- Season's greetings everybody.

Hi, I'm Deborah Holt Noel, the host of North Carolina Weekend.

And I'm so excited to be here with you this evening.

I hope that you have been enjoying the special presentation of North Carolina Weekend, as well as the, Our State Photo Essay and the special segment from The Key Ingredient with Sheri Castle.

We are so appreciative of you for joining us for this special evening.

And I am sure you saw that [indistinct] I imagine that it was as delicious looking to you as it was to me.

[indistinct] And what a wonderful evening.

So everyone, I am so glad that you're joining us.

I am here in my festive home.

It's not actually my home, it's my mother's home, but hey, it's all in the family.

So let me please introduce my co-guests and co-hosts for this segment.

I'd like to introduce our very special guest, Elizabeth Hudson.

Who's the editor in chief of Our State Magazine, and Sheri Castle, host of The Key Ingredient.

Hi ladies.

- Hello.

- How are you doing tonight?

- Fabulous.

- Fabulous, delighted to be here.

- Wonderful, wonderful, welcome.

I'm just gonna start off with you, Elizabeth.

That was such a beautiful photo essay that we got to see so many gorgeous buildings and locations.

Can you share with us, how did that come together?

How do you even choose these locations?

- Right.

Well, the idea for this photo essay was a conceptual way to celebrate some of North Carolina's official state symbols.

We have more than 40 and some of our classic icons, like those Moravian stars at Old Salem through sort of a festive holiday lens.

A lot of people might not realize we have an official state beverage.

That was the milk for Santa photo that you saw.

Milk was designated the state beverage in 1987 to celebrate the dairy industry.

- I love that.

- Great.

- Exactly.

Or that granite is our state rock.

You saw the photo of the beautiful Trinity Episcopal Church in Mount Airy.

I mean, the granite from that church came from locally sourced, the largest open face granite quarry in the world that is right there in Mount Airy.

- That's just amazing.

And there's so many wonderful treasures right here in our own state.

And one of them is great food, right Sheri?

- I would like to think so, yes.

- Well, you're bringing a lot of it to us through the key ingredient and that coconut layer cake was just to die for.

I just love the way that you care so much about each step of putting the cake together.

You make it look really easy, but is it, especially for a beginner?

- It really is.

Coconut cake is perhaps the easiest fancy looking cake I can think of.

'Cause the coconut does all the work.

And if there is any slight slip up, the coconut does all the camouflage.

So it's a win-win.

- Absolutely.

I have no qualms with coconut.

As a matter of fact, coconut cake is one of my very favorites.

I will never forget my grandmother would make a coconut cake and a chocolate cake every Christmas, and alongside the sweet potato pies, of course.

And it was just so delicious because the coconut cake has that really feathery texture.

- Right.

- And is that how yours [indistinct] - Yeah.

There are many ways to make coconut cake.

Was her recipe one of those that it had to sit in the refrigerator or on a cool back porch for a few days?

Which I think only enhances how much we want it 'cause it's tantalizing and it's there and we can't touch it until it's pronounced ready.

I know that was at least a big part of the appeal at our house.

We had to make Christmas and Easter for the most part.

- Yum, yum, yum, yum.

Well, let me get you back in here, Elizabeth, because of course we have wonderful foods to eat and there's nothing better than going to a place to get some of the home foods or just to see a space.

You've been all over the state.

What are some of your favorite locations that have really great holiday decorations, really festive locations?

- Oh gosh.

I mean, there's so many.

The favorite for me every year that really makes it Christmas is the spectacular Nutcracker performance that's at the university of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.

I was just there for opening night on Friday.

And of course it's going through the weekend and that really everything is so decorated beautifully in downtown Winston.

And it's just, I mean, that kicks it off for me.

- Yeah.

And I think that the Nutcracker at Memorial Auditorium I've been there for a performance and everything is just so festive there.

They've got this huge, huge holiday tree that's decorated with the lights.

