Banana Pepper Poppers

My garden is a champ at producing peppers. I wanted to try something different with them other than pickling and candying them. We aren't that big on heat, so we have a lot of banana peppers. I decided to turn them into poppers using the filling from my VooDoo Eggrolls! They turned out delicious!!!

Banana Pepper Poppers

12 Banana Peppers, halved and seeded
1 1/2 cups Crawfish Tails, chopped or shrimp*
2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tsp Butter
1/4 cup Onion, minced
3 cloves Garlic, minced
3/4 cup Andouille Sausage, cut in a small dice
4 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 cup corn
1/2 block of Cream Cheese (4 oz, room temp)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, add crawfish and seasonings.

In a skillet, sauté onions and garlic in butter and Worcestershire sauce,
until tender. Add crawfish and sausage. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Dump back into the large bowl to cool.

Stuffed Banana Pepper Poppers

Mix cheeses and corn until well mixed. Add to the cooled meat mixture.
Stuff peppers with the mixture and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool a little, about 5 minutes and enjoy!

*If you don't have access to crawfish, substitute shrimp. I used a combo of both in this recipe.

Greek Shrimp and Rice

I was looking through Mama's cookbooks looking for something different. I found an old fund raiser cookbook from 1975 called Santee Supper ~ A Book Of Recipes From The South Carolina Lowcountry. I found this seafood recipe, and I had everything on hand! I added Cavender's Greek Seasoning, of course!

Greek Shrimp and Rice 

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

1 ½ cups cooked rice

1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

½ cup Feta cheese crumbles

1 can petite diced tomatoes with juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon Cavender’s Greek Seasoning

Sprinkle of dill weed 

Salt and Pepper, to taste*

Sauté onions in butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes, garlic and Greek Seasoning to onions. Add shrimp and cook until pink. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp.

Lower heat to medium. Add rice and stir until rice is heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with Feta cheese and dill weed.

I added kalamata olives to my plate,

 because the hubby doesn't care for them in his. 

Asian Dumplings

 

I bought myself a dumpling press at Christmas this year, so yesterday I decided to try it out. It worked great! I did use eggroll wrappers that I had on hand, but I plan on making the dumpling dough in the future.

1 package Eggroll Wrappers or Wonton Wrappers

FILLING:
1/2 cup cabbage
1/4 cup green onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 lb ground pork sausage
1/4 cup mushrooms, diced
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

Chop shrimp into small pieces and combine with sausage. Mix cabbage, onion, mushrooms, soy sauce and garlic. Combine sausage and shrimp with cabbage mixture and mix until well incorporated. 

I had cooked sausage and shrimp filling for eggrolls 

earlier in the week and froze half 

of the mixture to use in the dumplings. 

That reduced the cook time for this batch. 

To assemble the dumplings, add roughly 1 teaspoon of filling to the center of a dumpling wrapper. With your finger, lightly coat the outside of the wrapper with water. Fold the wrapper over the filling and, using your fingers, pleat the edges to seal. (I used my press. It's much easier.) Repeat with the remaining fillings and wrappers.

Half of an eggroll wrapper worked in my press.
I just trimmed the edges after pressing them. 

The wrappers I had left over was enough to make

16 dumplings with leftover filling.

This recipe makes enough for 24 dumplings at least. 

Heat the oil over medium high in a large skillet and add a few dumplings, cooking them in batches. Once the bottoms of the dumplings start to brown, add a splash of water and cover with a lid. Steam for about 5 minutes, or until the dumplings are cooked and the water has evaporated. Transfer the cooked dumplings to a paper towel-lined plate to remove any excess moisture or grease.

My stepdaughter Kayleigh made this tray

for me for Christmas! It's perfect!

DIPPING SAUCE:

¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flake, optional

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and pepper flakes and stir to combine. Serve the dumplings immediately with the dipping sauce.

Grilled Garlic Butter Shrimp

I had almost forgotten that I used to do the shrimp on the stove top in a sauce pan years ago. I saw a recipe that kind of reminded me of my recipe, so I pulled it back out. I decided to grill them on skewers, and they are now our favorite go-to shrimp!

