Modern Hospitality: Simple Recipes With Southern Charm Hardcover – July 5, 2011
Read Modern Hospitality: Simple Recipes With Southern Charm Hardcover – July 5, 2011 Online
Authors: Whitney Miller
To my mom, Mary
I could not have completed this cookbook without you. Thank you for the many nights you stayed up helping me test, taste, and wash dishes. And thank you for sharing your gift of creative writing with me.
I love you!
To my great-grandmother, Mary Strahan
Since I was a young girl, I’ve admired the way you demonstrate hospitality to others. Whether it’s a glass of sweet tea or a slice of cake, you always have something to offer a guest.
Thank you for sharing your secrets to Southern cooking with me.
To my Lord and Savior
I am so thankful for the gift of cooking you have given me. Thank you for blessing me with the opportunity to write this cookbook, which has always been my dream.
“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others . . .”
1 P
ETER
4:10
Foreword by
GORDON RAMSAY
I MET WHITNEY MILLER ON DAY 2 of the first season of the FOX show,
MasterChef.
My fellow judges Graham Elliot and Joe Bastianich and I had already tasted umpteen dozens upon dozens of amazing home-cooked dishes from very talented and determined amateur cooks with no professional culinary training. By the time Whitney presented her dish to us, she had some pretty tough acts to follow. At just 22 years of age, Whitney practically tiptoed into the
MasterChef
kitchen. We all thought she was a sweet lamb heading toward inevitable slaughter.
That first dish Whitney made for us, Blackened Catfish Tacos with Mango Chutney, was absolutely delicious. I was impressed, but I expected that her age and lack of life experience would trip her up along the way. In short, I wasn’t convinced that she was ready to handle the pressure of the
MasterChef
challenges that were to follow. I asked her if anyone had come to Los Angeles with her for support and soon found myself bombarded with a barrage of pure Mississippian passion in the form of Mom, Dad, and little sister Brittyn. They begged me to understand that while Whitney might look sweet and innocent, she was also a brilliant cook and a true fighter; ready, willing, and able for any culinary battle that lay ahead. On the back of such forceful family support, Graham, Joe, and I decided she might have more to show us. How right we were.
modern flair...
Whitney went on to eliminate each and every contender and win the title of America’s first MasterChef. Her signature Southern-style appetizers and entrées showcased a fresh, modern flair, and her desserts were technically brilliant as well as delicious. She truly nailed her competition at every turn. From her melt-in-your-mouth venison with gravy to perfect profiteroles, Whitney’s youthful spirit and take-no-prisoners approach certainly made me sit up and take notice.
In the months since Whitney took the
MasterChef
crown, she’s gone on to open a successful café and catering company in her hometown of Poplarville. She’s given cooking demos alongside Cat Cora and Emeril Lagasse. And now she’s published her first cookbook. Not bad for 23!
I love the food of the southern United States. In my own personal trips through Mississippi and Louisiana, I’ve enjoyed some of the best dishes and locally grown produce that this incredibly diverse region has to offer. The South has a reputation for deep-fried chicken, grits, and heavy comfort food, but I’ve always thought there was room for a more modern, less heavy-handed approach to these familiar classics. I am proud to say that Whitney, a University of Southern Mississippi graduate with a concentration in nutrition and biology, is an exciting new culinary voice who is reinterpreting many wonderful Southern dishes into fresh, simple, and absolutely delicious recipes for today’s generation of home cooks.
I hope that you and your family enjoy creating recipes and taking inspiration from Whitney’s brilliant first book. I personally love the Oven-Fried Catfish with Fresh Dill Tartar Sauce recipe on page
89
. I think you will, too!
— GORDON RAMSAY
...technically brilliant
