Hello Friends,

Corned Ham - Eastern NC style salt cured ham is now being served on Saturday evenings until the Spring.  Bill Smith learned this from his Father and it's soooo good.  We serve it with mashed potatoes & collards.    

Duck! Bill Smith's ducks start off in Long Island, and then are raised in Pennsylvania, before becoming our dish we call Headin' South - seared duck breast and confit leg, with a sweetish, sour grapefruit sauce and mashed rutabagas-delicious

 "How to Cook a Whole Duck" (how to use a whole duck) is for some a favorite chapter in Seasoned in the South. Soon we'll have (soon!) the Duck Confit Salad. And most nights we're serving bowls of Duck and Onion Soup and either Duck Liver Mousse or 3-Bird Pate. 

In 3-Bird, duck livers combine with chicken livers & Wild Turkey, for a rustic pate served with garlic toast and a garnish of Jerusalem Artichoke Relish. (This is Bill Smith's father's recipe-we love with grilled steaks too- made with Mrs. Andrews' artichokes. Just before the New Year, Mrs. Mary Andrews surprised us by appearing with three gigantic buckets full of artichokes at our door.)       

And so the Grilled Hanger Steaks are enjoying two flavorful sauces served at once: Bill Smith's long-simmering Wine Merchant's Butter and the Jerusalem Artichoke Relish. On the side: mashed potatoes and sauteed leeks & cabbage. "Hanger steak is a great steak for these two sauces; it's the muscle against the kidneys so it has the particularly strong taste I love."      

Chicken Pot Pie lovers and the smaller group of Steak-and-Kidney Pie lovers, take note-Bill Smith has been occasionally baking these for the small plate menu. And each night he's also making a set amount of new Winter Root Gratins for the table.   

Winter Vegetable Pies, new to the menu, will be around for a bit longer. "The crust reminds me of the outside of a Fig Newton," says Bill Smith. "It's similar to something I have in Quebec called a tourtier. Inside we have all the winter suspects: carrots, rutabagas, potatoes, onions, parsnips. I made this pie in ode to my usual January birthday trip to Canada, since I didn't make it up there this year! The pie is ideal winter-weather fare: spicy and with bits of apples and onions fried for the top of it."       

For the Fried Oysters (another small plate) that is sharable too, we have an old-school wine-pairing suggestion, following a tasty visit with Chapel Hill's own Andre Tamers of De Maison Selections. Fried Oyster fans are so surprised how great the pairing of El Maestro Sierra-Fino Sherry perfect with crisp, fried oysters. The Maestro is also great with cream-based dishes, like the Gratins for the Table.       

Green Tomato Relish simmering in the kitchen-with the aroma of coriander-accompanies the Pan-fried Monkfish. "The relish is a recipe I got from my friend in Shreveport, LA; it's her mother's recipe. I once tasted this on Catfish in Greenwood, MS.  It's made prickly sour, with apple cider vinegar." 

For dessert, we've got the old-fashioned favorite, Bill Smith's Gingerbread Baba with a lemon sauce and whipped cream. Also Mt. Airy Chocolate Souffle Cake served warm with whipped cream & Hot Fudge Brownies with toasted pecans & vanilla ice cream for you chocoholics.  

The word of Good Banana Pudding was brought to the people in Blufton, SC on Bill's last trip of 2011. They wanted the recipe, so he posted it on his blog, Seasoned in the South. He's also posted the last photo taken from his camera before it dropped from his hotel window onto the streets of New York City. RIP Bill's Canon. This camera captured many a great dishes and events. Visit Bill's blog.  

Charleston's Food & Wine Event asked  Bill Smith to join chefs like Ann Quatrano and Linton Hopkins on February 28th. Here's a link to their website if you are interested in tickets to any of this week-long festival. It's a full ten degrees warmer in SC, we hear.       

Bar Notes: This week, stay warm with hot mugs of Mulled Wine, New Bern Toddies or White Rum Comforters. Next week, we start our Carnival Season with cocktails of, or inspired by New Orleans.     

On The Walls:  Zannie Gunn's colorful, frolicking nudes are up till the end of the month. Next is Louis St. Lewis for the month of February.       

Love eating outdoors? Remember if weather is temperate, our heaters make Patio dining in winter a real pleasure.