Betty's Journal (Piper Anderson Bonus Material) (The Piper Anderson Series) (3 page)

I’ve always wanted to use those giant scissors to cut a ribbon at an opening day ceremony. Bobby said it was on my bucket list, and I have no clue what he meant, but today I got to do it. Clay and I have put our blood, sweat, and tears into creating something we could be proud of. Today was the day we got to share it to the world.

W
e opened the doors to the Wise Owl, our something for everyone restaurant. I’m in love with the name! Our menu says “Come for the food, stay for the life lessons.” Clay has given me a big chalkboard to write on every day. I put out the specials and then at the bottom give a little bit of sage advice that I think every will be able to benefit from. Today, it being our opening day and all, I went with something simple. ‘Unless you’re a possum, stop playing dead and go live your life’ (p.s. we have no possums in our restaurant in case you are from the health department.) Everyone got a good laugh about it, though I wasn’t trying to be funny. Got to cover your ass as they say.

Our menu is as diverse as the group of people we have working with us. That’s what Clay and I were trying to accomplish. Folks down here shouldn’t have to pick between one
type of food. Soul food, Italian, French pastries. We have a little bit of everything. Secretly it’s because we couldn’t agree on what we wanted to serve, but as people began hearing what we planned to offer, the idea started to catch on. And like any good business owners, we treated that happy accident like a brilliant idea we’d cooked up.

Today it was all hands on deck. Our little gang became hostesses, bus boys, runners, whatever was needed in that moment. A
ll the hostility of the town has died down some as the rumor mill slowed and people started getting back to the sense God gave them about me. Wounded friendships have healed and it showed in the turnout today. Maybe they all came to their senses, or maybe they just missed my cooking so much they were willing to overlook the bad water that had passed between all of us. Either way, it was a full house. We’ve framed up our first dollar bill and I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve built. I’m tucking a copy of the menu in here. I know it will change over time and I don’t ever want to forget what Clay and I came up with out of the gate. We mulled over this for hours, tasted hundreds of recipes, and priced out ingredients. It sounds like hard work, but that time spent with Clay was incredibly special.

For the first time in a long time Clay and I have kicked all these kids off our porch. We’re sipping from a mason jar of strawberry moonshine as we rock to the beat of the crickets. As I pen down my thoughts from today, I can’t think of a better partner in life, love or business than Clay.
A life lesson for whoever holds these journals some day: Storm in that kitchen and ask for the recipe you want – because you might end up with much more than just a list of ingredients. I know I did.

Starters

(Tid-bits)

HUMMUS

Our house made, traditional hummus served with warm pita bread p
oints, carrots, & celery

CHEESY GARLIC BREAD

Thick-slice Italian garlic bread covered with melted mozzarella ch
eese served with marinara sauce

CRISPY CAJUN SHRIMP

Crispy shrimp tossed in The Wise Owl
’s signature Cajun sauce

MUSSELS FRA-DIABLO

Mussels in a spicy marinara sauce

C
HIPS & SALSA

Fresh spicy s
alsa & warm corn tortilla chips

Salads

(Rabbit Food)

CAPRESE SALAD

Fresh
in-house mozzarella, local red vine ripe tomatoes, and hand picked basil, drizzled with olive oil and reduced balsamic vinegar

SOUTHERN COB SALAD

Hard boiled
eggs, red sweet peppers, black eyed peas, and shredded chicken over local Bibb lettuce

GORGONZOLA SALAD

Romaine, red onions, local tomatoes served with candied pecans, Gorgonzola crumbles

with house made raspberry vinaigrette dressing

Soups & Sandwiches

(Quick bites)

Al
l served with sweet potato fries and a pickle

BLACKENED AHI TUNA WRAP

Tuna, blackened
and served with a spicy aioli, lettuce, and tomato and Pineapple salsa on a whole wheat wrap

BETTY’S FAMOUS PULLED PORK SANDWHICH

Slow roasted pulled pork, topped with onion straws, on a soft
fresh made roll, served with super secret house made BBQ sauce

ITALIAN BEEF



Prime sliced beef with your choice of au jus or Clay’s special recipe marinara sauce served on a hoagie bun

FRENCH ONION SOUP

Sweet onions under perfectly melted cheeses

OLD FASHION CHICKEN NOODLE

Just how your mama used to make!

