Passionate chef embraces Southern cooking

His mom’s cooking did more than just form his latent cooking skills: it left Yealy with some lifelong food memories: “I still crave her country-style spareribs, which she braised all day with tomato sauce, onion, pepper, vinegar, brown sugar. She canned everything … we had a large home garden.”

Even his dad had kitchen skills, yearning to cook as a career. “My dad wanted to be a chef,” he said, “but his life didn’t allow it. So my dad wanted me to be the chef. … I could have become a locksmith, but he made it clear: no.”

So neither parent took up the professional mantle. But Yealy did, enrolling at the Culinary Institute of America when he was only 17. His own daughter is currently enrolled at the Institute, clearly proving that she has inherited her grandmother’s and father’s culinary genes.

After graduation, Yealy returned to Pennsylvania, to Hanover near his own hometown. “I worked at the Bay City restaurant, starting there at the age of 21,” he said. “I designed the whole kitchen, and cooked there, a seafood restaurant, for 10 years.” But the time came when this restless chef wanted to create more, tinker with other flavors.

That’s when a friend recommended that Yealy join him in the Washington metro area, working as a sous chef at Reston’s Paolo’s restaurant. “I took over when he went to the New England Culinary School,” said Yealy, a job that has led him to his present double life: corporate and executive chef in one.

At Georgia Brown’s on a regular basis, Yealy admits to playing around with the restaurant’s classic fried chicken recipe: “I changed it from a classic buttermilk-and-herb marinade similar to my mothers to a ‘sweet tea’ marinade that derived from the leftover Southern ‘table wine,’ ” he said.

Whatever chicken dish he and his staff create, however, it’s hard to forget Yealy’s opening words, “I am loyal to Crystal Hot Sauce,” his condiment of choice for his mom’s crispy fried chicken.

Q&A

What’s your comfort food?

Everything … turkey chili, my mom’s pot roast with chuck, red wine, beef stock, aromatics, and vegetables.

What do you do in your leisure time?

I am at home with my family … my son and I play a rock band game. My daughter and I cook together.

Where do you eat out?

It’s so hard. My new favorite is Masa 14. What I like is the variety, the small plates mean so many choices. My daughter and I go to Central.

What is your signature dish?

Gnocchi bolognese. I make it from scratch.

What’s in your fridge?

You’ll always find lager, chardonnay, Brie, Duke’s mayonnaise, Dijon mustard. Then I go to market.

Recipe

Lemon Meringue Pie

Makes two 9-inch pies

Crust

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, diced

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons ice water, or as needed

1 teaspoon salt

Cut flour into butter with pastry blender or fork. Add salt and 3 tablespoons water, mixing well. Knead the dough on a work surface until it comes together. Add more water as needed. Cut the dough into 2 portions, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the dough, place each piece into a 9-inch pie plate, and bake until golden. Cool on wire racks.

Filling

3 ? sticks butter, diced

1 ? cups granulated sugar

1 ? cups fresh lemon juice

2 tsps lemon zest from 2 lemons

18 egg yolks

Bring the butter, sugar, lemon juice and zests to a boil. Temper the yolks, and return to the heat.

Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly with a wire whisk. When it comes to a full boil, pour into the cooled shells. Chill completely.

Meringue

1 cup egg whites, room temperature

1 ? cups granulated sugar

Pinch cream of tartar

Heat the ingredients in a double boiler over simmering water. When warmed through, whip until stiff peaks form. Divide the meringue topping equally, and spread over top of each pie. To brown it, use a kitchen blowtorch.