[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] They say there are a lot of fish out there, but in order to hook one, you need to have the favor of correct rhythm and timing.

Building lasting relationships also requires good rhythm and timing, moving back and forth, giving and taking, extending courteous goodwill with grace.

Pleasing and thankful, the honorable extension of grace regenerates our souls, causing favor in our relationships.

The rainbow trout, with its silvery coat of many colors, swiftly flows with graceful speed and intelligence through fresh clean water.

Although it occasionally falls for shiny objects, the angler must move with refined rhythm and perfect timing.

Its delicate pink meat may not be abundant, but when cooked properly, it sure can cause favor.

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, I'm cooling down from the summer heat on Howard's Creek in the heart of Appalachia at the historic Greenbrier Resort.

Joining me for fly fishing fun is our favorite hunter and angler, John Gurley.

I also have the privilege of learning from Cam Moore who is one of the hunting and fishing experts.

Along with Thomas by our side for wine stories, we're in for a memorable experience.

Okay, boss, what's our plan?

-We're gonna tie a fly and then hopefully go catch one of these big rainbow trout we have here in the creek.

-Oooh!

-Alright, so we're gonna be tying a wooly bugger.

Okay, so to attach these feathers and various materials that we're gonna attach to this hook, we have to build a thread base.

You're gonna wrap away from you over the hook shank, like that, and you wanna pinch it down to about like that.

Make a wrap over the top and secure it to that hook shank, yep.

[Chef Missy] So I'm gonna snip him off here at the end.

-Now we're gonna add the material that's going-- this hackle is what this is called.

-Hackle.

-Hackle fibers.

We're just gonna capture it with a couple wraps.

We're gonna add in our body material, that is called chenille.

Now we're going to take our hackle here that we've tied in earlier, and we're just going to wrap it away from us as well.

-[Missy] Am I doing it right?

-[Cam Moore] You're doing great.

Just keep wrapping and lay it on our thread.

That little hook hooks the thread.

You wrap the bobbin around, and then you let this thing spin away from you.

And if it doesn't all unravel, then we have a finished fly.

[Chef Missy] Wow.

-Hey.

-I did it.

-Nice.

-I did it.

-So the environment of the water is very, very important for trout.

They really only live in places with really clean water, a really healthy ecosystem.

So, the bug life in the creek is really important.

We have a lot of good insects here that are really good bioindicators of a healthy stream, and rainbow trout really need that to survive.

So I've been fly fishing since I was nine years old, maybe earlier, and, it's a lifelong passion of mine.

[soothing music] -That's what we're looking for.

[Cam Moore] Yeah.

You got a fish?

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

-Oh.

Did you see him?

Oh!

[Cam Moore] He took your fly too.

[perky music] Just raise it up towards me, nice and high, push forward.

That's great.

Okay.

Drag, drag, drag, push.

Nice flick.

That's beautiful.

[♪♪♪♪♪] [John Gurley] Woah.

Oh, that's a pretty fish.

[♪♪♪♪♪] [Cam Moore] Keep that rod bent.

That's perfect.

-[Chef Missy] Ain't this... -[Cam Moore chuckles] [♪♪♪♪♪] -How'd you do?

-I did great.

Seven.

-Seven!

-Seven.

I did great.

Seven was a good day.

-Oh, nice.

-How about you?

-Zero.

-But what a beautiful day anyways on the river.

Catch one or not, you know what?

You can't get much better.

-Okay.

We are still here at the beautiful historic Greenbrier Resort.

And the Greenbrier has so generously loaned us this gorgeous lodge.

The weather is perfect.

So we've decided to cook and dine al fresco at the Howard's Creek Lodge right here on the porch.

And, we are so blessed to have my favorite hunter and angler, John Gurley, in the kitchen with us today.

-Well, thank you for having me.

I'm so excited to be here, and we're streamside.

It's a gorgeous day.

What a beautiful setting, and I know for certain that I'm gonna eat and drink well while I'm here.

So, what's on the menu, chef?

-We are definitely going to prepare and cook the trout, and I'm gonna prepare a Trout Amandine.

Classic French dish.

-Wow.

-And that is with a classic French Homemade Beurre Blanc Sauce.

-Wow.

-And roast vegetables for our side dishes.

-Okay.

-With... drum roll, strawberry shortcake with homemade whipped cream.

-Homemade whipped cream's my favorite.

Cool.

-I'm glad you said that because I'm gonna have you make the homemade whipped cream.

