As the holiday season rolls around, I love to have really simple but totally delicious recipes in my back pocket. Things for which I can keep the ingredients on hand throughout the season and whip up in short notice, or for those occasions when my grand and elaborate plans become completely unfeasible – either through time constraints or, frankly, just because I can’t manage. … [Read more...] about Smoked Cheddar Cheese Log with Pepper Jelly
Pecans
Fresh Strawberry Pecan Crumb Cake
I gorge on strawberries when they are in season, and rarely eat them when they are not, which makes them a special seasonal treat. I eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, out of hand in in all sorts of treats. This rich and tender crumb cake is a fantastic way to add strawberries to breakfast, though in all honesty this could also be a dessert with a scoop of ice cream, or … [Read more...] about Fresh Strawberry Pecan Crumb Cake
Pecan Cake with Bourbon Buttercream
Pecans are one of those ingredients that sing of the South to me. Driving through the Mississippi or Arkansas Delta, or rural Tennessee, you see groves of stately pecan trees, sometimes with a home nestled in amongst them. It is an evocative image for this child of the South. Growing up, my aunt and uncle would bring paper grocery sacks full of unshelled pecans when they … [Read more...] about Pecan Cake with Bourbon Buttercream
Bacon Praline Shrimp
Many years ago, I hesitate to say how many, the hot appetizer around town, both in restaurants and from party caterers, was bacon wrapped stuffed shrimp, often with a sticky glaze. They were an absolute hit with everyone. I, of course, re-created the dish at home and for some years served it at my own little gatherings. But it was (and still is) a lot of work. Butterfly the … [Read more...] about Bacon Praline Shrimp
Sweet Potato Fruitcake
I adore fruitcake. Some think that a controversial opinion. But I couldn’t have Christmas without it. Every year, on the weekend after Thanksgiving, I make my classic Fruitcake. To be honest, I start in the summer by making bourbon Cherry Bounce to soak the cake, and I pour a good dose over every couple of days until Christmas. My mother and I are sometimes the only ones who … [Read more...] about Sweet Potato Fruitcake
