'Summer Sparklers' for J. McLaughlin

Credit: Niki Nero Photography

“The most interesting cocktails for summer, whether you have a pool or not, have some effervescence which relates to the sparkling water filling the pool or the ocean, near or far. Champagne, or any sparkling wine, adds pure magic to a cocktail. You might call it bubbles, I might say dryness. But the wisest of us all know Champagne sprinkles a fairy dust of magic.

“There are a few things to think about when choosing a house cocktail. We do not want a ‘normal’ drink available anywhere and everywhere. Instead try something people might not have tried. Leave complicated cocktails to mixologists. Your home is not a bar. You must be able to make repeat versions; meaning a first drink, possibly a second, and if the occasion arises for a third, you will be able to walk up a flight of stairs and mix another….”

 Read more & find 3 recipes for easy, breezy Poolside Cocktails, all with Champagne (or Prosecco if you’d prefer), via J. McLaughlin’s newsletter/blog HERE!

'Half a Dozen Summer Party Tips' for J. McLaughlin

“The #1 tip concerns conversations because we haven’t been face to face in so long! Just thinking about it sparks excitement, which gets energy flowing and makes party planning extra pleasurable. 

Suzanne and a guest converse at the debut of our collaboration with J. McLaughlin…

[Credit: Niki Nero Photography]

Let’s Talk
Consider possible party talk even before your event. Conversation starters can range from fun and frivolous (like showing off your matching napkins and dress) to deep dives straight for the heart of the matter. Think about each guest and what might be going on in their life so that you can ask pertinent questions, showing that they have been on your mind and that you care for them. Conversations which easily shift from light to meaningful are unforgettable. Simply skimming the surface leaves an empty feeling later. To more easily dive deep, start shallow as a means of getting there. Pointing out your matchy matchy napkins and dress will ignite laughter and spark interesting talk.…”

Read the rest of Suzanne’s party tips and find our recipe for a perfect French 75 via J. McLaughlin’s blog HERE!

Summer Pantry Week Two

A few years ago I was working on a book with the working title, The Music of Food. For that project (not completed) I interviewed well known musicians whose second passion was cooking. My favorite question to ask was, What do you want to eat when madly in love? The answers were all fabulous but one stood out above the rest, from Grace Potter:

Spaghetti. All day. I mean, it’s a love food! It is the most romantic food in the world because it’s just like…twirl things around in your mouth, basically what love is, you know? Whether it’s the tongue or something else. It’s basically the most — I think it’s essential food. For me the tactile experience is like twirling the pasta, or if I am madly in love with someone who doesn’t know how to twirl pasta, watching his clumsy fingers trying to learn how to twirl pasta. I love that so much, it’s one of my favorite things. So it’s a lady in the tramp experience you know…

With Grace in mind, we put together four no-cook pasta sauces for Week Two in Summer Pantry. Most of the ingredients come straight from the cans, jars, bottles, and boxes sitting on your pantry shelves this very minute. No need to turn on the oven! Let’s keep the heat out of the kitchen and in rooms where hotness really belongs. First put love right on the dinner plate. Satisfying a tummy ignites happiness in the heart. Proudly serve a plate of pasta that will delight the pickiest eater in your house, or a James Beard Award-winning chef if one happens to drop by around dinnertime. 

P.S. Still time to sign up for the rest of our Summer Pantry series HERE, and you should because you never know what you will learn. More than the recipes!

Spaghetti with Tuna, Garlic, and Cream Sauce

Mix everything by hand to get a grainier, more interesting texture. Delicious with shell pasta! Seggiano is my favorite brand, carried by Whole Foods. The pasta has a rough surface to which the sauce can cling…

• 7-ounce can of tuna packed in olive oil, drained 

• 1 clove garlic, chopped fine

• 1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley, stems discarded, leaves chopped

• 4 tablespoons heavy cream

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 3 tablespoon butter, softened

• salt and black pepper in a grinder

• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiana, plus additional for the table

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook for about 9 minutes, or according to directions. 

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mash the drained tuna with a fork. Add garlic, parsley, cream, egg, butter, salt, liberal grindings of pepper, and 1/2 cup of grated cheese. Mix well until a creamy sauce emerges. Taste and correct with salt and pepper.

3. Drain pasta, toss immediately with tuna mixture, and serve at once.

The White Russian Revisited

Credit: Niki Nero Photography

Just because I am wearing a chinchilla-collared bathrobe, don’t let your mind wander to Russian princes, czars or Doctor Zhivago. No! It’s The Big Lebowski we must turn our minds to now, wherein the bathrobe-wearing Dude pours himself nine White Russians as naturally as I pour eight glasses of water. As the Dude put it so eloquently, “New sh*t has come to light.”

The Dude is the guy who resurrected the cocktail from sixty years in the dustbin. The White Russian saw a massive revival in 1998 thanks to the Coen brothers’ classic The Big Lebowski. Because of that movie, it’s kind of fun and silly, delightful and decadent to wear a bathrobe while sipping this drink.

I sometimes think the White Russian is a secret shame drink. Ordering one could age you forty years just by association. They might be perfect for alcoholics because they are easy on the stomach and then there’s the bathrobe thing. (Any alcohol drunk while wearing a bathrobe falls into the category of secret shame, don’t you think?) It’s an ironic, sad sort of drink — a little bit of a Best Enjoyed Alone cocktail. It’s hard to take the White Russian seriously. It’s not a drink you would normally order out, perhaps a little embarrassing but something you might actually enjoy, if only with your closest friends. 

