Justin Fox Burks
and Amy Lawrence (Photo: Justin Fox Burks)
Being stuck at home for months, Justin Fox Burks and his wife Amy Lawrence turned to the pan during the pandemic. Instead of vegetating, they wrote a cookbook about preparing vegetarian meals for two.
“We were cooking vegetarian meals for two, morning, noon, and night,” Lawrence says. “We weren’t going out to eat or having anybody over. So, the publisher came to us and we agreed on this idea. And it turns out it’s a really good idea. People are responding.”
Vegetarian Cooking for Two: 80 Perfectly Portioned Recipes for Healthy Eating is the couple’s fourth cookbook. “Simple” is what they went for, Burks says. “There’s nothing that takes a particular set of skills ahead of time. You’re not going to have to study up on chiffonade or brunoise your red peppers. It comes together very quickly.”
Also, he says, “We used some prepared ingredients like salsas and sauces, so you don’t think you’re making everything from scratch. One of my favorites we do is a sheet pan stir-fry with peanut sauce, and it uses any vegetables you have on hand.
“Instead of cooking it in a wok, which has you sort of manning the wok the whole time, you just spread it out on a sheet pan and stick it in the oven for 20 minutes. It’s crispier. The flavor gets concentrated and you don’t end up with a watery stir-fry like a lot of people do when they try and stir-fry at home.”
Spiked Hot Cocoa Tiramisu is one of Lawrence’s favorites. “You use marscapone cheese and whipped cream,” she says. “We put a quarter-cup of bourbon in it. We like Blue Note Bourbon. We put hot cocoa mix in it and dark chocolate chips and mini marshmallows on top.”
The book is divided into breakfast and brunch, salads and handhelds, soups and stews, hearty mains, and desserts. “The first chapter is directions on how to shop,” Burks says. “How to think about cooking every day for two.”
They instruct the reader on “how to go to the grocery store and shop for the smaller can of coconut milk or a jar of salsa that will fit this recipe, so you don’t end up with a bunch of odds and ends in your refrigerator.
“If you’re a small household, you don’t want to have to cook for four or six people and have your freezer fill up with a bunch of the same food. Or, God forbid, waste the food.”
Their goal was to come up with a recipe a day. “It takes me a lot longer to put an idea for a recipe together than Justin,” Lawrence says. “He’s pretty quick. His always seems to turn out the first time. I have to give it a few tries.”
It took a few tries to get their chickpea chicken sandwich patties together, Burks says. “Since we’re a little more health-conscious, we didn’t want to deep-fry anything, which is how you get things crispy. We figured out how to shallow-fry these chickpea patties, and they are fantastic.”
Too many cooks might spoil the broth, but Burks says, “We’re a great team. We both know our strengths. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but I’m pretty good with the savory stuff and she’s pretty good with the sweet stuff and salads.”
Burks and Lawrence became vegetarians when they were 12 years old. After getting a hamburger at a dairy bar, Burks decided meat wasn’t for him anymore. “The idea was out there that an animal was a living thing,” he says. “I’d done some reading and research. It was just at that moment it all kind of hit me.”
“It seems less cruel to avoid meat,” says Lawrence, who already cared about the environment when she was 12.
Some people have a misconception about vegetarians, Burks says. “People think if you’re a vegetarian you’re going to be this scrawny little guy. Anybody who’s seen me, I’m kind of a big dude. I bike. I run. I’ve done five marathons.”
Burks goes by “The Chubby Vegetarian” in his books and on social media. “Whenever I say I’m a vegetarian, people say, ‘Really?’”
Visit thechubbyvegetarian.com for more information.
After hearing about Memphis being recognized as the mashed potato capital of America by Idahoan Foods, I wondered how Memphis chefs used mashed potatoes at their restaurants. So, I asked around.
Kelly English, owner of Iris, The Second Line, and Fino’s from the Hill, says, “I love crawfish boil mashed potatoes — with everything you would get in a crawfish boil. Just fold some crawfish tails, crispy sautéed andouille, corn kernels, and roasted garlic into your potatoes and season with your favorite Creole seasoning. Saute a piece of fish from the Gulf and pour brown butter and lemon juice over the whole dish.”
