Stories From The Carolina Coast: Welcome To The Beach-Food For Thought

                                             

      First off let me welcome Y'all to the Beach. Please know that Y'all are always welcome. The first thing any good southerner does when guest arrive is to invite them in for a sit and offer up a big glass of sweet tea. Sweet tea of course being the house wine of the south. Secondly my father taught me that fed guest are happy guest and as such, allow me to serve up a little  chicken and sausage gumbo. Now I know that gumbo isn't  a lowcountry dish, but it is quintessentially southern and it's long been a staple in my house, and just damn good.      So sit back, enjoy a bowl or two and I'll try my best to tell y'all a tale or two about the sea islands of the South Carolina Coast that I know and love so well.

 World Famous Gumbo Recipe:
In A Large and I mean Large Pot
2-boxes of chicken broth
4-5 boneless chicken breasts cut up
2- packs of andouille sausage sliced 1/2 inch thick (Beef smoked sausage if you must) fry in a pan until they begin to brown and drain before adding.
2-cans of diced tomatoes, or 6 johns island fresh tomatoes diced
2-3 cups of chopped okra fresh if you have it, frozen if you don't. Start at 2 add the third cup if you need it.
3-large onions, cut into eights
4-stalks of diced celery cut 1/4-1/2 inch thick
2-medium green bell peppers cut in 1 inch squares
1-heaping teaspoon of granulated garlic
1- heaping teaspoon of black pepper
1-tablespoon of Thyme
1-tablespoon of balsamic vinegar (No substitutions)
- My wife likes 2 cans of drained red kidney beans- add if you like them
TASTE-TASTE-TASTE THEN, add texas pete hot sauce to taste, caution a little at a time to your pain thresh hold. Salt to Taste.

Lastly make rice 3- cups to 7 cups of water (mahatma the best I've found) bring to a boil in a covered pot then on low until all the waters gone. Put the rice in a bowl and the Gumbo on top.

                                                                               Serve With Cornbread!!                                      

Put all of the above on the stove and bring to a boiling/simmer then low/med heat for 35-45 minutes
Don't worry about how many it will feeds, just share until its gone.