Wilder Hollis - Savory Bites: Meals You Can Make in Your Cupcake Pan

Published in 2013 by Stewart, Tabori & Chang
An imprint of ABRAMS

Copyright 2013 Hollis Wilder
Photographs copyright 2013 Tina Rupp

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress.

ISBN: 978-1-61769-019-8

EDITOR: Dervla Kelly
DESIGNER: Laura Palese
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Tina Cameron

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Chapter One
BREAKFAST

Chapter Two
EGG & CHEESE

Chapter Three
PASTA & RICE

Chapter Four
VEGETABLES

Chapter Five
SEAFOOD

Chapter Six
POULTRY

Chapter Seven
MEAT

Ive always been surrounded by the wonderful scents of food wafting through the house, whether it was bread baking, pies and cakes waiting to be frosted, or a hearty goulash ready to be pounced upon.

Food and I have always been on the same stage from the very beginning. My grandfather proudly showed me off right alongside his cinnamon rolls, which he says were the size of my head. At my familys annual Turtle Stew Block Party, I was always the referee for the turtle races (but was hesitant to eat them after the race!).

My fathers family, the Maiers clan, lived in the city; in a world of cocktails, big gems, golf, tennis, and boating. I was never offered a childrens menu and was encouraged to eat whatever adult meal was being prepared.

My mothers relatives, the Tobias family, were hardworking sugar beet, corn, and navy bean farmers. They grew glorious gardens of flowers, herbs, vegetables, and every berry you could think of. Glass jars of Grandmother Hazels green beans, tomatoes, beets, pickles, onion and corn relish, currant jelly, gooseberries, and rhubarb were the condiments of my life from early on. These were my epicurean beginnings.

From my two very different families, I learned how to bring people together with food.

When my parents retired in 1982, they purchased a restaurant in Brattleboro, Vermont. The restaurant was Autumn Winds and specialized in nouvelle cuisine. I washed dishes, cleaned the bakery in the basement, and watched as bread and gteaux were made from scratch along with demiglace, cassoulet, and other wonders. I continued to wash dishes until I graduated to cleaning up after the chefs, then prepping vegetables in perfect cuts that would later become glorious food.

Later, I was a partner at T. J. Buckleys, a 1920s- to 1940s-era dining car restaurant in Brattleboro, Vermont. This experience provided me with invaluable exposure to the culinary world. Handpicked, locally grown ingredients were purchased daily. Attention to detail was paramount, and it was at Buckleys that I learned how to listen to the people I was cooking for.

Later in my life, I moved to California with the intention of becoming an actress, but after three months of acting classes I realized I would have to sell my soul in order to make that dream a reality. I took many odd jobs: photography assistant, personal shopper, babysitter. Then I had an idea: I hired a food agent who sent me on calls to make meals for people who were looking for private chefs. I made food for the Cruise-Kidman family, Warren Beatty, Annette Benning, and the Shriver-Schwarzeneggers, among other Hollywood stars. I started cooking for the toddlers of celebrities, who had special eating requirements (some were lactose intolerant, some could only eat organic food). Then I got my big break. My boyfriends next-door neighbor just so happened to be Max Mutchnick, creator of the TV hit Will & Grace. Together we created a lunchtime ritual, which spanned the life of the show. Unlike other shows, where the writers would disappear into their offices to eat their bagged lunches alone, we dined as a family at one table. What the writers wanted, plain and simple, were meals that reminded them of home, and every afternoon I offered a buffet of food that did just that. As my career boomed, I began work as a caterer for the cast and crew of a variety of TV shows.

One of my most beloved clients was Jay Leno, host of The Tonight Show. I liked cooking for him not because he phoned me directly when he wanted me to prepare something for him and his wife or family and friends, nor because he personally made all of the arrangements for each menu with me. Its not even because he met me in the carport and insisted on carrying the food in from my car, and not because he is a kind, gentle, engaging human being. I adored cooking for him because he kept magazines in his oven!

I fed quite a few clients with opinionated palates while working in California. I created my chili cornbread bake (), and many of the flavors in this book were pulled from dishes I created while working on that show.

The game changer occurred when my family moved to Orlando, Florida. Wanting to leave my mark in some way, I opened my cupcakery, SweetByHollythere were no other cupcake shops in sight! Later, I was cast on Cupcake Wars after producers viewed the three-minute Flip-camera video Id submitted. Little did I know, after spending years in L.A., that the Food Network would find me in Florida, of all places.

I think it was the savory addition of salmon to the traditionally sweet lemon cupcake that wowed the judges on Cupcake Warsit even wowed me! This small bite garnered me a win on the show, which then led to another win with my Crystallized Ginger Olive Oil Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream, Opal Basil, Mint, and Lime Zest, making me the first two-time winner of Cupcake Wars.

Those opportunities led me to experiment with all of the possibilities the cupcake pan offers. You could say my whole concept of mini savory meals started with those lemon-and-salmon cupcakes; the Lemon-Scented Cakes with Salmon, Caper & Lemon Topping on is a tasty variation of that prize-winning cupcake.