Playing Favorites :: Trips and Tips

Burger and fries at Northwest Grill in Travelers Rest

This past weekend, TG and I traveled to Greenville, South Carolina -- the Upstate -- for a long-overdue proper visit with Henry, my mother's beloved husband of thirty-seven years.

We sortied early in the afternoon on Friday, which as you know was Mom's 84th birthday. The date was more or less a coincidence but it worked out so beautifully.

It takes not quite two hours to travel from our door to Henry's, and he was waiting for us. We'd decided to pick him up before going shopping for the groceries I'd need to make that night's dinner.

Back home from the store, I planned for us to eat at about six. My sister, Kay, who lives five minutes away, had offered to come and lend a hand with the cooking.

The key to this simple salad is Kay's homemade vinaigrette

She showed up as promised, and began making the salad while I prepped chicken breasts for baking and potatoes for mashing.

(My brother-in-law, Pierre-Philippe, who would join us later for dinner, discovered during Mom's illness that he loves my mashed potatoes or, as the French say, pommes puree. So whenever he's going to be at the table, I make sure to serve them.)

When I was a bride and an inexperienced cook, an older lady who was a friend of our family taught me exactly how to make mashed potatoes. Her method was simple but effective, and for years I was true to it.

The way I prepare this essential dish has evolved twice over time: Once, when I learned about a recipe called Party Potatoes that involved mashing the spuds with sour cream (in addition to milk and butter); and a second time, when we ate at a restaurant in Knoxville that offered a menu item dubbed Dirty Mashed Potatoes, so-called because it omitted peeling the potatoes.

Dirty Mashed Party Potatoes

My current method is a hybrid of those two recipes. I wash and chunk either Idaho Russets or Yukon Gold potatoes. I then boil them until the chunks are soft. What I don't do is peel them.

Meanwhile I slice up a whole stick of butter in a large Pyrex measuring cup, and add a generous splash of milk.

I heat that in the microwave until the butter is mostly melted.

After pouring the soft potatoes into a colander, I pour the hot milk and butter into the bottom of the cooking pan.

I pour the potatoes back in on top of that, season them liberally with salt and pepper, and mash them with a masher.

Sister and I collaborated on the Green Beans Almondine

Then I add a generous amount of sour cream (if you think you've put too much, it's probably just about right) and mix them a final time with an electric mixer.

Mix mix mix, then taste and make sure there's enough salt and that the potatoes are the creamy texture that you want.

That's it. If you do it differently, please tell me your favorite way to make mashed potatoes.

For our salad that night, at my request Kay cut up Roma tomatoes, cucumbers, Vidalia onion, and basil from her garden. She whipped up a vinaigrette from olive oil, Colavita Prosecco Wine Vinegar, and fresh garlic, and seasoned everything with salt and pepper.

Cornbread from Jiffy Mix is a family tradition

Earlier, I had browned sliced almonds in butter. Kay drizzled olive oil into Mom's black iron skillet and cooked frozen cut green beans on low heat until they were the perfect doneness. She then added the almonds. Voilà! Green Beans Almondine.

I'd already baked the cornbread from Jiffy Mix and it was keeping warm atop the stove. 

Let me tell you what I did with the chicken. I basically followed this recipe except I improvised with the rub.

I used brown sugar, dry minced onion, dry mustard, paprika, red pepper, black pepper, and kosher salt.

Juicy Baked Chicken with brown sugar rub and Honeyracha Sauce

But I followed the recipe when it came to melting the butter (I stopped short of browning it but I won't make that mistake again), coating the chicken breasts in the butter and then rubbing them with the rub, and placing them back into my extra-large black iron skillet that I'd brought from home, and putting them in the oven preheated to 425.

When the chicken had reached 165 degrees on the inside, I took them out and brushed them with Heinz Honeyracha Sauce, then popped them back into the oven for about ten minutes.

You've got to try it. That chicken was tender and flavorful, and so was everything that went with it.

When Henry, TG, Kay, Pierre-Philippe, and I had finished our dinner, all five plates were clean. Not a morsel remained on them.

On Saturday we visited Mom's grave

For dessert, we had Edwards Key Lime Pie and Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake.

How Mom would have loved that feast, and the fellowship and laughter that went along with it.

