turntable: magpie + the teskey brothers
eat: Magpie’s Sweets and Eats
listen: The Teskey Brothers
Magpie's hearty, home-cooked meals are something to crow about
Maggie Faber greets me in her cheery, cozy home, and we step into her kitchen nook. “My friends usually pull up a chair,” she says, getting right to chopping. The corner has welcoming windows and is well-stocked with spices and brightly colored tools. There’s a feeling you get in a good kitchen like Faber’s, and it has nothing to do with white Shaker cabinets or a massive island as Instagram food bloggers might lead you to believe. We chat about the best place to buy cardamom pods (hint: Asian markets,) as she preps for a test-run her meal of the week, a yogurt-based chicken tikki masala.
Faber operates the new founded Magpie’s Sweets and Eats, a micro-eatery, out of a local commissary space. Her menu changes weekly, but the emphasis is fresh, approachable, family-oriented meals. Recent offerings have included butternut squash soup and drunken noodles, as well as sweets such as cranberry-pecan pie and apple cider bread. The meals are delivered around the valley, meaning that all customers need to do is warm and serve. Faber is excited about introducing her community to new types of cuisines, but also has plenty of tried-and-true comfort food favorites to share.
“It all started with pot pie,” Faber says. Like many of us, she found herself in limbo and with extra time on her hands during quarantine. Her first instinct was to make pot-pie for her friends, which built enough word of mouth momentum to lead to full-on Magpie operations. Though Covid-19 helped push things along, Faber has long dreamt of her own food empire. As a Salt Lake Community College culinary school graduate and seasoned baker and chef, she brings experience, knowledge, and pure love for food as the foundation to her business. As Magpie grows, Faber hopes to teach virtual cooking classes and expand her offerings to include tasty takeaways, such as sauces and compound butters.
As Faber hand roasts spices and begins to simmer her masala sauce, I admire her lively and warm Christmas decorations and thumb through her record collection. She has pulled out a handful of holiday favorites, Nat King Cole’s classic The Christmas Song, a couple Harry Connick Jr., and the soulful soundtrack from the film The Big Chill. Faber mentions her recent obsession is The Teskey Brothers, a blues rock band, which I’ve included as the listening suggestion for this post.
The Teskey Brothers have the smooth, retro vocals of Leon Bridges and the clever, polished grit of Shakey Graves. Their bluesy-soul music is an ideal backdrop for winter cooking and eating– it makes you want to sway back and forth in your apron while you sip on a splash of spirit. And, just in time for a year where we all desperately need as much delight as we can get, The Teskey Brothers have released a two song Christmas EP. Dreaming Of A Christmas With You and Highway Home For Christmas are stirring, moody tracks that highlight the loneliness and longing of recent times. Whether you order a meal from Magpie this holiday season or are inspired to make your own, I recommend giving this EP a listen.
With holiday records spinning, Faber and I sample heaping servings of the finished entree– and it’s exactly the type of meal to share with a pal on a cold day. Everything about Faber (and Magpie) is warming, like that snug feeling you get each year as you anticipate spending time with friends and family during December, and this dish is no exception.
To make an order for your own home-cooked meal or treat, follow Magpie on Instagram as Magpie Sweets and Eats. You will be able to keep an eye on her weekly menus and follow along as she shares recipes, tips and tricks–and the occasional good cooking song.