Phil: [00:00:00] Hey, Chris, what's going on? What's up Stacy.
Stacey: [00:00:02] Hello
there. 
Chris: [00:00:03] Thanks for joining us. super excited to have you.
Stacey: [00:00:05] Well, I, I appreciate the invitation. I'm happy to be hanging with you guys today.
Phil: [00:00:09] That is an Epic kitchen.
Stacey: [00:00:10] Oh, well, thank you. this is, uh, the, my test kitchen. Um, You know, I worked from home for quite some time and, and quickly realized that um, I was not a work from home kind of person. You know, I was so easily distracted by, you know, weeding flowerbeds and checking mail and um, you know, cleaning the pool skimmer that I needed a dedicated space to go to every day.
So we found some space and built out a, a test kitchen with. You know, a space to work out of and shoot video out of and everything else. So it's, it's a fun space to come to 
Chris: [00:00:40] Oh, that's awesome. Like, I very much get the work from home thing. It's, it's a challenge. It's always been a challenge for me. So, this whole food blogging food media thing is a full-time deal for you now, right?
Stacey: [00:00:51] it is. Yeah. You know, I have a degree in communication studies, a national certification in nonprofit management. I spent 13 years. As the marketing director for the state's largest environmental education organization and, started Southern byte kind of on the side and did that for a long time.
And uh, in 2016, decided that it was time to make the leap. this is a full-time gig for me now. Yeah.
Chris: [00:01:14] what kind of got you into Southern buy in, into the food scene? Like what precipitated that? Were you starting that.
Stacey: [00:01:20] Yeah. So you know, as so many of them, us who have a passion for food, grew up with family members who were great cooks. You know, my mother was a great cook. Grandparents on both sides were great cooks and as this, with so many things that are constants, we just don't really pay attention to them.
Right. So food is just, I had always been a constant and of all things actually started Southern bite as a restaurant review site And this was 2008, 2009. You know, blogs were a small thing at that point,  so we have, it had to get together at our house. Somebody had asked for a recipe. I was sitting at my desk that following Monday morning, and I was typing out the email with the recipe unit and I thought, Hey.
You know, I have this website, I can just create another little tab up at the top and put this recipe there and send people the link. And so that's what I did. And a lot of people found that recipe and I said, well, Hey, I can do that again. You know, I have all these great things that I grew up with, um, that were my mom's recipes, my grandmother's recipes.
And it just kind of grew from there. It's crazy.
Phil: [00:02:19] do you remember what that recipe was? That first one?
Stacey: [00:02:22] I'm pretty sure that it was for something that my wife made a long time ago, they're called pecan chewies. it's a Blondie type bar that's made with toasted pecans and super caramel-y. It's one of the, one of the first things that my wife made for me when we were dating. So it kind of has, you know, special memories all the way around.
And for that recipe to be the one that started, it was kind of cool too.
Phil: [00:02:42] that's super fun. That's a cool, that's a cool beginning.
Stacey: [00:02:45] Yeah. You know, it's, this has been such a wild ride. Because for me specifically, it, didn't really set out to do any of these things. It was just kind of this organic process, which I'm very fortunate to have been a part of. But you know, I see so many people that set out, they want to do this, or their goal is to write a book or their goal is to do this.
And for me, It's just kind of been this really cool ride.
Chris: [00:03:08] It's really interesting just to kind of hear that you came about it so organically. And even that family history, I feel like Phil and I are probably, probably fairly different from you and even different from each other. You know, I came from a house where food was.
A little more utilitarian. And then I'm married into just a super crazy food family. That was just a new world to me. And it's been really cool to see and then to dive in as well.  And I remember the kitchen being just like such a, a great. Place of family and warmth and congregation, and there's just life that happened there. And, just really wanting to be a part of that. So one thing that we've learned or noticed in this process is that there aren't, a lot of.
guys in this space that aren't professional chefs that aren't either, you know, professionally trained, have a restaurant. You obviously have a lot of your kind of famous chefs, but there aren't a lot of normal guys that have families and maybe have like another full-time job at are just kind of passionate about that.
What has that been like for you? trying to navigate that and then also. Maybe going back to your family history, was it kind of like the, matriarch type thing, was the, the, the kitchen, like your mom's space or is this like a new 
Stacey: [00:04:18] sure. Yeah, no. I mean, growing up, my dad was a mechanic. He worked, you know, 12 hour days he would come home and do odd jobs in the backyard, in our garage, you know, to help make ends meet. So, you know, we joke that my dad couldn't warm up a can of, you know, green beans if he was tasked with it.
