No’Ala Huntsville, July/August 2015

SUPPER CLUBS | STORYTELLERS | TANGLED STRINGS: CARVING OUT A MUSICAL NICHE

JULY/AUGUST $4.95

A LADIES’ WEEKEND AT THE LAKE noalastudios.com

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Join us on a musical journey for the 2015-2016 season Ticket now on sale 256-539-4818 or hso.org

— ITINERARY — The 61st Season Friday, September 18, 2015, 7:30 p.m.

ENGLAND: A Sea Symphony • Classical Series Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, VBC • Friday, October 30, 2015, 7:30 p.m.

LAS VEGAS: Halloween Magic featuring illusionist Michael Grandinetti • Pops Series Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, VBC • Friday, November 13, 2015, 7:30 p.m.

AUSTRIA: Beethoven and Bruckner • Classical Series Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, VBC • Sunday, November 15, 2015, 3:30 p.m.

Beethoven Conversations • Casual Classics Roberts Hall, University of Alabama in Huntsville

Thursday, December 31, 2015, 7:30 p.m.

NEW ORLEANS: What A Wonderful World—A Tribute to Louis Armstrong with the Byron Stripling Quartet • Pops Series Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, VBC • Saturday, January 23, 2016, 7:30 p.m.

TURKEY: Abduction from the Seraglio • Classical Series Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, VBC • Saturday, February 6, 2016, 7:30 p.m.

LONDON: Diamonds are Forever—Hilary Kole Sings the Music of James Bond • Pops Series Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, VBC • Saturday, February 13, 2016, 7:30 p.m.

EASTERN EUROPE: Enescu, Vajda, and Dvořák • Classical Series Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, VBC

Sunday, March 6, 2016, 5:30 p.m.

Telemann at the Table • Casual Classics Huntsville Depot Roundhouse • Saturday, March 12, 2016, 7:30 p.m.

THE AMERICAS: Canadian Brass • Classical Series Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, VBC • Saturday, April 16, 2016, 7:30 p.m.

GERMANY: Brahms Festival • Classical Series Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, VBC • Sunday, April 17, 2016, 3:30 p.m.

Brahms Festival • Casual Classics Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, VBC

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July/August

features

14 Storytellers Four virtual shows and four area performers tell their stories— and ours—to the world. by roy hall

38 Club Fed A rotating supper club provides the perfect recipe for friends and fun.

30

by lu ellen redding and allen tomlinson photos by patrick hood

A Cause for Fun

Carving Out a Musical Niche Tangled Strings Studios: where the art and craft of music-making is a family affair. by sara wright covington photos by patrick hood

48 Cover photo by Olivia Reed

Nine friends relax, reconnect, and raise awareness for the National Children’s Advocacy Center. by sara wright covington photos by olivia reed

58 A Grande Retreat R An Alabama fa family’s weekend re retreat reflects the se serene grandeur of its waterfront lo location. by roy hall b photos p h by patrick p a hood

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editor’s letter « Allen Tomlinson

no’ala huntsville advisory board Osie Adelfang ARC Design-Build, Inc. Donna Castellano Historic Huntsville Foundation Lynne Berry HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology Sarah Brewer Click Photo Designs by Sarah Brewer Madeline Boswell Finery Bridal Boutique Jennifer Doss Huntsville Hospital Leslie Ecklund Burritt on the Mountain Marcia Freeland Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment Dan Halcomb Huntsville Symphony Orchestra Elizabeth Jones Burritt on the Mountain Ginger Penney Liles Guy McClure, Jr. Athens State University Patrick Robbins Huntsville Hospital Ashley Vaughn White Rabbit Studios/Vertical Records Charles Vaughn Vaughn Lumber Company Anna Baker Warren Anna Baker Warren Interiors Andrew Wilmon Broadway Theatre League

The lazy, hazy y day ys of sum mme er—welcome to the Entertainment issue of No’Ala Hunstville. The days might be longer this time of year, the air so thick we can wear it, but there’s no reason why we can’t enjoy it; that’s why we’re focusing on entertaining this issue, by bringing stories about friends gathering on the river, beautiful lake homes, and that most Southern of bonding traditions (second only to football), the Supper Club.

You’ll also meet actors, videographers, and podcasters who use North Alabama as their base. These folks love this spot as much as we do, and their business is all about sharing North Alabama with the rest of the world. You’ll be amazed at the things they are doing!

The recipes and stories in this issue are designed to make you hungry, remind you how easy it is to share the bounty of the garden with your good friends, and encourage you to relax about getting your friends together. You don’t have to dress up, you don’t have to deep clean the house, and you don’t have to do anything fancy. Summertime is the time when the living is easy!

If you don’t grow your own garden, remember that our area is full of farmers who are willing to share. Buy locally, if you can, and visit a farmer’s market or the Greene Street Market for something new and different. While you’re out, please visit our advertisers, who make this magazine possible, and spend your dollars in your own backyard. That just makes it better and better, for everyone.

Now grab tea, find a shady spot somewhere, and take a look b a big glass of sweet te at this issue. ue. Enjoy!

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contents

38

© Patrick Hood

everything else 8 10

Calendar Selected Events for July/August 2015

Cryin’ Out Loud “The Ace of Spades” by sara wright covington

70

Market “Character Notes”

by Roy Hall photos by patrick hood

74

The Vine “Mix It Up” by amy c. collins

76

Food for Thought “Sentimentally Semi Homemade” by sarah gaede

78

Parting Shot by patrick hood

JULY/AUGUST 2015 Volume 4: Issue 4 ••• Editor-in-Chief C. Allen Tomlinson Chief Operating Officer Matthew Liles Creative Director David Sims Advertising Director Heidi King Advertising Sales Kevin McDonald, Johnson Trent Features Manager Roy Hall Graphic Designer Rowan Finnegan Web Designer Justin Hall Editorial Assistant Tara Bullington Videographer Justin Argo Retail Product Manager Sara Wright Covington Proofreader Carole Maynard ••• Contributing Writers Amy C. Collins, Sara Wright Covington, Sarah Gaede, Roy Hall, LuEllen Redding, Allen Tomlinson ••• Contributing Photographers Armosa Studios, Andrew V. Gonzalez, Patrick Hood, Eric Maldonado, Percy Mitchell, Danny Mitchell, Rachel Neal, Olivia Reed, Peter Svenson, Ginger Zolynsky ••• No’Ala Huntsville is published six times annually

by No’Ala Studios PO Box 2530, Florence, AL 35630 Phone: (800) 779-4222 | Fax: (256) 766-4106 Web: noalastudios.com Standard postage paid at Huntsville, AL. A one-year subscription is $19.95 for delivery in the United States.

Signed articles reflect only the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

Advertisers are solely responsible for the content of their advertisements. © 2008-2015 No’Ala Studios, All rights reserved.

Send all correspondence to Allen Tomlinson, Editor, at the postal address above, or by e-mail to allen@noalastudios.com.

Letters may be edited for space and style.

To advertise, contact us at (256) 766-4222, or sales@noalastudios.com.

The editor will provide writer’s guidelines upon request.

Prospective authors should not submit unsolicited manuscripts; please query the editor first.

No’Ala Huntsville is printed with vegetable-based inks.

Please recycle.

Connect with us on Facebook: No’Ala Huntsville Twitter: @NoAla_Magazine and Pinterest: NoAlaStudios

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calendar

Wednesday, July 1 – Sunday, July 26 Huntsville Botanical Garden Presents Nature Connects: Art with LEGO® Bricks Be amazed by the Nature Connects exhibit featuring 27 larger than life sculptures created from over 500,000 LEGO bricks by certified LEGO artist Sean Kenney. Sun Noon-6:00pm, Mon-Sat 9:00am-6:00pm, and Thurs until 8:00pm; Admission charged; Huntsville Botanical Gardens, 4747 Bob Wallace Ave; (256) 830-4747; hsvbg.org Wednesday, July 1 – Sunday, July 26 Celebrating Our Own: Huntsville Women Artists This invitational group exhibition showcases exciting work created by women artists living in the Huntsville area today. Celebrating Our Own will feature established and emerging artists working in a diverse range of styles and media. Tues-Sat 11:00am-5:00pm and until 8:00pm on Thurs, and Sun noon-5:00pm; Admission charged, Free to members and children under 6; Huntsville Museum of Art, 300 Church St W; (256) 535-4350; hsvmuseum.org Wednesday, July 1 – Sunday, September 6 From Cotton to the Cosmos Burritt Museum’s spring/summer exhibit takes a look back at over 200 years of Huntsville history, from its humble beginnings as a trade city to Rocket City USA. Tues-Sat 9:00am-5:00pm and Sunday Noon-5:00pm; Admission charged; Burritt on the Mountain, 3101 Burritt Drive; (256) 536-2882; burrittonthemountain.com Wednesday, July 1 – Sunday, September 13 The Robot Zoo Visitors explore the biomechanics of complex animal robots to discover how real animals work in a 5,000-square-foot exhibit revealing the magic of nature as a master engineer. Eight robot animals and more than a dozen hands-on activities illustrate fascinating real-life characteristics, such as how a chameleon changes colors, a giant squid propels itself, and a fly walks on the ceiling. Sun-Sat 9:00am-5:00pm; Admission charged; U.S. Space & Rocket Center, One Tranquility Base; (256) 837-3400; rocketcenter.com Thursday, July 2 – Thursday, August 27 (Thursdays Only) The Greene Street Market The Greene Street Market at Nativity is downtown Huntsville’s producer-only, open-air market for fresh, locally grown vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers. It’s where you go to meet farmers with gorgeous local produce, grass fed beef and pork, free range chickens and eggs; pick up freshly prepared meals, gourmet popsicles, traditionally made relishes, cheeses, preserves, and breads. And it’s where local artisans offer their works. 4:00pm-8:00pm; Free; Corner of Greene St and Eustis Ave; (256) 682-4429; greenstreetmarket.com

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The Greene Street Market

Saturdays, July 4 – August 29 Madison City Farmers Market The area’s original local, producer-only farmers market.

