What a great start to the 2011 Serenbe Southern Chef Series! Linton Hopkins from Restaurant Eugene and Holeman and Finch cooked up a great class for all the participants. Everyone was buzzing at breakfast at The Inn on Monday morning about Linton’s delicious dishes but most especially about his passion for food. Linton’s amazing knowledge about food was just one of the great aspects to his class.

As I watched the goings on in my kitchen this past Sunday and Monday, there was a continual smile on my face. Everyone,including Linton and Woolery (his assistant), was having a great time. I loved watching Linton share his love for food and the class just taking it all in- getting their hands into the dumplings and biscuit dough,chopping all those vegetables and learning some new food tricks.

There is something very old and comforting in the act of cooking and eating together. And when you can share that with one of the best chefs in Atlanta, it makes for a perfect 2 days. The line up for 2011 is fabulous. I feel so honored to have the 5 chefs on the list in my kitchen sharing their love of good food with the participants. I hope you can join us for one this year.

No, I didn’t disappear from the blog scene, just seems I took a summer break. Well at least from writing, not from cooking and redoing some spaces at The Inn. It has been a very busy summer season at Serenbe and not just for me.

Kara (daughter #2) and Dallas (another Serenbe resident) had their 4th year of Serenbe Day Camp. The camp was open for 5 weeks and had great response. Some kids came for all 5 weeks and one said,”this is the BEST camp ever!” I loved seeing all the little ones running around and I even visited a few events- a Bird’s of Prey show and the reptile visitors from Cochran Mill Nature Center.

This was the inaugural summer for Serenbe PLayhouse-www.serenbeplayhouse.com. What an amazing job Brian Clowdus did!!! We had 3 different plays performed at Serenbe- Jungle Book, John and Jen, and R&J. Steve and I saw all 3 productions( some 2-3 times) and kept pinching ourselves that this was actually happening in “our woods.” 

A new store opened called Bloom – www.bloom-shop.com - by 2 sisters and it is filled with all kind of fun gift items and hip clothes and jewelry (I know this because all the dresses are way too short for me!!). Our daughters love to shop there- Kara just bought a great dress for her trip to San Francisco. I must say she looked very beautiful in it.

And then of course the Farmhouse. Fried Chicken Sundays have become very popular. There is something very Southern- well ok Southern from a generation ago- about taking a Sunday drive to the country and visiting Grandmother to have Fried Chicken and all the fixins. So as most of my guests do not have relatives in the country they can come to the Farmhouse now for that Southern experience.

I am always happy to fill in as a Grandmother for my littlest visitors when they become fussy at the table. As there are no grandchildren in site for me any time soon, I can practice at least.

We opened the Nest house model this June. It is our newest Serenbe Housing product- a very energy efficient small foot print house located in Grange. The house is filled with lots of the newest technical and energy features. I worked on the interiors with Dana and David Widmer who will be operating Serenbe Design Studio to help new buyers with their Nest house purchase.


We wanted to show that a small house-1074 sq.feet- could feel spacious and beautiful. I feel we did a great job. I’ll do a separate piece on that and write about all the environmental features in the house.

Then the press!
We have been very blessed to have some great pieces written about us this summer. Again- another posting on that is to come and I’ll give links to those pieces also.

AND, I tried out for a spot on the Food Network- “The Next Food Network Star.”  It was quite an experience and though I have heard nothing back I had great fun putting together all the pieces for the audition.

So as I said, it has been a quite summer season here. We have all been busy bees at Serenbe. Though I can still find the serene part here when Pudge and I take our morning walks. I just love the mornings here. Maybe that is another posting- pictures from my morning walk.

Writing this posting has gotten me enthused to share more of life at Serenbe with you.

I hope all of you had a great summer. For those of us in the south, we are ready for Fall. These 96 degree September days are just too much!!

I have always loved Pimm’s which is a British liquer made with gin and fruit extract  created in 1859 by a London bar owner. It is still a secret recipe and the #1 British summer cocktail. I can not remember when I first tasted Pimm’s but in just the last year, I kinda of rediscovered its unique and refreshing taste and started making an evening cocktail for myself and whoever else might want to join me. Evening cocktails have not been a part of my evening ritual but maybe turning fifty this year opened a new door for me.

Or perhaps it is the part of my soul that feels a great affinity with England and its lovely customs and amazing lands.As much as I love France and Italy, the countryside of England is still my favorite landscape. I use to journey to England twice a year starting in 1996 to visit a dear woman I had met on a trip the previous year in Ireland at Castle Crombe, her nephew’s castle. Her name was Alice Crichton and upon that meeting we became very dear friends . I like to say soul friends, as Alice was 40 years older than me but I never thought  of the age difference. And so I would go each twice a year for a week until her death in January 2000. Those trips were some of the more fascinating ones of my life but that is for another story time.

I had not been to England in several years and had no plans on the horizon to visit but as can happen so often at Serenbe, a serendipitous invitation came our way.

In May, Steve and I were invited to attend an alumni reunion of the Prince of Wales  Environment and Sustainability Programme that was to be held at Highgrove, the Prince’s country home, in June. Serenbe had just  been chosen  to be the new east coast venue for the POW Sustainability Programme and the executive director, Lindsay Hooper, asked if we would like to come to the reunion and meet Prince Charles. So guess what our answer was? “We would be delighted to!”  Wouldn’t yours????

