Posted on 31 December 2007 by Shannon
Yes, the party season is winding down, but here’s a dilemma that can come up at any time: What do you do if you want to be social and have people over, but you don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking beforehand? I know that as I have gotten more and more pregnant, [...]
Filed under: Basics, Key Recipes | Tagged: Appetizers, Beverages, Cheese, Chips, Cider, Crostini, French, Home-style, Italian, Make-ahead, Mediterranean, Parties, Smoked Fish, Southern, Straws, Wine | 1 Comment »
Posted on 23 December 2007 by Shannon
One thing I’ve noticed, as I have cooked more and more, is that very few recipes are truly original. Most are just variations on a simple theme. Once I have learned the core recipe or technique, it then becomes a simple matter to vary the recipe to suit my tastes, the ingredients I have on [...]
Filed under: Key Recipes | Tagged: Home-style, Salads, Southern, Eggs, Chicken, Pasta, Tuna, Macaroni | No Comments »
Posted on 20 November 2007 by Shannon
Thanksgiving is upon us. It just snuck up on me this year. I guess I have been preoccupied with other things and haven’t really given a lot of thought to the holidays.
One thing that hasn’t escaped my attention is the rampant consumerism going on all around me. Every year, I get depressed about this, but [...]
Filed under: Clipped, Life | Tagged: Consumerism, Cornbread, Eating Well, Home-style, Sausage, Sides, Southern, Stuffing | No Comments »
Posted on 28 July 2007 by Shannon
I think every Southern cook must have their own recipe for cornbread. I recently acquired a book of recipes by writers, and one of my favorite Southern writers, Fred Chappell (who lives just up the road in Greensboro), contributed a cornbread recipe. It goes like this:
Meanwhile, be making your batter — some buttermilk, about a [...]
Filed under: HowTo, Key Recipes | Tagged: Breads, Cornbread, Home-style, Southern | 3 Comments »
Posted on 25 March 2007 by Shannon
It was my second wedding anniversary this week. My husband, who does many things right, remembered to send me irises, my wedding flower. We took the day off from work to spend together, finishing with a memorable dinner and a fantabulous crème brulée at what has been dubbed, even in its first year, the [...]
Filed under: Accompaniments, Books, Techniques | Tagged: Comfort food, Cookbooks, Eggs, French, Gardening, Hollandaise, Home-style, Photos, Poaching, Sauces, Southern | 1 Comment »
Posted on 16 March 2007 by Shannon
These are truly the best biscuits I have ever made. They epitomize what I look for in a good Southern-style biscuit. They are buttery, fluffy, golden in color and definitely not wimpy — equally able to pair with fried chicken for dinner or form the foundation of a scrambled egg sandwich for breakfast. I tell [...]
Filed under: Clipped | Tagged: Biscuits, Breads, Buttermilk, Cooks Illustrated, Southern | 3 Comments »
Posted on 26 December 2006 by Shannon
When it’s wintertime and you’re missing fresh salsa, this can be a more-than-acceptable substitute. The seasonings I give here provide a Mediterranean flavor, and I like to serve this salsa as part of a mezze with pita chips. If you want a more Latin-style salsa, use hotter chilies and substitute seasonings like lime juice, vegetable [...]
Filed under: Accompaniments | Tagged: Make-ahead, Mediterranean, Salsas, Southern, Vegetables, Vegetarian | 2 Comments »