May 2022
From the desk of a gardenia-appropriating, crepe-making, black-eyed-peas-hoarding writer and cook
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.
Saveur sweet or savory crepes with a master chef
As I’m squeaking under the May wire with a post at the very end of it, I’m reminded of this season, which annually seems to be more of a transition time for me at this little desk. The first flurry of the year’s edit is out the door, the podcast season has settled into its rhythm, and warm breezes, later sunsets, and the scent of gardenias in bloom are drawing me outside in a serious case of late spring (early summer) fever. I’m ramping up for new edit and new podcasts coming out in the next few months, but at the moment, it’s all about planning and typing, typing, typing, so long days at the stove aren’t as attractive right now.
Still, I want to cook. For that, I once again tapped the inspiration of Jacques Pépin for a sweet spring recipe that will fancy up leftovers from the fridge. These carrot crepes are the prettiest color, and if you’re really crunched for time, you can boil the carrots and then chill them in the fridge with their boiling liquid until you’re ready to make the dish. Check out the whole story at Saveur, then use up that 1/2 bag of carrots languishing in the back of your crisper and act like you planned it :).
Courtesy of Saveur. Photography by Linda Pugliese; Food Styling by Christine Albano; Prop Styling by Carla Gonzalez-Hart
Episode Updates
Thinking about cracking a cold brew on the porch right about now? Then this episode with Aaron Goss of Carolina Malt House is just for you. Aaron is processing locally grown barley in his Rowan County, NC facility and shipping it to some of the South’s favorite breweries, so you might be sipping his work and not even knowing it!
One of the hottest cookbooks of Spring 2022 is Emily Meggett’s Gullah Geechee Home Cooking. I got the wonderful honor to visit her at her home on Edisto Island, and she made biscuits, pepper jelly, and coleslaw as a greeting before we sat down to chat. Listen to this 89-year-old matriarch of Edisto tell her story and get inspired.
Another installment from Charlotte was a long-awaited episode with Chris Coleman. I have eaten this chef’s food for years, and at the Goodyear House in NoDa, it’s better than ever. We two Charlotte natives sit down to talk ‘maters, Cheerwine, and Great Chefs of the World.
And speaking of feeding me (which seems to be a theme this month … or every month?! ) Kelly and Tony Chu of Red Orchids in Charleston, SC, have served me so many delicious bites throughout the years, I had to know what keeps them working, cooking, and restaurant-ing together for 19 years. From pot stickers to ice cream, we cover it all.
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Other podcast episodes I like right now: Are you envying your neighbor’s chicken coop and considering one of your own? Then listen to this episode of Jupiter’s Almanac from past guest Matthew Raiford, and you’ll learn more about the specifics of picking and caring for a flock like I did (I’ve once again decided now is not the time for me). Additionally, in keeping with the backyard theme, I also enjoyed Gastropod’s episode on the complicated process of state level compositing. It made me happy to have a home bin where I can utilize my own scraps.
On my mind: always a million things, especially at 3 a.m. This month? How have we built a society that is so dangerous to our own selves? Where do we, all of us, go from here?
Cooking soundtrack album: The Best of Chet Baker Sings, Chet Baker
Best thing I cooked this month: Black-eyed peas the Emily Meggett way. I planned to share these but they didn’t make it out of my kitchen — leftovers were even better the next day.
Until next time,
Steph