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Perfect Side Dish for Entertaining. There are so many good side dishes we are enjoying this time of year thanks to just harvested, fresh vegetables. So many of which go well with our favorite pastime; that is time spent on the patio while grilling or barbecuing. This dish along with a good cold, creamy pasta or potato salad, and maybe roasted corn, is about all we need to serve while enjo
Uptown Catfish. Much earlier in time, way back in my youth, as oppose to now-a-days living here in the 'big' city, I grew up in a small town atmosphere where life was ever so simple, or so it seemed as a child. I remember, even though we used the term 'city' to describe the town, it was not; think along the lines of a metropolis Mayberry. The town's main commerce pretty much consisted of
Stewed, Sautéed or Wilted, it all taste good. This is a very easy recipe that I like to make, not only because is it low in fat and calories, but also 'cause it is so darn tasty. Yes, as you read it, it does have a smidgen of butter, but ya gotta use it if you want the spinach to absorb and pick up the essence of this recipe, and that is the wonderful simple, yet fantastic flavors. Now
Complete all-in-one meal that satisfies. Good any time of the year and especially when vegetables are young and tender, garden fresh, this recipe is so easy, so good and affordable too. Most items are in the 'fridge and pantry anyway so there should not be too much to add to your shopping list. Chocked full of flavor and vitamins, this recipe is not to bad in carbs if you use turkey sausa
Reduced sugar version without loosing taste. As I prepared this recipe for a cookout last week, I wanted to maintain the version of baked beans I know belong on plates along the South. One with a deep brown sugar, cane syrup or molasses base and made just like I was taught, with ketchup, mustard and bacon to help deepen the flavor. But the thing about my making a different recipe other th
Easy grilling with a superb and unrivaled outdoor taste. Nothing beats the taste of grilled beef kabobs. And there aren't too many fine meals that come together so effortless either. A little prep time of cutting the beef sirloin, top round or tenderloin into sections of about 1-inch x 1/2-inch along with a few savory vegetables is all the time you need in preparing this one. Well, you g
Get your taste buds ready! The beginning of a mouth-watering and head nodding approved meal in our house normally begins with a long stare at the entree as it arrives to the table. In this case, a thick ol' southern fried pork chop seasoned perfectly. I say perfectly 'cause this is how we do it. Each bite of this moist, well flavored chop is a celebration of goodness. And if cooked ri
Great, Simple Grilled Taste. Turkish in origin, the famous shish kabab, or kabob as we say it, is an easy, inexpensive and quick way to enjoy dining al fresco. Shish, meaning 'skewer', is also fun to cook and eat. On the way home from work, a stop at the grocer the other day had me puzzled as to what to prepare for supper. Instantly I thought of kabobs. Chicken marinates fairly q
How to Make Gravy Like Momma Southern Kitchen Classics: Gravy Making Many essential things come from the kitchens of our parents and grandparents. Many are of life's lessons, a few about cooking and a few with recipes. This one is about cooking. To our ancestors, making a sauce or gravy was not science but today, we know it is just that. Both sauce and gravy consists of thickening agent
Let the Fresh Flavor Shine. Asparagus is so good this time of year, it seems to be plentiful in all grocers. But even at the peak of harvest season, a 'good buy' seems to be a tad too much. Why is that? Well, it seems asparagus, which grows to be a big ol' fern if not gathered young, takes a long time to harvest, three years or more in fact from seed germination. The young ones, the kind
Arial of Dauphin Island Dauphin Island, Pelican Girls and Gumbo Today I want to share a few really good recipes and a very special event I know everyone would love to attend. For those us us who are lucky enough to live so close to Dauphin Island, this event draws a lot of attention and a lot of good eats, even the Iron Chef himself a couple of years back when Alton Brown stopped by t
Alabama's Shrimp shines in this recipe. With it's common main ingredients, this recipe is one found in practically all cuisines. Garlic and spices like the hot, red pepper along with parsley plays into Italy's Scampi, Spain's Gambas al Ajillo, a spicy version of Thai's Goong Pong Gari and of course, our America's southern Barbecued Shrimp. Like a good southerner, I c
