You’re given an idea of Lucy Mercer’s priorities by the first and only line of her profile: “I cook. I write. I carpool. Everything else is just gravy.” That, plus the simple, clean recipes she’s graced our database with, make it clear that she’s a dedicated cook. (We're fans of her environmentally-conscious driving, too.)

Usually apronless, you can find her in her kitchen cooking simply, doing away with extraneous flavors in order to let one take over the stage. She trusts her main ingredient, whether it be the radishes in her Roasted Spring Root Vegetables with Horseradish-thyme Butter, or the tomatoes in her Heirloom Tomato Salad with Fresh Mozzarella, Watermelon and Mint. Come to think of it, her tendency to never smother her ingredients, instead choosing to let them shine on their own, is exactly what we’re going for with our overflowing CSA boxes. We’ll be thinking of her next time we set the table with our market bounty.

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She has a history rich in food, and started cooking at an admirably young age. (Proof of this? Her first recipe was a carefully-chosen dish from The Winnie the Pooh Cookbook.)

My Southern grandmother claimed to dislike cooking, but she knew how to put out a family-pleasing spread. Summertime meals on the oval cherry wood table, set with Limoges and starched linens, included ham, potato salad, sliced tomatoes, fried corn, biscuits the size of silver dollars. If my uncles had been fishing, sometimes a tomato-rich fish stew would be served in tiny bone china soup bowls.

She detests spagetti squash (“It’s not pasta and will never be pasta, so what’s the point?”), but always goes for pulled pork.

I just learned how to make authentic pulled pork. Oh my word good. I can’t wait to write about it. Well, I can’t wait to have it written, it’s still percolating in my brain.

On how politeness endures through a salty kitchen disaster:

My husband would claim my biggest kitchen disaster was the time I made his favorite, Boston Cream Pie, for a family gathering and I put salt instead of sugar in the custard filling. Folks were polite, because we live in the South, but I definitely did not live up to my reputation as a baker.

Check out our profile Q&A with Lucy Mercer below, or visit her blog here.

What do you cook when home alone?
Grits

Your most treasured kitchen possession:
My rolling pin collection.

The ideal number of guests for a dinner party is:
8

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • Vivian Henoch
    Vivian Henoch
  • Beautiful, Memorable Food
    Beautiful, Memorable Food
  • Waverly
    Waverly
  • lapadia
    lapadia
  • LucyS
    LucyS
Kenzi Wilbur

Written by: Kenzi Wilbur

I have a thing for most foods topped with a fried egg, a strange disdain for overly soupy tomato sauce, and I can never make it home without ripping off the end of a newly-bought baguette. I like spoons very much.

18 Comments

Vivian H. July 22, 2012
Wonderful! Congrats, Lucy! I've been your fan since your first generous comment a couple years back on my blog at Open Salon. Love seeing your smiling avatar under the hat on the pages of FOOD52 -- and better yet, reading those fabulous recipes. Keep 'em coming.
My only question -- how is it possible that you have a 3/4 pie "rating" here - as a cook in the spotlight?
 
Lucy M. July 22, 2012
Hi Vivian! It sure is great to see you hiding behind your camera here, too! I'm completely happy with my 3/4 pie, pie doesn't last very long at my house, so a 3/4 full pie plate is comforting in its familiarity. Looking forward to more of your awesome recipes, pictures and stories!
 
Beautiful, M. July 20, 2012
Hi Lucy, congrats on the well-deserved Spotlight!
 
Lucy M. July 21, 2012
Thanks, Linda!
 
Waverly July 18, 2012
Lucy, it so nice to meet you. I carpool too and can relate to the concept that anything me-related is gravy. You have a lovely blog.
 
Lucy M. July 18, 2012
Thanks, Waverly! I love your blog, too!
 
lapadia July 13, 2012
Congrats on the spotlight, Lucy! I love your grandmother's take on spaghetti squash (although I love it) and I'm wondering if you still have the Winnie the Pooh Cookbook? :)
 
Lucy M. July 13, 2012
Thanks, Lapadia! Yes, I still have my paperback copy of the Winnie the Pooh Cookbook; it's a treasure.
 
LucyS July 7, 2012
I thought the biscuits the size of silver dollars thing was just my grandmother (from Mississippi) being eccentric! She also applied it to pancakes and cupcakes. Lovely write up, Lucy!
 
Lucy M. July 9, 2012
So nice to meet another Lucy! We are the light of world, right? I'm so happy to know about another silver dollar biscuit grandmother. I'm intrigued by the idea of silver dollar cupcakes!
 
LucyS July 10, 2012
We really are! Lucys are few and far between, too. The cupcakes were mostly just tiny, really rich devil's food that she froze (with everything else she made). They were amazing. My sister preferred to eat them frozen because they were so tiny they thawed really fast.
 
Panfusine July 7, 2012
WOnderful to read about you Lucy . congrats on the spotlight.

 
Lucy M. July 9, 2012
Thank you! Delightful reading about your cuisine!
 
mrslarkin July 6, 2012
So nice to see you in the spotlight, Lucy! I think I share your cookbook obsession. :)
 
Lucy M. July 9, 2012
And I share your scone obsession! Thanks for the kind words!
 
Lucy M. July 6, 2012
Hi everyone! Thanks to Kenzi for the lovely write-up! hardlikearmour & boulangere, it's so nice to meet you!
 
hardlikearmour July 6, 2012
I agree! Great to get to know you better. I tested and enjoyed your Roasted Spring Root Vegetables.
 
boulangere July 6, 2012
What a lovely write-up!