Thanksgiving Folly-style
Traditional and non-traditional recipes from local restaurants for “the Big Meal”
by Jenny Peterson | Current Staff Writer
What is Thanksgiving without food made with love?
We asked Folly restaurants to share their favorite recipes that bring people around the table. Tis the season to gather ‘round and try out a new dish or two. Rita’s Seaside Grill offered up a recipe for a smoked turkey to anchor the meal. BLU chef Todd Garrigan shares his recipe for a quintessential Lowcountry dish—single-serving oyster pies, which will be served at BLU on Thanksgiving Day.
“It is creamy and luxurious, studded with oysters and vegetables, and can be enjoyed whether the temperature is 40 or 75 degrees,” Garrigan said.
For non-traditional Thanksgiving dishes, Hank Weed of Chico Feo, shares a chicken adobo recipe and Michael Scognamiglio, owner and chef at Alfredo’s on Folly offers up an eggplant parmigiana, a pasta-less lasagna topped with tons of melty cheese.
Ann Barrow, coordinator of the Folly’s Community Soup Ministry, shares her crowd-pleasing lasagna soup recipe. The church serves soup every Monday from noon-1 p.m. at the Folly Beach Baptist Fellowship Hall. All are welcome.
For a holiday pick-me-up any day or night, Lowlife bar owner TJ Lynch offers a holiday hot toddy that’s easy to stir up at home.
Finally, what’s Thanksgiving without dessert?
Omar Colon, owner of beloved 24/7 grocery store Bert’s Market, shares longtime night shift employee Miss Leigh’s recipe for “Preacher Cookies”—so named because, “that is what the preacher liked at Leigh’s husband’s momma’s church in West Virginia about 70 years ago,” Colon said. It’s chocolatey peanut buttery goodness. If you make them, stop in at Bert’s and let Miss Leigh know how they turn out.
Rita’s smoked turkey breast (using a smoker)
Rita’s Seaside Grill
2 Center St.
@ritasfollybeach
Ingredients:
Turkey breast
For the rub:
1 cup blackening seasoning
4 tablespoons of ground thyme
4 tablespoons of ground sage
2 teaspoons of chipotle powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
Instructions: Mix ingredients for the turkey rub and set aside. Coat turkey with the rub generously and let sit for three hours in the refrigerator. Heat smoker to 250 degrees. Once the smoker is at temperature, place the turkey breast in the smoker for 3.5 hours or 4 hours if eating immediately off the smoker. Add wood to the smoker every 45 minutes to maintain temperature of 250 degrees. After 3.5 hours, check temperature with a thermometer to make sure the internal temp is 160 degrees or 165 degrees if eating immediately. If eating immediately, let rest for 20 minutes and slice up and enjoy.
Eat-later option: Let turkey rest for one hour at room temperature then place in fridge to cool. Once cooled, you can slice up for sandwiches or diced up for salads.
Holiday Hot Toddy, a.k.a “The Hot Mess”
Lowlife Bar
106 E. Hudson Ave.
@lowlifebar
Ingredients:
1 oz spiced syrup (honey or maple syrup can be substituted)
3 oz apple cider
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
1.5 oz bourbon or aged rum
Cinnamon stick, orange twist and lemon wheel for garnish
Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a pot and heat on the stove. Serve hot, with a cinnamon stick, orange twist and lemon wheel.
Oyster Pie
BLU
1 Center St. (inside Tides Hotel)
@blufollybeach
Ingredients (yields 10 pies):
2 Yukon potatoes
1 onion, small diced
1 leek, sliced thin
2 ears of corn, shucked and cut from the cob (save the cobs for later)
1 carrot, small diced
2 ribs of celery, diced
30 oysters, shucked
1 qt heavy cream
½ lb butter
Worcestershire sauce
Hot sauce (to taste)
Salt and pepper (to taste)
10 3-inch pie shells (storebought is fine, defrosted)
Oil, for cooking
Optional garnish: fresh parsley, diced scallions
Instructions: Bake the pie shells until they are crispy. Meanwhile, heat a saucepan with a small amount of oil. Add vegetables (first six ingredients) to pan until they start to sweat and become tender. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Add cream and simmer on medium/low until the cream thickens. Add oysters and cook until the doneness is to your liking. Add Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and the hot sauce of your choice to taste. Place each cooked pie shell on the individual plate it’s going to be served on. Ladle a healthy amount of filling into each pie shell (it’s ok to overfill them and let some of the filling run onto the plate). Garnish with parsley leaves and shaved scallions.
