AMUSE BOUCHE French Magnolia Digest
Society Digest Volume 1 - Issue 1 BonjourYou're receiving our monthly insider digest called Amuse Bouche with behind-the-scenes tales, farm connections, recipes, menus wines, cooking advice, our favorite restaurants, personal photo galleries, travel tips & much more! You asked for more personal photos and stories, we heard you. You asked for more menu ideas, we've done it. You asked for restaurant recommendations, we are giving them. Why am I receiving this awesome digest?We get it. It's hard to remember all the things we sign up for. I'm Chef Missy and my husband, Thomas Fraley and I own a luxury catering company called The French Magnolia. We travel all over the southeast helping clients entertain at a luxury level in the home. We also have an Emmy Award Winning television show which is now streaming on the PBS video streaming APP for FREE. Season One is up! Crazy Fun Announcements
We CHERISH our time with you here because this platform is where we get to share and love on our clients, friends and fans. Know that we are growing and developing better constantly. So you will see things improve over time. We will always strive to give you lots of goodies to last through the month. BUT if this is not for you, we understand. We are thrilled that you have decided to stay for the party. Thomas and I LOVE a fabulous party. After all, we throw parties for a living! Let's get on with it - xo How the TV show & the desires of your heartIn September of 2021 Thomas and I were unpacking boxes from moving into our new home in Bristol, VA. We had purchased a 100 year old house with two outpost buildings on a one acre corner lot in an historic neighborhood. The house was frightfully overgrown with half-dead trees, two feet of ivy everywhere including up every building and a whole lotta clay and mud. First, we gutted, painted and spruced up our guest cottage and prepared it for Airbnb. In this fated September our now Emmy Award winning cinematographer and director Jacob Dellinger walked up our driveway with a friend to claim his spot as our first Airbnb guest. Upon Jacob's arrival I was on my hands and knees laying large pavers (by myself, I might add). Covered in mud, I waved hello and gave the proverbial 'make yourself at home'. Upon their departure a few days later, Jacob said, 'who are you and what do you do'. It's not a rude question in the south. It simply lays the groundwork for us to discover how closely or far apart we might be related. We chatted for a bit about our culinary company French Magnolia and they left. That night my husband Thomas noticed a blurb online where Jacob was an Emmy Award winning producer at PBS. He urged me to call him and tell him my dream of doing a culinary show. I quipped that I was going to let God handle it. Thomas pleaded, 'but this is one of the desires of your heart'. In a slightly snitty tone I replied, 'I'm tired of asking God to do this and do that. If God wants me to do a culinary show then HE is going to have to make ALL of it happen'. I threw the comment across the kitchen like a dishtowel and returned in a huff to my muddy yard. Three days later Jacob Dellinger called me and asked me if I would be interested in doing a culinary show for PBS. One day later he was at our house for coffee. I'm here to remind you, God knows the desires of your heart. When He is ready (and he feels you are ready), He will open the door. Your job is to show up and do the work. Building the Set & Doing the WorkThomas and I spent the next six months building the set for French Magnolia Cooks, the tv show. We have a fabulous large outpost building where we house and operate everything for the French Magnolia business, so we took half of it and built a kitchen. It was just the two of us - literally. Thomas and I planned, purchased, painted and built everything you see on the tv show. Thomas cut and installed every subway tile and he build the kitchen island with his own two hands. In March 2022 we were finally done with the kitchen and tv set and celebrated by having Jacob over for dinner. Below is the first photo of us together. One month later in April 2022 we shot Episode One (S1; E1) FRENCH MAGNOLIA COOKS: pheasant. We shot the pheasant hunt at Holland Hunting & Game Preserve in Glade Spring, Virginia. The owner is John Holland whose family purchased the property from William Armisted Burwell who was Secretary of State for Thomas Jefferson. It was extremely cold but beautiful. We invited John C. Gurley (of Roanoke, Virginia) who is a 30-year friend of mine to be our guest hunter on the pheasant episode. He and his son (John Jr) made every shot, except one. Pretty darn impressive shooting, but Molly the bird-dog stole the show. Pure JoyBelow is a personal photo of me the day we kicked off the culinary portion for our first episode. It was snowing and bitterly cold with sideways winds, but I was filled with pure joy. Opening day in the culinary center, I was running back and forth between buildings (in the snow) gathering food and sundries with hot rollers in my hair - all tied up with a tie-dye scarf. Just to note, I would never be caught anywhere on planet earth wearing a tie-dye scarf. The scarf was a whim farmers market purchase and truthfully, the scarf was grateful to finally