[Music plays] My mother made sweet potatoes baked in their skin, real plain Jane.
We had them at almost every weekday meal.
My grandmother made yams, glistening with butter and speckled with cinnamon and brown sugar.
These were for Sunday and their promise got me through many a Sunday sermon.
The Avett Brothers perform "Will You Return" I'm Vivian and I'm a chef.
My husband, Ben and I were working for some of the best chefs in New York City when my parents offered to help us open our own restaurant.
Of course, there was a catch.
We had to open this restaurant in Eastern North Carolina, where I grew up and said I would never return.
[Music plays] [Music plays] So this is my life.
Raising twins, living in the house I grew up in, and exploring the south, one ingredient at a time.
Previously on A Chef's Life.
Since Ben and I decided to stay here and make Eastern North Carolina our home we made the decision to build the house that we actually wanted.
We have one guy.
Today is his last day.
That's really the hardest thing about having this place where it is.
We have no labor pool.
I'm gonna have a nervous breakdown.
[Music plays] Why are you putting powdered sugar on those?
They're going to go in that banana pudding and I really don't want it to be any sweeter than it is, you know?
I'm going to Atlanta tomorrow to be one of the chefs cooking at this friends of James Beard dinner and I got stuck doing a dessert.
Elizabeth is helping me.
We're making our Benny wafer banana pudding but we made it in such a big batch it's not thickening up and I really...I don't know what we're going to do?
Let's just give this another hour.
Justice found a way we can make a corn starch slurry.
Maybe thicken it up like that?
But then it will taste more corn starchy.
Yeah, I don't want to do that.
You can't not... You can't serve that.
Just calm down.
I'm totally calm.
I just don't think it's cold enough or something.
-It will get thicker as it settles but she just... -That's okay.
What's the back up plan?
But she just made me mad.
What's the back up plan?
I don't have a back up plan.
-I mean... -Surprise.
I just feel like when I do stuff like this I need to do it myself.
I used to want to be this like, chef, like that got invited to all these things and all these events and now I just really...
I guess having kids really changes it.
I just want to stay home.
I miss so much I feel like, already.
I'm scared to even breath this but I believe Ben and I have a small chance of moving into our house before Christmas.
I found out that the people working on this house are calling it.... they have several names for it.
One of which is space ship and I recently heard, a doctor's office which was actually more insulting to me than the space ship hahaha so.... Have you heard that?
People calling this a doctor's office?
Hahaha yeah.
[Laughter] Either way I don't care.
I'm just so ready to move in here.
We would have lived in my mom's house for two years so.... [Music plays] I'm going to cut some sorghum for decoration in the restaurant.
It's really pretty.
All different colors of autumn and free.
Alright so I wanted to get this like, take on a candied yam on the menu tonight.
Okay.
Remember last week when we cut those pieces of sweet potatoes that were about that thick... -Yeah.
-And fried them on 300 Okay.
-And then smashed them.
-Okay.
Candied yam syrup would have brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg.
Think about this.
Like, what if we peeled the ginger and sliced it with like, the vegetable peeler so it's kind of in ribbons... And you're cooking it in this syrup.
Definitely orange zest in this.
Yeah.
And I think we need to also put a little vinegar.
And then pistachios.
I think it will look pretty.
It will be like pecans but it's not.
I think if we have one more pecan on the menu we should just call this place Pecan.
A lot of people only think of sweet potatoes as like, candied yams but we use them for all kinds of things.
We use them to thicken sauces and add a little sweetness to those sauces.
We use them as a root vegetable because that is truly what they are.
They're wonderful with citrus.
They're great in desserts.
I mean, the versatility of the sweet potato would blow your mind.
[Music plays] One of the things I have really grown to love about running a restaurant here is I really know many of the farmers I work with.
Amy and Rob are actual friends of ours.
I enjoy their company.
I would sit down and have a meal with them and I think we would have a good time.
The problem is Rob works like a dog.
We are at Tull Hill Farms Sweet Potatoes.
I've been uhh....using their sweet potatoes since we opened Chef and The Farmer.
They're good friends of ours.
I've never been to this farm though and it is just a massive operation.
