Collard Green Queen

[Music plays] I think the most quintessential southern ingredient is the collard green.

We drink their pot liquor.

We cook em with pork fat.

I scream, you scream, we all scream collard green.

[Laughter] 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.

The Avett Brothers perform "Will You Return" So this is my life.

Raising twins, living in the house I grew up in, and exploring the south, one ingredient at a time.

[Music plays] Previously on A Chef's Life We have one guy.

Today is his last day.

He gave his two weeks notice.

I'm going to have a nervous breakdown.

We're doing a beer dinner with Mother Earth.

We have to plate 60 people.

I can't leave Allen down here.

So you should talk about the first course.

That would be great if I had like a legion... You wuss out every time.

[Music plays] Tomorrow I'm going to be one of three chefs in Chapel Hill kicking off this event called Terra Vita.

It's like a celebration of sustainable food practices.

Tomorrow night's 110 people.

I'm doing three different courses.

So we're trying to get pretty much all of that done in one day.

That pork is uh... questionable.

What do you mean?

It doesn't smell good at all.

Okay well give me five minutes.

So you know I got two pork loins.

We thawed it and opened the first one and it smells.

Thank you.

Alright that sucks.

We're using a new pork farmer and that pork farmer is going through a purveyor and somewhere in those two lines of communication we're getting some rotten pork.

When something like that happens you have to be really quick on your feet because if the pork's no good you still have to have a dish that night.

It's situations like this that require me to always be here because my staff is not really comfortable making calls like that.

Oh that's hot.

Sorry.

I'm just really batting a thousand today.

In the fall and winter we cook a ton of collards here.

We take our bacon ends, ham hocks, onions, garlic, chili flakes, and bay leaves and make a stock.

We're gonna cook these pretty soft, kind of like grandma would do because they're going to get folded into rice.

The really cool thing about this is after we cook these collards we're going to use this pot liquor to cook our rice.

So it's gonna be just like all encompassing collard essence.

Every southern cook has their own way to cook collard greens and everyone feels like theirs is the absolute best.

Pretty much the only thing anyone can agree on about the cooking of collard greens is you shouldn't do it until the first frost.

People believe and I agree that the frost changes the flavor and the texture of the collards.

Makes them more tender, sweeter.

Just a better overall eating green.

And for this reason we generally think of collards as a fall and winter crop.

Although people here grow them all year long.

People in the south can not live without their collard greens.

I have no scientific basis for this but when you braise meat after you do that you let it sit in the braising liquid to cool and I feel like collards are the same way.

I feel like after they cook they need to sit in their liquid so that they kind of like absorb the flavor of that stock.

Over the course of the year we use a lot of collard greens here and I get them from several of our farmers but the good thing about getting them from Warren is that I can call him and say I need collards today and he's not grumpy about having to go out and get them right away and making the special trip to town to bring them to me.

Hey.

Hey Vivian.

It's very cold.

It's not so bad.

-How are ya?

-I'm alright.

Let's go see your collards.

Okay I hopefully have got cabbage collards for sure in one place... You seem kind of uncertain.

Yeah I really don't know?

I got some seed from people that live down the road and they swore it was cabbage collards so I'm a... unless they lied to me they're cabbage collards.

And that is one fat pretty pig right there.

Oh wow she's got a fat roll behind her head right there.

I'm telling you.

Whoo.

So are you going to save this one -or your next pig picking.

-I think that's gonna be a Christmas pig.

Yeah I believe we're going to cook him at Christmas.

[Music plays] When you cook collards to death which is what we do don't they lose a lot of their nutrition, which is why people drink the pot liquor?

Right.

I guess so.

That's where all the vitamins go I guess?

Now that's not bad looking Warren.

No, no that color looks fine.

It's a unique little vegetable.

Maybe there will be a collard renaissance at some point but you know right now kale -is kind of the big dog.

-Really popular.

That's what people want to buy?

Yeah.

Everybody is crazy about kale.

So if you leave these in the field all winter they won't die?

Oh no.

They'll just get bigger and bigger and bigger.

And then in the spring don't you get something called a collard sprout or something?

Yeah yeah they kind of.