I love the North Hills Mall area.

They have the lighting of the Christmas tree every year.

Things may have changed with COVID, but I just love to see the decorations going up.

And this year I did something new.

I went to the Chinese Lantern Festival.

- Yes [indistinct] - I loved that.

It was just spectacular.

- I'm sorry.

- Go ahead, no go ahead.

- A lesser known thing that is in the Triad area.

It's an incredible light display that's in one of Greensboro's historic neighborhoods called Sunset Hills.

Anybody can drive through and you can see hundreds of these lighted balls that are hanging from the trees and it is amazing.

There's no admission.

They have donation boxes that are scattered about so that people can bring nonperishable canned foods for local food drives.

But it is so fun to just drive through the neighborhood and see those lighted balls that just light up the sky, it's gorgeous.

[indistinct] - The twinkling lights are my favorite part, no matter what, whether it's on someone's home, in our home or in a neighborhood, the season of lights is what is really is my favorite part of the decorations.

- I love that part too.

And you mentioned about the balls reminded me of Farrington, and it's so beautifully and elegantly decorated, but Farrington also has some incredible food in their restaurant.

Have you ever visited Sheri?

- Well to tell you the truth, I actually live in that neighborhood so it's like I have the double pleasure of being there as a guest and then being there as a neighbor and to be able to take my daily walk.

This time of the year, I also make my daily walk after dark 'cause there are enough lights to guide my path and I just pretend that I'm like some lost [indistinct] princess [indistinct] to her kingdom or something.

- And it's really fun.

I mean, it's just such a magical kind of, or magical time of year.

I love the holidays.

We talked about some really festive places to go, but Sheri, when it comes to having some of those foods and key ingredients in your home to make some of those best of foods, what are some of those key ingredients that you might wanna have in your cupboard and in your home around this time of year?

- Sometimes it's something that even though we can get it year round, we forget that there is a season and a time of year for them.

And I always tell people, look for local nuts, our pecans and our black walnuts, and, they have chinquapins and so forth because like I said, you can get them in a grocery year-round, but to get that locally or regionally harvested nuts that are fresh, like crack, it is like it's a different food and they really don't need any adornment.

Matter of fact, it's easy to just sit and empty the bag of them or whatever.

But then you can like candy them, or you can put them in part of your homemade fudge or maybe your favorite cookie.

But I think that they're easy to get.

They are in our neighborhoods.

There's something that our farmer's markets and many of the ones in North Carolina, have chosen to stay open year round because North Carolina has an amenable growing season year round, and you can get those pecans and those delicious things.

And so I want people to make their favorite recipe, whatever it is with locally provided nuts, and they'll be the best cook at the gathering.

- Wow.

Yeah.

That local ingredient must be really key.

And it reminds me of my grandmother's property had a walnut tree.

- Yes.

- And they grow, they look like little limes.

- They do.

Matter of fact, one of the very first things I had the privilege of writing about for Our State Magazine, Elizabeth has been my friend and my colleague for a long time ,was about gathering black walnuts, which was a big part of my childhood as well.

My grandparents gathered and there was always a bushel basket of them in the basement and all of that.

And you've got to love a black walnut to go through what it takes to actually get down to the edible part.

It's like going, I don't know, like cave dive and rock exploring all the same time.

But once you get them out, that is such a taste memory, which means a lot to me, it's not just the taste, but it's a springboard to remembering the gathering and the trees and the grandparents and all that.

And of course to me, that's the best food story of all, where you don't just say what it tastes like, but what it reminds you of.

- Absolutely.

Is there a special food Elizabeth for you that takes you back to childhood?

- Oh my gosh.

I mean, just hearing Sheri talk about the black walnut, I can smell it.

It's got that musty kind of just smoky smell.

And my grandmother had 'em in her yard too.

