Viking Cooking School. - At home café: gatherings for family and friends

At Home Cafe Gatherings for Family
and Friends Helen Puckett DeFrance
with Carol Puckett Foreword by Art Smith In memory of my beloved grandmother Helen Todd, who taught me the simple joys of cooking. Mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities in this book does not imply endorsement by the author or publisher, nor does mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities imply that they endorse this book, its author, or the publisher. Internet addresses and telephone numbers given in this book were accurate at the time it went to press. 2008 by At Home Caf, LLC All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher. Rodale books may be purchased for business or promotional use or for special sales.

For information, please write to: Special Markets Department, Rodale, Inc., 733 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Recipe is from Fosters Market Cookbook by Sara Foster 2002 by Sara Foster. Used by permission of Random House, Inc. Photographs by Mitch Mandel and Thomas MacDonald/Rodale Images; other Images are courtesy of the author Book design by Christina Gaugler Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data DeFrance, Helen Puckett. At home caf : gatherings for family and friends : 125 all new crowd-pleasing dishes tested by Viking Cooking School with pull-out grocery lists / Helen Puckett DeFrance with Carol Puckett ; foreword by Art Smith. p. cm.

Includes index. ISBN-13 9781594868436 hardcover ISBN-10 1594868433 hardcover eSBN-9781605298047 eBook 1. Entertaining. 2. Cookery. Menus. I. I.

Puckett, Carol. II. Viking Cooking School. III. Title. TX731.D4477 2008 642.4dc22 2008021891 Contents Thank You A heartfelt thanks to my parents, Ben and Dorothy Puckett, who taught me to believe I could do whatever I wanted to do, and who have patiently supported me in chasing my dreams.

I am forever grateful to my mother, who taught me her gracious style of entertaining and love of beautiful things. Without my sister, Carol, this book would not have been possible. Not only did she help make this dream a realityshe also graciously agreed to write the prose, an arduous task she performed on weekends and late nights after long days at her real job as president of the Viking Hospitality Group. And to my brothers, Richard, Ben, John, and Todd, who have always supported me and stood by me in all of my adventures, this one being the most challenging. To their families for their continued love, encouragement, and delicious recipes. The good folks at Regal Literary deserve a lifetime supply of pound cakes and pies.

I thank my agents, Bess Reed Currence and Michael Psaltis: Bess for her patience, support, and hand-holdingnot to mention the sage advice and recipes from her husband, award-winning chef John Currence of City Grocery in Oxford, Mississippi, who contributed an entire chapter of recipes to this book; and Michael for his wisdom and confidence in me as he and Bess guided me through my first solo writing endeavor. My sincere thanks goes to Rodales Liz Perl, who believed in my vision and made the leap to publish this book. And to Marya Dalrymple, the most amazing editor, who has worked diligently and patiently with me to make this the best book possible, even during seemingly impossible deadlines. A very special thanks also goes to Shea Zukowski, along with Chris Gaugler and the entire team at Rodale, whose meticulous attention to every detail is evident in the final product. I am truly grateful to Fred and Margaret Carl, and the Viking Range Corporation, especially Joe Sherman, who believed in this book enough to take on the task of testing the recipes. His amazing team at the Viking Cooking School, headed by Bob Pavy, magically made it all happen.

And to Martha Stewart who introduced me to a national audience by inviting me to be her guest on The Martha Stewart Show. I will be forever grateful to my dear friend and mentor Kreis Beall, who has continued to believe in me, encourage me, and challenge me. And to Sam and Mary Celeste Beall and the entire team at the luxurious Blackberry Farm resort for their continued support and belief in my kids cooking programs. To Susan Hill for accepting the task of being my Mississippi editor and to Rachel Shows for her endless hours of typing and retyping. To Willie Mae Winters for keeping my aprons ironed and looking after my son, Martin, and me. I also want to acknowledge my wonderful book group who served as testers and critics for my recipesthe good and not-so-good.

Thank you Lady Bettye, Ed, Betty, John, Ann, Jane, Ruth, Margie, Tim, Pat, Rebecca, and Deaver for your steadfastness and willingness to participate in this adventure. Thank you as well to my friend Marsha for being a continuous sounding board and support. I am eternally grateful to Art Smith for his experience and wisdom. Thanks also to John T. Edge of the Southern Foodways Alliance for introducing me to the most fabulous agents around and for his support of my kids cooking program. And to my cooking students and student assistants Clara Frances, Cameron, Sam, Rose, Sylvie, William, Duncan, Mary Christopher, Kali, and Kierstin, who not only let me teach them but also kindly allowed me to include their recipes in this book.

Most of all, to my son and favorite cooking partner, Martin. Foreword I n the culinary universe, there is one area that always shines. And that is food made at home. If youre like me, your fondest memories are of the dishes made by your mother, grandmother, or another family member. For me, food means love, and I believe that theres no better way to show it than by cooking a meal for family and friends in your own kitchen. Today, sadly, many home kitchens are like little restaurants with parents acting as short-order cooks as they try to satisfy everyones divergent tastes.

Some of us may do this and smile, but for many of us, its merely exhausting. And the idea of having some great people over for a dinner party, much less a casual a picnic.... Who has the time? So how can we change things and recreate the ambiance of kitchens (and dining rooms and backyards) filled with great food and the joys of time spent with those closest to us? Well, help is here and shes got a southern accent. Helen DeFrance is one of the greatest mothers (and cooks) I know, besides my beloved Addie Mae, of course. Helen has an amazing relationship with her teenage son, Martin, and has passed her love of food and gatherings on to him. Which brings me to a key point: Good parenting helps foster a love of good food in a child, along with the other great lessons of life, of course.

And another point: Whats great about recipes from a southern lady like Helen is that shes tried out all of them on her friends before sharing them with you. Whether its a dinner for 4 or a barbecue for 20, her gracious style is her trademark. Theres no doubt in my mind that once youve had a chance to prepare her recipes, youll quickly gain a reputation for being as fine a host or hostess as she is. Youll learn from her easy-to-follow recipes as she takes you step-by-step through the perfect shrimp and grits or the ultimate spaghetti pie (Mother Addie Mae, take note of this recipe!). And youll want to share these memorable dishes at wonderful gatherings with your own family and friends. In life we meet many people, and being a person of great faith, I believe they all come into our lives for a reason.