1lb uncooked deveined peeled large shrimp
6 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 slices baguette

In a 1-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in Worcestershire sauce and 3 cloves chopped garlic. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade for the bread. Add shrimp to a zip top bag. Pour remaining butter mixture over shrimp; carefully toss to coat. Marinade for a couple of hours in the refrigerator.

Brush baguette slices on both sides with the reserved 2 tablespoons of the butter mixture and toast until golden brown. Transfer to a bread bowl and keep warm.

Skewer the shrimp about 5 to 6 shrimp per skewer. Brush shrimp with any left over marinade. Grill shrimp for 4 to 6 minutes or until shrimp are pink and firm; transfer to serving platter or bowl.

Serving Suggestion: Serve shrimp with bread and a tossed salad.

Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo

Simple Alfredo recipe with restaurant quality taste! Impress your family with ease. Serve with a small salad and garlic 5 cheese bread. Enjoy!

Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo

8 ounces uncooked fettuccine
1 pound shrimp thawed & peeled
2 tablespoons butter
4 ounces cream cheese softened & cut into smaller pieces
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons minced garlic 
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

Lemon Juice

Take the cream cheese out of the fridge so it has a chance to soften up. 

Peel and clean the shrimp.

Start boiling a salted pot of water for the fettuccine. Cook it al dente according to package directions. Drain. 

Meanwhile, add the butter, cream cheese, cream, chicken broth, and garlic to a skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted and the pan has heated up, stir the cream cheese to melt into the sauce. This will take a couple of minutes.

When the cream cheese has been incorporated into the sauce, let it gently bubble for 5 minutes until the sauce has reduced somewhat. Give it an occasional stir.

Stir the parmesan into the sauce. Let it cook for about a minute.
Add the shrimp to the pan. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally until shrimp is pink.
Season the Alfredo with salt & pepper to taste. I add a few shakes of lemon juice to mine, then toss with the pasta and serve immediately.

Sautéed Shrimp

I learned this recipe a long time ago from Chef Paul Prudhomme on a morning show. He published a more refined recipe later, but I like the original better. 
BTW... Locally SC sourced Large Shrimp from the Shrimp Guy!

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp
¼ pound (1 stick) Butter
1½ teaspoons minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce


Peel and devein the shrimp.

Melt the butter and add the Worcestershire Sauce. Bring up to a hard simmer on medium. Add garlic. Bump the heat up to medium high and add the shrimp. Sauté until nice and white and orange. (No longer or it will be rubbery.) 

This can be served with rice or noodles, but we like it by itself with a side of fries and a salad! 

Shrimp Scampi

My family doesn't always agree on what to have for supper, or how I fix shrimp for that matter. They do, however, all agree on Shrimp Scampi! 

1 (16 ounce) package angel hair pasta
1/2 cup butter or margarine
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 pounds shrimp
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Bring a large pot of salted water (with a drizzle of olive oil added) to a boil over high heat. Add the angel hair pasta, and cook until done; drain. Reserve the pasta water. 

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Once the mixture begins to bubble, stir in the shrimp. Cook and stir until heated through. Add in cooked pasta and toss. Add enough pasta water to create a sauce as thick or thin as you want. Taste and adjust seasonings. 

Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and add a salad and some garlic bread to serve.

Egg Rolls

These egg rolls are really pretty easy to do! I think the part about egg rolls that people think is intimidating is just the assembly... the rolling. It's more like folding them into an envelope shape. The most complicated part is rolling the wrappers and sealing them well, but that gets easy after you do it a couple of times! Don't work on the stack of wrappers while filling and rolling. Assemble each one separately to keep them from getting wet and sticking together. Keep your work space dry and neat. If you lay a wrapper down in water, the water turns to glue. The wrapper will tear when you try to pick it up or fold it. Give it a try! If you have kids, let them try too! It's a fun activity for everyone. I think it would make a great kitchen party with all the guests learning how you roll! LOL

