Minneapolis Food with a Southern Accent

Salad

Meet Beth

About Chef Beth

Most of the dishes I prepare are American Heritage, Country Style tradition, but I can do fancy too. If you like tasty fluffy biscuits, rich, buttery chicken, savory vegetable stews, garden meals with crunchy cornbread, spicy , juicy shrimp to be sopped up with french bread or creamy-dreamy low-country shrimp and grits you're going to love what I leave in your refrigerator. Although okra grows rough and puny up here, I can still cook with the abundance of Minnesota local, carefully, and thoughtfully raised meats and produce in the “Southern Style”.

Here's me:

Beth Owens Wright, Greensboro, NC. More specifically, a small, Quaker College community on the western suburbs. Guilford College, from where I still import my stone-ground grits and cornmeal. I'm a boomer, 195xxxxx. Go Hornets!! Class of 1973 of whom I still share grateful friendships. I'm the only daughter of a magnificent Southern cook, my mom. In my house I had to pass through the kitchen to get out the door. The hall was between the oven and the cooktop. No choice. There was never any fried okra (hot OR room temperature) spared for Sunday after church dinner. From this effort, I have no fingerprints. This entire personal chef endevour is dedicated to her. Thanks, Mom!

Mom and Dad I'm also very fortunate to have been involved with countless church basement covered dishes and I've offered some of them on my menu and many more are available. These home-style recipes are from people I call “Famous Cooks of the South”. I have an immense love and appreciation for these cooks. You'll see the names of REAL PEOPLE on some of my recipes. These are folks that have proudly contributed to the local cookbooks. They are the Church cooks, the ladies of the Junior League who wrote the famous Out of Our League, Junior League of Greensboro, Telephone Pioneers of North Carolina... making and baking oh so many very good Sunday suppers, covered dishes, and Jello salads. This is my southern culture. I love to share these foods with my new friends in Minnesota.

I'm a cook, but I also design buildings and I have for the last 25 years. My passion for architecture has helped clients obtain THEIR vision for a beautiful object and environment that reflects them and who they are. I rely on my experience and the knowledge of many, many others to spark interest in the environment and sustainable building from the folks I work with and for.

Having said this, cooking is what I truly love to do. I'll share those grits and cornmeal with you. In the Southern manner. I'll also happily divulge my recipes if you're so inclined.

Beth

100507 Update: I was just informed that My Secret Pantry has just added 200 new items to their inventory for the holidaze. And they scored an article in the new Nov/December 2007 Cook's Illustrated! Check it out AeroGarden at Cook's Illustrated

Thanks For Visiting & Bon Apetite!