Everything sold at the market is grown or crafted by local farmers and craftspeople. Vendors provide a wide selection of the freshest local veggies, fruits, cheese, eggs, meats, milk, herbs, honey, jams, relishes, home-baked goods, plants, and flowers, as well as handmade cards, soaps, lotions, candles, wood crafts, sewn items, and other handmade products. 8:00am-Noon; Free; Trinity Baptist Church, 1088 Hughes Rd, Madison; (256) 656-7841; madisoncityfarmersmarket.com Friday, July 10 and Friday, August 14 Historic Huntsville Foundation presents Movies in the Park Enjoy family-friendly films The Princess Bride and Despicable Me on the big screen in Big Spring Park East. Food trucks and vendors begin setting up at five, so arrive early with blankets and lawn chairs and grab a bite while waiting for the movie to begin. Movies begin at Sundown (around 8:15pm); Free; Big Screen Park East, 100 Church St; historichuntsville.org Saturday, July 11 & 25 and Saturday, August 1 – Saturday, August 29 (Saturdays Only) Downtown Huntsville Food Tour A two-and-a-half-hour guided walking tour through Huntsville’s historic downtown, including six unique restaurants, specialty shops, and “mom and pop” establishments that make downtown a truly special place to visit. Stops include Huntsville’s premier gastro-pub, a delectable European inspired eatery, and the coffeehouse that introduced Huntsville to the delights of gourmet roasting over 30 years ago. 11:00am-1:30pm; $49; Holmes Ave and Grace St; (256) 656-0713; huntsvillefoodtours.com

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www.athens.edu/athenianplayers

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cryin’ out loud » Sara Wright Covington Because we seldom speak of him, there have been times when I have wondered if it was all just a dream, until I see the worn spot on the sofa, the scratched paint on the backdoor, and the waist-high, cloudy smears from a dog’s wet nose on a window, which I eventually Windexed away. Even now, years later, he is gone, but he is everywhere.

THE ACE OF SPADES We once had a very unruly dog—a Great Dane to be specific. Ace, as he was named by my formerly avid-poker playing husband, was really more of a wildcard than an ace, an irony never lost on me. His unpredictable behavior was the common source of our laughter, elation, exasperation, and downright embarrassment during the eight years he was alive. As the writer, I could paint this story any way I like. But I choose to paint it truthfully, although the truth sometimes still seems as raw as the gnawed-off edges of the dog bones I still find squirreled away here and there. Ace was not a good dog in the traditional sense—you know, obedient, adaptable, friendly to strangers, etc.—those weren’t really his strong points. Obedience school was pretty much over for us when he laid down in the floor of Pet Depot and refused to participate. It’s likely his anxiety contributed to his inability to adapt to new situations and people easily. He was taking puppy Prozac by the time he was two, and his considerable size made his downright panic at the first rumblings of a thunderstorm seem all the more ironic. If you are familiar with Great Danes, then you are aware they aren’t really meant to be outdoor dogs, another juxtaposition of the big breed. He was happiest at home with just us, resting his long, skinny bones on the sofa, his rear end seated like a person would sit, front legs stretched to the floor. Ace’s nature was probably best described as antisocial, an unusual trait for a Dane, but as I am also an introvert by nature, I can relate.

Although Ace was a bit ornery, he was anything but a dull dog. His facial expressions spoke volumes of wordless stories, and he could sulk for days if provoked. Prior to our own flesh and blood children, that dog had been our only child. I suppose for most people, love for an animal is easy and unconditional. My husband loved him inexhaustibly, while I confess my feelings for the dog vacillated somewhere between affection, annoyance, and downright contempt at times. Ace was exasperating. During the puppy phase—which lasted nearly one-quarter of his lifespan—he destroyed shoes, books, pillows, and various other items of tangible worth—all of which belonged solely to me and me alone. It is hard for me to admit there were times I actually took the dog’s preference for my husband over me quite personally; but to be fair, he was my husband’s dog first, and it is very true a dog can have only one master.

After surviving the puppy years, we ripped up our entire second floor of carpeting, because it was simply beyond rescue. Ace had a dog house built just for him that was the size of a child’s playhouse, and the only way he would step foot inside was if collared, drugged, and dragged, which sort of eliminates the point. Even during those dreaded rainstorms he feared so much, he couldn’t be degraded enough to step foot inside, and pawed at our door until we finally let him inside the house. There were certain people he simply wouldn’t tolerate, glaring and growling in their presence, until we realized that advance notice was required for all company. He frightened more than one visitor off our porch, and like any good watchdog, he abhorred the mailman.

Animals are like people, I think—often taken for granted until they are gone. Unconditional love for anything leads to a vulnerability no emotional wall can ward off. And the heartbreak of that thing’s loss, even when prepared for, is simply inevitable. We were not prepared. And though we are over the shock of it, the pain has progressed to a dull ache that we bury beneath the everyday busy and bustle of life just going on.

Our young daughter, nearly two when we lost him, questioned where he went and we simply told her “he went to live somewhere else” and never spoke of it again, not to her and not to

each other. But he hangs heavy in the silence of everything we don’t say. I remember the early days after he was gone and the phantom, haunting sounds I know I heard—the metallic click of his quick, light steps, his dreamy whimpers as he snoozed, the thud-thudding that a 130 pound mini-horse makes when clambering down from forbidden furniture as he hears his master’s car in the drive—they were all spectral mementoes of a giant black dog who was, at times, just a little too much.

Because we seldom speak of him, there have been times when I have wondered if it was all just a dream, until I see the worn spot on the sofa, the scratched paint on the backdoor, and the waist-high, cloudy smears from a dog’s wet nose on a window, which I eventually Windexed away. Even now, years later, he is gone, but he is everywhere.

I dream about Ace sometimes. The dreams are always as varied and vivid as they are absurd. Sometimes he comes galloping around the corner of our old yard all clumsy and cartoon-like, leaping through autumn leaves and then bounding straight into the blossoms of some summery shrub, nonsensically blooming in the mid-November of my dream. The unreal, exaggerated bright colors of our dream yard light it up ridiculously as if it were a stadium, but despite the cheery colors, I always feel some unseen sense of foreboding from just beyond the fence.

In another version of the dream, his loss has been some grand gaffe. He has run away, gotten lost, and returned home after all this time, and sits pawing and barking outside our backdoor, unkempt from his long excursion and indignant at our locked door. There are other varieties of my dog dreams, but the universal feature of them all is that through some great miracle of misunderstanding, he has come back into our lives and we welcome him with open arms back to his worn spot on the sofa, where he will stay surly and sluggish, just as if he has never left. In wide-eyed disbelief we embrace and exclaim to each other, “He came home! He’s back!”

But he won’t come back, I realize, as I’m startled out of my reverie.

I still occasionally find his short, black hairs clinging to a cushion or an old blanket, all course and needle-like, unlike the docile, downy fluff of a German shepherd or collie. Those little hairs remind me of the tiny grains of sand I once found in a long-lost suitcase, souvenirs of a seaside vacation from a summer past, and it just seems too sad to sweep them away.

So I leave them as they are, which is sentimental and silly, two traits I can’t seem to shake even as I age.

Through September 13, 2015 Programmable robots mimic how animals function in their environment. Enjoy engaging, hands-on activities and explore scientific principles in ecology, biology, physics and engineering. Experience imagination in motion in “The Robot Zoo!”

Perhaps we will have another dog someday, when more time has passed. We’ll likely teach him to sit, stay off the furniture, and lay quietly at the feet of our company.

I’ve no doubt at all that we will love this new dog too, but I know in my heart there will never be another wildcard like our Ace.

rocketcenter.com 1 Tranquility Base • Huntsville, AL 35805 (256) 837-3400 • (800) 637-7223

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scene

Lisa Edwards and Lila Frank Samantha Bentley, Patti Thornton, Dean Mitchell, Melanie Murray, and Kathryn Price Lee Moore Nast and Alice Bentley Middie Thompson and Judy Maxwell

Amy Cornelius, Paige Beitel and Beth Lauderdale

Laura Vann and Donna Shergy

Above: Huntsville Museum of Art 24th Annual Gala Luncheon

Lakshmi Nallamala and Ashley Mitchell

Lori Webber and Brett Maxey © Photos by Jeff White

Below: HudsonAlpha Spring Benefit

wednesday, march ,  · huntsville museum of art

april ,  · hudson alpha

Bud Cramer, Jennifer Carden, and Dale Strong Amy Myers Nelson, Wendy Yang, Rick Myers, and Alice Myers Hagler Connie Burnside, Randy Roper, and Ken Rivenbark Mike and Clare Grisham

Michele and David Lucas

Anne Marie and Tom Reiddy Carole and George Jones * Names for photos are provided by the organization or business featured.

Lynn and Jim Hudson, and Nancy McManus

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text by roy hall

In the four centuries since Shakespeare declared the world a stage and everyone in it players, the Bard of Avon’s metaphor has taken a sharp turn for the literal.

In the past two decades alone, technology has given anyone with the talent and inclination the means to become writers, directors, and actors, and in the process turned our formerly isolated living rooms and neighborhoods into TV studios and sound stages.

That very same technology has made the faraway familiar, and the professional “player’s” once intimidating dream of performing on distant stages now seems less daunting, more attainable.

In this article, we’ll introduce you to four virtual storytellers, whose productions broadcast our communities, and their tales, to anyone, anywhere with a computer and broadband.

You’ll also become acquainted with four performers, whose show business aspirations have taken them from North Alabama to sound stages and TV studios far from home.

july/august  | noalastudios.com | 

Made in the Shoals “Do you really live in Alabama? Why?” It’s a question Wes and Tera Wages hear a lot, in different forms, and in different accents, as they travel the country and the world with their photography business, Armosa Studios.

People wonder why the husband-and-wife photographers choose to live in such an out-of-the way town, in Alabama.

Wouldn’t two creative people prefer a place with a rich cultural heritage? A city with an active music scene, maybe; where they could enjoy the company of other creative professionals? Perhaps a place with great restaurants, or a renowned fashion designer or two...

“We wanted to communicate to the people we meet when we travel why this area is so cool,” Wes Wages explains. “So we started shooting videos.”

A collaborative effort between producers Wages and Lee Taylor and host Jonathan Oliphant, Made in the Shoals debuted in 2013 with seven short documentary-style films featuring local businesses and individuals whose work, the filmmakers believed, deserved to be exposed to a wider audience. The film series also served a dual role as classroom, inviting UNA filmmaking students on set, providing real world experience in video production.

The team brought Alex Wittscheck aboard as audio engineer, and so far have released four podcasts, each approximately half-an-hour long, exploring a diversity of subject matter.

A light and fun exploration of the Shoals’ fascination with cheese straws in Episode 2 is followed by thoughtful, somber ruminations on the Civil Rights Movement in Episode 3.

Going forward, Made in the Shoals will premier two new podcasts per month, one recorded live at events open to the public. To follow the continuing story of the Shoals, and to find out how to add your own voice to the unfolding story, follow them at madeintheshoals.com.

Know Huntsville Huntsvillian Tom Patterson was on the lookout for some extracurricular creative fun. The native Californian needed a project to help fill the scant hours not occupied by his design studio and web development company. Inspired by his favorite podcast, “Stuff You Should Know,” Patterson imagined an in-depth, research-intensive series exploring Valley-based people, places, and things.

