It is such a pleasure to Introduce Suzanne Pollak of The Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits.   I attended a lunch at Suzanne’s house just over a year ago and the simple, elegant, food she gave us has lingered in my memory ever since.  When we first arrived, the house smelled of delicious cooking already and we immediately piled into her (spectacular) kitchen to watch her every skilled move.  It is always the mark of a great cook that they make everything look spontaneous and effortless.  And I was struck, too, by how well she managed our large group, encouraging each of us with manageable recipes that produced spectacular results.

If you are not familiar with Suzanne’s work, she is the co-founder of the Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits, has written three books, The Pat Conroy Cookbook,  Entertaining for Dummies,  and The Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits: A Handbook of Etiquette with Recipes.  She is currently working on two additional books for publication in the near future and is an inspiration for a life well lived.  

After our lunch, I pursued lesson with Suzanne.   I would love to entertain the way that she does and while I love to set the table, I could certainly use some help in the kitchen.  I am grateful that Suzanne was able to take the time to work with me, and I tell you I caught a domestic bug —  I am such a visual learner and I have been practicing my newfound cooking skills ever since! In this post, we re-make the salad we had at the lunch and a similar savory pie, perfect for Valentine’s Day with three reds: a red onion, a red pepper, and tomatoes.  Don’t forget to watch the video demonstration at the bottom!

The croutons are to die for; they are so simple and easy and you won’t believe how delicious they are.  I cannot wait to make them for my mother, the salad queen, when she visits in a just over a week (yippee!!), she will adore them!  I also hadn’t realized how simple it is to roast red peppers which are a delight!  Here is the recipe:

Video shot by Pat Black,  Edited by Lucy Cuneo, Music: https://www.bensound.com