Derk Meitzler, chef/owner of The Vault, Paramount, Backlot Sandwich Shop, and Earnestine & Hazel’s, says, “I’ve used leftover mashed potatoes to make loaded tater tots. Put the potatoes, egg, flour, shredded cheddar cheese, bacon, and chives into a bowl and mix together. Form into the shape of a tater tot and roll in panko bread crumbs. Then fry them golden brown.”
Acre Restaurant executive chef Andrew Adams (Photo: Michael Donahue)
Elwood’s Shack owner Tim Bednarski shared his warm German potato salad recipe. Boil two pounds of new potatoes cut into fourths in salted water until tender. Render four pieces of bacon. Drain the potatoes while warm. Combine one cup sliced green onions, one-half cup diced celery, one-half cup mayonnaise, one-half cup sour cream, two tablespoons Dijon mustard, one-fourth cup apple cider vinegar, one-half cup chopped parsley, one-fourth cup pimentos, salt and pepper to taste, and “hot sauce for a kick.” Give it “a light mash.”
Veteran Memphis chef Mac Edwards, hospitality director for The Paramount, makes Very Anglo Latkes: “To leftover mashed potatoes, add grated onion, eggs, a little flour, and baking soda. Press into a patty, pan fry in one-fourth inch of oil until crispy and brown. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt while hot. I make a horseradish applesauce to go with it.”
Karen Carrier, owner of The Beauty Shop Restaurant, Mollie Fontaine Lounge, and Another Roadside Attraction, prepares Green Herb Roasted Garlic Creamed Potatoes, made with Yukon golds and a parsley, mint, and tarragon puree, unsalted butter, roasted garlic, creme fraiche, and grana padano, with salt and pepper to taste.
Saito 2 chef Jimmy “Sushi Jimi” Sinh makes a sushi roll with mashed potatoes. “Inside would be a deep-fried panko chicken,” he says. The roll is “topped with mashed potatoes and thinly sliced avocado.”
Ben Smith, chef/owner of Tsunami, says, “Mashed potatoes don’t play a major role in my restaurant, even though it’s one of the most requested side items. They normally only accompany our grilled filet of beef, but some customers get creative. We frequently have people order our pork and lemongrass meatballs on top of mashed potatoes.
“I’ve also known people to order mashed potatoes with a side of soy beurre blanc, which is kind of overkill because our mashed potatoes are already loaded with butter and cream.”
Acre Restaurant executive chef Andrew Adams says, “When I worked in a restaurant in New Jersey, I would make mashed potato sandwiches at the end of the night when leftovers were mashed potatoes and sourdough bread. I’ve been told that I break some sort of healthy eating rule by eating carbs on carbs. Lately, I’ve been doing the same with leftover cornbread.”
Peggy Brown, chef/owner of Peggy’s Healthy Home Cooking, cooks homestyle mashed potatoes: “We use Irish potatoes. Peel, wash, slice them up, put them in a pot with chicken broth, and boil until they get completely done. I also put salt in my pot while they’re cooking. Mash them with a potato masher and put in real butter and black pepper. Sometimes we put a little cream in them.”
If you still don’t have enough mashed potatoes in your life, try making some of these dishes.
Former Memphis chef Spencer McMillin, “traveling chef” and author of The Caritas Cookbook: A Year in the Life with Recipes, knows his mashed potatoes. “I’ve been making smoked mashed potatoes since 1995,” says McMillin, now executive chef at Ciao Trattoria and Wine Bar in Durham, New Hampshire. “Wash Idaho russets, peel them, simmer — always starting in cold water — drain, smoke with any wood but mesquite, fortify with unholy amounts of hot cream and cold butter, season — kosher salt only, pepper and garlic fight with the smoke — and serve them napalm hot. If the roof of your mouth wasn’t singed with the first bite, they’re too cold. Smoked mash is the one side dish of mine that has been remembered, sought after, stolen, and stood the test of time.
“In the restaurants, I always make way too much and find myself trying to merchandise them in other dishes or turning them into new ‘brilliant’ preparations. A kicky shepherd’s pie, creative duchess croquette, savory pancake — so good with braised pork shoulder — or cheddar-laced fritters.”