Entrée
s

(The Main Attraction)

DOUBLE-THICK PORK RIB CHOP

Grilled and stuffed with apples and creole mustard glaze

CRAB CAKES

Served with Cajun seafood sauce

EGGPLANT ROLLENTINI

Fried eggplant topped with mozzarella, ricotta and Romano cheese, house made pesto. Rolled and baked

Served with Clay’s marinara sauce

THE WEST COAST BURGER

Local raised beef, topped with sliced avocado, roasted red peppers, red onions, baby greens, and a tangy chili lime sauce. Served on a fresh baked roll

BABY BACK RIBS

Slow cooked ribs with just the right amount of BBQ sauce served with mac and cheese, Clay’s spe
cial coleslaw, and onion straws

Dessert

(Oh stop it you left room. Just order some!)

(6) M
acaroons of various flavors

(6) Petit Fours of various flavors

Éclair

Fresh baked pastry roll filled with chocolate custard & topped with chocolate icing.

It’s the year of weddings and I couldn’t be happier about it. I half expected Piper and Bobby to run off and elope, neither of them being much for pomp and circumstance. But I think they knew everyone else needed to see them celebrate. They did this wedding for us, but boy did they do it right.

Seeing her wonderful father, Marty Wheeler
, walk his daughter down the aisle toward Bobby, there wasn’t a dry eye on the beach. You couldn’t tell who was holding who up. His wife and other children running and playing the sand, it was a wonderful sight.

Everything
about this day was simple. Carefree in a way that summed these two hearts up perfectly. Neither of them started quite so relaxed, but I’m happy to say as I watched them today, they were.

I wouldn’t have thought of a beach wedding, but the outer banks of North Carolina proved a beautiful backdrop.
Baby Frankie was the flower girl, though she got a little help from the Matron of Honor, her mother.

We ate a good
ol’ fashion low country boil that I haven’t had since I was young. It’s the kind of meal that’s fun to make and fun to eat, and the perfect match for this wedding.

I laughed so hard I cried as those two kids shoved cake in each
others faces. What I certainly didn’t expect was a post wedding late night swim for all those lunatics. Frankie, Clay, and I headed back to our room as the hoots and hollers of those crazies rang out behind us. They were having the times of their lives. Today was a day to celebrate and they surely did.

Low Country Boil

P
rep: 30 minutes

Cook: 30 minutes

Servings: 15

1 tablespoon seafood seasoning.

5 pounds white
potatoes

3 packs of
sausage, cut into bite sight pieces

10 ears local corn, husked

5 pounds of crab legs

4 pounds fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

We
heated our large pot of water on an open fire on the beach with a wire rack over it. Add seafood seasoning, and bring to a boil. Add potatoes, and sausage, cooking for 10 minutes. Add the corn and crab; cook for another ten minutes.  Add shrimp when everything else is almost fully cooked. Heat for additional 5 minutes.

Drain off water and serve buffet style over newspaper
.

Spicy Ginger Ale and Bourbon.

           
2 ounces bourbon

           
6 ounces Spicy Ginger Ale

           
Ice

Strawberry Shortcake

P
rep: 35 minutes

C
ook: 8 minutes

S
ervings: 10

1-quart strawberries, sliced

1
/2-cup sugar

1 1/2
cups All-purpose flour

1 tablespoon
baking powder

1
/4 teaspoon salt

1
/2-cup sugar

1
/2-cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

1
/2-cup milk

2 large eggs

1/4 cup more sugar

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup sifted confectioners sugar

Combine sliced strawberries and 1/2-cup sugar and stir (without mashing them up!) Cover and chill berries 2 hours. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender (It will get crumbly). Beat together milk and the yolks of the eggs. Slowly add in dry flour mixture. Stir lightly. (Soft dough will form).  Pat dough evenly into two buttered 9 inch round pans.  (Dough will be sticky as honey on a bear’s nose - wet your hands with water if needed.)

Beat egg whites at high speed with a mixer until stiff peaks form.
  Gently spread surface of dough with beaten egg whites; sprinkle with 1/4-cup sugar.

Bake at 450 for 8 minutes or until golden brown.
  Cool completely (layers will not be thick). Beat whipping cream at high speed until foamy.  Mix in powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form.  Assemble and serve.