Egg Rolls

Egg Roll Wrappers (about 16 -18 per package)
1/2 lb Sausage or Hamburger
1/2 lb Shrimp, shelled and cut
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, chopped
1/2 cup water chestnuts, chopped
1 cup cabbage, shredded
1 cup bean sprouts

Combine and set aside:
1 T soy sauce
1 T water
1 T corn starch

If you have a wok, that's great! If not, use a large skillet add a little oil and saute the meat and mushrooms for about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp turns pink. Add the corn starch mixture and cook until the liquid thickens. Pour into a large bowl and set aside. In the same skillet, add a little oil and return to heat. Add cabbage, sprouts, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and saute until cabbage wilts. Add to bowl with meat mixture and stir together. Let the mixture cool a little.

Take one egg roll wrapper out and place it on your work space facing you like a diamond. Place about 1/4 cup of filling in the lower corner nearest you. Brush or with your finger, wipe the edges down with water. This will seal the egg rolls so they don't pop while cooking. Fold the bottom corner up and the sides in, like an envelope. Then fold the top down to seal. Make sure each egg roll seals well. Place the egg roll on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Repeat the process with the next wrapper, until they are all rolled and sealed. 

It's best to use a small fryer such as a "Fry Daddy" or some with fryer with a basket. The egg rolls can split and that can cause the filling to leak. This can make the oil foam up and pop sometimes, so use caution when frying. If you use a pot on the stove, use as little oil as you can and turn the egg rolls to cook evenly.
Heat the oil to 375 degrees. Fry two or three at a time until they are golden brown... usually about 3-5 minutes. Keep them in a warm oven until ready to eat. Serve them with soy sauce, duck sauce, plum sauce or a spicy mustard.

This recipe usually makes 16-18 egg rolls.

Seafood Caesar Salad

1/2 cup Cardini's Classic Caesar Dressing, divided

1 tbsp lemon juice 

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 lb. shrimp, peeled, de-veined and cooked
1 lb crab

6 cups torn romaine lettuce

1 cup seasoned croutons

1/4 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese 

Heat the shrimp and crab in a sauté pan over medium heat. Off the heat, add the lemon and 1/4 dressing.

Toss lettuce, croutons and remaining dressing in large serving bowl. Top with shrimp and crab mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve immediately. 

Voodoo Egg Rolls

I saw a picture of Voodoo Egg Rolls for the first time the other day on Serving Houma's Facebook Page. They offer an amazing service. For restaurants in their area that don't deliver, they'll order for you, go pick it up and deliver it to you! What a wonderful service especially for those house bound individuals! Anyway, I contacted them and told them that I wasn't asking for a recipe, because I knew that only delivered, but could they describe the rolls to me. Their picture looked so good, and they were very nice to describe them for me. To me, they sounded like a Louisiana version of the lobster rolls that Red Lobster used to sell... just kicked up with some good andouille sausage! I had worked for a long time to try and replicate the Lobster Rolls, so I figured I'd try my hand at these Voodoo Egg Rolls! I'm not sure if these taste anything like the ones in Houma, La, but they were VERY good!!! The hubby gave them a thumbs up... because his mouth was too full to talk! LOL

Voodoo Egg Rolls

1 1/2 cups Crawfish Tails, chopped or shrimp
2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning

1 tsp Butter
1/4 cup Onion, minced
3 cloves Garlic, minced
3/4 cup Andouille Sausage, cut in a small dice
4 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 cup corn

1/2 block of Cream Cheese (4 oz, room temp)
12 Egg Roll Wrappers

In a large bowl, add crawfish and seasonings.

I didn't have the crawfish this time, so I substituted shrimp.

I'll try the crawfish next time!

In a skillet, saute onions and garlic in butter and Worcestershire 

sauce, 

until tender. Add crawfish and sausage.

Saute for 2-3 minutes.

Dump back into the large bowl to cool.

Mix cheeses and corn until well mixed.

Add to the cooled meat mixture.

Put an egg roll wrapper on a dry surface.

Place 2 tablespoons or so of the filling mixture

in the middle of the wrapper.

Fold the top down...

