Serenbe Style and Soul

with Marie Nygren

Monthly Archive: September 2009

Wednesday

30

September 2009

0

COMMENTS

Recipe contest coming soon

Written by , Posted in Miscellaneous

Tomorrow I will be announcing a new cooking contest that will be featured on my blog!

I am still finalizing all the details so check back to read all about it tomorrow! It’s going to be very exciting and a lot of fun.

Monday

28

September 2009

0

COMMENTS

My First Published Recipe

Written by , Posted in "margaret lupo", georgia ledger-enquirer, marie nygren, pecan pie, Recipe Articles

My mother’s sister, Sarah Spano, was the Food Editor for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus, Georgia. Sarah was quite a character, a wonderful lady and a great story teller.
She would come to Atlanta often to visit her sisters who lived here. On one of those visits in 1976, I made a Chocolate Pecan Bourbon Pie for her. Aunt Sarah loved the pie so much that she wrote a story about me and my cooking. At sixteen, I had my first published recipe.

It’s become a favorite dessert at the Inn and will be on the menu at the Farmhouse this weekend. We would love to see you for dinner.
Here is the recipe:
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Combine in a heavy sauce pan:
  • one cup of dark Karo syrup
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
Bring to a rolling boil, stirring steadily, for two minutes.
Remove from heat and add;
  • 3 tbsp. butter
Beat in separate bowl:
  • 3 eggs
Pour hot syrup mixture slowly into eggs, beating with a wire whisk.
Add:
  • 1 cup toasted pecan pieces (see “food byte” on side bar)
  • 1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup bourbon
Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake for 45-50 minutes, until filling is firm. Cool before cutting.

Friday

25

September 2009

0

COMMENTS

Poetry as soul food

Written by , Posted in marie nygren, Rumi, serenbe


I recently read in Parade, the Sunday magazine in the AJC, a reader’s question on why the United States paid for a Poet Laureate when “no one reads poetry anymore.”
I was taken aback at his supposition because I and many of my friends read poetry, some even write their own. For me, poetry is a great source of “soul food.” I often turn to my books of poetry for inspiration.

My favorite poet is Rumi, a 13th century Persian poet and theologian whose visions, words, and life teach us how to reach inner peace and happiness, stop the continual stream of hostility and achieve true, global peace and harmony.


Food has always been an object of beauty for me- its colors, textures, tastes and smells. That beauty inspires me every week when I am creating the menus for the Farmhouse. I love seeing the combinations I visualized the week before together on the plate and create a delicious meal for my guests.


Each week’s bounty from the Inn’s gardens and Serenbe Farm provides ample inspiration. And when our gardener and farmers brings in their harvest, it is is time to get to what I love- cooking!

Wednesday

23

September 2009

3

COMMENTS

Farm to Table on CBS 46 Better Mornings

Written by , Posted in "CBS 46 Better Mornings", "farmer D", marie nygren, Serenbe Farmhouse, Serenbe Farms

I hope you enjoy my cooking demo from yesterday’s CBS 46 Better Morning show. We were thankful we had a chance to get some airtime because due to the Atlanta flood, most of the show was dedicated to the weather. Tracye Hutchins, one of their reporters had planned an entire Farm to Table show where Rebecca and I were to be on for several segments. 


Since this was the biggest flood in 100 years, you can understand why we were so happy to be on the show! Rebecca Williams, one of my Serenbe neighbors did a wonderful container garden presentation featuring lovely vegetables from Serenbe Farms. The beautiful containers she used were from Farmer D, Daron Joffe who was the first farmer in Serenbe!

And my cooking demo featured Kale from the Serenbe farms. One of my favorite ways to cook Kale is to sauté it in olive oil with caramelized onions and salt and pepper. So easy to make and so delicious!


Monday

21

September 2009

0

COMMENTS

CBS 46 Better Mornings

Written by , Posted in "CBS 46 Better Mornings", "tracye hutchins", marie nygren, Serenbe Farms

The weather “rained” out a big part of our Serenbe Farm to Table segment today but we were glad to have some time on the show. It was a great adventure with Dana Widmer and Rebecca Williams starting at 3 am as we loaded up our car and made our way to the television station. Rebecca did a wonderful segment on container gardens with vegetables from Serenbe Farms.

The video of my cooking demo segment will be posted in a day or two along with stories of our trip to Atlanta during the great flood.
Tracye Hutchins one of the morning reporters did our segment today. See her blog for part of our story.

Monday

21

September 2009

0

COMMENTS

Sign up now to cook with Nathalie Dupree and me

Written by , Posted in marie nygren, nathalie dupree, serenbe, Southern Chef Series


The Southern Chef Series Welcomes



 Nathalie Dupree

Sunday, October 11 & Monday, October 12
                       The Inn at Serenbe

An intimate group of 10 guests will settle into their accommodations at the Inn at Serenbe on Sunday afternoon, then walk through the wildflower meadow to my home, where you will prepare dinner side-by-side with beloved Southern chef, cookbook author, & James Beard award winner, Nathalie Dupree. Dinner will follow this hands-on experience, complemented by wine and Nathalie’s stories of food and cooking.

On Monday morning, participants will enjoy breakfast at the Inn at Serenbe, then work with Nathalie & me to create a farm-fresh lunch for the group. The afternoon will be spent with Nathalie, sharing secrets and stories before heading back home that evening.
Update: the event with Nathalie has sold out. Please call the inn if you are interested in being placed on a waiting list in case of any cancellations.

