I am a devotee of the transformative powers of buttermilk.  It makes chicken tender and biscuits light.  Cakes have a fine crumb and dressings a nice tang.  I use buttermilk whenever I can, and I go out of my way to buy the best, farm-fresh buttermilk available.  I make biscuits of all sorts, marinate chicken for frying and whip up desserts galore, from Buttermilk Pie to Buttermilk Cake.  People sometimes ask me for ideas about what to do with leftover buttermilk, and I always wonder to myself “who has leftover buttermilk?” Buttermilk is Southern liquid gold.

This recipe started as just a little something I would whip up for myself when I had buttermilk in the fridge (which I almost always do).  Over time, I refined it to a company-worthy dish and added a creamy gravy spiked with fresh herbs to jazz things up a bit. I love the crispy coating on the extra tender chicken, and appreciate the simple cooking method.  No grease splatters with this one.  And quite by accident, I have discovered that this chicken is absolutely delicious at room temperature, so it would work beautifully for a picnic.

Buttermilk Pecan Crusted Chicken with Herb Cream Gravy

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 cups buttermilk

2 cups pecans

¼ cup panko breadcrumbs

4 – 5 sprigs fresh parsley

1 teaspoon salt

½  teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon mustard powder

Generous grinds black pepper

For the Gravy:

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh leafy herbs – a combo of parsley, thyme, oregano, chives, marjoram, whatever you have to hand

Salt and pepper to taste

Pat the chicken breasts dry and place between two sheets of waxed paper.  Using a mallet or rolling pin, pound the breasts until about ½ their original thickness.  Bash away, it’s a good stress reliever.  Cut each piece in half and place in a bowl.  Pour over the buttermilk and swish everything around to make sure all the meat is covered.  Place in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour, but as many as eight.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350°.  Place a rack on a rimmed baking sheet and spray with cooking spray.

Place the pecans, bread crumbs, parsley and spices in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse until finely ground, like breadcrumbs.  Turn the coating onto a large, flat plate. Take the chicken from the fridge.  Remove one piece at a time, shake of the buttermilk and press into the pecan mixture.  Turn to coat the pieces all over, fully pressing the crumbs onto the chicken.  Place each piece on the rack and finish the rest of the pieces.

Bake the chicken for 20 minutes, until it is crispy, browned and cooked through.

For the Gravy:

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle over the flour and whisk until smooth.  Add the milk slowly, whisking and scraping the sides of the pan.  Cook until the gravy is thickened and smooth, about 5 minutes.  Whisk in the finely chopped herbs and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 3 – 6, depending on how hungry folks are (One piece is plenty for me, but hearty eaters might want two)

You’ve had pimento cheese on a cracker, now you can have pimento cheese in your cracker.  In my on-going quest to eat as much pimento cheese as possible, I arrive at these little gems.  They are a hybrid of two Southern party classics – pimento cheese, the pate of the South, and the classic cheese straw.  Crumbly and cheesy, with the tang of pimentos and the crunch of pecans, these are the perfect nibble with tall glass of ice tea (or short glass of bourbon).  They are wonderful packed up in your heirloom Tupperware for a weekend at the lake or displayed on your heirloom silver for shower or a cocktail party.  They are a marvelous standby, as you can keep the rolls in the freezer for emergencies and they make a lovely gift, wrapped up with a ribbon.

And yes, to answer the obvious question, I would serve pimento cheese crisps and pimento cheese sandwiches at the same time.

Pimento Cheese Crisps

1 (4-ounce) jar diced pimentos

8 ounces sharp cheddar

½ cup (1 stick) cold butter

1 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

Dash of cayenne pepper

A generous pinch of salt

A few grinds black pepper

½ cup chopped pecans

Rinse and drain the pimentos and place them on paper towels.  Pat them dry and then leave them for 10 – 15 minutes to air dry.

Grate the cheese and the cold butter together in a food processor.  Switch from the grating blade to the metal blade, then add the flour, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne salt and pepper.  Process until the dough just begins to come together and looks moist and grainy.  Add the pecans and process until the dough begins to pull away from the sides and form a ball.  Add the pimentos and pulse a few times until the dough is a ball.