Flush with inspiration, Tom phoned up his best friend, Joe Oruzco—a fellow Huntsville transplant from the Left Coast—and pitched the idea of a documentary-style video series exploring the depths and complexities of Rocket City.

But who has time for all that?

Those first shoots were hives of activity: one-day shoots, fast editing turn-around, talent incubators. A bold mission, and a time-consuming one, too, especially for two busy professionals with day jobs. The demanding production schedules prompted Wages and Taylor to alter the format of Made in the Shoals. Today, the series is produced as a podcast—an audio-only storytelling genre, that, while less time-intensive, is no less powerful a medium for communicating the richness of the Shoals.

“Podcasting and audio can have just as much dramatic effect,” according to Wages. “I wouldn’t have thought so. But the reason is silence.” Silence on the radio is awkward, but in the context of a podcast, it can be a powerful, punctuative tool.

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Instead, Know Huntsville took shape as a relaxed, informal, fun-but-informative series filmed in a concrete block storage room annexed to Huntsville brewery and tap room Brew Stooges.

“I thought we’d be terrible at first, but eventually get the hang of it,” Patterson admits with a laugh. To his and Oruzco’s surprise, not only were they not terrible hosts, the lifelong friends took to their new hosting gig right off the bat.

Maybe it’s their enthusiasm for the subject matter. Patterson is passionate about the city he’s chosen as his home. “Huntsville is a unique town. It’s a melting pot of artists and

© Photos by Armosa Studios

Clockwise from top left: Made in the Shoals (MITS) producer Wes Wages; A still promoting a 2015 podcast exploring the Civil Rights Era in the Shoals; Co-producer Lee Taylor interviews artist Michael Banks at the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library; A promotional still from the podcast premier; MITS artist symposium in conjunction with Arts Alive!

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Clockwise from top: Live on the set of Know Huntsville; Co-host Tom Patterson at the mic; Tom Patterson; Co-host Joe Oruzco.

© Photos by Ginger Zolynsky

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© Photo by Andrew V. Gonzalez

engineers.” Within that mix, there are a wealth of stories to be told—so many, Know Huntsville is booked with guests through early July.

“We do our interviews on Sunday and Tuesday nights and I edit when I can,” Patterson says. Does Know Huntsville have an established release schedule for new episodes? Yes, Patterson laughs: “Whenever they’re done!”

Know Huntsville has found its greatest audience traction so far with bands, some of whom use the audio and video from their appearance on the show for their own publicity material. And tapping—no pun intended—into the craft brew beer market has also greatly expanded their audience.

Looking to the future, Patterson sees Know Huntsville expanding to reach a wider audience with the message that Huntsville is a culturally and intellectually diverse city.

All the stuff you should know about Know Huntsville is online at knowhuntsville.com. You’re also encouraged to like them on Facebook at facebook.com/knowhuntsville, and never miss a new episode…“whenever they’re done.”

Son of Somerset Files Elizabeth Hagale also needed a project to sink her creative teeth into. Home post-graduation from Birmingham-Southern College’s Media and Film Studies program, the 24-yearold Huntsville native wanted to expand her theoretical knowledge of storytelling with real-world experience. A collaborative conversation with a friend and fellow budding filmmaker provided the inspiration: a mystery series about a secret UFO conspiracy.

Son of Somerset Files combines the familiar genres of science fictions, serialized storytelling, and family melodrama in a decidedly unfamiliar, utterly modern way. Somerset’s story unfolds across a variety of virtual platforms. The bulk of the story unfolds on YouTube, with elements from each episode augmented elsewhere online: clues are revealed on Somerset’s Tumblr site; UFO photos are available for inspection on Instagram; and the creator directly addresses her audience, in character, via Twitter.

july/august  | noalastudios.com | 

© Photo by Andrew V. Gonzalez

There’s a name for all that interactivity and multi-platform exposition: “transmedia.” And it’s a concept as fresh in theory as it is meticulous in practice.

Fortunately for Hagale, her idea so inspired friends and family, they dedicated evenings and weekends, both in front of and behind the camera, including Hagale’s father, from whom she inherited her love of filmmaking. “My dad wanted to be a filmmaker, but became an aerospace engineer instead. He was the sound operator.”

Premiering on YouTube the fall of 2014, Son of Somerset Files includes a total of 26 episodes, in addition to its Tumblr, Facebook, and Instagram posts.

“A web show has to keep people’s attention; it has to compete with the temptation to click on ‘Related Videos,’” Hagale says.

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© Photo by Andrew V. Gonzalez

The experience was creatively fulfilling, Hagale says, but also an invaluable learning experience. We often look to the web for quick fixes, for easy distractions. And even though the longest of Somerset’s episodes are a mere nine minutes— barely the time a sitcom takes before its first commercial— online, time seems to expand.

Facing page: Son of Somerset director Elizabeth Hagale (top, left); Somerset star Rhiana Howell (bottom, right) and an attache filled with UFO secrets. This page, clockwise from top, left: Half Minute Horror producer Tashina Southard prepares while actor Lily Holly walks to her place; producers Keith Sims and Southard wait for crew to finish setting up for the next scene; Holly, Southard, and Sims confer about a scene.

© Photos by Rachel Neal

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Son of Somerset Files is more than capable of sustaining viewers’ interest with its immersive, riveting narrative. If you’d like to dive into its sinister, slightly unsettling world, enter the world of Somerset here: youtube.com/user/sonofsomersetfiles Half Minute Horror Keith Sims and Tashina Southard think big, in small packages. The filmmaking collaborators and creators of the Half Minute Horror YouTube series have dedicated the past six months of their extracurricular life to the premise that a group of filmmakers and actors can produce one original horror film every week for a year.

And just to make it interesting, all films in the series have to do what any film does: introduce characters, impart to viewers everything they needs to know, and scare their pants off.

Unlike other films, Half Minute Horror, as its name implies, has to accomplish all that in 30 seconds.

Well, brevity is the soul of wit, as they say. It may also be the source of inspiration and a solid work ethic, because after a total of 33 episodes as of this writing, Half Minute Horror is fulfilling Sims’ and Southard’s mission and collecting worldwide fans all along the way.

Working with a troupe of core actors, filmmakers Sims and Southard construct their films in much the same way they do their longer-form projects: they adhere to a production schedule. Their scripts, while short, tell a complete story, with a beginning, middle, and end. And the footage is edited and scored by Sims the same way a longer film would be.

Caitlin Carver Straitlaced tycoon Warren Buffet is about as far removed from the glitz and glamor of Hollywood’s dream machine as you can possibly get. Still, the venture capitalist’s observation that “It takes 20 years to build a reputation” applies quite comfortably to Huntsville native and actor Caitlin Carver.

The Sparkman High School graduate is an accomplished dancer and in-demand actress, with 20 years’ worth of credits, stretching from north Alabama dance studios to Los Angeles TV studios, and most points in between. It’s the kind of resume you’d expect from a seasoned performer twice her age, but Carver has managed, with diligence, humility, and talent, to establish an enviable career, all before the tender age of 23.

Carver’s show business journey began in a Huntsville ballet school, where her mom signed her up for classes when Carver was two and a half. A natural born performer, Carver thrived in ballet, so much so that, at age 16, she was spotted and signed by an agent in Atlanta. A few small acting roles followed, but Carver’s concentration continued to be dance; it was a love that served Carver well. It also served as a bridge to the next phase of her performing life when, in the summer following her senior year at Sparkman, Carver entered an international dance competition in Los Angeles.

She won. And, like the quintessential ingenue in a too-goodto-be-true 1940s movie, a star was born.

And the benefits are broader than their fan base or the creative satisfaction of pulling it off. According to Sims, creative principal of Wellspring Advertising, the experience has produced “big time improvements in my working life. A 30 second client ad is a breeze now!”

Almost immediately, Carver was cast in the Disney Channel show So Random. “I already had a dorm room picked out at Alabama,” Carver recalls, during a phone call from southern California.

The rigor and commitment of a film-per-week has also produced benefits in the collaborators’ other creative projects: Southard and Sims recently placed first in Huntsville’s 48 Hour Film Festival.

Carver had to make the difficult choice: return home to her family and her first semester of college in Alabama, or stay in L.A. The chance to work in television is the sort of opportunity that rarely comes calling twice, if you say no. With her family’s love and support, Carver said yes.

To watch a half-year’s worth of filmmaking in just fifteen minutes, visit halfminutehorror.com.

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Carver’s decision to embrace her fate opened a veritable floodgate of more roles and new horizons. On the heels of her role in So Random came a recurring role on the The Fosters. The ABC Family show about two moms raising a family

© Photo by Percy Mitchell

© Photo by Peter Svenson

© Photo by Patrick Hood

© Photo by Eric Maldonado

Dan Beene

Eric Maldonado

Drey Mitchell Caitlin Carver

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of foster kids proved to be not only a rating success, but an inspirational experience for Carver, too.

“The fans are super supportive,” Carver says. “So many of them are going through the same sorts of obstacles the show deals with. It helps them to know they’re not alone.”

Knowing she isn’t alone helps Carver, too. Show business can be a difficult industry to navigate. Carver credits her parents and the lessons of humility and responsibility they instilled in her for her grace-under-pressure, a trait Carver considers quintessentially Southern.

“I work really hard, and I never go out; I don’t go to parties,” Carver says, laughing. Contra the image of the club-going starlet, most weekend nights find Carver “at home, working on scripts.”

That dedication to craft is as much responsible for her continued success as good, old-fashioned talent and luck. “Remaining humble. Being kind and genuine to people. Doing what you’re told to do by your boss. That’s what gets you hired again,” Carver insists. “I’ve been in situations where people with little work ethic and a lot of vanity don’t get cast again. Producers want to cast people who are ready to work.”

And producers want to cast Caitlin Carver. In addition to So Random and The Fosters, Carter has appeared in numerous film roles—some released, some still waiting for release— most notable among them one directed by Hollywood legend Warren Beatty, about the slightly less straitlaced tycoon Howard Hughes.

This summer, Carver can be seen in the highly anticipated Paper Towns, based on the novel by The Fault in Our Stars author, John Green, followed in the fall with a brand new ABC drama.

As you set your DVRs and visit theaters, keep an eye out for Caitlin Carver. When you see her up there in the Hollywood firmament, kindly point her out to her staunchly anti-television south Alabama grandparents. For the life of them, they can’t figure out why anybody would want to move to Hollywood.

Drey Mitchell Like Caitlin Carver, Drey Mitchell is a 23-year-old professional actor and dancer who discovered his calling as a child.