But, he says, “None of those dishes were as tasty and as simple to whip together during a mad rush as smoked potato bisque. Sweat out some leek and onion in butter, add chicken stock — not that crap in the aseptic box at the grocery store, make fresh — maybe add a bay leaf or two, bring to a simmer, whisk in an appropriate amount of day-old smoked mash — they’re better in this soup — a touch of cream and bam!”
In addition to his sandwiches, Acre Restaurant executive chef Andrew Adams uses mashed potatoes in dishes served at the restaurant.
“I like to make the super smooth extremely rich Robuchon style mashed potatoes or potato puree,” Adams says. “Five large russet potatoes, one pound butter, salt, and a small amount of hot milk. I treat the process like any emulsion, similar to a béarnaise, by slowly adding the butter and then refinishing with milk.”
Mashed potato concoctions don’t need fancy equipment, Adams says. “Years ago, I was eating at a Michelin three-star restaurant in New York City. After dinner, I was having a drink with the chefs who worked there. I was complimenting their truffle potato foam — when that was still popular — on a seafood dish. The sous chef said he spent weeks with aerators, stabilizers, and other high-tech equipment only for the chef to walk by one day and simply toss a spoonful of mashed potatoes into a white wine sauce and blend. The texture ended up so airy and balanced. Fifteen years later, I tried that. I made a simple sauce with white wine, shallots, milk. Then I added saved mashed potatoes slowly until thickened. To this, I added a little brown butter. And that was it. Last year, this made it to our menu. Now I smoke the potatoes. The final smoked potato sauce goes with our potato gnocchi and short rib dish. The gnocchi with ‘smoked mashed potato’ sauce has been a hit. It’s not listed on the menu that way.”
And, Adams says, “If I have leftover chunky mashed potatoes or some with less butter and other liquids, I will use those sometimes to mix with duck confit or duck breast ‘pastrami’ to make potato-duck croquettes. I just mix duck, mashed potatoes, and egg. That gets molded and breaded, fried.
“On days when we make potato rosemary bread, I’ll ask the crew to save the potatoes for the next day. The potatoes get mixed into the dough. The bread is usually used as the base of our country pork pate.”
Justin Fox Burks and his wife, Amy Lawrence of The Chubby Vegetarian blog and cookbooks, shared their Mashed Potato Dumplings recipe:
2 cups peeled, cubed potatoes
1 tablespoon water
2 medium eggs (beaten)
1 cup semolina flour
one half teaspoon kosher salt
“Place potatoes and water in a microwave-safe bowl with a lid or a plate to cover. Microwave on high for eight minutes and then allow potatoes to rest, covered, for another eight minutes in the microwave. Mash potatoes with a potato masher and add the eggs, four, and salt. Mix with your hands until just mixed. Pat dough out to about one half inch thickness on a floured surface. Using a pastry cutter or knife, cut dough into roughly one half inch rectangles. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook gnocchi for two to three minutes. When they are ready, they will float. Use a strainer to remove them from the water.
For extra credit, extra flavor, and extra texture, sear the drained gnocchi in olive oil in a skillet on high heat before tossing them with your choice of sauce.”
Burks and Lawrence serve their gnocchi with “a garlicky parsley and walnut pesto or paired with a regular jar of tomato sauce and heaps of grated Romano cheese.”
There was one thing Bill Ganus promised himself for 2018: no new projects. But … an opportunity arose that he couldn’t pass up. “I had the chance to tell important stories about connecting people with food systems,” he says. The conduit for those stories was Edible Memphis, which was shut down a year ago by founder Melissa Petersen after 10 years in print.
Ganus, who is partner in such businesses as Flow Cryotherapy and the Rec Room, admits he has no background in media, but he plans to call upon his skills in leveraging and team-building. For the team, he recruited as his editor in chief Brian Halweil of Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn. Halweil will work on Edible Memphis from New York.
“I’m ready to see potential Edible ideas, community-building ideas, in another area,” says Halweil. He sees a bit of Brooklyn in Memphis. But it’s a Brooklyn that no longer exists. He sees it in the breweries and coffee shops, in the logos. He finds the city’s energy exciting.