 Tuck the bottom in a little and fold over the sides...

 Fold in the other side... Notice the small white bowl?

It has water in it...

Wet the top edge with a water on your fingertip

and roll toward the end. The water will seal the edges.

 Press to seal.

 Fry rolls at 375 degrees until golden, about 2 minutes.

My plate...

The Hubby's plate!

Seafood Lasagna

 

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb shrimp

1/2 lb crab

1/2 lb scallops

2 garlic clove, minced

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 T butter

2 cups béchamel *

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup dry white wine

1cup Swiss and Mozzarella cheese mix , shredded

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

8 lasagna sheets, cooked 'al dente'

salt and white pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

IN a saucepan, melt 1 T of the butter, sauté the garlic until transparent - do not brown or burn. Add the shrimp, scallops and crab. Toss over high heat for 1-2 minutes. Add onions, stir and continue cooking till shrimp lose their transparency.

Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare the béchamel.*

When béchamel is ready, stir in the cream, wine, and salt and pepper to taste, blend thoroughly and remove the sauce from the heat. Spread about a third of the sauce over the bottom of an 8 x 10 or round pie pan. Sprinkle 1/2 the cheese mixture over the sauce. Scatter about half the shellfish evenly over the cheese. Cover with half the lasagna sheets. Repeat the layers finishing with the last sheets of lasagna. Cover with the remaining sauce and Parmesan.

The layers, from the bottom:
Sauce
Cheese
Seafood
Lasagna
Sauce
Cheese
Seafood
Lasagna
Sauce
Parmesan

BAKE for 30-40 minutes or until the topping is golden brown (keep and eye on it, you don't want the top to burn).Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

*Bechamel Sauce

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cups milk, heated**
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

** Use 1 cup milk for the sauce in the seafood lasagna because heavy cream and wine will thin the sauce. This will result in the sauce being thicker than usual, but that's ok!

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, but don't let it brown — about 2 minutes. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring it to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat. To cool this sauce for later use, cover it with wax paper or pour a film of milk over it to prevent a skin from forming.

Makes about 1 cup.

PS. I ALWAYS use more cheese than a recipe calls for. It's always your call to use more or less...

Beaufort Stew or Frogmore Stew?

A while back, I was asked if I had any Gullah Recipes. If you don't know what Gullah is, it's an African-American culture that took root soon after the days of slavery. The Gullah settled mainly in the islands along the shores of South Carolina and Georgia, among them: Edisto Island, Coosaw Island, Daufuskie Island, and St. Helena Island. This gave them privacy to preserve their culture and customs; like basket weaving, cultivating rice, trapping and trading especially shrimp.

When I worked for a trucking company in the '90s, I had a driver that was from the islands around Edisto. His 'handle' on the radio was 'Geechee'. This is a word to describe the Gullah dialect, also a word to descibe perfectly how he talked.

On the island of St. Helena, where my Mama began a yearly pilgrimage many years ago, you can find the Gullah settlement of Frogmore. It is a simple crossroads with a two-story white country store on one side and a post office on the other. This is the birthplace of Frogmore stew, a boil of assorted seafood, pork sausage, and corn on the cob. My family in Rimini, SC, has always called this a Beaufort Stew. There is the Louisiana Crawfish Boil and the Lowcountry Boil. The names go on forever, and the fight for the origin of each name does also. I believe that when you get to the 'outer banks' or islands of any southern state, if you look hard and deep enough, you will find the deep hidden cultures of time gone past.

Here is my families way of doing this classic Gullah inspired dish!

•2 crab boil seasoning bags (or more to taste)

•several lemons, halved (optional)

•redskin potatoes (depending on size, 3 or more per person)

•spicy smoked sausage, cut into 1-inch slices (¼ pound per person)

•fresh corn, broken into halves (1 ½ ears per person)

•sweet onions, whole (depending on size, 1 or more per person)

•shrimp (½ pound per person)

•crawfish (½ pound per person) If Elliott's Landing has any left, they go fast!

