Let's get ready to......COOK!

Fish is all UP in the Food + Wine Festival this weekend. Tomorrow at 1:30 Nico teams up with Marc Collins of Circa 1886 to face off against Nathan Thurston of Jasmine Porch and Sven Lindroth of The Boathouse. Nico and Marc, this is for you.

Then at 3 pm, Fish hosts a Chardonnay Wine Seminar and at 9 pm, the desserts of Susie Ieronemo take center stage at Bubbles & Sweets. Thanks to the entire Fish team for everything they do to make us proud!

Food, wine, lunching with writers, jazz and um, more food, more wine

'Tis a rather chilly kick off to the Food + Wine Festival, but our excitement keeps us warm. Nico, Catering Manager Richard Jones and Pastry Chef Susie Ieronemo are wheeling a cart over to Marion Square shortly with some of this evening's finest cuisine. (It's SO nice to be within cart-wheeling distance of this gig!) Shot above from my phone shows some tents, one of the many promotional signs and a glimpse of the Francis Marion Hotel.

While picking up badges, tickets and chefs jackets at Festival Central earlier today, I spied my pal Melany Mullens' name. Melany works with Wagstaff Worldwide (experts in hospitality PR and just fabulous folks to know). I look forward to seeing her out and about for the weekend's events.

Had a fantastic lunch out at Lowndes Grove today. Managing Partner Randall Goldman, Lowndes Grove General Manager Ashley Gunnin and I met with CVB Media Goddess Katie Chapman, writer Lynn Seldon and his wife and Marketing Manager, Cele. Randall gave an informative "hard hat" tour of the property; Katie provided lunch and Lynn and Cele brought more goodies and wine. It was very nearly a party! We had a great time discussing story ideas, the state of the hospitality industry in Charleston and international travel to crazy places like Dubrovnik, Croatia. All that and dessert too.

What else? Oh, last night at Fish, our Wednesday night entertainment, The Charlton Singleton Trio, had a special guest. Her name is Cameron Handler. She's a former student of Charlton's and for the record, a HELLUVA musician. She plays a mean trumpet and, fun fact, she was nearly a member of Beyonce's band. By the sounds of things last night, we'll probably be seeing Ms. Handler more regularly.

Let me 'splain

Okay, two of our fine sales managers, my trusty photographer and I were out at Lowndes Grove this afternoon taking in the flurry of activity that is the homestretch of this leg of this historic and incredible renovation. We have new photos. However, I must tell you that in an effort to let the artisans, workmen and painters who are toiling so hard complete their individual "works of art," I made the decision to only include one color shot of finished paint. Here's why: I just can't bear to spoil the surprise. I promise you will be blown away by the finished product and these photos are still great in their own right. So, with that in mind, take a look.

In other news, we did some window dressing at 440 King Street today: a little shout-out to the Food + Wine Festival, which by the by, kicks off tomorrow night. Nico and the folks at Fish are super psyched, as am I. It's going to be a big weekend.

One other tidbit: yesterday I received a comment from a fan of the blog (Thank you, gentle reader!), who asked for some personal information about me, like where and what did I go to school for and what exactly is my job. I've tried to keep this blog representative of Patrick Properties as a whole. Because although I'm pretty darn fascinating personally, this just isn't about me.

However, I will say this: I graduated with B.A. in English (Much to my Father's dismay. Upon hearing my major declaration, he groaned loudly.) Oh, and I nearly finished my M.F.A. in Creative Writing (more groaning from Dad). And though I'm not telling you my job title, it suffices to say that my job is quite different every day (one of the things I like most about it). It's marketing, advertising, public relations, writer, blogger, negotiator and things in-between, all rolled into one.

Tomorrow I will give Ashley Gunnin, Lowndes Grove General Manager, the time, space and love she so richly deserves.

In the meantime, here's a sneak peek into the GLAMOROUS world of hospitality.

Lowndes Grove, the peninsula's last great waterfront estate

We're getting to the homestretch of the renovation at Lowndes Grove. Heading out there tomorrow to take some photographs (which of COURSE we will post). In the meantime, enjoy the beauty of the river and the lovely sunset light. Thanks to Taylor Stewart who took this stunning photograph. Tomorrow, you'll get to meet our new Lowndes Grove General Manager: Ashley Gunnin. Stay tuned.

