Bill Smith || Seasoned in the South

"With a narrative as rich as the stocks that he cooks, Bill Smith invites the reader to come into his kitchen.

There he shares truly magical Southern dishes like Green Tabasco Chicken, Persimmon Pudding, and mayhaw and honeysuckle sorbets. In Seasoned in the South, Smith unvels an exciting new chapter in our region's cuisine."
— William Ferris, Coeditor of Encyclopedia of Southern Culture

Peach Pie or Blackberry Pie with Lard Crust
Monday, July 13, 2009

This pie combines a crust recipe I got from Kathleen Purvis at the Charlotte Observer with a filling from the 50th Anniversary edition of the Joy of Cooking. Whenever I need to make something basic that I don't really have any experience with, I go to that Joy of Cooking. I decided to switch to a lard crust after I tasted some cookies that my kitchen manager, Hector Gonzales, made one slow night at work. . .

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has been
the chef at Crook's Corner for more than a decade. His essays have been featured in newspapers and on radio and television, and his recipes were selected for The 150 Best American Recipes and Food & Wine magazine's Best of the Best.

Be sure to visit Bill Smith's blog A Year in the Kitchen and follow the daily triumphs and tribulations of a working chef.

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James Beard Foundation Visit II
Tue, 29 Jun 2010 new

My visit to New York for the Bluegrass dinner at the James Beard House was the first of three this summer. The second came in early May. We had been nominated again for an award and so, sisters in tow, I returned to the Colonial House Inn in Chelsea. We had the same room, it’s windows thrown open to catch the breezes and to better view the big, gothic Lutheran church across the street. With a salsa station on the radio and the occasional PBR tallboy from the corner store I would have been quite content to just camp for a day or two. But we had other obligations. There was the Chefs’ Night Out Gala hosted by Bon Apetit. There was lunch at Butter for the Southern Foodways Alliance and a lovely cocktail party given by the French Culinary Institute in an apartment 56 floors up overlooking Lincoln Center. It was there that I was introduced to Jacque Pepin. Then on to the awards.