That's just that, that certainly was not his domain, you know? Mom was the one who was in the kitchen. You know, there were many days where she was cooking three meals a day. And when you're cooking three meals a day, you're in the kitchen constantly. So if I spent time with her, it was in the kitchen. And so I think that's kind of where it started for me.
you know, it has been a very interesting journey, like you said, because there aren't many guys in this field who aren't professional shifts and it has certainly been, a source of of self doubt for me. Because I see that you know, I've had my own challenges dealing with. You know, why, what voice do I have in this?
What, what do I contribute as part of being a part of this space and, you know, Southern byte in terms of it being a food blog really started because I was sharing those family recipes.  I was sharing the things that I grew up with. And there was a pivotal point about the time that my book came out when I was doing, you know, a book tour and I was meeting all these people, there's a section in the book that's filled with.
Quick and easy weeknight recipes. And I had so many people that would meet me at this book signings and they would say, that's my favorite chapter. That's the one that I use the most, which really kind of caught me off guard. you know, I'm thinking, you know, people are really out for those kind of classic Southern things.
I grew up where we sat down as a family every night for dinner. And, and being out on, on the book tour and talking with people, I realized that families are really kind of challenged to do that. I don't know what it is about life these days, but I feel like we're going in an infinitely different direction in an infant number of different directions.
And so it's really hard to get people back to the table. And at that point, I realized, well, that's where I fit in. I can provide people with quick and easy recipes to kind of demystify the cooking process that. Just helps them get food on the table. Because as somebody who, you know, makes a living off of food, I'm always quick to say the food is important, but the connections that you make with your family and friends over that food is way more important.
So I kind of adopted that as my mission. And I said, you know, if I can do that, if I can give people quick and easy recipes that include things that most folks already have in their pantry, that they can throw a meal together to just get their family back to the table. That's what I want to do. That's where I want to be.
That's, that's how I fit into this space. And I have a friend that said, you know, Each day when we send our families out in the world, whether it's to school or to work or wherever it is, we're changed a little by the things that happen to us by, um, the interactions that we have, the people that we meet, and having dinner together as a family every evening allows us to figure out who our family became that day.
The food is kind of that conduit through which we're able to do that. And so that's just, that's that's that's. That's the space for me. That's where I decided I fit in. I'm just a regular guy. I have no formal culinary training. I would put my culinary skills up against anybody's because, you know, I learned the hard way.
I didn't learn by somebody teaching me, this is the right way to do it. I learned by mixing it up a lot of times until I got it. Right. But yeah, I mean, it's, it's been a really interesting path and, and there, there aren't many guys out there.
Phil: [00:07:50] That's fantastic. As they see, that's actually kind of going back to what Chris said about some of those origins. That's a lot of where we wanted to get to get started in it as well in that. Wherever that conversation was taking place with the family. It just so happened to be the kitchen. So that's where we as dads wanted to be as well.
if, if, if life and community is happening or happening around food, we don't want to be the dads that are just absent and then come just to enjoy the food with the family. But. You know how much time is actually spent preparing it with the kids, sitting at the kitchen Island, either doing homework or, just playing in the, in the living room.
While mom is, is preparing dinner, there is so much community that just happens right there. And that's not to say that we want to take the place of mom in the kitchen. 
We just want to be a part of 
Chris: [00:08:34] Yeah. not that we want to replace our wives, but that we want to yes. Be a part and help. And also not to say that there's necessarily anything wrong with, you know, the, the father that, yeah. Is like that. prototypical breadwinner figure, My dad was definitely that way.
He worked, she worked really hard and works long hours and he was always present. I knew that I could always walk into his home office and spend time with him. And I did that a lot. but also. you know, w with all of that, we wanted to try and make the kitchen a place that is accessible, approachable.
And you use the word like demystify some of the cooking process. I think I had this idea in my head that, you know, there, there was. Something hidden something magic and, As we've been diving into that it's like super cool just to see that is not that way.
It can be really simple. It can be really approachable. Like we can, we can do this and we can make really great things. And if, you know, beyond just ourselves spending time in the kitchen, if we can make any of that more approachable to dads out there who, if they're like us, didn't have, you know, somebody teaching them.
