[Announcer] Smyth County, Virginia, located in the mountains of Southwest Virginia.

Offering outdoor adventures and small town charm.

Details online at visitsmythcountyva.com.

The following is a production of PBS Appalachia [uplifting music] [Chef Missy] When I was a child, promises were paramount.

If the words were uttered, "We're leaving for the pool or the farm at 08:00 a.m.," you bet I was front and center on time, ready to walk out that promise.

Promises made, whether written or spoken, are agreements, and in effect, a contract or covenant between two parties.

We declare words and bind those promises.

Spring is a promise fulfilled.

It declares a spiritual rebirth and revival of a person or land.

Spring recovers inheritance, and stewards the resurrection of new beginnings, a fresh start.

And such occasions are always marked with a gathering of family and friends to celebrate with a feast.

In our case, a feast of wild turkey, affectionately known as the spring gobbler.

Oh, bird of courage, how we long to gather you.

Hi, I'm Chef Missy, and I'm the French Magnolia, a true-blue southern gal with French ancestry running through my veins.

My husband, Thomas, is a wine expert and hospitality veteran.

Throughout our careers, we've worked for some incredible restaurants and hotels, from Atlanta to New York City to Charleston, South Carolina, to the edge of a mountain at a five-star Relais & Chateau.

But pretty soon, the French Magnolia, a luxury, movable feast company, was born.

We pour into your home and set an elaborate stage for a multi-course culinary and wine experience.

We settled in Bristol, Virginia, a good place to live.

And when we're not working, we love connecting with local farms and Appalachian culture.

From farm, field, garden, and stream, to Chef and Somm, to the table, all in one day.

This is the French Magnolia Cooks.

Today we're declaring spring in Bastian, Virginia, about an hour east of Bristol.

We're so privileged to hunt and gather on a second-generation farm originally owned by Ruby Catherine Clifton, and now her children and grandchildren.

I'm also joined by my first cousin, Brian Terrell, and his son, my godson, Sam Terrell, who have traveled from Charleston, South Carolina to kick off this new culinary season.

And our old friend, John Gurley, is here, to join in on the hunting fun.

Also joining us is Jeremy Elliott, our local hunting guide.

[♪♪♪♪♪] Okay, Jeremy, what's our plan?

-So we're gonna get up at around 4:30 in the morning, get some coffee in us, get out, start making a trip to the blinds as quietly as we can.

When we get to the blinds, we need to be as still and quiet as possible.

Turkeys have three times 20/20 vision, so they'll see any movement that we make.

Even in the blind, they can see it.

-Okay, Jeremy, how are we gonna get these turkeys?

-So we're gonna have some decoys set up.

We're gonna be there at daylight.

When they come off the roost, we're gonna be listening for them to fly down.

Once we hear that and we know that they're on the ground, we're gonna start making some calls.

Hopefully, that entices some big toms to come into us.

So just remember, tomorrow when we're out there, turkey hunting is one of the hardest things to do.

We're gonna have some high winds tomorrow, but Good Lord willing, we're gonna kill us at least one bird, and have fun.

-Brian, how many times have you been turkey hunting?

-Just a handful of times, really.

-Yeah.

Have you ever gotten a bird?

-Never.

-It's difficult.

Brian, I saw you out in the field this morning shooting at this piece of cardboard.

What is all this about?

-Well, I was doing something called patterning.

Patterning is a way to figure out what your correct distance is if you're going to shoot at an animal, so that you're harvesting that animal humanely.

So this target, with a turkey head on it, shows the vital areas that you want to try to hit, and you want to try to get enough pellets within those vital areas to have a humane harvest.

-John, it's so great to have you here for this turkey hunt.

-Man, it's great to be here.

It's great to be in Southwest Virginia for another terrific hunt.

[Chef Missy] I was reading we've got some high winds tomorrow morning, 20-25 miles per hour.

-Really creates a challenge with the turkey because any game will lie down because their defense mechanisms usually are to hear or see predators.

But with the high winds, they'll just lie down and kind of hide.

Also makes it real tough to call them in because they can't hear it with the wind.

So it's gonna be challenging, but I've got the right guy with me here.

And we may or may not get a turkey, but we're gonna have a great time.

[Chef Missy] John, tell me about this gorgeous gun.

-So this is an L.C.

Smith side-by-side 12 Gauge.

My grandfather gave this to my father on his 16th birthday.

And then, when my son John turned 16, I gave it to him.

So it's been passed down to John from his great grandfather, which is really important to him.

