The First Taste of Pizzeria Mercato

With brown craft paper still on some windows, Pizzeria Mercato made its long awaited debut on Friday. Located about as far from the Carrboro Farmers’ Market as one can roll a winter squash with gusto, the “soft opening” of the much anticipated eatery was an opportunity to test the menu before a friendly group of invited guests. Folks not only contentedly nibbled on free, exceptional pizza, seasonal appetizers and mind-blowing gelato but also put the young wait staff to the test. With the exception of a fourth pizza that arrived long after the first three, a miscommunication that inspired heartfelt apologies, the service was topped only by the pizza. And dessert. And the comfortably artsy decor.

But it’s the pizza that everyone is asking about, so here goes: With the foundation of a thin, chewy crust whose flavor suggests a long and slow fermentation, Pizzeria Mercato easily meets expectations of “artisan” quality. Small surprise from the folks that brought you Magnolia Grill, where Mercato Chef Gabe Barker used to take baby naps on the pastry bench.

Gabe’s confident manner in making pizza came not from the elder Barkers but rather from his stint at San Francisco’s renowned Pizzeria Delfino, where he worked before returning home last year to open his own shop. He adds a Delfino touch – a last-minute dressing of panna, a creamy, slightly sweet sauce – to several of the personal-sized pizzas on the menu.Gabe looks like a tall version of his mother, Karen Baker, and possesses dad Ben Barker‘s deft touch with spare, intensely flavored ingredients. This was immediately apparent from the warm, marinated and roasted olives ($6) and fritti ($8), tender and oozy pimento-cheese-stuffed rice balls that could have been a cliché in less able hands.

Listen to Gabe talk about his culinary venture in our latest podcast –> LISTEN HERE.

As its name suggests, Mercato’s menu will vary seasonally. On this night, options ranged in price from $13 for the Margherita to $17 for the Funghi, a mix of savory mushrooms. Each was carried fast enough from oven to table that the enticing aroma of char made burnt bubbles in the crust a particular delicacy.

In addition to the Margherita, our table enjoyed the Mustard Greens ($15), with fragrant fennel sausage; the Panna ($14.50), garnished with fresh, peppery arugula; and the Carbonara ($16.50), which featured a barely set farm egg atop guanciale, pecorino and a liberal grating of black pepper. If you don’t use some crust to scrape glistening yolk from the serving dish, shame on you.

Dessert options included a trio of ice cream flavors that suggested Karen’s creative signature. The creamy vanilla gelato was luscious, as was the espresso, which was loaded with crunchy chunks of chocolate. The showstopper, however, was a vegan lemon-coconut sorbetto. Everyone we observed who tried it wore the same stunned expression of delight.

Guests could not be blamed for being slightly distracted from the food by the setting, which features rustic chestnut tables and colorful bench seatbacks made from salvaged wood by Jeff Knight of Knight Woodworks and Seth Burch of Durham’s Hollow Rock Construction. Other craftsman finishes were produced by Brian Plaster Design of Carrboro, which created all the metalwork, from the pizza box holder to the bike rack.

This post first appeared in Chapel Hill Magazine.

Bill Neal’s Southern Cooking marks milestone


Carolina Cornucopia, a Conference on Foodways of the Tar Heel State, will be held May 29-30 at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill. The conference is free (there is an optional $40 dinner event) but registration is required . For details, visit http://ncfoodways.web.unc.edu/.



At right, 1985 jacket design of Bill Neal’s
Southern Cooking.  Moreton Neal says her
ex-husband used he electric stove below
which still works in the house now occupied by
their son, Matt Neal  of Neal’s Deli in Carrboro.
“I tell people, when they are interested in all
these fancy stoves and appliances, that Bill tested
every recipe for all of his books on a cheap

Sears electric stove,” she says.  “The point is,

it’s not the appliance; it’s the cook.”

 

 

If not for an argument, one of the most influential books on Southern regional cooking might never have been written."That book was formulated in his head and he wanted to leave to write it," says Gene Hamer, owner of Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill. "We were so busy with the restaurant. Bill was trying to carve out time to write when we went our separate ways."

Hamer is referring to Bill Neal, the self-taught chef who opened Chapel Hill's La Residence in 1976 with his then-wife Moreton Neal. The book, started a year after Hamer and Neal opened Crook's in 1982, was to become the culinary classic Bill Neal's Southern Cooking.