Justin Fox Burks
Bill Ganus (left) and Stacey Greenberg
Another key member is Stacey Greenberg, who will act as managing editor. “She lives and breathes Memphis food,” Ganus says, pointing out that Greenberg is about as an authentic foodie as they come. “Memphians demand authenticity,” he says.
“My vision for the magazine is that it really represents Memphis. All of Memphis,” says Greenberg. “I’ve tried really hard to find a variety of writers and photographers to help us create something special. I reached out to the MABJ [Memphis Association of Black Journalists] and the internet at large to find some new voices, and I’m really excited with who I found. They’re people I’d love to get all in one room someday — until then the magazine is that room.”
Petersen, for her part, says giving the keys to Ganus made sense to her. “We had several people who were interested in taking over the magazine, but several were only interested in one or two pieces of the process. There are not-as-fun parts of creating a magazine — selling ads, doing the bookkeeping, delivering hundreds of boxes in July — but they have to be done,” she says. “Bill Ganus really did the legwork to come up with a plan for the entire process. And he’s assembled a team of people to share the work and grow things exponentially.”
Part of that growth is upping Edible Memphis‘ online game — create a usable website and posting on Instagram and other social media. What was never in consideration, however, was to make Edible Memphis online only. Ganus says that there is no substitute for opening a magazine, turning the pages, and seeing a beautiful spread of food photography. “It works best in paper,” he says.
Another part of the plan is to introduce up to five food festivals to complement Memphis’ lineup of other food festivals.
Edible Memphis will be on a quarterly release schedule, and Halweil imagines profiling local farmers and highlighting locally made products. They will not do restaurant reviews. They will not break news. He defines the editorial approach as akin to boosterism. “It will be celebratory and educational, a little bit rah-rah,” he says.
Ganus sees Edible Memphis as an invaluable source to Memphians who care about food. (We all care.) He says, “Edible Memphis will be the go-to local outlet for food and agriculture-related news. I’m committed to doing it well.”
Edible Memphis will relaunch in early November.
One byline you can expect to see in the new Edible Memphis is that of Justin Fox Burks and Amy Lawrence, aka the Chubby Vegetarian. Burks and Lawrence are the author of two cookbooks. They’ve cooked at the James Beard House and contributed their vegetarian recipes to several local restaurants.
Amy Lawrence and Justin Fox Burks, aka the Chubby Vegetarian
Their latest venture is a partnership with PeachDish, a meal kit delivery service.
According to Burks, PeachDish followed them on Instagram and became fans of the Chubby Vegetarian. Amy reached out to them and suggested a collaboration.
PeachDish suggested they veganize their recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes Po’boy with their Cold Oven Sweet Potato Fries.
Fried Green Tomatoes Po’boy
Burks says what sets PeachDish apart from other meal-kit services is their commitment to use only local produce. The company also keeps packaging waste to minimum.
Ultimately, Burks says, he’s for anything that gets people in the kitchen and cooking.
The Chubby Vegetarian meal kit will be available September 10th, peachdish.com.
It all started with a bowl of pasta and a few too many habaneros for Justin Fox Burks and Amy Lawrence.
“That was the first dish we cooked for each other,” Burks says. “We went together to the grocery store. We thought the habaneros were real pretty. It was so hot, but we ate it because we had made it.”
They’ve come a long way since that first dish they cooked together as a couple, creating a blog, chubbyvegetarian.com, that now has more than 3.5 million visits, appearing on the Food Network, lecturing and cooking at the James Beard House, and now coming out with their second cookbook, The Chubby Vegetarian (Susan Schadt Press).
“A lot of really fortunate things have happened,” Burks says.
The Chubby Vegetarian is a follow-up to their first cookbook, The Southern Vegetarian (Thomas Nelson), which has been highlighted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Kitchn, and P. Allen Smith’s Garden Style.
“The first book looked inward at our Southern culture and tried to fit what we live,” Burks says. “The second is a look at other cultures, particularly cultures that already eat a lot of vegetables.”
There is the Veggie-Packed Napa Cabbage Wraps with spicy Peanut Sauce, or the Samosas with Raita Dipping Sauce, and the Asian-Inspired Taco Bar, or the Egg Foo Yung with Sriracha Gravy.
