Southern SPIRIT

by ADDIE LADNER

photography by EAMON QUEENEY

Legendary Southern chef Nathalie Dupree has traveled the globe, published 14 cookbooks and received multiple James Beard and lifetime achievement awards. She’s run restaurants and a cooking school and hosted hundreds of nationally aired cooking shows. To many, she’s known as the Julia Child of the South, credited for putting the region’s cuisine on the national food map and being one of the first to pay homage to other cultures’ influence on its foodways.

Dupree grew up in New Jersey, Virginia and around the South. As an adult, she moved to London with her second husband — or as she likes to say, “favorite former husband” — David Dupree. Wanting something to do, she enrolled in a class at the famed Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. That single lesson turned into enrolling full-time and graduating with honors. Her expertise allowed her to run a restaurant in Spain. Then they moved back to Social Circle, Georgia, David’s hometown, where she opened the restaurant Nathalie’s, then her own cooking school. From there, her career took off: She published best-selling cookbooks including New Southern Cooking and Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking, which was co-written with Cynthia Grauhart. This book — a hefty six-plus pounds with more than 600 recipes inside — garnered a James Beard award. Her first cooking show, New Southern Cooking, aired for eight seasons, and she’s hosted more than 100 cooking shows on public television.

Dupree turns 83 this month and will spend Christmas with her husband, retired journalist and professor Jack Bass, to whom she’s been married for nearly 30 years. The two moved from Charleston, South Carolina, to Raleigh in 2020, just before the pandemic, to be closer to children and grandchildren.

In their cozy home, Dupree’s James Beard awards hang on a folk art statue she found in the North Georgia mountains years ago. It’s a woman carved from a single block of wood. “I loved her at first sight, so proud and determined,” she says. Their apartment is full of reminders of a life filled with culinary adventures: table linens from Provence, framed menus from Paris, a giant mortar and pestle from Mexico. Art from all over the globe fills the walls, alongside accolades from her successful career.

Some of Dupree’s favorite culinary adventures have taken place over the holidays. One December, she found herself in a predicament in Marbella, Spain. While exploring the area with a few girlfriends, they were stopped by the Guardia Civil. The group had been taking turns driving and changed drivers after passing the border checkpoint, which caught the guards’ attention. “They came out of the early morning mist and surrounded the car, terrifying us,” says Dupree. “They half-heartedly accused us of smuggling drugs because we stopped the car so near the border. They left and we drove to the nearest town.” Disaster averted, the group followed locals into a bakery as the sun came up, where they enjoyed warm bread for breakfast. Then, Dupree collected local Seville oranges from a roadside stand to practice for a marmalade-making exam she had coming up at Le Cordon Bleu.

In the 1960s, when Dupree was living in London, she and David took a cruise to Morocco over Christmas. The trip happened while she was studying for her exams at Le Cordon Bleu, so she had her schoolwork with her. “I had this huge cookbook and the maître d’ from the cruise ship asked if he could borrow it,” laughs Dupree. “The chef had never seen a foreign cookbook.”

In the late 1980s while filming her first TV series, New Southern Cooking, she hosted culinary legends Edna Lewis, Paul Prudhomme and Craig Claiborne for the Christmas episode. “It was a terrific group of people. It was an important show,” Dupree says. “There weren’t many videos of Lewis or Clairborne at the time. We made stuffing, a turkey, greens and some other traditional holiday dishes.

Another favorite holiday memory of Dupree’s was in the 1990s. “It was a time when there were many chateaus on the market,” she recalls. “I believe the French tax system had changed, so people were selling their big properties, and then others were buying these chateaus as a group.” Conveniently, some friends of hers had purchased a chateau in France’s Loire Valley, so they hosted a big group gathered for the holiday. Dupree ventured out to the nearest market to find the ingredients to make a big batch of bouillabaisse, the decadent French stew. “The markets in France are wonderful, there’s so much variety,” she remembers. “It was just this spontaneous meal and the herbs and fish at the market were so fresh.”