Yeah. I met my mom spent time with my sister in the kitchen and I was like, Hey, this is, this is kind of why I'm doing this. This is how all of this works, but I never had any of that. So when I was kinda out on my own, I felt like totally lost and clueless. As a bachelor, I got take out a lot more than I would care to actually acknowledge.
So, it is really cool see somebody else in this space, doing a little bit of that same thing, demystifying, making it more approachable and realizing that, you know, it's not a hundred percent about the end result. Of the food, like the quality of the food, the deliciousness, and not every single dish has to be, you know, like a James Beard where the  plate, but, really the, the, the value, like there there's, there's so much, so much community and connection that happens around meals and, Realizing that maybe that's more of the value there then than the tastiness of something that we make.
Stacey: [00:10:37] I, I agree with you completely. And I think that that's, um, one of the things that people are. Don't necessarily see is that the process is just as important as the result. And so, if nothing else just being in the kitchen together, you know, just having your family in there with you. That's one of my favorite things is when my wife and my little boy, we're all in the kitchen together, you know, we're bumping into each other, we're making messes, we're doing this, we're doing that.
But. It's just about doing something constructive together, spending time. And yeah, I mean, you know, it doesn't always turn out perfect. And if it tastes terrible, you can order pizza, you know? I mean, it's just the truth of the matter. it's just I view food as a conduit in so many different ways.
And so if there's a way To make it feel less complicated and less intimidating. You know, that's my primary goal because I know that that's, what's going to encourage people to get into kitchen.
Phil: [00:11:31] you know, Stacy, one, one thing that you said, With kind of just trying to try and make it just a tiny bit less complicated. Makes me think of how Chris and I on more than one occasion have talked about this idea of like these foundational items within a dish and how that can launch into something so much more complex.
like recently we had. In episode where we talked about the best Chappelle sauce which is, you know, one of the five French mother sauces and the, the best Chanel prior to this podcast, I didn't even know what it was. I had made it a few times, but I I, I did not know what best Chappelle was and.
You know, as it, as it were it's, it's, it's just three ingredients, butter, flour, and milk. And then it turns out to be like this really creamy, white sauce that, we've used in macaroni and cheese, like probably half a dozen times in the last month, because it's just so good. And like, just this practicing of, of just this one little simple thing called
Can turn into so many different other different other recipes. And I think when we, when you read down a recipe, step-by-step, it does get a little bit daunting. But if you can, if you can just learn, I don't know if you guys feel the same way, but for me, like, if you can just learn one thing where the recipe might just say, make a batch of mal versus, okay.
Here's here's, here are the exact steps you need to follow in order to make this dish. Step one can be, make a best Mel, and you know how to make that best Chanel. It just for me like lowers this proverbial barrier, I think. So I, man, I've really enjoyed, like, learning so much more about these foundational things and I mean, we've got this podcast to thank for that and we've got Southern bite to thank for that, you know?
Stacey: [00:13:06] It's funny too, because that exact frame of mind has really affected the way that I write recipes. Because. I will step by step, take somebody through making a Besham mill and not tell them that that's what we're doing. Because sometimes if somebody reads the word, Bishop male, it's foreign to them, like this is going to be complicated and I will walk through, you know, Those steps.
And then at the end be like, yay. You just made a best AML. You know? in fact, when, when I wrote the book, I, I think we went through and we edited a lot of the more technical terms in terms of cooking, just to make it feel more approachable. Like for instance, we didn't use the word salty a ton because for a lot of people, they don't know what that means, but if you just say cook it.
You know, people are like, Oh, well I know how to do that. So I think that's also been part of the process for me is How do we make it seem easier? Because since we're talking about best Shamil, it is not a complicated process by any stretch of the imagination. But how do we make it approachable?
How do we make it sound easy? People are like, Oh, I can do that. you know, we make lots of Bisha mill because we make lots of Mac and cheese. So it's just one of those things where again, it goes back to that 
Chris: [00:14:26] Yeah. So that's kind of interesting. That's, that's something that Phil has mentioned a few times, just the, importance of, of Mac and cheese in the Southern culinary vernacular, you know, I've I love it.  but it's also not something that is like a constant part of what we're doing.
So I was kind of interested to hear a little bit more about what that means for you guys, what that looks for you, like what that looks like for you. And maybe get a little bit of a, a Mac and cheese less if you will.
Stacey: [00:14:55] we know you bring up such a great point. And one that I talk a lot about on the blog is, is, you know, what makes something Southern? if you ever want to get a bunch of southerners riled up, you put sugar in corn bread. And I'm not sure what it is about, sugar. That is such a common ingredient that gets people so charged, but it does.
