In Issue #41 Sept/Oct 2021

Photography By | Last Updated August 27, 2021
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The Cooking Issue

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR:
Come for the photos. Stay for the recipes.

Welcome to the cooking issue, full of recipes and tips. Recipes are to be shared. Working for food magazines all my life, I’ve asked more than a few cooks and chefs for recipes. Some say yes, and some say no, wanting to keep it secret or proprietary information. Newsflash: no one cares. Unless you’re the Coco-Cola company, no one is interested or inclined to steal your recipe or even make it for that matter. They just like knowing they have it. It makes them feel connected. Such was the comment from Nathan Gifford when I asked if I could take a picture of his bacon in his dry-age room. “Sure, I don’t’ care, what’s someone going to do, take it and start a bacon company?”

Whether my kids want them or not, they’ll inherit my binders full of recipes with hand writing all over them and tattered edges and grease stains. Some date back to the 1970’s when I started reading Cuisine and Gourmet. 

Tony and Cathy Mantuano of Yolan in The Joseph Hotel made us a simple, yet exquisite pasta dish in their home down the street from the hotel. Chef and mushroom grower David Speegle shares his mushroom toast and mushroom tacos from Café Makai and Chef Laura Rodriguez shows us how to preserve cucumbers. And we share a few of our recipes too, namely, how to make pumpkin pie from fresh pumpkin. The beautiful heirloom pumpkins are also beautiful to cook with.

And finally, “It takes only one generation for a recipe or a method of agriculture to disappear.”

This quote is on the importance of recipe traditions and keeping them alive amongst certain populations, from our special section produced by Edible Communities, our parent organization. It focuses on alleviating hunger and food insecurity and the importance of nourishing food, not just food.

September and October are the best months in the kitchen. Summer is still in full force with tomatoes, peppers, corn, and basil, yet fall brings pumpkins, squash, and apples. The farmers markets are an embarrassment of riches. For an embarrassment of recipes, peruse this website. 

Bon Appetit, Jill

Finding The Best Bagels in Nashville

The first thing I did when I started prepping for this story was create a spreadsheet of the various bagel makers in town, including...

Squash and Tasso Gratin

This hearty gratin uses the last of the summer squash and is perfect for all fall gatherings or dinners. 

Diskin Cider

When Adam Diskin moved to Nashville nine years ago from the Pacific Northwest, there were 30 breweries in the area and not a single cidery...

Mojo Weho Marinade

This recipe comes to us from Diskin Cidery and uses thier WeHo dry hopped cider. Refrigerate chicken in this zippy marinade overnight. Then grill and put on a brioche slider with aioli and...

Resolution BBQ Sauce

At the Diskin cidery,  this bbq sauce made with Resolution, their fall seasonal cinnamon spice cider, is served with smoked cider-braised pork on nachos along with bacon fat refried beans,...

Fantastic Fungi: 4 Mushroom Farms

Mushrooms are a thing. Not only for the crazy fact that they hold the earth together as shown in the documentary, Fantastic Fungi, but for...

Mushroom Toast

This is served at Café Makai and delivers a big hit of umami due to its double mushroom usage. A paté-like mixture (made from the cooked stems and trimmings of mushrooms) is spread on toast, then...

Mushroom Tacos

Lion's Mane mushrooms are sliced and layered with hot sauce, slaw, and pickled celery or carrots for a fresh, flavorful vegan taco at Cafe Makai. 

Fall Mushroom Compote

David Speegle of Cheekee Greens and Cafe Makai makes this "compote" and uses it thousands of ways. We agree and will, too.

Cook Like Italians with the Mantuanos

The night before I was welcomed into the home of Tony and Cathy Mantuano, chef/partners of Yolan at The Joseph in downtown Nasvhille,...

Pasta with 'Nduja and Herbs

'Nduja (pronounced EN-DOOJ-AH) is a spicy, spreadable salami from Calabria, Italy. Here, it's combined with fresh herbs in this simple, yet luxurious pasta dish by Chef Tony Mantuano of Yolan. You can...

Nathan Gifford Brings Home The Bacon

“Everything I have I owe to bacon……kinda….” Nathan Gifford sells bacon. A lot of bacon. And he’s happy with that. He never thought he’d be...

Cucumber Carbonara

 Cooking with cucumbers may seem unusual, but the freshness of the cucumber pairs beautifully with smoky bacon and the richness of the carbonara sauce. 

Zucchini "Braciole" with Pepperoni, Provolone, and Sage

Traditional Italian braciole (from the Italian word brace, meaning embers, over which the meat was traditionally grilled) consists of thin slices of meat rolled around a stuffing of cheese and...

Cooking With Beautiful Heirloom Pumpkins

The super popular funky heirloom pumpkins, such as Cinderella, Blue Hubbard, Fairy Tale, and Porcelain Doll Pink are just as good tasting as they are looking. These alternative varieties have super...

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

If you buy one of the heirloom varieties of pumpkin this fall for decoration, cook them for pie when you're done with them. These varieties of pumpkin (Cinderella, Blue Hubbard and Cheese) &...

Pumpkin Pear Pangrattato

Pangrattato is Italian for breadcrumbs "My version of this recipe comes with a few changes due to using what I had on hand which did not include parsley and did include a couple of fresh pears...

The Dreamers Food Truck Cooks Up A Whole Lot of Heart

Dreamers food truck is so much more than a food truck; it’s also a community center and creativity platform. Beyond their specialty pizzas...

Black Bean Roasted Poblano Soup

This flavorful soup comes to us from Dreamers Food Truck. No Instant Pot? Never fear. You can also make this soup on the stovetop. 

Laura Rodriguez's Pickled Cucumbers

Instead of waiting for your garden cucumbers to come to full maturity, pick them at various stages of small and medium and enjoy this quick and easy way to preserve them. This salt-brined fermented...
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