This is usually done outside over an intense heat such as a propane burner. That's the only way to cook this much food all together! Fill a large steamer pot halfway with water. Add crab-boil seasoning. Add halved lemons. When the seasoned water comes to a boil, add redskin potatoes and onions and boil for 20 minutes; then add 2" slices of spicy smoked sausage and boil for 5-10 minutes. Add the corn and boil another 5 minutes. Then add the shrimp. Cook for 3 minutes. (Don't wait for it to boil again or you will overcook the shrimp.) Drain, and pile on a table.

Serve with lots of paper towels and icy beverages, plus melted butter for the corn, cocktail sauce for the shrimp, and sour cream for the potatoes. ALSO VERY IMPORTANT: Make sure to have a bottle of killer hot sauce for the cousin who's gonna say, "Aw that ain't nothin'!" Then pour it to 'em!!!

Bacon Roll Ups

These are kind of like Rumaki, I guess. Mama always called them Bacon Roll Ups. I doubt she had ever heard of rumaki. Either way, I love bacon and these are delicious!

Rumaki

18 slices of bacon, cut in half
1 can sliced water chestnuts
5oz soy sauce
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 t black pepper
2 pkgs cocktail sausages
36 shrimp, peeled and de-veined

Using toothpicks, place a slice of water chestnut, sausage, shrimp and another slice of water chestnut on each toothpick, and wrap with bacon. Mix the brown sugar, pepper and soy sauce. Place the wraps and marinade in a plastic bag and marinate over night or 24 hrs. Cook at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until bacon is done.
* You can substitute teriyaki glaze for the marinade if you like.

Easy Egg Rolls... Chinese Take-Out at Home!

These egg rolls are really pretty easy to do! I think the part about egg rolls that people think is intimidating is just the assembly... the rolling. It's more like folding them into an envelope shape. The most complicated part is rolling the wrappers and sealing them well, but that gets easy after you do it a couple of times! Don't work on the stack of wrappers while filling and rolling. Assemble each one separately to keep them from getting wet and sticking together. Keep your work space dry and neat. If you lay a wrapper down in water, the water turns to glue. The wrapper will tear when you try to pick it up or fold it. Give it a try! If you have kids, let them try too! It's a fun activity for everyone. I think it would make a great kitchen party with all the guests learning how you roll! LOL

Egg Rolls

Egg Roll Wrappers (about 16 -18 per package)
1/2 lb Sausage or Hamburger
1/2 lb Shrimp, shelled and cut
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, chopped
1/2 cup water chestnuts, chopped
1 cup cabbage, shredded
1 cup bean sprouts

Combine and set aside:
1/2 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1 T soy sauce
1 T sherry
1 T water
1 T corn starch

If you have a wok, that's great! If not, use a large skillet add a little oil and saute the meat and mushrooms for about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp turns pink. Add the corn starch mixture and cook until the liquid thickens. Pour into a large bowl and set aside. In the same skillet, add a little oil and return to heat. Add cabbage, sprouts, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and saute until cabbage wilts. Add to bowl with meat mixture and stir together. Let the mixture cool a little.

Take one egg roll wrapper out and place it on your work space facing you like a diamond. Place about 1/4 cup of filling in the lower corner nearest you. Brush or with your finger, wipe the edges down with water. This will seal the egg rolls so they don't pop while cooking. Fold the bottom corner up and the sides in, like an envelope. Then fold the top down to seal. Make sure each egg roll seals well. Place the on a parchment lined cookie sheet until the are all rolled and sealed. Repeat the process with the next wrapper.

It's best to use a small fryer such as a "Fry Daddy" or some with fryer with a basket. The egg rolls can split and that can cause the filling to leak. This can make the oil foam up and pop sometimes, so use caution when frying. If you use a pot on the stove, use as little oil as you can and turn the egg rolls to cook evenly.
Heat the oil to 375 degrees. Fry two or three at a time until they are golden brown... usually about 3-5 minutes. Keep them in a warm oven until ready to eat. Serve them with soy sauce, duck sauce, plum sauce or a spicy mustard. I like to use Mama's Hawaiian Sauce. It tastes just like the sweet and sour or red sauce.

