Pentas shine brightly through late summer
“Passion is where your energy and effort meet someone else’s needs.” I heard that quote during a TED talk given by Terri Trespicio and wrote it down. Just a few months later, I saw it in action - proudly, in my own hometown.
In July my phone rang and it was a friend calling to tell me that a Hogs for the Cause event was in the works. I had seen those words floating around the worldwide interweb, but I had to admit I didn’t really know much about it. I learned that Hogs for the Cause was, at it’s core, a way to raise funds for families dealing with pediatric brain cancer. I also learned that The Mississippi Bacon Association (it’s a real thing) was a group of chefs that would be putting out a big spread here in Starkville for the first time. It would be a ticketed dinner with profits going to those families. Then she started naming chefs, and of course, I was ready to sign up.
I’m not gonna’ lie here - the meal was enough incentive to buy a ticket. But during the course of the dinner, as we learned more about the path our dollars would take, I was even more excited about being there. We were told, first of all, that the food was provided by the chefs and/or restaurants themselves - so all our money was going to the cause. And the cause wasn’t what I consider typical. Donations to a particular medical condition often go to doctors or hospitals who are treating a disease, or researchers who are looking for a cure - and those are absolutely needed. You should keep giving to those people, too. Hogs for the Cause, however, gives grants to families with kids who have brain cancer. It may help them pay monthly bills while in a long treatment phase, allowing the whole family to stay together, or it may be travel expenses to get to where the best treatment can happen. I really like the sound of that.
So it’s a great cause, and even without the amazing meal it would have been money well spent. But it happened to be an amazing meal. The energy and effort of these chefs not only met the needs of the grant recipient, they also met the needs of the hungry folks who gathered Upstairs at Restaurant Tyler. Let’s take a peek at the menu.
The evening began and ended with local chefs. Hors d’oeuvres platters were making their way around the room when we got there, loaded with bite-sized treats from Chef Barton at Two Brothers Smoked Meats. The landing pad was a beer grain cracker from DeRego’s, and the main event was a piece of smoked beef tenderloin that was tender like chilled butter (and just the right amount of smoky). We got a hit of sweet from a muscadine reduction and hit of heat from horseradish cream. Everybody played nicely together and I was already happy.
Our first sit-down course was Wahoo Crudo with fennel, avocado and lemon, put together by Chef Alex Eaton from The Manship in Jackson. The Hawaiian word for the wahoo fish is “Ono” which means “good to eat.” I also looked up “crudo” and confirmed that it essentially means “raw”. I would describe what we had that night as similar to ceviche (though by definition they aren’t identical) - in other words, the squares of raw wahoo were somewhat “cooked” by the acid in the lemon. Not your everyday dinner at our house for sure, but I’m all about expanding my culinary horizons.
Chef David Crews, representing the Delta Supper Club out of Cleveland, was assigned the wild game portion of the evening. Duck rillettes (similar to confit) on crostini, with pickled cucumber and onion, fig mostarda and arugula. Our own Chef Ty Thames hit us next with a local lamb tamale, deviled egg mousse (all the good stuff from the middle without the half-egg vehicle), pickled turnip stem egg salad (so that’s where it went…) and his own MS Red Hot Sauce for the bold of tongue.
From Estelle Wine Bar and Bistro in Jackson, Chef Matthew Kajdan created a porchetta-esque pork belly, rolled and roasted with a crispy skin, and generously laden with a Vidalia onion jam. On the side was a plate of field peas that had been slow-cooked for many hours, and plentiful with chunks of pork. The Wife is not a pea enthusiast, but these got her ovation.
Tupelo’s Neon Pig and K.O.K. restaurants sent Chefs Mitch McCamey and Seth Copeland with yet another unique dish: Simpson Farm Beef Cheeks. If only God had made cows with four cheeks instead of four stomachs. These were crazy tender, and covered with Cherry Creek Orchard Concord grapes, Native Son tomatoes and field peas, and Cumberland Cheese. Just a big pile of scrumptiousness to close out the savory part of the meal.
At the end of the night, we enjoyed a few bites of sweetness dreamed up by Chef Bery Gordon, the Doyenne of Desserts for the Eat Local Starkville group of restaurants: grilled peach wedges and sumac zabaione drizzled with local honey. I confess I had no clue what a zabaione (or sabayon) was until I recently watched Mark the Chef make one on Youtube -
With the motto, “Grateful for everything, entitled to nothing,” McIngvale has a heart for helping those in his community.
