Chef's Spotlight: Madeline Hissong
photos by: R.J. Hartbeck
Today on our blog we are excited to introduce you to chef Madeline Hissong and her new business Damn Fine Hand Pies debuting at the Tower Grove Farmers Market.
We’ll also pass along her recipe for a cilantro sauce sure to plus up your next batch of hand pies or your favorite empanadas!
Meet Madeline Hissong
Chef / Owner | Damn Fine Hand Pies.
When we were first introduced to chef Madeline and her delicious hand pies she recalled a period of her life where she was living a nomadic lifestyle throughout the Western United States while working at resorts in Yellowstone National Park. She was always on the go and her hand pies were the perfect savory or sweet treat you could always take with you on the road. Damn Fine Hand Pies - her new business debuting at the Tower Grove Farmers Market, is an ode to that period in her life of nomadic living. This experience would eventually lead her to St. Louis and into some of the best restaurant kitchens in the city. Most recently, Madeline could be found at Knead Bakehouse. Her impressive list of stops also includes time with the Niche Food Group family at Pastaria, Sardella, and Brasserie, the delicious southern style restaurant Juniper, and at the acclaimed Vie in Chicago. These stints helped Madeline make a name for herself. She was recently featured in Sauce Magazine on their “2021 Ones to Watch” list in early February.
With her new venture Madeline will tell you that she’s traded the pro-kitchen for the home-kitchen, but that hasn’t held back her passion for culinary innovation! On our most recent visit chef Madeline allowed us to try an amazing caramel popcorn recipe she’s perfecting and a special batch of carbonated fruit sure to cure even the hottest summer woes.
Side note, we are now addicted to carbonated fruit -thanks chef!
Like so many individuals working in the restaurant and hospitality industry chef Madeline was directly effected by the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her experience overcoming these challenges and the uncertainty of employment during COVID-19 lockdowns helped ignite her passion for entrepreneurship and lead to the formation of Damn Fine Hand Pies and her booth at the Farmers Market - where she sells each week!
Follow more of Madeline’s adventure @damnfinehandpies.
Damn Fine Cilantro Sauce
By Madeline Hissong
Ingredients:
3 full bunches of cilantro
1 - 3 jalapeños
chopped with seeds in tact. Start with 1 add additional for desired spiciness.
1 whole garlic clove
Juice & zest of 1 lime
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt to taste.
Directions:
Put all ingredients except olive oil in food processor.
Pulse food processor on high until mostly broken down.
Run food processor while drizzling in oil.
Taste for seasoning.
Small Circle Recipes is dedicated to highlighting chefs and their favorite recipes. Our series based cookbooks invite you get in the kitchen and start cooking like the best chefs in your city.