have a job. I now use it solely to cover my hot rollers before shooting culinary episodes. Other than my wedding day and my baptism day, this was the happiest day of my life. I dreamed of this day for years. My Aunt Nancy (who basically has been my Mom for the past 30 years) had just sent me a fabulous canvas work apron for my birthday which I wear on every episode. I was so nervous and my heartbeat felt like thunder, but I was uncharacteristically calm. Even though I was moving at mach 3 speed in the snow & sleet, my heart was meditating on gratitude to the Lord for this blessing. I felt pure joy to my core. CLICK BLUE LINK TO WATCH TRAILER OFFICIAL TRAILER: FRENCH MAGNOLIA COOKSOFFICIAL TRAILER: FRENCH MAGNOLIA COOKSHow To Watch FRENCH MAGNOLIA COOKS tv showGo to your PBS video streaming APP on your Smart tv or Roku tv. The PBS video streaming APP is FREE. Most smart televisions already have the PBS APP loaded. If you don't see it, you can go to "ad channel" and add the PBS channel APP. They will ask you to set up an account with your email address, but it's still FREE. Search 'FRENCH MAGNOLIA COOKS'. Add it to your favorites. You will see SEASON ONE. Be sure to scroll to the beginning of the SEASON ONE and start with EPISODE ONE: pheasant. It helps to watch them in order. When you're done, watch the SPECIAL FEATURE EXTRA episode called 'Good To Know'. If you are trapped somewhere with a laptop but no tv, you can go to the PBS PAGE on our website. Click on the episode links and they will take you straight to each episode on PBS. Bougie Hors D'oeuvreValentine's Day (my bday) is right around the corner and dinner for two at home is my favorite (if I'm not working which I usually am). However, I am always open to a slightly delayed celebration. Although Valentines Day feels commercial and cliche, it's about romantic love. Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century roman priest (high middle ages). He ministered to persecuted Christians and married people in secret who were in love even though the King had not approved or signed-off on their marriage. As a result, Saint Valentine was arrested and martyred. The Latin word Valentinus means worthy, strong or powerful and his saintly day is associated with courtly love. Regardless of myths and stories surrounding Saint Valentine, it's a fun excuse to dress up (even at home) and dote on your special someone. Thomas and I have help hundreds of people entertain in their homes so I have a BIG little black book of hors d'oeuvre. I love Alaskan smoked salmon with a passion so here are some of my personal go-to smoked salmon ideas. Smoked Salmon Hors d'oeuvre Ideas:
Romantic Date Brunch MENU:Farm egg omelette filled with smoked salmon, leeks and marscapone. Finish with fresh dill & cracked pepper. Wanna splurge? Pile your smoked salmon omelette with caviar and fresh chive. Having more than two for brunch? Use the smoked salmon & leek combo in a beautiful puffy egg casserole. Simply replace the marscapone with a little heavy cream & white pepper. NOTE: If you make an egg casserole be sure to sauté the leeks ahead of time and let them cool before folding them into the egg mixture. SIDE DISHES
Smoked Salmon WINE & BEVERAGE TIPS
It's winter...cold, damp and windy. You're trying to eat light and healthy but the season calls for hardy meat stews. Cravings call for toasted rustic boule served with rich bone broth & vegetables. My wife (Chef Missy) has taught me that the best stews are made with already roasted meats with a caramelized sticky crunch around the edges. Hmmmm...yum. I'm getting excited for stew. Another thing on everyone's mind in the dead of winter is budget. So you're looking for an old world wine with earthiness, tobacco & maybe a hint of spice that won't hurt the budget. Here is my recommendation and my wine of the moment. Old World Wine DebateWhen we drink wine, which isn't that often, we stick with old world wines. It's a big topic but let's KISS...keep is simple silly. First, the depth of character in old world wines are more distinct. We get better wine for the price - age, character, terroir, flavor, profile. Second, French wines contain less pesticides and herbicides. In France, spraying or using poisons (including glyphosate) are forbidden. There are over 200 pesticides and herbicides forbidden in France that are used regularly in the United States wine and farming world. Due to wind and water run-off, it's extremely difficult to get 100 % percent "organic" grapes in the united states. Third, anything grown in the EU is simply cleaner than new world. EU (including France) use all natural techniques and biologique sprays on wine vines. The criteria for clean water and clean farming practices within the EU countries are much stricter than in some new worlds such as the United States. NOTE: pesticides and herbicides in water and soil cause the foods to change their DNA and as result, change our DNA. Put some serious thought to it. Below are some photos from a famous market in Aix en Provence, France. They don't use 'organic' or 'conventional' signs. Everything is biologique and super clean. ZERO pesticides and herbicides. That means people are healthy year-round and live longer. Pharmekeia is extremely low so less pills are being flushed into the water