Sometimes I play “eat the pantry.” Every so often I wind up with a pantry full of canned goods and dry goods because I love to grocery shop and try new products. So from time to time, when I run out of room in my tiny, condo kitchen, I decide it’s time to eat up … Continue reading Cheesy Fiesta Noodles
Tag: home cooking
Pecan Pie
We are a house divided. And it doesn’t have anything to do with football. It does have everything to do with a nut. That’s right. A nut. You see my Georgia-born boo says “PEE-can” and I of Alabama birth say “puh-KAHN.” Now admittedly this is not a subject that comes up for disagreement every day. … Continue reading Pecan Pie
Sweet Potato Pie
The influence of African-Americans on Southern food cannot be ignored. From greens to okra to ham hocks and more, many of my favorite dishes originated from a culture that is not my own. And Thanksgiving always features something that is extremely prominent in traditional African-American food — the sweet potato. I love sweet potatoes. You … Continue reading Sweet Potato Pie
Dressing vs. Stuffing
It’s time we had a little talk about the semantics of “dressing” versus “stuffing.” Where I come from, south Alabama, we are die-hard dressing people. In fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard any of my brethren or sistren from south of the Mason-Dixon line refer to the most beloved of all Thanksgiving sides … Continue reading Dressing vs. Stuffing
Ada’s Rice Dressing
In the mid 1890s, my great grandfather, Andrew Joseph Rowell, Jr., was a young man in need of gainful employ. He had heard that there were jobs at a logging camp in Chicora, Miss., which was not too far away. Joby, as he was known to his family, traveled up there to sign on and … Continue reading Ada’s Rice Dressing
Talkin’ Turkey
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
Cacklefruit all the ways
If you can cook eggs, you’ll never starve. Cackle fruit is as versatile as the day is long, not to mention cheap and cheerful. Here are my favorite ways to eat eggs. Now Mama makes the best fried eggs -- lacey and blindfolded. That’s where you have a crispy edge on the egg but the … Continue reading Cacklefruit all the ways
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
Seven-minute Frosting
I recently wrote about my Great Aunt Lois and how, along with making a mean hush puppy, she was a master at Seven-minute Frosting. For the next few days I reminisced about Aunt Lois and what a good cook she was. I mean, she could make one of the trickiest frosting recipes without even batting … Continue reading Seven-minute Frosting