Hamer recalls that Neal wanted to move to New York for a few months, a notion Hamer deemed unreasonable as he had a new business to manage. Assuming they'd never work together again, Hamer bought out Neal's share of Crook's.

Neal actually returned to Crook's the following year, helping to launch a trajectory that led to the James Beard Foundation presenting its American Classic Award to the landmark in 2011.

"Bill needed a place to show off the book, and I needed his face," Hamer recalls. "The fact is, for the business to work, we needed each other. We renewed the bond of our friendship. I still miss him every day."

When the book was published in 1985 by the University of North Carolina Press, Craig Claiborne, influential food editor at The New York Times, wrote a lengthy article. Claiborne credited Neal for bringing deserved attention to Southern foodways, much in the same way that chef Alice Waters and Chez Panisse steered culinary interest toward newly minted "California cuisine."

Which was exactly what Neal wanted to hear.

"He resented that California was getting all the attention," recalls Moreton Neal, who introduced Neal to sophisticated Southern food in her native Mississippi. “Bill had an uncanny knack for getting ahead of a trend. He felt that if people would just go back to before World War II, before everything was processed and corn syrup and margarine got popular, they’d see that the South had an equally rich food heritage.”

Thirty years after its publication, Bill Neal's Southern Cooking will be the topic of a May 30 plenary session of the Carolina Cornucopia conference at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill. The influential book defied the stereotypical beliefs about Southern food; largely, that all proteins are fried and all vegetables greased with fatback.

Shrimp and Grits at Crook's Corner
(photo courtesy @sally_cooks)

A classic example of Neal's enduring legacy is his recipe for Shrimp and Grits, variations of which have become ubiquitous at Southern restaurants. It remains on the Crook’s menu, where it continues to satisfy locals and dazzle diners who travel there for the express experience.

Fans also make pilgrimages to Neal's Deli in Carrboro, where they seek out Bill and Moreton Neal's son, owner Matt Neal. He recalls a chef from Cambridge, Massachusetts, stopping to visit and talk about how Southern Cooking was a touchstone in his own career.

"I didn't think that much about it, because it happens a lot," Matt Neal says. "But earlier this month I saw that Barry Maiden was named Best Chef Northeast by the James Beard Foundation. It kind of blew my mind. It's gratifying to my family that people are keeping this book alive."



Kim Severson

Bill Neal went on to write two more cookbooks and edited Through the Garden Gate, a compilation of columns by garden writer Elizabeth Lawrence, before his death in 1991 at age 41. Food writer Kim Severson of The New York Times says Southern Cooking remains his most important work.

“The book and Mr. Neal himself built the frame on which this latest Southern food revolution was built,” observes Severson, an ardent advocate of Southern fare who lives in Atlanta. “That book codified an elevation of Southern cooking that was quite true to the food.”

Chef Ben Barker considered the book so essential that it was required reading for new kitchen staff at Durham's now-closed Magnolia Grill.

"We felt that, if you were a native, it was a great way to re-visit the food of your region, or examine regional variations of classic dishes," Barker says. "And if you weren't a native, it is a historically accurate, well-written introduction to the larder and the cuisine. We often used the recipes as jumping off points for inspiration, or foundation, for dishes at the Grill."

Nathalie Dupree is a Charleston-based cookbook writer whose lifetime achievements led to her being inducted this month into the James Beard Foundation Who's Who of Food & Beverage. She says Southern Cooking broke new ground in distinguishing regional cuisines within the South and defining unique characteristics with roots in diverse populations, geography, agricultural potential and economics.


Nathalie Dupree

"It was an enormous breakthrough for our understanding of Southern food," Dupree says. "I think it is even more important today, in a sense, as so many of us were slow to realize the vast implications."

Moreton Neal, who wrote the 2004 cookbook/memoir Remembering Bill Neal: Favorite Recipes From a Life in Cooking, says he was thoroughly immersed in testing recipes and writing Southern Cooking. The book has since been revised and expanded by UNC Press.

“Before then, the best Southern recipes came from those little Junior League and church cookbooks, and they had very little detail,” Neal says. “I remember reading one of his recipes and thinking that it just went on and on. I didn’t think people would like it. But I was completely wrong. It turned out that it was quite an achievement.”

This first appeared in Indy Week.

Barker-backed pizzeria likely coming to Carrboro

Chef Ben Barker is talking with Carrboro officials about something diners have been hoping to hear since he and wife Karen closed Magnolia Grill in Durham two years ago this month: They plan to open a pizzeria.