Yeah they form a head and out of that head shoots the what... you know the flower and it comes up about this high.

When y'all cook your collards around here do you bother to get your stem out?

Yeah I like to get the stem out.

At least the biggest part of it anyways.

I've been ummm taking the leaf out and then cutting the stem on a bias and then pickling it.

How about that?

-I blanch them and shock them... -Not wasting anything.

-Right right.

-Good for you.

If I can get the collards by tomorrow afternoon that will give me enough time.

I'm doing this dinner in Chapel Hill.

Okay.

So tomorrow afternoon.

That means afternoon but before...

Right.

Before.

You have to have time to cook em.

-Right.

Right.

-Gotcha.

Okay.

Alright.

-Sometimes we have to clarify what times mean.

-We do, we do.

Morning is really long.

You say.... -Morning... -It's quarter til 12 and I'm on the way driving like crazy and Vivian is calling, Warren, where are you?

[Music plays] As it turns out I don't have enough staff to take anyone with me so these two guys who are chefs at the beach, Pat and Junior have offered to help because they're nice and because they seem to admire my food.

You get your hair cut?

Yes I did.

It looks good.

Junior just called and he'll be here at ten tomorrow.

-Okay great.

-Okay.

Sure wish I had time to get my hair cut.

These are collard stems.

Something that we almost always throw away.

And because this whole event is kind of centered around sustainability and not wasting anything I'm going to pickle these stems and use them as a garnish on my main course.

What I'm doing right now is blanching which is like dropping these little stems into boiling salted water for about one minute and then I'm gonna shock them in an ice bath.

What that will do is just barely cook them and set their color.

It will actually make them more green and more vibrant than they are in their raw state.

The whole idea behind these pickled collard stems on top of this rice and collard dish is to kind of make you think about collard greens with hot pepper vinegar.

So I'm gonna put them in a vacuum sealed bag and put my pickling liquid in there and then vacuum seal them on a really high pressure.

Yep I'm making a huge mess.

I'm kind of known for that around here.

[Music plays] It's actually gonna shoot the liquid into the stem without adding any heat to it.

This is a somewhat new technique that is a byproduct of sous vide cooking or cooking in a bag in a water bath.

We used to do a whole lot of sous vide cooking here but I'm kind of over that to some extent but I still like to do a lot of stuff with this vacuum.

So now my little collard stems have been infused or compressed by my pickling liquid thereby creating a really quick heatless pickle.

It's something that I love to do.

For one it's very fast.

For two they look really good.

Several years ago a neighbor of mine brought me something called collard kraut to try and I blindly tasted it.

I thought it was delicious.

I told my dad that I had just tried the Mills' brothers collard kraut and he said, oooh you like those rotten collards, do you?

That Thanksgiving I went and made collard kraut with them and I realized basically what they're doing is letting collards rot outside until they're good and pungent and then they eat them all winter long.

Hey.

Hello darling.

You sweet sweet heart.

She's got two twins too.

Oh wow that was a long time ago.

-Yes it was.

-Come on in here.

So this is a Mills' family tradition?

We've been making kraut around here....

Ever since I can remember.

In a... way over a hundred years I know.

When I was asking you when would be a good time to do this you said you needed to consult the almanac.

Yeah.

And why is that?

Well if you make it when the signs is in the bowels you can't hardly stand it when you cook it.

It stinks?

And what sign is it in today?

-The knees.

-The knees.

So we've just passed the bowels I guess.

Show me how to get started.

Okay.

[Music plays] What you're doing here is washing them really really good.

Right.

Washing it real good and then you sprinkle salt...

So he's putting a layer of collards in there that have been washed twice and then you put a good layer of salt.

Right.

Alright now tell me about that thing.

This is called a mall.

I know why it's called that.

[Laughter] It's purpose is to kind of break up the leaves and it packs it down in the barrel.

Has that been in your family a long time?

Yes.

Is it a way of preserving the collards?

As far as I know it is and I like collard kraut better than I like cabbage kraut.

Oh I do too and I had never had collard kraut until about five years ago and I've been kind of wild about it ever since.

And I tried to make some at the restaurant and something went terribly wrong.

I'll be honest with you.

