On my month long food tour of France this summer, my first stop was in the Mayenne, serendipitously during cherry season. All around the property of the cookery school, cherry trees hung heavy with beautiful ripe cherries – petite, juicy griottines and big round pale reds, almost like a Queen Anne. I picked the fruit straight from the tree and ate it, still warm – what a … [Read more...] about Old Time Cherry Buttermilk Cake
The Watermelon by the Side of the Road
The Watermelon on the Side of the Road Watermelon means summer, right? I know they are available (though not very good) all year round now, but what is more summery than ice-cold juicy watermelon? Pink juice dribbles down your chin, and even your mama doesn’t mind too much when you spit the seeds. When I was a kid at summer camp, we used to have races in the pool with a … [Read more...] about The Watermelon by the Side of the Road
Vichyssoise (Cold Leek and Potato Soup)
In Memphis, in the summer (and the spring and the fall), it is hot. Devil-hot. Over 100 degrees most days with high, high humidity. When you open the door first thing in the morning, it’s like walking into a wall of cotton candy. Hot, thick air that surrounds you. Many, many days, busy days when you’re out and about, its just to hot to consider cranking up the oven or … [Read more...] about Vichyssoise (Cold Leek and Potato Soup)
My Prairie Housewife Days
My father calls my house a kitchen with a bedroom. He’s basically right. I spent over six months renovating to have the big kitchen of my dreams. I even planted a small garden, though I have a black thumb and a streak of laziness. I recall that first summer in my new kitchen as my “prairie house wife days.” Oddly, I had this idea in my head that I was someone who … [Read more...] about My Prairie Housewife Days
Chicken Fried Love
Anyone who grew up in the South has some kind of fried chicken memory. Or maybe no particular, specific single event at all, because fried chicken is so ubiquitous. But it is one of the many food topics a true Southerner can weave a yarn around. Fried chicken a simple weekend supper, first choice for a picnic or dinner on the ground, someone’s favorite special occasion meal. … [Read more...] about Chicken Fried Love