Dump the dough onto a piece of waxed paper, scrapping out all the pimento pieces.  Knead the dough a few times just to incorporate and distribute the pimento pieces.  Cut two more lengths of waxed paper, divide the dough into two portions and place each portion on one waxed paper length.  Form each onto a log and roll tightly, pressing in to form a nice solid log.  Twist the ends like a candy wrapper.  Refrigerate the logs for at least an hour before baking, but you can refrigerate them for two days or freeze them for 3 months.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350° and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Remove the rolls from the fridge and slice into medium-thick wafers, about 1/4 inch each.  Place on the baking sheet with a little room to spread and bake until golden around the edges and firm on the top, about 10 – 12 minutes.  Cool on the pans for a few minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool.

Makes about 3 dozen

The spring obsession with strawberries continues. As the season settles in, I look for other ways to enjoy the little red jewels, as I have almost eaten my fill of them plain from the bowl I keep in the fridge, filled every week at the famers market. And so I turn to baking to find as many ways to enjoy then as possible.

My first and best experience with fresh strawberries and cream was in England, where it is a tradition in many venues. I had them at the interval during a cricket match, a game I do not understand at all, but could really get into because they stop for snacks. Scones, tea and cucumber sandwiches were passed around at this picnic, then bowls of fresh berries, with a whisper of sugar and blanketed in cold, thick cream, tinged palest yellow it was so rich. I have never found the equal to English cream here. I think that is why so many rich, sweet desserts or fruits in England are preferred doused with plain cream – not whipped cream or ice cream, just a pour of fresh “double cream” as they call it.

That was my inspiration for these cookies. I wanted to create a cookie creamy and rich to envelope bursting bits of berry. Cream cheese gives that fluffy texture with a little bit of tang. Watch these cookies carefully and take them out of the oven just as they set on the top, then you will have a soft, moist cookie speckled with delicious bites of strawberry.

Strawberries and Cream Cookies

2 cups hulled fresh strawberries

1 cup (2 sticks butter), at room temperature

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cut the strawberries into a small dice, roughly the size of a chocolate chip.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until combined. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour, 1 cup at a time, and the baking powder and salt. Beat until smooth and combined. Using a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the diced strawberries, distributing them evenly in the batter. The mixer will bash them up, so do this by hand.

Using a spoon or cookie scoop, scoop the batter by Tablespoons about a ½ inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets until the bottoms are lightly browned and the centers are just firmed up but not brown, about 10 – 12 minutes. If you have the patience, bake one sheet at a time on an upper rack in the oven. Cool the cookies for two minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Cool the cookie sheets and repeat with the remaining batter.

Makes about 3 dozen

I love a nutty little nibble with cocktails, and I have developed many versions over the years.  These almonds are a riff on my Lemon Garlic Cashews, with a nod to the Bourbon Rosemary Pecans.   Whip up a batch of Fresh Citrus Margaritas and get ready to celebrate!

Look for raw, blanched almonds (with no brown skin) in the bulk bins or a Middle Eastern section or grocery.  I don’t like too much spice, but if you do feel free to add a bit of cayenne.

Tequila Chili Almonds

¼ cup fresh lime juice

1 Tablespoon tequila

1 teaspoon mild chili powder

¼ teaspoon cumin

2 Tablespoons kosher salt

3 cups raw, blanched almonds

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil (preferably non-stick) or parchment paper.

Mix together the lime juice, tequila, chili powder, cumin and 1 Tablespoon salt in a measuring jug.  Place the almonds in a bowl and pour over the lime juice.  Stir to coat the almonds and leave them to soak for 30 minutes, stirring a few times.  Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure the chili powder gets onto the nuts.

Spread the nuts in one layer on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle the remaining 1 Tablespoon kosher salt evenly over them.  Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until a nice amber brown color.  Stir the nuts every 5 minutes, flipping them over and spreading them out evenly again.  Watch the last bit of cooking carefully, as these can burn quickly.  The nuts may feel a bit soft when you remove them from the oven, but they will crisp up. Cool on the pan.

The nuts will keep for a week in an airtight container.

Makes 3 cups

My primary memory of hominy is a quick Sunday night dish my mom used to whip up with eggs and sausage, but I love hominy as a more unusual side for a good Mexican meal.  I recently made this dish for a gathering of my parents’ friends, and when they realized it was hominy, I got a few looks.  One friend told me she hadn’t had hominy since early childhood, when it was served in the cafeteria during wartime rationing.  Another echoed basically the same idea – it was something only served at school lunches.  Perhaps politely, they all dished out some hominy. And went back.  And scraped the dish clean.  And their plates.  It was also a big hit with my young nephew and niece, who were also interested to learn when one of the guests explained that hominy is basically grits before they are ground up.