And, like Carver, Mitchell headed south, from his home in north Alabama to Tuscaloosa to pursue his arts education.

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But Carver’s and Mitchell’s paths diverge at the University of Alabama, where Mitchell stayed to major in theatre, and then afterward, east, to New York City.

Like so many before him, the arts gave Mitchell a foundation as a kid, a sense of purpose. “My first play was Macbeth, when I was 12,” Mitchell explains on the phone, between a shift at his restaurant job and a dance class. “Christy Montero at Florence Freshman Center encouraged me to act. She introduced me to musicals and encouraged me to audition for the Gingerbread Players production of High School Musical.”

Mitchell sang “Summertime” a capella, brought the house down, and never looked back.

“My parents hoped for a political science major, maybe law,” Mitchell says. Instead, it was to be a theatre major, with a minor in voice and dance. The young performer’s course was set, and following graduation, Mitchell purchased a one-way ticket to the world capital of the performing arts, New York City.

Today’s world is unrecognizable compared to the one inhabited by the very first actor who got off a bus in Times Square with stars in his eyes. But for performers who crave a live audience, ones who want their mettle tested by the best of the best, there’s just no substitute for the Big Apple.

But it’s not an easy road, and Mitchell’s has been bumpy at times. In true New York style, his very first apartment, a Craigslist find, turned out to be a scam. A little money lost and a lesson learned, Mitchell dusted himself off, phoned up some friends, and within days had a place (four rooms, four roommates, 600 bucks each), a job (at a theatre district restaurant, naturally). And a show. ”I found the audition in a [theatrical trade paper] Back Stage ad,” Mitchell says. “I got cast and immediately went into rehearsals at the Clarion Theatre off-Broadway. We had a twoweek mid-March of a play adapted from Hemingway’s ‘Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.’ A great experience, and a great way to meet other up-and-coming actors and learn about opportunities.

Next came a scholarship at the West Side Dance Project: three hours of front desk work per week earns Mitchell a dance class. He maintains his theatre chops in impromptu scene study get-togethers with fellow actor friends.

As for the business side of theatre—the producers’ demands, the casting directors’ expectations, the unions’ requirements—it’s all notoriously, confoundingly byzantine,

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but Mitchell is a quick study. Even without his union card, he’s already auditioned for the ensembles of four Broadway productions: Les Miserables, Book of Mormon, Cabaret, and Hamilton. He’s been called back for Book of Mormon.

And all of that since his arrival in March. Remarkable, and evidence that Mitchell has the moxie and know-how necessary to forge a career in the professional theatre, in one of the most demanding places on earth.

Eric Maldonado Detroit native Eric Maldonado always wanted to be an actor. It was a dream he kept alive as his life’s journey carried him from the Midwest, all the way to Afghanistan, where he served as a Marine, and back again to the States, and Biloxi, where he met the woman who would eventually become his wife.

Maldonado’s wife brought Eric to Florence, where he enrolled in UNA’s Film and Digital Media Production program, with assistance from the post-9/11 GI college bill.

“I got my first audition one summer while I was still at UNA,” Maldonado says. “I was working a landscape job when I found out about an audition in Mobile for a Nicholas Cage movie called Rage.” Maldonado made the six-hour drive from Florence to Mobile to audition for the movie. A few hours after getting back to Florence, he got the call: They like you. Come back. So, he filled up his tank and headed south again, this time determined to make it final. And he did. His very first audition, and he booked the part.

Alas, before filming began, Maldonado broke his ankle and had to turn the role down.

“It’s okay,” Maldonado chuckles. “It was validating.” It also confirmed what every actor who lives outside the major centers of production knows: you have to get close to the work. So, with his UNA professor’s permission, Maldonado is continuing his education online, while living in Douglasville, Georgia. A half hour outside Atlanta, Douglasville is within easy driving distance to Atlanta’s booming film and television scene.

Maldonado’s first success in Atlanta was on the series Drop Dead Diva. An ABC pilot, Quantico, followed. In both, Maldonado secured the role of “featured extra.” TV production nomenclature is more complex than a physics text book, but a featured extra role is a good thing, an important stepping stone to a larger part. The details of the contract require that a featured extra appear on film, in the forefront, and

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in focus. If you play your cards right, it’s an excellent way to get noticed. And Maldonado played his cards just right: the scene in Quantico required Maldonado to shed a tear just as the camera panned past him, for a grand total of ten takes.

[Warning: Don’t try this at home!]

Currently, Maldonado is working on Billy Lynn’s Long Half Time Walk, directed by one of the most acclaimed directors working today, Ang Lee, and looking forward to his future.

For now, that future is in Atlanta. A fourteen-acre film campus is being built in Norcross, and all the big Hollywood production companies are opening outlets in Atlanta. “Everyone says don’t go to L.A. All the people from L.A. are moving to Atlanta!”

Dan Beene Dan Beene waited even longer than Eric Maldonado to pursue a career in show business. But for Beene, the waiting was painless: until he was in his 30s, he had no idea he wanted to be an actor.

“I always knew I was a good mimic,” Beene reflects. “But I had no inkling I wanted to act.”

Beene’s kids are ultimately to blame for their farmer father’s second career in show business. “Back in the late ‘80s, I took the kids to an audition for the Gingerbread Players,” Dan says. “My kids goaded me into auditioning. Right away, I knew I was in the right place.”

Local directors and audiences agreed, and a string of Shoals area stage productions led to a film and television agent in Nashville. TV and film is notoriously youth-obsessed, but Beene insists he had it easier, arriving on the scene in his middle-age. “Film sets are better later in life, when you’re more patient. Basically, in film, you’re like a pinch hitter.

You sit around forever, then you go do the greatest job ever.

Sometimes it’s a half day of work for 15 seconds on screen.”

And sometimes, those 15 seconds get cut.

Beene’s first big movie was the film adaptation of the John Grisham bestseller The Chamber. Cast out of Nashville, Beene worked two days on one scene. “My dad and friends went to the theater with me to see my big screen debut. I knew my scene took place at night, so we waited as it got darker on screen.” And darker and darker and darker, but no Dan. His very first screen role, and it got left on the cutting room floor.

Beene fared much better in future film roles. Among his many film credits, Beene has appeared on the silver screen with Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash’s father in Walk the Line, in Country Strong with Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw, and, in his favorite role to date, as a cab driver who delivers a devastating message to a GI’s wife in We Were Soldiers.

But acting isn’t all about creative fulfillment; it can be a lucrative profession, too—especially commercials. Thing is, most ads are made in L.A., and Beene’s home base is the Shoals.

“But I grew up in California, married a girl from California, my brother still farms there. I’d sold my farm in ’97, and my wife passed away in ’99.” Beene’s Nashville agent recommended him to a Los Angeles-based agent, and in 2006, Beene spent a year in LA suburb Toluca Lake.

Beene bought a Harley, caught up with his brother, and at the end of the year, was cast in a national Kinko’s ad. “It’s crazy money,” Beene says. “That one ad paid for my whole year in L.A.” The money may have been great, but Beene had to put up with a pen full of diva co-stars . “The ad was set on a chicken farm,” Beene recalls. “I had to be there at seven in the morning; the chickens didn’t have to be there ‘til ten.” Adding insult to injury, strict regulations forbid animals from getting too hot under the lights. So production assistants fanned the chickens between takes.

“Nobody fanned me,” Dan recalls with a chuckle.

Bright lights. Movie stars. Entitled poultry. It’s been a heckuva ride for a fella who started life on a farm, only to wind up next to Reese Witherspoon on a movie screen. Does Beene have any advice for young actors considering the plunge into show business?

“You need somebody in your life who’ll tell you if you’re really good enough. If you are, you just need to be there when everybody else has given up and gone home.”

Beene is back home in the Shoals now, but he’s a long way from giving up, even though he doesn’t have any film or stage projects at the moment. And that’s just fine, as far as Beene is concerned: “It’s golf season.”

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28 »

Left: Front row, L-R: Mary Morgan Plott, AnnaMarie Marona, Callie Bragg, Susan Purvis, Allyson Nuwayhid; Back row, L-R: Joie Tucker, Camille Shockley, Jordan Lee, Mallory Castellow, Leah Honkanen

scene

Below: L-R: Stephanie Gilbert, Katie Vest, Katie Russell, Mary Margaret Ragland, Mary Scott Pearson; Back row, L-R: Lauren Stevens, Cate Rasco, Sarah Gwin Moore, Hughston May, Mary Gray Lindstrom

Below: L-R: Anna Catherine Brooks, Cameron Seeley, Sarah Reagan Tepool, Lauren Lowe, Abbie Rodgers; Back row, L-R: Mary Witty Crump, Madeline Rushing, Keeley McMurray, Anna South, Lauren Layton

Above: Huntsville Symphony Orchestra Guild Announces 52nd Symphony Ball Debutantes

Below: Huntsville Symphony Orchestra Guild Debs and Presenters

© Photos by Mark Jaeger

may ,  · valley hill country club

Allyson Nuwayhid and Ramsay Nuwayhid Randy Roper, Phillip and Katie Vest, and Mike and Sarah Reagan Tepool

Joie Tucker and Ray Tucker Ben Stevens and Lauren Stevens

Troy Layton and Lauren Layton

Bill Lindstrom and Mary Gray Lindstrom

*Names for photos are provided by the organization or business featured. | noalastudios.com | july/august

Hughston May and Mark Thornton David Lee and Jordan Lee

News, classical music and more 88.7 FM Muscle Shoals • 100.7 FM Huntsville www.apr.org

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text by sara wright covington » photos by olivia reed

NINE FRIENDS RELAX, RECONNECT, AND RAISE AWARENESS FOR THE NATIONAL CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY CENTER

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Whether it’s a pool, a lake, or an ocean, it’s likely if you live in Alabama during the sweltering heat of summer, a weekend getaway won’t seem complete without one of those three bodies of water. And for any average woman who is juggling a career, a family, and just an overall hectic lifestyle, it sounds pretty appealing to escape for a girls’ weekend to sit waterside while enjoying a breeze, good company, and a cocktail. But sometimes planning a weekend getaway, especially when trying to coordinate with your equally busy girlfriends, is easier said than done. “As busy, young mothers, my friends and I often find ourselves dreamily planning weekend getaways that just never come to fruition,” says Nancy Zeidman who is a wife, mother, and mechanical engineer at Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Alabama. “It’s just a fact that surrounds life as we all know it these days.”

Let’s Get This Party Started!

Facing page: Lindsey Zinser (left) and Rachel Zeidman enjoy a morning at the lake.

