines.

Come if you can! Register through the link.

A very precious cause....

A Foundation Building Strength, Fundraising Dinner, McCrady's, Charleston, SC

This little princess named Ava has a rare muscle disorder called Nemaline Myopathy. She was visiting her Grandpa Andre' in Charleston this weekend so he organized a fundraising benefit in her honor, to bring awareness to the disease and the foundation that the family formed.

Andre' invited prominent chefs he had worked with throughout his career in New York, Washington and Philadelphia to the event and each and every one of them accepted when they heard the benefit was for his own granddaughter. It all came together on Sunday night and was an incredible success. I talked to guests who had traveled long distances to attend. Once again, I was made free to go in and out of the kitchen between courses to catch the visiting chefs in action.

Ava and her parents made the rounds thanking all the guests before the end of the evening.

Blog Meet Up - Everything & Nothing

College of Charleston, Charleston, SC

I've been reading the Everything and Nothing blog by Shawn Lea in Mississippi for years. I've stolen poems and recipes and ordered CD's she recommended. I vaguely knew she was planning a Hospital Association meeting in Charleston but hadn't kept up as much since she joined the twitter world and blogged less. Monday Shawn emailed saying she was arriving today and would love to go on a photo walk.

My ears perked. Photo walk!?! Right up my lowcountry alley. I had it all timed to catch the light until we were foiled by her flight delays. Still, we met up at the Francis Marion Hotel around 6 pm and I marched her through some of the peninsula's highlights. We started at the College of Charleston Campus, down King, sidestreets, through Charleston Place, Market St., St. Micheal's Church area, Philadelphia Alley, Waterfront Park, the Pineapple Fountain, Rainbow Row to the Battery. Luckily Shawn wore her walking shoes because I was determined she see the highlights before dark. I practically forced her into the exact spot in the pavement to get a good shot.

We ambled back trying to decide where to eat and I pointed at McCrady's saying "that's where my friend Andre' works, it is one of the fanciest restaurants in Charleston" and Shawn said, "That's where we are going to eat then and it's my treat," and with five minutes notice we did. Andre' sat us at a table near the door so he could keep an eye on us and make sure we behaved. ;P

We spotted blogger Dan T and his wife across the room celebrating her birthday and I thought, here I am sitting with a delightful blogger I've never met before, being welcomed by a new blogger, our meal prepared by an extraordinary chef blogger and seeing blogging friends across the room - how much this whole thing has become a delightful part of my life. We visited the kitchen where Shawn Lea met Chef Sean Brock.

Our meal was delicious and they treated us to the chips of strawberry frozen in liquid nitrogen which tickles me to no end. The vapor pours out of your nose and mouth and makes me want to blow smoke rings. Puff.

Thanks Shawn Lea. What a fun evening!

Food & Wine Festival

Charleston Food & Wine Festival, McCrady's Dine Around, Charleston, SC

What are they doing in this beehive of activity? Making my perfect dinner that's what. And to think I my ate lunch in a cafeteria today. The weather went from one end of the scale to the other today and so have my dining experiences.

I was invited to pull up a chair at the Charleston Food & Wine Festival Dinner at McCrady's this evening and made free to abandon my seat when there was peak action in the kitchen. What they produced from that tiny kitchen was incredible.

The only thing I could compare the coordinated chaos in that room to - in my more familiar hospital experience, would be the delivery of triplets in surgery, where there is a doctor for every baby and a nurse for every doctor, all the back up personal stand ready to leap into action and a timely is delivery important.

Yum, yum. You might consider this food extravaganza wasted on a non foodie but I licked my plate after each course. Along with Chef Sean Brock, the visiting chefs were Wylie Dufresne from Wd-50, NYC and Johnny Iuzzini, Jean Georges Restaurant, NYC.

I am falling to sleep at the keyboard. G'night, kids. I'll put in links to images of the dishes in the morning but right now I can't tell my Candied Kumquats from my Calamanzi Noodles.

Edit: Here is the City Paper scoop from Stephanie Barna who actually knows what she is talking about :). Link to the evening's food pictures.