SHORELINES

18 a p c s hor e l i n e s.c om | 2016 Vol :4 You can almost smell the holiday aromas when you talk to chef Chris Hastings, whose approach to making memories is anything but cook's day off. As he describes the crackling fire pit outside his Lake Martin home, the crunch of leaves beneath his feet, that special brand of crispness in the air, and his rich and layered recipes from scratch, you want to be there. To taste, to smell, to experience. But for Hastings, who serves the rest of the year at his restaurants Hot & Hot Fish Club and OvenBird in Birmingham, holiday cooking at the lake is all about family. He's happy to give a glimpse into the magic but at the table it'll be wife, Idie, along with sons Zeb and Vincent, surrounded by their dogs, who savor the setting as much as their humans do. "I do the whole thing," says Hastings of the main holiday meals – at Thanksgiving and Christmas (and impromptu lake visits tucked in between). "For me, cooking is my profession and my work but it's always my place to be Zen and to relax, a knife in hand with my family around, a nice fire in the fireplace. It's a place of solace and quiet, filling the house with beautiful smells and getting back to the very nonbusiness part of cooking for your family. It's magic and always has been." Here's how it plays out. First, the arrival at the Nickels Cove house the Hastings purchased eight years ago. Second, the lake effect taking hold. "From the second we get there, I decompress instantly," he admits. "It's a great and wonderful gift and I feel lucky to have it." Then comes the meal prep, which begins several days before the sit- down itself. Whether it's a turkey or a standing rib roast meal – both appear on holiday tables – the chopping and lead-up work begin early. For instance, Hastings plunges the turkey into its brining process then shucks the oysters for the oysters-and- champagne gathering before dinner. He bakes the family's traditional pies, lemon buttermilk and pecan. And tees up the ingredients for the traditional sides – usually mashed potatoes ("because the boys insist on them"), a big pot of greens ("cooked slowly with very little bacon, very little onion and no water added"), and the gratin of cauliflower, chestnut cream and Parmesan ("super-rich, yummy and not that complicated"). And, of course, there's always the dressing if turkey's on the table – with not a crumb of cornbread in sight. Left: Photo by Be au Gusta fson – Chris and Idie Hastings in front of their second restaurant, OvenBird. Above: Photo by c a ry norton – James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Hastings, at home in the kitchen. "THE L AKE WAS A LOVE-AT-FIRST-SIGHT KIND OF DEAL FOR US. WE'D ALWAYS BEEN BEACHGOERS, NOT L AKEGOERS, BUT NOW WE LOOK FOR ANY WINDOW OF OUR TIME TO GO TO THE L AKE. RIGHT NOW IT'S SUPER QUIET, SUPER PEACEFUL, AND NOT ABOUT THE WATER." – CHEF CHR IS H A S T IN G S O N SP END IN G T I M E AT L A K E M A R T IN D UR IN G FA L L A ND W IN T ER .

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