So I noticed they are bringing the sweet potatoes in on these crates and they are putting them in these rooms.
What is that for?
We're adding heat and humidity right now.
What we're doing here is accelerating, changing the starches to sugar.
Because when you dig a sweet potato.
If I was to go out there and take one right out of the field and take it home and roast it.
It's starchier.
It's what we call green or uncured.
So is this your family's farm right here?
We've rented this particular farm for 65 years.
This is where my granddaddy got started.
[Singing in Spanish] [Singing in Spanish] It's labor intensive.
It's hard.
They work hard.
When it's heating back up it really takes a toll out of them because they're in the dirt and the ground gets hot.
It wears on them.
I really try to finish by lunch so they can get home and rest.
The guy behind us is taking the row and he's turning it with what they call... just a bottom, an old bottom plow.
So this is like, one plant because they're in a cluster here?
That's the way the plant was made.
That plant was in the ground like that.
When he flipped it up it flipped up like this.
[Music plays] That's perfect.
That's a perfect sweet potato.
So your grandma would be fine with that?
Yeah.
My mom would be fine with that.
She's prejudice against these big ones.
She says they are not as sweet.
I think they taste the same.
The sweetness doesn't vary...
I've never noticed and have not heard any scientific evidence that says that they're sweeter.
Well you know that generation, my mother, your grandmother... they just have ummm like, folklore.
This is so pretty how it has like little purple... Well, the sweet potato is the first cousin of Morning Glory so in the morning there will actually be flowers out here.
Oh really!
Well these are beautiful.
This is not a vine?
This is a sweet potato vine.
I keep reading that this are like the hot new ingredient.
I think people are just kind of like wilting them like spinach.
It's much more tender than say, a collard leaf.
What you're talking about cooking is taking a vine and stripping it down almost like cropping the vine to like that.
Is that something that you would want?
Yes, if you got it to me just like that, that would be fine.
And to cook it I would probably just take it from there and cook that little bit.
Well as they say, anything is for sell and anything can be done so... [Laughter] Just name your price, right?
So be prepared... to pay for it.
I don't know how bad you want it but we can surely make it happen.
We're doing this beer dinner where we're featuring sweet potatoes and we're trying to pair sweet potatoes with Mother Earth's beers.
We'll make sure you have some for that event.
We'll make sure y'all have a seat at that event.
Okay.
Restaurants like ours are always doing some kind of wine dinner or beer dinner and it's an event so it draws people.
Now, we have this awesome brewery in town that we feel like we want to do things with because we want to be part of a community with them so we're doing a beer dinner with Mother Earth and I'm excited about it.
[Music plays] No, it is not gonna be just sweet potatoes but it is going to be a beer dinner and everyone is going to get the same thing and he can't have a rib eye up there.
We're not... that's not possible.
The idea for a beer dinner is that the guests arrive and they have a certain number of beers and you pair food with them.
Josh, the brewer, I've done beer dinners with him in the past and he always wants to know my menu and he always kind of like, tells me that he doesn't think I should pair this with that or whatever and I always just wonder if he does that with other chefs?
I kind of doubt that he does.
So, I've been keeping the menu from him this whole time and uhhh... we'll see what he says.
I try to repurpose things.
Ever since we've reopened we've been saving the ribs from all the pigs we have gotten so we're having ribs for one of our courses tonight.
I am assembling the sweet potato pie surprise.
It is bourbon ice cream with sorga and sweet potato ice cream.
It gets Italian meringue and sweet potato caramel.
I recently took over the pastry chef position.
Our pastry chef is out on maternity leave.
She will be back in December.
-Thank god.
-Thank god.
[Laughter] I didn't realize how stressful her job was until I took on the responsibility.
[Music plays] This is gonna be part of the first course tonight.
It's like a cross between a bread pudding and a gratin.
So it's turnip greens, onions that I caramelized, our old bread, a cheese mix here that has like fontina and taleggio and smoked mozzarella and some parmesan cheese in it.
I think people who are drinking a lot of beer like a little spice and some cheese and for everything to be kind of comforting and tasty.
There's no root.
It's just turnip green casserole.
It's gonna turn out the same?
I'm baking it.
