December 2020 / Stuffed onions & stocking stuffers
It's finally below 80 degrees in Charleston
Hi all —
Here’s my (try as hard as I can) monthly round-up for those of you who want to learn / keep up a little more with me and the work that I do. Hope you enjoy.
A gift guide I can get behind
Gift guides are the thing that I get “pitched” about from PR professionals more than any other editorial. And most publications create some semblance of one for the holidays, so I get it. But I have never been swayed by any of those pitches because I’m rarely stumped for recs!
This year, I was pleased to share three of my favorite holiday food items for one of my forever favorites, Saveur. You’ll have to click here to get the specifics, but I can mention that you’ll be seeing more bylines for me there in 2021, so stay tuned. (And in the meantime, if you want to catch up on all I’ve written for them in the past, here you go.)
Beyond that, this month has been full of rich planning for future projects, and when it comes to the podcast, rounding the corner on the last month of Season 5 and feeling like I’ve only begun to scratch the surface to uncover all the folks doing delicious things in the culinary South. I’m SO close to 100 positive reviews on Apple Podcasts (sooooo … if you want to put me over the top, that would be a wonderful gift for the season! ).
Ready for next year. Photo: Leslie McKellar
Episode Updates
Jacques Pepin. Episode 206, for real. We recorded remotely, and his beloved wife Gloria passed away right after Thanksgiving, so I’m honored that he took time away from her to spend it with us. And yes, he was just as gracious as he seemed to be all those years on television.
Two more episodes from the Appalachian High Country trip were released, including Tina Houston from the Boone/Banner Elk area. If you like vacationing or skiing there and skip her restaurants (including the perfect, wonderful, I-loved-everything-I-had Reid’s Cafe at the base of Sugar Mountain), then you ARE truly missing out!
And if you’re baking with pecans this season, allow Putt Wetherbee, who nerds out on the tree nut more than anyone I know, to join you in the kitchen. Just ask your smart speaker to play “Southern Fork Podcast, Episode 209.”
Other podcast episodes I like right now: Episode’s 145’s Todd Richards now has a podcast of his own, Soul, and I especially loved his interview with Episode 165’s Greg Collier where he talks about the milk gravy /béchamel realization in his granny’s kitchen. Additionally, I am going to get rock & roll photographer Bob Gruen’s book after listening to his interview on Fresh Air,, if nothing else other than just to remind myself that some people have no qualms to saying a spontaneous “yes” to life as it comes at them. And it can lead to Bob Dylan chasing you with a silver-tipped cane on a London street. Good stuff.
On my mind: always a million things, especially at 3 a.m. But specifically restaurant industry whiplash. It received around 8% of the PPP funds for the spring, and independent restaurants less than that, and for many in the biz, that program just doesn’t fit their needs. Some cities have stepped up to help, such as Charlotte, but Charleston? Nope. If you’re community has, then will you send me specifics? I’m doing some research on this.
Cooking: With cooler weather, I’ve been cooking up a storm. One of my favorite recipe finds this month is from the aforementioned Chef Todd Richards. Sausage-stuffed onions is part of his SOUL Cookbook, and you can find that — any many, many more last minute gifts for cooks on your list — at Books from the Show. These books really do sit on my cookbook shelf, and I live and cook with them, so I’d invite you to find one to add to your shelf too.
Until next time,
Steph
Love that pic on the sliding board. How perfect for next year!