But I like it. I am not ashamed to admit that last night I happily ate thick salty slices of rare rib eye and drank a White Russian to go with it. Someone has to do the cocktail research! My body craved fat and what better to satisfies that than ribeyes and cream? What would the mother in me, the fifteen- or twenty-years-ago me have said about her future behavior? Nothing good, that’s for sure. I must be letting myself go to seed. Au contraire! I can assure old judge-y me that I am having the greatest time of my life now, eating fatty steak and drinking a (shameful) drink.  It’s not an every night occurrence, more like once a year. Combining vodka, Kahlúa, cream, and serving it on the rocks creates a delicious alternative to adult milkshakes. What’s wrong with that?

The White Russian is due for a status upgrade, less shameful, less secret, less lonely.  It’s a drink that has the heft to stand in for dessert, a liquid in lieu of cake or pie. Less caffeine than a piece of chocolate cake, less caloric than a slice of pie...it’s got that perfect after-dinner decadence feeling.

Time for geography. There is a little town in Colorado called Oak Creek whose Mayor, Cargo Rodman, drank White Russians like the Dude, as in all day long. In that town the White Russian was renamed Mayor’s Milk.

And now history! A version of the drink appeared in the 1930 edition of The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock under the name the Russian, made with vodka, gin and crème de cacao. The Russian Bear was made with vodka, crème de cacao and cream. Crème de cacao is a sweet vanilla-flavored liqueur. The Black Russian is vodka and coffee liqueur, two parts vodka to one part coffee liqueur. The White Russian came about in the ’60s when someone somewhere added a bit of cream to the Black Russian. (Who added cream to a Black Russian to make it white? No one knows!) None of these drinks are Russian in origin. It’s the vodka part that ties them to Russia.

Original recipe was equal parts vodka, Kahlúa, and cream. The Dude made his with two parts vodka, one part Kahlúa, and one part cream. Not as good as the original, I can assure you. I tested both last night. However both are rich, velvety, and go down smooth. I do want to point out that one is enough. 

Cream… When making a White Russian choose heavy cream. Half-and-half can work but why bother? This is not a drink for anyone faint of heart, health conscious, avoiding fat in the diet. And know that milk produces a thin drink. Have a seltzer instead! You’re aiming for decadence. The difference between heavy cream and whipping cream is this: heavy cream has 36 percent fat, whipping cream 30 percent; half-and-half, equal parts milk and cream, has 10 to 18 percent fat. Not enough heft for this drink. 

Kahlúa is a coffee liqueur made in Mexico since 1936, with rum, sugar, and coffee. A bottle takes up to seven years to produce, due to growing and harvesting coffee beans. In the ‘60s, Kahlúa was led by an an all women team. Quite unusual back in the day. Another fun fact? February 27 is National Kahlúa Day. Now you’ll know what to do with that bottle languishing in the back of your bar this Saturday night! It’s just waiting to be opened and appreciated… 

Remember you can use Kahlúa to make more than a White Russian. Try adding a shot to brownies, drizzle on ice cream sundaes, give chocolate cake batter a kick in the pants, whip into your cheesecake. This stuff is asking for more of your time and attention!

CHOICE ONE - 1+1+1 = perfect. 1 PART KAHLÚA, 1 PART ABSOLUT VODKA, 1 PART HEAVY CREAM.  

CHOICE TWO - The way it’s made in the movie. 2 ounces vodka, 1 ounce Kahlúa, 3 teaspoons each of cream and milk.

EITHER CHOICE - Fill a rocks glass with ice cubes. Add Kahlúa and vodka, then pour in the cream layer. 

OR for a milk shake-y feeling, shake with ice and strain over more ice.

Cheers!

"A Cozy Cocktail with Presidential Panache" for Garden & Gun

Credit: Niki Nero Photography

“In a nod to those who helped shape America—especially George Washington—Pollak created the Founding Father, a wintertime riff on a classic Remember the Maine cocktail, which typically includes some combination of rye whiskey, vermouth, absinthe, and cherry liqueur. After Washington’s second term in office, he built a distillery at Mount Vernon, setting up the whole supply chain on the grounds: His enslaved laborers grew and harvested the grains, ground the flour in the on-site grist mill, and converted the grains to whiskey, Pollak explains, resulting in about 10,000 gallons a year.”

Read the rest and find Suzanne’s perfect President’s Day cocktail recipe online via Garden & Gun!

Milk Punch

For your tiny holiday party, we suggest starting with a classic Milk Punch!

Credit: Niki Nero Photography

Milk Punch was first recorded William Sacheverell’s 1688 travelogue from the Scottish isle of Iona. The earliest written recipe for it appeared in a 1711 cookbook; then there was Benjamin Franklin in 1763 making his clarified milk punch with brandy and lemon added to hot milk. (Clarified milk punch is a glass of translucent and elegant liquid, fantastic indeed but time consuming to make. For now, we bring you the easier milky version.)

Milk punch reached the height of popularity in the middle of the 18th century. Queen Victoria issued a royal warrant in 1838 to Nathaniel Whisson as "purveyors of milk punch to Her Majesty”. A different sort of Queen, in a different era, the 20th C. Queen Mother used to tell her butlers, “You old Queens, get this old Queen a drink!” Yet another Queen by the name of Cleopatra supposedly bathed in the white stuff. Did she do that right before Marc Anthony ravaged her? Was milk bath the magic that drew Caesar into her web?

In today’s world, milk punch has made a comeback. This year in particular is perfect for milk punch, one reason being it isn’t really meant for a punch bowl. A bowl is just too much milk punch, unless you are bathing the baby. You cannot, must not, drink this stuff all night long. Milk punch is for making one or two at a time, shaking each batch to get that foamy froth. They are not alcoholic lattes but could be mistaken for one! 