Barker told the INDY in January 2013 that such a venture was possible, so long as their son Gabe was in charge. Gabe has been honing his culinary and business management skills at restaurants on the West Coast.



Gabe Barker
(ilonausa.com photo)

Barker is not offended that a growing buzz is describing the place as “Carrboro’s Pizzeria Toro.”

“The Carrboro project is still in the early stages of development. We haven't even signed a lease,” Barker says. “What a wonderful compliment to be compared to Pizzeria Toro, though, a restaurant with operators that we are huge fans of and drive to Durham regularly for.”

This first appeared in Indy Week.

Ben Adams leaves Piedmont, triggering changes in Durham dining scene

Ben Adams (left) and Wyatt Dickson
(Photo courtesy Jennifer Kelly)

It's been two years since chef Ben Adams took over the kitchen at Piedmont. He and general manager and wine director Crawford Leavoy lifted the Durham eatery from a slump to become a hotspot known for creative seasonal fare and spot-on service. Now, Adams has left to launch his own place.

Set to open this fall in North Durham, it's tentatively named Picnic. The name is a nod to comfort food cuisine that can range from beach blankets and icy Budweiser tall boys to silver trays and mint juleps, as well as the picnic shoulder cut favored over the Boston butt by partner and pitmaster Wyatt Dickson of Pig Whistle. Picnic's third partner is Ryan Butler of Green Button Farm in Bahama, whose pasture-raised heritage pigs could practically walk to the not-quite-finalized location.

Meanwhile, Piedmont is continuing with acting chef de cuisine Lorenzo Leon Guerrero. He will stay on to support the next executive chef, Greg Gettles, current sous chef at Herons at the Umstead Hotel, who takes over June 1. Scott Crawford, former executive chef at Herons, hired Gettles when Ben Barker was closing his legendary Magnolia Grill in 2012.
Adams and Dickson met in 2002 as fraternity brothers at the University of North Carolina. Independently, Adams and Dickson moved to New York after graduation, where they worked in “suit jobs” providing legal and financial services.

As they sat in Crook’s Corner last Wednesday, sharing plates of Pig Whistle barbecue and a twist on traditional slaw—red cabbage, green onions and a bright cilantro vinaigrette—Adams and Dickson dressed in the casual, come-as-you-are look they hope customers will wear at Picnic.

"The sides and small plates will be my thing," Adams says, pausing to dip some of chef Bill Smith's Hoppin' John before passing the bowl around the table. "Some will be familiar to Piedmont diners, like my collards with smoked bacon."

The Charleston native, who cooked at Sean Brock's famed McCrady's before being lured to the Triangle, says other dishes under consideration include a mac 'n' cheese starring Chapel Hill Creamery's award-winning Calvander, baked beans with Sea Island red peas, and fresh ceviche served with pork cracklins. A pop-up preview is May 23 at Daisy Cakes.

"This restaurant was always in the back of our minds, but I was glad to wait until [Adams] was ready," Dickson says. "We won't be garnishing dishes with tweezers and micro greens, but the experience he's gained at Piedmont is invaluable. Just wait until they see his rillettes and terrines. It will set us apart from most of barbecue places."

Barbecue figured prominently in Dickson's life while he grew up in Fayetteville. His dad bottled batches of the family's eastern-style sauce as holiday gifts. Dickson, however, says his style weds the best of eastern and western traditions.

"I think of it as the 'Great Carolina Compromise,'" he says with a hearty laugh, referencing Pig Whistle's business motto. "After all, what's a little ketchup between friends?"

Dickson started developing his signature sauce at his UNC fraternity, where he cooked for football games. He didn't barbecue while in New York but started again in 2008 when he returned to Carolina for law school. His focus though became creating a catering business.
Dickson’s first big boost came from chef Andrea Reusing, who invited him in 2012 to cook a whole hog at the 10th anniversary celebration of Lantern in Chapel Hill. It was the first time he used heritage pork (Reusing’s supply is raised by Chapel Hill Creamery on whey, an abundant cheese byproduct). He never went back to commodity meat.

Aside from special restaurant events—Piedmont featured Pig Whistle at a whole hog dinner last July, and Crook's will have it on the menu again June 3—the only way to try Dickson's barbecue is to place a party-size order. Picnic will allow him to serve fresh, affordable portions daily.

Lunches will range from $7-$10, with dinners around $12-$18. Choices other than barbecue will be available. Daily specials will be designed around seasonal availability.