Monday's Mix

Saw this awesome red-handled egg beater and mixer online today. As we gear up for this weekend's Food + Wine Festival, I can't help thinking how fun it would be, if chefs were operating on that kind of level: unplugged. Nico will be participating in a number of events, including the Chef's Competition. And, our Pastry Goddess Susie Ieronemo, will be dishing up deliciousness at Bubbles & Sweets.

Sunday evening, Nico and the Fish team cooked their little hearts out for The Chef's Feast for the Lowcountry Food Bank. Let's just say they prepared food for 900 guests. Crazy.

And a word on other human appetites. While reading Mark Bittman's food blog, Bitten, he mentioned this.

As a special Monday bonus, I'm including one of Nico's recipes featured at his Charleston Cooks! gig last week. Enjoy.

PAN SEARED SCALLOPS

Ingredients:
4 scallops per person
Oil and butter

Pineapple Salsa
½ pineapple. diced
½ bunch of cilantro
½ red onion
1 red pepper, diced
½ jalapeño pepper, diced
Lime juice
Lime zest
Sweet chili sauce

Sauce:
Sweet soy sauce
Shallots
Pickled ginger
Sweet chili sauce

Marinated Crimini Mushrooms:
Soy Sauce
Honey
Mirin (condiment used in Japanese cuisine. It is a kind of rice wine, similar to sake but with a lower alcohol content)
Rice wine vinegar
Lemon zest
Garlic

Coconut Rice:
4 oz. Jasmine rice per person
2 oz. coconut milk
2 oz. green peas

Prepare crimini mushrooms and set aside to marinate. Pan sear the scallops in a sauté pan with olive oil and butter. Cook the rice with coconut milk and last with the green peas and marinated mushrooms. On plate, make a bed of rice, green peas and mushrooms on plate. Top with pan seared scallops. Spoon pineapple salsa over scallops and serve.

It's Friday, Dahhling...We MUST have cocktails.

Man, last night was busy at PP! Nico's cooking demonstration at Charleston Cooks! was phenomenal. The Charleston Cooks staff is wonderful: special thanks to Emily who's such a gracious hostess. Not only was everything deelish, but Nico told some fun stories and passed along some great information about buying and preparing fish and seafood. Pics are up. I also took a little mpeg movie of Nico cooking. There's not really much sound, but still it gives you a sense of what the evening was like. (And no, he's NOT doing one potato, two potato!)

And, for those of you who like to peek in on the big parties around town, like last night's Charleston Ballet Theater's 20th Anniversary, here's a look at some of the creative themed tables.

Charleston Ballet Theater & Other Newsy Bits

All day long, designers have been busy at The William Aiken House, preparing for this evening's Oscar Gala 2008: a celebration of Charleston Ballet Theatre's 20th Anniversary. The event is five-star all the way: Oscar nominee-inspired dance performances, fine dining courtesy of Fish, Hollywood themed tables, a spoof of the evening's events by The Have Nots!, an auction, and much more.

Let me just say: the tables are phenomenal. I spied a "Black Dahlia" table (fantastic black and white linens and black orchids), Godfather table (no horse head, sicko) and one that had mini pool table, stogies and a bottle of Gentleman Jack (NICE!)

In just a bit, Nico and I are heading over to Charleston Cooks! on East Bay. Nico's doing a four-course cooking demonstration, regaling folks with stories and the how-to of crab ragoons, sambuca mussels, pan-seared scallops and slow-cooked grouper. YUM and YUM. I will be on-hand briefly to take photos and look longingly at the food I don't get to eat.

Sent some feedback to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council based on the meeting Nico and I attended yesterday. Here's a bit: We’d like to state that the restaurant and hospitality community will be directly impacted by changes in allocation. If our commercial fisherman has to start charging more to make his fewer trips worth taking, we will in turn have to raise our prices. Suddenly, eating local, sustainable seafood is not something everyone can afford. Making smart, environmentally conscious decisions don’t have to be cost-prohibitive, so long as the planning is thoughtful and the dialogue remains open.

And lastly, in soccer news, the PP team took a bit of a beating last night (somehow I still think we might be in second place). The thing about arena soccer is this: things are going along beautifully and suddenly all hell breaks loose in a moment and things go willy-nilly. Like Kris taking a ball to the eye, and still rocking the house might I add. Or Nico getting his foot kicked by an extremely aggressive woman with an axe to grind. Or Shannon nursing an injured knee. I took a shoulder check myself. It's rough out there, kids.