When I was a teenager, I loved to entertain (I still do). I thought I was a real gourmet, because I knew how to cook – no help from my mom. We used to have other families for dinner, and sometimes I’d have dinner parties for friends. My favorite meal was flank steak in teriyaki marinade. I probably served it 100 times, never thinking that the guests … [Read more...] about Bourbon Grilled Flat-Iron Steak with Southern Bacon Bourbon Butter
Southern Specialties
Sugar Cake with Blueberry Basil Compote
I was first drawn to this recipe, because, well, who could resist something called sugar cake. It reminds me of the great classic song “Tea for Two”, the Ella Fitzgerald version is on my kitchen playlist. “Day will break and I will wake, and start to bake a sugar cake, for you to take for all the boys to see.” Recipes for Sugar Cake are scattered through community cookbooks, … [Read more...] about Sugar Cake with Blueberry Basil Compote
Shrimp Perloo (Low Country Shrimp and Rice)
I love delving into traditional recipes from the South, learning new things or rediscovering classics. Perloo (pronounced purlow, and sometimes spelled that way, or pilau, or any number of variations) is a dish I first heard of when my brother returned from a trip to South Carolina and suggested that I figure out how to make it. He described is as kind of a … [Read more...] about Shrimp Perloo (Low Country Shrimp and Rice)
Strawberries with Sweet Tea Dressing
Strawberries come into season when the beginnings of spring are arriving. When it’s time air out the seersucker and the sandals and give the grill a good clean and make sure the big cooler is ready for weekends at the lake and beach. And though we drink sweet tea all year, the mint is starting to grow and its time for great big glasses full of ice while sitting … [Read more...] about Strawberries with Sweet Tea Dressing
Southern Cornbread Chicken and Dressing with Gravy
My life sometimes requires comfort cooking. Not comfort food, but comfort cooking, though the two are not mutually exclusive. Comfort food for me is old classics that bring back happy memories, sometimes bittersweet, or that make a down day worthwhile. Often, that means food prepared by someone other than me. Comfort cooking is me, in the kitchen, alone. Usually silent … [Read more...] about Southern Cornbread Chicken and Dressing with Gravy