And for the holidays, for me, it is my mom's homemade chocolate fudge that actually came, the recipe came from the back of the Hershey's can, when it was a tin can, when it was aluminum and not-- - Sometimes the recipe on the back of the product actually works.

- Right.

- It works really well 'cause nobody's gonna publish a recipe that doesn't do right by their product.

I mean, it's like rooting for the home team.

They're actually [indistinct] - One of my favorite cookies for the holidays, my mom used to love to cook and she would make these cookies called hermits.

Have you ever heard of those?

- Yes.

I know hermits.

I'm so glad that you do.

That's one of those waltzed recipes.

So you tell me about your hermits because sometimes we have the same name for slightly different things.

So what will hers like?

- Okay.

So they certainly had walnuts, dates, raisins, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and I think there was allspice.

But I mean, it just was this soft fat little cookie and it was so delicious, I think the dates made it.

- They do, that was a source of sweetness and moisture.

And a lot of the older recipes, the candies and cookies, and even some of the cakes had dates for that role.

And I did some research into hermit cookies for a project earlier this year coincidentally, and somebody was trying to say, well, why are they called that?

That's such a peculiar name for such a delightful cookie.

And somebody said, "Oh, if it's true, but I'm gonna [indistinct] 'Cause you just want to go off and hide by yourself and eat them all."

[laughing] [indistinct] - I love that.

Elizabeth, everybody doesn't have an opportunity or the time to travel throughout the year.

So if someone only has one or two opportunities to travel throughout North Carolina or travel to a destination in our state, what would you say is a must see?

And don't feel limited to one spot.

- Oh my gosh, well I need an hour or two to answer that.

- I'll give you a hint.

You can give us a [indistinct] - Right.

Well, I mean, for one thing, I'll say Our State Magazine functions as a monthly bucket list.

So the first thing I'd say is get yourself a subscription and you can go everywhere.

But after that, I would say the definitive Easter climb up Jockey's Ridge in Nags Head, it is the largest sand dune in the entire Eastern United States.

And it is jaw dropping to be there and see a sunset or sunrise if you're an early riser.

I mean that's kind of your natural attraction, I guess, in the East.

In the West.

Okay.

So I'll give you something manmade, which is don't miss a chance to cross the mile high swinging bridge at Grandfather Mountain.

Sheri I know you know from your Boone background and then drive across the Linn Cove Viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway to get a sense of that architectural marvel.

I mean really, if you want to encapsulate a North Carolina experience from mountains to coast, those two things would do it, but there's so many great.

I mean, we need a whole other show for that.

- You know what?

You need an entire season of [indistinct] Do I hear my ideas coming forward?

So.

It's what we do on North Carolina Weekend every Thursday too just [indistinct] on the big places.

And a lot of them truly are must sees.

I mean, when it comes to the Piedmont, I mean, I love going to the Umstead, I love the city of Charlotte.

It just sparkles and dazzles with lights.

I think that those are must sees.

And I think the smaller town of Concord is also a hidden gem.

So those are some of my, just a few notables.

And if there's anyone who's watching right now and you wanna ask a question or something, I would love to get a question or a comment out to Sheri or to Elizabeth.

So feel free to share.

Meanwhile, I'll just continue talking because we talked about hermits, we talked about coconut layer cake.

Is there another favorite treat during the holiday season, Sheri for you, that you love to eat or that you love to make?

- Well, that's a yes and a yes, and I am a fool for cheese straws.

Now, not necessarily the ones-- - Yes.

- Sometimes I stamp them out as little rounds, it may be different, but that's slightly spicy, deeply, cheesy, crunchy, lightly salted thing, especially as a contrast, all the delicious candy and cakes and so forth.

I just think that cheese straws are a miracle of modern technology, I really do.

They're so good.

And I've made, I don't know, 10 pounds this week and have successfully given away all but about two off of each tray, giving them to friends and so forth.

So I think to anyone that doesn't maybe know what a cheese straw is or understand how easy they are to make, we can fix that.

