I love community cookbooks. The great and broad recipe collections gathered together by Junior Leagues, Junior Auxiliaries, symphony groups, historic homes, garden clubs. I have a large and ever-growing collection of these treasures. Some of them are quite professional nowadays, with editors and trained photographers. But I particularly love the old-school … [Read more...] about Fire and Ice Tomatoes
Southern specialties
Pink-Eyed Pea Pepper Pot
I love Southern field peas or of all kinds. Crowders, lady, purple hulls, cream peas, black-eyed, pink-eyed, you name it. And at the beginning of summer, when they show up at the farmer’s market in abundance, I grab them up. I stand around with all the kids, watching them shoot out of the big shelling machine, ready to scoop into paper bags to carry home. This recipe, in … [Read more...] about Pink-Eyed Pea Pepper Pot
Blender Lemon Pie
I like the easy way out. I’ll admit it. When I see a recipe so simple that even I think it might not work, I have to try it out. The temptation to create something wonderful from a minimum of effort is too great a lure. This must be why I copied down a recipe for blender lemon pie many years ago and filed it away. When I came across the recipe again in an old community … [Read more...] about Blender Lemon Pie
Stuffed Eggs Béarnaise
I believe that my mother’s favorite dish may well be stuffed eggs. That’s what we always call them, not deviled eggs, because deviled somehow implies spicy and my mother does not do spicy. Stuffed eggs have always been an essential part of a family gathering, particularly Sunday after-church lunch at my grandparents’, with tomato sandwiches and fried chicken. We never had a … [Read more...] about Stuffed Eggs Béarnaise
Southern Girl Butter Beans
Butter beans, lima beans, whatever you want to call them, good, fresh butter beans are a real treat. When I start to see these fresh little green gems at the farmer’s market and produce stand, I load up on them. And I love to cook them in the Southern manner – with pork. Here I use bacon and add a simple, old-fashioned sauce. These would be great alongside a pork chop … [Read more...] about Southern Girl Butter Beans
