I am a devotee of the transformative powers of buttermilk. It makes chicken tender and biscuits light. Cakes have a fine crumb and dressings a nice tang. I use buttermilk whenever I can, and I go out of my way to buy the best, farm-fresh buttermilk available. I make biscuits of all sorts, marinate chicken for frying and whip up desserts galore, from Buttermilk Pie to … [Read more...] about Buttermilk Pecan Chicken with Herb Cream Gravy
Southern Specialties
Pimento Cheese Crisps
You’ve had pimento cheese on a cracker, now you can have pimento cheese in your cracker. In my on-going quest to eat as much pimento cheese as possible, I arrive at these little gems. They are a hybrid of two Southern party classics – pimento cheese, the pate of the South, and the classic cheese straw. Crumbly and cheesy, with the tang of pimentos and the crunch of pecans, … [Read more...] about Pimento Cheese Crisps
Strawberry and Cream Cookies
The spring obsession with strawberries continues. As the season settles in, I look for other ways to enjoy the little red jewels, as I have almost eaten my fill of them plain from the bowl I keep in the fridge, filled every week at the famers market. And so I turn to baking to find as many ways to enjoy then as possible. My first and best experience with fresh strawberries and … [Read more...] about Strawberry and Cream Cookies
Skillet Strawberry Upside Down Cake
In the last few years, I have truly become a seasonal eater. The rise in popularity of farmers markets has encouraged me in this, because the array of beautiful farm fresh fruits and vegetables is so tempting. And after years of being desensitized by perennially available produce, I have rediscovered just how amazing produce is in season, not treated by gasses and flown and … [Read more...] about Skillet Strawberry Upside Down Cake
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 don’t … [Read more...] about Creamy Macaroni and Cheese with Country Ham and Leeks