Preceding page: Arlana Johnson

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This past September, Nancy attended September Celebration, which is an annual fundraiser hosted by the National Children’s Advocacy Center (NCAC), for which Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Alabama is a sponsor. Founded 30 years ago by former congressman Robert E. “Bud” Cramer, who was the district attorney of Madison County, the NCAC was established to provide better response, prevention, and treatment for child abuse. September Celebration features dinner, dancing, and a silent auction where all proceeds go to benefit the NCAC. At this year’s silent auction, one the items up for bid was a “Girls Lake Trip to the Home of Dr. and Mrs. Mark Pullen on Guntersville Lake.” For a group of girlfriends attending this year’s benefit, the trip seemed like a wonderful way to contribute to a great cause. “My friends and I are all just super busy, and this was just a good opportunity of making everyone commit to something. It really was perfect because it gave us the opportunity to donate to a stellar charity and also purchase a package deal weekend getaway that had the words “booze cruise” included in the description. I was immediately sold,” says Nancy. “I hastily scribbled a bid onto the auction card and learned at the end of the night we had won!” After what Nancy insists were no

“THIS WAS JUST A GOOD OPPORTUNITY OF MAKING EVERYONE COMMIT TO SOMETHING. IT REALLY WAS PERFECT BECAUSE IT GAVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO DONATE TO A STELLAR CHARITY AND ALSO PURCHASE A PACKAGE DEAL WEEKEND GETAWAY. I WAS IMMEDIATELY SOLD.” NANCY ZEIDMAN

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less than 3,000 texts, emails, and phone calls between nine women over a period of six months—during which two babies were born, a couple of career changes happened, and there was a new home purchase or two mixed in—the girls were finally able to come up a with a weekend that worked for everyone.

Anchors Away!

Top (back row, left to right): Jamie Wilson, Lindsey Zinser, Nancy Zeidman, Laurie Howell; (front row, left to right): Jennifer Bludsworth, Arlana Johnson, Olivia Reed, Rachel Zeidman, Sara Covington; Above: Dr. Mark Pullen pilots the boat. Facing page (top): Laurie Howell (right) and Lindsey Zinser; Mark and Sherri Ann Pullen’s beautiful home and grounds.

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Mark and Sherri Ann Pullen’s lake home is situated just yards from Guntersville Lake in a relatively hidden, undeveloped spot. This is the second year they have donated their house for the NCAC cause. “The NCAC is such a wonderful organization that speaks to me because so many times children can’t speak for themselves,” says Sherri Ann Pullen. “So many times they just don’t have a voice.” Sherri Ann, along with several other hostesses who helped sponsor the trip, helped put together an evening complete with cocktails and appetizers upon the groups’ arrival, a sunset boat ride followed by a family style dinner, and an overnight stay in the couple’s spacious retreat. “The most perfect thing about the weekend

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All Smiles Clockwise, from top, left: Nancy Zeidman, Sara Covington, Rachel Zeidman, and Jennifer Bludsworth

was that once we arrived for the evening, we never felt the need to leave,” says Nancy. “The Pullens had a cozy, screened-in porch and a seating area right beside the boathouse, so we could just sit and relax and chat. Don’t get me wrong, we love our children, but between our whole group we all have 18 kids between us, and it was so nice to get a break to relax and have adult conversation!” Huntsville family photographer Olivia Reed was one of the ladies along for the trip and brought her camera to catch some of the trip’s most memorable moments. “We needed a little documentation from the weekend to prove that we actually pulled it off,” says Olivia. “I loved the opportunity to capture all the fun. Some of our group had been friends for 20 years or more, and then a few of us have only been friends for a year or two, but it was a fantastic group of ladies and a super fun escape.”

After a late night of lake-side chatting and not much sleep, the ladies awoke to return to reality. “True to form, as motherhood has instinctively instilled upon us, most of us were up with the sun,” says Nancy.

“We sipped coffee by the water and it made me realize how fortunate I am to have such opportunities to spend time with women who truly lift me up,” says Nancy. “And there was no ‘mommy guilt’ about our escape because I knew we were all contributing to an organization that fights for children when they are not able to fight for themselves.” After mixing up some of Nancy’s notorious Bloody Marys for the group to enjoy with brunch, the groups’ relaxing slumber party was done.

“Hugs were doled out and sunglasses donned as we each headed back to our own lives, a little more rested than how we had left,” says Nancy. So even if for just a few moments, for these mamas, life was relaxing at the lake.

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Nancy’s Morning Mary 1 oz. Grey Goose Vodka 3 oz. Powell & Mahoney Classic Bloody Mary Mix 3 to 6 dashes Tabasco 1/3 tsp Horseradish 2 to 4 dashes Worcester Sauce Bloody Mary Rim Salt Rim a glass with Bloody Mary salt. Mix all ingredients well and serve over ice. Garnish with sliced lemon and lime, habanero stuffed olives, and fresh celery

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text by lu ellen redding and allen tomlinson Âť photos by patrick hood

Ingrid Lunsford

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They may have supper clubs up North, but it’s a pretty safe bet they don’t do them like we do them down South. Supper clubs, like SEC football and the club’s first cousin, sewing clubs, seem to be a particularly Southern institution, and if you’re not currently a part of one, well, why not?

Life is hectic, and that makes a supper club even more important. A supper club is an opportunity to put everything else on hold and gather with close friends to share a meal. Many supper clubs are on a set schedule—first Friday of every month, or the second Saturday—and some gather when they can. Some are more sporadic, but they all revolve around food because, well, we all have to eat and it’s a lot more fun to eat with friends, right?

My introduction to a supper club happened in college when Janie (McCrory) Norvell decided to put together a group called the “North Alabama Gourmet Society,” affectionately referred to as “NAGS.” Membership was pretty loose—you had to have some tie to North Alabama in general, where we were from—and since there were relatively few of us North Alabama folks at Auburn at the time, the gatherings were manageable. Because we were in college, everyone brought something (beer, mostly), and the entrees tended to be either something you could grill or something you could eat right out of a bag or a pop-top can, like chips and dip.

Didn’t matter, really; it was mostly a chance to visit and keep those North Alabama

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Hudson’s Tenderloin n • • • • • • • • • •

4 tablespoons canola oill 8 beef fillet steaks Salt and coarsely ground db bla black llaack ackk pep pepper e pe per p e 2 pounds shiitake mushrooms, hrroo ooms ms cl ms, ccleaned, leean aan need ed, d, d stemmed and thinly sliced ceed d 2 shallots, finely diced 2 cups red wine 2 cups beef stock 4 tablespoons cold unsalted alt lltted ted ed but b butter utter tter ter e 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard usst sta ttarrd d 4 tablespoons chopped fre ffresh reesh hfl flaat-leaf at-l t--lleaf aff p pa parsley arsl rsley rs leyy

Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat. Sprinkle the fillets with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the fillets into the skillet and sear until golden brown. Turn the fillets over and continue cooking for 4 to 5 minutes for medium-rare doneness. Remove the fillets to a plate. Remove all but 1 1/2 tablespoons of the fat in the skillet and return to high heat.

Add the mushrooms and shallots, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until golden brown and their liquid has evaporated. Add the red wine and cook until reduced by half. Add the stock and cook until reduced by half. Whisk in the butter and mustard and cook for 30 seconds. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with the parsley. Top the now-rested fillets with the sauce and taste.

Lunsford’s Potato Portobello Gratin • • • • •

5-6 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled 2-3 portobello mushroom caps, sliced thin 1 cup grated hard cheese such as Parmesan or Asiago 3/4 cup half and half Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees and butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish and set aside.

Using a mandolin, V-slicer, or the slicing attachment on a food processor, slice the potatoes approximately 1/8-inch thick. (If you don’t want to slice all the potatoes at once, slice them one at a time and build the gratin as you go.) Create the first layer by laying the slices in overlapping rows. Once the first layer is down, season lightly with salt and pepper, then scatter with mushroom slices and a couple tablespoons of the cheese. (Don’t overdo it on these layers; if you create a barrier between the adjoining potato layers, the gratin won›t set.) Continue building layers until you’re out of potatoes or out of room to build, but be sure to save 1/2 cup of the cheese for the top.

Pour 2/3 cup of the half and half over the gratin then spread both hands over the surface and push down to work the air out from the layers. Add remaining liquid only if half and half does not come to the surface when you push down.

Sprinkle the gratin with cheese, cover loosely with foil, and place in middle of oven for 1 hour. Check for doneness by inserting the point of a paring knife straight into the gratin. If it goes through smoothly, remove the foil, return to oven, and turn on the broiler just long enough to turn the top golden brown. Remove, and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

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ties strong. I still have my NAGS membership pin, a huge diaper pin with a pink plastic top, which we were required to wear to our parties.

When I graduated and moved back to North Alabama, I began dating Ginger Reed, who, with Evie and Martha VanSant and Becky Ingram, gathered every Friday morning for breakfast. As each of those girls started getting serious about us boys, the group expanded and became, in essence, a supper club; we met on Thursday evenings for drinks and snacks or dinner, and we called ourselves “The Breakfast Club.” Today, many of us have split, and moved, and moved on, but we all still have fond memories of the group and the time we spent together.

I’m a member of a real live grown-up supper club now, just as my parents were, and this time there are rules. We take turns hosting; the hosts provide the entree and the drinks, and everyone else brings something. The hosts also get to invite two or three new people, called “wild cards,” to keep the group lively; although we all dearly love each other, the introduction of new people every time keeps the group alive and vibrant and keeps us (meaning me) from continuously

Robinson’s Dessert

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Brent and Erin Cobb Hudson’s Tenderloin with Lunsford’s Potato Portobello Gratin

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Cobb’s Peach Salsa and Brie Bruschetta • • • • • • • • •

2 cups chopped peeled peaches (about 4) 3/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper (about 1) 1/4 cup chopped green onions 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice Dash of ground red pepper 1 (8-ounce) baguette, cut into 24 slices 4 ounces chilled Brie cheese, cut into 24 pieces

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 7 ingredients; set aside.

Arrange bread slices in an even layer on a baking sheet. Top each bread slice with 1 piece of cheese; broil 3 minutes or until cheese melts and bread is toasted. Remove pan from oven. Top each bread slice with about 1 1/2 tablespoons salsa; serve immediately.

Robinson’s Dessert Cobb’s Peach Salsa and Brie Bruschetta

talking about the same hot topics each time we gather. I don’t say we dearly love each other lightly, either; the people in our supper club are among the most dear to us, and we love any chance to spend time with them.

Four couples in Huntsville have also made the commitment to spend time with each other, and have formed a club called “The Four Seasons.” They gather quarterly, one dinner per season, and the group is purposefully kept small so they can share a more personal and intimate meal. They are also foodies, which means their meals are pretty spectacular, and it also means that they occasionally travel together; a few years ago, they traveled as a group to New Orleans to sample the cuisine there.