So where are you guys on the cheese straw thing?

Do you like them?

Do you put them out with a block of cream cheese and pepper chili?

What do you do with your cheese straws?

- Wow.

I don't put it out with anything.

I dip my hand into the bag and I eat it till it's gone.

[laughs] - What I call a little cutaneous Cheetos's by the cheese dust that sticks to your finger.

- Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Do you like cheese straws Elizabeth?

- I do.

And I'll throw in what goes with cheese straws is sausage balls.

I will bring in the idea of some sausage, Christmas and the holidays.

Really, I think about elaborate holiday breakfast, which I veer from my typical bowl of cereal and move into sausage casseroles.

I probably could talk about sausage a lot.

[laughs] - Elizabeth, I agree.

I still, I make the big, big breakfast on Christmas and there will be sausage gravy.

I mean, without a doubt.

It's maybe even more now that my daughter is grown and has moved away, maybe the only day of the year I make it.

But yes, I'm afraid that if I don't sausage gravy, [indistinct] will come take her stuff back.

[laughing] My mom's a liar.

- I don't think I've ever had sausage gravy.

- Oh my goodness, what do you do on Christmas morning?

That ten o'clock come over.

- Oh my invited over Christmas morning.

I will never forget.

I think it was one Christmas morning, my dad made an oyster omelet 'cause I love oyster.

- That's interesting 'cause some, I mean, I clearly love oysters too, we did an episode on it, but people are not all in agreement of whether they should be the singular focus or whether they should go in something like an omelet or their dressing or whatever.

Even me growing up in the mountains, I associate oyster stew with Christmas, 'cause my grandfather who was born in 1911 live way back in the mountains [indistinct] county.

They would get oysters in Tyrell County for Christmas that came in on the train.

They were packed in barrels of ice.

And so even as a young mountain child, they had the taste of ocean.

And I think how exotic that must've been to them, that they had nothing else all year, they chased it on the ocean.

And then here come those oysters.

And that just again, anything that has both a memory and a taste memory, I will always love oyster stew because he loved it so much.

- Well, I'm gonna get to some of these questions because there's lots out there.

Elizabeth, I have a comment.

Your November and December issues are absolutely gorgeous.

How far in advance do you take the images, visit the place and plan the layout?

- Right.

Well, that's a great question.

We work more than a year in advance.

A lot of people don't realize that.

With the photo essay that you just saw, we planned for that, that was a year in the making because we shoot seasonal photography.

So right now we're gearing up for our January, 2023 issue.

We'll have to be ready to shoot everything this season for a year later.

So we work really far in advance.

- Wow.

I have a question for you, Sheri.

A viewer wants to know a little bit about the mixer that you used for your cake.

wants to know about the mixer, what kind it was, if you can share that and should we, or should we not use a hand mixture?

The kind that your hand?

- Well, first of all, that is a vintage Viking mixer.

It was made by the Viking company.

Unfortunately, they don't make them any more.

I love it because it's far range in red and it makes me feel like powerful and all souped up.

It's like driving a little red sports car in the kitchen.

- That is so cute.

- Absolutely.

You can use a hand mixer.

For most things, although some of us like the appearance or the the habit of tradition of the big stand mixers, a hand mixer, just plug it in and go, will make that cake beautifully.

So you can have fun with a big mixer if you have it and you can have fabulous cake without it as well.

- I've always been afraid to use the big mixer 'cause I like to get down and make sure I'm getting all the ingredients at the bottom of the bowl.

And I'm just afraid that the big mixer won't get it.

- And sometimes they won't, but no matter what kind of mixer, you gotta get that spatula in there and do that very thing, you've gotta strike that bowl and make sure every little ingredient has come to the party.

So that's a good tip.

And I have been interested in how many people that were gracious to be viewers of the show, Love My Spatula.

So I'm actually gonna volunteer.

I had gotten dozens of emails about the spatula and it's made by Oxo, not to give them a plug, but for all the people who say, "Where'd you get that spatula?'

