Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Sam Hoffer is cooking


Sam Hoffer sends this announcment of the column she will be writing for the Cherokee Scout.

The column for the Scout, "From My Carolina Kitchen," will emphasize casual yet elegant recipes focusing on seasonal cuisine, "how-to" tips, and entertaining ideas. I like healthy, simple to prepare recipes using locally available products. Occasionally I will include a cookbook review, especially if it is one available at our local library. I chose to do a monthly column instead of weekly one for now.

We lived in the "Out-Islands" of the northern Bahamas in Abaco on a tiny private cay named Lubbers Quarters for ten years when my husband first retired in 1995. I wrote a food column for four years for The Abaconian newspaper, which is in Marsh Harbour, the hub of the Abacos. The column,"From the Kitchen of Lazy Days," came from our house name, which was Lazy Days in the islands. I am currently in the process of writing a book about our retirement there, Living on Island Time, Retirement Spiced with Food, Friends & Rum. It will be part memoir, part food & travel adventure, and will include crazy friends and some recipes.

When I first met my husband I couldn't cook a thing and he came from a gourmet family in the northeast. His father had a three martini expense account and ate in all of the fancy restaurants in NYC. The best description I have for my food background growing up in a sleepy town down south is Alan Jackson's country song Where I Come From, It's Cornbread and Chicken, definitely not gourmet. My Mother was an excellent cook and made her own bread, mayonnaise, and jelly but never let me in the kitchen. When I met Meakin he told me the old adage "if you can read you can cook" and cook I have since then. It has become my passion and I have yet to meet a food I didn't like. We even take food vacations. Spent two months last year in the south of France shopping in local markets, getting to know the locals and cooking their fabulous food in our very own kitchen there.

I have entered three recipe contests and was a winner in each:
-Won the state of Mississippi's Chicken Contest and received an all expense paid trip to participate in the 40th annual National Chicken Contest, one of the "big three" national competitions. It is the oldest contest of its kind and was the food highlight of my life.
-Winner for the Fall season in the National Catfish Institute's Four Season Recipe Contest
-Winner of The Pocono Record's Recipe Contest

My recipe for "Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Rolls" is in The Chicken Cookbook, 1993, a Dell publication.

We look forward to reading the delicious recipes and more in the Cherokee Scout newspaper in Murphy, NC. You can find them on the web.

1 comment:

  1. Goat cheese stuffed Chicken rolls sound interesting to me. Sam, I may have to subscribe to the Scout to get your column each month.
    You must be a phenomenal cook.
    Glenda

    ReplyDelete

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