The Four Seasons include Ken and Kelly Hudson, Bill and Ingrid Lunsford, Brent and Erin Cobb, and Joel and Christie Robinson. They were gracious enough to share some of their recipes with us, all relatively simple, but a few with a twist or two that your taste buds will appreciate. Why not use some of these ideas to start a supper club of your own? All you need is a few friends, a free night, and some food and drinks.

It’s a way to make connections that will become valuable for the rest of your life.

• • • • • • • • • •

3 (2-ounce) squares chocolate candy andy coating 48 dark chocolate thin mints (square quare shape) 2 (6-ounce) packages fresh raspberries berries 1 cup sugar 1 envelope unflavored gelatin 3 tablespoons cold water 3 tablespoons boiling water 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 cup whipping cream, whipped Garnish: fresh mint sprigs

Microwave candy coating in a glass bowl b l att HIGH 1 1/2 to t 2 minutes or until melted, stirring every 30 seconds.

Place 1 thin mint on piece of wax paper. Dip edge of another mint into melted chocolate; adhere dipped edge to adjacent side of first mint. Hold in place 5 to 6 seconds to set. Repeat with remaining 2 sides of box. Place 1 thin mint on wax paper; brush edges with melted chocolate. Place box over mint square; hold in place 5 to 6 seconds to set. Repeat with remaining thin mints and melted chocolate. Set aside.

Process 1 package raspberries and sugar in a blender or food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Pour mixture through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a bowl, using the back of a spoon to squeeze out juice. Discard pulp and seeds.

Sprinkle gelatin over 3 tablespoons cold water; stir and let stand 1 minute. Add 3 tablespoons boiling water; stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir in lemon juice. Stir into raspberry mixture; chill until consistency of unbeaten egg white. Fold in whipped cream; chill 2 to 3 hours or until set.

Spoon filling evenly into chocolate boxes. Top each box with one chocolate square, leaving partially open. Serve with remaining raspberries, and garnish, if desired.

july/august  | noalastudios.com | 

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scene

Laura Ragland, Mary Margaret Ragland, Lauren Stevens, Susan Stevens, Stephanie Gilbert, and Jodi Rutenberg

Cathy Lee, Jordan Lee, Melinda Marona, and AnnaMarie Marona

Sarah Reagan Tepool, Cindy Seeley, and Cameron Seeley

Emily Moody, Nancy Colin, Ivy Albert, and Pamela Gann

Huntsville Symphony Orchestra Guild Debutante Tea may ,  · home of mrs. jon rice moody

Leanne McMurray, Keeley McMurray, and Mackie Bethay

Madeline Rushing, Lauren Lowe, Abbie Rodgers, and Camille Shockley

Allyson Nuwayhid, Leah Honkanen, and Mary Morgan Plott

Beth Wise, Brenda Milberger, and Theresa Taylor

* Names for photos are provided by the organization or business featured.

july/august  | noalastudios.com | 

The Tangled Strings team is made up of five engineers who share a vision for creating music from inception of the instrument to the finishing notes of a song. Pictured from Left: Ryan Wall, Susan Davis, Danny Davis, and Todd Haller (not pictured: Benjamin Davis).  | noalastudios.com | july/august 

text by sara wright covington » photos by patrick hood

july/august  | noalastudios.com | 

Walking into the Tangled Strings Studio at Lowe Mill Arts and Entertainment is kind of like walking into a funky guitar-making factory that has merged into the venue of a velvet-couched coffee house. The clean, earthy smell of mahogany fills the space, and there are spots of sawdust here and there in a curtained off space that serves as the woodworking shop for engineer-turned-artisan Danny Davis, who specializes in luthier work—specifically guitar making. Artsy music posters adorn the walls, along with unique instruments and eclectic artwork installations made from varying textures of wood and steel. Just beyond an open, comfortable seating area there is a wooden stage, set against the backdrop of carefully hung wooden panels. The studio dog, Sidda, is lazing on the floor; the door to the shop is open, and a breeze, unusually cool even for May, is drifting through the studio and mingling the smell of spring with exotic woods. The best way to describe the atmosphere here is easy meets industrial, and it’s obvious this space has been crafted lovingly and meticulously. All engineers, the Tangled Strings team of five is made up of husband and wife Danny and Susan Davis, along with their son Ben Davis and Ben’s two lifelong friends, school-and-bandmates Todd Haller and Ryan Wall. And together with their shared, mutual musical and engineering backgrounds, the Tangled Strings team has very literally taken the concept of making music from carving block to completion, creating a studio/artisan space truly unique to the Southeast.

 | noalastudios.com | july/august 

Music has been at the heart of Danny and Susan’s relationship since their very first meeting over 30 years ago. “We went to high school together and I remember seeing him on stage playing in his band and I was just immediately drawn in by him,” says Susan. “Then we started dating and one of the first gifts he gave me was two albums: one was Steve Winwood and the other was Ronnie Law’s Pressure Sensitive. That’s when I knew this was the man of my dreams.”

After college, where they both studied engineering, they got married and had children, and Danny and Susan admit that life very much got in the way of their musical pursuits.

Danny had been both playing and making his own guitars for years, although his busy life didn’t allow much time for either at this point. “He started making guitars 25 years ago because he needed a new one and we couldn’t afford it,” says Susan. “He started building guitars for himself and initially he just gave them away to people.” When the couple’s son Ben turned seven, they decided it was time to begin incorporating music back into their lives. “When he was seven, we bought him a little guitar,” says Danny. “I think he got us back into doing musical things again. Before long, Ben was showing me chords. And he became just a phenomenal musician. He started writing and getting bands together. I would come home every day from work and there would be a big bass drum in the living room.” Susan laughingly remembers Ben’s early band days in her house and how all of the china in her china cabinet rolled to the right when they played. By the time Ben was in high school, he, Ryan, and Todd had all become friends and were playing in a band together they named Liquid Caravan. “We were just a typical high school band and we were very lucky to find each other,” says Ben. “From the beginning we have had similar tastes in music and similar aspirations as far as being a band and focusing on the music.” Ben, Ryan, and Todd have literally and figuratively been in tune with each other since those early high school days, and remain so today. They all attended Auburn University, where they took Liquid Caravan with them, while also majoring in engineering. And despite them all finishing school and starting careers and families, their friendships, and band, have survived. “Liquid Caravan made it through high school, college, careers, and families,” says Ben. “And we are still going strong!”

As Danny approached retirement a few years ago, he began thinking ahead to how he could make his hobby of making guitars into another career. After Ben completed college, they had created a small bluegrass band, and once again Danny found himself working and playing out of his garage.

Retired engineer Danny Davis has been making guitars for 25 years. Using exotic woods such as mahogany, rosewood, and bubinga, he uniquely crafts each guitar to suit the musician, a process that usually takes around three months.

july/august  | noalastudios.com | 

The Tangled Strings Studio at Lowe Mill is both a workshop and a showplace where people can come in, listen to music, and then actually watch instruments being made right in the shop.

 | noalastudios.com | july/august 

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The stage at Tangled Strings has been crafted carefully to allow for the best acoustics possible while also creating a comfortable, living-room type setting where artists can connect with the audience.

“So we started looking for a place,” says Danny. “And that was the genesis of Tangled Strings. We wanted to make it a luthier shop and a recording studio.”

Exactly three years later, Tangled Strings is home and going strong at Lowe Mill. “It was just kind of serendipitous the way it happened,” says Ben. “Todd, Ryan, and I had been recording our band in the garage and our living room for so many years. And then around the same time my dad was about to retire. My mom and dad have always been so supportive of us, and Lowe Mill is just the coolest place on earth.” And although Tangled Strings originally opened as a recording space and luthier shop, the team’s original vision has shifted a bit from its initial course as they all figured out how to work their new venture into their busy lifestyles.

“We have really morphed,” says Todd. “We started this as a recording studio and that really took hold for the first year, but then realized the commitment involved. Ryan, Ben, and

 | noalastudios.com | july/august 

I all have day jobs and just can’t support recording full time.”

Things began to change for Tangled Strings when American Indi-rock artist Will Johnson came to perform at Tangled Strings for what is called a “living room show.” Johnson is known for playing smaller, more intimate venues, because it allows him to connect more with his audience. The idea really resonated with the Tangled Strings Team, and after booking Johnson to play in their space, they realized they were on to something. “That was really the first time the light bulb went off,” says Todd. “It’s just too difficult to work all day and then be here from 5 to 9 or 10 o’clock at night, so that’s when we decided ‘let’s start doing shows and recording.’ After that we started doing shows full time.” Tangled Strings now hosts performances two to three times a month, where they can comfortably seat 90 people who can enjoy a performance in an intimate space and support artists looking to get their names out there. For Todd, who is an audio visual engineer, the ambiance and the quality of the sound in the Tangled Strings Studio is of utmost importance. “We are not a bar.

We allow you to bring your own beverages, but we ask that you respect the artists,” says Todd. “This is a listening room.

We want this to be more of a listening venue than a bar. We want to bring a unique experience between the artist and the audience. I toured around the country with a couple of different acts and I’ve been to tons of venues from the Ryman to the National Theater. One thing from my traveling experience I wanted to bring here was a good sounding venue, and one that was comfortable, and one where you could have a memorable experience no matter who the artist was.” Now as a listening venue, luthier shop, and recording studio, the Tangled Strings team have begun to see their vision come to life. The extra traffic into their studio has led to people really taking interest and asking questions, which often leads to them coming back to the studio again on weekdays and weekends. And although their course may have changed a bit, every facet of Tangled Strings has been purposefully and meticulously considered. “Our team is all engineers,” says Danny. “Ryan and Ben are mechanical engineers, Susan was a mathematics major and an engineer at NASA, and Todd is an audio visual engineer. The quality we try to put into everything we do starts with the first principles of physics and all of that engineering and science is baked in. It’s not casual. Everything is thought out and very intentional. Tangled Strings addresses music from the very beginning, conception of songs, recording, and then basically nurturing that whole process from beginning to end. But everything we do is really based on those first principles of engineering.”

Ryan Wall and Todd Haller (pictured) have been playing in a band together, along with Benjamin Davis, since they were 16 years old. Although all three are now engineers with families, both their friendships and their band have survived.

july/august  | noalastudios.com | 

Over the last 20 years, Danny Davis has designed four different models of guitars.