Another reason milk punch is the right beverage for this year: comfort and familiarity. All of us started life with our mother’s milk, or from a bottle. Milk may bring a feeling of safety and security. Yet milk punch is different enough to be fascinating and these juxtaposing characteristics set the stage for guests to feel safe and open up. There is something about milk punch helping to get us there, being our first beverage and all that.  

Milk punch gives a sheen to a holiday party, however small that party might be. I entertained a tiny group on Saturday night. We started out with milk punch cocktails, then we switched to our regular drinks, and the secrets started to spill. Wouldn’t you like to know what was revealed? Sorry, I am a vault. But I can share that milk punch set the stage.  

As cocktails have grown more fabulist, hyper intellectual, or just plain weird over the last 15 years, bartenders worth their muster feel they must create, like a professor trying to achieve tenure, so they mix new drinks with crazy ingredients and silly names. Sometimes we long for plain and normal, a classic that has stood the test of time, vestige of good old days, maybe even the days of 1688 or 1711. Since our old world is utterly changed, a new one struggling to be born, milk punch fits the times. 

The other stuff that turns milk into punch: Cognac or bourbon. Simple syrup. Nutmeg. 

COGNAC

Victor Hugo called cognac the “liquor of the gods”. Cognac is a symbol of French luxury, distilled twice, between October 1 and March 31. Cognac is brandy but not all brandy is cognac. Got that?

BOURBON

We Southerners know all about bourbon, especially in Charleston, and just ‘cause you may be from Kentucky doesn’t make you a world expert on the big brown liquor. Bourbon is made from at least 51% corn, but rye and barley make it more beautiful. 

SYRUP 

In order to incorporate sugar into a drink, it needs to be dissolved first or you’ll end up with a sandy mess (an effect only desired in mint juleps — come back this spring to learn more!).

Simple syrup is simply made by pouring equal parts water and sugar into a saucepan. 1 : 1. The following numbers are easy too, our favorite kind of math at the Academy. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes until sugar dissolves. Store for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer. Please don’t let us hear about any of you buying a bottle of simple syrup you didn’t make yourself. You might end up sitting with the dunce hat in our corner.

NUTMEG 

Why does McCormick pack 12 spheres of nutmeg in a bottle where one nutmeg by itself lasts several years? Dear Mr. McCormick: Not one of us needs jars of spice this size for anything at home. Spices lose their essence before we use a quarter of the bottle. 

Nutmeg grows on 40' trees in Indonesia, French Guiana and India. The fruit looks like an apricot. The pit inside is nutmeg. For those who want more trivia…the red lace covering the pit is mace. Only one pound of mace can be removed from a hundred pounds of nutmeg. So, there you have it! A useless tip to toss around. 

One more useful factoid to note: nutmeg’s aroma disappears quickly so you must ground it fresh on top of the milk punch. For that you will need a microplane. 

ABOUT PROPORTIONS… 

You do not always have to stick to proportions on recipes, though the Academy preaches you should. When a classic is right, do not mess with it! Find something else to mess with.

However, I messed with many milk punches on Saturday doing my due diligence for this blog. I do not like sweet drinks, but many recipes call for too much, at least for my taste. That’s why I was messing around. And then there were more weighty decisions, such as, bourbon or cognac? How unsweet can a punch be? How much milk does a milk punch need? At least I had my little posse of dinner guests to help me with the big decisions. Milk punch is a lovely appetizer drink. It does a beautiful job of saying: Welcome to my party, and to the holiday season. Let our night begin. 

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 oz simple syrup

• 1.5 milk

• 2 ounce booze 

• nutmeg 

Put in a shaker with ice. Shake, shake, shake until frothy about 20 seconds. Strain in a glass. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg. Enjoy!

Cheers to Moms

Hemingway in Cuba…

Do not mistake the daiquiri for a girly drink. The daiquiri was created by manly men. Supposedly an American mining engineer near the coastal town of Daiquiri in Cuba made the first one. Then the popularity spread man to man — from miners to Admirals to the Army Navy Club in DC. The great hunter who turned out to be a fine author but not such a nice guy, Ernest Hemingway himself, made the daiquiri his own. 

But the girls do like the drink and here’s where mothers come in…it’s delightful!

I loved the girly version when my children were small. The daiquiri desire started because the sips loosened my uptight self. With four toddlers underfoot, I am not ashamed to say liquor played a tiny part in getting me through the week. The context is important. I had baby twins and an 18-month-old, and the times were a-changin’ but they hadn’t changed yet! My pediatrician prescribed two beers per night so I could nurse my twins. Once a week I had lunch with my closest friend, where we consumed many courses and glasses of wine, and that was fine and normal for anyone to do then. There were no ‘girls nights out’ in those days! 

Car seats were not mandatory till your child was a tween either. I drove a green Jaguar, the inside of which looked like a men’s club, to swim meets all over the South, with three kids in the car and one beer for me. Who would even do that today? Who would want to? Daiquiris came into my picture because of swimming. After laps in the pool, another friend & I ordered banana daiquiris. How lame is that? Everything we did in the pool was undone by the drink! Luckily I didn’t drink too much because I don’t have that gene. Not too much, not too little, just pure pleasure for 20 minutes. That’s what moms everywhere want, a 20-minute R&R. 

Those were my coping strategies for being a mom then. I didn’t know about meditation, yoga, smoothies. But now…WOW! Moms are the heroes the wide world over. Moms are everything and do everything as our world has become our home. (Dad’s are great too, but we don’t have to worry about that on Mother’s Day.) Moms do their jobs, teach, cook, clean, nurture, even bribe household members to get through cooped up survival.

