After nearly nine months of laborious preparation and many hours pacing the kitchen floor, Sara Gibbs, of Elk Creek, has finally given birth to her very first–cookbook. “It was pretty amazing. I saw the layout and it actually became a book to me” said Gibbs of her culinary collection titled “Southern Thighways, Thigh Recipes with a Southern Accent.”

“It’s been an interesting journey.”

Her journey started 12 years ago when Gibbs and her husband, Tom, decided to move to Kentucky so she could follow a dream. Already with a BA in her back pocket, it wasn’t just more degrees Gibbs was after. At the age of 37, Gibbs was ready to give up her career in the West Virginian Library System to become a chef.

“I probably wouldn’t have done it with out the support of my husband. I know I wouldn’t have done it,” said Gibbs.

While her husband settled into his teaching position at Jefferson Community College, Gibbs enrolled at Sullivan University and took a minimum wage job at a small café in Middletown to help pay the bills. In the meantime the couple decided to settle down in Border Springs, a farm along the northern edge of Spencer County.

Since graduating, Gibbs culinary career has progressed along gradually. First became chef manager at the Cottage Café, then sous chef at Brown Forman’s Bourbon Street Café. But it was until she took a position at Lynn’s Paradise Café in Louisville that things really started cooking said Gibbs.

In the past four and a half years at Lynn’s, Gibb’s recipes have been featured on the Food Network, the Oprah show and in Southern Living magazine twice. She said it was during her last go-around with the magazine that convince her it was time to put her recipes in print. But what kind of cookbook should she create?

As culinary development chef at Lynn’s, Gibb’s said she spend her time developing, testing and then teaching recipes to the staff.

“I’m not really a manager of people. I’m more of a manager of food.”

Gibbs said with people being more health conscious these days, she’s always looking for ways to jazz up chicken.

“When you work in a restaurant, you see mounds and mounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.”

Gibbs said after cooking those chicken breast, they are often dry and she’s doing everything she can to add some flavor to them.

“I was just done.”

Until she remembered that she’s never really liked that part of the chicken anyway. It was the thighs that were always fought over during her childhood dinners.

“I believe there’s a lot of closet thigh lovers out there,” said Gibbs, “you can cook a thigh for a long time and it’s going to still have a lot of flavor and now you can even get boneless thighs.”

After researching various types of cookbooks, the Gibbs soon discovered that not one cookbook was devoted to this delectable portion of the chicken and then the light bulb in the oven came on.

Since then Gibbs has been working on exciting new combinations with chicken thighs, like applewood-smoked bacon, feta cheese and even Cheerwine®. All with a southern twist. Her cookbook contains recipe titles like General Lee chicken, Low Country chicken soup and Scarlet (as in Gone with the Wind) rice with chicken. While Gibbs admits that very few recipe ideas are truly new, she is always striving to make them better.

“I work at it every day. You’ve got to always raise the bar.”

Part of improving the quality of her recipes involves integrating quality ingredients grown or developed right in her own backyard.

“I try to use as much Kentucky products as I possibly can. Big chains can’t do that.”

Gibbs said she often goes to farmers markets or searches the Internet for Kentucky specialty items that add freshness and unique flavors to her recipes.

Recently she has “been making bacon cookies and sweet potato muffins with bourbon and vanilla flavored bacon from Galton Farms in Kentucky.”

“I have 45 minutes in the car every day to think, I’m also a gardener and I’ll often get ideas will I working with the vegetables. I read a lot and I look at a lot of cookbooks and sometimes they will give me an idea for something else. I already have an idea for the next one.”

Gibbs will be presenting a cooking demonstration during the Holiday Workshop on November 10 at the Spencer County Extentsion office and will have copies of her book on hand for purchase. If that’s too long to wait for a copy of “Southern Thighways: Thigh Recipes with a Southern Accent” contact Sara Gibbs at bordersprings@bellsouth.net. The cost of the book is $15 plus tax.