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Southern Chef Series at Serenbe Welcomes Nathalie Dupree
October 11-14
Nathalie Dupree joins Marie Nygren and the Inn at Serenbe for the first “Southern Chef Series” at Serenbe. She will be teaching “Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking” to a group of 10 participants. Days will be spent with Nathalie, learning her favorite southern recipes and cooking [...]
Cannes Film Festival
There are some things that anyone can do if they know how to do them. One is the Cannes film festival (the other is Ascot, and the Queen’s Garden party, but that is another story). I went, once, and had a glorious time.
This particular trip to France my friend Barbara and I rented [...]
Rosa di Parma – A Tenderloin to Remember
Parma, Italy, is the nexus of the best ham and cheese in the world — Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Join that with tenderloin of beef and turn out an extraordinary dish for entertaining, the Rosa de Parma.
I learned this incredible dish at a cooking class in a [...]
New Orleans Visit Fulfills Fantasies
New Orleans has been beckoning me for some time.
I kept dreaming of shrimp po’ boys, Cafe du Monde’s beignets, Paul Prudhomme’s K-Paul’s, Commander’s Palace’s Barbecued Shrimp, Cafe Adelaide’s Creole cheesecake and more. Recipes were floating during my REM, unwilling to stop for me to write them down.
My dreams were inspired in [...]
The best meal I ever ate….
Saturday, May 19, 2007
My time at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
There are some things that anyone can do if they know how to do them. One is the Cannes film festival (the other is Ascot, and the Queen’s Garden party, but that is another story). I went, once, and had a glorious time.
This particular [...]
Monday, April 30, 2007
chef contest
I just returned from a one way trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina, to judge a cooking contest for Lowcountry Literacy. It was a well organized event, with many capable volunteers. It was interesting, as always, to see what the chefs created.
Maybe I’m a funny judge, but I really don’t like [...]
September 18, 2009
This morning I saw Carolina Gold harvested, the dew still on the ground. Some people want gold metal, I wanted to see the Gold of novels and books, the heart of the culture of the state of South Carolina for centuries. One look at the field of rice makes clear the reason for the name,Carolina Gold. The most coveted and sought after rice of those centuries is golden, riding on a sea of tall green stalks. The rice’s gold signifies it is the right time to start to dry the rice. The stalks are removed with a hook (a scythe) leaving a foot or so of stubble that will be turned back into the ground later. The sheaths of rice are then spread on top of the stubble to dry before being collected. At one time it would have been harvested starting at four in the morning, to beat the heat of the day, after a cold breakfast. 
August was the usual time in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, according to the meticulous records the planters kept – detailing dialing weather and rainfall, among other things. Thomas Jefferson loved this rice, his favorite among 98 varieties he collected. (Stories abound about people coming up to him and slipping rice into his pockets. Finally the planters had to tell him to stop sending new varieties – they liked what they had.) The fields have been flooded with fresh water and drained three times. Now it is up to the sun. At Middleton, historically dressed workers scythe the tall grasses that were formerly worked by slaves. 
Charleston, once the richest city in America, had a population that was more slaves than whites. When South Carolina was at its richest, the rice most plentiful, the economy collapsed with the aftermath of the civil war. Makes me think about the adage about riding high before a fall. Feels similar to the economy’s collapse last year.
Demonstrations will be held the next two Saturdays at Middleton. Contact them for more information.