Using the principles of engineering, he assembles each instrument carefully, testing it sonically along the way to make certain the sound is just right.

 | noalastudios.com | july/august 

Along with the success of Tangled Strings as a recording studio and performance venue, the luthier side of the business is also gaining notoriety, as Danny’s craftsmanship is gaining respect in the music community. “It all just starts with design,” says Danny. “I’ve designed four models of guitars and over 20 years I’ve worked to make those guitars sound great.

To do that I’ve learned to do certain types of assembly, and then I test it so that sonically it will sound right. I use all kinds of exotic woods…rosewood, mahogany, cocobolo, and bubinga.” Danny custom designs all of his guitars to the artists’ specificity from the very start to the finished product.

He believes that guitar buying is a very personal, emotional experience and the fit and sound have to be just right for the individuality of each artist. “I have to make sure the guitar feels good to the artist,” says Danny. “It’s an emotional thing when people come in and buy guitars. You can see it when the guitar feels right to them, sounds right to them, and they connect with it and say, ‘I love this guitar.’ That’s kind of when the music happens. So, I go to great lengths to make sure the neck and the finger board are customized to exactly what they want. And I can do that because everything on that guitar is made from scratch. It’s a block of wood till the artist tells me what they want. I start carving, and shaping, until the artist figures out what he wants. It has to sound great, feel great, and you want it to be beautiful. It requires a lot of work to get that guitar to look the way the artist wants it to look. But a great looking guitar isn’t any good unless it sounds good.” Recently, a very famous musician became part of Danny’s following. “Todd reached out via twitter to the Black Crowes and he actually got his guitar tech to call me back,” says Danny. “They invited us down to the VBC when they were in Huntsville, and we took some over to show them.” Rich Robinson, founding member of the Black Crowes, can now be seen pictured on the wall of Tangled Strings, playing one of Danny’s parlor guitars on stage. Whitney Dean of the Sweeplings Duo and Alabama musician Dave Anderson also own guitars that Danny has designed. And despite Danny’s understanding and application of physics and sound into each instrument, at the heart of each of his guitars is just an appreciation of humble materials that man has been using for centuries. “You’re taking nature’s gifts, wood and metal strings, and using that to make a really rich, resonate sound,” says Danny. “There have been hundreds of years of people making instruments. I’m not doing anything amazing or earth shattering; I just do it well. I make instruments.”

Danny Davis’s guitars are being played by musicians all over the world, including Rich Robinson, founding member of the Black Crowes.

As Tangled Strings grows both as a venue and luthier shop, this creative team of engineers continues to explore new ways to establish themselves in the music world. As a listening room and recording studio, they have created an atmosphere where emerging artists can perform in a comfortable, acoustically superior space. As a guitar shop, they have taken customization to the next level, crafting instruments just inches away from where they will be played. The combination of having this musical progression is what makes Tangled Strings a truly unique spot. “Going in we were really focused on studio recording,” says Ben. “It was a lot of fun, but we have found that hosting performances is just more appropriate for our ultimate vision, which from the beginning was a single, kind of cradle-to-grave sanctuary. Dad builds the instruments and puts incredible heart, soul, and craftsmanship into them, and it’s magic when a musician picks up an instrument off the wall and begins to play. And what’s happening is a purely organic, and ground-up experience.” The Tangled String team’s labor of love is perfect in the inventive mecca that Lowe Mill offers, and their artistic engineering has made their studio a place where the public can view music being made from start to finish, something not found anywhere else in Huntsville. “Everything we do is very intentional to make sure we have the highest quality of product,” says Danny. “We want everybody who touches Tangled Strings in any way, to have an extraordinary experience.”

july/august  | noalastudios.com | 

 | noalastudios.com | july/august 

text by roy hall » photos by patrick hood

I reay   perfec spo  a weeken getaway.

Unfortunately for the Chandler family of Guntersville, Alabama, the property that would become their vacation retreat inconveniently had a not-so-perfect house already on it. But the location was so ideal, the Chandlers enlisted Huntsville, Alabama, architect Frank Nola and interior designer Beverly Farrington to replace the dated ‘60s rancher with something that reflected the spectacular setting.

Designer Farrington describes the post-and-beam stunner that now occupies this idyllic plot of land on the shore of Guntersville’s South Sauty River as “rustic contemporary.” The home’s generous views and expansive interiors create a sense of cozy opulence, fulfilling the family’s wish for a home to make friends and family feel as comfortable as they are welcome.

july/august  | noalastudios.com | 

“When we design houses, each space is entirely personal. They all have different feelings inspired by the spirit of our client,” Farrington says of the principle that guides her firm, Accents of the South.

For this project, Farrington’s clients requested a familyoriented home that would allow their then-young boys to enjoy summers outdoors, as well as offer friends a retreat from the demands of the work week.

 | noalastudios.com | july/august 

Encouraging good times with friends, chairs surround a fire pit, offering a warm place to gather on cool evenings. A four-foot walkable sea wall— a rarity for lake living—encourages visitors to stroll the expansive property.

Towering over it all, the widow’s walk offers a quiet spot to read or enjoy a cup of coffee amid impressive views of the property and beyond.

july/august  | noalastudios.com | 

“I like to juxtapose,” Farrington says. “If there’s a rustic element, I like to bring in some cleaner lines. The house is grand, so we wanted to make the furniture a little lighter, so one plays off the other.”

 | noalastudios.com | july/august 

With its soaring ceilings, sun-drenched interior, and antique heart of pine floors, the living area offers a casual, serene spot for the family to gather. The green of the wing-backed sofa, along with the stone fireplace and limestone mantle, recall nature and help bring the outside in.

july/august  | noalastudios.com | 

The kitchen’s granite sinks and countertops are integrated, achieving a continuous line as each flow seamlessly into the other. Sconces designed for the residence by Farrington and forged by Fayetteville, Tennessee, wrought ironsmith Don Bukar accent soaring windows, flooding the kitchen and adjoining rooms with light. The wood windows’ industrial, steel finishes add texture to the kitchen’s warmth, and the absence of a traditional backsplash allows the sightline to continue uninterrupted, directing the eye outside toward the lush lawn.

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A guest bathroom boasts one of the home’s more striking features: a translucent alabaster sink, underlit to dramatic effect.

 | noalastudios.com | july/august 

The warm, inviting master bedroom soothes with its soft palate and accent colors that complement the antique heart of pine floors.

The master bath’s grey travertine floors echo mosaic travertine and marble walls, creating a soothing and luxurious linear line throughout. An alderwood vanity reads more furniture than fixture with its grey weather wash and tall tapered legs.

Eight antique knotty oak bunk beds, accented with decorative shelving and art, comfortably accommodate eight young ones.

july/august  | noalastudios.com | 

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scene

Susan Linn, Jim Rountree, and Carolyn Rountree Steve Thornton, Lisa Bragg, Gary Anglin, and Kerry Doran Marcus and Henri Helstowski Melissa Rowe and Jane Brocato

Rhett Murray, Melanie Murray, Patti Thornton, Steve Thornton, Samantha Bentley, Trey Bentley, Kathryn Price, and Lewis Price

Carole Foret and Matt Doss

Celeste Childs, Jennifer Blue, and Samantha Thompson

Hayley DeGraaff and Chris Hutton © Photos by Jeff White

Above: Huntsville Museum of Art 24th Annual Gala Cocktail Party & Silent Auction

Below: Huntsville Museum of Art 24th Annual Gala Black Tie Dinner and Live Auction

saturday, march ,  · huntsville museum of art

friday, march ,  · huntsville museum of art

Randy Roper, Alice Lanier, and Ken Rivenbark Sam Yeager, Angie Yeager, Barney Heyward, and Tricia Heyward

Lewis Price and Dean Mitchell Cathy and David Chan

Bill Stender and Ellen Chorba

Joyce Griffin, Jean Templeton, and Cathy Chan

* Names for photos are provided by the organization or business featured.

Kay Wheeler and Betsy Lowe

Patti Thornton, Samantha Bentley, Melanie Murray, and Kathryn Price © Photos by Jeff White

july/august  | noalastudios.com | 

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market » Photos by Patrick Hood »

Text by Roy Hall

Annie Griffin Collection Tank ($148) Annie Griffin Collection Shorts ($158) Sacha London Shoes ($124) BCBG Maxazria Necklace ($98) Personal Couture personalcoutureboutique.com Oliver Peoples Tiger Skin Frames ($34.36) Willowbrook Shoppe (256) 270-7181

Emily just tennis—or adores a the view of t least the lanai, it, from un umbrella, n der an ext to the fan.

 | noalastudios.com | july/august 

Daughters of Simone Two-Piece ($1800) Finery (256) 429-3429 Straw Hat ($70) Personal Couture personalcoutureboutique.com Vintage Judith Leiber Suede Evening Bag ($220) 100-Year-Old Afghanistan Choker ($300) Willowbrook Shoppe (256) 270-7181

“You should never be afraid of a statement piece, as long as you always have something provocative to say,” says Evelyn, provocatively.

july/august  | noalastudios.com | 

72 Âť

market

Vogue Top ($110 ) Jeans ($105) European Boutique (256) 880-0322 Pearl Necklace ($38) Marigail Mathis (256) 764-9444 Straw Bag ($128) Personal Couture personalcoutureboutique.com Hand-dyed Kerchief ($36) The Little Green Store (256) 539-9699 Vintage Pumps ($10) Vintage Sunglasses ($10) Willowbrook Shoppe 256) 270-7181

fashion y a d r old, Satu Gwyn’s st: something hing checkli ng new, somet e. somethi something hu light,

According to Je the correct a nnifer, to the eterna nswer l br question, “Blo unch Mary or M ody imos is…Yes, Pleas a?” e!

Annie Griffin Collection Dress ($268) Sacha London Shoes ($124) Personal Couture personalcoutureboutique.com Helen Kaminski Natural Hat ($242) Marigail Mathis (256) 764-9444 White Sunglasses ($10) Zoey Belle’s (256) 320-5117

july/august  | noalastudios.com | 

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the vine » Amy C. Collins A great way to dive into the proverbial barrel is to commit to a mixed case of wines you’ve yet to try.

The next thing you know, you’re in constant search of that next divine sip, that euphoric lift akin to a runner’s high.

MIX IT UP In a recent post on my blog, PigandVine.com, I wrote, “Being in wine is all about getting into more wine.” As soon as these words appeared on the screen, I imagined one of those tongue-in-cheek eCards floating around the social media stratosphere with a Victorian-era lady holding an overturned, empty bottle of wine in the air while throwing her entire self into a barrel of cabernet. After all, the first glass is the gateway to a second. But what I’m really getting at is the discovery of wine. Once you find it interesting (beyond the benefits of alcohol), an entire world of vinous possibilities reveals itself. The next thing you know, you’re in constant search of that next divine sip, that euphoric lift akin to a runner’s high.