It doesn't smell good cooking to me either.

I mean, but we had to have three young men take it out of the restaurant and throw the whole container that it was in away because it was uhhh... it was terrible smelling.

[Laughter] I agree with you.

How long will it take the kraut to be ready?

Well when it's this cold it might take it three or four weeks hadn't it... How do you know when the kraut is done?

By tasting it.

-Tasting it raw out here?

-Tasting it raw.

It's gonna hold that down under the water.

Anyway I can't wait to have some kraut.

When it gets ready I'll see that you have some of it.

Perfect.

And I appreciate y'all letting me do this.

I know that it kind of puts a wrench in things.

We appreciate you and we love you and you're just sweet people and so easy to love.

Well that's right.

[Laughter] Thank you very much.

We eat everyday at four o clock.

We actually call it family meal so they go into their shift not hungry.

Did you send him some where?

He said he cleared it with Justice that he could leave early and... Did he clear it with you that he was leaving?

I thought he told he told Justice.... Did you tell him he could leave?

Now we have a dish room full of dishes.

If I'm here I want them to clear it with me because he has no business leaving.

We don't have another dishwasher until 5 o clock.

I mean...

I don't.

I just don't know why on earth you would tell him he could go when the dish room looks like this?

We're all in a pickle now washing dishes because he has got to go pay bills on the one day he works during the week?

You're kidding me?

I got here at nine when he did and I'll be here til 11 o clock at night.

I'm just so... Aaahhh!

Sorry.

When we first opened Ben was definitely the bad cop around here.

I was always worried about people liking me and making sure everyone around me was happy.

I'm not sure when but at some point that definitely changed and I no longer care about that.

He says he wants to be there for his kids but he doesn't work enough hours.

I have very little power.

I always let situations like this go a little bit too far I think because of where we are.

I'm begging people to work here.

I mean this is not the first situation with this particular individual or tons of individuals.

We put up with a lot more than I think your typical restaurateur because we don't have a bench.

We don't have people waiting in the wings to come and take your job.

Okay so one scoop of this, but the important thing is you don't want too much collard.

This is the wrapper.

Okay so at this point cut that off.

[Music plays] Today we're gonna make a take on Greek Domades using collard greens instead of grape leaves and pork instead of lamb.

I'm gonna start by blanching my collard greens.

I had to take this big stem out so that these are easy to fold.

Heat some water to a boil and add quite a bit of salt because we really wanna try and flavor the collard leaves.

This is really the only opportunity.

Basically I'm just gonna drop these guys in here and let them cook for about 60 seconds.

We don't want them to be mushy or fully cooked through.

Just soft enough so we can stuff them and then roll them.

Domades usually have a filling of rice and beef or rice and lamb and because we are where we are and I am who I am we're gonna use pork and pecans.

The sausage we make here at the restaurant, it's ground pork and sage.

[Music plays.]

To that I'm gonna add some cranberries that I plumped up with some apple cider.

Next I'm gonna add some chopped pecans.

I'm also gonna add some orange zest which will add a nice elegant fragrance.

And finally we're gonna add grated ginger.

I love using fresh ginger in all sorts of things.

I think it adds a brightness, a tartness, and a spiciness that is really unmatched with any other ingredient.

A little pinch of salt.

My collard leaf is blanched long enough.

So I'm going to pull it out and shock it in an ice water bath.

I mean, look at that.

That's gorgeous.

Alright so next I'm gonna start stuffing my collard leaves.

You'll be surprised about how easy this is.

I'm gonna take about two table spoons of my filling and I'm just gonna place my filling inside the leaf and roll it up kind of like an egg roll.

I'm gonna trim off any excess collard.

Roll it up.

See it looks like a perfect little green cigar.

Once I get these stuffed I'm gonna just sit them in a little steamer and cook each wrap for about ten minutes because keep in mind this pork is raw and we have to cook it from start to finish.

[Music plays] They have steamed for about ten minutes and I can feel that they are done because they are firm to the touch.

So traditionally domades are served with a cucumber yogurt sauce but because we are in the south I've made a sweet potato yogurt.

This is called the restaurant swoosh.