Some holiday memories aren’t as exciting and worldly. Growing up, she says, “we never instituted a big Christmas event. We just didn’t make a big deal of it.” This was in part because a dark story had haunted her family for years before she was born: Dupree’s grandfather was tragically killed in front of her mother just before Christmas, when her mother was a young girl. As a result, her mother struggled with long-term depression, particularly around the holidays. “It was just more of a religious holiday, not a flashy one,” she says. “We got a tree and decorated it. We went to church, just as we did on Thanksgiving.”

But as Dupree entered adulthood, she chose to set a different tone for her own holidays. “I always just liked having people over, no matter the circumstances,” she says. “Even as a small child, I’d invite people over for parties and tea and I still do. I was gregarious. I still like to entertain.” Over two decades living in Charleston, she hosted tons of dinner parties and holiday meals. Her menus always include delicacies like her soft, decadent Chocolate Roulade dusted with powdered sugar, savory roasts or quail and her famous vegetable dishes. “I think holidays are the time for a lot of vegetables,” says Dupree. “You can feed the vegans and vegetarians, you can fill people up but not so much where they feel so full.”

With all the fabulous meals and culinary success, if you ask Dupree what she considers her career highlight, the answer is one you might not expect: it’s teaching someone to make a pie crust. “Making a pie crust is one thing. Teaching how is another,” she says. “Having people turn out pie crusts — to make them successfully and see those aha moments — is a real thrill.”

Ever warm, witty, honest and honest, Dupree is looking forward to a cozy and, dare we say, traditional Christmas this year. She’ll pull her French linens out and set the table for herself and Jack, and whoever else might mosey in. She’ll use her long-standing entertaining tricks, making things ahead of time and keeping it simple. “The holidays shouldn’t be too hard on the host; they should be enjoyable,” she says. And she’ll count her blessings for her life of moveable feasts, friends and family and career successes. “I never planned any of these things, my life just happened,” she says. “It’s all so lovely.”

Standing Rib Roast

“I love doing a basic roast like this to have to make decadent sandwiches afterwards for leftovers.”

INGREDIENTS

1 (3 to 5 pound) rib roast, trimmed, with cap removed

Salt

Vegetable oil

1 garlic clove per pound, finely chopped 1 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary leaves per pound

Freshly ground pepper

Directions

Remove from the refrigerator up to 3 hours before cooking. Sprinkle salt on the surface area of the meat and let sit, lightly covered, until at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Pat the meat dry with a paper towel. Rub the ends with the oil and rub the meat with the garlic, rosemary and pepper. Place the meat, bone side down, into a low sided roasting pan large enough to hold the meat with an inch of room all around. Cook for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350. Continue to roast, about 20 minutes per pound, checking temperature after half an hour, until meat registers 120 on a meat thermometer. For a more rare roast, do 20 degrees below desired temperature. Remove from oven, tent it with foil and let stand at least 30 minutes (it will continue to cook while resting) before carving and serving.

Turnip Gratin

Dupree says blanching the turnips tones down their harshness but keeps the earthy flavor. “This is a different gratin with a little more oomph. I always make this during the holidays as soon as turnips are in season. You can make it in advance and people like to have something unusual.”

Ingredients

3 pounds white turnips, peeled and sliced inch thick

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, thyme and/or oregano

3 garlic cloves, crushed with salt

1 cup grated Gruyere cheese

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 to 1/3 cup butter

1 1/2 to 2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the sliced turnips and return to a slow boil. Simmer 3 minutes for young, small turnips, or up to 10 minutes for larger ones; you want to remove excess sharpness but still leave a bit of pep in them. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Butter a long casserole dish that will accommodate three layers of sliced turnips and the cheese — preferably no more than 3 inches deep. Spread a layer of parboiled turnips to cover the dish (they may overlap slightly) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix the herbs with the garlic and sprinkle a third over the turnips. Combine with cheeses and sprinkle the turnips with a third of the mixture. Dot with a third of the butter. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees then reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake for 45 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the breadcrumbs are nicely browned. Serve hot. This freezes well for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, defrost then reheat in a 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Potatoes Anna

“I learned this at cooking school. It’s such an easy and elegant way to serve potatoes. You essentially just slice them, then layer them with butter and salt.”

