inspiration noun

in·​spi·​ra·​tion | \ ˌin(t)-spə-ˈrā-shən  , -(ˌ)spi- \

Definition of inspiration

1: an inspiring agent or influence

2a: the quality or state of being inspired

b: something that is inspireda scheme that was pure inspiration

Merriam-Webster defines inspiration as an inspiriting agent or influence and if I had to pinpoint what or who gave me the inspiration to begin In the Curious Kitchen my mind immediately goes to Vivian Howard.

She is a Southern chef from eastern North Carolina who focuses on the ingredients and cooking traditions from that region of the United States.   I first discovered her and was a faithful fan-girl follower of her PBS television series “A Chef’s Life”.  I have every episode from the beginning in 2013 to the end in 2018 saved and I have watched them again and again.

 Naturally the North Carolina connection first piqued my interest.  Since both sides of my family originated from North Carolina, I was very familiar with some of the Southern ingredients that VH, as I affectionately refer to her.  I also love her story.  She and her husband, artist Ben  Knight, left New York City to return back to her roots in Deep Run, North Carolina and opened a restaurant in nearby Kinston.  Her parents made her an offer she couldn’t refuse and they moved home and opened The Chef and the Farmer in 2006. 

I was, and still am, enamored with the way VH tells the story behind her recipes, and when I started to process how In the Curious Kitchen might become a reality, I used that idea as a basis for it all.  I love to tell the story behind my recipes, too.   I, too, try to blend my family, both past and present, into my food.  In the Curious Kitchen Pimento Cheese is a recipe I remember straight out of my childhood and the summers I spent with my North Carolina grandmother.  I would push a chair as close to her as I could get and watch her lovingly make her pimento cheese almost every morning.   

When I found out that VH was coming out with a cookbook, I was overjoyed.  I even scheduled a sales trip to Nashville to coordinate with her book signing and I so enjoyed meeting her and hearing first-hand her original story.   

Then, I had to get to that restaurant.  A few years ago while traveling on vacation to Emerald Island, North Carolina,  Steve, Lily and I made a side trip to Kinston to visit the tiny, east Carolina town and also to visit The Chef and the Farmer.  WOW!  We had such a good time and tried just a little bit of everything on the menu. Everything we tasted was incredible. Each dish featured the freshest local ingredients and a unique twist in each recipe.  It was so good that we went back through Kinston to give The Boiler Room, the sister-restaurant to The Chef and the Farmer featuring a more casual menu with burgers and oysters.  It, too, was fantastic but unfortunately, it closed permanently in 2020.  The Chef and the Farmer is also temporarily closed for renovation.  According to the news articles I have read, VH decided it was time for an “identity shift” after 16 years in business.  In the meantime, VH has opened other restaurants outside of Kinston.  In Charleston, South Carolina there is Charleston’s Handy and Hot and in Wilmington, North Carolina there is a pizzeria, Benny’s Big Time.  No doubt, I will be trying out these in the near future.

One thing I really like about VH’s style is that she uses one local or regional ingredient and figures out so many different ways to use it.  In her cookbook, she features corn, blueberries, peanuts, turnips, eggs, okra, tomatoes, peaches, oysters, rice, rutabagas, pecans, sweet potatoes, and so much more.  Take turnips, for example.  Not something most of us use on a daily basis.  She begins her chapter on Turnips explaining all about these traditionally Southern ingredient.  Then she gives us five unique and delicious recipes using this root vegetable. 

I have found ways to incorporate her style into my everyday life. You know how I love a good cocktail party and all the things that go with it!  I am “old school” and love to take a curious twist on the classic recipes.  My Figgy Piggies in a Blanket are one of my immediate go-to recipes and who doesn’t love a good cheeseball.  VH shares basically the same sentiment.  She says that cheeseballs are now so cliché that they are cool!  I have dozens of cheeseball recipes, including a couple from my Mother, but my favorite is VH’s Party Magnet Cheeseball.  It is not only delicious but it holds true to its name…it is a party magnet!

Vivian Howard’s Party Magnet Cheeseball

from her Deep Run Roots: Stories and Recipes from My Corner of the South cookbook published in 2016

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ cup high-quality blue cheese (I like Maytag)

• ⅓ cup (5½ tablespoons) butter

• ¼ cup fresh goat cheese

• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons cream cheese

• ¼ cup chopped dates (see NOTE below)

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions (both white and green parts work here)

• ½ teaspoon hot sauce

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 1/3 cup Salt-and-Butter-Roasted Pecans (recipe below), roughly chopped

• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

• SALT-AND-BUTTER-ROASTED PECANS

  • 2 cups pecan halves or pieces

  • 2 tablespoons melted butter

  • 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

PREPARATION

1. For the cheese ball:
   Take the blue cheese, butter, goat cheese, and cream cheese out of the refrigerator to soften 30 minutes before making your cheese-ball mixture.

2. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all the ingredients except for the pecans and parsley. Paddle it up till homogenous. It will be loose and sticky and you’ll wonder how you’re ever going to form that mess into a ball. The answer is, you transfer the bowl to the refrigerator for 15 minutes or so. During that time the cheese mix will firm up enough for you to pat it into a sphere. Once it’s stiff enough to hold up, form the ball and roll that ball in the pecans, followed by parsley.

3. For the salt-and-butter-roasted pecans:
   Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Toss the pecans thoroughly with the melted butter and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and slide that sheet onto the middle rack of your oven. Roast the pecans for 11 minutes if using whole pecans and 10 minutes if you’re using pieces.

4. Bring the slightly darkened and toasty-smelling pecans out of the oven and hit them with the remaining salt. Let them cool 5 minutes before you eat them. These will keep for 7 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Note:  This recipe calls for dates.  Please do not use pre-chopped dates from a bag. They are covered in sugar and taste like sweet cardboard.  Use whole, dried dates and remove the pits.

What give you inspiration in the kitchen?  Share your ideas with me at mk@inthecuriouskitchen.  I would love to hear your story.

Cheers!

MK