If ribs are your favorite part of the pig, Dickson advises showing up early. “A pig only has so many ribs,” he says. “This isn’t a factory. We’ll serve them one or two at a time to make sure people who really want them can get some.”
 
Pop-Up Events:

● May 23, 7 p.m.: Ben Adams will serve Picnic-style sides and small plates at Daisy Cakes, 401A Foster St., Durham (919-389-4307). Note: 16-seat limit.

● June 3, 5:30 p.m. (until gone): Wyatt Dickson’s Pig Whistle pork barbecue will be featured on the menu at Crook’s Corner, 610 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill (919-929-7643)

● June 7, 4–7p.m.: Pig Whistle will be paired with Green Button Farms at the annual Farm to Fork Picnic held at WC Breeze Family Farm, Hurdle Mills. Details at farmtoforknc.com

This story first appeared in Indy Week.

Baker Karen Barker prefers savory crunch over sugary sweets for dessert

Karen and Ben Barker will be the guest speakers for Culinary Historians of Piedmont North Carolina (CHOP NC) from 7:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 17, at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill. A meet and greet will precede the reading from 6:45-7:15 p.m. next door at Foster’s Market.


Karen Barker's Olive Oil Biscotti with Orange and Rosemary

There are many home bakers and professional chefs who aspire to be as creative Karen Barker. But now and then, the James Beard Award-winning pastry chef – who used to dazzle customers at the much-missed Magnolia Grill – finds herself in the position of a fan who just has to know how a certain treat was made.

“There is a great coffee place in the East Village of New York City that Ben and I really like called Abraco,” Barker says from the kitchen of the couple’s Chapel Hill home. “They make a sweet-savory black olive biscotti that is just delicious.”

Barker has made her share of biscotti; the twice-baked cookie can be made from a wide variety of ingredients (different flours and fats, with or without eggs) and endless flavor profiles. But there was something about this one that was especially memorable.  


Karen and Ben Barker prepare for dinner with friends.

“I’m not a big sugar person, so sweets don’t often excite me,” Barker says as she gathered ingredients on the heavy butcher block counter. “Once in Provence I saw someone make a dessert with black olive and tomatoes and herbs. But this was the first time I’d ever tasted a biscotti anything like that. I loved it.”

Barker was making a batch to bring to a meeting the next day of their dinner party club. Ben was prepping an appetizer of brined lamb tongue to be simmered with shallot in a red wine sauce. Karen was making the biscotti to provide a crunchy counterpoint to the final course, a dairy-free chocolate mousse served with a red Italian dessert wine.

“A savory cookie is not for everyone,” she concedes while giving the fragrant, purplish olives a quick mince and grinding a generous amount of black pepper into her mixer’s work bowl. “But dunk this into some wine, or scoop up some chocolate mousse … it’s just perfect.”

Barker says the recipe could be easily tweaked to substitute other ingredients: use lemon zest instead of orange, leave out the olives and add walnuts. “I wouldn’t try green olive, though,” she says, wrinkling her nose. “I just don’t think that would work.” 

Barker leaves the end slices on the counter after she returns the cookies to the oven for their final toasting. “Baker’s privilege,” she says, nibbling a slice deemed not pretty enough to serve. She closes her eyes for a moment to let the flavors fill her mouth.

“I have to say, I find these pretty addictive,” she sighs. “I have a hard time just having one of them."

Karen Barker’s Olive Oil Biscotti with Rosemary and Orange

Makes 1 loaf (about 18-22 slices)

2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 eggs
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup semolina or yellow corn meal
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 tsbp. minced rosemary
zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup fine chopped black olives (such as kalamata)
a few grinds of black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine first three ingredients in the work bowl of mixer; combine well with paddle attachment. Add remaining ingredients, mix again. Ensure that all ingredients are thoroughly blended but avoid overworking the dough, which will be sticky.

Transfer dough with floured hands to a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Lightly press into the shape of a 12x3-inch log, adding pinches of flour if needed. Chill for at least 40 minutes but preferably for several hours.

Bake for 30 minutes or until loaf is lightly browned. Remove from oven. When cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife and cut half-inch slices on the diagonal; should yield about 18-22 pieces. Arrange flat on the baking pan - it's OK if they are crowded - and return to oven until just lightly golden around the edges, about 5-6 minutes. Turn slices over and toast again, about 3-4 minutes, until just golden on the edges.