This is my jazzed up version of an old community cookbook recipe, sans condensed soup and processed cheese.  It has a bit of a kick, but not so spicy that my spice adverse family couldn’t stand it.  But feel free to pump it up to your taste.  Readily available Monterey jack cheese is perfect for this, but when I find a blend of Mexican cheeses like cotija, queso asadero and queso quesadilla, I prefer that.  You could of course, make up your own cheese blend.  Try this beside Smoky Beef Tacos with a side of Charro Beans.

Creamy Hominy Bake with Green Chiles and Cheese

2 (30-ounce) cans hominy, white, golden or one of each

8 ounces of sour cream

1 cup heavy cream

1 (7-ounce) can diced green chiles

1 Tablespoon lime juice

3 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cups grated Monterrey jack cheese, or a blend of Mexican cheeses

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Spray an 8 by 10 inch casserole with cooking spray.

Thoroughly rinse and drain the hominy.  In a large bowl, stir together the sour cream, cream, green chiles, lime juice, salt cumin and pepper.  Blend until completely combined.  Add the drained hominy and gently stir to thoroughly coat the hominy.  Spoon the hominy into the prepared casserole.  Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top.

Cover the casserole with foil and bake the hominy for 40 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake a further five minutes until the cheese is melted and gooey.

The casserole can be refrigerate for several hours before baking.  Serve piping hot.

Serves 8

In the last few years, I have truly become a seasonal eater.  The rise in popularity of farmers markets has encouraged me in this, because the array of beautiful farm fresh fruits and vegetables is so tempting. And after years of being desensitized by perennially available produce, I have rediscovered just how amazing produce is in season, not treated by gasses and flown and trucked in from miles and miles away.  I had forgotten what a strawberry is supposed to taste like.  And I have accustomed myself to the wonder of eating in season and the anticipation for the next season to gorge myself.  April and May are all about strawberries, replaced by blueberries, and so on and so on.  I freeze, can and dry the bounty, but otherwise, I don’t eat tomatoes in winter or strawberries in fall.  And enjoy them all the more for it.

And strawberries are the beginning of it all.  By mid-April when they come in here, I am over winter.  Asparagus, artichokes and lettuces are in, but I am desperate for fruit.  My frozen stock has run low, and clementines have run their course!  Then come the strawberries.  I buy them by the quart, and snack on them constantly.  And of course I can cook and bake with them. It’s the herald of summer and the good meals to come.

With my first haul of strawberries this year, I returned to this old-fashioned classic, cooked in an old black skillet.  The presentation is impressive and highlights the beautiful berries perfectly.

Skillet Strawberry Upside Down Cake

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 ¼ cup sugar

1 vanilla bean

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Choose a platter that is larger than the circumference of your skillet.

Spray a 9-inch cast iron skillet generously with non-stick cooking spray. Mix the brown sugar and melted butter in the skillet and spread it evenly over the bottom.

Cut the strawberries in half and arrange them, cut side up, over the brown sugar in the skillet, filling the space as much as possible without overlapping the berries.  Remember, this is the side that will be presented, so make it look good.

Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs for about a minute at high speed, then slowly add the sugar.  Beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the mixture while it beats. Lower the speed and gradually add the flour mixture until everything is smooth and combined.

Dollop the batter over the berries in the skillet, then carefully spread it out to cover the berries, without disturbing them too much.  Spread the batter to the edges of the pan.  Bake the cake until the top is firm and golden brown, about 35 – 40 minutes. There will be some bubbling juices around the sides.  Check the cake with a tester; it’s ready when there are just a few crumbs clinging to it.

Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and run a thin knife around the edges to help pull it away.  Quickly and carefully invert the skillet onto your chosen platter.  Leave it to sit for about 5 minutes so the fruit and sugar slide out.  Remove the skillet by lifting it straight up.

Serve the cake immediately or at room temperature.  This is good on its own, or with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Serves 6 – 8

Simple, delicious spring vegetables really just need the simplest of bright accompaniments, and this dip really hits the bill.  It is tangy with lemon and perfectly creamy and even has a sunshine-y yellow hue.

