How The Tipsy Bee came to be...

     People often ask how I came up with the name 'The Tipsy Bee.'  They will comment that it is such a cute name or that they love the bee in the logo.  To me, The Tipsy Bee name perfectly epitomizes my business.  It is super cute, super laid back, and totally Southern.

     So how did the name come about?  Did someone help me come up with the name?  My mom and aunt and I took a day trip to the beach a few years ago.  We wanted to go to Morehead City and eat lunch and check out the shops.  I had been thinking about starting a little shop myself.  My goal was to have a shop that produced food products common around a Southern kitchen from scratch without preservatives.

     I knew that one of the most important parts of starting my business was coming up with a catchy name.  As we spent the day together, we talked about products that I would sell.  Jams and jellies are found in every Southern kitchen.  My aunt had discovered some really unusual recipes... bumbleberry jam and daiquiri jam.  When you get a group of women together, they tend to laugh and joke.  Talk of the bumbleberry jam led to a discussion of honey bees, a new interest of mine at that time. 
  
     My mom, a teetotaler, said that she could just see a honeybee flying over the daiquiri jam and becoming drunk since the daiquiri jam contains the tiniest bit of rum.  She said, "hey, why don't you call your business The Drunken Bee."  I said, "Mama, we live in the Bible Belt.  There is no way that I can call my business a name that has the word 'drunken' in it even if it is meant in a joking manner.  How about we call it 'The Tipsy Bee?'"  The name stuck and encompassed two of the biggest aspects of my business... honey and wine.

     Many people don't realize what my business is truly about.  We may put a slightly different twist on some traditional items, but everything that we sell represents the things that would be found around a traditional Southern home.  We sell cupcakes and cakes.  There is nothing more Southern than a cake made from scratch using eggs from our own chickens.  The honey that we sell is from our honey bees just as most Southerners back in the day kept their own honey bees.  And many Southern kitchens years ago made and kept a little homemade wine.  Jams and jellies are made from fresh, in-season fruits.

     And that my friends is how The Tipsy Bee came to be!  Best, Christian XOXO

Chicken Pot Pie and the Food Rules that I Live By!

The food rules that I live by... life is short, so enjoy good food daily.  Food is always one million times better when it is made from scratch.   Butter is meant to be added to food in healthy doses.  Soul or comfort food soothes the soul and should not be reserved for rainy days. 

One of my favorite soul food dishes is chicken pot pie.  And since one of my food premises is that soul food should be enjoyed and eaten in both good and not-so-good times, I decided to kick off my birthday weekend (a good time) with a made-from-scratch, melt-in-your-mouth, butter-laden chicken pot pie. 

It is amazing how cream, butter, milk, flour, vegetables, a few spices, and of course chicken come together to make this scrumptious creation.  It really is pretty simple... cook your chicken, reserve the broth, saute your vegetables, add sea salt and black pepper, make the sauce, mix vegetable and chicken and sauce together, add the crust, and voila, a Southern concoction, perfect for everything from Sunday dinner to much-needed comfort food for the day you find out that your ex-boyfriend (aka the jerk) just got engaged to your former best friend (that hussy), is born.

In review...

1.  Mix dough for crust... any pie crust will do.

2.  Cook Boneless Chicken Breasts

3.  Saute vegetables in 2 tablespoons of butter and salt to taste

4.  Make sauce by combining 1 stick of butter, 1/2 cup of flour, 1 cup milk, 2 cups of cream, 1 cup of chicken broth, and salt and pepper to taste.  Sage and nutmeg may be added to suit taste.  Then add vegetable mixture and chicken to the sauce.

5.  Add crust to top of dish and bake at 325 degrees F for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

6.  Serve and enjoy!

XOXO The Tipsy Bee