Cool biscotti completely. Wrap in parchment paper or keep in airtight container.

Ben and Karen Barker on their pursuits after the Magnolia Grill

This post first appeared in Indy Week on Jan. 23.

Former Magnolia Grill chefs Ben and Karen Barker are accustomed to being recognized by in-the-know foodistas, especially in and around Durham. They have laid low since last May, when they unexpectedly closed the restaurant they had operated for nearly 26 years. But the stares have intensified since A Southern Season in Chapel Hill posted a Feb. 7 cooking class with the Barkers. It has sold out.

Ben and Karen Barker (Photos by D.L. Anderson)

"I got an email from former customers who wanted us to know they were hungry," Ben says with a laugh as he sips coffee and rubs elbows with his wife in the couple's kitchen. "They read about the class and wanted to know if anything was in the works, if maybe we'd open another restaurant. The answer is no. N-O."

The Barkers, who will mark their 31st wedding anniversary on Valentine's Day, have the content appearance many retirees assume after giving up the grind of their old routine. They take satisfaction in simple pleasures like getting lost in the Sunday New York Times and admiring the vast woods that make their home feel like a vacation retreat.

"Ben's become a bird nerd," Karen says, noting he's bought a few guinea hens that wander about and often bring home friends.

"It is pretty magnificent to be 12 minutes from Chapel Hill-Carrboro but to feel like you're in this supremely rural environment," Ben adds. "We've never really taken the time to enjoy it."

Karen smiles as she watches their wily 4-month-old puppy, Willis, who resembles a mini Bo Obama, loudly gnaw on a chewie. "I know it sounds sappy, but it's been all those things we envisioned when we decided to step back," she says. "It's nice to be able to visit with friends until midnight, go out on a Saturday night and see our grandkids more."

Ben says he was deeply affected when a close friend, younger than they are, experienced health issues in the past year. "It was a signal that we should take advantage of time," he says. "Our folks are all living and we're glad to have time to spend with family. We got to have the day before and after Thanksgiving off for the first time in 30 years."

One of their favorite "discoveries" is a leisurely visit to peruse seasonal offerings at the Carrboro Farmers' Market, where previously they made only brisk stops to claim boxes of pre-ordered supplies. "We walk around, talk with friends and bring home one head of cauliflower and a few chili peppers," Karen says. "You know, like normal people."

The Barkers still cook almost daily, but, as they say nearly in unison, they use smaller pots. As with the iconic restaurant sign, which now lounges in their woods, they've mostly set aside the rich, complex meals featured on the Magnolia Grill menu in favor of more vegetables and grains.

"The restaurant business requires consistency, and you have to pay attention to your audience," Ben says. "Now, we're the audience. We cook what we want to eat."

Cooking more simply, and with protein as "an adjunct" and not the focus, has been a deliberate choice for Ben, who is genetically predisposed to diabetes. It also reflects the reality of no longer having the services of a highly trained prep staff.

The bliss of cooking for pleasure has proven to be inspiring. Ben describes a recent dinner of butter beans and chanterelles harvested last summer from their woods with swoon-inducing detail: the earthy depth of the mushrooms and the creamy, toothsome appeal of the beans.

"You can step away, think about the process for several days and then come back to it," he says of his new cooking routine. "Oh, and there's no telephone involved. No delivery check-in. It's really quite wonderful."

After a 32-day road trip last summer that included stops at 19 cities—only two of which they'd ever visited—the Barkers are content to stay close to home and focus on writing and recipe development. Karen has a feature on rolled cakes scheduled for spring publication in Fine Cooking.

They also want to step up their teaching schedule. "Teaching was always one of the best aspects of being in the business," Karen says. "As restaurant people, we've trained a lot of staff. It's enjoyable to teach people who really want to learn."

They expect to see some loyal Magnolia Grill customers at their upcoming class. They remain grateful for the support, which Ben says let them maintain high standards in the final weeks.

"We could have done more tables, squeezed in more people, but we didn't want to kill everybody," he says. "We wanted to get it over with, but we wanted to do it right."

The only way they'd consider returning to the Triangle restaurant scene would be if their son, Gabe, decided to launch a business here. He currently cooks at Per Diem in San Francisco.

"He's got a position of real responsibility and he's learning a lot," Ben says. "We'd help if he wanted us to, but honestly, right now we're more interested in traveling.