[Chef Missy] Myers Mumpower.

How are you?

-I'm great.

How are you?

-Good.

Myers, tell me about this gun.

-So this shotgun was my grandfather, JW Clifton's, and he gave it to my mom, and she's allowing me to use it tomorrow morning for the turkey hunt.

-You know something pretty cool is that your grandfather, JW Clifton, was good friends and went hunting with my father, Jim Gurley.

-Oh, wow.

-So here we are, another generation and two, going hunting again together.

So it's generational hunt, right?

-Yes, sir.

-That's cool.

[Chef Missy] I had the privilege of sitting down with Ruby Catherine Clifton and Mary Caroline Mumpower for a fireside chat about life, land, and legacy.

Ruby Catherine shared her grit and grace journey to own the land outright, her struggles of stewardship, and being a female farmer.

My heart was moved by Mary Caroline's gratitude and passion, as well as her promise to preserve the land for future generations.

I felt honored to be in their presence, for hearing tales of this promised land filled my soul with joy.

-My children grew up here, and now their children are growing up here.

So, it's a legacy that has been wonderful to know that in your heart and mind that it has been transferred.

It's transferred from parents to children, and now to their children.

What a legacy we are blessed to be able to share.

-Mom has helped us all maintain this property long before we were viable in our careers.

Mom really, like, investigated how to have a farm.

How do you have cows?

She has helped us understand how to engage with local governments and agricultural resources.

She's been incredible.

-If you have something that you treasure, the biggest treasure that you can do is share that treasure with someone that you know loves that treasure as much as you do.

-Here's to promises made and promises kept.

And to the next generation.

[Mary Caroline] Aww!

-[Chef Missy] Cheers.

-[Mary Caroline] Cheers.

[Mary Caroline] Thank you, Missy.

[♪♪♪♪♪] [wild turkey call sound] [♪♪♪♪♪] [yelping of hen turkey sound] [♪♪♪♪♪] [wild turkey clucking sound] [♪♪♪♪♪] [excited yelping sound] [♪♪♪♪♪] [wild turkey clucking sound] [♪♪♪♪♪] [Chef Missy] With 25-mile-per-hour winds, we weren't able to capture a gobbler.

One never knows how a hunt will go.

So I purveyed a freshly harvested wild turkey ahead of time.

After brining it for two days, I slow-roasted it in a curry stock for 12 hours.

[uplifting music] -This is a product out of Charleston, South Carolina.

It's called Natural Blonde.

It's a non-alcoholic Bloody Mary mix from golden tomatoes, handpicked.

It's non-alcoholic, of course, until someone adds something to it.

I prefer it non-alcoholic myself.

I turn it into a springtime Caprese cocktail with mozzarella and basil with a little pickled okra.

I think the flavors are fantastic.

It has a little bit of jalapeno in there, garlic, parsnips, onion.

It's really balanced, has a little kick to it.

I think you've tasted that by now.

-Wow!

You know, that almost seems like it's healthy.

I feel like I'm drinking something healthy.

[Chef Missy] Yeah.

Here's to a fantastic spring gobbler hunt in Southwest Virginia.

[all] Yay!

-Today we are in Bastian, Virginia, where my dear friend Mary Caroline Mumpower has so generously loaned us her fabulous farmhouse with this wonderful kitchen for the spring gobbler hunt.

So, we just decided to move on in and cook in her wonderful kitchen.

And I'm so excited to have my godson, Sam Terrell, here with us today.

Thank you so much for coming.

-Thank you.

I'm glad to be here.

-Yeah.

This is so fun.

So, Sam, I hear you're a great cook.

-Well, I get better every time I do it, and I do enjoy cooking.

I find it therapeutic.

-Isn't that so true?

-Mm-hmm.

-It just feels like no matter what's going on in the world, if you can get in the kitchen, it just gets sorted out.

-It does.

It just clears your mind.

-I know.

I love that about cooking.

Okay, Sam, what's on the menu?

-Well, I love this dish.

It's a side dish for wild turkey, and it's gonna be a stuffed acorn squash.

-Okay, Sam, what's the first thing we do before cooking?

-Mise en place.

-Mise en place.

I love it.

What does it mean?

-Everything in its place.

-Nice!

Go to the head of the class.

That is great.

I love it.

Okay, Sam, tell us what we've got.

-Okay, Chef.