-Really?

Chef, what's my first step?

-Add the cream to the bowl and whisk.

-Don't get to do this very often, but could you take that away from me, please?

-Yes, I can.

You want to get it frothy at a low speed.

Good job.

-Phew!

-He did it.

Now, we're gonna add the confectioner's sugar.

Start with a quarter cup.

-Okay.

-So if it's going on a key lime pie that's very sweet and tart, then I might back off the sugar a little bit.

-[John Gurley] Cool.

[Chef Missy] But for this strawberry shortcake, maybe we need it extra sweet.

[John Gurley] Okay.

So two?

-[Chef Missy] Two.

-[John Gurley] Alright.

[Chef Missy] And now, we're gonna add a tablespoon of fresh vanilla.

That looks good.

I feel like you can take it up to a four.

-Okay.

-Just keep your eye on it.

Remember, after we make the whipped cream, it's gonna go in the refrigerator, chill, and we'll serve it really cold.

-Okay.

-Mm!

-Isn't it?

-You're hired.

-I made the team.

-You made the team.

Ooh, this looks gorgeous.

Let's finish off the strawberries, brûlée the pound cake, and get it all in the refrigerator.

-[John Gurley] Perfect.

-[Chef Missy] Okay.

-[John Gurley] Okay.

-This is just regular raw organic sugar.

Uh-uh.

No.

-You told me I could.

-I know.

I'm gonna let you have it, just a second.

-You told me-- -Let me just show you how I want it.

-Alright.

I'm ready.

-Okay.

Alright.

From this side.

Okay?

You don't wanna go like this because it's gonna burn a hole right through your cake.

-That's what I was gonna do.

-Okay.

You see?

I'm just gonna take it to the side.

-[John Gurley] Oh, yeah.

-[Chef Missy] Right?

Can I show you a little trick?

-Please.

-Okay.

So, if you take it and sort of tilt it, and run the torch at an angle, then it will start to run and it'll fill in all the gaps.

[John Gurley] Wow!

[Chef Missy] Organic summer strawberries... homemade whipped cream... and brûlée pound cake.

The perfect summer dessert.

-It's beautiful.

-Okay.

Trout Amandine.

Classic French dish for the rainbow trout.

It's actually easier than you think.

Okay.

Melt two tablespoons of clarified butter or ghee on a low temperature in a nonstick skillet.

You really want to keep your eye on these almonds because they toast quickly.

Add a pinch of sea salt.

Oh, I'm loving this color.

Put the toasted almonds in a little vessel and set them aside.

We will actually finish the Trout Amandine at the end with the toasted almonds.

The first thing we want to do, mise en place.

Mise en place .

Everything in its place.

First, we want to start with organic fine almond flour.

And I love to add my special French Magnolia spice mix.

Lemon oil, lemon zest, cracked pepper, sea salt, and Herbes de Provence .

And give it a good toss.

We're going to use this almond flour for a light dusting on the trout.

First, I've got two tablespoons of full fat French butter.

I'm gonna use this butter to temper my copper pot.

We have two sticks of full fat, real butter.

A half a cup of white wine vinegar.

A half a cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Three shallots, finely minced, and two to three tablespoons of fresh thyme.

We also have our toasted almonds, and some freshly chopped parsley for plate-up.

Okay, classic French beurre blanc.

Beurre blanc is basically a butter sauce, but we're gonna build an acid base and then add the butter.

There's only four ingredients, but, a lot can go wrong, so pay special attention.

It's really about timing and temperature.

The first thing I'm gonna do is get my copper pot on medium.

Okay, the pan is ready.

I'm going to add half a cup of white wine vinegar and half a cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Okay.

We're going to bring the liquid to a boil before adding in the shallots.

If we didn't have the shallots, the liquid would simply reduce and evaporate.

The shallots act like a giant sponge, soaking in the white wine vinegar and the lemon juice.

And as the shallots soak all of the acid in, the shallots become tiny little acid bombs.

And that's what you want.

You wanna be left with a gummy, pink, thick acid base.

Then, we're gonna add our full fat butter.

Okay, our liquid's at a boil.

We're gonna add three shallots, finely minced.

I'm gonna put a lid back on the pot and let that reduce.

Okay.

Let's take a look at the beurre blanc.

Oh, yes.

This is beautiful.

You can see the gorgeous pink color.

You can see how the shallots are soaking up the white wine vinegar and lemon.

