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
Southern Specialties
Buttermilk Bacon Cookies with Bourbon Caramel Frosting
Two of my very favorite Southern ingredients are creamy buttermilk and pig. So, I just couldn’t resist adding the salty crunch of bacon to a classic, tender buttermilk cookie. Swirling on a bourbon-y version of classic caramel icing makes this a real Southern overload cookie. I created this recipe several years ago for a party. I wanted to combine my favorite flavors for … [Read more...] about Buttermilk Bacon Cookies with Bourbon Caramel Frosting
Mardi Gras Slaw
Mardi Gras is a fun season for food. Not only can you draw from the great canon of Louisiana cooking, you can play with the bright signature colors of purple, green and gold and be a little silly. This slaw is simple but the multi-colored vegetables and the tangy dressing make it a special dish. It is beautiful served beside or on top of a po’ boy, but is also a great … [Read more...] about Mardi Gras Slaw
Cast Iron Collards
I adhere very solidly to tradition of eating black eyed peas and greens on New Year’s day for luck and prosperity. I have a wonderful New Year’s Eve tradition, so on New Year’s Day, I usually sleep in, then curl up on the couch with a book while a pot of peas and some collards stew away on the stove – minimal prep and minimal work. But this cast-iron skillet, … [Read more...] about Cast Iron Collards
Southern Boiled Custard
Boiled custard is one of my great childhood Christmas memories. We spent a lot of Christmases at my grandparents house in Columbia, Tennessee and my grandmother always served boiled custard in Santa Claus mugs and caramel cake for dessert at Christmas lunch. Boiled Custard was something you bought. I never really thought of it as something people make. I assumed it was some … [Read more...] about Southern Boiled Custard