And I will never forget cooking with my sister in our mother's kitchen, chatting and giggling as we did all the things. We have seldom if ever had the opportunity to do that.

I didn't get a picture of us but in my own defense, at least I remembered to take some photos so that I could show you the food.

The next day, we had a slow morning before leaving at lunchtime to visit Mom's grave.

Her death date plate has been installed at great cost

Ever since the day after Mom went to heaven, when Henry and I were taking care of business and part of that was to visit the cemetery itself where we met the owner at his pickup truck and and Henry signed some papers using the tailgate as a table, we have stopped for lunch at the Northwest Grill in Travelers Rest, South Carolina.

If you are ever anywhere near Travelers Rest and are hungry and have the time, you should follow our example.

This is a hole-in-the-wall burger joint, presided over by one John Williams, aka the Burgerologist, an imposing black man who exudes friendly hospitality.

He is also deputized and as such, he wears a badge and openly carries.

Northwest Grill is a cozy place with good food and friendly service and homemade desserts

Mr. Williams does that while grilling the hefty hamburgers and making a variety of other scrumptious southern dishes.

The burgers are incredible. Perhaps the best burger the pirate has ever eaten ...at least among the top three. I have to say that because I once had an excellent, unforgettable burger at Jimmy Mac's in Bryson City, North Carolina (if you ever go there, have the Dixie Burger).

The second time I ate at Northwest Grill was last December, with TG and Henry, again when we visited Mom.

TG went back once more with Henry when he was in Greenville this past winter.

The front door is a scant 150 yards from Mom's grave

Last Saturday was my third time to have a burger there. I never change my order except on this occasion, for dessert TG and I shared a dish of blackberry cobbler.

Every last bite of everything was outstanding. Simply fabulous, and so filling that none of us needed another meal for the rest of that day.

After our lunch, we went across the street to Coleman Memorial Cemetery.

Mom's tiny death date plate has been added to the double-header plaque. The scrap of metal is less than two inches wide and cost one hundred fifty dollars. It's a ripoff! Henry opined. I agree.

Just yesterday at NW Grill, the Burgerologist welcomed SC Lt. Governor Pamela Evette ... photo from Facebook

We know some others resting not far from Mom's grave, so we paid our respects to them too.

It's a lovely place and so peaceful, with a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Back home, Henry took a nap. Later, we traipsed over to Kay and Pierre-Philippe's house for a laid-back visit with them. Their daughter, Gena -- she and her two daughters, Maisie and Ella, were guests at my house for this party last winter -- who lives across the street from her parents, came over with her new baby, Caroline.

I am sorry that I did not get a picture of Baby Caroline. I was too busy looking at her and I did not even hold her because I was slightly under the weather with the tiniest of sore throats.

Home of the Burgerologist, who is a patriotic American

On Sunday morning we went to church with Henry and saw many of Mom's friends, who still miss her. Two of those friends had contacted me while I was getting ready for church, to invite us to their house for lunch.

When Mom began losing energy, or "dragging" as she described it, last summer, she made a visit to her physician and friend of nearly forty years, Dr. K.

It was Dr. K who showed up on Mom's doorstep a few days later, to deliver the sad news of her cancer diagnosis.

He told Mom that he and his wife loved her too much to give her the news over the phone.

Henry proclaimed the price a ripoff

In the course of Mom's illness, I became friends with Mrs. K and one of her daughters, who is married and lives nearby.

Last December when we visited Greenville, Mrs. K (J) and her daughter C came over one morning for coffee and second breakfast, and we had such a good time that J made me promise to always let her know when we were coming into town.

So it was that after going back to Henry's to change out of our church clothes and into more comfortable outfits, we drove a short distance to where Dr. K and J live, high up on Paris Mountain.

Their home, which they built over thirty years ago as a place to rear their seven children (all grown and married now, with children of their own), is like a secluded retreat.

I agree ... what a racket

We sat at one of several tables on their large wraparound porch and were serenaded with birdsong while enjoying chicken and rice casserole with cranberry sauce, baby carrots, green beans, pineapple chunks, and homemade bread. To drink we had sweet tea garnished with lime slices.

During the meal, Dr. and Mrs. K face-timed their son, whose wife was due at any moment with their first child (the baby was born late yesterday afternoon). The happy couple, who live in Alabama, were at a restaurant with the expectant mother's mother, who lives in Maryland but was in town for the birth.

