July 2021
I promise you don't have to like mayonnaise to like mayo muffins
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.
Home cooking or eating out? I got you. Read on.
I’ve been typing, typing, typing at my desk since returning from Atlanta, but your girl here is about to hit the road for a robust travel schedule for the next few months (thanks to Pfizer). A lot of that typing hasn’t made it to public viewing yet, but I have shared the joy of mayo muffins with Post & Courier readers. That’s right.
Mayo muffins just might be the tasty science experiment you need for your kids this summer (since you are skilled in STEM after all that zooming last year! ). I updated a community cookbook recipe and tested it in my own home kitchen, so I promise you can get them to the table in 30 minutes or less. Let me know your thoughts if you make them!
Photo by me for The Post & Courier.
If summer has you dreaming of eating out since it’s just too hot to cook, then I am also happy to oblige with some inspiration on that front, too. Vivian Howard’s star (and smile) are so bright, people often forget what a badass chef she actually is, but eating at her new spot, Lenoir, reminds you with every bite. I provided the Rundown for Resy on this spot, one of my favorite restaurants right now in Charleston.
Episode Updates
If it’s too hot to make cocktails too, then just crack a can. I have been delving into the RTD category, and Tip Top Cocktails are my tip top choice. Learn how they made canned cocktails good — hint, they hired one of the best bartenders in the country!
The idea of making a basketball arena out of snack food might drive you to drink, but then the next question could be, “Who in the world has that job??” Gena Berry, that’s who, a behind the scenes food stylist and event wrangler for movies, tv, and food festivals.
While visiting Gena in Atlanta, I also ate at Lazy Betty, and I can’t stop talking about it. Fun, delicious, intelligent, and so creative! They were nominated for JBF Best New Restaurant in 2020, so I had an inkling it would be good, but it’s the people who make it shine, including Executive Chef Ron Hsu and Chef de Cuisine Aaron Phillips.
And back home, I’d been waiting for close to two years for the right time to interview James London of Chubby Fish. The restaurant is back open and still firing on all pistons as it always was with amazing execution and a commitment to serving sustainable seafood.
Other podcast episodes I like right now: The Splendid Table had a great episode exploring the different ways June tastes across this vast country, and it made me hungry and also reminded me of the diversity of experience that geography affords and that television often lures us to ignore. Ben Folds and Jon Batiste on creativity and the practice of music was my favorite listen of the month!
On my mind: always a million things, especially at 3 a.m. How can restaurants be more sustainable for those who work in them? This question was already circulating before 2020, and is now beginning to be answered. And it’s a valid one since I’ve seen first hand the toll the industry takes on many of its own. Fair pay is now of the first answers of 2021, in an industry that is currently losing 5% of its workforce a month.
Cooking soundtrack album: Aja, Steely Dan
Best thing I cooked this month: Butter beans in the simplest manner possible.
Until next time,
Steph