Miller - Whitney Millers new southern table: my favorite family recipes with a modern twist

PRAISE FOR
Whitney Millers New Southern Table

Whitneys God-given ability to cook can only be matched by her incredible desire to serve others. For five years, Whitney has faithfully dedicated her time and talent in support of my foundation and the children we serve around the world. It has been a blessing to see the joy she brings through the gifts she has been given, and now we can all enjoy the recipes that I have seen bless everyone from firefighters to W15H children!

TIM TEBOW

Whitney Miller has brought southern cuisine to life in her second cookbook, Whitney Millers New Southern Table. She keeps it simple for the home cook with approachable recipes that embody the true hospitality of a southern family.

EMERIL LAGASSE

I just love Whitneys approach to southern food! Reading her fond memories of growing up in the South is like flipping through the pages of a family scrapbook. Through Whitneys eyes, we taste Sunday Dinners, Family Suppers, and the anticipation of Company Coming. Page after page we savor memories of family, food, and community tables, things we all hold so dear. Whitney reminds us through her recipes, stories, and photographs that in every small town and country farm, the love of food and family endures. Congratulations, Whitney, on your New Southern Table. What a treasure!

CHEF JOHN FOLSE

2015 by Whitney Miller

Photos 2015 Thomas Nelson

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Nelson Books and Thomas Nelson are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

Photography by Justin Fox Burks

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ISBN 978-0-7180-1161-1 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Miller, Whitney.

Whitney Millers new southern table : my favorite family recipes with a modern twist / Whitney Miller.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-7180-1160-4

1. Cooking, American--Southern style. 2. Cooking--Southern States. I. Title. II. Title: New southern table.

TX715.2.S68M555 2015

641.5975--dc23

2015010774

15 16 17 18 19 QG 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my mom, Mary, thank you for having the patience to teach me how to cook at such a young age and for taking on so many rolessous chef, traveling partner, editor, recipe tester, taster, and prop stylist. You helped me achieve my goals and dreams of becoming a chef and cookbook author. I could not have completed this cookbook without you. Love you!

Contents

C ome on over; theres plenty! Pull up an extra chair! Set another place at the table! These are familiar phrases that Ive heard over the course of my life. In my South, there doesnt have to be an occasion or special event for an invitation to share a meal at the family table. Southern hospitality knows no season. Having grown up in a family where it was not unusual to have thirty to forty people for Sunday dinner, I learned at an early age how to cook enough to share.

Since the release of my first cookbook, Modern Hospitality, I have been blessed with opportunities to travel not only throughout the United States but internationally as well. I have shared my Southern family table in China, South Africa, and Malaysia. And I have learned that hospitality and fellowship over good food are enjoyed throughout the world.

My hospitality roots run deep. Having learned from my mom and great-grandmother Strahan how to cook for a few or a crowd, I often cook a large meat entre such as a roast, pork loin, or whole chicken on the weekend, plenty for family as well as any unexpected guests. This simple act not only reconnects me to warm memories of the past, but also works well for modern times, allowing me to plan a weeks menu in advance. Adding favorite vegetable side dishes from my roots brings to the table happy memories of my great-grandmother McCarter, a sure forerunner of the farm-to-table movement. One of my earliest mental pictures places her in the garden, head covered with a bonnet, hoe in hand, tilling the earth. Through stories told by my granny Christine, I learned that she grew up in a family that was mainly vegetarian, my great-grandmas garden serving as their greatest source of food. Her earthy and natural recipes included crusty slices of cornbread with churned butter, crispy fried okra slices, and homemade apple pies. Her love, shown through her homegrown foods, brought family together as nothing else could.

My great-grandmother Strahan and a spread of food she prepared.

My great-grandmothers have inspired me in many ways. They grew up during the Great Depression and learned quickly how to stretch meals creatively and reduce waste. In Great-Grandma McCarters kitchen, an apple from her tree, minus the thinnest peel, could become a mouthwatering dessert or an unexpected ingredient, adding natural tartness and contrast to her crispy coleslaw. Following their examples, I use my creativity to transform a weekend pork loin dish into weeknight meals of Pulled Pork Nachos and Southern Carnitas. While a slow-cooked pork loin could easily be dismissed as classic and traditional, my modern touches with unique spices and sauces make for an easy answer to the Whats for dinner? question.

In this cookbook, you will find more recipes going back to my Southern roots. Preserving traditional family flavors, I also add my own special touches by lightening up classic dishes without losing flavor, experimenting with different Southern ingredients, and using new techniques and cooking methods Ive learned over the years. You also will find new recipe creations incorporating Southern ingredients into dishes influenced by my travels over the past years. So get inspired to share your family table, try a new recipe, or put a modern touch on a traditional favorite, and then pull up a chair and enjoy.

My sister, cousin, and me with my great-grandmother and grandmother.

O ne of my favorite challenges when I appeared on the television show MasterChef was the mystery box. The challenge of using a few random ingredients and creating a cohesive, delicious dish is thrilling. At times I have felt as though my pantry is a mystery box full of dry goods, cans, and spices ready to be whipped up into a meal. My well-stocked Southern pantry means Im always prepared to create a dish or prepare a snack for unexpected guests.