In one of those coincidences that it's difficult to get your head around, the expectant mother's mother has been one of my best friends since 1978. We hung out together as young mothers throughout the '80s, and as couples with our husbands, we had many happy outings. Although I have not seen Sara in thirty years, we are frequently in touch.

I was aware from Christmas cards that Sara's youngest daughter was married two Junes ago, but I only learned after Mom's passing that she had married the youngest son of my mother's doctor.

TG squeezed lovely fresh lime into his ice cold sweet tea

The couple happened to meet at church, in a completely different state from where either of them grew up, or anywhere near where their parents live.

Dr. and Mrs. K's son is in the Coast Guard. His now-wife was working in the same city and attending the same church. So, Dr. and Mrs. K now share a grandchild with Sara, my bestie since 1978.

And I was able to see my friend's face live on Dr. K's iPad, and that was an unexpected treat. I love her dearly.

For dessert, Dr. K made us icy frappuccinos with lots of whipped cream on top. We all had two of those except for TG, who does not drink coffee and opted for a dish of chocolate ice cream.

Mrs. Dr. K was a boss whipping up this tasty meal on short notice

After more than two hours of wonderful conversation, and J giving me a tour of their gorgeous house, we reluctantly pulled ourselves away.

Back at home and having packed up, TG and I hugged Henry at five o'clock and headed for our own secluded retreat.

Two of Henry's daughters are considering moving to Greenville, to be near him. It's huge because one of them lives in Kansas and the other in Indiana. This would be a great encouragement to him and we hope it works out.

We love Henry. He is a treasure in many ways. He will turn 89 in August and we realize that the years are likely to be few that we all have to be together.

TG enjoyed the meal and the visit

TG and I arrived home at about seven o'clock to an ecstatic Rizzo and to Sweetness meowing loudly for her evening wet food (Audrey had taken care of them while we were gone).

(Dagny is now begging for a sleepover with Rizzo, because while he was at their house, he slept on her bed. To her, that is the ultimate pet experience. I didn't have the heart to tell her that Rizzo will sleep anywhere.)

What I have just described to you is pretty much the ideal weekend trip for me.

Henry always gives up his large master bedroom with adjoining spacious bath, for TG and me. He sleeps in a guest room and never complains, wanting us to be comfortable.

He turns the A/C down to 70 just for me. Cool and comfy? That's how I roll.

Keep the sweet tea flowing

We had so many good visits with folks we love. We had lots of simple but fresh and delicious food. We celebrated the Lord's Day by going to church and saw more friends there.

And we arrived safely home.

Don't you love good trips, and tips for where to get a good burger? I do. 

Today they're my favorite.

Blessings continue to abound, far exceeding what we deserve.

And that is all for now.

=0=0=0=

Happy Monday

Comments

[Ginny Hartzler]

I wish we could visit this burger place. I am so sorry about your Mom; my Mom died of cancer as well. How wonderful that you still keep in close touch with Henry!

[Jennifer]

@Ginny ... I wish you could visit Northwest Grill too! And yes, we like to keep in close touch with Henry. He is Grandpa to my children. xoxo

[Bijoux]

Sounds like a wonderful visit with lots of good food and fellowship with loved ones. Sadly, due to my
various health issues, I’d only be able to eat the chicken and salad. But I enjoy the food vicariously!

My husband had death dates added to two of his aunts and a cousin’s grave this year after we went to KY to bury his aunt and noticed dates were missing while visiting extended family’s graves. It was $300 a piece, which we thought was pricey, too!

So glad you were able to spend time with Henry.

[Jennifer]

@Bijoux ... THREE HUNDRED dollars apiece? Good grief! I guess Henry got a bargain on Mom's! It is truly outrageous but what are you going to do. And if you'd been there with us, eating all of our down-home fare would have healed you of all health issues. Just sayin' ... haaahaha! xoxo

[Mari]

What a wonderful weekend! I love that you were able to have such a full weekend with Henry, and I think it's so sweet that he gives up his room and treats you so well.
Your meal looks wonderful. I make my mashed potatoes very much like yours. I use cream cheese in mine, not sour cream but I bet that's good. I also used seasoned salt instead of regular. And - sometimes I use redskin potatoes which are also good.
Isn't it a small world? So cool to have the connection between your good friend and the Dr and wife.
I want to visit the Northwest Grill now! The burger looks so good, and the fries as well!