If I ever need engagement on, on Facebook, we're going to be talking about sugar and corn bread, for example. But the question that I, that I very typically pose to my readers is, well, what makes something Southern or not Southern? Right. Just because you know, this family put sugar in corn bread, doesn't really mean that it's not.
Innately Southern or just because, you know, you call butter beans, butter beans, or maybe you call them Lama beans. Neither of those things are innately Southern. So what is it about. A recipe, for example, that makes it Southern. Is it, is it where physically where it's made? Is it where the ingredients are sourced?
Is it who made it? You know, and I think the great example of that is that my mother makes the most fantastic cabbage rolls. Right. And that is obviously not. A recipe that the South is known for, but my mother is the most Southern person that probably exists. So, often ask my readers that question and the reality is, is I don't have a great answer for that because I think there are lots of different things, you know, that play into that.
And, with Mac and cheeses and example, everybody's idea of what Mac and cheese is, is just a little different. My grandparents, my grandfather they, they ran a little country store and my grandfather was the butcher. And in the back, he always had this huge wheel of hoop cheese. And that's one of the things that, you know, a lot of people are like, what is that?
It's this waxy, sharply flavored farmer's cheese that, is super smooth. I mean, it's real cheese, but it's almost like the texture of Velveeta, maybe a little bit firmer. And so for me, that's what made Mac and cheese, you know, I grew up my grandmother's Mac and cheese literally was elbow pasta. It was that hoop cheese and a can of evaporated milk.
It was all done on the stove top. It was super creamy, super cheesy. And that was the way that she made it. Now is that Southern? I'm not sure. You know, like, I don't know the right answer to that, but then, you know, I was introduced to this world of more like a baked Mac and cheese. Right. So. The best Shamil, you know, the cheese, the sharp cheddar is typically my preference.
you've got the same elbow, pasta. I feel like that's, that's iconic. That's what you expect with Mac and cheese. Is that elbow macaroni? You know, my grandmother always used the large elbow macaroni. I have no idea why. I don't know if it was just something that was more commonly available to them or whatever.
But when I think of, of Mac and cheese, that's what I want. I want the big elbow macaroni. And, you know, layers of cheese. And so they're two vastly different things. And as a result, I think there were probably six or eight different recipes for Mac and cheese on Southern bite, because I wanted to be able to provide people with whatever it is that they remember Mac and cheese to be.
Cause, you know, I love to be able to connect people with those childhood memories when they're able to recreate dishes. That they hold, you know, some kind of special emotional connection too. And honestly, For me, it just kind of depends on the day. Some days I want that stove top easy, you know, three ingredient deal.
And then the other days I want that super decadent baked Mac and cheese. That's got the, toasted cheese on the top. And so it just depends, but you know, when we, when we get to the point where we've, we've got that basis where we've got that foundation, you know, you can kind of run wild with it.
Right. There's a recipe on the site for pimento cheese, Mac and cheese. You know, we serve some chopped pimentos into it. Um, Of course, bacon, uh, smoked sausage is something that we do sometimes, you know, it's a great, easy way to turn Mac and cheese into, you know, a main course kind of deal. And I think that's, what's great about Mac and cheese too, is that it's very versatile, you know, once you get it made, you can do all kinds of stuff to it.
Mushrooms, spinach, I mean, you know, people are going to be beating down my door. Cause I just talked about putting spinach in Mac and cheese, but, um, it's just the truth, you know, you can do so much with it.
Phil: [00:19:15] when I was growing up, my brother would put Apple sauce in his Mac and 
cheese. 
He just mixed it up. And you know, this is like the. The box of Mac and cheese, the Kraft or whatever. And every time without fail, he would just take a big scoop of Apple sauce and throw it in and mix it up. I remember trying it and not loving it, kind of wondering why he did it, but you know, this idea of it can, it can be this foundation and, and you can have it however you want it.
And I feel like maybe that's what. Makes it a Southern dish, you know, what, what, what makes food Southern? Uh, You're you're familiar with Sean Brock. The, yeah, the famous chef that did husk and now he's got several different restaurants. I think the continental in Nashville. He was recently on an episode of chef's table on Netflix and, you know, he, he talks a lot about like, What is Southern cooking and what, what makes it Southern?