Perfect Side-Dish for Barbecue and Grilled Meats Do you know that March is National Tex-Mex month? Neither do I but since this is my third consecutive recipe evolving around the Mexican/Texan/Spanish tastes, something of a holiday sorts must be celebrated somewhere. Well, at least it is in my house. Actually, today's recipe is in anticipation of getting outside and firing up the grill. I
The Chili is in the Burger. Still hankering for a little more tasty meals other than the bland foods we tend to eat when we have a cold or the flu, my taste buds motivated me toward a spicy, messy Chili con Carne topped cheeseburger. But before I got too carried away, I decided to go another route: Make a hamburger loaded with the flavors of a big ol' bowl of chili loaded roasted flavor,
Full of Gitty-Up, this Is a Cowboy's Ambrosia Folks, this is a most wonderful, well developed and flavorful soup, if I may say so myself. I made it this weekend as I began to recover from a nasty cold and tired of having chicken base soups, which I do love, I hankered for a little more flavor. This one did more than I expected. I've noticed in the past many Taco Soups using a packa
A baked rice casserole recipe worth serving. Running down through Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi is an area known as the Southern Rice Belt and from here, a significant portion of the nation's rice crop is grown. Positioned along side the Mississippi river, this land yields much of our conventional rice such as the long-grain white rice found in every southern kitchen. Creole
Special Occasions Call for Special Cakes A birthday came calling last week, a very special one, one marking a milestone of importance. Not mine mind you, I don't think I have ever baked myself a birthday cake. This day was to say hello to an occasion worthy of a favorite cake and the cake of choice, well, you've already gotten a look at that. There are many special cakes to mark such a
Beef or Lamb Stew Recipe When emigrants arrive to the United States, they bring with them their native way of cookery. America is blessed with such a rich diversity of food cuisines from a wealth of countries. The south is no different as I have mentioned many times and I believe it is here, where a most homogenize merging of foodstuff comes together, just like in a good gumbo. Most hi
The World's Greatest Sandwich ... if you ask me. Debris: pronounced 'day-bree' and means the bits and pieces left behind from roast beef. Read the history of the po-boy sandwich from an earlier grilled Cajun chicken post. During Mardi Gras, I decided to feed my staff, at least the ones in our retail division lunch one day (the Special Event Crew setting up the many balls miss
Spinach and sausage inside, tasty savor on the outside. Nothing better than a good stuffing and I'm not just talking about me. For some reason, we love to stuff all kinds of foodstuff from vegetables, loaves of bread to critters of all kind. Many enjoy a stuffed bird but I kinda shy away from that, I mean, I enjoy pan-style dressing with roasted poultry. It's just the way I was brought up
Southern Refried Beans with Tamales Mexican Refried Bean Style Recipe with a Southern Twist. This recipe is from an older way of cooking pinto beans using the flavors of pork; first by creating a stock from ham and later by binding the beans in bacon fat. Southern elements like bay leaves and small tabasco peppers are mingled with the traditional onion and garlic for flavor. By the way
A New Orleans and Mobile Flavor. A rich, full-bodied gumbo is the essence in many southern kitchens across the south but most folks think of New Orleans when the name of gumbo comes up. And that's okay. There is nothing wrong with New Orleans. Now when folks mention Jambalaya, many too think of the Crescent City. But as I have written previously, the name hails from Mobile, not New Orlean
Fill Up On this Super Bowl of Chili Folks sure have been talking up the Super Bowl this year and with the Harbaugh teams going against each other, well, the media frenzy is just crazy. Take Media Day for example; the hype for fans to sit in the Super Dome and watch, which they paid $25 to do, show the obsession of fans who may or may not be in attendance to the actual game. To just hang around an
Recipes for Super Rich Beef Stock and Beef Shank Vegetable Soup Southern Kitchen Classics: Beef Stock Making a good soup is like making a good gumbo, ya gotta start with a developed foundation. As labor intense as the making a dark roux is, the result forms the flavor dominance and depth required in the gumbos we enjoy. Starting with a well developed beef stock is essence in creating a
A creamy, cheesy potato recipe The word casserole has been in French usage since at least 1583, meaning, "to cook in a casserole" (the dish/pot used for cooking it). In or before 1706 the word came unto English and used as a verb figuratively, to mean blending of some kind (typically having rice pounded and pressed similar to the pastry used for pies and used to encase fillings). Si