[Jennifer]

@Mari ... hmmmm ... I shall have to try the cream cheese potato recipe sometime! And yes redskin potatoes are great. I have never tried them mashed. I hope someday you and and Bon get to have a burger at the Northwest Grill. Such a treat. xoxo

[Mari-Nanci]

Oh what a lovely visit! And I am so glad, you were able to go...

Too much Joy, to comment on each part! -smile-

But thank you for that tip, of adding sour cream to mashed potatoes. Oh mercy, we must try that the next time we have them. -smile-

Again, what Joy! Every bit of that weekend! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Oh and the gentleman who open carries! How I would love to visit his restaurant! Being up here in crazy *Woke/Liberal/Land*, I have never even _seen_ such! More's the pity!!!!!

Happy, happy, happy for you and for all!

Including Dagny and Rizzo.... -smile-

[Carla TePaske]

I enjoyed reading your post my dear friend. The family and friend time. The food. The scenery. You described it so well and it just simply made me smile, because it is the GOOD STUFF of LIFE!

I had to chuckle about Rizzo.

[Jennifer]

@Mari-Nanci ... Oh how you and your beloved would enjoy a meal at the Northwest Grill! What a time we would have. Mr. open-carry Williams comes to each table and greets each guest and makes sure they're happy. He's a national treasure. Let me know what you think about mashed potatoes with sour cream! I'm pretty sure you're going to love it! xoxo

@Carla ... Thank you dear! We did have just a splendid time, and I agree that that is the essence of the good stuff of life! I could not have said it better. As for Rizzo, he's mildly neurotic, haahaha xoxo

[betty]

You and yours are truly blessed (and eat so incredibly deliciously). Those mashed potatoes. All I can say is "I am not going to pass them down the table". So neat you have a great relationship with Henry and were able to spend the time you had with him. Seemed like such a lovely time with all of you together! And I love a good burger, so if I am ever in that area, I will have to take your recommendation to heart :)

betty

[Jeanette]

Aww Sounds like a great weekend with Henry! He is good and considerate host! My SIL lives in Mauldin SC. When we visited her a few years ago we walked all over downtown Greenville. It's beautiful there! When we drive down there again someday I will try to go to that Northwest Grill. I love a good hamburger!

[Jennifer]

@betty ... Yes we are blessed and we are close to our food. You've got to try the Dirty Mashed Party Potatoes, haaahaha! I think the original party potatoes recipe called for baking the mashed potatoes after addition of the sour cream. Sort of like twice baked. But I just omit that part and I must say they are better than candy. I hope someday you can visit the Northwest Grill and have a burger! Then stop by and say hi to Mom, hahahaha xoxo

@Jeanette ... Wow yes downtown Greenville is truly special. We love walking down there and have done that with Mom and Henry several times in the past. That Reedy River vibe! Henry truly is a considerate host. It takes a lot for him to adjust that thermostat by two degrees, hahaaa! I hope you get to visit Travelers Rest next time you're in the Greenville area -- it's not far at all and the short drive is worth it for that burger! xoxo

[Mari-Nanci]

Happy 4th of July...

I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America,
and to the......
✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨

[Barb]

I love the part about your best friend and the Dr's family! It kind of makes your head whirl to think how things turn out. Henry has aged well - I'd never guess he's 89. Having family nearby would be wonderful for him. One of these days I'm going to try Jiffy cornbread - your loaves always look yummy. Last but not least, I'm smiling about Rizzo and Dagny. You definitely had the perfect weekend trip and safe homecoming.

[Jennifer]

@Mari-Nancy ... One Nation Under God, Indivisible, With Liberty and Justice For All! xoxo

@Barb ... Yes it is mind-boggling how small a world it really is. Henry is doing remarkably well and actually does TOO much sometimes, because he's stubborn, hahaha! But he's such a good man. You MUST try Jiffy Mix! Of course I am partial to it but I think you'd like it if you enjoy a cake-like cornbread. Rizzo has been severely traumatized the last few nights because of fireworks in the neighborhood. Last night he climbed onto my chest as I sat in my chair. Oh dear ... neurosis in canines. Love you my friend. xoxo