I'm P.C., and I have studied food and cooking around the world, mostly by eating, but also through serious study. Coursework at Le Cordon Bleu London and intensive courses in Morocco, Thailand and France have broadened my culinary skill and palate. But my kitchen of choice is at home, cooking like most people, experimenting with unique but practical ideas.

I live, mostly in my kitchen, in my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.

Lavish Lemon Cake

Lavish Lemon Cake

When you are the cook in the family, the special task of creating family celebration meals falls to you.  It is an honor and a privilege and one I take very seriously.  I always pay attention to what my family members like (and don’t) and my favorite kitchen task is devising and creating meals [...]

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White Bolognese Sauce

White Bolognese Sauce

It is that time.  My stock of frozen sauce made from summer’s freshest tomatoes is dwindling, and I am hoarding those last little bags.  Hey, I do like a sauce made from quality canned tomatoes as well (my standard Bolognese uses them), but after a steady diet of the fresh stuff, it’s heard to [...]

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Almond Amaretto Cherry Muffins

Almond Amaretto Cherry Muffins

A basket of nice, sweet muffins is a wonderful addition to a breakfast or brunch table, and these almond-y bites are made really moist with the addition of almond paste. A  bite-sized version of my Simple Moist Almond Cake. Nice tart cherry is a great pairing with almond – if you use big Bings, [...]

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Leek and Brie Bread Pudding

Leek and Brie Bread Pudding

Spring is the perfect time for brunch.  With Easter starting things off, there always seems to be an explosion of daytime events.  Graduations and weddings and all the celebrations that go with them.  And I love a good family brunch.  You can wear a nice dress, but don’t have to worry about high heels [...]

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Country Ham Biscuit Bites with Cheese

Country Ham Biscuit Bites with Cheese

My love for biscuits is well documented (13 recipes on the site at last count), and my love of country ham equally evident when you peruse my recipes.  I have always enjoyed a warm, buttery biscuit with a slice of salty country ham tucked inside, so the next logical step seemed to be incorporating [...]

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Irish Rarebit

Irish Rarebit

I doubt this a traditional Irish dish at all, but when I was whipping up a pot of Irish Stew, I wanted a nice, cheese-y accompaniment.  Welsh Rarebit is the great British snack of a beer-laced cheese sauce on crusty bread, so I figured I give it a go with Guinness.  These are perfect [...]

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Irish Stew

Irish Stew

Like many traditional dishes of the British Isles, my first taste of Irish Stew was in the dining hall of my college at Oxford.  And it wasn’t a particularly good experience.  Tough meat, watery broth, soggy vegetables. But I never gave up on the notion; I just think I liked this dish in theory [...]

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Peanut Butter and Chocolate Truffle Tart

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Truffle Tart

Peanut butter and chocolate are one of nature’s great flavor combinations.  But part of the great parental anomalies of my childhood.  My Dad doesn’t like it. That was, and still is, difficult for me to understand.  It was as much a mystery to me as all those great questions that were answered with “because [...]

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Citrus Shrimp Linguine

Citrus Shrimp Linguine

It’s winter.  Generally, it’s cold and grey, though here in Memphis, the months are punctuated with weirdly frustrating days of seventy degree weather.  I love winter food, but I have souped and stewed and braised myself silly and I’m ready for something lighter and fresher.  This recipe started as just that.  A quick whip-up [...]

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Sweet Tea Jelly

Sweet Tea Jelly

Canning is my summer time obsession.  From the first strawberries of spring to the last pears of fall, I spend my weekends putting up my famers market bounty.  Then the market closes for the season, I put the canner back in the pantry and shelf the jars for the next year.  But at some [...]

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