Shortly after moving to Savannah I discovered the glorious southern side dish known as “corn pudding”, sort of a wet cornbread that’s more custard-like than bread-like. A local barbecue joint served the most delicious, buttery, corny corn pudding that I was often tempted to order their 4-vegetable plate and ask for all four servings to be corn pudding. One day … Read More
Curried Sweet Potato & Coconut Soup with Peanut Gremolata
Curried Sweet Potato & Coconut Soup with Peanut Gremolata Rich in texture and taste, this slightly spiced soup is great for a chilly fall or winter evening. In the photo I’ve garnished the soup with shrimp sauteed with additional creole seasoning but it’s delicious without too. You can make this vegan by simply swapping vegetable broth for the chicken broth. … Read More
Parfait of Tuna Tartar with Guacamole
Parfait of Tuna Tartar with Guacamole Consider using the tuna tartar on its own with crackers or as a filling for sushi. Yield: 4 servings Guacamole: 2 ripe avocados ¼ cup finely diced red onion (about 1/8”) 2 large cloves garlic, minced 3 tablespoons minced cilantro Juice of 1 lemon 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin ¾ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon … Read More
Ceviche Tostadas
Ceviche Tostadas When preparing dishes with raw fish, it is best to use previously frozen fish fillets to minimize the risk of parasitic infection. The only two fish that the FDA doesn’t recommend using frozen, are farm-raised salmon and Tuna. Follow this link for more background on consuming raw fish. If left to soak too long in the citrus marinade, … Read More
German Flavors for Oktoberfest Burgers
Oktoberfest: Enjoy German flavors for your next tailgate, backyard cookout, or Oktoberfest with my recipe for Oktoberfest burgers. Now today considered the world’s largest festival, Oktoberfest originated as the wedding celebration of Crown Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria and princess Therese from Saxony-Hildburghausen. The citizens of Munich came out to participate in the festivities which closed with horse races in … Read More
Chinese Five-Spice Braised Short Ribs – Pressure Cooker or Oven
Five-Spice Braised Shortribs These Asian flavored short ribs may look to have a laundry list of ingredients but there are very few steps. The key is cooking them in a pressure cooker to tenderize the meat in a short time frame. In less than an hour you’ll have amazingly delicious tender shortribs. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, they … Read More
Apple Fritters
All the talk in the media of our impending “Southern Freeze 2014” had everyone here in Savannah and the surrounding areas acting like we were going to be snowed in until March. Schools let out at noon yesterday even though the winter weather wasn’t due until evening, a major local employer sent their employees home at noon as well, … Read More
Watermelon & Feta Salad
At first glance this combination sounds a bit odd. Sweet watermelon with a salty cheese? The swelling popularity of “salted caramel” this and that should be enough to convince anyone that it’s a well-liked flavor pairing. This has been a popular recipe when I’ve used it in my cooking classes. The oddity of the ingredients catches guests attention but it’s … Read More
Red, White and Blueberry Blondies
Tomorrow is Independence Day and let’s face it…we’ve all had enough of the cakes covered with whipped cream and lined up with berries to mimic the American flag. Nothing wrong with it, just that it’s nice to do something different. Dying the cake batter…yup, Red Velvet is popular (don’t get me started…not a fan of it) but really, who wants … Read More
The Love of Baking
Chocolate, roses, Champagne, expensive dinners in fancy restaurants…I could keep going on about what people will be doing to celebrate Valentine’s Day today. Each of these of course makes us feel special and appreciated on any day, not just Valentine’s day. However I’m willing to bet that deep down in the recesses of our memory, baking somehow plays a part … Read More