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 … [Read more...] about Creamy Hominy Bake with Green Chiles and Cheese
Sides
Meyer Lemon Chiffon Dip for Spring Vegetables
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 … [Read more...] about Meyer Lemon Chiffon Dip for Spring Vegetables
Creamy Macaroni and Cheese with Country Ham and Leeks
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 … [Read more...] about Creamy Macaroni and Cheese with Country Ham and Leeks
Glazed Canadian Bacon
A few years ago, I was in charge of preparing an Easter lunch for my family. We were a small group that year, and decided on classic Southern brunch food – grits, fruit, ham. But a whole ham would have been more than enough food for our group. We would have had leftovers for years. But most of the smaller hams on the market are pressed hams, and I am not into that. And I … [Read more...] about Glazed Canadian Bacon
Simple Cheese Soufflé
Soufflé. It’s the word that strikes terror into aspiring cooks. Actually, it can strike terror into the most experienced cook. The idea of any dish that must be treated with such care and delicacy, that a loud noise or simple sneeze might ruin all your hard work. Something thought so difficult that even the tiniest of misteps can turn it into soup or a leaden, burned brick. … [Read more...] about Simple Cheese Soufflé
