Carolina in January - Hilton Head Island

In a little more than two weeks the NASCAR season starts. That means that this past weekend was one of my last free weekends until Thanksgiving. So when I got home from work on Friday afternoon, I invited Caitlin to go on a day trip with me to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.

Saturday morning we hit the beach and the hot tub before we had to check out of our hotel room. The weather was absolutely perfect! It was in the 70s without a cloud in the sky. Then we rented bikes and peddled our way to the Salty Dog Cafe for lunch - it was about a five-mile bike ride from where we started. If you are ever in Hilton Head make sure you stop by and order some hush puppies! If not, here is a recipe so you can make them at home:

Shrimp Hushpuppies

Ingredients for Hushpuppies
2 cups Yellow Cornmeal
1 cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 Egg, beaten
½ cup Corn Kernels
1 tbsp Garlic, chopped
1 tbsp Sugar
1 cup Tomato, diced
1 cup Onion, diced
1 cup Milk
1 tbsp Blackening Spice
2 cups Shrimp, cooked & chopped
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Ingredients for Horseradish Sauce
2 cups Mayonnaise
1 cup Sour Cream
½ cup Horseradish
½ cup Roasted Red Peppers, diced
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Method for Horseradish Sauce
• Combine all ingredients.

Method for Hushpuppies
• Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl.
• Deep fry of 375° oil, in small batches for 3-5 minutes.

Once we got done with our bike ride back, we hit up a few more shops on the island and headed back down to the beach before heading to dinner.

Our final stop before heading home was The Lowcountry Backyard Restaurant. This is a tiny place where it feels like you really are sitting in someone's backyard. Great food and fun local-type place. Another place that you should definitely visit if you are in Hilton Head. The Bischick Chicken was amazing!

I hope you are all enjoying the final days in January as well.