Pickles

Pickles As cucumber plants go crazy, I do too … in the kitchen making pickles. Lately it’s been Bread and Butter, which are sweet and seasoned with mustard seeds, turmeric and celery seeds. Later I will be making dills, which are the standard for placing beside a sandwich. The tartness is pucker-worthy but just right…

Cucumber Salad

Cucumbers The first cucumbers that I harvest are always reserved for salad and I picked my first ones this week. While I certainly chop them up for green salads, my favorite is a truly green salad that I serve over mixed baby lettuce. I have been making it for years and am not even sure…

Cauliflower and Cheese

Cauliflower and Cheese I have been harvesting fresh cauliflower from my garden for weeks. It is a wonderful reminder of how much I love this versatile vegetable. Most of the time, I sprinkle it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and pop it into the oven to roast. It’s super easy and the…

English Pea Salad

English Pea Salad Although it feels like summer, it is still spring and my garden is yielding the rewards of early planting. Green onions, leaf lettuce, herbs and English peas have given the inside of my refrigerator every shade of green. So I decided to combine all of them into a cold salad to help…

Macaroni & Cheese

I have loved macaroni and cheese my whole life. It is much more than comfort food … it holds memories of my Grandmother’s house and the particular dish she always used to prepare it. I have made it literally dozens of ways, but the old-fashioned way of making a sauce with butter, flour, milk, salt…

Pimento Cheese

Pimento Cheese I believe I have been a fan of Pimento Cheese since birth. The heavenly mixture of shredded cheese, mayonnaise and bright pimento peppers is a Southern classic and one of my favorite comfort foods. For years, I only enjoyed it slathered on fresh white bread. Then I began grilling the sandwich and later…

Fast Pesto Dip

Fast Pesto Dip We are in the countdown to Christmas and you don’t have oodles of extra time to spare. To the rescue is this super simple, incredibly fast and delicious dip that you can throw together in a snap with ingredients you probably have on hand. Serve it with some peppered Carr’s crackers and…

Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies You know you want to have at least a few over the holidays and don’t act like you don’t!  At the first holiday party where they are on the dessert table, you know you’ll head that direction.  And you probably grew up with a metal tin of them that appeared…

Peanut Brittle

Peanut Brittle Christmas time is candy making time at my house. Now that all the decorating is done, cards mailed, shopping finished and gifts are wrapped, it leaves weekends free to hit the kitchen. My husband’s favorite is peanut brittle. Over the years, I have quite literally made dozens of different recipes for one pot…

Brussels Sprouts Slaw

We tend to think of grated big green heads of cabbage when slaw is mentioned. But one of the smallest members of that same family yields an equally delicious end product.  Think Brussels sprouts … the perfect cabbage size for Barbie as we would have said in childhood. And thanks to the food processor, it…