There’s a long list of reasons why you often see Cook Drank Eat’s social media posts going live about 2 a.m. Scotty Scott, the Fort Worth-based chef and author, has a 9-to-5 job, but perhaps not much longer: He has a cookbook dropping this week, a new food truck debuting next month, and pop-up and catering gigs on the regular.
And with a second baby due in April to join a toddler already running around — time is tight.
Scott never predicted this life after graduating from Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston. Working for a spell as a sports agent, a friend convinced him he could do better as an oil and gas landman. And while that work’s been paying the bills for a good while, his passion for cooking kept growing stronger after plenty of food discoveries in college.
“During my college years in Houston, I fell in love with Gulf seafood. I mean, a great crawfish boil is the best,” he recalls as we feast on enchiladas and stuffed shrimp at a Mexican café in Fort Worth. He explains that after-work hours filled up quickly by cooking for others. First for friends, then for clients of his private-chef business.
Even over a low-key lunch chat, Scott’s energy feels electric. It’s easy to see how that translates into compelling videos with food so beautiful you can almost taste it through the screen. Rather quiet in conversation, he nevertheless creates Instagram posts as funny as they are compelling. The self-taught cook demonstrates how easy it is for his 28,000-and-counting followers to apply his thoughtful, often elegant spins on classic soul food and Southern dishes.
He treasures his mom’s handwritten gumbo recipe and her favorite 1950s cookbook, so well-worn, its binding is taped in place. The more he studied his family food legacy, the more he wanted to dig. “With my law school background, I love research. The whole creative process feels natural to me,” he says.
That he’s built quick, solid success doesn’t surprise his esteemed mentor. Scott met Alex Snodgrass, the best-selling Dallas cookbook author and social media dynamo behind The Defined Dish, a few years ago. He credits her as an inspiration. In return, she praises his imaginative vibe, plus his ease in balancing cooking smarts with entertainment.
“Scotty has such an innovative, unique style. I love the way he produces video content, allowing viewers inside his kitchen and showing his quirky, fun personality,” Snodgrass says. “He always inspires me and puts a smile on my face — and his recipes are mouth-watering. He just has something really special.”
His Fix Me a Plate: Traditional and New School Soul Food Recipes from Scotty Scott of Cook Drank Eat (Page Street, $21.99), drops March 15, 2022. Inside, his mom’s Gullah red rice recipe — recently featured on the Saveur magazine website — is one illustrating her Georgia-Carolina heritage. And if there’s anything more appealing than Scott’s own Fried Oyster Collard Green Salad, it’s the Duck Fat Shrimp Etouffee, Or maybe it’s his righteously sinful Mac and Cheese, below. More indulgences include his Sweet Potato Bread with Cinnamon Honey Butter.
The book came together inside of a year, an impressive feat with all the recipe development, testing, and photography involved before editing and design. He shot all the food images, and enlisted local photographer and friend Rambo Elliot for lifestyle photography. The compilation delivers a big wow factor, which will soon show up in dishes served from his new food truck.
Scott plans to unveil the still-unnamed mobile kitchen in April at a new Near Southside wine bar called The Holly. Why add to the workload, with a new baby landing about the same time? Because — as he’s shown time and again — he likes to keep all the burners going on the stove at once.
Follow Scotty Scott at cookdrankeat.com and on Instagram at instagram.com/cookdrankeat.
Mac and Cheese
This mac and cheese can be done one of two ways: If going for the traditional firmer version, cook for 25 to 30 minutes. As it cools, it will firm up, so don’t cook it too long or it will be dry. If you prefer a cheese sauce mac and cheese, take it out around 20 to 22 minutes. Don’t post that version on the Gram though, as baked mac and cheese purists will shame you for it being too runny. With fried chicken and collard greens, this really hits all the notes for a soul food plate, but it really goes well with just about anything, like steak, seafood, or pork. To drink, I like light beverages — a nice lager or cider pairs well.
3 1⁄2 cups large elbow macaroni, cooked al dente
2 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 quart milk, plus some extra
2 eggs
2 (10.5-oz) cans cheddar cheese soup
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
4 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
Dash of paprika
Heat oven to 375 F.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Turn off the heat and add the garlic. Swirl it around in the pan for 15 seconds, or just long enough to wake it up and have someone say “Mmmm, smells good in here.” Add the garlic and butter to a large bowl with the milk, eggs, cheddar cheese soup, pepper and creole seasoning. Mix with a hand mixer or whisk until fully incorporated, about 2 minutes.
Add some of the pasta to a 2-quart baking dish, spreading to even it out until the pasta comes about halfway up the side of the dish. (There’ll probably be pasta left over. No one, including me, really knows how much pasta to actually cook.) Add the cheese mixture and 2 cups of the shredded cheese and mix together with a spoon. The mixture should be fairly liquidy. If it looks too thick, add a bit more milk and mix again. Smooth the mixture over with a spoon, making sure all of the noods are covered in the cheese sauce. Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese on top, and ever so gently spread with a spoon top make sure it’s distributed evenly. Give this awesome dish of cheese and noods a light dusting of paprika.
Place the mac and cheese in the oven on the middle rack for approximately 22 to 25 minutes. Take a quick peek around 20 minutes as you don’t want to overcook it. You want your M&C silky and cheesy, not dry. The mac and cheese is done when the top just begins to brown. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes to help it set. Proceed to eat your amazing mac and cheese till you get the cheese sweats and have to unbutton your pants and lie on your side.
Makes 8 servings.
SOURCE: Fix Me a Plate: Traditional and New School Soul Food Recipes from Scotty Scott of Cook Drank Eat (Page Street, $21.99), by Scotty Scott
Sweet Potato Bread
I consider sweet potato bread banana bread’s Southern cousin, so I usually serve it for breakfast or brunch. Serve with Cinnamon Honey Butter, below.
2 sweet potatoes
1 cup granulated sugar
1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Heat oven to 400 F.
Slice the sweet potatoes in half long ways and place them skin side down on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Using a spatula, turn them over and bake for 15 minutes. The tops should be browned, and they should easily be pierced with a fork. Remove the potatoes from the oven and let cool. Slice or peel off the thin flat side of the browned sweet potato and discard. Scoop out the insides and set aside to let cool.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325 F and butter a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.
In a bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix till combined. Set aside.
In a small bowl, mash the sweet potatoes with a fork and mix in the milk, cinnamon and nutmeg. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the sweet potatoes to the creamed butter mixture and stir until combined. Add the dry ingredients, mixing until the flour is incorporated. Pour the batter into a prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and invert it onto a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. Serve with my Cinnamon Honey Butter.
Cinnamon Honey Butter: In a small mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to mix 1⁄2 cup salted butter, room temperature, till light and fluffy. Add 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon and 3 tablespoons honey, mixing until incorporated. This can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to a week.
Makes 1 loaf.
SOURCE: Fix Me a Plate: Traditional and New School Soul Food Recipes from Scotty Scott of Cook Drank Eat (Page Street, $21.99), by Scotty Scott