Cooking With Carol

If you know our Carol, you know not only is she our CEO, but she's also a wizard in the kitchen!

So we talked her into sharing some of her favorite recipes with you during Member Appreciation Week

See below to learn the story behind each recipe, and a little insight into her love of cooking. 


Day 5: Fiver Friday.

My souvenir to myself on trips is a cookbook from a local restaurant. I’m sharing five of my favorite recipes from work and personal travel. So, join me on this taste around the country.

These recipes are more time-consuming than others I’ve posted this week, but we’re all at different patience levels when it comes to cooking. Don’t let the steps and ingredients scare you off. Just follow the directions, and you’ll be impressing your family and friends, I promise!

Braised Short Ribs. Scott and I love going to the Le Creuset Outlet when in the Destin area. These short ribs truly are fall-off-the-bone goodness. We picked up Le Creuset: A Collection of Recipes from Our French Table at the same time we purchased their braiser. I read the cookbook aloud as we drove home. And the next week, we made these short ribs, which immediately became a keeper in the Seal house.

We make them a few times a year and serve them with either mashed potatoes or polenta. And just this week, a REALTOR® friend. Diane, who now also makes this same short rib recipe shared that when she has leftovers, she makes short rib grilled cheese sandwiches with Gouda on sourdough bread.

Israeli Couscous with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes & Caramelized Onions. Have you been watching Stanley Tucci Searching for Italy? I’m hooked and can watch them over and over. Scott’s Navy career took him there, and we hope to go in the next couple of years. So this recipe is from one of my “one day” travel cookbooks – The Tucci Table. Everything we’ve tried, from meatloaf to this couscous, is a taste treat. Scott likes to say, “Couscous is so good they named it twice.”

I first tried this recipe because I had cherry tomatoes in need of use before they went bad. They are just as jammy as he describes in the recipe. You could eat them alone, but don’t because you won’t have enough for the recipe.

For the garlic, if you’re in a pinch, you can use the jarred roasted garlic.

During the height of COVID, finding Israeli couscous (it’s the fat, pearl-sized couscous), so I’ve substituted orzo, and it’s equally as good.

Crawfish Etoufee. I’ve been to New Orleans many times for work and fun. In fact, the first National Association of REALTORS® Convention I attended was there in 2012. And I celebrated my 30th birthday in New Orleans with my best friend, Angela. She’s one year younger (and always reminds me of that fact), and we share the same birthdate. On that birthday trip, she and her husband introduced me to The Gumbo Shop. And even though I’ve since gifted Angela their cookbook, she and her husband ask me to make this for them any chance they get. I even took frozen crawfish tails and my spices to the beach with them so we could enjoy it together.

Some of you may know that I can’t eat bell peppers because they trigger migraines for me. So I increase the amount of celery and onion to make up for the absent bell peppers. I am not a “pinch the head, suck the tail” crawfish person, so I use frozen tail meat. And don’t be scared to make a roux – this cookbook has easy-to-follow instructions. For this recipe, once the roux is the color of peanut butter (I hold the peanut butter jar next to it to make sure), you’re ready for the next steps. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Roasted Sea Bass on Black Thai Rice with Soy Beurre Blanc. Most of you know I moved to Chattanooga from Memphis, where I was in a supper club. My friend Melissa made this dish from The Tsunami Restaurant Cookbook at the inaugural supper club meeting. Tsunami is a local restaurant we often frequented when living there. So I had to take Chattanooga leadership there when we were in town for the Tennessee REALTORS® Convention.

Let’s talk about the beurre blanc. It’s so good that at first bite, one friend said, “Oh my! This is sex on a fork!” Yep. That might have something to do with the ½ pound of butter.

I always use low-sodium for the soy sauce, but you can use either. And you will see I adjusted the amount of salt. This correction is because our supper club took a cooking class from the chef, and that’s when we learned the cookbook had a typo.

There was a time this photo was the screensaver on my iPad. Local past president Nathan Walldorf noticed that and gave me a hard time. He teased me that most people have a photo of their kids or pets as their screensaver. And I had a foodie pic. Really? Yes, really, Nathan. It’s that good.

Chinese Chicken Salad with Sesame Noodles & Rice Vinegar Cucumbers. Following the 2019 National Association of REALTORS® Convention, a group of industry friends did a wine country tour. We stopped at Mustards Grill for lunch on the way to the AirBnb in Napa. It was pure luck they had a table, and it was the perfect way to begin a vacation centered on food and wine. That day, I ordered this salad and could not stop eating it. So many layers and flavors. So, yes, I bought the cookbook.

You will notice the recipe has a long list of ingredients, some of which are not pantry staples. Well, they weren’t for me until now. You should be able to find them at your local Asian market. (Thank you to Chattanooga’s Asian Food & Gifts for always being so patient and helpful with me.)

You’ll want to make this salad when you have time. It does make a lot and serves six. It’s complex in ingredients and steps, but it is impressive enough to serve at a dinner party as the main dish.

So, here’s to food, friends, travel, and the weekend! Thanks for reading along as part of Member Appreciation Week! I’ve loved sharing this part of me with you. Cheers!  - Carol 


Day 4: Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Pumpkin Puppy Treats & Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

It’s Pop-Up Pumpkin Patch Day! So, of course, today’s recipes use canned pumpkin. And it’s a two-for-one again. Well, three actually. 

