One Bowl Apple Snack Cake

One Bowl Apple Snack Cake

One Bowl Apple Snack Cake

Apples are one of fall’s most iconic foods. Raw, dried, sauteed, simmered, baked, jammed, jellied, pressed into cider or juice, or cooked down into unctuous butter – apples are an awesome addition to your autumn kitchen repertoire. Of all the apple dishes that may come to mind, Apple Pie is perhaps the most iconic.  However, sometimes I want a simple apple dessert. Not much is as easy in the kitchen as a one-bowl cake! Read on to learn how to make my One Bowl Apple Snack Cake fragrant with warm spices that’s good for breakfast, snacking, or topped with something decadent for dessert. (more…)

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Cooking with Buttermilk: Waffles, Biscuits, and Flatbread

Cooking with Buttermilk: Waffles, Biscuits, and Flatbread

Several years ago a food website interviewed me and asked what I did with my leftover buttermilk. What? That’s like asking me what I do with my leftover flour, butter, or sugar! I consider it a kitchen staple that can be used in many different culinary applications. It gives tenderness and a lift to waffles and creamy richness to mashed potatoes. Southern-style Buttermilk Biscuits are a cultural icon. It’s found in recipes as varied as  Pound Cake to Vegetable Dip. It tenderizes meats like in this sheet pan supper and works in sweet or savory applications. Read on to learn all about buttermilk! (more…)

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Healthy-ish Double Chocolate Cupcakes

Healthy-ish Double Chocolate Cupcakes

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes can pretty much solve all the world’s problems. Well, that might be a stretch. Ok, it’s flat out not true. I will say, however, that sometimes it feels like it could be true. Chocolate Cupcakes are the culinary equivalent of a dog wagging its tail — simple, clean pleasure. They cause children to beam with joy and can bring out the kid in fully functioning, (overstressed and anxious) responsible adults. Read on for more info about my healthy-ish Double Chocolate Cupcakes that are lighter in calories and fat, but double the chocolate flavor. You’re going to love them! (more…)

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Raspberry No-Bake Cheesecake

Raspberry No-Bake Cheesecake

Raspberry No Bake Cheesecake Trio

It’s hot. Need a dessert? “No-Bake” is the way to go! I hardly want to turn on my toaster, much less the oven.  I’m sharing a recipe for a refrigerated no-bake cream that is super flexible and adaptable. First up, it’s served solo, a veritably virtuous Raspberry Yogurt “Mousse.” Pour the cream into crisp chocolate cookie crust and it is transformed a delicious, but not too decadent Raspberry No-Bake Cheesecake. And, for kicks and giggles, you can fill a mold lined with slices of sweet cake for a modern yet still pretty fancy Charlotte Royale. Ooh, la la. One filling three ways — and something to satisfy everyone!

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Fried & Griddled Green Tomatoes

Fried & Griddled Green Tomatoes

Fried Green Tomatoes

Fried Green Tomatoes are as deeply rooted in Southern culture as a field of kudzu. I have a confession. I am not a huge fan of Fried Green Tomatoes, the vegetable. (I love the movie!) Fried Green Tomatoes served piping hot and fresh out of the skillet can be pretty good. But, usually, sadly they always seem to be soggy, greasy, and dull, best suited as a delivery device for rémoulade (old school) or goat cheese (new school). Ha! Are you ready to take away my “Southerner” card? Well, read on…you won’t believe it. (more…)

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Farmer’s Market Summer Tomatoes

Farmer’s Market Summer Tomatoes

Summer Vegetable Stuffed Tomatoes

Fresh tomatoes are only ever good in summer. There is nothing as wonderful as the full, rich, winey, flavor of a vine ripe tomato – as there is nothing as disappointing as the dull, insipid, lifeless flavor of a cold storage tomato shipped from halfway around the world. I don’t eat those and strongly suggest that you don’t either. So, when it’s tomato season, I heartily endorse eating those glorious ripe ones as often as possible. (more…)

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How to Make Angel Food Cake

How to Make Angel Food Cake

Angel Food Cake

Look at those luscious Georgia peaches! During peach season I love eating them fresh as well as making jams and jellies. Each and every summer Mama peels and slices the peaches and packs them into sealable plastic freezer bags. Most often, they appear later in the year as a topping for Angel Food Cake. Angel Food Cake is a classic cake and one of my favorites. Did you know it is a low fat cake? It’s practically health food. Ok, that part’s not true, but it is a really good cake and as far as cake goes, it’s one of the more healthy cakes. And, that’s why you can feel positively virtuous and still serve it with those beautiful Georgia peaches — and decadent dollops of whipped cream.

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Snickers Chocolate Pudding Cups

Snickers Chocolate Pudding Cups

Snickers Pudding Cup

 

“You got peanuts in my chocolate!” “You got chocolate in my peanuts!” Well, who cares, right?! It’s all good. I’ve got a combination that is going to blow your mind. Rich, dark, and creamy chocolate pudding meets bittersweet caramel and salty peanuts. It’s a flavor combination reminiscent of a Snickers Bar. Snickers are hands-down, my favorite candy bar. It’s been my favorite candy bar for as long as I can remember. Chocolate, caramel, and peanuts are a confectionery trifecta like no other – and now I’m putting that combo in a pudding cup. Check it out.

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Quick and Easy Garlic Shrimp

Quick and Easy Garlic Shrimp

Shrimp are perhaps the original fast food. A few years ago while visiting the Low Country I stopped at the pier in Mount Pleasant, SC to pick up some shrimp. The man in front of me asked the young dockhand how to boil them. Before he could answer a lady with a slow Southern drawl interrupted, ” Bring seasoned watah to a boil and add ya shrimp. Take two sips ‘a wine. Stir thuh pot. Thay are done.” This recipe isn’t for boiled shrimp, but it’s nearly just that quick so get your skillet — and your wine glass ready.

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Make-Ahead Almond Crumble Peach Tart

Make-Ahead Almond Crumble Peach Tart

Make Ahead Almond Crumble Peach Tart

It’s peach season!   I grew up in Macon County, adjacent to Peach County, home to The Big Peach, a glorious seventy-five-foot tall peach mounted on a hundred-foot tall pole. When I was in high school, my school breaks were dictated by the season, as many of my classmates were the sons and daughters of farmers. I know and love Georgia peaches! The best way to eat a peach over the sink, with sweet juices running down your wrists. Peaches are serious business in Georgia. (more…)

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