Out of the tragedy of Hurricane Harvey has come countless stories of everyday heroes. One of those heroes is “Mattress Mack,” a Houston business owner who opened his two furniture stores to those affected by the storm. “We sell home theater furniture that you watch TV in, they’re sleeping on that. They’re sleeping on recliners, sleeping on sofas and love seats. We have sleeper sofas, they pulled them out and slept on that,” Jim McIngvale told NPR’s “Morning Edition.” “They’re sleeping on hundreds of mattresses throughout the store. They’re sleeping on the couches — wherever they can find a place that’s
I’m often asked which flowering plants I think are best for our landscapes and gardens. This is not a simple question!
Through the Southern Gardening column and television program, I try to highlight great garden plants. Of course, these flowering plants happen to be my current favorites. That means my list of favorites is in a constant ebb and flow, as many readers know.
Today, I want to tell you about a landscape star that is shining brightly while others have faded pretty badly as we near the end of the meteorological summer. Today’s star is the penta. The reference to stars is very apt, as one common name for this plant is Egyptian Star Cluster.
The name “penta” comes from the Latin word for “five,” as each small flower has five petals. Penta blooms are produced in clusters of flowers from spring until frost in the fall. It’s common for each penta to have up to 20 clusters of flowers at any given time. I find that very impressive.
Besides providing great color for us to enjoy, pentas are a garden magnet for butterflies and hummingbirds because they are rich sources of nectar. These plants have great tolerance of Mississippi’s summer heat and humidity. They also add an almost tropical feel to the porch or patio, especially when mass planted in landscape beds or containers. comfortable, and God bless ‘em.”
A Houstonian by choice, McIngvale was first a Mississippian by birth. “I’m a Starkville fan, Starkvegas. I’m a Hotty Toddy fan too.” McIngvale said.
Born in Starkville, McIngvale and his family moved to Dallas in the late 1950s. After a move to Houston, McIngvale has been a friendly face in the community for over 30 years.
His father, George Critz McIngvale, Sr., devoted family man was, World War II veteran, successful businessman, philanthropist, and devout Catholic. He died in Houston, Texas at the age of 89. Mr. Mack’s legacy can be summed up with the “three Fs”: Faith, Family and the Bishop Lynch Friars.
He was born the youngest of four children to loving parents, Bessie and George McIngvale, and grew up in his beloved hometown of Starkville, Mississippi. There, his outgoing personality A favorite for well over a decade has been the 2001 Mississippi Medallion winner Butterfly penta. This variety has many colors available, all starting with Butterfly: deep rose, white, blush, deep pink, light lavender, lavender and red. With a little TLC, Butterfly pentas will produce flowers all summer long.
Butterfly pentas grow up to 24 inches tall and about 18 inches and zest for life made him a friend to all, many who knew him as “Teaberry” McIngvale given his penchant for performing the Teaberry shuffle for his teammates. He attended Starkville High School where he lettered in football and track, and was voted “Mr. Starkville High School” and “Best Athlete”.
After two years at Mississippi State, he joined the U.S. Army to fight in World War II. He served in the 91st Infantry Division, 316th Engineer Combat Battalion, and between 1943-1945 saw action in the Italian Campaign in Rome, Acno, North Appennines, and Po Valley. Following his military service, he returned to Mississippi State and lettered in football, basketball and track. He was also a member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity - a tradition his son, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale and three grandsons upheld.
After graduating college in 1947, wide and should be planted about 15 inches apart.
But my new favorite pentas are in the Lucky series. These plants have the same color palette of the Butterfly series, but they are even better. Lucky pentas are well branched with a more compact growth habit.
I mentioned earlier that pentas require a little TLC to bloom all summer. After bringing your plants home from the garden he met the love of his life, Angela Buffler. They married October 13, 1948 in Florence, Alabama and moved to Dallas, Texas in the early 1950s. Mr. McIngvale worked for Allied Finance for years before beginning his own insurance company, McIngvale Associates.
Moved by his wife’s faith, George converted to Catholicism and raised their children in the traditions of the Church: attending St. Pius X Catholic Church and parochial school. In the early 1960s, Mr. McIngvale worked with Msrg. Weinzapfel as chairman of the Budget Sunday campaign to build a new church for St. Pius X. Their collective vision was to build a beautiful church where only cotton fields had stood. Monsignor dubbed the team his “twelve apostles.”
Mr. McIngvale then took his fundraising talents to the next level center, be sure to plant them in a location that gets full sun for at least six hours a day.
Good drainage is important, so if planting in a landscape bed, go ahead and work in several inches of good composted organic matter. On a side note, this is good advice whenever and whatever you’re going to plant in the ground.
and I couldn’t taste his. My sources tell me it is made simply of egg yolks, sugar, and sweet wine. Done. Fancy dessert.
It’s not every day you have the opportunity to eat seven courses of amazing food, prepared by chefs you already respect, and know that your money is going to a great cause. But it should definitely happen more often. Encourage your local Mississippi Bacon Association representative to do this again!