You said you needed it in five minutes.
I'm baking one right now just to see.
Well I can change it.
So you didn't need it?
You said five minutes.
Whatever.
[Music plays] Thank you.
Mom.
Growing up I always remember my grandma bring candied yams to every holiday.
I always thought they needed a little more sugar and maybe a little more butter but they were probably the sweetest thing around so I ate the hell out of them.
My grandmother passed away four years ago and my mother has had such a hard time getting over it I thought that making these candied yams to honor her and kind of like, documenting it would be really special.
Oh no no no no no.
Today I'm here with my mom, Scarlet Howard and my niece, Iris Casey.
She's also my god child.
We are here in, I guess you would call this our vacation home.
-Yes.
-It's actually in our back yard.
Ummm several years ago my dad said he was going to build a mountain house and we all got really excited because we thought we were going to have somewhere to go but he found out how much land and property cost in the mountains so he decided to build this triangular house in our backyard.
So, now my parents actually live here and Ben and I live in the house I grew up in just 100 yards from this door step.
The first thing we are gonna do is roast these sweet potatoes.
Grandma called for doing that at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour.
So Iris if you will just put some parchment down.
Grandma was always very smart in the kitchen and she would never just roast sweet potatoes on a bare pan.
No.
Because that would make far too much mess.
She was a smart lady in everything that she did.
Alright Iris, let's put these in the oven.
Do you remember Grandma?
I remember a little.
I don't remember much because I was little when I saw her.
I remember we use to go and visit Aunt Linda in Florida and one time in particular we drove all the way down there and Grandma read every single billboard on the way.
She was always so energetic and wanted to do all kinds of activities and I was like, a pre-teen, kind of like you and I wanted to sleep and sulk and basically get my way.
I remember her coming into my room in Florida and singing this song, "Rise and shine, rise and shine, you gotta get up, you gotta go."
And I'm like, that doesn't even rhyme.
[Laughter] She was always an early riser.
Well maybe I didn't get that from her but you certainly did.
Yes I did and you do also now that you've had children.
It does change everything actually.
[Music plays] So you want to roast them not all the way through.
Am I correct, Mom?
That's right.
Because if they get too caramelized and too much of these sugars come out they'll burn.
You want to start peeling, you two?
I don't know whether if it's true or not but my mother always said a sweet potato had everything in it that you needed.
Depending on what kind of spices she had on hand was the kind she used but mainly always it was cinnamon and nutmeg.
Iris, do you wanna grate some nutmeg and we're gonna put cinnamon on there.
Okay, what's next mom?
She'd sprinkle the brown sugar on it.
Okay.
I'll do that.
I wanna make sure we get enough.
And after that, then you would put butter.
Dot it around.
Well, you put it how you would do it.
You're the boss.
Since when?
[Laughter] Alright, so we'll go in the oven.
-400 degrees.
-400 degrees.
Those look even better than I remembered.
Wonderful.
Delicious.
We should definitely make these -for Christmas this year.
-Yeah.
It's a nice way to remember Grandma.
Iris can make them now.
Definitely.
They're so good.
This is outstanding.
You hardly ever say that at the restaurant.
[Laughter] You are supposed to start at 7 so you are going to need 6 pitchers poured by 7:10.
The first course is a turnip green casserole, then the baby back ribs.
Right after that is a sweet potato poutine.
I hope I'm saying that right.
It's a Canadian dish that is usually French fries with a veal or beef gravy on them.
So instead we are doing sweet potato fries.
They're big thick steak fries with a braised pork gravy -that is smooth and silky.
-With cheese curd.
With cheese curd.
And we're finishing the whole thing with some green tomato chow chow.
May I help you.
No, we do not have a dress code.
I get at least one of those calls a day about dress code.
When folks walk in here and they don't see white table cloths and soft pillowy cushions everywhere, they are often very disappointed.
But I think Vivian and I and you know, a lot of the folks that have happened up this type of restaurants across the country were rebelling against that notion because we prefer to eat somewhere that is loud and fun and energetic.
You might throw in a few cuss words and not offend anybody because they really can't hear you.
[Music plays] Today we're gonna make a modern version of candied yams.
