27 January 2013 – Birthday Weekend

I've had a great birthday weekend! On Friday night, we had dinner at Union Hill Grill, and it was great as always. Beth, the owner, gave me a delicious slice of Lemon Bar Cheesecake for dessert. After dinner, we came home and watched Beasts of the Southern Wild. This movie is amazing, and I highly recommend it! The young girl who plays Hush Puppy is the youngest actress ever nominated for an Oscar, and she truly deserved it. The content is tough, but it is beautifully filmed and acted.

For my birthday dinner last night, Jeff took me to Le Petite Maison in Sandy Springs, and it was divine. Our dear friends Steve Martin, Amado Gabriel, Cory Wilson and John Clark joined us, and we had a great time. For my birthday cake, Jeff baked a Southern Caramel Cake from Nathalie Dupree's cookbook. It was delicious. Today, we drove up to Ellijay to stock up on grass fed beef and heritage pork from Mountain Valley Farm. If you have not been to their Farm Store, you are really missing out! Suzy Wright does an amazing job, and the meat products are incredible. Grass fed beef is much lower in fat and much healthier. Suzy also has a lot of recipes at the store, so pay her a visit. Tell her Bill Grant sent you! Afterward, we had lunch at Jeff's parents' house in Jasper, and Mrs. Brown made me another delicious birthday cake.

For tonight's Sunday Supper, I cooked a heritage pork loin from Mountain Valley. I prepared it like a French style pot roast and made a delicious jus. I served it with a potato galette, one of my favorites, and roasted brussel sprouts. We enjoyed dinner and then watched the Screen Actors Guild Awards and Downton Abbey. It was a perfect ending to my birthday weekend!

The Menu:

- French Style Pot Roasted Heritage Pork Loin

- Potato Galette

- Roasted Brussel Sprouts


Potato Galette Recipe

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds (5-6 large) Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and sliced 1/8 inch thick
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves (optional)

Instructions:

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Place potatoes in large bowl and fill with cold water. Using hands, swirl to remove excess starch, then drain in colander. Spread potatoes onto kitchen towels and thoroughly dry.

2. Whisk 4 tablespoons butter, cornstarch, salt, pepper, and rosemary (if using) together in large bowl. Add dried potatoes and toss until thoroughly coated. Place remaining tablespoon butter in heavy bottomed 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet and swirl to coat. Place 1 potato slice in center of skillet then overlap slices in circle around center slice, -followed by outer circle of overlapping slices. Gently place remaining sliced potatoes on top of first layer, arranging so they form even thickness.

3. Place skillet over medium-high heat and cook until sizzling and potatoes around edge of skillet start to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Spray 12-inch square of foil with nonstick cooking spray. Place foil, sprayed side down, on top of potatoes. Place 9-inch cake pan on top of foil and fill with 2 cups pie weights. Firmly press down on cake pan to compress potatoes. Transfer skillet to oven and bake 20 minutes.

4. Remove cake pan and foil from skillet. Continue to cook until potatoes are tender when paring knife is inserted in center, 20 to 25 minutes. Return skillet to medium heat on stovetop and cook, gently shaking pan (use potholder—handle will be hot), until galette releases from sides of pan, 2 to 3 minutes.

5. Off heat, place cutting board over skillet. With hands protected by oven mitts or potholders, using 1 hand to hold cutting board in place and 1 hand on skillet handle, carefully invert skillet and cutting board together. Lift skillet off galette. Using serrated knife, gently cut into wedges and serve immediately.

20 January 2013

I am currently at 30,000 feet on my way to Michigan for a business trip. I was supposed to leave last Sunday, but I came down with the flu. I made it all the way to the airport but could not get out of the car. I turned around and went back to my bed for four days, but I am feeling a lot better. Obviously, I was unable to cook Sunday Supper last week, and I did not want to miss this week. So, I prepared Sunday Supper on Saturday night to celebrate Cory and John's move to the neighborhood! They found a beautiful home a couple of blocks away on Woodland Road. We have several other good friends on that street, so they will be in good company. We helped them move a few things on Saturday morning, and I then left to shop for dinner supplies.

I wanted to cook them something tasty and comforting, so I turned to my friend's, Nathalie Dupree's fabulous new cookbook, "Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking." I have an autographed copy, and I bought the book for several of my friends at Christmas. I grew up watching Nathalie's cooking show on PBS with my mother, and we always thought she was so elegant, witty and accessible. A few years ago, we were in Charleston for the Food and Wine Festival, and Nathalie was having dinner a few tables away from us. My mother had passed a few months before, but I knew she would have been so impressed and excited for me. When we left the restaurant, I said hello to her, and she was very gracious. I asked if she would mind if I got a photo with her, and she obliged. Her dinner companions had to move out of the booth, and I sat beside her while Jeff took a photo of us with my iPhone. I thanked her again, and I couldn't wait to see the photo as soon as we got out the door. Low and behold, the photo did not come out for some reason! I was devastated, but determined, so we went back inside, and I told her the photo did not come out. She just laughed and said, "well let's take another one." We repeated the Chinese fire drill in the booth, and we got the shot that time. I still laugh every time I see that photograph, and Nathalie has been a fun Facebook friend for the past few years. Her new book is really amazing, and she has earned her title as the Doyenne of Southern Cooking.

