Month: November 2020

PIMENTO CHEESE

Pimento Cheese is another retro item that seems to be in vogue right now. Long a southern staple, and indeed the first time I tried it was a number of years ago when friends of my parents were visiting from LIttle Rock, Arkansas and Kathy whipped up a batch for a snack with crackers during …

“AD HOC” FRIED CHICKEN (adapted)

Full disclosure, I did not create this recipe, rather I adapted it from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc Fried Chicken from his cookbook “Ad Hoc at Home”. I found several other versions on various websites such as http://www.foodandwine.com, http://www.thekitchn.com, http://www.seriouseats.com which are all slightly different. You can also learn from Keller himself at http://www.masterclass.com. Basically, I …

BETTER THAN THE COLONEL’s

Is it me, or have you noticed that Fried Chicken is all the rage at the moment? Much like the current obsession with bacon, it seems every restaurant has their own version, even our local Italian restaurant around the corner starting offering Fried Chicken in a Basket before the pandemic shut down restaurants in mid-March. …

KTINA’S POTATO SALAD

My grandmother (Nana) made the most delicious potato salad and it was a staple during summer time meals. Her recipe called for pickle juice, but I use fresh dill here and find I prefer it. My brother, Mark, was always a huge fan of Nana’s potato salad, so it was the ultimate compliment when a …

MBC COLESLAW

My brother in law, Brian Kelleher, was the General Manager at J. Alexander’s in Oak Brook, Illinois when I first met Dennis and they used to have this killer coleslaw on the menu. When I asked if he could get me the recipe, he obliged and simply pulled it out of a binder from the …

FUN IN THE TIME OF CORONA

During a summer of the Coronavirus pandemic where there were so many restrictions on our movements and what we could do in order to stay healthy, it might seem strange to write about it in terms of FUN. As it turns out, the summer of 2020 will hold many fond memories for the relationships that …