When vegetables are roasted, their flavors intensify or–in the case of garlic and eggplant–become sweeter. The reason for this is that natural moisture evaporates and the vegetables’ natural sugars caramelize slightly. Make sure the vegetables are placed in one layer, so they brown evenly. (If they’re piled up, they’ll steam instead of roast.) When roasting […]
Vegetable Pot Pie with Foster’s Herb Biscuits
October 6, 2011 by 1 Comment
This is a vegetarian variation on one of the most popular comfort foods we sell at the market. It can easily be made for a weeknight dinner, but it can also be made in advance. However, the topping—whether you use biscuits, phyllo, or puff pastry—is best if added the day you’re serving it, since it […]
Cucumber and Heirloom Tomato Salad
August 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment
This simple and refreshing salad is what I crave on especially hot summer days in North Carolina, when even the trees begin to droop and I can’t bear the thought of turning on the oven. That’s the only time to make it, since it’s also when the tomatoes and cucumbers are at their peak and […]
Chicken Country Captain
July 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment
This exotically spiced curry of chicken, tomatoes, peppers, dried fruit, and nuts is proof of Southern food’s cosmopolitan roots. Served with steamed rice, slivered almonds, and fresh parsley, it is wonderfully bone-warming and fragrant.
Deviled Ham Salad
July 28, 2011 by 1 Comment
Think of fresh deviled ham as pork’s answer to chicken salad. Creamy and savory, it makes a great dip for crackers or crostini. For a light lunch, try scooping it into cups of butter lettuce with sliced tomatoes.
Blackberry Cobbler with Drop Cream Biscuits
July 18, 2011 by 2 Comments
As homemade desserts go, cobblers are about as easy as they come; even better, they are endearingly homey and invariably good. The fluffy cream biscuits floating over this blackberry cobbler couldn’t be simpler—just mix and drop. Serve warm with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Meyer Lemonade
June 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Place 1½ cups freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (from 10 to 12 lemons), ½ cup natural cane sugar, ¼ cup honey and a pinch of sea salt in a large glass pitcher with 6 cups water and stir until the sugar and honey dissolve. Add lemon slices from 1 lemon and 4 fresh mint sprigs […]
Tuna Salad
June 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Serves 4 2 6-ounce cans solid white tuna packed in water, drained 2 celery stalks, diced (about 1 cup) 1/2 small green bell pepper, diced 1/2 small red bell pepper, diced 1/2 cup good-quality mayonnaise 3 tablespoons capers, drained 3 tablespoons chopped parsley 2 tablespoons chopped scallions Juice of 1 lemon Sea salt and freshly […]
Granny Foster’s Bread and Butter Pickles
June 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The perfect combination of sweet and tart, thinly sliced bread and butter pickles are the quintessential all-purpose sandwich toppers, delivering lots of big, punchy flavor in a small package. They make such a satisfyingly crunchy snack that—if you’re anything like me—you’ll soon graduate from layering them in sandwiches to munching them straight from the jar. […]
Judy’s Pickled Squash
May 31, 2011 by 2 Comments
Once you start making them, you begin to see pickle potential in just about everything. That—and an overabundance of fast-growing yellow squash—is what inspired my sister, Judy, to make these unusually gratifying sweet squash pickles. I call for yellow squash here, but you can use any kind of summer squash, from Sundrops and pattypans to […]