A lot of people have this idea, this misnomer, that Southern food is just like a lot of greasy, a lot of carby type meals that basically is just not healthy food. And I live in Charleston, and I'm, I'm relatively new to the area originally from Colorado.
So moving to the South, I have to admit, I. I had some of those misconceptions on what Southern food was, like w w w where's the whole foods, you know, where's the, where's the farmer's market where I can get like some really good healthy food. And it turns out they're everywhere. They're all over the place.
And, yeah, and like, he, he talks about how Southern food is using what's available to you and a lot of locally sourced produce and I think I found more range, free chicken eggs here than I did, and we live in Colorado and that surprised me. And I'm a little embarrassed to admit that.
Stacey: [00:20:54] I think you're absolutely right. And I've actually used the phrase before, you know, southerners were farm to table before it was cool because so many southerners grew their own food. I mean, you know, you hear the stories. I, my grandparents were a perfect example. You know, my grandfather had two huge gardens.
So what we had for dinner that night depended on what he picked that morning in the garden and, you know, they had chickens and so they had their own eggs. And when it was time for chicken, well then you know where the chicken came from. So yeah, I do believe that I do believe that a lot of people think that Southern food is, deep fried and all smothered in gravy.
And, and, you know, we, we do our fair share of that. But the reality is, is that it goes way beyond that, you know, for so many southerners, um, there were lots of meals that were just vegetables, right? I mean, a long time ago, meat was a luxury for a lot of folks. And, and I think that carries over to, I, you know, there's still a lot of people who grew up in the South who are perfectly willing to make a meal out of nothing but vegetables.
I will admit that's one of my favorite lunches, you know? So, I think you're right. I th I think that, that people do, they do have certain assumptions about what is in what isn't Southern food, and  
Chris: [00:22:08] Okay. Okay. Yeah. And admittedly, I don't necessarily have a crazy ton to pull from in terms of experiences with, with Southern troodon. Um, A lot of my wife's family's kind of down in Atlanta, so we've. We've had some great times down there, but even just listening to you guys, it, when you were talking about the question of, what makes Southern food Southern food, like what constitutes Southern food, if you had to define it?
And just how hard that question is. The, I kind of wanted an answer to that a little bit, but I'm just listening to you guys. It feels like, Maybe there's this element of connection that is integral to what Southern food is connection to where your food comes from connection to, your circumstances, but also like connection to tradition and the past and family and, you know, we've, we've talked about.
And in some of our past episodes and how, it's something to analyze and sometimes, you know, we're beholden to traditions for reasons that we don't even know, and it might be okay to let go, but I think there's also something really valuable. About that as well. Did you like there, there are those connections to where we come from and to our family that can be seen in those traditions.
and those are worse. holding on to, and, putting in a, a place of, pride in our lives. I think.
Phil: [00:23:21] And connection to the earth, you know, like holding this reverence to how crops grown, we planted a garden last year and, I'm kind of a little bit obsessed with butterflies now because of it. I just like seeing that whole process, you know, maybe not where you're trying to go with that, Chris, but maybe Southern food is just like connecting with nature a little bit more too.
Stacey: [00:23:41] Yeah. I, think you know, it's important for all of us to know where our food comes from. Right. in some way, especially in my case, I grew up, Picking the peas and shelling them and cooking them and seeing that process and understanding that was really important, you know, in terms of my foundation in food, I'll never forget, you know, I was at an earth day event back when I was with my other job and we were reading.
I want to say the Lorax or, you know, some environmentally focused children's book to them. And afterwards we were just having this very candid conversation and we were talking about apples and I asked them, I asked them, I was like, where do, where do apples come from? And this 
kid, he pipes up and he says the grocery store.
And I was like, okay, well, where's the grocery store, you know, where did those come from? He's like, well, factory, I guess. And that was kind of a pivotal moment for me because I thought, wow, you know, we've, we've really not done a good job of, of explaining this process. and as you were just mentioning Phil about having a garden, that was really important for us.
And so my son, Jack, when he was old enough to get out in the garden with me, we started a garden because I wanted him to be a part of that process. I wanted him to see that, you know, to start with the soil and the importance of the soil and the seeds and the plants and how it all grows. And I think that too kind of helps us combat some picky eaters because when kids are involved in that process, And when they, you know, whatever it is, cucumbers, I think are a great example because that's, you know, the thing that's most familiar to me because it was the thing that Jack was most interested in.