There are also some typical American dishes but with a veggie twist.
Like the Charred Carrot Hot Dog — a carrot charred on the grill, then smoked inside aluminum foil, topped with all the fixings, and served in a hot dog bun.
Or the Olive-Bar Puttanesca with Cauliflower Chops — big chunks of cauliflower roasted in the oven and made to look like pork chops topped with a spicy puttanesca sauce using things found at an olive bar.
“We were trying to keep things light. We don’t want it to be intimidating or to make it super serious,” Lawrence says.
“We’re taking vegetables and transforming them with just some simple alchemy,” Burks says.
The couple has several events planned for their book launch, including a booksigning at Booksellers at Laurelwood Thursday, October 27th at 6:30 p.m. and a book launch party Sunday, November 6th at the Second Line at 5 p.m.
For Marisa Baggett, it started in a locked bathroom with a
bottle of Jack Daniels.
Eleven Japanese businessmen had shown up at her Starkville restaurant wanting to try her “sushi.”
“All of my employees were concerned and knocking on the door saying, You’ve got to come out of the bathroom,” Baggett says. “I said, No, I’m not coming out.”
Eventually she came out, made her version of sushi that she had learned from books on Japanese cuisine from the library, and promptly enrolled in sushi school.
“After that, I said, You know what, I want to be able to stand in front of anybody and feel comfortable with what I make for them,” Baggett says.
She graduated from the California Sushi Academy with a job lined up at a new sushi restaurant opening in Memphis under the leadership of Karen Carrier — Do.
All the while she was thinking there must be more people like her out there who would like to be able to make their own sushi at home and who may not have access to elaborate Asian markets.
She pitched her idea to several publishers, but no takers, until after she started sharing her knowledge and experience on a blog, and Tuttle Publishing approached her about writing a sushi cookbook for home cooks.
And Sushi Secrets: Easy Recipes for the Home Cook was born.
Baggett recently released her second cookbook, Vegetarian Sushi Secrets: 101 Healthy and Delicious Recipes.
“I knew as soon as I turned in my first book, I was going to do something on vegetarian sushi,” Baggett says. “I was a vegetarian from the time I was in seventh grade until about age 25. It doesn’t seem fair the things they put in front of people and sell as vegetarian.”
Baggett’s books can be found at Booksellers at Laurelwood as well as most bookstores and ordered online. For more information, visit marisabaggett.com.
The Chubby Vegetarian (TCV) — aka Flyer friends Amy Lawrence and Justin Fox Burks — recently announced their second cookbook, titled The Chubby Vegetarian.
The subhead of The Chubby Vegetarian will be “something like ‘100 Creative Vegetarian Recipes from Anywhere & Everywhere,'” says Burks.
Note the wording there. TCV’s first book, The Southern Vegetarian, focused on Southern dishes. But even while doing that book, Burks says they realized that Southern means a lot of things. So for this book, they’re taking the global approach.
Smoked Carrot Lox
Beet and Goat Cheese Ravioli
“This is a reflection of how we cook at home,” says Lawrence. And as such, they are taking dishes that are in their regular rotation — be it weekly, monthly, or only for special occasions.
“We want to help people cook at home more,” she says. “To take a little break to cook and share a meal. There’s nothing like it.”
For the cover, there’s a butternut squash steak with Montreal seasoning and chimichurri. There will be tacos and sushi and, perhaps, even a dish called Smushrooms.
Butternut Squash Steaks with Mushrooms and Chimichurri
Cauliflower Wings
An incident from last summer also influenced the book. A faulty dishwasher had ruined the floors and other sections of TCV’s kitchen. The repairs took months, and meanwhile, they were without use of the kitchen. This turn of events made them think of cooking in a new way.
As a result, Burks says the recipes are both simpler and with better results.
Past books from Susan Schadt Press have included the lush coffee table books Wild Abundance and Memphis: Sweet, Spicy and a Little Greasy. Burks assures that The Chubby Vegetarian will be a cookbook in every way.
“It’s going to be soft cover, matte pages,” Burks says. “Break the binding, get some red wine on it. Use the book.”
Justin Fox Burks 