"We'd like to spend a whole week at our beach house, which we've never done in the 14 years we've owned it," says Ben, who enjoys seeing Karen stand in the surf and fish. "We did the math one day and figured that, in a 30-year restaurant career that averaged 50-60 hours a week, we both should be about 80 by now. I think it's time to just kick back a little bit."

This article appeared in print with the headline "Life goes on."

Magnolia Grill lives on in classic cookbooks

UNC Press invites fans of Ben and Karen Barker and the Magnolia Grill to enter the Free Book Friday contest by 3 p.m. Friday, June 1, to win a set of their award-winning cookbooks. If you're not lucky enough to snag free copies, they currently are on sale when purchased through the UNC Press website.

Karen and Ben Barker (@ Southern Foodways Alliance)

It's only a matter of hours now before Ben and Karen Barker shut the lights and lock the doors for the last time at Magnolia Grill, the legendary Durham restaurant that established them both as culinary superstars.

In the weeks since they announced in a handwritten note that they would close on May 31 after nearly 26 years of operation - and 30 of cooking together professionally - countless devoted diners have posted photos and blogs showcasing the Barkers' lusciously plated seasonal fare. Regulars and those who regretted never calling before kept the reservation line jangling until they announced with humble appreciation that every last slot was booked. 

While the opportunity to enjoy the Barkers' hospitality has passed, two books published by UNC Press have placed them firmly in the pantheon of distinguished cookbook writers - and their recipes well within reach of home cooks. Their critical success also helped to establish UNC Press's reputation as promoter of extraordinary, Southern-based culinary talent.

"When we published Not Afraid of Flavor: Recipes from Magnolia Grill in 2000 and Sweet Stuff: Karen Barker's American Desserts in 2004, the thought of Durham without a restaurant run by the Barkers was unimaginable," said Regina Mahalek, director of publicity. "Both books are written with the same attention to quality and detail that these chefs brought to the restaurant."

Not Afraid of Flavor was a finalist for Best Regional/Local Cookbook in the 2001 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards and Magnolia Grill was ranked No. 11 in Gourmet's 2001 List of the 50 Best American Restaurants. The year before, Ben was named Best Chef in the Southeast by the James Beard Foundation. Likewise, the year before Sweet Stuff was released, Karen was named the 2003 winner of the James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Pastry Chef Award; in 1999, she earned Bon Appétit's American Food and Entertaining Award for Best Pastry Chef.

"We are honored to be the publisher of these two fabulous cookbooks that document and preserve the contributions of two of the most talented, revered and innovative chefs in the business," Mahalek said. "The Magnolia Grill tradition and the Barkers' culinary philosophy lives on in these classic cookbooks."

Mahalek herself is glad for the recipes for Magnolia Grill favorites like "Cool as a Cucumber Soup with Buttermilk, Dill, & Vermouth Shrimp," "Baby Butterbean Crostini," "Key Lime Coconut Pie with Rum Cream," "Dark Chocolate Peppermint Pattie Cake" and "Sautéed Summer Berries," which is shared below.

Sautéed Summer Berries

From Sweet Stuff: Karen Barker's American Desserts. Copyright © 2004 by Karen Barker. Used by permission of the University of North Carolina Press.

Serves 6

The application of a bit of heat to fresh berries seems to intensify their flavor. It’s also a great way to doctor up less-than-stellar berries. You can add a touch more sweetness or acid, enrich them with additional butter, or add various herbs and spices as you see fit.

Ingredients
      2 tablespoons (1 ounce) butter
      4½ cups mixed berries
      2 tablespoons sugar
      1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
      1 teaspoon lime juice
      A few grains kosher salt

Preparation

Melt the butter in a medium-sized nonreactive sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the remaining ingredients. Sauté, tossing a few times, until the berries have just started to release some of their juices and are warmed through.

Baker’s Note: I’ll often start sautéing berries such as blueberries or strawberries a moment or two before more fragile varieties such as raspberries. Please use this as a method rather than a strict recipe. You can sweeten with honey or brown sugar.  Blueberries sautéed with a bit of maple syrup are also delicious. You can add a grating of citrus zest, a bit of vanilla, some chopped tarragon, or fresh ginger. You can season with nutmeg, a grind of black pepper, or a hint of fresh chili. This method also works for other fruits. Experiment with sliced bananas, nectarines, or figs.

Serving Suggestions: Warm sautéed berries are wonderful topped with a scoop of ice cream or sorbet.

Note: For more about the Barkers' extraordinary story, read Andrea Weigl's report in the News & Observer.