A great way to dive into the proverbial barrel is to commit to a mixed case of wines you’ve yet to try.

A good rule of thumb is to choose one bubbly, a few whites, a pink or two, a few reds, and at least one treat in a price range you feel is “special occasion,” selecting the others from the $10 to $25 shelf. The selection is white-heavy, to accommodate Alabama’s generously hot summer.

The Whites Montinore Estate Gewürtztraminer 2012 is from an organically and biodynamically certified winery and vineyards in Willamette Valley, Oregon. Subtle lychee and melon fruits with floral hints on the nose, followed by great acidity and refined fruit in perfect balance with a long, beautiful finish. I love it with a creamy ash-ripened cheese, the kind you can eat with a spoon.

Dom Do main ma ine Beauséjour L Domaine Les Grenettes Sauvignon Blanc 2014 from Loire Valley, France, is at the top of cu urrent favorites. R current favorites. Ripe summer fruits, a floral note and hint of lemon herb aromas greet the nose, followed foll lllow o ed on on the palate pal with peach flavors and vibrant acidity. But there’s also a richness in the mid-p mid-palate palaate pala pa t w where heree the acidity here he acid mellows and an alluring texture takes it to another level. Then the flavors rrejoin re j in jo in for forr a balanced bal a aan ncceed and lasting finish. It’s the sav blanc for non-sav drinkers that will change minds.

It did dm mine. iin ne. e.

Lima Vinho Verde 2013 Li L maa V m inh in ho h oV e d er dee 2 013 is a classic example of the easy, bright wine from the Vinho Verde region in north h we w west stt P Portugal. o tu or tuga gaal.. K gal.

Known no as “green wine,” Vinho Verdes are often racy with lemon notes and a tiny hint o paarrklle on o tthe hee ton h off sp sparkle tongue. This one’s a little different. Made from 100 percent loureiro grape, it has a sl slig iggh httly ly ffuller ullle u lle l r bo ody dy aand nd no sparkle, but with the same great acidity that is so lovely and versatile, it slightly body gets ge ts aalong lo ongg w with itth al almo almost mo m ost everyone ev it meets.

P Pr Pratsch attsc s ch G Gr Grüner rün ü er V Veltliner eltlin 2013 is one of prettiest and brightest examples of Austria’s native grape el I’ve I’ vee m met et iin et n aw awhile. whi h lee. Pe Pear ea ffruit and floral notes, a slight hint of white pepper and tremendous acidity w wi with th ham mellowing ello el owi w ngg o on n tthe he tongue that makes it incredibly easy to keep drinking until the liter bottle dry. runs ru ns d ns r y. ry Chevalier 2013 is not your typical chard. In fact, forget what you think you know Érriicc C Éric heevvaali h aliier Chardonnay Cha harrdon about the abou ab ou ut th he gr ggrape, ape, ap pe, eespecially speciall those of you who think you hate it. You don’t. You just haven’t had a great sp spe pure expression married with a little stony terroir. Green apple and stone fruit with eexample ex xam aam mp plle o off p urrree fruit u frruiit exp inty minerality mouthwatering acidity come together in one nice, delicious package. flin nty ty m iner in eral ral alit ityy an aand d mou

Villa Wolf Pinot Gris 2013 from the Pfalz region in Germany has loads of acid with ripe white peach on the nose and palate; floral notes and stony hints follow. Fifty percent is aged in stainless steel and fifty percent in neutral oak, which adds plumpness and softness without the aromatics of new oak.

I can help you

The Pinks

GROW

Domaine de la Berthète Côtes du Rhône rosé “Sensation” 2014 is an easy pink quaffer made from cinsault, grenache, and carignan. Wild strawberry and candy with a deep pink hue, medium body, and just enough acidity to be taken seriously. Finishes dry with citrus undertones and a lip smacking, satisfying length.

Domaine du Pujol rosé 2014 is my Provence, France, pick for the summer. Carignan, cinsault, and grenache blend—the same as the previous wine but with entirely different mannerisms. Light strawberry and watermelon aromas, pale pink in color with lovely, elegant acidity and herbs de Provence notes.

Lioco rosé of Indica 2014 from Mendocino County, California, is made from rare 65-year-old carignan vines. Pale salmon colored with rose petals and rhubarb, watermelon, and strawberry notes. Incredibly elegant and delicate. It’s a mind-alterer.

The Reds Robin K Pinot Noir 2012 Sonoma Coast, California, is an easy-priced sipper on the lighter side of pinot. Pale ruby with cherry fruit and roasted red pepper. Light bodied with good acidity and supple finish.

Domaine de Chevillon Passetoutgrain 2011 is a blend of 1/3 pinot noir and 2/3 gamay from the Beaujolais and Burgundy regions in France. Ripe and dried cherries on the nose with a bit of game and fresh earth followed by more delicious cherry fruit and mineral tones, bright acidity and firm, smooth tannins. A lingering finish keeps the attraction strong.

Bussola Ca’ del Laito Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore 2010 is your special treat from the Veneto, Italy. A big boy wine from superstar winemaker Tommy Bussola, this amarone-style red with fresh and dried dates on the nose, dried Black Mission fig, dark chocolate, black pepper to follow. Incredibly structured and dense on the palate with firm tannins that mellow on the finish. Needs time to breathe, or drink it slow. It’ll get friendlier throughout the evening.

Follow Amy at pigandvine.com for more stories and wine suggestions.

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your own way.

Emily Taylor 5510 Promenade Point Pkwy, Suite 160 Madison, AL 35757 256-430-2781

1114-519HO

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food for thought » Sarah Gaede Once in a while I have an attack of nostalgia and have to make something retro from the Pirates’ House cookbook, like Velveeta and Ro-tel dip, which I could eat until I fall into a coma.

SENTIMENTALLY SEMI HOMEMADE When I moved to Savannah, Georgia, in  to write a cookbook for the Pirates’ House Restaurant, a tourist mecca, to sell in their gift shop, I had years of training in classical French cuisine under my belt (literally and figuratively) from my stint as one of Nathalie Dupree’s apprentices at Rich’s Cooking School in Atlanta. I could bone and stuff a chicken for ballotine (hot) or galantine (cold) presentation, clarify stock for aspic, stuff sausage into sheep intestines, and flambé a dessert without burning my eyebrows off. We made everything from scratch—no artificial or processed ingredients allowed.

The Pirates’ House specialized in local seafood, classic Southern dishes such as gumbo, jambalaya, and cornbread, and Huge Luscious Desserts, or HLDs. Their crowning glory was the luncheon buffet, featuring Forty Feet of Fabulous Food. While all the seafood we served was fresh from the docks, sometimes we relied on cake mixes, canned soup (for Miss Edna’s Seafood Bisque), and Prep, a noxious butter-flavored cooking oil, among other chemical-laden convenience items. We did flambé, with Bacardi 151 rum.

One of the long-time waitresses, Mrs. Dukes, had been known to flambé a customer occasionally when her Duck à l’Orange or Bananas Foster presentation got out of hand. The complimentary birthday treat was a piece of chocolate cake, made from a mix, covered in a mound of real whipped cream, with a lit sparkler stuck in the top. We had to make an occasional run across the Savannah River bridge to buy sparklers in South Carolina because they were illegal in Georgia. It’s a miracle the restaurant, parts of which dated to the mid-eighteenth century, and which had antiquated wiring, didn’t burn to the ground.

My goal was to compile a cookbook that featured all the Pirates’ House recipes from the menu and the buffet, along with recipes from employees, friends, and relatives. I spent hours in the kitchen with the cooks, and hours at home figuring out how to reduce a recipe that serves 60 to one that serves six. Red Rice took me five tries. I also tested all the recipes from friends and family, which, because many of them were sentimental favorites dating from the 1940s and 1950s, often relied on convenience foods. But you know what? They were tasty. Once in a while I have an attack of nostalgia and have to make something retro from the Pirates’ House cookbook, like Velveeta and Ro-tel dip, w h i ch I could eat until I fall into a coma, or the infamous but ever-so-yummy “salad” with miniature marshmallows, canned pineapple chunks, canned mandarin oranges, green grapes, and sour cream. My daughter the foodie craves my barbecued beef brisket, which features cream of mushroom soup and Lipton’s onion soup mix. You would too, if you ever tried it. Just in

case you are tempted, the Pirates’ Cookbook is still available on eBay for $15.00.

Shrimp Seashell Salad is a good example of how a recipe evolves over time. Back then I used curly parsley instead of flat leaf, because that was all we had. And there was no such thing as a grape tomato. But since they are now ubiquitous, reliably tasty, and reasonably priced, they provide a nice pop of color and sweetness. The only questionable ingredient is the powdered garlic herb salad dressing mix, but two teaspoons of it can’t possibly hurt you. The sour cream muffins are a perfect compliment. They are completely addictive.

Shrimp Seashell Salad • 1 pound raw medium-size shrimp, peeled (or 12 ounces raw peeled shrimp) cooked and cooled • 4 ounces dry shell macaroni* (approx. 2 cups), cooked, rinsed in cold water, and drained well • 1 cup sliced celery • 1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley • 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish—I like Wickle’s for the extra kick • 2 or 3 green onions, sliced • 20-ish grape tomatoes, cut in half the long way • 1/2 cup Hellman’s or Duke’s mayonnaise, depending upon your upbringing • 2 teaspoons powdered garlic herb salad dressing mix* • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice • Freshly ground pepper to taste Combine shrimp, pasta, celery, parsley, pickle relish, green onions, and tomatoes in a large bowl. Whisk together mayonnaise, powdered dressing, lemon juice, and seasonings. Add to shrimp mixture and mix well. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight before serving. Serves 4 hungry people. *Publix Medium or Mueller’s Large Macaroni is what you want. They are the same size. Publix sells Good Seasons Garlic and Herb salad dressing mix. Make sure you shake the package well before opening. If you are a purist, you can order chemical-free Italian Oil and Vinegar salad seasoning from Penzey’s.

Sour Cream Muffins • 1 cup self-rising flour • 1 cup sour cream • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease two miniature muffins tins (a total of 24 muffins). Combine all ingredients in bowl or food processor until just mixed.

Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Serve hot.

Leftovers may be reheated, but there probably won’t be any. You can, of course, cut the recipe in half if you have no self-control.

Friday, September 11, 2015 Cocktails - 5:30 p.m.

Dinner - 6:30 p.m.

• Reservations $150 per person Dinner & beverages included

For reservations, or more information, visit our website at image www.hsvbg.org or call 256.830.4447, ext. 239.

Sponsors:

4747 Bob Wallace Avenue Huntsville, AL 35805 • 256.830.4447

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