systems.Simply additional reasons to spend more time in France! Woohoo. Aix en Provence Market GalleryFarm StampThe January 2024 Farm Stamp goes to Amy and Will Campbell of Old Rich Valley Farm. Watch Episode Two of FRENCH MAGNOLIA COOKS: chicken on the PBS streaming APP. Amy and Will Campbell raise, harvest and sell clean, gorgeous beef, pork and chicken. Their chicken isn't just any ole chicken. This is the cleanest chicken you will ever eat - and you can taste the difference. It is delicious! First, you need to subscribe to Will Campbells's Farming Blog. It is one of my favorite farming blogs. Even if you don't, farm you will learn so much about food and sourcing. Click Old Rich Valley Farm to join blog now. Second, if you are in Southwest Virginia, you can join over 100 families in monthly herd-share meat subscriptions. Sign up once and keep your freezer full all year round. Choose a delivery location near you and meet us once a month to pick up your meat. Here's a product list. Smart, generous, kind and really excellent at their farming craft, Amy and Will Campbell represent everything good about America. Home & Garden MomentWhen we moved to Bristol, Virginia we dedicated our new home with a little gem magnolia tree given to us my Aunt Nancy & Uncle Duke who have pretty much been my parents for the last 30 years plus+ years. As we live in a world of drop-ship anything you desire, we received our precious little gem magnolia in a brown box - ready to plant. Thomas read and followed the instructions to the letter. It all seemed way too easy. Dig a hole. Put plant in hole. Water. When the little gem was in the ground, we gave her the name Margot, Margot Magnolia. We held hands and gazed upon her. After renting for 10 years, planting something permanent gave us a real sense of accomplishment. Beaming from ear to ear we felt we had really done something important. For two years we watered her, talked to her and even prayed over her, but she did nothing. Month after month, season after season - she didn't grow or bud. Summer, fall, winter, spring and around we go again but still nothing. Then suddenly at the 2 year mark she budded! You would have thought that a sack of gold bars had arrived in our yard. We jumped for joy and immediately praised her beauty. After the bud, time ticked by like old molasses exiting a glass jar. A few weeks went by with nothing. Finally, we saw Margot come to life. Three days later she gave us everything she had to give. Unfortunately it poured heavy rain on the day of her debut so she was a little beaten down. SEED TIME & HARVEST oh my. We plant the seed but often don't discern the time. Even though Margot took her sweet time, she was always going to bud and bloom. The waiting was challenging and filled with anticipation but we never doubted that she would one day harvest blooms. Her harvest was already built into the DNA of her seed. All we had to do was sow her in good soil, water and wait. Margot's story is now part of our story and legacy of our home. Hopefully her roots will become firmly planted deep into our yard. I pray Margot Magnolia's harvest of fragrant blooms live on to bless many generations. Guest Artist SpotlightOur January 2024 Guest Artist Spotlight goes to John C. Gurley of Roanoke, Virginia. John and I have known each other for 30 years and he has always been a favorite friend. Social media and mutual friends have allowed us to bob and weave throughout each others lives over the years. I invited John to be our guest artist for episode one because I felt the nudge that he was the right person to help us kick off this new creative project. John's son, John Jr, accompanied him for the pheasant hunt at Holland Hunting & Game Preserve and on that cold April day I witnessed generational hunting excellence. When writing the episode scripts, I create a theme which drives my heart towards certain messages and words. The pheasant episode theme was generational blessings. Watching John and his son that day, I knew my heart had witnessed generational dedication to excellence in the field. I made the decision to dedicate Episode One: Pheasant to John's father (James Benjamin Gurley 1931-2013) who blessed with knowledge which gave flight for John in turn to teach his own sons. Generational blessings indeed. ContemplationsEvery French Magnolia Society Digest is an opportunity to share reflections from the heart. Recently Thomas and I have been ruminating on the concept of pride and false pride (false humility). In case you're scratching your head on the term 'false humility', let me save your scalp some scratching. False humility is basically a twisted form of false pride. We practice false humility when we intentionally devalue ourselves or our contributions in an attempt to appear humble. According to secular therapists and psychiatrists, both real pride and false pride are emotional disorders and are considered forms of narcissism. Pride is outright boasting and exemplifying levels of dishonesty, arrogance and conceit. It is a grandiosity that licenced professionals regard as a classic narcissistic personality disorder. According to the Holy Bible (the Word of God) humility is the personal quality of being set free in victory from the demon of arrogance and pride. In other words, when we are