How do you Hostess? With Carrie Morey of Callie's Hot Little Biscuits
Driving on Highway 17 through the golden marshes and hammocks of the ACE Basin, we kept pinching ourselves and asking, “Is this really real?” You see, Nicole and I were on our way to Charleston to interview Carrie Morey for our How do you Hostess Series, and we were just a tad excited, honored and humbled to be meeting the brilliant and beautiful entrepreneur behind the iconic brand Callie’s Hot Little Biscuits, the PBS docs-series How She Rolls, cookbook author and mother.
Fully expecting to be meeting Carrie at her office or her flagship store in Charleston, for a quick Q & A, we were surprised when we found ourselves standing on the front porch of her home in Mount Pleasant ringing the doorbell. When the door opened we were greeted with the warmest of welcomes from Carrie who exclaimed, “Oh my are those chanterelles?!” I had just harvested the first batch of the season and thought what chef would not enjoy a hostess gift of chanterelle mushrooms?
Carrie ushered us into the heart and soul of her home, her kitchen in the center of which is a raised fireplace, where guests can sit on the hearth to enjoy the warmth of the flames, while others gather around the center island of honed quartz to converse with their hosts and watch Carrie tend bar, make biscuits on the counter, or serve tomato sandwiches on her dainty vintage tea saucers that she collects from thrift stores. Carrie’s linen drawer over flows with dinner and cocktail napkins, none of which are perfectly pressed just organic, simple and casually beautiful and ready to pull out for use when the cocktails start flowing. Glass doors on one side of the kitchen open out into a grassy courtyard allowing the outdoors to flow into the kitchen, when the weather permits. No matter how we entertain everything revolves around the kitchen and inevitably everyone ends up there, fascinated by the activities. Carrie embraces this whole heartedly in the design of her kitchen. It is the epicenter of her home and entertaining style that is best described as genuine, casual with generous warmth and passion.
Carrie explains:
“I always keep staples in our pantry and in the kitchen. We have a lot of impromptu gatherings that are authentic and casual, whoever is coming over or stops by, they are rarely planned. But we are lucky enough to have a place where people love to come and hangout, mainly in the kitchen. I always have something on hand that you can easily put together in 5 minutes, so if someone shows up and you offer them a glass of wine and that turns into 2 or 3 then you are prepared.”
You have built an iconic Southern food brand on the foundation of your mother’s biscuits. Tasting them you can understand why they garner such a following of fans but was there something else about these Hot Little Biscuits that made them so special to you?
“It is a family recipe that I grew up on and probably took for granted because they were always available and part of our family. I realized after serving them at many a party for my mom working for her as a caterer growing up that this was not how everyone ate. I used to pack them in my suitcase when I lived in New York and keep them in the freezer. They probably had freezer burn but people still loved them when I served them. To take country ham biscuits to Manhattan where nobody knows what country ham is and they go, ‘What is this? Oh my goodness, this is the best thing ever.’ I knew that there was something more to them than what I could even imagine.”
“When I decided to pitch this idea to my mom, I did not have the vision for what it is today. At all. I was like let's sell your ham biscuits and it would be the perfect stay at home job for me because to me the balance was so important, and making sure I was present and with my girls. And so what that involved into today, obviously happened organically from my brain going well we should do this and we should do that, and then it happening. But there never was a master plan.”
“She [Carrie’s mom] never thought it was a good idea, even when I twisted her arm into going into business with me, she just didn’t understand it. You know, she came from a generation that made biscuits at every meal so why would we sell biscuits because that’s something that people will make. She did not understand that people will pay for great food and love the story of the brand and the family tradition. I think she is now realizing that but she did not feel that way for a long time, I mean of course, she has always been proud of me, but never did she think it was a good idea. She thought it was crazy.”
“It is interesting what your motivators are, that definitely fueled my drive to prove her wrong. I knew there was something special. I just needed to convince her of that.”
Congratulations, on the airing of How She Rolls and the upcoming release of your second cookbook, Hot Little Suppers. As an entrepreneur, mother, wife, author, documentary star, mentor, and the many other hats that you wear, when you find the time to entertain, what does your Hostess Hat look like? How has being a hostess influenced your cookbooks?
“My First cookbook [Callie’s Biscuits and Southern Traditions] was all about the food memories that I grew up with and things that I remember from my childhood that are in my back pocket, brain, the family cooking vault.”
“Hot Little Suppers is all about how I authentically entertain and cook. It is organized by season because that is how I think about eating.”
“Within the seasonal chapters it is organized by week night eating versus weekend eating. Weekend eating can take 30 minutes to prepare, 3 hours, or 24 hours, it can be a fancy dinner party or just your family or a Sunday supper.” Carrie explains. “When I cook that is where I get all my inspiration.”
Sharing a love for seasonal cooking, the conversation quickly lands on Tomatoes, the holy grail of seasonal vegetables. Although the difference between Farmer’s market or plucked straight from the garden fresh versus straight off the grocery store shelf is undeniable among all vegetables, the difference is most poignant when it comes to the tomato. Tomatophiles like Carrie willingly abstain from tomatoes until they are available from produce stands, farmers, or their own gardens. Carrie’s favorite tomatoes are grown on John’s Island. In fact, she refuses to use any other tomato in her restaurants or her kitchen.
“We wait until the John’s Island tomatoes come out and are ready. Because it is worth it.”
Of course you can’t talk tomatoes without a little chat about tomato sandwiches. For Carrie, us and most everyone from the Lowcountry the anatomy of the tomato sandwich is just as important as the tomato. Like all simple recipes, every ingredient must pair perfectly together for the real culinary magic to happen.