Rib smacking good. There are times, even in our climate, when we cannot get outside and grill or barbecue as we know and enjoy how to do. So we have to do like many; prepare our foods inside, in the oven and tell ourselves its okay and that it tastes just as good. To get the same outdoor taste that is fire roasted onto a slab of ribs, to do that inside is a feat in itself. Well folks, I t
When a recipe turn heads, let's hope it's in the right direction. There are some things, meaning foodstuff and its preparation, that somehow should not relate to one another. Take cabbage baked in a creamy casserole. Somehow, to me, the two don't fit. Well, how about adding cheese. Cabbage and cheese, now that is really way out of what I imagine good is all about. Okay, throw in a can of
A regional favorite. Red beans are a classic in the south, a part of who we are and way of eating to everyone born and raised along the southern delta states. From Mobile, along the gulf coast of Mississippi and throughout Louisiana, aroma of red beans wafts from homes and restaurants alike, typically on Mondays. Why, there are as many ways of making red beans and rice as there are
Cooking green beans with a great taste. Thank goodness our Gulf Coast is just a short distance from the growing area of central and southern Florida where conditions are ideal for year-round harvesting of crops. Take the green beans in today's recipe for instance. Grown all year in Florida, finding fresh vegetables off the vine is great for us living fairly close. Heck, I imagine the crop
Now, this is a pot of pleasure. The cooler days and nights of late have been good times to enjoy bowls of hot soups, like the one today, a well flavored, vitamin rich , thick in chicken and savory in taste soup that is as they say, 'good to the last drop.' The recipe is similar to one I remember making many years ago. I toyed with it in my head during a somewhat cold, damp day and as
Thank goodness for flavor. Turn ordinary pork chops into a Spanish style sensational dish bursting with flavor and serve it with a savory rice side dish; all completed in the same pan. But wait folks, there's more. As if this flavor combination was not enough, I topped it off with a mouth-watering gravy of Chorizo mingling with grilled-like onions and peppers. If you are like me, you m
Not the ordinary chex party mix. My grandmother made batches of her Scrabble to give to friends during the holidays and to have on hand around the house for us nibblers. She also made the mix many times throughout the year. Her version of the chex mix is very addictive. It is a must at any cocktail party, goes well to picnics and always travels with us during our stays at the beach. Grand
Start the New Year Off Right... ... with a scrumptious, ooey gooey and yet hardy breakfast casserole full of everything needed to jump start the day. Well, as you can see, I did add a helping of creamy stone-ground grits to each plate. Many times folks refer to this type of casserole as a Strata but the way I put it together, it just ain't so. You see, a true strata is a casserole made
. . . as in Spicy Pickle Chips. Sweet and spicy with a little spunkiness, just like most Cajun folks I know, these pickle chips are always a hit no matter what time of year you make 'em. For some reason, these are associated with the Holiday season and I suppose it is because not only are these inexpensive and a snap to make but also so darn wonderful when received. One of the best li
This is One Fun Cake Ann Pillsbury taught all of America, and the world too, a thing or two about baking when she starting publishing her collection of baking "secrets" early in 1944. Her many cookbooks, most often 64-page booklets, dealt with cakes and sweets of all kind and popular of the time, her no-knead concept of making bread. She told everyone that baking was fun, even named a bo
Don't call these Fruitcake Cookies. Much as fruitcakes are to some, these treats are traditional quintessential cookies baked in most southern kitchens. The recipe varies from household to the next, from grandmother to mom and from country living to that of city, but one thing each version has going is the great, old-fashion taste based on a recipe from yesteryear. The test of a good,
Another Mac n Cheese recipe. There are, I imagine, just as many recipes for macaroni and cheese as there are cooks making it, and that folks is a awful lot with a few too many. What makes us want or need to create a new recipe when many of us already have plenty darn good ones in our repertoire is beyond me but here I am, jumping on the wagon and playing fiddle with the best of you. O
