NIGHT
HOW TO FRY A TURKEY
In Charleston, fried turkey is a ubiquitous holiday offering. If you've never eaten a fried turkey, this year is the time to rectify the situation. Sons revel at the idea of taking charge, playing with fire, and providing food for their family. For those with no backyard or patio, don't be afraid to appropriate street corners. Hunting for the perfect frying spot can be half the fun.
LAMB SHANK
Serve this stew over creamy mashed potatoes, toss it with pasta, or spoon it over buttered toast.
SAUTÉED SNAPPER
Dinner cooked in one pan, in 10 minutes. You will have dinner on the table in less time than it takes to drink a glass of wine.
SHRIMP & GRITS
A Southern staple for any day or night. Best when using the freshest local ingredients.
ROAST PORK IN A SKILLET
Americans love a one-pot meal -- one pot, one mess. Here's our favorite pork-and-greens version. You can take it one step further and top with cooked root vegetables, such as beets, or roasted apples.
OYSTER PAN ROAST
Dinner parties are the bedrock of entertaining. This oyster dish sets the mood for an evening to remember.
GUMBO
The main reason Dean Pollak loves gumbo so much is that it allows her to use the large silver spoons her good friend Father Ralston gave her and to remember him. She serves the delicious dish at Thanksgiving, which is Dean Pollak's favorite holiday (she didn't celebrate it growing up in Africa).
PENNE ALLA VODKA
Pasta is such an easy fix for those nights when you have very little time to prepare and hungry mouths to feed.
RATATOUILLE
This is the perfect meal for eating at home, taking to the office or putting in a tart shell for an elegant lunch party.
CHILI
A staple for any time of the day. And the perfect meal for those cold winter nights.
CHEESY RICE
Dean Pollak's mood elevator is a dinner of rice. She feels nurtured when she eats a bowl. When Dean Pollak's husband is away, she soothes herself with a dinner of carbs and fat, dietitians be damned.
MEDWAY SWEET POTATOES
There will be no arguing in your house when you adopt Gertrude Legendre's tradition of serving these sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
FRIED ZUCCHINI
How many children delight at being served a plate of zucchini? None. How many children will eat fried zucchini? All. Fried zucchini tastes better than French fries - and is less starchy to boot.
HAM & PIMENTO DEVILED EGGS
If you enter the Academy kitchen and see the pilot light off, and the Deans nowhere to be found, there is a good chance they have opted for lunch at the Butcher and Bee. Everything served at this establishment is worth trying. We tapped Butcher and Bee for their deviled egg recipe because these eggs are so good.
BRAISED LAMB MEATBALLS
Who among us doesn't love a meatball? The Deans' go-to meatballs are oven-baked in tomato sauce instead of fried, so our stovetops remain clean and our stomachs remain flat.
SALMON CANAPES
These take two seconds to make, less if you have your middle-schooler do them. Be sure to use Scottish or Atlantic smoked salmon and pile it generously on each sandwich. If you serve only this hors d'oeuvre, guests will feel they have been showered with love.
SCALLOPED OYSTERS
Perfect for your Holiday meal as a side dish, or paired with a salad as a light lunch for when people drop by.
REFRIGERATOR WATERMELON RIND PICKLES
The shiny green orb with its hot pink center beckons you from the produce department. Once all the flesh has been devoured, we throw away the rind. Or, do we? The Deans don't. We pickle the rind into strips of unsurpassed succulence. Lines form outside the Academy when people realize it's watermelon rind pickling day.
VIEW THE RECIPE
GOUGERES
This cheese puff recipe circumnavigates the globe ten times a year. Every well-heeled host knows about them, and every hungry party guest longs for them. The French name and the directions sound daunting, but nothing could be further from the truth. These feathery puffs are so delicate, yet they can anchor any festivity.
STEAK BITES
The perfect last-minute cocktail snack. You can always find a steak on sale, and these bites are a cinch to make.
PIE DOUGH
A homemade pie says "I love you" and we can never say that often enough to our family and friends. We want everyone to stop thinking they have to purchase pie dough. We want you to try making pastry at least four times before you throw in the towel. Flour and butter only cost a few cents to experiment with while you are learning. After a few attempts you will wonder why you held out so long. And if you are not happy, roll and cut your first tries into crackers or cookies and sprinkle cheese or sugar, depending on what you feel like eating.
CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE
This cheesecake recipe is adapted from Marian Beck's cookbook, Salmon Patties and Rosehip Pie. Located on Halibut Cove, Alaska Beck has established the extraordinary restaurant, Saltry where she has a hand in any and every detail from greeting the customer to creating this amazing chocolate cheesecake.
CHERRIES JUBILEE
This is an old fashioned treat that needs to return to the forefront. The Deans love playing with fire, not to mention that attending a jubilee is so much fun.
CHEESE COINS
At Christmas time, the Deans receive a cruel lashing from friends if they attend any event without bearing canvas bags overflowing with cheese coins. They are the Academy's signature treats and Dean Manigault's muscled right arm is a testament that the cheddar is lovingly grated by hand.
Cocktails
PINA COLADA DEANS' STYLE
Since we are packing to go on our Alaskan holiday, and bundling our sweaters, long pants and hiking boots in suitcases, we Deans can't but notice our thoughts are drifting to the Caribbean. Who did we think we were when we planned this vacation? We are warm weather mermaids, not snow bunnies. Oh, what to do?
DARK AND STORMY
The Deans are on the plane to Alaska and we are praying for good weather. Alaska in the freezing rain does not sound like our kind of vacation.
RYE COCKTAIL
While procuring a bottle of bourbon for a dinner gift, the omniscient sales clerk decreed that rye is the new liquor of choice for an Old Fashioned. Rye has spice top notes, whereas bourbon's are sweet, so rye actually contrasts with the sugar and the orange bitters better.
OLD FASHIONED
When it comes right down to it, there is really nothing about the Deans which could be called old fashioned. Except of course, this drink and their silver.