Carrie’s tomato sandwiches require pillow, soft white bread cut into rounds, no crusts allowed, mayonnaise (Spoiler Alert, when it comes to the mayo you will find only Hellman’s in Carries kitchen), and the perfect slice of a John’s Island tomato seasoned with salt and cracked pepper.
As she explains,
“You like it because the mayonnaise tastes so good with the salt and pepper, that perfect tomato, on that fluffy white bread with no crust.”
They are sure to win over the harshest tomato critics, including teenage girls. At a recent birthday party for her daughter, Carrie served tomato sandwiches even though her daughter protested and declared that none of her friends eat tomatoes, how embarrassing Mom!
Carries agreed, embarrassing indeed that these girls had not yet learned about tomato sandwiches!
“I made 15, 20 tomato sandwiches and cut them into little halves. They were a huge hit and now they are all fans of tomato sandwiches.”
Are there any tips you can share with fellow entrepreneurs, moms and hostesses out there?
“Be passionate about what you do.”
“Be authentic to yourself”
On Entertaining:
“Whether you are hosting a dinner party, starting a business or running your own brand, those are the two most important things you can follow. If you are not passionate it is going to be a hard go, even if you are just hosting a cocktail party. Do not try to do something beyond what you are comfortable with. If you are not a culinary maven, then don’t be one. There are plenty of opportunities to buy and prepare things that will make you look like a rock star and fit into your lifestyle so that you can still serve amazing food but you are not the one making it from scratch.”
On being an Entrepreneur:
“Running a business is so hard, starting a business, running a business, growing a business, and if you do not have the passion for that concept, idea, product it is going to be really hard because there are so many bumps in the road and they never stop. Being passionate is what gets you through that.”
As women, we all have been influenced by the powerful ladies in our lives, mother’s, grandmother’s, aunts, and their traditions. Can you tell us about the women that inspire you? How they have shaped your life and how you entertain?
“Mother was not classically trained as a chef, but was well travelled and well read. She is passionate about great food, and although she was raised on southern food her specialty was really other cuisines. She makes incredible Vietnamese, Indian, and Mexican food. She would travel to these areas and take cooking classes, read cookbooks and execute in the kitchen. When I think of my mom’s cooking, it is not shrimp and grits or fried chicken, it is her butter chicken and spring rolls. Mom’s comfort food and what I crave is incredible dishes from cuisines all around the world.”
As a mother, Carrie has made it a point to expose her girls to these same flavors and types of cooking that her mother shared with her. She emphasizes the importance of pushing them to broaden their horizons and explore all food cultures near and far. You won’t find a kids menu in her household and the day she found out her daughter took her own money and spent the day with a friend eating raw oysters at a spot in downtown Charleston was a proud day for Carrie.
Outside of your family, who is your hostess hero or heroine?
Carrie’s Hostess Heroine is one of her best friends with whom she loves to get into all sorts of culinary adventures with. As she explains,
“It is rare to find friends that have the same interest as you and she is one of just a few of my friends that I can say let’s go travel and eat and everything is about food. Not many people invite me to supper! But I can always count on Kristen. We can nerd out on food together.”
We share a common thread in our passion for the Lowcountry, this beautiful place we all call home, especially a love for crabbing, fishing and shrimping. What are some of your favorite ways to prepare your catch?
“I love making crab salad with fresh vegetables and herbs, a tiny bit of mayo and served on a bed of butter lettuce or with crackers, or crab cakes, or served on newspaper with butter and cracked and sucked right out of the shell. That is Crab Therapy.”
Carrie shared with us that she had recently gone on the Casual Crabbing with Tia adventure. She could not have raved more about Tia and the whole experience, stating;
“I thought I knew a lot about crabbing. I didn’t know. If you love crabbing, you have to do it.”
What food, drink, and/or culinary traditions would you say are quintessential to the Lowcountry?
To Carrie Morey the Lowcountry is all about,
“Oyster roasts, Frogmore stew, tomato sandwiches, crabbing, throwing a cast net, boiled peel and eat shrimp and cracking crabs shared around the dinner table, devilled crabs, butterbeans over rice and family suppers.”
And of course, those Hot Little Biscuits that offer more than just sustenance, they help solve the world’s problems.
“Why do I love biscuit making? Because it lends itself to forgiveness. It is not exact. My biscuit making breaks all the baking rules because we use salted butter instead of unsalted butter, we don’t freeze our butter, we don’t measure. It is very much about touch and feel and the taste that you like.”
“You can solve all the world’s problems over a bowl of biscuit dough. Because your shoulders relax and you can talk about life, the problems of the day. You talk it out over biscuits.”
Favorite Condiment?
“Mayonnaise!”
So are you a Duke’s or Hellman’s Girl?
“Hellman’s!”
“I never hear a yes when I say that! I swear I thought I was the only Hellman’s person. People always ask me, How can you be southern and not like Dukes?”
We are right there with you Carrie and propose Team Hellman’s! Interestingly, in our How do you Hostess interview with MK Hennigan of In The Curious Kitchen we found out that she too stocks her fridge with Hellman’s mayo. We think it is about time for a Hellman’s comeback. Who else is not afraid to admit that they too are on team Hellman’s? We know you are out there!!
Favorite Beverage?
“Water, Black French Press Coffee and Vodka or Tequila. Is it okay to have 4?”
Comfort Food?
“Rice and gravy, butterbeans, roasted or fried chicken and biscuits.”
Midnight Snack?
“Crackers, Cheese and crackers – something salty. Potato chips and French fries”
Favorite Hot Little Biscuit?
“Buttermilk, because it can be sweet or savory. My favorite biscuit sandwich is the sausage, egg, and Fiery Pimento Cheese on a buttermilk biscuit.”