Sugar spiked, sugar glazed, sugar crusted ... this is one sweet ham. Sweet as in better than good is the meaning here even though sugar is incorporated in three different stages of preparing this amazing ham. The ham is actually not really that sweet, but moist with a delectable, very southern and distinguish flavor. This is one fine way to cook a ham and it is one suitable for many o
Southern Style Around the south, as mentioned in an earlier recipe, rice grows nicely in many areas and is a very important crop for many states. Even so, wild rice, the grayish-brown grain, the real deal, remains fairly expensive compared to the white rice varieties which many grow. In the grocers of many, around these parts and I suspect nationwide as well, is a very affordable New
What to do with your leftover turkey? Some folks make turkey hash with the slices of turkey, gravy and dressing (or stuffing), others might make a casserole using up leftover side-dishes and turkey meat or even a turkey pot pie. Or some might make something that is a favorite around these parts, Turkey Bone Gumbo. But I suspect many make soup wisely using the carcass and any leftover turk
Stuffing or Dressing? Yup, it's that time of year again, a time when many ponder what to call it or where the name comes from. Romans are credited with the first mentioning of stuffing foods, mainly meats with vegetables, herbs, nuts and a type of cereal known as spelt. The term dressing came about in Victorian England. Now, in our family, this time of year we make dressing. It
Satsuma time on the Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast, specifically the area encompassing Mobile's delta, is an ideal climate zone for growing many citrus fruits. We enjoy a wide range of tropical fruit as well; figs, pears, blueberries, plums, scuppernongs, bananas, jelly palm even the not-so-often mentioned pawpaw as well as the citrus tastes of grapefruit (many early, mid and late varieti
The legend and making of Wragg Soup From the swamp lands of old Mobile come many things and in today's time, the area once known as Wragg Swamp contains a couple of indoor malls, corridors of commercial buildings, parking lots and strip malls, the new Red Cross building and a softball complex scattered among many neighborhoods. Being flat, the land once was a fertile place to grow v
Rice history in the US and a good rice recipe. The cultivation of rice in America began in reality by accident when a storm-battered ship sailing from Madagascar limped into the Charles Towne harbor (Charleston SC) back in 1685. To repay the kindness of the colonists for repairs to the ship, the captain offered a gift of a small quantity of "Golden Seede Rice" (named for its
A recipe steeped in Southern tradition There are a few folks, a handful, that know a thing or two of how pork entered into our native land. The folks I am referring to have in possession a first peek at my latest cookbook, an online digital copy featuring recipes of our Mobile area and of our area's history, folklore, trivia and at times, plain ol' storytelling. And, in this recip
Garden Fresh Taste, a Perfect Side Dish for Fall and Winter I just love green beans and when I see a bin of them at the market, all nice and fresh, I want to buy the whole shebang, not that the bin is that large mind you, but more than I could possibly cook at one time. Now, for those of you who do not know or are curious like myself, having heard the expression all my life, I thoug
The best cauliflower, yet. This is my new way in enjoying cauliflower! Period. Roasted to perfection, with a crisp, savory coating - zippy and tangy from the Creole spices and lemon, this is one snappy side dish that will be making a comeback in my kitchen many times. A great way to enjoy cauliflower. Hope you try it as I think you will like it too. Enjoy! OKAY, let's g
A Pot Pie with a Dumpling topping Yeah, I think the name pretty much sums it up. There have been a whole lot of recipes like this one all over the place lately, photos of just about every chicken pie or dumpling casserole going viral on the internet. Must be something good about a chicken casserole, huh? Well, this one is a take on many. After looking at several photos, I decided
Meat, Meat Please First, let me say, this is in no way an 'authentic' Italian recipe. It does contain many Italian ingredients and flavors, but ya not gonna find it in the Encyclopedia of Regional Italian Cuisine. Like most of my recipes, I just made it up. This one is for the folks, ya know who you we are, that like a lot of meat in casseroles. Yup, those 'meat and potato
It's one Helluva Casserole The name has nothing to do with the brand of dairy products. I gave it that name because of the taste: slight heat and awesomeness. Momma made a casserole similar to this one, and when company came a'calling, she would add chopped cooked eggs to make it 'extra-special'. How many of you remember that? Back to a time when adding nuts, water chestnuts and other
