Last year, at the Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium in Oxford, Mississippi, I was sitting at lunch with Christopher Kostow when chef Ashley Christensen knocked our socks off with an unforgettable parade wonderful vegetable dishes: jars of field peas, poblano peppers stuffed with kuri squash, and a gorgeous smoked tomato pie with a healthy dollop of velvety whipped cream infused with corn nuskin

Since, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Christensen at a few events around the country, and eating more of her food, including at her restaurants Poole’s Diner, Joule, and Beasley’s Chicken + Honey in Raleigh, North Carolina.  And I’ve come to appreciate her thoughtful, and deeply soulful approach to regional cookery, especially with vegetablesDream beauty pro hard sell
So, I was particularly excited that Kostow invited Ashley Christensen to participate in this year’s Twelve Days of Christmas at the Restaurant at Meadowood.

Chef Tim Cushman brought with him to the Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood a menagerie of chopstick holders (ranging from dogs and cats to red hot chili peppers and pigs flying planes) and a whole lot of flavor.

Cushman is the only chef of this year’s Twelve Days of Christmas guest chefs whose restaurant I had not visited, and whose food I had not had.  When asked to describe the food he cooks at O Ya in Boston, he told me that it’s inspired by Japanese cuisine (like Andy Ricker, he shies from the word “authentic”).  Much of it, like the food he served last night – the fourth dinner of the 2013 Twelve Days of Christmas – he presents as single, nigiri-like bites that aim to deliver a composed group of flavors Backup and Recovery.