It's an Oxo product.

And whether you have a shiny red mixer or a small hand mixer, you need a good spatula.

- Yeah.

There's certain tools that you can not compromise on.

- Right.

Now, having said that, of course my grandmother cooked for 84 years and never even heard of a spatula, but we can do better now.

[indistinct] - When you know better, do better.

- Should I ever have grandchildren they'll know I have a spatula.

- Our state Elizabeth has just so big that the questions about naming one or two places almost seem really unfair, but someone wants to know, you've named some must sees, so what hidden gem would you recommend for anybody that someone hardly knows about at all?

- Right.

I mean, it depends on where you are.

I mean, if you're in the East, there are things in the West that you don't know about and vice versa.

But we go to so many little small towns in the state that you can just discover how much you love.

And I do think places like the Sand Hills get a little overlooked sometimes.

We've got such great, interesting small towns in and around the Pinehurts, Southern Pines area.

One of my favorite places is Weymouth Woods, home to longleaf pines.

And it's just a beautiful walk in that area, no matter what time of year, it is just it's evergreen and it's gorgeous.

There's so many little, I would say seek out the small places because that's where you really can uncover a great bakery, a local shop that you might not have known about otherwise.

- And it's about having, I think a spirit of exploration too.

- Absolutely.

- Just go to a place, decide it's a destination, get to know the ins and outs of it.

And a hint that I had heard one time is when you go to a small town, go to the library and talk to the librarian.

- Yeah.

That's always great.

Or a coffee shop or someplace like that and just ask somebody, "Hey, I'm in town for the day, what do you think I should see?"

Because the people who live there, they know, and they won't steer you wrong.

- True.

True.

We have another cooking question, Sheri, lots of people who probably started cooking while they were cooped up over the last year.

I love to cook, I find it relaxing.

But someone wants to know what the difference is between flavorings and emulsions.

- Emulsions or extracts, I wonder?

I'm gonna answer the question they asked, then I'm gonna ask the question that I wish them to ask.

So a flavoring is usually in the small bottles, almost like vanilla extract.

The differences of flavoring sometimes has artificial flavoring is part of it.

We know that when we eat certain candies, there's not actual watermelon juice or something in it.

There's some sort of flavoring that makes it approximate that.

An extract is actually derived from the [indistinct] So to make vanilla extract, there are a vanilla beans involved, and there's a process.

And so extracts tend to be authentic from the thing that that's flavors from, whereas flavorings can sometimes be artificially done.

An emulsion is actually what you get for example, if you're making a vinegarette or a salad dressing, where you temporarily get oil to mix them with other ingredients so that it looks creamy, that's an example of an emulsion.

or like making a Hollandaise sauce where you drizzle in melted butter.

An emulsion is getting fat to pretend like to mix with other ingredients for a short period of time.

So we've got emulsions, extracts and flavorings.

- Got it.

- And I hope that answered their question.

- I hope so.

All of the details of cooking, they really do matter.

And what I like about your instruction on the show is that you not only say, this is the order that you put things in, add the ingredients, but here's why.

Like when you added the flavoring to the milk.

And it makes so much sense to me, 'cause that's how I cook too.

I'm like, well, in order to distribute all of this flavor throughout the butter a little bit better, I'm gonna add the teeny thing to the second teeny thing and then kind of go successively.

- And some of us do that intuitively or through experience or because someone told us, but if no one's ever either shown you that or told you that, and you're new to cooking, is probably not something that you're gonna figure out immediately.

So I really do try to pepper my recipes with the little tips and hints.

But if I bumped into you at the grocery store or at the farmer's market or a PTA meeting.

You say, "So how do you make that?"

I try to talk to our wonderful viewers the way I would with you, if we just bumped into one another.

- Very good, very good.

And, Elizabeth, you have so much style.

And when I look at the pictures and the pages of Our State Magazine, I just want my spaces to look like that.

