Sassy Southern Cooking with a French Twist

food

Thoughts on Cookbook Writing via eatyourbooks.com and Jane Kelly

As I come to the finish line of this next cookbook project on classic  French sauces, it’s nice to take the time to reflect on the process. Thank you so much To Jane Kelly at www.eatyourbooks.com for giving me the opportunity!

Holly Herrick

August 31, 2012 by Susie

For this month’s author profile, we have some lovely insights into the writing and cooking life of Holly Herrick, author most recently of Tart Love.  In her piece you’ll find surprising answers to questions like “What’s the hardest part of writing a cookbook?” and “How do you become a food writer?” as well as a charming personal anecdote about Julia Child. 

Holly HerrickJust underway with researching and writing my 5th and 6th cookbooks, I’ve learned a lot about this unique process over the years. My favorite part is always, at least initially, the recipe testing and development. The entire time I’m doing that, I’m scripting the writing in my head. Once I’m underway with this, I have a lot of fun with the actual writing, but I’ll never love actually writing recipes. It’s difficult work because it is so detailed and the author has to always keep the cooking skills and kitchens of her readers in mind. Consistency is a big part of it, and clarity, too. It’s a real balancing act of offering just enough details and hand-holding, without overwhelming.

The first two cookbooks I’ve ever owned were wedding gifts back in 1990, and they still remain near and dear to my heart, and kitchen. These are The Way to Cook by Julia Child and New Basics.  Of the two, the former is by far my favorite and definitely the one I would take with me to a deserted island. My copy is tattered and torn and full of notes, and I love the music of Julia’s style, languageTart Love Book Cover and knowledge ringing through every single page. A lot of Julia is in Tart Love – Sassy, Savory and Sweet as she is literally and figuratively the reason I went to Le Cordon Bleu. As a child, I was captivated by her television show and eventually met her at a Food and Wine Festival in the late 1980’s. I asked her the best way to get qualified for food writing and her response, in true, to-the-point-fashion, was: “Can you get to Le Cordon Bleu?” Thanks to her, and a lot of other people, I did and in France, I not only fell in love with cooking and France, I also developed a passion for baking tarts, particularly savory tarts, which were a relatively new concept to me at the time. While I love all the recipes I developed for Tart Love, I have two favorites, or what I would consider signature recipes. The Panna Cotta Tart with Roasted Fresh Figs in Balsamic Honey Sauce, is elegant, beautiful and loaded with lovely flavor and texture contrasts. The inspiration? A beautiful bin of fresh figs at the farmers’ market here in Charleston, SC. I’ll never tire of the Vidalia Onion Tart with Bacon, Honey and Fresh Thyme which combines some of my favorite flavors and reminds me of my friend Simone, who is from Alsace, France, and inspired this recipe. Happy cooking, friends!

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Bull Street Gourmet Times Two

Bull Street Gourmet has a way of following me around, or maybe it’s the other way around. When I lived in Harleston Village, in the heart of College of Charleston country several years ago, the original corner shop, rife with gourmet sandwiches,  other-worldly chicken salad and nicely priced wines, popped up to the delight of many, including me. A small, casually elegant space, it fit (and still does)  the neighborhood’s culinary needs nicely and in a price-range that was friendly to all, especially student budgets.

Last fall, young owner Justin Croxall bravely flexed his entrepreneurial muscle and expanded, in a big way, adding a much larger location near the corner of King Street and Broad Street in the heart of downtown and just a few blocks away from my new (well, new/old)  house. It was a smart move, and one that was done very well. This stretch of King is growing with smart little shops (like Heirloom Books across the street) and increased foot traffic with accompanying appetites.  And, aside from nearby Fast & French and Brent’s, there are precious few places around to satisfy them.

The new Bull Street is as much of an eat-in/take-out restaurant as a gourmet grocery store.

The “new” Bull Street is bigger and brighter than the old one and has a lot more to choose from. Visitors can grab a basket and shop from a vast array of imported cheeses, wine, pasta, sauces, fresh fruit and vegetables and more, all arranged on sparkling stainless steel shelving.  Fresh bread is delivered daily from Normandy Farms and Bull Street knows how to fill them.  The smoked duck club ($10) is stuffed with juicy, deeply-flavored duck confit, smoked duck ham, smoked gouda and pickled onion and finished off with the peppery bite of arugula. The celebrated chicken salad, made with chicken roasted in-house and cut into fat cubes is just as good at this location, with the crunch of roasted almonds and the bite of dried cranberries all bound together with a pale pink, punchy, cranberry salad.  A cornucopia of salads and soups are also on the new menu here.