I've started by roasting sweet potatoes in the oven at around 350 for about a hour and I've peeled them and sliced them into about half inch slices.
I'm going to pan fry these sweet potatoes and I need to coat them in corn meal because sweet potatoes have a lot of sugar in them and when they come in direct contact with heat they'll burn.
So this corn meal with kind of protect them from burning.
I have a pan pre heating behind me.
I'm gonna add a thin layer of vegetable oil.
We're not deep frying.
So I'm just gonna drop these guys in and kind of cook them over medium low heat.
I grew up eating candied yams at almost every holiday, every dinner at church, all the time and I loved them because they were sweet but they were always kind of one note and a little bit mushy so this recipe is really meant to counteract those two things.
While these sweet potatoes cook, I'm gonna start building my candy or my sauce.
I'm gonna start by putting another little tiny thin layer of grape seed oil into my pan and add a little bacon to that.
I've got this bacon crisping nicely and browning in my pan to that I'm gonna add some pecans.
I want them to toast up and brown slightly but not burn.
I'm gonna add a little pinch of chili flakes just to give this a little heat to round it out.
To make it balance.
A few scallions to give it that oniony note and I'm gonna put this back on the stove for just a minute to toast up those pecans.
Alright you can kind of see how this are really starting to brown.
When you use that you can turn them.
Alright, now that these are nice and toasted I'm going to add my sorghum syrup.
Sorghum is a type of molasses made from the sorghum plant which is in the corn family.
I'm going to add a little bit of lemon juice just to punctuate flavors and a pinch of salt.
We're gonna let this cook down, say another two minutes.
Alright, let's take a look at these.
You wanna make sure you season both sides with just a little salt.
I'm gonna finish the whole thing with just a little bit of butter.
Alright, my sweet potatoes are browned on both sides.
They look nice and crispy.
I have this really beautiful syrup or candy.
This is really hot and I can burn myself really badly and I have before.
I'm being very careful.
That's so good.
Here we have candied yams with a bacon, pecan and sorghum syrup.
It's got texture, acidity, heat.
It's a modern take on a southern classic and I think my grandmother would be very proud.
[Music plays] It's good.
Tonight is my niece's 17th birthday and so they're having a little party in the wine shop ummm that I will not be participating in because I'm working.
[Music plays] [Crowd chatter] Good evening.
Vivian has created a menu that is kind of centered on fall specialties, specifically sweet potatoes.
That's Rob and Amy Hill, the big sweet potato farmers and we're very excited to have them here tonight as well.
[Clapping] It is your food.
At least the first course.
-You should probably... -They're eating right now though, aren't they?
I know so you should talk about the first course.
It would be great if I had like a legion...
It would be great if we had more staff.
I don't think it's that big of a deal.
You wuss out every time.
I don't wuss out.
You do.
Nothing about this is wussing out, okay.
We have to plate 60 people.
I can't leave Allen down here.
[Music plays] I'll be real brief.
We have a shy chef downstairs.
She sent me up to do the dirty work.
The ribs have been braised with dunkel as the main braising liquid.
Oh now you come upstairs.
I just said you were shy.
Give me some of that.
Do people seem to like this?
This course is awesome.
It's a good course.
You're going to come behind the fries with a little bit of cheese like that.
Okay so, Natalie after you come behind with the cheese, I'm gonna go down with gravy and then you're gonna go behind me with chow.....chow chow.
Okay okay.
That's plenty.
So what you have in front of you is a little wacky.
It's a take on a poutine and I hope I'm saying that correctly.
It should be warm and it should pair beautifully with this beer that I absolutely love.
The only reason I can speak to you is because I had a little bit of it down there.
[Laughter] So this is not what it appears in case you haven't figured that out yet.
It should taste like sweet potato pie with bourbon and sorghum and pecans but it's ice cream.
Well the beer dinner is over and I think it went great.
I think the dessert was really fun and Josh the brewer is pleased and that makes me feel good.
As luck would have it we have one pie left and it's my niece's birthday so we're gonna send it to her.
[Singing happy birthday] For more information on A Chef's Life visit PBS.org/food A Chef's LIfe is available on DVD.
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