Lentil Quinoa Bolognese Sauce
SOY-FREE GLUTEN-FREE OPTION* This hearty, protein-rich sauce serves a crowd, or it can be a staple you make every month or so, freezing any leftovers so they will be there for you during those crazy weeks. YIELD: 8 servings TOTAL PREP TIME: 20 minutes TOTAL COOKING TIME: 40 to 60 minutes INGREDIENTS 1 […]
Kentucky Cheese Pudding
IN BARDSTOWN, SOUTH OF LOUISVILLE, TO LEARN more about the production of bourbon whiskey, I was utterly puzzled when my host began talking about a local dish called cheese pudding and insisted on taking me to a family-style restaurant to sample the strange casserole. I loved it, but it was not till sometime later that […]
SPINACH AND WATER CHESTNUT DIP
SERVED HOT OR CHILLED WITH TOASTED BREAD or Melba toast, this dip is beloved at cocktail receptions all over the South and couldn’t be easier to prepare. The textural contrast between the soft spinach and cream cheese and the crunchy water chestnuts is amazing. Perhaps best of all, the dip can be made in advance […]
Chilled Country Ham Mousse
ALTHOUGH THIS IS NOT TECHNICALLY A REAL MOUSSE, that’s what the wife of a country ham producer in Clinton, Kentucky, called the glistening crock resting in her refrigerator. “There’s not much to do with the hard ends and fatty pieces of a ham except grind them up and use them in some type of spread,” […]
Jezebel
I ASSUME THAT THIS UNIQUE, FIERY SPREAD WAS named after the evil biblical temptress, but whatever its linguistic source, Jezebel, which has as many variations as pimento cheese and shrimp paste, seems to be indigenous to piedmont North Carolina. My sister made a wicked Jezebel, but this one, created by an old friend in Charlotte, […]
Basil Avocado Cheese Spread
I HAVE TWO FRIENDS IN ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA, who love fresh basil so much that they grow it year round in enormous whiskey barrels and use it to make everything but ice cream. While silky avocado–cream cheese spread is certainly nothing new at Southern cocktail parties, when my obsessed friends decided to perk it up […]
Kentucky Beer Cheese
LEGEND HAS IT THAT THIS ADDICTIVE SPREAD/DIP was created about a century ago in a Louisville saloon and served with crackers to any customer ordering a five cent lager. Today in Kentucky, there are as many varieties of beer cheese as hot browns, some spread on crusty bread, crackers, and rye rounds, others used as […]
Pimento Cheese Spread
“RUTH, HONEY,” BAWLS “HOPPIN’ JOHN” MARTIN Taylor over the phone to Ruth Fales at the Pinckney Cafe in Charleston, South Carolina. “I’m sending two hungry friends over for pamenuh cheese sandwiches, so pile it on heavy.” Of course, every Southerner thinks he or she knows what constitutes perfect pimento cheese, and even the few non-Southerners […]
COOKING FOR BABY PLUMS
Juicy and sweet, plums are a great fruit to serve to baby either alone or mixed with other fruit. MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS INGREDIENTS 6 large plums, halved and pitted 1 cup filtered water or juice INSTRUCTIONS Combine the plums and water in the pressure cooker. Lock the lid in place and cook at […]
COOKING FOR BABY PEARS
Pears cook up quickly, pair well with other fruits, and yield a lot of juice, just like apples. Use any variety of ripe pear for this recipe. MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS INGREDIENTS 6 medium pears, peeled, cored, and quartered 1 cup filtered water or juice INSTRUCTIONS Combine the pears and water in the […]