Pennington's Foodstory

Trends come and go; at least that’s the trend. Fashion, music, art, and literature all ebb and flow with whatever is currently the ‘in’ thing. Food is no different. I’ve been steadily looking for the next food trend with little success. Currently, farm to fork, local, deconstructed dishes, and reinvented Southern food are the hot tickets in these parts, but to me this is not all that ‘trendy’. I’ve lived most of my life in the South and have been eating out of backyard gardens, Farmers’ Markets, and roadside stands since I can remember. It’s just the way it’s done down here. I’ve eaten more variations of shrimp and grits that I could ever begin to  count. It’s nothing new. I flip through the pages (yes, actual paper magazines.) of Food & Wine , Bon Appetit , and others every month looking for the next big thing. I do see a bunch of cool things like a syrup used to make tonic water, smoked salts, unique vinegars, and the like. That kind of stuff almost seems like a novelt...

Lettuce wraps are nothing new. I think my first experience with them was probably at PF Chang’s in some random city. I thought it was a great idea then; I think it’s a great idea now. How easy, put bite sized food in a makeshift “taco” shell that’s just a piece of lettuce. I get home about 7:45pm each night and usually head straight to the kitchen to start whipping up dinner (preliminary beer/cocktail is a must.). I know, not the healthiest time to eat, but I’ve got to work with what I have. I’m usually pretty hungry by that time and strive to make something quick, but still cool and unique. I really try to stay away from carbs at night because I find that I don’t need the energy they provide when I’m only a few hours away from sleep. (Hint: Can’t sleep, don’t eat carbs before bed!) With lettuce wraps, the first cuisine I think of is Asian, but only by default because I first saw this at an Asian place. However, most any other cuisine will work. Mexican and Indian work brilli...