First up, we have something for our four-legged canine friends - Gluten-Free Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Puppy Treats. I’ve made these both as cut-out cookies and also like the old-fashioned peanut butter cookies for humans. I got the idea from my grandmothers’ framed recipes hanging in my pantry, one of which is for Peanut Butter Cookies with the criss-cross pattern made with a fork. As you can see from this video, our furbabies loved them. Bone Appétit! See what I did there?

So we humans need treats, too, right? These Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars are so good and easy. And they start with a pound cake mix. Yes, a boxed cake mix. Please don’t tell my Southern Mama. Next time, I will start with a shortbread base for a little less cake and a little more crunch. Mmm. Shortbread and cheesecake. That combo has to be good, right?

The first time I made them, a co-worker said, “ I don’t even like pumpkin, but I love these!” So even if you’re not one of those who can’t wait for “everything pumpkin spice” season, give these a try. You might like them, too.


Day 3: Ahi Tuna Stacks with Ginger Soy Dressing (plus a bonus suggestion about green smoothies)

For Wellness Wednesday, I figured I should share something healthy, right?

For starters, I love green smoothies. They’re perfect for getting in your fruits and veggies. And I promise they don’t have to taste terrible. If you’ve never tried green smoothies, I recommend you get a copy of Simple Green Smoothies by Jen Hansard and Jadah Sellner. What’s great about this book is they give you shopping lists for five days at a time. That way, you don’t spend your hard-earned money on fresh ingredients only to have them go bad before you use them.

The book contains variations so you can pick the flavors you and your family enjoy. And you can make them ahead of time, freeze them, and thaw and enjoy them anytime. In fact, as I type this, I have some in the staff freezer for days it’s too busy to grab lunch.

So for an actual recipe, today I chose Ahi Tuna Stacks With Soy Ginger Dressing. It’s fresh and light. And it can be fancy or not. They say presentation is everything when it comes to meals, but as you see from my photo, perfection doesn’t always happen.

Here’s to Wellness Wednesday, whether for you that is physical, mental, or financial. Make time for self-care. There is a reason the airlines tell you to place a mask on yourself before helping others.


Day 2: Beef Ramen Noodle Soup

Ok, yesterday I mentioned that my grandmothers worked in the food service industry. So, here’s a little bit about them to explain why I picked today’s recipe.

My maternal grandmother, Doris Daniel (AKA Mama Doris), got her start with Albany (GA) Public Schools. From there went to be a dietician at the Albany Hospital (now called Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital) before becoming the Food Service Director for Georgia Southwestern College (Americus, GA). Mama Doris retired from the College and was highly acclaimed locally, as many locals at Sunday dinner there. Also, Mama Doris never let her staff go in the summers when college attendance was low. Instead, she bought produce from local farmers (corn, peas, butter beans, green beans, and squash) and kept her staff busy in the summers preparing and freezing the vegetables to use during the regular school year. 

My paternal grandmother, Ruth Culpepper (AKA Granny), was a school lunch lady in Columbus, GA. She went to work when my grandfather (Daddy Joe) lost his job with the local hosiery mill because the machinery made only stockings with seams. After retiring from the school system, Granny volunteered at her church well into her 90s along with her aunt (also in her 90s). Granny was known for her chili – a favorite of the Wednesday Mission Lunch. There is a plaque on her church’s commercial-grade stove, which my sister donated and dedicated in honor of my Granny. 

As you see, cooking and meal planning truly is in my blood. Mama Doris and Granny are both now deceased, but I feel closer to them when cooking and making the most of whatever ingredients or leftovers I have on hand. My husband, Scott, often refers to me as the Lunch Lady because our leftovers always turn into a brand new meal. One night we’re having steaks with traditional sides and a great bottle of wine. A few nights later, we’re using the extra steak for Beef Ramen Noodle Soup. 


Day 1: Mama Culpepper’s Buttermilk Pound Cake Recipe

Actually, this isn’t my mother’s recipe, but one she started making years ago from a cake cookbook.

Mama made it often because, as I recently learned, it was less expensive to make because it calls for buttermilk and shortening instead of butter and sour cream. Saving money was key for a family of five on a preacher’s and teacher’s salaries in the 70s and 80s.

Y’all, it is so good! And famous! Mama often shipped pound cake to my sisters and me at boarding school and college. And when our friends saw Culpepper on the mailroom package list, they knew it likely meant pound cake, which made us quite popular on campus. My mom now sends cakes to her grandchildren at college. So now the recipe is known as “Mum’s Pound Cake.”

Post-college, I began making pound cake to share with co-workers, who’ve been known to say, “Sure, I can do that if you’ll make your mama’s pound cake." Bribery at it’s best!

This recipe is good on its own or topped with ice cream, whipped cream, berries, whatever you like. We even eat it for breakfast, buttered and toasted. And it freezes well, so I usually make two – one for now and one for later.

This recipe is the only pound cake we make in our family, which is saying a lot since both grandmothers had long careers in elementary, college, and hospital cafeterias. More on them later this week.

Enjoy!