And I think it's important that you know how to create some of those spaces.

Do you know any locations or do you have a strategy for picking out elements and creating a beautiful space?

- Well, I think simplicity is the key and I think echoing the theme of what we've been talking about is be drawn to the things that have personal stories and personal connections.

I think seek out local artwork, look for things that mean something for your space.

I'm in my own home and the dishes that I use every day were my grandmother's wedding in china.

I mean, you can see 'em behind me, but things like that, I think enhance how you live and where you live.

And so it's always great to try to keep things as simple as you can and really find things that connect deeply and personally really to your heart.

And I think that's how you create a beautiful space around you.

- Well, Sheri, what is on the horizon for you and for The Key Ingredient?

- Well, a really wonderful Christmas wish come true a little bit early is, is that we've decided we're gonna make more episodes.

So there will be more episodes, the second season of The Key Ingredient.

So I'm making my own list and checking it twice.

What are those ingredients gonna be?

What new friends are we gonna make?

Who are we gonna visit?

So that's on the horizon for early next year, is to get back in the kitchen and back on the road and find some more of these key ingredients, and interview some of our viewers, or these good people I'm lucky enough to know.

- Well, congratulations.

It's a beautiful show.

Thank you so much for bringing your expertise to The Key Ingredient and just showcasing these great local ingredients from North Carolina.

Elizabeth, you already told us that you're planning and thinking about 2023.

So tell us what's big that's coming up in the next few months on Our State Magazine?

- Yeah, Well, we're gonna keep making magazines too every month and subscribers, if you're a subscriber, you'll start to get your January, 2022 issue.

It goes out in the mail tomorrow, actually, and that introduces us all to a perfect North Carolina new year.

We've got some great things for 2022 planned, a February issue announcing the winners of our annual, Made in North Carolina contest, which is really exciting.

An April issue that's devoted to all 41 state parks, can't miss that.

Summer issue that's about the best burgers in the state, our coastal and mountain issues, which are always collector's items.

So we've got a lot of great things that we can't wait to share also.

- Wonderful, wonderful.

Well, for North Carolina weekend, we're going to be bringing some really fun and festive things that will fit in for February.

a romantic kind of month to look forward to as well as a month with lots of sweet treats.

So that's coming up for North Carolina weekend and I just wanna say, Sheri and Sheri Castle and Elizabeth Hudson, you guys have been really fun to talk to this evening.

Thank you so much for sharing your secrets and your wisdom and your fun.

- Thank you for inviting us.

This has been great.

I think we should do this more often.

- Yeah, let's do it again.

I would love to do that again.

And it was just a real special treat for us, our entire audience to get to meet you both virtually and to participate in the Q and A.

So thank you and thank you to our fantastic audience for logging on tonight.

We hope that you enjoyed the evening and had fun and a special thank you to Elizabeth and the entire team at Our State Magazine for partnering with us on tonight's event.

Thank you so much.

And you can watch tonight's episode of North Carolina Weekend this Thursday, December 16th at 9:00 PM on PBS NC, and any time at video.pbsnc.org and NC Weekend airs regularly on Thursday nights at nine o'clock on PBS NC.

And please visit thekeyingredient.com to learn more about Sheri Castle.

Rewatch episodes of the key ingredient and for some really yummy recipes.

And please also keep an eye out for an email from us next week with the link to tonight's conversation.

Links for the coconut layer cake recipe and where you can watch Sheri's baking segment.

And PBS North Carolina wants to continue bringing you rebutting documentaries, informative how to programs, fun lifestyle shows, exciting initiatives, a 24 hour kids channel and free screening events like this one.

I hope that you are inspired to make a tax deductible contribution to PBS North Carolina, safely and securely at pbsnc.org.

And if you are already a member, we really appreciate you.

Thank you so much.

And I hope that you all have a wonderful night, a safe holiday and a happy new year.

Good night.