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 ...
Thanksgiving desserts
Easy Buttermilk Pie
Wishing for the rich tangy goodness of cheesecake, but short on time to fuss? My Easy Buttermilk Pie uses only six ingredients, and gets stirred together with a fork. Made in minutes, it's what you need for your Thanksgiving celebration. What is Buttermilk Pie? Buttermilk Pie is an old-timer which was surely edged over to the ...
Sweet Potato Desserts for Your Thanksgiving Table, From “Fine Cooking” and Me
I am so proud and so happy to have had the opportunity to work with Fine Cooking Magazine on this sweet story on sweet potatoes for their October/November Issue. It's still on the stands most places, since much of the focus is on holiday cooking. We did the story months in advance, as is always the case in writing for food magazines, and I knew it ...
Sweet Corn Custard Pie
This fall has been a busy one for me, with lots of travel especially in October. A highlight was the Southern Foodways Alliance annual Symposium, a gathering I look forward to every year. It takes place on the campus of the University of Mississippi, in the small and fascinating town of Oxford, and it brings together a noisy, lively, curious, ...
My Apple Pie Recipe, Easy as Pie
My wonderful young cousin Erika Sue got in touch late last week, asking if I might have a recipe for making an apple pie. Matter of fact, I did, and I decided to make one and take pictures, so that I could pass along the closest thing to going over and sharing the pleasures of making an apple pie with her in her kitchen. (Only distance and time ...
Bill Smith’s Daddy’s Sweet Potato Pie
Pumpkin pie suits me fine, and I gladly eat it all year long. With Thanksgiving meals on my mind this week, I wanted to share a simple treasure that my friend Bill Smith shared with me about 3 years ago. When he was in his early 60's, my father began making the pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving, and he continued that tradition as long as his health ...