Daiquiris are the perfect Mother's Day drink. They bring a bearable lightness of being in this almost unbearable time. They are a tropical trio of rum, lime juice and sugar, plus ice, combined in a shaker, usually served up but you can drink on the rocks. I do. The ice melts slowly, giving a little less punch and allows a 20 minute brain buzz instead of a headache in the morning. Think about it. Do the math. 2 ounces hard stuff +1 ounce sugar = on the way to sh*t faced. The sugar combined with the alcohol packs a double whammy.

This is math at the Academy. We are not awarding degrees in trigonometry, we are working towards a degree based on a meaningful life in a functioning home. Distilling all that higher thinking down to the narrowest point possible gets us to one question: why drink a daiquiri? For a delicious 20 minute break injecting a tiny bit of flirt, frisk and fun for mom on Mother’s Day. 

Let’s make our drink.

Squeeze a lime, or maybe two, to get 1 ounce juice. Pour in a cocktail shaker. Add sugar syrup, ¾ to 1 ounce (made with a sugar to boiled water ratio of 1:1), depending on how sweet you want to go. Pour in 2 ounces white rum. Add ice cubes to fill the shaker three quarters full. Shake shake shake your cocktail shaker. Strain in a pre-chilled glass. Add a lime slice.

Cheers to Moms everywhere!

The Academy’s job is to help make your home life as meaningful as possible. Part of a meaningful life is taking a step back, accessing any situation, giving ourselves some breathing room — and that’s where the Wednesday sip comes in. We all need a break and we need community!

You are invited to join us (via Zoom) on Wednesdays at 5:30 - 6:00 for Sip with Suzanne. Next week’s topic: The Marvelous Martini…

One Action Dinners, Part Two

Less equals more, that’s what we are learning. We know what we do not need, what we can live without, and what we can do that we didn’t realize before. We might be discovering that the simplest dinner ever can be soul satisfying. The children might be happy with macaroni and butter but you need some fiber and greens.

One Action Dinners are simple. The one action might be brushing olive oil on a vegetable. Something delicious awaits you about an hour later. Sixty minutes to sit back, feel proud, drink a cocktail or finish a work project, know that you will be fed, and soon!

By the way, who said dinner had to be a meat and three? No it doesn’t! Sometimes one is enough. Kids might not like all of these, but you will. (Because…health.)

• Huge baked sweet potato - 425-degree oven for 1.5 hours, served with salted butter and sour cream and plenty of S&P.

• A pound of veggies - cut up & marinated in olive oil and any spices you’d like, grilled until charred. 

• Roasted red cabbage - slice, toss with olive oil and place in a 400-degree oven for an hour. Sprinkle in some caraway seeds and S&P. (Some cabbage slices get crispy, others are soft, all delicious and a little different.)

• Crispy potato pancake - thinly slice peeled white potatoes, toss with olive oil, arrange in an overlapping circle, sprinkle with S&P and bake for 1 hour at 425. What you want is golden brown crispness. This potato cake is addictive. If you want two actions, serve with a poached egg. 

• Fennel bulb - cut lengthwise into fourths, add oil and salt, roast for an hour at 425. Toss with fronds before serving. Served hot, warm or room temperature for a very pleasing dinner.

• Broccoli rabe - toss with olive oil, sprinkle with S&P, roast for 30 minutes at 400. 

For a change in pace — when you feel like doing two things and have some farm vegetables a neighbor left at your door — melt a little butter in a pan and sauté spring onion bulbs (white parts cut lengthwise in half) until lightly browned, and their delicate onion-y smell fills the kitchen. Then throw in a few snap peas and add tablespoon or so of heavy cream. While the mixture simmers, get a plate, fork, S&P and DONE! Dinner is simple and simply delicious.

What to do with leftovers? Add in pasta, rice or salads for yet another One Action delight.

The Art of Biscuits

Photo by Landon Neil Phillips 2016

THE ART OF BISCUITS 

Carbs make people feel better, that is by now a well-covered fact. Another current fact is that yeast is difficult to find. The first and foremost beauty of the biscuit is no yeast is required.

Find the Academy’s best Biscuit recipe HERE and CONTACT to schedule a virtual class with the Dean on this or any other subject under the domestic sun…

The Beauty of Biscuits

Oh, what the mighty little biscuit can do if you just ask him. He serves a purpose all day long. What other food can bring satisfaction all day, every day? Especially something so easy to make?

• Breakfast biscuits - split (never cut) and slathered with marmalade or honey. 

• Lunch - split and covered with gravy from fried or roasted chicken.

• Herb biscuits - fresh herbs either folded in dough or stuffed inside. A version of a salad. 

• Tea time - wipe heavy cream on top, sprinkle a lot of sugar on top, and Voilá!  You have a version of scones. (You could even add dried fruit if you are feeling fancy.)

• Cocktail hour - ham biscuit with lots of cheese and/or freshly ground black pepper in dough. Hot mustard optional.

• Don’t forget about dessert! Split and serve with strawberries and freshly whipped cream.

See below for recipe adjustments...

The Beauty of Biscuits Part 2

Perfect to make ahead the morning of, the day before, the month before — simply freeze and bake as needed. It's called being Ready for Anything.

The Beauty of Biscuits Part 3

Not daunting to make if you follow instructions and learn to handle the dough 'til it resembles a baby’s bottom. Practice a few times and you will become as good as Bash, the Biscuit Baby, Academy alum.

Why I came up with my particular recipe:

The first time I tasted a croissant, visiting Europe from Africa, my head spun! I fell in love for life. I’d never tasted anything as light and airy as a croissant. However, as love affairs tend to do, I became a prisoner. I skipped school for two days and made croissants. I promise, if you are learning to bake croissants, even now, you are planning to open a French bakery. They are so hard it’s unbelievable. There is a great probability they will turn into hockey pucks. 