They're easy to grow. He got to see them from seed, plant and he got to pick them and he was much more encouraged to try a cucumber because he was involved in that process. Then, you know, some random one that we got off the grocery store shelf. And so, I get lots of questions from people about combating picky eaters and kids, and I'm like, get them involved, get them in the kitchen.
Even if you can't be, you know, involved in the whole growing process, get them in the kitchen, have them in there, show them what this process is, allow them to have ownership. And I think that encourages them to be involved in the process and  
Chris: [00:25:44] Yeah, no, that's, that's such an awesome idea. And we have talked about that a little bit. Just the idea that when you can see the process of, a meal being made and see all that goes into it and kind of help, and that element of ownership, when that comes into play, our kids get excited They, they get excited to try it where, before it might be kind of this unknown, weird green looking thing on your plate. But, when, when it's like a creation that they've had a hand in. I definitely have seen that. There's like this, this openness and, really like the only thing that I can think of that describes it as like an excitement to try what I made, 
Stacey: [00:26:17] sure, absolutely. I think that's 100% the case, at least it has been in our family and, you know, it's, it's encouraged him to be involved in and try things that he wouldn't normally try, because like you said, he had ownership. he was involved in that process.
Phil: [00:26:29] Was there something that you didn't like as a kid that now you're, you're in love with, because you 
kind of saw that process through. 
Stacey: [00:26:35] I was an incredibly picky eater as a kid. Onions in general were a no-no for me. And I just love onions and everything now. There were a lot of things for me. I mean, I was just, I grew up as a kid who was, was very picky now in ways that other kids weren't. You know, like my family loves to tell the story that I would turn down a bowl of ice cream for a bowl of collard greens, because I love, you know, that kind of stuff.
But onions were always a sticking point to me. Raw tomatoes were always, just not my favorite. But most vegetables, I was always cool with. now I always joke I'll eat anything to just, just about the won't eat me first. So I don't really have much that I am. Don't like these days.
Chris: [00:27:14] see, see, it's awesome that you came on to kind of talk through some of these things with us. I feel did mention that you might have a couple of new projects that you're working on these days.
Stacey: [00:27:23] You know as I said in the beginning, you know,  I never set out to do any of this. This has just been kind of uh, a wild ride. And um, one that I have been super blessed to be a part of. And We're going to be on TV. Now it's not our own show, but it's the closest thing that we can get to right now.
Um, There is a national show called simply Southern and we, we'll be providing a cooking segment for new season of this show. So we um, Back in August film to 26 cooking segments. That will be a part of the show. Those will air nationally on RFD TV. And um, we're excited about that.
any opportunity that I have to um, like I said, make cooking easier and more approachable and get people in the kitchen. I want to take that opportunity. And this is another one of those that. Gives me a platform to be able to get people in the kitchen and encourage them and  
Chris: [00:28:20] Yeah, no, that's awesome. Uh, So when, when does that show going to be? Or the, the segment's going to be airing on the show.
Stacey: [00:28:26] the episodes air, like I said on RFD TV, uh, Wednesdays at 5:00 PM central time, and RFD TV has an app for Roku and, you know, smart TVs and all the episodes will be online too. So people will be able to access all that content regardless.
Phil: [00:28:41] That sounds super exciting. Congratulations.
Stacey: [00:28:43] thank you. You know it's a production of the Alabama farmers Federation, which they have been a partner of mine for quite some time. I do all the food content for their magazine you know, it was just an opportunity that I couldn't pass up and you know, help grow Southern bite and invite more people to the table.
Phil: [00:28:58] so I'm super curious and you don't have to be totally honest, but you look like an honest guy, so I'm pretty certain you will be. These episodes are these are these, uh, these recipes. You're making, how real are they for TV? do you use pine tar for syrup and  you know, just fun stuff.
Stacey: [00:29:14] Okay. So it's really funny that you say that, you know, from the beginning, I wanted to be upfront and honest with folks about food, right. And there are so many, food styling tricks. I probably know most of them and I refuse to use any of them. I want the food to be the real thing. So I would say 99%.
Of anything that you see on the blog and, in the TV stuff is all the real thing, just because, I also use that as an extension to encourage people. So for instance, when we shot the photography for the book, I wanted complete control over that. It was part of the negotiation because I wanted it to be the real thing.
I want somebody to pick up the book or to print out a page from the blog or watch one of these episodes. And I want their end product to look as close to my end product as possible because in doing that, it's like, Oh wow, I can do this. it's a little bit of of a way to encourage folks and, and, you know, say, Hey, if I can make mine look like that one on TV, or look like that one in the book, then I can probably do more of this.