Ingredients

1 1/2 to 1 1/3 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and sliced inch thick

Salt

Black pepper

5 to 8 tablespoons butter

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Thickly butter a 6-inch heavy, nonstick or well-seasoned frying pan or cake tin. Arrange the potatoes in overlapping circles to cover the base of the pan, making a pretty design. Add a second layer, continuing to overlap, and season with salt and pepper; dot with 4 to 5 pieces of butter. Continue to fill the pan with layers of potatoes (the first two and the last are the only ones that need to be pretty; the rest can be haphazard), seasoning and butter every other layer. Butter a piece of aluminum foil and cover the potatoes and the pan. Put an ovenproof plate or heavy saucepan on top of the foil to press down on the potatoes. Cook the potatoes on the stove over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes to brown the bottom, checking to be sure it is not burning. When medium brown — the color of light caramel — move the pan to the oven, leaving the ovenproof plate on if it fits. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft, depending on the number of potatoes. Using oven mitts, turn out upside down on a serving dish, To serve, cut with a knife or scissors. This may be made ahead to this point and set aside if necessary, but it will suffer a bit. Reheat for 10 minutes, then serve as above.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

“People got a bad impression of Brussels sprouts because their mothers cooked them until they were soggy. Now we know to halve them and crisp them up. They’re so tasty, and when cooked right they’re so delicious.”

Ingredients

1 pound Brussels sprouts

2 to 4 tablespoons butter or oil

Salt and pepper

Cranberries, bacon and/or pecans for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the halved or quartered sprouts in the oil and spread in one layer on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Roast 15 to 20 minutes or until crisp but tender. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with cranberries, chopped bacon or pecans.

Chocolate Yule Log

“This is such an elegant dessert that’s not too fussy. And one you don’t have to worry about since it's supposed to be cracked and log-like!"

Ingredients For Log

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chips or chopped

1/4 cup water

5 large eggs, separated

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Confectioners’ sugar for garnish

Ingredients For Filling

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract or bourbon, optional

Directions

Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Line a 15 ½ x 10 ½-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper, slightly extending over the edges. If using waxed paper, oil the pan and the paper or spray with nonstick spray. Melt the chocolate with the water in a heavy pan over low heat or in the microwave. Beat the egg yolks vigorously with the sugar until light. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer or wire whisk until they form stiff peaks. Fold the melted chocolate into the yolk mixture. Add a dollop of the white mixture to the yolks to soften and then fold the heavier chocolate mixture into the lighter whites until incorporated. Spread out in the pan, smooth the top and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Remove and let cool thoroughly.

Meanwhile, whip the cream with the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla or bourbon into stiff peaks, taking care not to overbeat. Sprinkle another sheet of waxed paper with confectioners’ sugar. Flip the pan over so the lightly browned surface is on the sugared paper, and remove the pan. Tear off the baked-on paper in strips. Trim off any dark or crisp edges. Spread the whipped cream over the entire chocolate soufflé. Lift up the squared paper and use the paper to roll the soufflé into a spiraled, filled roll. The dessert may be rolled vertically or horizontally. A horizontal roll will result in a thicker roll for six larger servings. A vertical roll will serve eight people with smaller servings. Roll as tightly as possible. Move the edge of the paper onto the platter and lift up for the final roll, centering the roll with hands if necessary. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar. Slice into 1-inch thick pieces and serve. This may be made ahead, filled and served up to 8 hours later.

Recipes adapted from Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking by Cynthia Graubert and Nathalie Dupree.

The coast welcomes the holidays with a festive flotilla