Biscuits will not. I never had a biscuit until I moved South. My head spun once more. They are friendly, probably because they are not as sophisticated and as haughty as the elegant croissant. Croissants are the couture pastry. I took what I learned during my croissant cooking try and added that to biscuit making. 

Only takes 8 - 10 minutes to bake so bake them fresh. 

The Pleasure Biscuits Bring

To see your loved ones happy and smiling when they first smell the baking, then bite into the biscuit is the greatest pleasure; to say nothing of your own satisfaction later when everyone wonders where all the biscuits have gone and you can tell them matter-of-factly, Straight to your stomachs.

Biscuit Basics

What to use if you can get it:

• Use full fat buttermilk

• Use European style butter.

• Any kind of flour - I have made 1,000,000,000 biscuits. White Lily is good and so is King Arthur’s unbleached white. King Arthur has a little more structure, While Lily, sort of similar to cake flour, is a little softer. What can I say? I like structure in everything. 

Alternatives when your grocery store is out of buttermilk:

• Sweet milk - biscuits made with whole milk.

• Yoghurt or sour cream - fresh thyme leaves are super good in these!

• Heavy cream - more like scones. Add a cream wash and sugar to the top.

• Cheese - add 6 ounce any kind of cheese to the 3 cup flour biscuit & use 4 tablespoons of butter. Roll a little thinner, but not like a cracker. I like spicy with cheese but prefer freshly ground black pepper instead of cayenne. Split and stuff with country ham and hot mustard. These are delicious hot and at room temperature. 

• Sweet potato - add 1/2 cup mashed cold cooked sweet potatoes. Dough will be heavier so roll out thinner. Delicious taste and color.

Time for Carbs

The fact is that carbohydrates are mood lifters. If you are cranky and exhausted — and who isn’t right now? — then don’t poo poo carbs. Give them a try!

When I was fifteen, I left Monrovia, Liberia, for boarding school in New Hampshire. I knew no one in this new country, new climate, my twelfth school in as many grades. Maybe to combat the stress of those changes, one Saturday morning I ate seventeen English Muffin halves. Everyone around me was astonished. Maybe it was a way to procrastinate school work, a way to meet new friends, or possibly just the allure of delicious melting butter in little muffin holes. But really I suspect I craved comfort and didn’t know where to find it. Carbs to the rescue!

When I was thirty I ran a bakery (illegally) out of my house. One hot seller were the English Muffins, all types: plain, raisin, spicy, cheese for hamburger night. I couldn’t keep up with the orders. So yesterday, in need of a mood enhancer, I remembered the English Muffin of long ago, which I haven’t enjoyed in years. I decided their time had returned. So in the spirit of spreading joy, lifting spirits, using my hands and trying to focus, I created a new type of English Muffin with what I found in my refrigerator. Buttermilk and sour cream.

For those of you who have not handled bread dough, the recipe might look long. Do not be alarmed! It is not done in one fell swoop, but in a few shorter steps. You can attend to other things during the process. If you need help, “Dial the Dean.” We are available for tutorials anytime. (Contact HERE to schedule.)

Buttermilk English Muffins

Makes 24

• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast

• 1 tablespoon sugar (or honey or molasses)

• 1/4 cup water

• 1 cup buttermilk 

• 1/3 cup sour cream

• Whole milk

• 4 cups flour

• 1-1/2 tablespoons coarse salt

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temp.

• Cornmeal

1. Combine yeast, sugar and water in the bowl of a standing mixer and let sit for about ten minutes, until the yeast has bubbled all over the surface of the water. 

2. Combine the buttermilk and sour cream in a two cup container. Add enough milk (preferably whole) to bring liquid up to 1-3/4 cups. Stir mixture into yeast and water. 

3. Add flour and salt and mix on low speed until dough consolidates. Throw in the butter, half tablespoons at a time, with the mixer running. When the mixture comes together, remove dough from the bowl and place on a floured counter.

4. Hand knead for ten minutes, or as long as you want. Kneading reduces stress, we promise! Knead until dough is no longer sticky. (If the dough is sticky, add a bit more flour on the counter and knead the dough on top to incorporate that flour.)

5. Wash and dry the bowl of the standing mixer. Place the dough into the bowl, cover with a dish towel and let sit at room temp. for an hour or two. When the dough has doubled in bulk, use a rubber spatula to scrape out of the bowl and back onto the cleaned counter. The dough will be sticky again and that is okay. (Alternatively, if you are busy and cannot attend to the dough till later, place the bowl of dough in the refrigerator where it can wait for up to two days).

6. Cover two rimmed baking sheets with cornmeal. Using a serrated knife or pastry scraper, cut dough into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Place 12 balls, spaced apart, on each baking sheet. Using the heel of your hand, press each ball into a disk. Make sure the bottom of each muffin is sitting on plenty of cornmeal. 

7. While the muffins rise one more time (about 30 minutes) heat a few 9” sauté pans over low to low/medium heat. The muffins will be puffy after their rise. Carefully lift each muffin with a spatula and place four in each pan. The cornmeal will still be on the bottom of the dough. Cook each side for 9 minutes. If each side is not lightly brown, keep cooking for 2 -3 more minutes per side. (Alternatively, the muffins can be kept on the baking sheet, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator overnight.)

8. Use a fork to halve the muffins, plunging the tines into their middles, then prying them apart into two. The muffins are now ready for their time in the toaster or under a broiler.  Use plenty of butter. Watch the smiles light up on faces around you, as order is restored in the emotional ecosystem.