We've got seven acorn squash, seven Granny Smith apples, seven organic leeks, two cups of brown sugar, a cup of dried cranberries, a cup of chopped walnuts, a heaping tablespoon of dry sage, and a tablespoon of cumin, the juice of three lemons, a cup of chopped garlic, three and a half sticks of butter.

-I love all the flavors with this recipe.

-Agreed.

-Okay, first steps.

What to do with an acorn squash, right?

You see it in the grocery store and at the farmer's market, and you're like, what am I going to do with that acorn squash?

Okay, Sam, show 'em how it's done.

-All right, step one.

We're gonna take a little bit off each end just to create a flat space for it to go in the oven.

All right, good.

And now, we're just gonna go straight down the middle.

So, Chef, will you please clean those out for me?

-Yes, sir.

Happy to help.

-Hey, Chef, here's two more.

-Heard.

-This one's tough.

There it is.

Last two.

-Heard.

Good job.

Okay, Chef, I'm almost done.

-Heard.

So next step, put a little water in the bottom of your cooking vessel.

-Awesome.

Okay, next steps.

We're gonna score the inside of the acorn squash.

Now, here's a little tip.

Make sure that you do not put your hand on the back of the squash and hold it from behind and score, because your knife could slip.

It could go through the center of the acorn squash, and you could puncture your hand.

So, let's not do that.

So, hold the squash like this, little half-moon, right.

Sharp knife, I'm just going to come down, give it a score.

Give it another score.

Back in.

Okay, we've gone ahead and preheated the oven to 375.

And these acorn squash are going to bake for 40 minutes.

But before you put them in the oven, give it a little drizzle with olive oil.

-All right, next steps.

You're going to want to salt the squash, and you're going to want to do it from up high, like so.

-It keeps you from over salting, doesn't it?

-[Sam] It does.

-[Chef Missy] Yeah.

[Sam] And then, generously pepper all the squash.

-Okay.

We're going to bake these acorn squash at 375 for 40 minutes.

Okay, Sam, what's our next step?

-We're gonna make our delicious filling.

-Yay!

Brown sugar and apples.

-Mm.

Let's get right to it.

-I know.

Okay, core and peel your apples.

[Sam] First things first, the juice of three lemons.

-If you don't have an apple peeler, I highly recommend getting one.

I bought this one online and I love it, but it took me a minute to figure out how to use it.

There's a little lever right here, and you just pull it back.

Lock that into place... and then get your apple... eeks, really in there.

And I just hold it.

It used to have a little suction thing on it, but that stopped working.

Okay, then go for it.

Beautiful!

[Sam] Satisfying.

-[Chef Missy] Very satisfying.

-[Sam] Very satisfying.

-[Chef Missy] Boom.

-[Sam] Just like that.

[Chef Missy] Yep.

And then just pull it off the end.

Okay.

And then you want to get the apple right in the lemon juice, right.

[Sam] Hm-mm.

[Chef Missy] The lemon juice keeps the apple from turning brown.

-Oxidation.

-Exactly.

Nobody likes a brown apple.

And if you have a few boo boos on the apple, just cut them out.

[Sam] Add two cups of brown sugar and toss.

Just make sure all the apples are generously coated.

Then add a cup of chopped walnuts and a cup of dried cranberries, and mix.

Now we're going to melt three and a half sticks of butter.

[Chef Missy] While Sam is melting the butter, I'm going to prep out these leeks.

Give it a nice even chop.

Nice and clean.

-While Chef is prepping out the leeks, I'm going to add one cup of chopped garlic.

-[Chef Missy] Ready for some leeks?

-[Sam] Absolutely.

Give it a gentle stir.

[Chef Missy] Another little pinch of salt, and some fresh cracked pepper.

Add a generous tablespoon of dried sage and a generous tablespoon of dried cumin.

Sauté the garlic and leeks until they're translucent.

This is beautiful.

This looks good.

Let's let it do its thing for about ten minutes.

-Okay.

-Yeah.

Okay, second to last step.

I'm very excited.

-[Sam] Me too.

[Chef Missy] Just dump all of your apples, brown sugar, cranberry, chopped walnuts.

-[Sam] Scrape it all out.

-[Chef Missy] Yeah.

Okay.

Then gently fold everything together.

You could so easily prepare this dish the day before your event.

-Mm-hm.

[Chef Missy] Woo.

Yeah.

Gorgeous.

Oh, yes.

These are perfect.

Ooh, beautiful.

[Sam] Pretty.

[Chef Missy] Generously fill your acorn squash.

How easy and fun is this?

-I'm having a good time.