This recipe usually makes 16-18 egg rolls.

Mama's Shrimp Creole

Growing up, my Mama and her family didn't have a lot of money. Food like seafood was out of the question. They could go fishing and eat fish, but shrimp were not in the budget. When Mama was in middle school, she made a new friend and went to stay the weekend. She soon found out that the 'well to do' family was catholic and ate shrimp every Friday night. It was a sacrifice that she gladly made! Whenever she could Mama would buy shrimp for us and she loved to make Shrimp Creole. Shrimp was her favorite food!

Shrimp Creole

¼ cup Butter

1 cup Onion, chopped

1 cup Celery, diced

1 Garlic Clove, minced

2 T Flour

1 t Salt

1 t Sugar

Dash Cayenne

1 t Paprika

1 small Bay Leaf

4 drops Tabasco

½ cup Bell Pepper, diced

19 oz can Tomatoes

2 cups Shrimp, Peeled and deveined

     (1 pound fresh or 2 - 7 oz cans)

Melt butter in frying pan. Add onion, celery and garlic; cook slowly until tender but not brown. Add flour and seasoning; stir until blended. Stir in bell pepper and tomatoes. Cook 10 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp turns pink. Serve over rice.

Shrimp Dip

I love this dip! I eat it on crackers, toast points, chips... It's good on anything as far as I'm concerned!
It is quick and easy too! (My favorite kind :-)

2 cans sm Shrimp, drained
    or 12 oz fresh shrimp, chopped
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1 sm Onion, minced
½ t Salt
Cayenne Pepper, dash
Lemon Juice

Mix and Chill.

Hot Crab Melt

Every time I post a recipe with Crab in it, I think about my Uncle Perry and our summer trips to Mitchum Creek!

Taken from my post on July 8th, 2010... "Soft Shelled Crabs from Mitchum Creek"

Uncle Perry... The Old Man of the Sea

"I always loved going to Uncle Perry's in the summertime. He lived in Topping, Virginia on Mitchum Creek. We would get up early in the morning, pack a lunch, and go fishing. I loved fishing with Uncle Perry. ( Helping gather bait... watching the crabs in the bucket blowing bubbles... watching Daddy on the front of the boat trying to scoop up the peelers on top of the water with the dip net... watching Uncle Perry cut up bait... Mama getting so tired from catching fish, but she wouldn’t quit. She’d just hook them then call Daddy to reel them in...) When we got in we would clean the fish and then get cleaned up ourselves. Usually, we kids could get in a good scavenger hunt before supper. Going through the crab boxes... pulling Periwinkles off the weeds by the water... playing on Uncle Perry’s boat... watching the hummingbirds from the porch... Grandmama having to walk so slow with the feeder because the hummingbirds would come to feed as soon as she opened the front door... Later that night we all came out on the porch to eat supper. In the usual family tradition, there was always mounds of food. Grandmama’s fried oyster fritters, fresh fried fish, fried chicken, Aunt Vashti’s pan fried squash, plates of tomatoes and cucumbers, biscuits and much, much more. And, of course, if Daddy had gotten a couple of peelers, we had soft shell crabs too! Uncle Perry was sitting at the head of the table, to my left. As usual we all over-ate. We sat for a rather long time talking about the day and the ones that got away. I noticed Uncle Perry push back his chair to stand. He leaned forward several times pushing his hands against the seat of the chair. But, he did not stand. After a moment, he smiled and looked over at me. He leaned over to me and said, “It’s awfully embarrassing after eating that much, trying and trying to get up, and you can't. And then you find out that your thumb’s in your hip pocket!”

Hot Crab Melt

6 oz Crab Meat
¼ cup Tartar Sauce
2 T Celery, finely chopped
2 T Bell Pepper, finely chopped
1 t Lemon Juice
2 English Muffins, Split and Toasted
4 slices American Cheese

Combine all ingredients except muffins and cheese. Mix well. Place spread on muffin halves. Bake at 350 for five minutes. Top with cheese and bake 5 minutes longer.

Notes: “Great with shrimp too!” (Mama's favorite :-)