Month: August 2013

eat.drink.Mississippi

In the Bloglight: Seeded at the Table

EDM Cover Aug Sep 2013eat.drink.MISSISSIPPI
August / September 2013
Cover photo and article

Like a lot of new brides just starting out in life, Nikki Gladd – author of the blog Seeded at the Table – began learning to cook out of necessity. Her husband Ben was in graduate school working towards a Ph.D. in New Testament and money was tight. Nikki began cooking budget-friendly meals as a way to avoid having to eat out and save money.

“I was never taught how to cook while growing up, so I had a lot to learn!” Nikki says. “The more I cooked, the more I learned. The more I learned, the more I enjoyed it!”

Soon after, other newlywed friends and family members began asking Nikki for her recipes. A native of Michigan, Nikki and her husband have also lived in the suburbs of Chicago and in Southern California. Because friends and family were spread out all over the country, Nikki launched her first blog – Pennies on a Platter – in 2007 as a way to share recipes that she tried and recommended.

In 2012, Ben, Nikki, and their young son Judah left Southern California and moved to Mississippi where Ben began a teaching job at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson. It was during this time that Nikki began formulating an idea to rebrand her blog so that she could share more about her faith, family adventures, travel experiences, and product reviews. Seeded at the Table launched in early 2013.

“The phrase ‘Seated at the Table’ is one that means much more to me when it comes to my relationship with Jesus Christ, and changing the ‘Seated’ to ‘Seeded’ added a nurturing/growing notion to it,” Nikki explains. “My desire is to encourage families and friends to find joy and community by being nurtured at the table – sometimes an actual physical table, sometimes a symbolic table.”

Nikki admits that living all over the country has developed an appreciation for regional foods and cooking styles. She enjoys Midwestern favorites like hot dogs, brats, and Chicago-style pizza. While in California, she grew to love multi-cultural foods such as fish tacos and fresh salads. Since moving to Mississippi, she has jumped right into Southern cooking, honing her techniques for making cheese grits, biscuits and gravy, fried chicken, and beignets.

Since her rebrand, Nikki’s readers have responded positively to the change. She never imagined that when she launched her first blog over six years ago that her life would change in so many ways. Nikki has been able to turn her hobby as a food blogger into a career, allowing her earn an income while being a stay-at-home mom Judah and newborn son Simon, who arrived in May. The highlight of her career came in February when she was granted to opportunity to interview First Lady Michelle Obama one-on-one during Obama’s visit to Clinton as part of the Let’s Move! campaign to prevent childhood obesity.

When asked to describe her experience interviewing the First Lady, Nikki reveals, “In one word: ‘unreal.’ She was the sweetest lady and made me feel like number one. She’s a super intelligent woman, but also very down to earth.”

Because Nikki and her family recently bought a house in Madison, she plans to add DIY home improvement and decorating projects to her lineup in addition to travel and family posts and of course, more recipes. One of her favorite recipes on the blog is White Cheese Dip.

“This recipe is a match of the queso dip we all crave at our favorite Mexican restaurants,” she says. “Using just a few ingredients and the microwave, it can be served in anyone’s home in just minutes!”

White Cheese Dip

Ingredients:
1 1/4 (1.25) lb block White American Cheese (Land O’Lakes brand preferred), cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup diced green chiles
2 pickled jalapenos, chopped
1 ounce pickled jalapeno juice
2/3 cup whole milk
1/2 cup cold water
Pinch of cumin (optional)

Directions:
Toss all ingredients into a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, stopping to stir after every minute. The mixture might seem watery during the first few stirs, but should come together as a nice runny dip after all the cheese is melted.
Serve immediately as a dip with tortilla chips or as a sauce over your favorite Mexican dish.

*Recipe Note: White American cheese is found at most deli counters in your local grocery store.

*Reheat Instructions: Store any leftover cheese dip in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until creamy and hot.

Portico Jackson Magazine

A Restaurant for the People: Madison native Zack Athearn returns home to serve up reinvented Southern cuisine

Portico August 2013Portico Jackson
August 2013

Most Southerners view food and cooking as much more than just a way to provide fuel for the body.  We to link our favorite dishes to emotions, feelings, and even childhood memories.  Zack Athearn, owner and executive chef of City Grille in Madison is no exception.  He has fond memories of working side-by-side in the kitchen with his grandmother, while Athearn’s grandfather taught him the finer points of hunting, fishing, and growing fresh produce.

What Athearn’s grandparents cultivated in him as a young boy sparked an interest that would stay with him as he grew up.  In high school, he recalls “Iron Chef”-style competitions that he and his best friend held in his friend’s kitchen.  By the time he left home to attend Ole Miss, Athearn was an enthusiastic member of the local food scene, always on the lookout for new restaurants and good food.

“At that point, I really considered myself more of a foodie than a chef,” he explains.  “But as I progressed into my sophomore year of college, I began to wonder cooking for a living was something I could actually do.”

Shortly afterwards, Athearn was hired to work in the kitchen of The Veranda in Starkville.  Almost immediately, he began incorporating locally sourced fresh produce and meat into all the dishes.

“Everything grown and purchased locally tastes so different than anything you can buy in a store,” he says.

Athearn also began catering for weddings and rehearsal dinners.  This gave him the opportunity to travel, try new cuisines, learn new techniques, and work with some of the best restaurants in the South such a Muriels in New Orleans.  After eight years in the restaurant business, he began to wonder if he was finally ready to take the plunge into owning his own business.

The deciding factor came in 2009 when Athearn’s grandmother, who played such a significant role in his life and career, was diagnosed with cancer.

“I knew I needed to be close to her and I had to figure out how I was going to get home,” he reveals.  “However, I didn’t want to come home and go to work for someone else. “

He began working on a concept for building a new restaurant from the ground up.  In 2010, Athearn and a business partner opened Georgia Blue in Madison, a casual family-style restaurant that serves up sophisticated American food.

When it came time for Athearn to leave Georgia Blue and open a new restaurant, he knew he wanted to stay close to his roots and open another restaurant in Madison.  He searched for almost a year for the prefect location, finally purchasing an abandoned Blockbuster.

Says Athearn, “There was nothing in that building but carpet and a bathroom.  I had a lot of work to do before we would be ready to open.”

After four months of construction, City Grilled opened its doors in February 2013.  Athearn describes the cuisine as reinvented Southern cuisine with French influence.  He prides himself on keeping everything fresh, from the fish, to the produce, to all the made-from-scratch sauces and salad dressings.  He also makes a point to keep the menu items manageable, changing it frequently according to what is in season.

“I don’t like huge menus because they can be overwhelming.  I believe if you are going to do something, do it well and execute it properly.  You can’t do that with a huge menu.”

One of the best aspects of owning a restaurant is bringing in menu items that diners aren’t likely to see anywhere else.  Like Athearn’s current favorite menu item, the tempura lobster roll.  Lobster claw meat and goat cheese risotto are rolled in a spinach wrap, lightly fried in a crunchy tempura batter, then served sushi-style with sweet corn cream and spicy “dragon sauce.”

“I love and am very passionate about food,” Athearn says.  “However, this restaurant isn’t just for me.  It’s for the people of Madison and the surrounding community.  I like bringing the people what they want to eat.”