On this very day 50 years ago, my parents got married. The ceremony was performed in my grandparent’s living room and attended by close family and a few friends. After cake and punch, the newlyweds left to honeymoon in New Orleans. It was a small and happy wedding and the perfect start to their lives … Continue reading The Golden Anniversary!
Year: 2017
A Southern Solstice Celebration
“Today is the shortest day of the year.” I remember Daddy telling me that when I was about four or five as we were leaving Granny’s house where we had been opening presents and celebrating Christmas with the family. It was probably only about 4 o’clock in the afternoon, but it was already getting dark … Continue reading A Southern Solstice Celebration
Christmas Time’s A’Coming: A Holiday Soundtrack
The Christmas soundtrack in my head contains a heaping helping of Classic Country holiday songs. Some are happy, some are touching, all of them are guaranteed to get you singing along. Here are my top 10 favorites. 1. Christmas Time’s A’Coming by Bill Monroe: Your Christmas soundtrack might include harps, violins, cellos, and piano, but … Continue reading Christmas Time’s A’Coming: A Holiday Soundtrack
Divinity is the Devil
Karo Syrup. Go on. Say it with me. Kaaaaay-rooooow suuuuur-up. Drag it out. It sounds better that way. Why are we talking about Karo Syrup? Because without Karo Syrup we wouldn’t have one of the absolute level best products of the Southern kitchen — Divinity. Sounds like a purely heavenly treat doesn’t it? Don’t be … Continue reading Divinity is the Devil
The Holly Tree
The holly tree stood alone in a little clearing. It was as if the clouds had parted and a ray of sunshine pierced through the pines to illuminate it just for us. Resplendent with its emerald leaves and bright red berries, it was the very picture of all that is Christmas. Granny had sent Baw … Continue reading The Holly Tree
The Best Thing About the Holidays
Late afternoon cocktails. That’s one of the best things about the holidays. Well, aside from the birth of Jesus, watching the children's eyes light up in wonder and joy, and peace on earth and goodwill toward men. Yes, cocktails come in about number four. But ... there’s also the love of family, and giving beautifully … Continue reading The Best Thing About the Holidays
This is a very good pie.
Your Christmas may smell like pine boughs, or cinnamon, or chocolate, but mine smells like coconut. And liquor. But that was another post. Let’s stick with coconut for now. I put coconut in everything at Christmas. There’s coconut in ambrosia, bourbon balls, Lane Cake, Coconut Cake, and on and on and on. Maybe it’s because … Continue reading This is a very good pie.
Sister Audnitha’s Filé Gumbo
(Just a quick note before we get into today’s post: We’ve come to the end of the See Jane Write #bloglikecrazy challenge. Thirty recipes, in thirty days. And I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who followed along throughout this month. This challenge certainly gets my mind working and gets the creative juices … Continue reading Sister Audnitha’s Filé Gumbo
Ambrosia: Food of the Gods
Ambrosia — food of the gods. And food of the Southerner, especially around Christmas. It’s so good you’ll think the deities bore it down straight from Mount Olympus on winged feet and silver platters. I remember making the ambrosia every year with Granny, her kitchen table command central. It was a process, and Granny was … Continue reading Ambrosia: Food of the Gods
How to Put the Scald on a Bird
It was Christmas day in the early double aughts, and it was just Sonny, Brother, and me. We’d thought for a few weeks about all the good things we wanted to cook for Christmas dinner and finally settled on fried chicken. To us, holidays are not about having the fanciest dinner you can have, but … Continue reading How to Put the Scald on a Bird