Browsing: Recipes

The Italians have roughly three hundred different kinds of pasta (if you think that is a lot, the Chinese have about one thousand two hundred kinds of noodles), but the Italian varieties can be broken down into two basic categories: fresh and dried. Eighty percent of pasta eaten in Italy is dried, and the balance is fresh.

Spring has sprung, and so have allergy sufferers’ seasonal woes. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) released its 2024 Spring Allergy Capitals report on the worst cities in the US for allergies. They found that people in the South, Southeast, and parts of the Midwest tend to have the most issues. Everyone is battling watery or itchy eyes, a runny nose, and constant sneezing.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. To bring awareness, February is  Heart Health Month, emphasizing educating the public on stopping preventable, premature deaths due to cardiovascular diseases.

What could be better on a damp and chilly day than a bowl of steaming soup. I grew up on Cambell’s soups, and loved them, especially the bean and bacon, but nothing beats a homemade soup.

When I first started seriously cooking, I thought that for something to be really good, it had to be complicated, using expensive ingredients, and probably be French as well. But now I know better. In fact, it is often the opposite. Simple is almost always better.

January brings with it excitement and anticipation for the new year….and for a lot of people the desire to set a New Year’s Resolution.

When the weather finally gets that late fall feel, and the holidays approach, my thoughts turn to serious comfort food. There is nothing wrong with a traditional ham or roast turkey, but there are a world of side options to choose from too.

Everyone has that go-to holiday drink, but it’s always nice to broaden your horizon and try something new this Christmas…

What a blessing that we live on the Gulf Coast and have such a wonderful abundance of seafood to choose from. I love boiled and fried shrimp, fish of all makes and models, raw oysters, fried and grilled, but my all-time favorite is crab cakes. 

The most joyful time of year, the holidays, can also be the most stressful. Especially for those hosting a dinner party or lodging out-of-town guest. With the array of food sensitivities and restrictive diets, home cooks can become overwhelmed when planning a menu.  You want guests’ time at your table too be memorable and not filled with anxiety about navigating their food intolerances or allergies. 

Classic Italian marinara sauce, alla marinara, is made with fresh summer tomatoes or homemade canned tomatoes (pureed tomatoes) and is considered a light sauce.

But have you heard of Thanksgiving deviled eggs? Yes, you read that right. Deviled eggs with a Thanksgiving spin. Sumrall, MS native, Tiffany Murry, definitely has.

Chicken and Dumplings is a great example of just how  good poor folks’ food can be. It’s food of necessity, made when there are no coins in your pocket and made with what you might have in a sparce pantry.

French pot au feu and cassslutte come to mind as well, but perhaps the best example is French onion soup. When there is no stew meat to be had, nor a tough old chicken, a few onions, a left over bone to make stock from, can be turned into a wonderful, hearty soup, French onion soup. This soup dates from medieval times, but the modern version seems to have first been made in the mid-19th century.

French fries are a great American tradition, right? Nope, my friends, not so fast. French fries came to America via GIs…

Holidays stir me to think about recipes because hungry folks accompany gatherings this time of year. Recently, as I perused…