The Ultimate Leftovers

In the unlikely, lovely, & extraordinary event a half tin of leftover caviar lies in your kitchen, the Academy knows exactly what to do with it! Caviar soufflés! Caviar soufflés are beyond delicious, delightful, deluxe, and completely do-able. Thank you to retired Academy Dean Lee Manigault for being the bearer of those magnificent tiny black beads.

Recipe serves 4.

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter plus 1 tablespoon butter softened

• 3 tablespoons Parmesan

• 1/4 cup flour

• 3/4 cup whole milk

• 2 ounces crème fraîche

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper

• 7 medium egg yolks

• 9 medium egg whites

• 6 ounces goat cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Butter four 1-cup soufflé dishes with 1 tablespoon softened butter. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese inside each dish.

2. Melt the butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour to make a roux, whisking continuously for 2 to 3 minutes. (Use a flat whisk made especially to get into the corners of the pan.) Stirring constantly, slowly add the milk. Whisk until the sauce is thick. Add the crème fraîche, salt and pepper, whisk and remove from heat. Whisk in the egg yolks and stir in the cheese.

3. Using an electric mixture, beat the egg whites and a pinch of salt at medium-high speed until frothy. Increase speed to high until stiff peaks form. With a rubber spatula, fold one quarter of the whites into the yolk base until no streaks remain. Then fold in the rest of the egg whites, being careful not to over-blend. A few white streaks are fine…

4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared dishes. Smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake in the bottom third of the oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve at once. Pass a bowl of crème fraîche and the tin of caviar to be spooned individually by each lucky guest into their soufflés.

One Pan Wonder

Moms are the masters of cooking with only one pan (and only one arm!) Photo: Elliot Erwitt c. 1955.

What is so great about one pan meals? For starters, one word: EASY to make and to clean up!

Beyond that, one pan is a way to train the brain to become free from distraction and endless chatter. Use this type of cooking to remain razor focused for a short period of time instead of multi tasking with too many pots and other problems. The job at hand, whatever is going on in one single pan, is all that is important, at least for the moment. Before putting pot to fire, stow away your cell phone, set the table, organize the mise en place, warn your family to be ready to sit when called.

Lastly, limiting yourself to one pan frees you from a deluge of too many options, giving you a chance to get creative! Cooking is really fun when you riff and listen to your intuition. What is your stomach telling you? What is calling you from the aisles of the produce section?* One pan cooking is about following your likes and your mood, using a recipe as a guide rather than a rule book… 

Steak and Veg. for Two

• thin steaks, sliced 1/4 inch thick, edges notched to keep from curling

• 1 raw potato, peeled and cut into small cubes

• 1 red pepper, sliced

• handful of mushrooms, sliced

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• coarse salt, freshly ground black pepper

• fresh oregano (leaves removed from the stems)

• olive oil

Choose a skillet large enough to hold the steaks in a single layer. Pour in just enough olive oil to barely coat the bottom of the pan. Heat the skillet over high heat until smoking hot. Cook the steak just long enough to brown on one side, then turn over and season with salt and pepper. Do Not Over Cook! 3 minutes on one side, 2 to 3 on the other, for rare. Transfer steaks to a plate to rest. Add a tablespoon or more of olive oil. When hot put the potatoes in. Leave the potatoes alone until crispy brown on one side, turn, then add the peppers, mushroom and garlic. Sauté for a few minutes until all ingredients are crisp and tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and oregano and place vegetables next to steaks. 

*Don’t give up on physical visits to the grocery store. The benefit of walking up and down the aisles (instead of having everything delivered) is the opportunity for a spontaneous idea to spark while faced with a pyramid of potatoes, a deluge of favas, a mountain of shiitakes, or whatever else might be right in front of your eyes! Tonight’s dinner might take a left turn from what you thought you wanted. We know the ease of delivery: avoiding traffic, saving time, etc. etc. But still, there is something about a grocery store that is creative and even relaxing. All you are doing is planning for meals. Taking a toddler to a  grocery store is a learning experience that shouldn’t be missed.  (When my twins were small enough to sit in the front of the cart together, one twin picked up a tomato and took a bite of what he thought was an apple. Oops!)

Start a Project: PICKLES

Why not spend an afternoon making pickles? A pickling is not a big time commitment but still delivers huge rewards in the coming weeks. A refrigerator door lined with jars of homemade pickles is always worth opening — if only to admire, get a blast of cool air, and for the good feeling of being on top of your domestic game (at least for the moment.)

Here at the Academy, we choose refrigerator pickles because no canning or boiling is involved, and they are the definition of simplicity and tastiness. You will have brightly colored jars of tangy morsels to enhance any plate of food, adding a touch of something handmade to your meal.  Smart parents know that the pickle is one way to introduce stronger flavors to the pickiest eaters on earth, most under the age of fifteen.

Pickled Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 1 pound white, cremini, bella or shiitake mushrooms (cleaned with paper towels to remove dirt)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 3 teaspoons coarse salt

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

• 4 garlic cloves

• a few branches fresh thyme, marjoram and parsley, leaves removed from stems

• 1 tablespoon honey

• freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine mushrooms with oil and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt. Roast in a roasting pan for about 10 minutes. The mushrooms will give off a liquid. Drain in a colander. 

2. Combine the vinegar, garlic, thyme, marjoram, parsley, honey, pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and mix well. Add the warm mushrooms and stir. Chill the mushrooms in the refrigerator until cold, about an hour. Transfer to mason jars. Seal tightly and refrigerate. 

3. Storage: The pickles will keep for at least a month in the refrigerator.

Rice 103: Pudding!

While the first two rice dishes in our Rice summer school series — paella and risotto — have great cultural pasts, rice pudding is personal, evocative, emotional... 