Chicken Adobo
Chico Feo
122 East Ashley Ave.
www.chicofeos.com
Ingredients:
Whole Chicken broken down or a large pack of chicken thighs
For the marinade:
1 cup white distilled vinegar
4 cans coconut milk
3/4 cup lite soy sauce
10 garlic cloves
Handful of peppercorns
2-3 bay leaves
1 tbsp brown sugar
Rice for serving
Scallion for garnish
Instructions: Mix marinade and set aside. Turn oven on to 400 degrees. Line a hotel pan (a disposable lasagna pan is fine) with chicken, skin side down. Pour marinade to come up about halfway up the pan and cover the chicken. Cover and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover, flip chicken and finish cooking until chicken is done, about another 20 minutes. Take out of oven so sauce can reduce and thicken. Serve over rice add scallions for garnish.
Eggplant Parmigiana
Alfredo’s on Folly
106 W. Hudson
@alfredosonfolly
Ingredients (serves three people):
1 medium to large eggplant
24 oz of fresh mozzarella – 18 oz diced and 6 oz thinly sliced
16 oz grated parmesan cheese
24 oz tomato puree (this is less dense than tomato paste)
flour for dusting and coating eggplant
8 eggs mixed with 1/4 cup of milk for eggwash
vegetable oil for frying
paper towels
Instructions: Using a mandolin, thinly slice the eggplant into long strips at the most 1/8 inch thick. Heat enough vegetable oil in a large pan for frying the eggplant over medium high heat.
When oil is hot, taking one slice of eggplant at a time, dust the eggplant slice with flour, dip into the eggwash mixture, then fry in oil until lightly golden brown. Remove the fried slice from oil and set aside on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. When all slices are fried start assembly: start with coating the bottom of a casserole dish with 6oz of tomato puree, then layer enough eggplant slices to cover the bottom with each slice overlapping each other slightly. Then add another 6 oz of tomato puree spread evenly with 6 oz of the diced mozzarella and 4 oz of parmesan. Repeat this process using all the eggplant slices for another two layers. The top layer of the eggplant will use the last 6 oz of tomato puree, the 6 oz of sliced mozzarella and the last 4 oz of parmesan. Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
Lasagna Soup
Folly Beach Baptist Community Soup Ministry at Folly Beach Baptist Church
77 Center St.
www.follybeachbaptist.com
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. Italian ground sausage
1 onion, chopped
4 tsp. minced garlic
8 cups chicken broth
24 oz. jar of pasta sauce
2 Tbsp. tomato sauce
14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1 bay leaf
10 lasagna noodles
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions: Brown ground beef, sausage and onion in a large stockpot. Drain when meat is no longer pink and return to the pot. Mix in garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Pour in the pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken broth, sugar, balsamic vinegar, basil, oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Break the lasagna noodles into pieces and place in the pot. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook until the noodles have softened, about 15 minutes.
Miss Leigh’s No Bake “Preacher Cookies”
Bert’s Market/The Wooden Spoon
202 E Ashley Ave.
@bertsmarket
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
½ cup milk
1 stick butter
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups quick oatmeal
½ cup peanut butter
Instructions: Boil sugar, milk, butter, cocoa powder and vanilla extract in a pot; bring to a roiling boil for one full minute. Add quick oatmeal and peanut butter and milk well. Spoon and drop teaspoon by teaspoon of the mixture onto aluminum foil and allow to set at room temperature.
