Coming down to the port city this Christmas Carmen decided to spend two days at ....

... Beaufort, SC (pronounced Buford). We stayed at the Greyhound Flats, two "luxury apartments" nicely renovated from a former Greyhound Bus station, back in the days when the US was covered with bus routes that went almost anywhere and you didn't have to take the plane.

I thought of them more as "affordable luxury apartments" but they certainly were very nice. The owners who run a jewelry store right around the corner did all the design work themselves. The pictures actually don't do them justice. I found them very comfortable and relaxing. Also because downtown Beaufort is a slow easy going place that closes down around 7 pm the rooms were completely quiet (except for the evening the gospel choir from the Tabernacle Church on the next block fired up and that was a gift).

The little lummox shamelessly luxuriated in the luxury of the luxury apartments. We left him alone in there the first evening to go for a walk and were afraid he might be upset at being left. Nope. He happily hopped up on the beds, one of the most comfortable I have ever slept on, and laid there dreaming doggie thoughts until we came back. He seemed to enjoy his stay, and he certainly enjoyed downtown Beaufort. Except for the large number of extraordinarily friendly cats found there.

What we are missing now that we are ...

... down here in the unnamed port city that I love to malign. Yes, it has been a bit snowy up home in Wilkesboro. I will have to get in touch with Maeraed's family and see how they have survived up on their mountain ridge. For more pictures click here.

I suppose this could all be seen as an advantage to spending Christmas down here in this swamp hole.

Clemens with Mulan, Carmen with Maeraed, and Mulan's grandmother.

Taken on the stage after the performance of "The Nutcracker." It was a lot of fun, especially watching it with little Mr Miggs.

Here is Maeraed practicing for her ballet role in "The Nutcracker"

This one is for the Old One with the beautiful Vietnamese wife ...

... you know who I mean. It is from Máeráed's mother who want some advice with Mi quang chicken.


It is from Mi quang is a specialty of Tam Ky province, Mickey's birthplace. Traditionally it's a pork/shrimp dish but we had mi quang chicken when we visited, which is apparently gaining in popularity.

I wanted to make the dish for little Mr Miggs, especially after I found the special bright yellow noodles at an Asian Market in Charlotte a few weeks ago. The problem is I couldn't find a recipe for the chicken dish anywhere, and only one or two versions of the pork recipe that didn't agree on many details. It would help, too, if I remembered the meal better and knew what the broth should taste like! But I gave it a shot, and here's what I came up with:

Broth
1.5-2 lb chicken bones (this is a great use for a leftover carcass)
4 medium or large shrimp
1 medium onion
4" chunk of ginger
salt
2 tsp sugar
3 TAB fish sauce

Chicken
3 TAB annato seeds
1/8 C canola oil
1/2 lb boneless chicken, sliced for stir-fry
1/2 lb peeled shrimp
pepper to taste

Noodles
2 packages of Mi Quang rice noodles

Garnishes
bean sprouts
mint leaves
lime wedges
cilantro
scallions
roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed
banana blossom (optional)
Black sesame rice crackers (Banh Da--broken into bite-sized pieces)

These first steps are lifted just about wholesale from Andrea Nguyen's recipe for chicken pho:
1. Place the onions and ginger directly on the cooking grate of a medium-hot charcoal or gas grill (as pictured, to the right) or a gas stove with a medium flame, or on a medium-hot burner of an electric stove. Let the skin burn (if you’re working indoors, turn on the exhaust fan and open a window), using tongs to rotate onion and ginger occasionally and to grab and discard any flyaway onion skin.

After 15 minutes, the onions and ginger will have softened slightly and become sweetly fragrant. There may even be some bubbling. You do not have to blacken the entire surface. When amply charred, remove from the heat and let cool.

2. Rinse the cooled onions under warm running water, rubbing off the charred skin. Trim off and discard the blackened root and stem ends. Use a vegetable peeler, paring knife, or the edge of a teaspoon to remove the ginger skin. Hold it under warm water to wash off any blackened bits. Halve the ginger lengthwise and bruise lightly with the broad side of a cleaver or chef’s knife. Set the onions and ginger aside.

3. Remove and discard any loose pieces of fat from the chicken parts. Wielding a heavy cleaver designed for chopping bones, whack the bones to break them partway or all the way through, making the cuts at 1- to 2-inch intervals, depending on the size of the part. This exposes the marrow, which enriches the broth.

4. To achieve a clear broth, you must first parboil and rinse the chicken parts. Put them in a stockpot (about 12-quart capacity) and add cold water just to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes to release the impurities. Dump the chicken parts and water into the sink (make sure it is clean), and then rinse the parts with water to wash off any clinging residue. Quickly scrub the stockpot clean and return the chicken parts to the pot.

5. Pour in the water so that all the chicken is covered with water. Bring to a boil over high heat and then lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Use a ladle or large, shallow spoon to skim off any scum that rises to the top. Add the onions, ginger, salt, fish sauce, sugar, and cook, uncovered, for 1.5 hours, adjusting the heat if needed to maintain a gentle simmer.

The rest is me combining a few recipes I found online and some hints from an email exchange I had with Andrea Nguyen (who was kind enough to return my messages!):

Heat 1/8 cup of canola oil in large wok and add annato seeds. As the temperature rises, the red color will seep out of the annato seeds. Strain and discard seeds. Saute garlic, shallots, fish sauce and chicken in the annato oil. Add shrimp and stir-fry until chicken and shrimp are cooked through.

Noodles:
Soak noodles in hot water for about 20 minutes. Drain.
Add some sliced scallions to the simmering broth.

Use a vertical ladle to dip one serving of noodles in the hot broth for 10-20 seconds. When they wilt, put the noddles in a bowl and top with chicken and shrimp. Repeat for each diner. Add a small amount (1/4 c or so) of broth to each bowl. This isn't pho, so don't add too much. Everyone can add garnishes to taste, but don't be shy -- toss 'em in! This is where some of the best flavors come from.

It's a bright, pretty dish, with very simple flavors -- nothing as complex as pho or bun bo Hue, but who knows, maybe I'm missing something? In any case it was tasty and I'll certainly make it again.

BTW, if anyone (or their Vietnamese sister-in-law) has any suggestions for improvement, please let me know!

We went to see the Nutcracker Ballet last night ...

... because both Máeráed and Mulan were dancing in it. When we walked in and picked the first row at random to set in there were Murty and Miggs, Máeráed's dad and little brother. Kismet, obviously. Miggs is three now. He is a very active little boy. No. Make that he is a very very active little boy. If energy equaled size he be twice the size of his dad.

So we were a little worried that he might not sit calmly through the whole performance. But... no problem. He enjoyed all the dancing, especially the sword fight between the nutcracker and the rat king. Then one of the little tin soldiers wheeled out an enormous cannon and pointed it at the audience.

Miggs yelled "Oh my god!" and clapped his hands over his ears. When the cannon went off it went pop! and streams of metallic confetti showered out.

Miggs was delighted. Swords and things that go Boom.

more on the show later. It is late and I have been grading.

Dogs just want to have fun ...

... as this video proves. Actually, I think the little lummox would like this too. He wasn't too keen about the video I showed Mosby Cat as a role model.