To register, please call the Inn at Serenbe: 770.463.2610

Check out more stories about my friend Nathalie throughout my blog.

Saturday

19

September 2009

0

COMMENTS

Southern Women are great cooks

Written by , Posted in marie nygren, nathalie dupree, serenbe, Southern Chef Series


My mom, Margaret Lupo was invited to be a guest on Nathalie Dupree’s cooking show when she was here in Georgia and doing her show, New Southern Cooking for Georgia PBS.
Mom went on the show to cook fried okra which was a specialty at Mary Mac’s so mom demonstrated in a cast iron skillet how to make corn meal crusted fried okra, a major southern delicacy.
While on the show mom told one of her favorite stories from her days at Mary Mac’s which was in the late 70’s when she had a streaker run through the entire restaurant.

One of the elderly female patrons who was dining in the restaurant, upon seeing the streaker, didn’t hesitate to blurt out a very revealing comment which mom told on live television!

 After sharing the story on her show, Nathalie received more mail about the streaker story episode than any of her other 300 episodes. It was and still is a well loved episode of Nathalie’s show. In fact, just last week at the Serenbe Inn we had a conference with Chick Fil-A and one of the executives who was attending related to me that was the one show he had seen and recalled  just how funny and charming it was. His favorite memory was how watching  two icon southern cooks was a great treat.
For more information on spending 2 days with Nathalie when she teaches in Serenbe, click here!
From Nathalie’s book here is a copy of my mom’s fried okra. To see the full recipe, click onto arrow on the right side of the box.

Tuesday

15

September 2009

2

COMMENTS

Set Your DVR

Written by , Posted in "Better Mornings Atlanta", "community supported agriculture", "cooking demo" "serenbe farms", "csa", marie nygren

I’m excited to tell everyone that on Monday morning September 21st CBS 46 Better Mornings will be having a segment on “farm to table” featuring Serenbe Farms and a cooking demo that I will be doing.

Rebecca Williams, another Serenbe resident will be showing how to put together a wonderful container garden featuring vegetables from the Serenbe Farm. You will learn about CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture) and get information on how to sign up for your own vegetable subscription!
For my segment, I will be doing a cooking demo and discussing all sorts of fun things happening at Serenbe, the Farmhouse, and of course the blog. We will even have a taste test to compare a store bought egg and a farm fresh egg!
The show is on from 5-7 am and we will be featured throughout the entire show. If you are not up that early, don’t forget to set your DVR!

Sunday

13

September 2009

0

COMMENTS

Creating Style on a Budget

Written by , Posted in "serenbe blog", "style on a budget", ikea, marie nygren, serenbe

While in Boulder I had two goals, cooking lessons and decorating. In addition to teaching how to make my black bean casserole dish, Quinn and her friends decided they wanted to have a pretty home as their nest for their senior year. For all three girls it was about having a beautiful space. It wasn’t just about throwing a futon in, these girls were serious! Everyone  showed up with their pieces of furniture agreed on during their Junior year.              
                                                          
                 


“Before“

                                                        


“After Serenbe style”

It was an interesting exercise and collaborative effort of 3 girls and 3 moms putting a house together in a few days!
It’s amazing what can be done in 2 ½ days literally. We were in the car shopping between Target, Pier 1, World Market, TJ Maxx and local flea market shops. I had brought 4 packs of curtains with me from Ikea since there isn’t one in Boulder.
What it transpired into was amazing. 
The biggest thing of setting up a college home is that the girls were on a budget. There are some amazing finds at the stores we chose which is great when on a limited budget.

“A little paint on the wall and Voila, you have an instant nest where you can recoup, revive, or entertain!”

It all came together so beautifully. Each girl had something different and it really was a beautiful effort of bringing it all together.
The best moment was when 2 other friends walked in and said, “Wow, this looks like a real home.”
“Before”







“After Serenbe style”

Friday

11

September 2009

2

COMMENTS

New Recipes

Written by , Posted in blueberries, chicken recipes, georgia emc, marie nygren, Recipe Articles, serenbe

Here are a couple of recipes from our wonderful Georgia EMC day. I hope everyone enjoys both the chicken and the blueberry cobbler. The cobbler is one of my favorite recipes from Nathalie Dupree’s cookbooks.




“The beauty of it is that you can use any kind of fruit you like and it is so easy to prepare. Just last week, I made the same cobbler with apples and it was absolutely delicious!”

Baked Chicken stuffed with Goat cheese and Red Pepper Jelly
  • 6 chicken breasts, bone in skin on
  • 8 oz mild goat cheese, softened
  • 1 jar red pepper jelly
  •  ¼ cup olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Fresh ground pepper
Preheat oven to 375º. While oven heating, cut a pocket into each breast- 2 inches deep. In a cast iron skillet heat small amount of olive oil on medium heat. Sear each chicken breast for  3 minutes each side. Let cool.
Season each breast with salt and pepper on inside and outside. Stuff desired amount  of goat cheese into the pocket and place in a baking dish.  Top with 1-2 tbsp. of pepper jelly.
Place in oven and bake for 35- 40 minutes.


Blueberry Cobbler
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 350º. Slice butter, put in baking dish and place in oven until butter is melted. Mix together the dry ingredients then add the milk. Pour batter into melted butter and then scatter the fruit around. Place in oven and bake for 30-45 minutes.

Serves 8.
Enjoy!
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About Marie Nygren

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When people ask me what I do, I tell them I’m the co-founder of the Serenbe community and the Inn at Serenbe. But, the truest Read More...

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