However, what I love most, are the breakfast sandwiches. An artsy crowd can regularly be found here in the early hours of any given day, sipping coffee and breaking into these warm, made-to-order beauties. The BYO breakfast sandwich ($6) can be made exactly the way you like. You pick the bread (croissant, bagel, biscuit or English muffin), you pick the way you want your eggs cooked (scrambled, hard, poached, egg whites only if you like), and you pick your meat of choice (my favorite is the salty, thick country ham), and you pick your cheese of choice (cheddar, Swiss, provolone or gruyere). They come out of the bright, spotless open kitchen hot and ready to start your day.

The menu at Bull Street is written out in colorful chalk (this is just on-third of it!)

The tables are constantly cleared and cleaned by the friendly staff who get the food out in a hurry, but without leaving customers feeling rushed.

It’s hard to leave empty-handed with a fat choice of excellent condiments, pickles, olives, and imaginative sauces, like a bright green walnut pesto to toss in imported pasta from Bull Street’s well-stocked shelves.

Bull Street also has an extensive catering menu and the Super Bowl is just days away. Indeed, Bull Street Gourmet has a history of being in the right place at the right time and doing things right every time. I’m personally very happy to have them in the neighborhood.

Bull Street Gourmet & Market

120 King Street, Charleston, SC 29401

(843) 722-6464

www.bullstreetcharleston.com

 

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Tart Love Featured in the Post and Courier

Post and Courier Features “Tart Love”

The Post and Courier’s talented Teresa Taylor wrote a feature “For the Love of Tarts” about my new cookbook, “Tart Love.” Grace Beahm photographed me with a tart in my kitchen to illustrate the article. In the article, Teresa spotlights a few recipes from “Tart Love” and tells the story of my journey towards a love of tarts.

You may read the story directly from The Post and Courier or you may download and read the story as a PDF.

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Sammy’s Sliders are Way Smooth

Just this morning, I was discussing with a friend that I’m generally more comfortable when I’m slightly under-fed than when I’m slightly over-fed. My job, as lovely as it is, requires, at times, that I eat more than I’m comfortable eating.  It goes with the territory, as it did  last week when I found myself turning the corner on my final eating research week down in Savannah. I was there, as I have been for months, to eat my way through town in search of the best food for inclusion in Food Lovers’ Charleston & Savannah (Globe Pequot Press, December, 2011). This meant eight to ten eating hits per day of what I’ve since been calling, rather jokingly, a “nibble and scribble” fest.

All joking aside, Sammy’s was a place I had spotted several weeks ago. It’s completely unassuming and stands out from its small post on Abercorn Street mostly due to a glaringly bright yellow and green awning. Not many people I had talked to knew about it, even though it’s been there several months.

The menu, mostly an interesting array of sliders and dogs, was compelling enough to give it a go. So, on eating round five last Monday, I approached the small counter to place my order.  Briskets really are the order of the day here. Roasted beef brisket (flat and tip) melt with just a bit of fat and deep, beef flavor into petite, buttered, toasted buns. They’re served with whimsical (but not over the top) sauces like a cooling tzatziki paired with the hot kiss of sriracha in the Doner (pictured right, above) and oozing, smooth American cheese and crisp, sweet onions atop the Chee Booger (pictured left above). The latter tasted like a gourmet burger on a sweet little toasted bun. Much to my surprise, I ate every last bite of both sliders – belly busting budget be damned! These babies go down that smoothly with a cool, bubbly soda and friendly service from the young staff. At just $2.50 each (they can be mixed and matched) they’re a true bargain and a delicious delight. Pork and chicken sliders are also available, but I recommend the brisket sliders all the way to the flavor bank.

The setting is relaxed and well-suited to the SCAD students that populate this part of town near The Starland District.

Sammy Green’s

1710 Abercorn Street, between 334d & 34th

Savannah, GA 31401

(912) 232-1951

www.sammygreens.com

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