Table9

 

A youth program director in Greensboro, Alabama, Table9 inspires us in and out of the kitchen. She's an expert at making southern comfort foods (for winter breakfasts we're loving Sara's Famous Sausage-Apple Gravy), and has a knack for adding homespun twists to classic dishes (her Alabama Salsa and Chips and Hot Cocoa with Tipsy Peppermint Marshmallows are downright flirtatious), but don't let that fool you. Table9's skills extend far beyond the Mason-Dixon Line. We're still drooling over her Indian Spiced Potato Pancake with Mint & Yogurt Chutney.

At work, Table9's love of food motivated her to add a hospitality program to the YouthBuild curriculum. The grant-funded program teaches at-risk students about gardening, cooking, healthy eating habits, and nutrition, but it doesn't stop there. Thanks to Table9's leadership, another grant, and several community partnerships, YouthBuild students are learning valuable culinary and management skills running their own small business selling pecan butter and brittle, called Pecans! (last minute holiday gift for a good cause, anyone?).

So where did Table9's name come from, you ask? Her YouthBuild programs have been so successful, she has her sights set on creating a separate program that offers free after-school cooking classes.  The name of that program would be Table 9.

For more of Table9's tasty recipes, see her profile page and fan her here.

Read Table9's profile Q&A below:

What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?
Alligator

What do you cook when home alone?
Butternut Squash Soup with a topping of Goat Cheese

Your most treasured kitchen possession:
Le Creuset Dutch Oven in Blue

Your ideal meal:
Grilled Rainbow Trout w/ Couscous, Grape Tomatos and Sweet Green Peas in a Butter Sauce

Something you'd like a chance to eat or cook:
Whole Lamb

The number of bottles of wine you own:
4

The ideal number of guests for a dinner party is:
6 (including myself)

Kitchen pet peeve:
Cluttered countertops

Your favorite cookbook:
My self-made binder of a cookbook