I remember a delicious quick bread popular when I was kid, sweet and cinnamony with nice pockets of gooey strawberry.  I think I even remember making it myself at some point.  So I went looking for recipes, and they all contained frozen berries in syrup – some even used cake mix or pudding mix.  But [...]

 
In the great and varied universe of classic Southern desserts, caramel cake is possibly the North Star.  A soft, white cake covered in thick, thick caramel frosting.  The center layer of frosting bleeds a little into the cake and the frosting on the top and sides takes on a slight crispiness – bite into the cake, [...]

Any good Southern cook has a supply of sweetening syrups that would put Willy Wonka to shame.  Corn syrup, light and dark, and generally known by its brand name Karo (pronounced KAY-Ro).  Molasses, regular and blackstrap.  Sorghum.  Cane syrup.  Maybe even maple syrup, though that smacks somewhat of the Yankee.  I use them all. Corn [...]

I love clementines.  They are the perfect, bright refreshing little sunshine snack.  They are so portable, you can just carry one around all day until you need a pick-me-up.  But I also find clementines annoying, largely because around here they are sold almost exclusively in five to seven pound bags.  I cannot eat five pounds [...]

Peppermint is the one flavor that transforms itself at the holidays.  Some of the traditional tastes, eggnog, fruitcake, even gingerbread, hardly make an appearance at any other time of the year.  But not peppermint. I eat peppermint candy all year.  The little hidey-hole in the arm on the door of my car is always filled [...]

Tough Nut to Crack
Pecans, it seems to me, are thought of as a particularly Southern nut.  I cannot tell you anything about its growing condition or to what region or country the pecan is indigenous, but the trees proliferate around here.  And the nuts feature prominently in Southern cooking from classic pie to divinity candy [...]

My favorite time of year is finally here – pumpkin time!  I love pumpkin - in cake, soup, risotto, muffins, bread and, of course, cookies. I am sure over the next few months my pumpkin obsession will manifest itself with a host of recipes, so be prepared! We’ve just had our first cool days here and [...]

Once upon a time there was a beautiful apple tree. When I was maybe 10, my dad took me to the plant nursery and let me choose whatever kind of tree I wanted to plant in the backyard, to replace one that had died.   My family had just enjoyed some magnificent apples, bright red with little red capillary-like veins [...]

Enjoying a warm loaf of freshly baked bread right out of the oven is truly one of life’s sweet pleasures.  But if time and patience are short, try this quickie. You will truly impress your family and friends, or just treat yourself, when you mix up this quick, cheesy loaf of fresh bread for dinner.
If you’d [...]

My grandparents lived on a farm in Middle Tennessee.  It was a wonderful place for grandkids, and my brother and I made great use of it.  Lots of rolling, verdant land to run around on, cows mooing in the background.  There was a creek running through the property, shallow enough that we could wade around [...]