As a rare native Nashvillian I remember when Nashville’s claim to fame was all about country music, not cuisine. Although our legendary country music artists and songwriters certainly put us on the map, the new Nashville is a hot destination for foodies and up and coming chefs, with new restaurants popping up weekly.

Did you know that Nashville was selected for the second of the Next Door Chef events, filmed for a Food Network commercial? (The first was filmed in Chicago and airs November 10!) I was honored to be invited to share in part of the filming for the Nashville event earlier this week which transformed a local Nashville home into a lovely pop-up restaurant featuring a local well-known chef.

I attended the event along with several food and lifestyle bloggers for this uniquely Nashville food event! We enjoyed an amazing meal outdoors thanks to the warm evenings we are having here in Nashville. Our local celebrity chef for the evening helped Travis, a local Nashvillian and admitted non-cook prepare the evening’s fare and showed him how simple it is to incorporate salt into each course.

To get the evening off on a fun kick, we sampled a lovely libation which was a twist on good old fashioned Southern sweet tea. You know when you’re at a backyard party and you see a jug like this that it’s gonna be something good!

At the first Next Door Chef event in Chicago, the content focused on holiday cooking and I encourage you to view their tips and recipes at
mortonsalt.com/nextdoorchef to inspire you this holiday season. During the event, I learned more about the benefits of using Morton Kosher and Sea Salt, versus the standard table salt when cooking. Turns out a lot of us are using table salt for almost all cooking purposes, myself included, which is a huge miss in the kitchen. There’s an entire world of salt out there and the different varieties each have their own unique twist on making a dish with wow factor. I’m not the greatest cook in the world, but sometimes the smallest details make a huge difference in a meal that is meh versus a meal that is memorable.

I will be sharing more information about the salt and cuisine in a few months, but I wanted to take a moment to share some key tips for salt as you prepare your holiday meals.

Visit MortonSalt.com/NextDoorChef to download a hosting kit complete with recipes and how-to steps to add that extra something to your meal.
And if you do host your own “Next Door Chef” party or have a recipe idea for using Morton Kosher or sea salt, post your photos using #NextDoorChef.

I encourage you to go there to see what they did in Chicago and learn more about how you can improve your cooking technique for the holidays.

Disclosure: I was compensated for my attendance and this sponsored blog post.