For Laurie Crowell, food is the language of love. She spreads that language through her Golden Fig Fine Foods store on Grand Avenue in St. Paul as well as through regular guest appearances on TV’s “Twin Cities Live.” The Woodbury resident has become a local celebrity since appearing on the first episode of the TV program over 18 years ago.
Opening her charming specialty foods shop was a natural progression for Crowell, a lifelong aficionado of local and gourmet provisions. Growing up she learned by watching her mother and grandmother preserve goods, ferment homemade sauerkraut, and bake holiday cookies. Cooking and baking were both a labor of love, and a powerful source of life lessons.
One particular memory that stands out in Crowell’s mind was shucking and freezing sweet corn to save for the winter, an annoying task that fostered her strong work ethic. “Grandpa McCann showed up with four gunny sacks full of sweet corn. We had to shuck it, cut it off the cob, can it and freeze it, and we always begrudged it.” Crowell said. “But in January when we were eating that sweet corn, it was so delicious and worthwhile.”
Before life as an entrepreneur, Crowell began with a much less glamorous job – working at a Pick ’n Save grocery store in her hometown of Eau Claire, Wis. That changed when she visited a friend who was working as a nanny in the Hamptons one summer.
“As one who always worked, after a couple of weeks I was pretty bored. I was walking around East Hampton and there was a little fine food shop and grocery, and it said ‘help wanted for the summer’ and I thought ‘I can do that!’” said Crowell, regarding her time working at Ina Garten’s storefront, Barefoot Contessa. “I applied, they hired me, and the rest was history!”
That experience further ignited her passion for handcrafted food, and pushed her onto the culinary path she’s now been on for decades.
When asked what inspires her when it comes to putting together a recipe, her answer is to keep it simple and accessible. “Often it’s something that anyone could make, like any cooking level. You don’t have to have fancy ingredients! There’s not much that’s as delicious as a fresh roasted chicken and veggies for dinner, right?”
That’s not to say that she doesn’t stay abreast of the latest trends. Last year she made the popular ‘spatchcocked turkey’ for Thanksgiving, but this year she’ll go with a butter basted bird, which is currently in vogue.
“You soak a cheesecloth in melted butter and lay it over the top of the turkey so it protects it from browning too much, but then when you take it off, it’s got this beautiful, browned, lovely skin,” Laurie gushed. “So that’s what I’m doing, the butter basted turkey is my M.O. this year. I mean, wouldn’t everything be yummy with a butter blanket?”
Crowell could give endless cooking advice, but her ultimate holiday hack is to take the time to enjoy yourself.
“If you spend all your time worrying about what’s cooking in the kitchen, you won’t get to spend any time with your family, and that’s kind of the whole point.” she said. “Don’t overdo it, just enjoy it!”
