I can take a hint. That’s why when Daddy mailed me the recipe for his foolproof Thanksgiving turkey, I figured the baton had been passed and I was doing the cooking this year. The last time I cooked a turkey was about twelve years ago. I found myself trying to fish a sack of hot … Continue reading Talkin’ Turkey
Tag: family recipe
Sweet and Spicy, it’s Pepper Jelly
Sweet and spicy are two flavors that go hand-in-hand. And way before Sriracha, which lists sugar as it’s second ingredient, took over as the condiment du jour, there was another sugary, hot contender for a place on the southern table: pepper jelly. That’s right. Pepper jelly. Hot peppers cooked with vinegar in sugar syrup. It … Continue reading Sweet and Spicy, it’s Pepper Jelly
Chicken and Dumplings
Granny died fifteen years ago this past March. She was just a few weeks shy of her 99th birthday. Brother and I thought that she’d live forever, and she just about did. (I wrote about what I think her secret was to longevity here.) She’d always been the same our whole lives. White hair, twinkly … Continue reading Chicken and Dumplings
The Dookie Cake
Dump Cake. That's the official, albeit unflattering, name of one of my favorite recipes. It's not as bad, however, as what Brother calls it — Dookie Cake. Ain’t that a little brother for you? But let me tell you what, his teasing doesn’t stop him from gobbling up a big ole bowl of it! Despite … Continue reading The Dookie Cake
Watermelon Rind Pickles
Fannie Merritt Farmer (1857-1915) was a pioneer in food science, nutrition, and uniform measurement in cooking. She was principal of the Boston Cooking School and published her first cookbook The Fannie Merritt Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook in 1896. In this book, which became a Bible of domesticity, the idea of using standard measurement and … Continue reading Watermelon Rind Pickles
Skillet Cornbread – or – How Not to Get Your Southerner Card Revoked
“The North thinks it knows how to make cornbread, but this is a gross superstition. Perhaps no bread in the world is quite as good as Southern cornbread, and perhaps no bread in the world is quite as bad as the Northern imitation of it.” — Mark Twain Cornbread is one of those things that … Continue reading Skillet Cornbread – or – How Not to Get Your Southerner Card Revoked
Squash Relish — The Pinto Bean’s Spicy Mate
Everyone knows that opposites attract. That's why Squash Relish is the perfect complement to Pinto Beans. Serve it right along side the beans so you can get a little of each on your fork. Let the juices mix with the gravy just a little around the edges. I think about this marriage of flavors like … Continue reading Squash Relish — The Pinto Bean’s Spicy Mate
Aunt Lois’ Hushpuppies
After I graduated from college, I went back to Citronelle for a while and worked with my Great Aunt Lois on her farm. We did everything from planting flowers to baling hay to canning pears and peaches to bathing the calves’ infected navels in Epsom Salt water (that’s a whole other story for another time). … Continue reading Aunt Lois’ Hushpuppies
Granny Mac’s Cold Oven Pound Cake
It’s November, and that means it’s time to blog like crazy — 30 posts in 30 days. This year, I’m going to write about something that brings all southerners (heck, most everybody everywhere) together: food. My family is that family who's barely finished one meal before they start talking about what they'll cook for the … Continue reading Granny Mac’s Cold Oven Pound Cake