“Southern food is more than fried chicken and biscuits,” said Virginia Willis, James Beard Award-winning chef, cookbook author and Editor-at-Large for Southern Living magazine and author of the popular column “Cooking with Virginia.” Though many people associate Southern food with deep fried and butter-laden meals, Willis argues that misperception overlooks the rich cultural history and agricultural nature of the cuisine. She sees the regional fare as a wholesome way to use fresh, local ingredients, like peanuts; and she’s helping others rethink Southern food.
When you’re a finalist for the James Beard Best Chef: Southeast award three years straight, you must be doing something right. Chef Steven Satterfield’s simple but elevated farmstead cuisine guides Miller Union’s offerings. A perennial favorite, the boiled peanut and field pea salad, graces the menu for a limited time during the early days of Georgia’s peanut harvest in September and October. It's also uniquely made with green peanut oil, a gourmet finishing oil similar to extra virgin olive oil made from freshly harvested peanuts,
College and university dining directors are tasked with delivering nutritious, flavorful meals that appeal to their young, discerning foodie clientele. While not all dining departments have mastered the course on “Healthy and Delicious Dining 101,” some are beating expectations by tapping into today’s food trends – specifically the increasingly popular cuisines of Southeast Asia.
When you imagine a classic menu in the American South, what comes to mind? Fried chicken, pork BBQ, mac and cheese and collards, for sure. Kimchi fried rice might take you by surprise then at Chef Lee Gregory’s restaurant The Roosevelt in Richmond, Virginia. But Chef Lee says this dish makes perfect sense for a Southern menu.
Rob Connoley is a James Beard semi-finalist for Best Chef – Southwest. With a passion for seeking the greatest ingredients that Earth has to offer, he has received acclaim in the New York Times, Saveur magazine, Sunset magazine, and Gastronomica. In this Q&A, Chef Connoley talks about his new cookbook, ACORNS & CATTAILS: A Modern Foraging Cookbook of Forest, Farm & Field, which focuses on the concept of foraging. Learn more about his new cookbook and how he incorporates peanut butter in his recipes.
Peanuts and Coke aren’t the only drink to incorporate America’s favorite nut. Greg Best is a master mixologist who has worked with peanut ingredients for years, and he loves the flavor that peanuts add to a drink. He was one of the founding partners of the renowned Holeman & Finch Public House, and he recently opened one of the hottest bars in Atlanta today, Ticonderoga Club. Best knows a thing or two about operating a successful mixology program. So we sat down with him to find out how he’s popularizing peanuts behind the bar and get the scoop on his favorite peanut cocktail.
Step into a Texas Roadhouse restaurant, and you’ll immediately notice that they are nuts for peanuts. With peanut shells scattered about the main dining area, you’d be forgiven for mistaking their restaurants for a ballpark stadium instead of a steak house. Complimentary in-shell peanuts on every table are a signature part of their brand identity. But they also serve as a source of pride for the company, and a reflection of their humble values.
Chef Elizabeth Falkner is a tour de force in the culinary world. Not only is she a talented chef, she’s also a fitness fanatic and active with many causes to support women, health awareness and more. We gained some insights about what inspires her, her favorite ways to use peanuts and peanut butter in the kitchen and what she has planned for future.
Has your grill been getting a workout this summer? Get your much-loved peanuts and peanut butter and fire up that grill. Host a backyard get-together or make a quick summer dinner with some amazing and delicious peanut dishes.
When I first started my career as a kitchen apprentice, I was attracted to the kitchen brigade in the Western kitchen. Eventually I was recruited to an area where there very few restaurants with authentic Asian food. That was the turning point in my life when I decided to start figuring out how to cook food from home. And I never looked back.