CityView Magazine

36 | March/April 2018 Shearin-Smith started in the food business about 22 years ago, selling box lunches made at her house. She then ran a deli called What's For Lunch? and, in 2006, entered the world of fine dining by buying Hilltop House. e restaurant's dishes change with the availability of fresh foods and can range from salmon en croute to Shearin-Smith's grandmother's corn pudding. "I've taken what I've learned and elevated it to new heights," she said. Cooking tip: One of Shearin-Smith's go-to ingredients is roux, an equal-parts mixture of flour and fat that's a classic French and southern- cooking thickening agent in soups and sauces. But roux is a no-go for people with gluten sensitivity or celiac disease. For them, Shearin- Smith suggests thickening soups and sauces with a cornstarch slurry, made of equal parts of cornstarch and cold water and whisked together until smooth. "It's gluten-free and it doesn't change the taste at all," Shearin-Smith said. Most popular dish? It depends on the menu. Salmon en croute is always popular when it's available, as is Chilean sea bass, Shearin-Smith said. Crab cakes are also popular. Will you share a recipe? Shearin-Smith said she would but she doesn't use exact measurements in her dishes, instead adjusting proportions by taste. Marci Mang Owner of Marci›s Cakes and Bakes, 5463 Trade St., Hope Mills What to expect at Marci's Cakes and Bakes: Just as the name implies, Marci's Cakes and Bakes is a paradise for anyone harboring a sweet tooth. e bakery has been operating out of downtown Hope Mills since 2015, and was opened by Mang, with the help of partners Luis and Edna Irizarry. A little about her history in the kitchen: "I am Italian, so I feel like I came out of the womb cooking, or at least eating," Mang said. She learned how to bake two decades ago so she could make cakes for her children's birthdays. en she wanted to do more. "I found myself going to bakeries and asking all these questions and they would look at me like I am crazy," she said. But she kept going – and kept baking. "e better that I got at it," she said, "all the attention would be 'Who made that cake? Oh my God!'" ree years ago, she decided to take her business out of her home and into a bakery on Trade Street in Hope Mills. Last October, she moved the bakery across the street into a space that's three times bigger than its old home. Ironically, Mang said with a laugh, her now-grown kids are now sick of cake. ey want – and get – cookies. Cooking tip: "I don't have formal chef training. I am a mom busting her butt," Mang said. "But I would say, don't be afraid to try anything, even if the recipe sounds challenging. Give it a shot. YouTube is a great resource for cooking and cake decorating. Especially with cake. I wanted to know how to blow sugar and so I watched a video." Most popular dish? ere are many, including pecan pie bars, cake pops, gluten-free mocha rolls and cookies. Marci Mang, owner of Marci's Cakes and Bakes, learned how to bake two decades ago so she could make cakes for her children's birthdays. Then she wanted to do more. Find her chocolate chip cookie recipe, previous page.

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