I love this at room temperature as a dip for lightly steamed asparagus spears or artichoke leaves.  Put it can also be spooned over as a sauce.  And its uses go far beyond that.  Spoon it over grilled chicken or steamed fish.  I love the use of meyer lemons with their sweet-tart flavor.  This sauce, with the citrus and the wine, is puckeringly tangy.  If you use regular lemons, reduce the amount of juice by a couple of Tablespoons.

Meyer Lemon Chiffon Dip for Spring Vegetables

1 large shallot, diced

1 clove garlic, diced

Leaves from 2 rosemary stems

½ cup freshly squeezed meyer lemon juice

1 cup white wine

1/3 cup heavy cream

6 Tablespoons butter

Place the shallot, garlic and rosemary leaves in a saucepan and add the lemon juice and wine.  Give to a good stir, then bring to the boil over medium-high heat.  Boil gently until the liquid is reduced to ½ cup.  Stir in the heavy cream and cook until the liquid is reduced a bit more and the sauce is thickened.

Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl or measuring jug and pour the sauce through, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible.  Wipe out the pan and return the sauce to it.  Place over low heat and whisk in the butter ½ Tablespoon at a time, letting each piece melt before adding more.

Transfer to a small bowl and let it come to room temperature.  You can serve this hot as a sauce.

Makes about ½ cup dip

Blanquette de veau is a delicious, classic French dish with a real difference.  I’ll admit though, I’d never really considered tackling it, because, at first look, it seems a bit complicated.  But I recently hosted a book club at my house to discuss the book  Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris, a rich, evocative story laced with memories of classic French food.  So of course, I had to plan a lavish French feast. For some reason, blanquette kept coming back to me as the perfect dish for this event.   I thought about and analyzed many recipes, and came up with a version that, though it involves a few steps, is not really all that difficult.  The biggest nod to simplicity I made was using frozen pearl onions.  Fresh pearl onions can absolutely be used, but they are a bit of a nuisance to peel in my opinion.

Unlike most stews, the meat in blanquette is not browned, but blanched to preserve its pale color.  The monochromatic palette and tangy crème fraiche sauce set this dish apart. The key to blanquette is a flavorful stock base.  I use homemade stock made with lots of fresh flavors, and I really recommend that you do too, though if you must, a boxed stock is okay.  Adding extra flavor to the cooking liquid is essential, and I love the addition of fennel and leek, which add a brightness to the stock.

So, plan an elegant spring dinner party.  Your guests will be impressed, and you can pretend that you’ve been slaving for days to make a French classic.  Traditionally this is served with rice, but I like it with steamed or roasted potatoes (the multi-colored small ones are pretty) and some glazed carrots.

Blanquette de Veau (Creamy Veal Stew)

4 pounds veal stew meat (or veal shoulder cut into cubes)

7 cups chicken stock

1 carrot

1 stalk celery

1 leek

1 fennel bulb

1 small onion

4 whole cloves

2 sprigs parsley

2 sprigs thyme

2 bay leaves

1 (12-ounce) package frozen pearl onions, thawed

3 Tablespoons butter

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup crème fraiche

Salt to taste

Chopped parsley to garnish

Fill a Dutch oven or oven safe casserole dish (I use a 5 quart enameled cast-iron pot) with water and bring to a boil.  Drop in the veal pieces and blanch for 4 minutes, until the outside of the veal is sealed but it is not cooked through.  Drain the meat in a colander and rinse it under cool water to remove any foam or scum.  Rinse the pot and wipe out any brown bits and return the meat to the pot and pour over the chicken stock. Tuck in the carrot, celery, leek, halved fennel bulb and onions, stuck with the cloves into the pot.  Tie the parsley, thyme and bay leaves together with a piece of twine and drop it in the pot.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pot and simmer until the meat is tender, about 1 ½ hours.

When the meat is tender, place the colander over a bowl and drain the meat, reserving the cooking liquid.  Discard the vegetables and herbs. Wipe out the cooking pot removing any browned bits.  Pour 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid into the pot, add the pearl onions and cook over high heat until the liquid is almost totally evaporated, glazing the onions. Remove the onions to a small bowl and set aside.  Wipe out the pot again to remove any brown bits.  Pour in the remaining cooking liquid, bring to a boil and reduce to 2 cups.