Okay, at this stage is a great stage to salt your sauce.

Generous pinch.

Oh.

I'm loving how this is coming along.

Again, we're looking for a thick gummy acid base.

And then, we're gonna add in our yummy butter.

Fat and acid, fat and acid.

This acid base is beautiful.

You can see how it's very thick and gummy.

Those shallots have absorbed all of the liquid.

First thing you're gonna wanna do is turn down your flame on low and start adding a tablespoon of butter at a time.

Your job is to get the acid to fall madly in love with the butter.

Another tablespoon.

Okay, keep the butter going.

Sometimes, I'll actually just lift the pot off the heat and work some butter into the sauce off the heat, knowing full well that that copper pot is plenty hot.

Okay, more butter.

You'll find your own rhythm, and when you taste a really great beurre blanc sauce, you will taste love.

Making sure that my flame is still nice and low, but once you start a French sauce, you cannot abandon your project.

You must stay with your pot at all times.

Fall in love, fall in love.

Get ready for the last tablespoon of butter.

Last tablespoon of butter.

Yippee!

Oh, brava!

This is gorgeous.

Final step, two to three tablespoons of freshly chopped thyme.

And don't leave out the thyme.

The thyme adds this beautiful aromatic herbal finish.

Thyme, temperature, and a whole lot of love.

That's the perfect recipe for a French sauce.

Homemade French beurre blanc sauce, ready for Trout Amandine.

-Today, we are at the historic Greenbrier Resort, and I wanna spend a little time talking about a trend you've noticed in the wine world called non-alcoholic wine.

So the first thing I wanna introduce you to is So Jennie, which is a world-class French sparkling non-alcoholic wine.

Today, I brought both the Rosé and I brought this Brut by them, and these are very special.

I think you're gonna enjoy hearing how it's actually made.

So to start talking about how So Jennie non-alcoholic sparkling wine is made, I think it's important that we actually talk about how real champagne is made.

Now, there is a very specific method to making champagne called Méthode Champenoise or Méthode Traditionnelle .

And it's very specific; in order to be called and classified as champagne, these rules must be followed.

So, to begin with, the grapes for making champagne has to be from the Champagne region of France, all right?

The grapes used for champagne are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir primarily, and sometimes Pinot Meunier.

The grapes from this area in France has to be hand harvested.

That way, you're picking only the ripe grapes, not the overripe or underripe grapes.

They're perfect.

Once you have the grapes that have been hand harvested, what you have to do is, very gently press them so that the skins and the seeds don't have an impact on the juice as much as if you were to press them as hard as other wines.

So, it keeps the tannins out, keeps the bitterness out, and strictly the juice.

Once the juice has been pressed from the grapes, gently, it's called "must."

"Must" is this fresh pressed juice.

It comes from the word, vinum mustum, "must" for short, it just means young wine.

So at this point, the juice is still not fermented, okay?

Just remember that.

The "must" will then be fermented in stainless steel or oak, depending on the preference of that champagne house.

Each varietal must be fermented separately, right?

Because they all have different characteristics, and you wanna have that as a single varietal wine in the end of that so that then, that house can blend those wines from year to year to create a consistent product that tastes the same year to year.

During the fermentation process, whether it's in the stainless steel tanks or the oak barrels, yeast has been added to this grape juice to create the alcohol, and the byproduct, which is carbon dioxide, which is not contained in these vessels, so the end product is a flat wine.

That wine is then the wine that is blended to go into the bottles to then make champagne.

So once these winemakers have their wine, this flat wine, they're going to put it in a bottle and they're gonna add specific yeasts for their targeted flavor profile.

And these yeasts are champagne yeasts, very specific and very special.

In the bottle then, these yeasts will eat the sugar, make more alcohol, and a byproduct is gas.

Now, you're putting this carbonation into the flat wine, making champagne in the bottle, which is called secondary fermentation.

Now, what we're gonna talk about is the process you've probably seen in movies or in different shows.

It's called "riddling."

During the secondary fermentation process, the wine is actually turned like this into a stand and it's turned a quarter turn, okay?

In this stage, for a non-vintage champagne, it has to be a minimum of 15 months.

If it's one of those four percent vintages, then it has to be in this stage for up to three years or longer.

The reason it is upside down like this, or at this angle, is that all the dead yeast cells, as they die off, will go down to the neck, and that's why you turn it so that all these dead yeast cells are able to dislodge and go to the neck of the bottle.

