Just In Thyme

By Amy Leigh Tyson

While most adults in their mid-40s are hoping to

cruise through the rest of their career life with no major

changes, Lara Lyn Carter has resolutely initiated some new

ventures that were decades in the making.

An Albany native, Lara Lyn made a name for herself as

a local television persona on WALB-TV’s Savor the Good

Life, a regional cooking show that aired for

several recent years. But within this past year alone, she

co-authored a cookbook, Southern Thymes Shared;

launched a line of marinades and sauces under the brand

label Wicker & Whisk; and collaborated with Georgia Pub-

lic Television to film four pilot cooking shows called

Thyme for Sharing. On top of all this, she is married and

has three sons, including a two year old.

Rather than feeling daunted at this convergence of go-

ings-on, Lara Lyn is enthusiastic about having a distinctive

platform to share the cuisine, history, and locales of the Old

South with a wider audience than ever before.

“I have been captivated by the art of cooking since

before I was able to peer over the countertop and watch

my mother or my grandmother, both of whom barely had

to refer to a cookbook anymore.

“Their skill level was such that they could put a meal

or special dish together with what I refer to as ‘the dump

method,’ which is to say, they knew almost instinctively

how much of an ingredient to add just by how it meshed

with the other ingredients and the way the mixture ap-

peared in aggregate.”

When her mother was unexpectedly needed to work

full-time at a family business during a transitional period,

the cooking baton was passed to Lara Lyn.

“It was the summer that I was sixteen, and my

mother asked me to prepare nightly dinners for the family

as well as grocery shop for the ingredients. I used all of

my mother’s and grandmother’s recipes as a guide and

then added my own twist such as herbs.”

Her mother was experiencing some cholesterol prob-

lems around that time, so Lara Lyn focused on methods of

healthier cooking. Her efforts were aided with the timing

of grocery stores becoming less utilitarian and offering

more variety of foods than ever. “There were a few of my

concoctions that I had to put in the trash, but I just kept

on with a recipe until I figured out what worked.”

Also a benefit was her father’s vegetable garden and

fig and mayhaw trees. “Daddy grew corn, tomatoes, peas,

squash, bell peppers, okra, eggplant—you name it. We al-

ways put up our own jelly, preserves and pepper sauce,

Lara Lyn has loved the art of cooking since childhood, watching hermother and grandmother cook.

and by the age of eight or nine, I knew things such as how

to tell just the right time to pick squash.

“Without realizing it, our family was using the farm-to-table

method well before the term was coined or the practice be-

came vogue.”

By the time school was back in session that fall, her

mother’s workload had lessened. Yet Lara Lyn continued her

kitchen endeavors, and they enjoyed comparing notes with

one another.

Many years and many meals later, after having a family

of her own and working in real estate, Lara Lyn took a

sales position with WALB that included script writing for

commercials. Soon she was concurrently hosting a cooking

show, Savor the Good Life, honing her broadcasting acumen

and introducing her prior home test kitchen recipes to a

following of viewers.

The compulsion to pen her own cookbook was an

obvious next step, yet she wanted it to be anything but

run-of-the-mill, particularly with so many others already

in the marketplace.

“I focused on my tweaked versions of the Southern

dishes we all lean towards, such as Fried Herbed Chicken

(featuring rosemary & thyme) and added a few things that

sept/oct 2015 SOUTHWEST GEORGIA LIVING 29

Highlighting the recipe variations and diversity of foods within theSouthern region is one of Lara Lyn’s goals.

In January, Lara Lyn began filming a GPTV pilot, Thyme for Sharing, and the cooking segments were taped in her home kitchen.

30 SOUTHWEST GEORGIA LIVING sept/oct 2015 sept/oct 2015 SOUTHWEST GEORGIA LIVING 31

were not typically seen in the Old South repertoire: Grilled

Summer Vegetable Sandwich, South Georgia Pecan Pesto Bread

and Blue Cheese and Fig Cheesecake,” says Lara Lyn.

One of her primary goals for the cookbook was to clarify

the pervading and vexing myth that Southern foods cannot be

paired with wine.

“When you think about it, the fare served in California and

parts of Europe is not terribly formal, yet it is always served

with wine.