humble before the Lord, we have an accurate estimate of our worth. The real purpose of humility is to help us understand where we are in our personal relationship with God. It's a necessary attitude for repentance. And repentance is not a one-off, it's a lifestyle. There many forms of pride and you can look them up. One for instance is gossip or spreading scandalous information about another person. When we speak gossip about another person behind their back, we are in effect exaulting ourselves above them giving the impression that we are better than them. So what's false pride or false humility? We want to come before the God face down with a repentant heart, but God hasn't designed us to stay on the ground drowning in our own failures. We all have those days where we feel low, discouraged or puny so we temporarily downplay our contributions and accomplishments feeling like nothing we do has been any good. However, to permanently embrace these attitudes in our heart with chronic word curses is false pride. From a Biblical perspective, people who are chronically arrogant, smug or boastful are operating under the demonic spirit of pride. On the flip side - when we chronically see ourselves as worthless and inferior we have also fallen prey to the demonic spirit of pride. How can this be? In a nutshell, false humility is an affront to the work Jesus did on the cross. If you have fully repented for a particular sin and you continue to condemn yourself for it then you are in effect, telling Jesus that His death on the cross was inadequate for the forgiveness of your sin. You are in effect refuting the good news of the New Testament. The Solution In the secular world, therapists assess you and then label you. They tell you who you are based on their expertise. You may receive and come into agreement with this label. You may even repeat it to others and continue to word curse yourself. They may even prescribe pharmakeia (poisonous) pills which will compromise your body and DNA. Their recommendation is continued timely and expensive therapy where possible solutions and a heart healing might occur way down the road. In the meantime they continue to administer pills to ease your symptoms. In the Biblical Believer Christian world, God has already spoken His desire for you. He sang a prophecy over you before the earth was formed. His perfection and a life free from ALL disease and lack was part of His desire and will for your life from the beginning. Through violations, sins, iniquities (and the iniquities of our bloodline) the door was opened to satan, the devil, giving him legal rights to your life. Additionally, people you trusted said and did bad things that hurt you and hardened your heart causing anger, bitterness, jealousy etc. BUT because of the blood of Jesus (which has already been shed), you can pray, repent and be reconciled to your Heavenly Father. Through repentance and prayer, you will absolutely and certainly be healed by your Heavenly Father (in Jesus' name) through the Holy Spirit. This will cause permanent and lasting healing with zero expense to you (and no pills). Your therapy bill has already been paid in full by Yeshua, Jesus. You have a signed contract with your creator - your Heavenly Father that says that you are healed, restored, redeemed, bought back, paid for, chosen, set apart AND your contract is signed and sealed with His blood. Wonderful Moments Celebrated When we received Gods favor and won the Emmy Award for French Magnolia Cooks, we shared it on social media and texted family and close friends. We gave God and His Holy Spirit the Glory and we continue to thank Him for the favor and blessing. We allowed ourselves to enjoy the moment and the afterglow because we worked really hard on our show and we knew it was a good accomplishment and contribution. God wants us to enjoy the fruits of our good works and contributions. It pleases Him to see His children healthy, successful and walking out blessings that come from things done in excellence. This new year put these questions to the test - Where have you come into covenant with false pride-humility by downplaying your gifts that God put inside of you? Where have you downplayed yourself and your gifts in order to appear humble? What areas of you life still need to repented and healed? Think about it. And remember... The next time someone says, 'you look amazing'. Flash a big smile, and say 'thank you'. The next time someone says, 'good job'. Reply with a genuine 'thanks, I'm super pleased as well'. As you head into this new year, remember - don't 'aw shucks' yourself into false pride. Give Him the credit and the Glory but know that He takes great pleasure in a job well done. personal PHOTO GALLERY Celebrating The Emmy Awards 2023Episode One: pheasantEpisode Two: chicken at Old Rich Valley Farm French Magnolia culinary event moments
We pour an enormous amout of time and love into our monthly insider digest, Amuse Bouche. We are continuing to improve and grow with even more valuable recipes, menus, reviews, tips and contributions and we give it for FREE. We created a Tip Jar platform where fans and friends can tip us so we can continue to plan, shop, cook, teach, contribute, bless, repeat. Thank you for the support. Click and discover ways to bless us.
|