I'm not saying that we've never used any food styling tricks, but you know, we try to use all real ingredients and we want it to be as close as possible. But you know, some things just don't photograph or 
video will. So we had to make some adjustments. 
Chris: [00:30:26] We'll definitely have to check that out. So if, people wanted to,    
Stacey: [00:30:33] Southern bite.com and we're Southern bite on all of the social platforms too. So we're pretty easy to find.
Phil: [00:30:39] I've had a lot of fun with this, Stacy. Thanks for joining us.
Stacey: [00:30:42] like I said, I appreciate the invitation. I'm happy to jump on and hang out with y'all for
a little while. 
Phil: [00:30:47] You know, we're um, pretty new into the food world in terms of media and you're, you're actually our second interview. So this is really fun, for us. And it kind of helps us keep going. You know, it's just uh, if anything has some motivation to have an expert like you Stacy, so
Stacey: [00:31:05] Oh, that's so sweet that you would say that, but you shouldn't not have your readers like that. I mean, a lot of your listeners like that, and don't ever call me an
Chris: [00:31:12] But it is, it is great to, to see other kind of regular guys, in this space. And, even just your mentality of like, this is accessible, this is something that you can do.   
Stacey: [00:31:24] well, yeah, and I mean, I think that's, what's great about what you guys are doing with the podcast is, helping people, you know, dads who don't normally find their path in the kitchen, it's usually somewhere else. And to have them in the kitchen to be a part of the process. I think that's awesome.
I think we need to do more of that, you know? So many times, you know, so many of us grew up thinking that the kitchen is, a woman's domain, either because that's how we grew up or that's what we see on television. And. I think it's time to change that it's time to encourage, you know, guys, to get in the kitchen and cook.
It's a blast. You know, I think that, you know, so many people find that once they get in there and do it,  it's fun. And, there's all kinds of great things that happen as
Chris: [00:32:06] Yeah, absolutely. That's something that I've been really surprised at is just how. How much I've enjoyed it and how much I've, I've enjoyed that, that time that I get to spend with my wife. Cause she, loves it as well. 
Phil: [00:32:17] Okay, Stacy, what is one thing that Chris and I should make for our families this weekend?  
Stacey: [00:32:24] Why do you have to ask that question? Biscuits biscuits are by far my most favorite thing to make there. The thing that I feel like I have the most connection with my family, because, you know, I teach classes in the test kitchen also, and biscuits by far are, are. The class that sells out the fastest, biscuits are a hands-on process.
And I tell people all the time I could write a hundred recipes with infinite details about biscuits, but until you've been in the kitchen with somebody who knows how to make them and gone through the process and know. How the dose should feel and how it should look and understand that process from a hands-on perspective, recipes are kind of useless.
Now I've tried my best to encourage people to use the recipes that I've written for biscuits, but there's just for me, there's something about biscuits, you know, I think about biscuits. I think about my great-grandmother. In her little tiny kitchen, petting out those biscuits and I, I make them a little differently than she did.
But there's something about that connection. I think to that, that makes biscuits super sentimental for me. So I get asked all the time, you know, what's your favorite recipe and it it's biscuits.
Phil: [00:33:34] is it, is it a, like a rough puff process? Do you  
Stacey: [00:33:41] Yup. Yup. frequently what I recommend to people is to freeze the butter and graded on the box grader.  Because that process of cutting the butter into the flour, just freaks lots of people out, well, what is the, what do you mean pea size? And, you know, w what should the texture be like and all that.
And that's a really easy way to, to accomplish that process. So I do that frequently. I say, you know, just. Pop that butter in the freezer, graded over a box grader, you know, that's going to get the little tiny pieces and then mix it in the flour and then proceed with the recipe. That's the easiest way to do that for people who are intimidated by that process.
Yes. 
Chris: [00:34:14] well, I guess I know what I'm doing this weekend. it has been just fantastic to get to chat with you for a little while and hear more about kind of your story where you've come from and all the things that you're doing. So thank you again. We really, really do, appreciate your time and,  
Stacey: [00:34:30] Well, thank you for having me. And uh, you know, I said the same thing to y'all thanks for what you're doing. Thanks for encouraging involved. 
Phil: [00:34:40] We 
Stacey: [00:34:40] I will be happy to anytime. named the day and I will be
there.