-Okay, so these are going to go back in the oven at 375, 20-25 more minutes, right.

And you know that they're perfect when they're tender to the fork touch, right.

[Sam] Right.

I'm loving the way this looks.

-[Chef Missy] Yes.

-There it is.

-Ooh.

Excellent.

Good job.

Yay.

Oh!

[♪♪♪♪♪] Bon appétit.

[uplifting music] With the help of Mary Caroline, Thomas unfolded his beautifully designed table while Sam and I were busy in the kitchen with roasted potato and sweet peas with fresh chive and dill.

Slow braised wild turkey served with homemade curry gravy, warm onion rolls, organic wild rice with caramelized shallots and mushrooms, our stuffed acorn squash, and a chilled Hearts of Palm and scallion salad.

[uplifting music] -So we have tonight a white wine, it's from France, the Rhône region of France, in the northern part of the Rhône region of France, okay.

The appellation is Crozes-Hermitage, and this appellation surrounds an appellation called Hermitage, which is kind of famous.

So Crozes-Hermitage is a great appellation with a great pedigree.

World-class wines are coming out of there, as you can taste in the glass tonight.

So from Hermitage, if you go about a half mile north, you're going to come to a little town, and in that town is a wine co-op.

It's called Cave de Tain.

So Cave de Tain was founded in 1933.

It's a co-op owned by winegrowers in the region.

So winegrowers produce their grapes who really can't produce their wines on their own because it's an expensive project, right.

So these wine growers come together as a co-op, bring their grapes to the co-op, and the co-op produces the wine on their behalf, using about four generations of winemaking expertise.

If you're growing great grapes in a great wine-growing region in France, you want to have a lot of experience making your wine.

So tonight, what we're experiencing from Crozes-Hermitage and this white wine, is 100 percent Marsanne.

That's the name of the grape.

It's not heard of a lot in the United States, because it doesn't grow well here.

So when I'm pairing wine with food, one of my favorite places to go to is Rhône.

Rhône wines are made for food, and this is a great example of that.

I think we're going to enjoy this tonight with this wild turkey.

So, let's talk about the soil.

What makes this area so special, this appellation so special, is the soil.

The soil is made up of clay and a lot of pebbles of limestone and granite.

And so, what that does is helps water to run off.

A lot of times, we think about produce.

We want very fertile soil so we can get a harvest that year.

With wine, it's a little different.

You want to make the roots struggle.

So when the water runs off, the roots have to go deeper into the soil, looking for the nutrients it needs to produce its fruit, right.

As it goes through these layers of soil, it's pulling all of those different characteristics of that soil, which in this case, are clay, limestone, granite, primarily, pulling that through into the character of the grape.

Now, when you go make wine from that grape, you're getting expression of that soil at that place and time.

In this way, you're able to drink liquid history.

-Here's to a fantastic day in Bastian, Virginia.

Cheers!

-[all] Cheers.

[Chef Missy] Cheers!

-Lord God, we'd like to thank You for fellowship and gathering, and for this group of people which You brought together tonight.

Lord, we'd also like to thank you for... And lastly, we ask you to bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies.

In Jesus name we pray.

Amen.

[Chef Missy] Amen.

[uplifting music] -Real tender, real juicy.

And the curry gravy, that's my favorite.

-I gotta be honest with you.

After a lifetime of hunting and eating wild game, the pairing with the turkey and the wild mushroom and the rice is the best I've ever had.

[♪♪♪♪♪] -Everything is so beautiful and so delicious.

I'm blown away.

[♪♪♪♪♪] -It's all kind of coming together for me.

The pairing of this wine with this delicious thing, I mean, it's spot on, it's perfect.

Thank you so much.

[uplifting music] [Chef Missy] Here is to Southwest Virginia.

-[all] Yay!

-[glasses clink] [Chef Missy] Spring is the time of plans and projects.

Maybe it's the promise fulfilled of a memorable father/son hunt.

Or the inheritance of land to steward for future generations.

Maybe it's agreements made in fellowship over grand meals prepared with wisdom, patience, and love.

Or maybe it's the promise of a stronger nation, a body of people born anew out of grace, building with grit, and holding with faith to promises made.

Our lives, friendships, and conversations testify.

We are the body, the family, the promise.

We, the people, are the covenant.

[♪♪♪♪♪] [music fades out] [Announcer] Smyth County, Virginia, offering a business-friendly environment with partnerships like Smyth Strong, fostering entrepreneurship and growth.

Details at smythcounty economicdevelopment.com.