A couple of years ago, she posted about a dish she was making for dinner, Country Captain. She said the aromas in the house were divine, so I was intrigued. I did some research and found some recipes from this exotic Southern dish. It is made with chicken, red peppers, onions, tomatoes, curry and other spices. I found a recipe from the Lee Brothers and cooked the dish then, and it was divine. However, I must admit Nathalie's recipe is the best! It simmers for around half an hour and is served over rice. Everyone enjoyed the dish, and it was a perfect way to celebrate and welcome our new neighbors. I served it with an iceberg wedge with homemade, low fat ranch dressing and bacon. For dessert, I prepared Nathalie's Apple Charlotte. It was so much fun to make, and the end result was very satisfying. I can't wait to explore the cookbook in the months and years ahead, and I thank Nathalie for her hard work on this encyclopedia of Southern cuisine. Her personal stories are also very interesting and provide great context for the recipes.

On Friday night, we saw a wonderful production at the Cherokee Arts Center: Voices from the Past. It was a series of stories from characters who are actually buried behind the Arts Center in Riverview Cemetery. The stories chronicled Canton and Georgia from the War of 1812, Civil War, World War II and other local topics. Our friend, Sandy McGrew, played a character that read letters from the son she lost in the Civil War. She did a great job. Our neighbor, Richard Kemp, also did an excellent job portraying Rebecca Johnston's father. His story was touching and fascinating. One of the last performers read from his diary during the War of 1812. The last line he read really resonated with me. He was writing about how awful the conditions were for both sides, and to paraphrase his last line, he stated, "No one wants to fight anymore, but no one wants to lose." Our friend Pat Gold was sitting beside us, and we discussed how appropriate this line seems to be for the present situation with Canton's leadership. Yes, we continue to have casualties, and we lost a great solider for Downtown Canton on Friday. It was Ginger Garrard's last day. The loss was due to the battles between the City Council and the Mayor's office, and it is a huge setback for our Main Street program and downtown.

So, some people are coming and others are going when it comes to Canton. I sincerely hope the political atmosphere becomes a lot more appetizing in the near future.

Until then, make a huge pot of Country Captain, and thank your blessings.

The Menu:

- Country Captain with Rice

- Iceberg Wedge Salad with Homemade Low Fat Ranch Dressing

- Apple Charlotte

06 January 2013

It's the first Sunday Supper of the new year, and the Third Season of Downton Abbey premieres tonight! We love this PBS series, so tonight's Sunday Supper is all things Downton! I was searching on the internet for various British classic dishes when I found a reference to the "Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook!" It includes both "upstairs" and "downstairs" recipes, and they all include various notes and hints about the era and its food. I found a copy of the cookbook locally, and I prepared the entire dinner from recipes in the book.

The entree featured Roasted Rosemary Cornish Hens, and I have not cooked them in years. Cornish hens are actually a young domestic chicken which originated in the county of Cornwall. While inexpensive, the young birds were considered a delicacy by the aristocrats. I paired the cornish hens with British Brussel Sprouts with Pecans and Daisy's Noisette Potatoes, small potato balls braised in clarified butter. Noisettes actually originated in France, according to the book, but the British aristocracy loved all things French. For dessert, I baked Mrs. Patmore's Madeira Pound Cake. The cake does not actually have Madeira in it, but you can drink the wine with the cake. I served it with fresh raspberries and Devonshire Cream. All in all, it was a great British meal and the perfect cuisine to put us in the mood for the Downton Premiere!

Last week, I was honored to have my Bill's Sunday Suppers blog syndicated by the Cherokee Tribune! My friend and Managing Editor, Rebecca Johnston has been trying to talk me into this for a while, so I finally embraced the idea for the new year. The first article got some great response, and I look forward to more posts. Until then, I wish you much luck and great food, whether you live the "upstairs" dream or serve honorably "downstairs."

The Menu:

- Roasted Rosemary Cornish Hens

- British Brussel Sprouts with Pecans

- Daisy's Noisette Potatoes

- Mrs. Patmore's Madeira Pound Cake with Raspberries
and Devonshire Cream


For a nice twist on traditional whipped cream, try a British twist:

Recipe for Easy Devonshire "Clotted" Cream

1 - 3 Ounce Cream Cheese

1 Tablespoon Sugar

Pinch Salt

1 Cup Heavy Cream

Cream the cream cheese, sugar and salt together. Add heavy cream and beat to soft peaks. Refrigerate until ready to use.