Tales of the Tide
Find your favorite front porch rocker and sit a spell as I welcome you to this special place.
The Lowcountry is not just where I live. It is the lens through which I see my life, my family, and my stories.
Welcome to my corner of the South, where tea is sweet, porches are wide, and words are long. “Y’all” isn’t just a word; it’s a way of gathering people close. Chicken is fried golden, biscuits come smothered in cream gravy, and everything is darlin’—because in the Lowcountry, someone’s heart is always being blessed.
There is a spell over our sea islands, where time drifts as slowly as a wisteria vine climbing a porch rail. Crossing the Cowan Creek bridge onto St. Helena Island, I breathe in the perfume of jasmine and tea olive mingled with salt air. I see shrimp boats rocking in Village Creek, and I imagine the grand houses from The Prince of Tides or The Big Chill. In the hush of the pines, I sometimes hear echoes of hymns sung in the fields, or even the ghostly rumble of cannon fire from Revolutionary War battles long past.
However, the people whose stories are woven into its soil and waters make this place extraordinary. Descendants of West Africans—brought here in bondage over 250 years ago—still carry forward traditions of strength, resilience, and beauty. They weave sweetgrass baskets by the roadside, sell shrimp out of battered trucks, and keep alive the flavors of their ancestors. Their knowledge of rice, okra, tomatoes, and the ways of the sea shaped a cuisine that continues to define us today.
This land was once the world of Carolina Gold rice, that “caviar of the 19th century.” Wide rivers served as highways, floating barges piled high with golden grain bound for Europe. The wealth it created built mansions, but its legacy is richer still—in the culture, language, and foodways of the Gullah Geechee people. From the crucible of slavery rose a cuisine that has endured: gumbo thickened with okra, shrimp stews fragrant with rice, and flavors that taste of both survival and celebration.
The Lowcountry is where herons rise from the marsh in a flash of blue, and where every bite of shrimp and grits tells a story older than memory.
I’m offering you an invitation: to taste the tide, to hear the echoes of history in your own kitchen, and to savor the dishes that carry the heart and soul of the Lowcountry.
My Tides of Tradition online cookbook brings subscribers my favorite recipes and stories, seasonal and fresh. Just hit Subscribe and join us here each week as we spin tales and tell about the things we love. Think of this newsletter as the big front porch of the internet. It’s a place where we gather together, sit a spell, and share.
Join the conversation. I want to learn what you love, what lifts your spirits, and puts a smile on your face. What discoveries have you made, and what are the tastes of the tide you love to share around your Southern table?
When you take a bite out of a succulent shrimp or savor the delicate flavor of sauteed flounder, you’re not just enjoying a meal but tasting a slice of history. It’s a reminder of times on the river: those misty, hushed mornings on the creeks and beside the marshlands - times to treasure.
The following recipe for crab cakes is my forever favorite from my Tides of Tradition online cookbook. Join the fun and send us your favorite blue crab recipe. Simply hit: Subscribe! If you are a paid subscriber, you never miss a recipe or story and have access to all the archives. Thank you for stopping by my big front porch.
The following is one of my all-time favorite recipes. You will love it too!
Mini Crab Cakes with Creole Sauce
Inspired by Susan Mason, caterer extraordinaire of Savannah. Susan has been catering for decades, and this is her most requested appetizer.
Refrigerate before cooking. This will keep them from falling apart.
Serves 8-10
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons seafood seasoning
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
1 finely diced red bell pepper
2 finely chopped green onions, both white and green parts
2 large egg yolks
2 pounds jumbo lump crabmeat
6 cups fresh, fine breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil for frying
Mix the mayonnaise, mustard, seafood seasoning, cayenne, Worcestershire sauce, bell peppers, green onions, and egg yolks. Gently stir in the crabmeat. Put the breadcrumbs on a cookie sheet. Mold the crab cake with one hand and pat the cake with bread crumbs using the other hand. Form into 10 crab cakes, 3 inches wide and ½ inch thick. Each cake will need ¾ cup of bread crumbs.
Heat 4 cups oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add a single layer of crab cakes and fry in the oil, turning 3 or 4 times until crispy on the outside, for about 5 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining crab cakes. Serve hot.
Tangy Creole Sauce
It's a delicious sauce for just about everything, especially crabcakes.
⅔ cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
½ - 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish, to taste
2 teaspoons hot sauce
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until fully combined.
Cover and chill for 1 hour before using to allow the flavors to blend.
Serve with crab cakes.
Hi Pat~ I REALLY enjoyed LISTENING to this article, as I cleaned the kitchen! How special to hear YOUR voice. Love, Katie
Not all crab cakes are equal. Susan Mason uses 4 cups oil in a 12-inch skillet. Once I tried that technique, I discovered it made all the difference and that's why her crabcakes are the most popular item on her catering menu. I used to use just enough to cover the bottom of the pan - but no more! And this creole sauce is worth making. It absolutely defies description. In case you don't know Susan Mason, she has been Savannah's most noted and popular caterer for decades. If you want to have a party in Savannah and Susan is not available - change the date!