Nathalie Dupree - Nathalie Duprees Favorite Stories & Recipes

Nathalie Duprees

Favorite Stories & Recipes

Nathalie Dupree with Cynthia Graubart

Digital Edition1.0

Stories 2019 NathalieDupree

Recipes 2019 NathalieDupree and Cynthia Graubart

Photographs 2019 HlneDujardin Photography

All rights reserved. Nopart of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without writtenpermission from the publisher, except brief portions quoted for purpose ofreview.

Published by

Gibbs Smith

P.O. Box 667

Layton, Utah84041

1.800.835.4993orders

www.gibbs-smith.com

Library of CongressControl Number: 2019936914

ISBN 13: 9781423652519(ebook)

To Cynthia, and to all thechickens who have made me what I am today.

Contents

Introduction

T hese are the recipes I long for, dream about, and cookregularly. Most are from ingredients I keep on hand, but some require thinkingahead and planning. Some serve a crowd and may seem pricey until the price isdivided among the number of people served.

I purchase beef tenderloin when it is on sale, for instance, as Iknow a time will come when I will need it: an engagement party, like the one forCynthia and Cliff so many years ago; a last-minute occasion when someone comes tothis tourist-luring city of Charleston and gives us a call. Having qualityingredients on hand enables me to cook as well from the freezerfrom localfrozen-by-me shrimp and grits to beef tenderloin, or even sausage with theever-present apples my husband insists on having at hand. Sides can appearfrequently in season, both for just the two of us or for a crowd, as they areusually so uncomplicated they can be multiplied or divided. In a conscientiousSouthern household, leftovers are never for tossing but for keeping refrigerated orfrozen for inclusion in desperation moments.

With an incorrigible sweet tooth, I dream of the desserts in thiscollection, each appearing in my minds eye and my taste memories. My cravingsvacillate from slide-down-the-throat desserts to crispy, crunchy meringues or tendercake. Growing up, we ate a lot of Jell-O and other packaged puddings, with anythingelse being a treat causing proportional excitement.

Ive never considered myself a baker, although I have frequentlybaked. I am fond of certain exercises, like making pie and puff pastry, because Ilike the process as much as the flavor. There is something about rolling out doughthat makes me happy. In fact, if I dont like the process, I dont make the dessert.So, too, I dont love doing froufrou, so you wont find much of that here. Rather,these desserts are straightforward sweets that make gluttons like meand perhapssome of youhappy.

While the recipes are like friends, comforting and delighting me,I also refer to the richest part of my lifefamily and friends, who bring the mostjoy. The stories of food and relationships parallel the recipes. Some are storiesIve told while teaching cooking classes. Others I wrote for either my columnMatters of Taste in the AtlantaJournal Constitutionor theLos Angeles Times Syndicate. A fair number were assembled into mybook Nathalie Duprees Matter of Taste,which had a parallel TV show for the recipes but not for the stories, so theydeserve a repeat view. Some appeared in periodicals such as Browns Guide to Georgia, AtlantaMagazine, and the CharlestonPost and Courier. Others are written just for this book.

I hope the stories help you to see how rich my life has been intravel, friendship, and love and leave you appreciating the good in your life. Iassure you the little girl who ran away from home has found herself in a happyplace, cooking good food for herself and her dear husband, Jack Bass, who will eatanything she cooks. He has come from a palate of about 3 out of 10 to a robust 8 inthe twenty-five years we have been married. Both the longevity and laughter of themarriage and the growth of his palate are miracles for us both. Between us, we havewritten nine books in those years, this one being the ninth of our combined total oftwenty-three.

Cynthia Stevens Graubart has been a dear friend since I found herwhen I was looking for a producer for my first television series, New Southern Cooking. She is in many ways the complete oppositeof me, with the detailed mind of a producer and the ability to see the parts of thewhole as well as the whole itself. It was a natural thing to introduce her to CliffGraubart, who was the most eligible bachelor I knew. It was high time for him to getmarried and he couldnt have done better than Cynthia. I always say Im responsiblefor their children, as they wouldnt have had them without me fixing Cynthia andCliff up. There is some dispute about that. Cynthia has gone on to write and dotelevision herself, and most likely will exceed me in the number of books shewrites. She has all my secrets and those of numerous other writers, and keeps themwell.

Enjoy these recipes and look for more stories and recipes to come.At eighty years old, I have more to tell, and more friends to include anothertime.

This story was originally published in Nathalie Duprees Matters of Taste, 1990 by Nathalie Dupree, published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. It may have beenmodified for this book.

The Skinnies andthe Roundies

J ust before mytwentieth high school reunion, it seemed to me the world was divided into twotypes of people the skinniesand the roundies. As I talked to my high school friends on the phone or inperson, I tried to determine: Were they more like a Modigliani or a Rubens? Didthey jog, do aerobics, eat more than one meal a day? More importantly, what sizewere they? My mother always said comparisons were odious, but I found myselfmentally weighing myself (literally) against my peers.

The last time I visited anold high school skinny friend (remembering her mother was a darn good cook), Inearly starved to death. Her mother is beautiful at 70, and so is my friend theskinny. She runs three miles a day, four days a week, and she was pointedlypolite about my protruding stomach (although I thought I could hear her thinkingtsk, tsk as she glanced at it). She gets a high from running. I get a highfrom chopping. One day I was ravenous at noon. She was surprised, saying, But Ithought you ate breakfast! I wondered, What has breakfast got to do withlunch?

Thinking of a quoteattributed to Catherine Deneuve, A woman reaches an age when she must sacrificethe body for the face, I wondered if I had made the wrong choicemy face. Amonth away from the reunion I decided I needed to reverse my choice and loseweek weight. I was afraid all the boys in myclass would remember me as a skinny, having weighed 110 pounds until just a fewyears ago. First I tried the sensible things. A bowl of cereal with skim milk ora boiled egg for breakfast. Low-calorie cottage cheese with slices of tomato forlunch. Poached chicken with steamed broccoli and rice or a baked potato fordinner. I sprinkled everything with herbs. Occasional fruit was my only dessertor snack. I hated it. I thought about the meals I was missing. I love food. Iwant to eat five times a day, if possible, small meals. I love slicing andchopping and cooking for others. I love the smells of the kitchen. I likebreakfast in bed. I crave fresh food. I like to feed myself. Finally I foundsome recipes that satisfied my cravings and helped me lose a fewpounds.