For me, rice pudding brings up memories of college dinner parties my sister & I gave for our friends. Instead of time at the library, we devoted hours devising menus and guest lists, then walked together to the grocery store to buy ingredients only to haul them back to our apartment (as we neither owned a car nor even possessed driver's licenses.) We had small monthly allowances so dinner parties were a creative way to please people on a culinary shoe string, with our financial resources combined. Rice was our standby dessert because pudding pleased everyone, even if it wasn’t their childhood comfort food, or ours. Rice pudding was easy to make, exotic to our friends, foolproof, inexpensive, delicious.

[Illustration, Pepperidge Farm Cookbook, c. 1970]

Our recipe came from an old-fashioned standard, Margaret Rudkin’s Pepperidge Farm Cookbook. We soaked raisins for a topping and always whipped heavy cream by hand to top the topping. Gilding the lily was our mantra straight through college, at least where food, parties, and dress were concerned. We didn’t always apply the philosophy to our studies — funny I should be a “Dean” now. But Charleston Academy classes always start with drinks followed by food, so perhaps none of this should come as a surprise.

Paella uses bomba rice, risotto: Arboria rice, both medium grain and starchy which do not make good puddings. This leaves long grain rice for puddings. Do not use ‘instant’ or ‘minute’ rice. Basmati and jasmine rice are excellent choices too. 

Pepperidge Farm Cookbook Rice Pudding

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Ingredients:

• 1 quart whole milk

• ⅓ cup rice

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup sugar

• Dash of cinnamon

• 2 tablespoons rosewater

Directions:

1. Butter a 2-quart casserole. Put the rice in the casserole and pour in the milk. Add the seasonings and stir well.

2. Bake for 3 hours, stirring every 15 minutes during the first hour to keep the rice from staying in the bottom of the casserole. 

3. When cooked, sprinkle the rosewater over the top. Serve hot or cold, with or without soaked raisins (in brandy, cognac, or just hot water) and whipped cream.

Rice 102: Rainy Day Risotto

Risotto at its best has been lovingly tended to become a creamy dish, heaven to eat.

First, soften a chopped onion in a couple knobs of good butter; then stir in two cups of rice grains until they are coated too. Add four cups of homemade stock by the ladleful, stirring with a wooden spoon all the while. Risotto is a dish of love, something to make when you have the time — time to work out knotty problems in your brain or to just let that brain take a rest; time for when you feel like facing the stove and hanging out with a family member or friend. It’s a perfect dish to make over a conversation, even a three-way telephone chat. 

Start to finish takes 30-40 minutes, and similar to a soufflé (but easier to make) risotto waits for no one! Slip a little more butter into the rice before serving, then top with plenty of grated parmesan, chopped parsley, freshly ground pepper. Witness a few separate ingredients, probably already sitting on your counter, transform into far more than sum of its parts. If you can’t visit the seven wonders of the world, you can make one all by yourself right there in your very own kitchen. That’s the exquisite nature of cooking and feeding people.

Summer School: RICE 101 - Paella Night

Hot take — some carbs are good for you! Cole Porter sang of romance: It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely. At the Academy, we sing similar riffs about rice. It’s delicious, it’s delightful, it’s delectable...

Paella Night

Paella might be the pinnacle dinner party menu, the perfect food to knit together a group, especially when cooking over an open fire with guests standing around watching. It’s primal, it’s ancient, it’s deep. First off, to be in the hands of an Engineer of Paella is comforting and exciting. All will be good. You can feel it.

The feast begins with the visual — platters of fish and vegetables, a sack of bomba rice, pot of fish stock, bottle of Spanish olive oil, and tins of spicy paprika and saffron laid out on trays — teasing the eyes. This engineer had the largest tin of saffron the Dean had ever seen! Joy number one: watching a confident cook take charge, knowing exactly what to do with the order of ingredients. Your eyes, nose, and stomach anticipate a feast. A patient wait is required for the ingredients to transform into one of the world’s magnificent feasts, and a patient wait is just what we all need. Off the devices and face to face — right there the night becomes unforgettable. Meanwhile the wood smoke and tomato smells seduce the nose…

This particular engineer knows how to riff like any accomplished cook. No artichokes at the market? So what! Martha Vineyards Morning Glory Farms had asparagus just picked. What to serve first? Not too much at such an opulent feast. But guild the lily with local oysters. In this case honeysuckle oysters from waters pulled just that morning.

Here are the paella steps according to the Engineer’s method:

1. Shuck oysters.

2. Build the fire.

3. Lay out ingredients.

4. Sauté onion and green pepper.

5. Sauté soft shell crabs and monster shrimp!

6. Sauté garlic and green onion.

7. Add tomatoes whirled in the blender.

8. A good dose of paprika…

9. Be generous with the saffron!

10. A quick stir…

11. Rice makes an entrance.

12. Time for asparagus and eggplant.

13. Scallops and swordfish enter the picture.

14. Add stock.

15. Add rice!

After we’ve heard the rice bottom pop and the paella has rested, it’s time to serve. The engineer decided to put the paella in the middle of the table as centerpiece. Who needs plates? The communion continued with everyone eating straight from the pan. Eat the triangle of paella in front of you. Communion and communication make a dinner party its best.

This Professor of Paella pulled off the two main tricks: all the flavor absorbed in the rice and the crusty layer on the bottom, Mmmmmmm. Plus two other secrets, including a fistful of saffron threads from that bottomless tin. The Dean was so mesmerized she forgot to find out the source and price for a treasure of saffron that huge. The other secret is the Bomba rice. Two expensive ingredients but WOW!

Remember a paella cannot be thick. This engineer owns three paella pans all the same size, perfect for serving six people from each pan so the rice is thin and gets that essential crust. But who wants 18 for a Paella feast? Five or six is perfect.