So a trip was planned for 3 weeks hence. We were able to arrange a week off- a luxury as of late with our busy schedules. Steve and I visited the west country, Somerset, before heading to Gloustershire and Highgrove. Somerset was some of the most glorious countryside we had ever seen. Lots of great stories here too for later because I had started this to tell you about Pimm’s.

Saying “I’d like a Pimm’s” in England is like saying “I’d like a Margarita” in America. Every bar has the makings for a Pimm’s there. A true English Pimm’s is made with Schweppe’s lemonade (not made in America and not what you’d think of as lemonade) and garnished with oranges, strawberries and mint. It is so delicious.

So that taste for Pimm’s that I had rediscovered earlier this year was able to be quenched in any corner of the country I visited. Even Prince Charles had one as his drink of choice as he visited with the group members at Highgrove.

Upon returning to Serenbe, I wondered how I could put a Southern twist to a Pimm’s and offer it as a cocktail at the Farmhouse.

A version I had tried several years ago in England at another friend’s home was mixed with ginger ale. There is a southern ginger ale called Red Rock which is a spicy ginger ale that I have loved since childhood. So, I decided to mix the two and so was born the Southern Pimm’s Cup. It is garnished with mint, strawberries and peaches- a great touch added by our bartender, Arielle. It makes it that much more southern!

I hope you’ll come to the Farmhouse and try one.

I love food events. Just 2 weeks ago at Serenbe, we had one of my most favorites yet.

A Southern Chefs Potluck on July 18 was held to benefit Wholesome Wave, a wonderful, national organization to get fresh local food on low income family tables.

What made this event so amazing was the caliber of local talent that turned out for a casual Sunday afternoon in the country. The event was held in the Lake Pavilion at Serenbe and was set up like a Sunday church potluck- long tables with gingham cloths and a center food table laden with delicious food prepared by Atlanta’s best.

Each chef was asked to bring a side dish, dessert and pickle or relish. And unlike other big foodie events, all they had to do was set down their dishes and have fun. No standing behind a table making individual dishes for people to sample. We had organized this event to be fun for the chefs also and fun they did have!

Libations were provided by Quivira Vineyards, Terrapin Beer and “Moonshine Punch” from Holeman and Finch.

Some of the dishes and chefs:
Anne Quatrano- Bacchanalia- Fried Okra and Hot Peppers with Wild Ramp Aioli , Blueberry Pie and Cookies from Star Provisions
Linton Hopkins- Restaurant Eugene- Eggplant Salad and Key Lime Pie
Hilary White- The Hil- Squash Casserole
Steven Satterfeld- Miller Union- Succotash and Peach Ice Cream
Kevin Gillespie- Woodfire Grill- Granny’s Potato Salad
Ford Fry- JCT- Macaroni and Cheese and Coconut Cake
Marie Nygren- Garlic Cole Slaw and Blueberry Cobbler
Will Harris and Jim and Nick’s Barbeque-an entire cow from Will’s farm- sliders, grilled Rib Eyes sausage
Joe Truex- Watershed- Corn Pudding

It definitely was the best potluck I had ever been to!!!!  


And, I loved watching the chefs and the guests have such a great time. Someone said it was like going to a big family reunion.




We also had a live auction with 3 great packages:

• Dinner for 6 at Hilary and Jim White’s with lots of fresh vegetables from Serenbe Farms.
• Cocktail Party for 30 in my and Steve’s courtyard with food and wine provided by Linton Hopkins, Restaurant Eugene and event design by Gloriosa.
• Overnight stay for 8 at The Inn at Serenbe and dinner in my and Steve’s house provided by Anne Quatrano, Bacchanalia.

The entire event brought in over $20,000 for Wholesome Wave which was fabulous for an inaugural event.

If you didn’t get to come, please plan to next year. Even the chefs said please let them know so they’d mark it on their calendars as they had such a fun time. When we have the date for next year, I’ll put a posting on the blog so keep a lookout for it.
Hope to see you there next year.


**photos courtesy of Melanie Allgood Hygema

We still have a few spots available to join Ford Fry on Sunday and Monday. If you haven’t already seen the menu, please read the posting below.

For anyone who still signs up we are offering one person for $425 and you can bring your friend for an additional $200.

Call 770.463.2610 so you don’t miss this wonderful culinary experience!

See you this Sunday in my kitchen.

Marie is away on a wonderful trip to England. Steve sent a couple of beautiful pictures today. There will be some wonderful new postings upon her return late next week!

Spring and Summertime in Serenbe is such a wonderful time. The flowers are all in bloom, the streets are filled with visitors and neighbors in the community and the Saturday Farmer’s market is underway.

My days have been filled with lots of cooking at the Farmhouse. We are thrilled to be booking so many additional conferences, lunches and our Fried Chicken Sunday is busier than ever. Last week we had our first wine dinner in the garden and it was just lovely.

My blog entries have been few but please continue to check back often. The next couple of weeks are very full and I hope to get back to regular entries, including some wonderful recipes, very soon!

Last week I was out of town for several days in Boulder, enjoying my youngest daughter’s college graduation. We flew back on the red eye Saturday morning just in time for me to get a few hours of sleep, and begin prepping for our huge Mother’s day at the Farmhouse.

We served 431 people!

I enjoyed reading the blog, An Atlantan Eats, today from one of our guests on Sunday. I hope everyone had a great day and we enjoyed the spectacular day!