Pour the reduced cooking liquid into a measuring jug and set aside.  Wipe the pot clean again, then melt the butter over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour, cooking until thickened and pale in color.  Whisk in the reserved cooking liquid and cook until smooth and thickened, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the crème fraiche and stir until heated through.  Salt to taste. Add the veal and onions and cook until the meat is heated through.

Serve immediately sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Serves 6

From the first time I made macaroni and cheese, I’ve used this basic recipe, with the sauce you simply stir up.  We were not a big macaroni and cheese family, and never had any version from the box until college, when the hot pot was our main cooking apparatus and I had an ingenious roommate.  I think I might have originally found the recipe in a kids’ cookbook, but I don’t really remember.  The recipe served me well for years, particularly in a poorly equipped kitchen in graduate school.  And I just thought this was how mac and cheese was made.  It was years before I learned that most macaroni and cheese recipes start with a roux made into a cream sauce.  As I progressed in the kitchen, I started working on recipes made with béchamel sauce, white wine based sauces, an onion soubise, exotic cheeses and the like.  But for simple meals, I always came back to this method.  And I’ve really decided I like it better.  It’s very creamy, very cheesy, and of course could not be simpler.  So now I make it with cheese only, or flavorful add-ins.

This version is my favorite, and based on a macaroni and cheese served at a favorite restaurant.  I am sure they use a great more expertise and skill in making it, but I manage to get the flavors I love spot-on. I like corkscrew-y cavatappi pasta, but regular macaroni, or shells, or farfalle work equally well.  Once you have this simple, basic recipe down, you can alter it however you please – with different cheeses, added spices, bacon or roasted chicken…the possibilities are endless.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese with Country Ham and Leeks

4 leeks

6 Tablespoons butter, divided

¼ cup white wine

8 ounces uncookedelbow macaroni or cavatappi noodles

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese

8 ounces white cheddar cheese

4 ounces fontina cheese

2 cups whole milk

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

salt  and ground black pepper to taste

8 ounces country ham, finely diced

Preheat the oven to 375° Butter a 2 quart baking dish well.

Slice the white and palest green parts of the leek in half lengthwise, then slice into half-moons. Rinse the leeks very well in a colander under cool running water and shake to drain. Melt 4 Tablespoons butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat and add the leeks, with a little water clinging to them, and stir to coat.  Pour in the white wine and ¼ cup water, cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally until the leeks are wilted, transparent and soft, about 20 minutes.  If needed, add a bit more water to prevent sticking.

Meanwhile, cook the macaroni according to package instructions in well-salted water.  Drain and return to the pan off the heat.  Stir 2 Tablespoons butter into the pasta to melt and coat to prevent sticking.  Leave to cool.

Grate all the cheeses and toss together.  In a bowl, whisk together the milk, flour, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.  Shake well for at least a minute until the flour is completely mixed with the milk.

Toss together the cooled pasta and the most of the grated cheeses, reserving a few handfuls for the top of the dish. Stir in the leeks and diced country ham until evenly distributed. Pour over the milk mixture and stir thoroughly until well mixed.  Spoon into the buttered dish and spread out to create an even surface.  Sprinkle over the remaining cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden on top and bubbling and heated through.

Serves 6, 8 as a side dish

Tender, tangy and subtly sweet. These delicious little pillows are perfect for Spring.  The ricotta makes the cookies tender and adds a little tang, and the gentle hint of citrus in these cakey cookies is enhanced by the sweet citrus glaze.  With a little work, I think you could shape the dough into an egg shape for Easter, and can of course tint the glaze.

Citrus Ricotta Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

15 ounces ricotta cheese

Zest and juice of one medium orange

Zest and juice of one lemon

Zest and juice of one lime

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 350°.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the ricotta cheese and beat until smooth.  Add the citrus zest and ¼ cup of the combined citrus juices.  Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda and beat into the ricotta mixture. Drop by rounded spoonfuls (I use a cookie scoop) onto the prepared cookie sheet, leaving a little space between each cookie. You’ll need to cool the cookie sheets and repeat for four batches.

Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes until puffed and browned around the edges.  Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Glaze:

Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl and slowly whisk in enough of the remaining mixed citrus juice (about ¼ cup) to make a glaze, or frosting.  These cookies are delicious with a thick layer of frosting or a thin, sweet glaze.

Makes 48 cookies