“And Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia home, had one

of the most extensive wine cellars in the world during its hey-

day,” she says, adding that Jefferson was described as ‘America’s

first distinguished viticulturist and the greatest patron of wine

and wine growing that the country has yet had.’ He served his

best wines with poultry and other usual Southern fare.

“We aren’t sure why or when the proclivity tapered off. Prohi-

bition? The Great Depression? But my cookbook intentionally pres-

ents pairings that are marvelous together, such as a buttery

chardonnay with shrimp and grits or champagne with pork

barbecue. Hopefully, people will recognize the complementary

flavors and how wines act as a palette cleanser.

“That is not to say that sweet tea and lemonade are going

out of style. I certainly consume my share of both.”

Lara Lyn also intentionally composed her cookbook, South-Themed segments for her show were shot on location atpopular sites such as Jekyll Island.

On location at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia home, where he had one of the most extensive wine cellars in the world, says Lara Lyn.

32 SOUTHWEST GEORGIA LIVING sept/oct 2015 sept/oct 2015 SOUTHWEST GEORGIA LIVING 33

As a young cook, Lara Lyn admits having to toss out a few of herearly attempts to prepare food.

Lara Lyn also intentionally composed her cookbook,

Southern Thymes Shared, menu-style, giving users an en-

tire meal planned out for them. The cookbook is laid out

by seasons with appropriate ingredients. Recipes do not

call for fresh strawberries in December or fresh

cranberries in April.

There is a smattering of lighter, healthier recipes de-

riving their flavors from herbs, citrus zest, balsamic vine-

gar and/or olive oil.

Her final aim of Southern Thymes Shared is to

highlight the recipe variations and diversity of foods

within the Southern region. For example, a dish of shrimp

and grits in Louisiana is quite different than one served on

the coast of South Carolina.

In January, Lara Lyn began filming a GPTV pilot,

Thyme for Sharing. The cooking segments were taped in

her home kitchen in Albany, and the themed segments

were shot on location at popular sites such as Jekyll Is-

land, Nashville, Monticello, and Grey Moss Plantation right

here in Southwest Georgia.

As with the cookbook, the show aims to diffuse the

stereotypical aspects of Southern cooking, and the travel

component will hopefully emphasize the outstanding

Bourbon Chocolate Bread Pudding 6 regular size croissants1 1/2 cups heavy cream1 tbsp butter6 oz chocolate chips4 eggs beaten1/4 cup cocoa3/4 cup sugar1/4 tsp salt1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp of 13th Colony Southern Bour-bon - 95 proof1/2 cup chopped pecansWhipped cream for topping (optional)

Tear croissants into bite size pieces and place in alarge bowl. Heat cream and butter over low heat.Once the butter has melted into the cream, stir inchocolate chips. Continue to stir until they aremelted. Remove the pan from the heat, and allowthe chocolate mixture to cool slightly. Whisk eggsin a medium bowl. Stir cocoa, sugar, salt, and bourbon into the eggs. Add chocolate mixture toegg mixture slowly as not to scramble the eggs.Pour over croissants and stir in pecans. Be sure to mix all ingredients well. Pour the pudding into six large ramekins greased well with butter.Cover the ramekins and place in the refrigeratorfor 8 hours. Uncover the ramekins and bake thepuddings at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. If desired, serve with fresh whipped cream.

variety and perhaps spark in viewers

an idea for their next trip.

The pilot aired in June, dovetailing

nicely with the June launch of three

marinades and sauces under her

private label, Wicker & Whisk. The

recipes for the sauces and dressings

take their cue from items that Lara Lyn

has made for years and given

out in simple Mason jars to family

and friends as gifts. A fourth item, Gin-

ger Lime Sauce, will soon join

the line-up and was created a little

over a year ago.

Now that these products and

programs are in the marketplace, Lara

Lyn will continue to be an ambassador

for Southern cuisine. As such, she was

a guest speaker and chef at the Tel-

luride Wine Festival in early

summer, and she was invited back

to Monticello to participate in the Her-

itage Harvest Festival this month,

alongside gardeners, farmers, chefs

and seed savers from across the United

States.

For more information, visit

laralyncarter.com.

34 SOUTHWEST GEORGIA LIVING sept/oct 2015

UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP

Michelle Avera, Owner

2206 Dawson RoadAlbany, Georgia229•435•1190

UnbeatableLooks

For Fall