James Cheatham . Buttermilk Pie

Today's VO Chef, James Cheatham, brings us a pie recipe that feels like a hug for the soul, with a voice that carries us across galaxies, battlefields, and back home again. He says this pie is not flashy. It doesn't need layers of ganache or a dramatic drizzle. It's simple, golden, and "quietly spectacular", like the kind of Southern comfort that sneaks up on you and suddenly becomes tradition. In addition to his baking prowess, James served in 4 tours of duty, for both the US Navy and US Army, that took him to over 17 different countries while developing a deep respect and fascination for the various cultures, ethnicities, accents, and personalities of the people he encountered.  Having grown up in the theater, playing a diverse range of characters, he eventually transitioned into audiobooks which quickly became a natural home for his repertoire of characters that he's since parlayed into a multi-award-winning audiobook narrator. James is the owner and CEO of Wilderness Fire Productions, LLC which he formed in 2018, and is the host and creator of Idiosyncratic Fables; a podcast that offers his guests a safe space to share their unique and unusual stories.  As an avid player of role playing games for over 20 years, James recently added author to his repertoire and is in the process of completing an original dark fantasy loosely based on Dungeons and Dragons. So let's meet this multi-faceted man by welcoming James Cheatham into the Voice Kitchen Buttermilk Pie Recipe:

Ingredients

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust (store-bought or homemade)

• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 3 large eggs

• 1 cup buttermilk

• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional, for brightness)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional, for warmth)

• Pinch of salt