The Simple Art of Stew I: Braised Short Ribs

As Summer turns to Fall — or rather to Hurricane Season as we know it in the Lowcountry — so we shift from our Salad routine to making Stews of all kinds. In our newest recipe series, the Dean shares the art of preparing one-pot wonders that will feed a crowd and streamline suppers on busy school nights. Though most stews require some prep. time, the rest is just keeping an eye out as they simmer on the stove. They always taste better the next day and freeze beautifully. Even if you are only cooking for one or two, stews are smart! Simply divide the large batch into individual portions. What could be better after a long day of work?

Stews make for a healthy, delicious dinner; comfort for the stomach and spirit. And don’t forget the aromas funneling from the kitchen and making their way into every nook & cranny of your house. To kick off our Stew series: Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs! But first, let’s talk about browning your meat. The searing process takes place in a hot pan with a little oil, and relies on patience as you must work in batches, careful not the crowd the pan. The purpose is to release fat, caramelize the outside of the meat, and deepen the flavor. Don’t be afraid to go dark; extra dark means extra flavor.

For Short Ribs, you will need:

• 2 tablespoons oil

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 5 pounds short ribs

• 2 large onions, peeled and roughly chopped

• 1-2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

• 1-2 stalks celery, roughly chopped

• Head of garlic, sliced through

• 1 bottle red wine

• Some branches of thyme

• A bay leaf or two

Here’s what to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Put oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven and turn heat to high. Brown the ribs well on all sides. This will take about 20 or 25 minutes. Salt and pepper as you cook. As the ribs finish searing, remove them to a plate.

3. While the ribs are searing, put 2 tablespoons of butter into another pan and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes.

4. Remove the fat from the Dutch oven. Add the meat and onion mixture back into the pot, then pour in the wine and thyme and bay leaves. Cover and put into the oven for about 3 hours, until the meat is falling from the bone. Stir every hour.

5. Transfer to a platter. Strain the liquid, put into another bowl and refrigerate. The following day skim the fat from the liquid. Reheat, bring to a boil and add the ribs. When ribs are warm, stew is ready to serve.

Summer Salad #2: Porky Pig

Why do we love eating decadent fatty meals disguised as salads? Because everyone everywhere loves to be deceived, lulled into thinking their meal was extra healthy. But guess what? This salad is actually healthy, despite the indulgent addition of slow-roasted pork...

FRISÉE - A lettuce that balances the fattiness with its bitter bite and texture. Remember, one small head delivers way more volume than you can imagine once you separate the leaves and tear them into manageable, bite-sized pieces. Tearing is absolutely necessary. Who wants a mouth full 4” spiky leaves, delicious as they may be?

PORK - We like to make this the day after serving Pork Butt in Milk with Cabbage Slaw for dinner. If you and your guests were not too piggy (pun intended) then you'll have plenty of leftovers. Simply reheat in a frying pan over low heat, or in the turned off oven after roasting the eggplant. The pig will crisp right up.

EGGPLANT - Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Thinly slice unpeeled eggplant. Lay slices on parchment paper. Lightly drizzle olive oil on slices, turn over and drip olive oil on top. There is really no wrong way to do this. After years of making these eggplant slices, we can say for certain that sometimes they turn crispy, sometimes softer, but every time delicious! Roast slices in a 425-degree oven for 15 minutes, turn over and roast another 5-10 minutes, until golden brown on both sides. Some parts will blacken but that is okay. There is a fine line, a few minutes, between a little black, and the burn taking over the slice.

Summer Salad #1: Plain & Simple!

When Summer brings a bounty of perfectly sun-ripened fruits and vegetables, there's no need to overdo it! Even dressings have been simplified at the Academy. These days we pour olive oil over salad, not too much, sprinkle a little coarse salt plus several grinds of black pepper. Then we toss salad with our hands. If a lemon happens to be around we might squirt drops on top but sometimes it's oil all the way!

Buy live lettuce because the head keeps cold for a couple of weeks so a meal can come together in a moment. Perfect when you find yourself too hot and bothered to fool with anything else! In the time it takes you to pour yourself a summer cocktail, your bowl of greens and vitamins will be ready and waiting.

MACHE - these leaves are delicate. Don’t take lettuce out of frig until ready to make salad.

TOMATOES - A Summer salad MUST have the ripest most delicious tomatoes you can find. No skimping or trying to save a dollar. Otherwise the salad will not make you swoon. It will just be ho hum. It is impossible to live a beautiful life without regular doses of swooning. Cut heirloom tomato, farmers market tomatoes, or ones grown in your backyard into wedges.

BLUE CHEESE - We find already crumbled blue cheese a big flavor disappointment, and expensive to boot. Why is this even an option in a grocery store? Buy a wedge of blue cheese, slice off a hefty portion, and use your fingertips to crumble on top of the salad. In biggish clumps so friends and family know the blue cheese you choose was not pre-crumbled by a machine then stored and shipped in a plastic bag.

AVOCADO - The doctor says ‘eat an apple a day’. The Dean says ‘eat an avocado a day’. An avocado is the exact amount of fat you need per day. When the Dean gets her medical PhD she will prove this medical fact. To make an avocado last a few days, keep in refrigerator. Do not buy rock hard avocados. Why wait so long to eat one?

Cut avocado in half, remove pit, remove peel, slice or thickly dice on top of salad.

Cooking with the Dean on FOX24 News

The Dean returned to FOX24 News for Valentine's Day, cooking the perfect Pork Chop, mixing up an Old Fashioned, and talking food & love with Leyla Gulen.

Find the recipes and watch the full video HERE...