Southern Cooking My mom was a southern girl, my dad too. They married the day after her college graduation, and she came to the marriage knowing absolutely zero about cooking. As she often put it, she had to learn how to boil water. Over time, she became a great cook, and her favorite recipes were traditional southern dishes. Fried chicken, okra, grits, and this Pimento Cheese dip for parties. But it was a long road for her, and I don't think it was ever fun for her in the way it is for me. ...
Lemony Romaine and Avocado Salad from Simply Vegetarian Cookbook
Lemony romaine and avocado salad that's a perfect side dish or foundation to build a meal. Here are some ideas! When it's hot outside, you need a salad that can do double duty for you. What I mean is, a salad perfect for either a side dish, or to build on for a meal. This lemony romaine and avocado salad is the one I turn to, and it's like having a little black dress perfect for a wide range of occasions. You can find this salad in my new cookbook along with over 20 other ...
Creamy Feta Dip with Lemon, Rosemary, and Honey
Feta dip + lemon + rosemary + honey + olive oil + garlic = my favorite dip! And it's ready in 10 minutes. Summertime entertaining calls for easy recipes, and that includes appetizers. I first made this feta dip last summer to take to a pot luck. I needed something quick, but something with a little pizzazz, and threw some goat/sheet feta cheese in the blender along with some lemon, garlic paste and olive oil. It was good, but not particularly memorable. After a few ...
Pear Vinaigrette
I would argue that you can have all the makings for a stellar salad, worthy of a James Beard award or something equally lofty, but if you dress it with some mediocre dressing you threw together at the last minute, the salad will quickly become forgettable at best, and jarring at worst. Case in point: I recently had a lentil salad at a restaurant that could have been amazing. But it missed the mark due to a tart lemon dressing that overwhelmed the flavors of the salad. It needed the rounded depth ...
Pickled Asparagus
Most people have a preference for either large parties or small. Me? I'll always pick a dinner for 8 over a banquet for 80, even if I know most everyone there. Larger gatherings foster surface chit-chat with lots of small exchanges that don't always seem to go anywhere for me, while a smaller group can encourage longer, more personal conversations. A room can be filled to bursting, wine flowing with abandon, and chatter growing into a crescendo punctuated with lots of laughter, but I'm still ...
Vegan Mango – Melon Slaw with Ginger and Lime
My husband has always warned me that better is the enemy of good. Meaning, if you've got something that works, but try to make it better, it doesn't work at all. For example, say you're frosting a cake and you see some piping that's off kilter just a little. Maybe you're the only one who would even see it, but suddenly it's ALL you can see. In a rash, way-over-confident moment, you decide to adjust it just a bit with say, your pinkie. You know the risks, but you're going to be so careful, it ...
Spiralized Beet Noodles with Whipped Feta
Some days Many days Almost everyday, I try to squeeze a full day's tasks into the last hour of the day. I rise at a civilized time - which is to say around 7:30am - and scramble into sweats to walk our puppy, Paprika. Next, I fritter my time away. I brainstorm new recipes, play with Paprika, head to yoga, and relax over a late lunch that often includes a cappuccino. Around 3pm mild panic starts to hum through my body as I realize I haven't accomplished anything beyond ideas. By 4pm, I'm ...
No-Bake Pie: Margarita Pie with a Pretzel Crust
No-bake pie that tastes like a margarita, complete with salt from the pretzel crust! Sometimes I beg my husband to go to a Mexican restaurant just so I can slurp down (in a ladylike way) a good, blended Margarita. I've tried lots of flavors over the years - strawberry, watermelon, mango, and cranberry - but the classic lime is still my all-time favorite. So when Heather from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen blog, chose a pretzel theme this month for Progressive Eats, I knew immediately what I ...
