I spend most of my time creating and testing recipes. And I get caught in the cycle of always trying to think of something new and different. How can I add a twist to this recipe, or update an old stand-by? And I love every minute of it. But I realize that sometimes this means I discount or overlook wonderful recipes, or maybe just ideas in my head, that are standard, simple … [Read more...] about Crispy Buttermilk Baked Chicken
Southern specialites
Slow Cooker Creamy Corn with Bacon, Green Onions and Bourbon
My family has a farm in Arkansas, rice and soybeans mostly, but a few other crops. One year, when I was maybe ten or twelve, my dad and a fellow farmer decided to experiment with corn. So on a little corner of the farm, they planted a couple of varieties. When it came in, he brought home paper grocery sacks of corn all summer. My mother spent that summer shucking corn and using … [Read more...] about Slow Cooker Creamy Corn with Bacon, Green Onions and Bourbon
Bourbon Grilled Flat-Iron Steak with Southern Bacon Bourbon Butter
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
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