I fell in love with chiles and the heat they bring to the kitchen and the table during my time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand. Chile peppers may have originated botanically in my particular portion of the world, but here in the American South, we never did take to them much in terms of everyday cooking. Exceptions abound, particularly in ...
Cookbook Review
Blackberry Roly Poly for #summerdessertweek
Sweet, ripe, and juicy blackberries say Summertime, and this old-time favorite recipe shows them off beautifully. Blackberry Roly Poly is fun to say, fun to make, and fun to share at any summertime celebration! This post and recipe were created for #SummerDessertWeek! I was sent samples by some of the sponsor companies but as always opinions are ...
Sunday Suppers: Cynthia Graubart’s Cookbook Shows the Way
Do you have good memories of regular family meals, gathered around the table, but find it difficult to make that happen nowadays? For many of us, it's a scene we'd love to see, but the logistics, the preparations, the decisions and the details sink the idea before we even get started. That's why Cynthia Graubart wrote her latest cookbook: Sunday ...
“Cake: I Love You!” Is One Brilliant, Beautiful, Must-Have Cookbook
If you love sweet treats, beautiful irresistible desserts, simple home-made goodies, and elegant expressions of the professional pastry chef's genius, you will love Jill O'Connor and her latest cookbook. Entitled Cake, I Love You: Decadent, Delectable, and Do-Able Recipes, this bright, delight-filled book is a whimsical valentine to the pleasures ...
Salted Butter Chocolate Chunk Shortbread from Alison Roman’s “Dining In”
This excellent cookie recipe comes from "Dining In", a new cookbook by food writer and chef Alison Roman. The book has been widely and enthusiastically shouted out since its publication in 2017, with this particular recipe winning praise and  glory far and wide. Roman, a renowned pastry chef from California who now lives in Brooklyn, wrote "Lemons" ...
“Victuals” by Ronni Lundy ( say “Vittles”!): A Rich and Beautiful Cookbook
This handsome, eloquent, meditative and luminous cookbook came from the hands, heart, and mind of my friend Ronni Lundy. She wrote her heart out telling stories and making observations on her home region, the Mountain South. Much mocked, misunderstood, maligned, and marginalized over time, the complex and beautiful Southern Appalachian region ...
“Cooking With Coconut”: A Delicious New Cookbook
I've been in love with coconut since childhood, thanks to the blessing of having a Southern grandmother who loved to cook, and occasional access to candy bars as very special treats. My grandmother's coconut cake was magnificent, and I still make it often, thankful that my sister Linda took time to sit with Grandmother and ask her how to make it. I ...
Best Cookbooks of 2015: Nancie’s List!
I love cookbooks and could not begin to count how many I have in my kitchen and office, on my bedside table --- even a few in the pantry. Despite this abundance, I take pleasure in finding new ones, and wish I had more time to read them and cook from them each week. The year 2015 brought an exceptional number of new cookbooks and food books into ...
My Cookbook, “Southern Soups and Stews: More than 75 Recipes from Gumbo and Burgoo to Etouffee and Fricassee”
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! I'm thrilled and delighted to tell you about my new cookbook, Southern Soups and Stews: More than 75 Recipes from Gumbo to Burgoo and from Etouffee to Fricasee. It will be be published on Tuesday, September 8th by Chronicle Books. I've been working with Chronicle on cookbooks for more than twenty years, and it ...
Meet Me in “Nong’s Thai Kitchen” – DC-Area Cookbook Event at Thai Basil
My friend Nongkran Daks is a chef and restaurateur whose cooking and culinary classes at her restaurant Thai Basil have won her dedicated fans, accolades, and great success in the Washington DC area for almost 20 years. Born in Southern Thailand, Nong began cooking to help in the family's catering business when she was all of 8 years old; she made ...