We know you single folks are busy. iList Paducah's Kelsie Gray goes on that first date so you don't have to!

February 1, 2011

Chuck Ehrsam

Looking for a man who can scrounge up some wild mushrooms that won’t kill you and turn them into a four star dining experience? Chuck Ehrsam is pretty much Daniel Boone meets Daniel Craig, and he’s looking for a local lady with a taste for morels, fine sippin’ whiskey and more fun than you could shake an iron skillet at.

1. The Life of Chuck makes for a pretty engaging story. Hit some of the highlights for me. Where did you come from? What are you doing now? Where are you headed?

After graduating from Louisville Male High School, I attended Murray State University (several times). I teach K-8 art, make sculptures and fiber art, and my dream is to have my own retreat center/campground.

Examples of Chuck’s weavings

2. So how DO you pronounce your last name?

My last name is German and is pronounced more like “Air sam,” however, after moving to western KY, I began pronouncing it more like “Ur som” because I grew tired of having people think I was saying “Harrison.” I would correct them by saying “Air sam,” they would say “Harrison,” and so on.

3. If you had to spend the rest of your life conversing via quotes from a singular movie, what movie would you choose, and why?

The Wizard of Casablanca. Okay…I can’t narrow it down between The Wizard of Oz or Casablanca. If only one is allowed, then “there’s no place like home.”

4. I know you love fine whiskey, the Grateful Dead and your rockin’ dog, Lola. What else gets your motor going?

Organic gardening, mountain biking, hiking, canoeing and most anything in the natural world On the flip side, I like art openings, dining out, incredible local music and a really good Cubano Latte from Etcetera.

5. You’re known around these parts as something of a hiking guru. Describe your perfect outdoors-centric date for all the eligible womenfolk out there.

Well, for this area, it would have to be the Shawnee Forest and hiking the Garden of the Gods in mid spring. As we hike the trail around the bottom of the ancient sandstone formations, in awe of all the life beginning in the deciduous forest, and as we watch a box turtle crossing the path, I notice a morel mushroom. Being the Eagle Scout I am, I have a mesh bag to collect them, and as we meander down the trail talking and getting to know each other, I pick the occasional morel and several fiddle heads, planning for the feast to come. Time is slipping away and the sun is beginning to near the horizon as we round the end of the trail back to the picnic area. Of course I have a bottle of wine chilled and food in the cooler.

6. You’re making me hungry, and I have a feeling it’s only going to get worse.  Since you’re also a master of the iron skillet, what romantic meal would you concoct to woo a potential lady friend?

To continue from the previous question, while we sip pinot grigio, I would start a charcoal fire on the cooking grates at the Pharaoh picnic area.  I would take a large cast iron skillet and brown garlic, onion, morel mushrooms, fiddle head ferns, and peppers in olive oil, then I would layer sliced potatoes, carrots, and cheddar cheese, top it all with asparagus, and add more cheese. All of this would go on the grill with a Dutch oven lid. Now, we could walk right below the picnic area to the bluffs to watch the sunset and talk while we sip wine. As the sun sets, the smell of the food would drift by us and stir our appetites. After everything was ready to eat, we would sit down at the table and enjoy a candle light dinner. Did I mention I would bring a second cast iron skillet with my brandied pears to simmer as dessert?

(Ladies—these brandied pears are Serious Business and almost indecently mouthwatering. Thought you ought to know.—Kelsie)

7. My three keys to happiness are garlic, tragic ‘50s songs about car crashes and argyle unicorns. What are YOUR three keys to happiness?

Gardening, art and smiling at people even when you do not feel like it.

8. You’re stranded on a desert island. You can have one book, one household implement, and one ever-replenishing food provision. What would you have with you?

Tom Brown Jr’s guide to edible plants and berries, a Dutch oven, and Coca-Cola. If I have the book, I could find food, but life without caffeine…really?

9. Fill in the blank: “I could care less if a woman is an astronaut, a sailor or a preacher, she just needs to be honest.”

10. And finally, let’s say you have an one horse open sleigh and that sleigh has a bumper sticker. What does the bumper sticker say?

Save the Mountains!