huckshut.com » Road Trip

Grits for Thanksgiving??!!??

Doug Francis — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 15:13:51 +0000

A short story about a Thanksgiving memory of mine.

Thanksgiving dinner always falls under the mentality that “more is better”, and I have often felt the same way. Many a Thanksgiving I have had my fill, lying on the couch, wishing I had not gone back for seconds, and at times thirds…I wonder if there’s any more pecan pie!!??!! Yes, Thanksgiving dinner is suppose to be a time where we all give thanks and celebrate our lives with a full table of food. There was one Thanksgiving, for me, that was not about the food, or anything we today consider “most haves” for Thanksgiving.
It was 1990 and I was in the Army, stationed in Germany. I had recently married my wife Biggi, who was born and raised in Germany, and we had our first of 2 children, Melissa, she was only 7 months old at the time.
Iraq had just invaded Kuwait, and my unit got our orders to go. The Army doesn’t stop for the holidays. They do a great job trying to keep home traditions up for the troops, but sometimes duty calls. My unit and I spent all Thanksgivings Day loading our vehicles onto a train, to be taken to a port where they were to be placed on a ship to go to Saudi Arabia. It was non-stop for everyone in my unit, when our Company Commander let us go home, in shifts, to have Thanksgiving dinner with our family.
Like I said before, I am married to a German, she did not celebrate Thanksgiving like we do in America. This was our first year married, so to her, it was just a regular Thursday.
I got home, dog tired, she did not even know I was coming, much less have dinner for us (oh, the days before cell phones). So, I was left to search the pantry, for a quick dinner. Trust me, there was not much there, remember, we were a young couple with a small child, lots of baby food, but not much for me. The best I could come with was…a bowl of instants grits. I felt like Peppermint Paddy when she got to Charlie Brown’s house, and was served popcorn for Thanksgiving dinner. All I could think of was, “where’s the turkey, where’s the stuffing, where’s the cranberry sauce, the gravy??? Don’t even get me started on the pie!!! Nope, just a bowl of instant grits, with real imitation bacon bits…tasty!!! I threw some water into the microwave to heat, meanwhile, I poured the contents of the package into a bowl. The dust from my powdery dinner hovered above the bowl momentarily,when it began to clear, I could make out the dried bits of bacon mixed within the granules that were being passed off as grits, mmmm, this is going to be good…(note sarcasm here). I added the hot water, and like magic, my Thanksgiving meal was ready!!!

Melissa helping her Daddy pack for the gulf.

I went out into the living room to join my Wife and Daughter, and partake in my fest, before I had to return to duty, for what is sure to be a very long night.
My Wife knew there was something wrong, I mean other then working my tail off, and being deployed to war, to top it off, no Thanksgiving dinner, what could be wrong??? I ate my “grits”, being from Georgia, I ate grits all the time at home, these were not grits, but they did represent something to me at that moment, home. Not just the home I was so far away from in Georgia, but the home my wife and I have built, and nurtured. Home IS where the heart is!!! To me, this is why I was there, this is what I signed up for, to fight and defend this bowl of grits…home. I looked at my young family, and at that moment I knew that everything was going to be fine, I knew I was going to do my duty, and I also knew there were to be many bowls of grits in our future, and I was thankful for that!!!

Bonding on last night, hair cut not by choice!!!

On duty in the Gulf.

Fred’s Music and BBQ Turkey Workshop event

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:17:07 +0000

Over the weekend we visited Fred’s Turkey Workshop.

Fred had Mad Max, of egghead forum fame, come in and show everyone how to make their thanksgiving turkey on the Big Green Egg. We were given Mad Max’s gravy recipe, which was mighty tasty I might add.

Mad Max’s Turkey and Gravy Recipe

Fred also chipped in when it was left over pieces of the turkey and made one of our favorite dishes around here!! That’s right, pizza. This was turkey pizza with a base of Mad Max’s gravy and cheese. He also added craizins. I’ll have to admit that we didn’t see the craizins as a good addition but our taste buds told us otherwise.

All of the turkey was seasoned by the Tasty Licks BBQ Company’s new Turkey seasoning. We’ll be doing a review on this seasoning shortly. All in all, a lot was learned and a lot of fun was had by all. This was a pretty neat event.

Pics from this past weekend’s Gary Maddox Rib-off

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:30:54 +0000

Well folks, we didn’t do as well as we’d like but as always, we got great footage for those who could not make it. We’ll have video and a guest columnist’s post later this week. Hope the pics will hold you over until then.

Road Trip: Galvinell Meats

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:07:14 +0000

Our quest for beef tri-tip on the east coast landed us here at Galvinell Meats in Conowingo, MD. This stop on our Road Trip series has us excited as there are not many custom butchers in our area.

We couldn’t take pics inside due to FDA regulations but the grounds are actually a site for 2 MABBQA competitions a year. We picked up a few slabs of pork ribs, 2 beef tri-tips and 2 briskets. Galvinell also sells and rents Meadow Creek smokers. They also sell Royal Oak Charcoal. If you’re in the PA, MD, DEL area, check out Galvinell Meat Co. More Huck’s Hut TV episodes to come!!!

Pics from last weekend’s Galvinell Meats Grillin & Chillin Cookoff

Mon, 11 May 2009 17:30:11 +0000

We had a great time at Galvinell Meats’ Grillin and Chillin Cookoff. While we at Huck’s Hut didn’t do as well as we’d like, we did have tons of fun. The facilities were great and we plan to attend and compete next year. Here are our pics from the event.

There was also a mini Meadow Creek Show Room

Now for some unstitched panorama material

Huck’s Hut TV: Huck Visits the BBQ Guru

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:12:51 +0000

. We catch up with the folks at the BBQ GURU. Watch as BBQ Bob gives us a tour and we talk about current and unreleased BBQ Guru accessories. We apologize for the audio in the beginning, we had to edit the sound to get rid of the sound of machinery in the background.

Road Trip: Huck visits the Reading Terminal Market in Downtown Philly

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:07:37 +0000

We headed on over to the Reading Terminal Market to pick up some fresh ingredients for our next couple of Huck’s Hut TV episodes. And of course throught pictures, we had to bring you with us.

Road Trip: Huck’s visits the Italian Market in South Philadelphia

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 05:01:00 +0000

We went searching for our the food for our thanksgiving tutorials and we decided to stop and take a few pics of the Italian Market. Enjoy.

Road Trip: Huck head to Fred’s Music and BBQ for their turkey event

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 19:38:02 +0000

This weekend, we visited Fred’s Music and BBQ in Shillington, PA for a turkey event they were having. They were cooking the turkey on the green eggs and other grills. We must admit the chefs, including fred were very knowledgeable and helpful. Click Read full story for more.

We took part in the taste tests and the turkey and chicken demo was pretty good. The green egg smokers have always been regarded as one of the top smoker or grill you can get. While we were here we took time to browse the store and shop for a few things. If you are ever in downtown shillington, pa, visit Fred’s Music and Barbecue at 212 W. Lancaster Ave. Now for more pics.