The neck of the bottle is then frozen, so all these yeast cells, and this product that's formed down here, is frozen and then removed.

The gas that has formed in here will help expel that from the bottle, and then, it will be turned upside-- right side up again and they will add more wine, and possibly sugar, depending on the type of champagne they're creating.

But, at this point, they'll add what they call a dosage of liquid, either wine or wine and sugar.

So, at this point, you have your champagne, but there's a very important final step, which is the cork in the cage.

Why?

Because the pressure in this bottle is about the same as a tire of a double decker bus or about 90 pounds per square inch, which is about twice what your truck tire is, okay?

It's a lot of pressure in there trying to push this cork out which is the reason for the shape of the cork, for one, but also for the cage.

So, how does So Jennie remain unfermented, non-alcoholic?

Somewhere along the process of making champagne, they simply stopped right before the fermentation process, which is what makes this so special.

So they take this concentrated "must" that we talked about with the champagne process, that was just that first press, that young wine, remember?

And they took that, concentrated it-- the way they concentrate that is under vacuum with a low heat so you don't damage the product, the juice.

All you're doing is killing off the yeast so there's nothing there to ferment and eat that sugar that's in the juice.

So then, you have a non-alcoholic wine.

Some winemakers remove the alcohol from wine, which I think creates an inferior product.

What So Jennie does, they stop before the fermentation happens, so you keep that clean crisp flavor profile of the grape juice.

[♪♪♪♪♪] -Trout Amandine.

Let's get started.

With the flat part of your knife, you're going to run the knife over the skin of the trout and just score the skin, right?

I'm just making a little slit.

We score the skin so that this side of the fish will cook.

So I'm gonna take this and just dust both sides of the trout.

Okay, last one.

If I were to soak this fish in milk, buttermilk, full fat milk, or eggs beforehand and then coat it, this would really turn into a fish fry, right, rather than enjoying the beautiful flavor of the rainbow trout.

So this allows us to have a little flavor on the trout without losing the integrity of the flavor of the rainbow trout.

Grapeseed oil has a delicious neutral flavor, but it also has a wonderful smoke point.

Okay, ready, set, go.

Skin side down.

I'm gonna leave it for three minutes on the skin side, flip it, about three minutes on the meat side, and it's done.

This is so much fun, cooking outside.

-Well, with the stream right here, we're kind of camping.

Camping cooking.

-[Chef Missy] I know.

We're glamping cooking.

[John Gurley] Yeah, this is definitely glamping.

-This is done on this side.

Lift, flip.

[Thomas] Wow.

Look at that color.

-Okay.

Time to plate up.

Few potatoes, few carrots, some beautiful summer zucchini.

Time to toss the shaved toasted almonds.

And to finish with the homemade French beurre blanc.

-[Thomas] Pretty!

-[John Gurley] Fantastic!

-Let's eat it.

-Let's do.

[Thomas] So this is So Jennie, so French, premium, luxury, non-alcoholic sparkling wine.

[Chef Missy] I'm excited about this So Jennie.

[Thomas] I am too.

I love this.

[John Gurley] Father, bless this food to our use and our lives to Thy service.

Make us ever mindful of the needs and feelings of others.

Thank you for the blessings... [♪♪♪♪♪] -Mm!

Wow!

Delicious.

Wow.

That really does taste like French champagne.

It's delicious.

Such a surprise.

-Excellent pairing, Tom.

-That Trout Almandine is beautiful.

Those almonds are toasted perfectly.

And that beurre blanc just pulls it all together.

So great.

Good job, baby.

[♪♪♪♪♪] -Missy, that's terrific.

I thought I was lucky to be a part of preparing it and getting to learn and to watch how you did it.

I'm even luckier to get to eat it.

Really, really quite great.

Thank you.

[♪♪♪♪♪] Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

-Here's to us.

-[wine glasses clink] [Chef Missy] Grace is the spontaneous unmerited gift of divine favor.

It's given and received when our hearts are in perfect rhythm with one another.

The rhythm of grace casts out a wide net.

Its social graces sanctifies actions and can move us from the old to the new.

There might be a lot of fish out there, but the best ones are hooked with elegance, gratitude, and character, unearned but extended to all those for a favorable seat at the table.

[♪♪♪♪♪] [announcer] Smyth County, Virginia, offering a business friendly environment, with partnerships like Smyth Strong, fostering entrepreneurship and growth.

Details at smythcounty economicdevelopment.com.