So I put a little dollop down and I take my spoon and drag it through and then I'm gonna place my domade right in the center of it.

Put a little salt on top.

That's so good.

The first thing that I taste is actually the orange zest then I get all this wonderful crunch from the pecans and then the sweetness of the cranberries.

Grand mother would be very impressed at the versatility of the collard leaf.

So this is our staging area.

So we can set up in a third of it essentially.

All three chefs right here?

Yeah.

Okay so to be on a time frame, at 6:30 we start serving.

At 6:30 we start passing hors d'ourves.

At 6:30 I would like you to start frying the fitters.

Sure, okay.

They're gonna be served with a salad so we'll see what kind of platters we have.

[Music plays] Oh yeah, your the rice dish.

Could we do that in a bowl?

Well I'd rather not but if I have to do it on a platter....

I mean if I have to do it in a bowl I will.

-I thought y'all brought platters though.

-We did.

They're big enough but they're too big for the table.

I just wanted to be mindful to not be intrusive.

So there's three chefs here for this event and there's been a little bit of pre-event drama.

I think there's just a lot of egos involved.

I'm gonna try and fly under the radar but I'm having a hard time doing that already.

I'm arguing over platters.

[Music plays] These things are always a little nerve wracking.

For one because it's like an away game and you never really know how to gauge the crowd.

They're not coming to you because they want to eat in your restaurant.

You're coming to them so it always makes me a little nervous.

I feel like they'll be fine.

Hurry up and wait.

I was almost a ballerina until I got short and fat.

[Laughter] [Music plays] So it's a collard leaf stuffed with pork, pecans, and cranberries.

When I do events like this I can pick something that everybody is gonna love.

You know, things like crab or shrimp or beef but I always like to choose something that is surprising to people when they really love it.

When it's their favorite thing and it's a collard green I feel like you've really done something.

It is delicious.

So we can bring the chow up here and start the rice.

You think should they go around the outside or on top?

I think it's so pretty I'd hate to put it... Just do it on the outside.

Let's see what it looks like on the outside or we can change it.

-How are you guys doing?

-We're good.

So they're running this now?

That's what you guys... all about being just great hosts and hostesses, right?

-What is it?

-No, I don't do that part.

-Yeah -Hahaha -Ben does that.

-Yeah.

Okay what can I help you with?

Anything?

-Nothing.

-You're good.

-I'm good.

I'm just hot.

-Awesome.

You are a rock star.

Thanks.

[Music plays] -Chef, did you want us to take it out?

-Yeah.

So it's a salt roasted beet and carrot salad with compressed apple, scallion apple vinaigrette and trout fritters.

Yeah but not yet.

We're gonna do that at the last minute.

After watching those trout fritters sit there for twenty minutes I'm gonna make them wait on me this time.

This is Benton's smoked country ham.

I don't want people to really, like see it.

I just want it to dissolve that's why it's so thin.

So we're gonna go rice, pickles, turnips.

Yuuum.

It's like south in a taste.

Who made that?

I don't know?

Let's find out.

Vivian.

Of course Vivian made it.

I learned I was gonna have to speak in front of 100 people and I absolutely hate speaking in front of people.

It makes me wanna cry for my mommy.

Thank y'all for coming and celebrating the foods that North Carolina has to offer.

I love fall.

It's my favorite time for produce.

We did carrots, beets, and pickled apples with smoked sunburst trout fritters and I did the rice course.

And rice can be so boring, but we tried to make it exciting with collards of all things.

So anyways thank y'all very much.

Your daddy said it smelled so bad until he had to have it outside.

He could not let it be in the house.

Okay.

Can we bring it in for a few minutes?

Too bad that you can't smell this right now but it is strong.

This is the collard kraut that we made with the Mills' brothers.

It tastes much better than it smells.

It's actually really good.

Your daddy likes it but he didn't want to smell it.

I think this would be delicious like chopped up and mixed into a slaw and put on a burger or a hot dog.

It has acidity and funkiness that would be great paired with something but on it's own it's kind of... -Pungent.

-Pungent hahaha.

So what are you going to do with all that?

Well I thought I would cook a big pot of it here.

Well I think your daddy would want you to do it at your house.

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