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Showing posts from 2014

Christmas Giveaway - Christmas All Through the South - Southern Living

    Photos courtesy of Southern Living First of all, Merry Christmas everybody!  It's that time of year again...my absolutely favorite.  A time that was so magical as a child, and yet still finds a way to be magical as an adult.  All of the twinkling lights, hot cocoa, holiday movies and music makes my heart happy.  And let's not forget the true meaning of Christmas! Today, I bring you a truly magnificent Christmas book by the awesome editors at Southern Living - Christmas All Through the South .  When I first received this book to review, I was delighted with the cover.  It's so festive and pretty, and it's made a beautiful display on my kitchen counter this holiday season sitting on its easel.  It's a rather large book filled with gorgeous, full-color photos, which I love. Photos courtesy of Southern Living Here's a blurb from the official press release: "Combining all the elements for which Southern Living is know and revered - food,

Mom's Chicken & Dressing

Hand-written recipes are the best. Who's ready for some Thanksgiving dressing??  Dressing is serious business around here.  Brad excitedly waits ALL year for the wonderful day that dressing graces his dinner plate.  In fact, I have to make 2 separate pans of it at the holidays.  One classic recipe, plus one with sausage added.  That way, there's sure to be plenty for leftovers after the hubbub of the big day is over. This year, we had an extra special treat when my Mom visited us.  She was in the mood for her famous Chicken & Dressing for dinner, and Brad and I weren't ABOUT to complain.  You see, her dressing is the stuff holiday dreams are made of.  She's made it the same for as long as I can remember, and it's simply fabulous.  Try as I might, I've never been able to pull it off like her.  Mine always turns out differently.  But alas, I watched every step while she made it this time, and I think I've got it!  Hooray! Also, I love hand-writt

Apple Cinnamon Bread

  You won't find any tricks here today...only treats!  Hopefully your costumes are ready and bowls of candy wait by the front door in preparation for tonight's festivities. I've seriously been craving something baked with apples and cinnamon lately, thanks to the arrival of my very favorite season.  Fall, I heart you. This bread was fabulous.  It was perfectly sweet, packed with fresh apples and delightfully cinnamon-y.  It's easy to make and will infuse your entire home with delicious wafts of goodness. I repeat, delicious wafts of goodness, people.  :) It was hard for us to wait until the photos were taken before devouring this loaf.  You'll love it, too!  The next time I bake this (and there WILL be a next time!) I'm thinking about mixing the apples throughout the batter before it goes into the loaf pan, and then using the technique below to create the cinnamon/sugar swirl.  I think the bread would be equally fantastic with apples through

Creole Shrimp & Sweet Potato Grits

Well, my food photography studio is finally back up and running after a short hiatus following our move...I'm so excited to get the blog posts flowing again.  I've even got a window in the studio that has gorgeous natural light, so I'm looking forward to experimenting with that. This delicious seafood dinner graced our table last night.  Shrimp & Grits has long been a favorite of ours, but I love recipes that put a new twist on stand-by favorites.  The sweet potato grits are what originally caught my attention.   I used an apple-smoked gouda cheese in the grits, which paired with the mashed sweet potatoes perfectly.  It gave the grits a wonderfully cheesy, smoky flavor, and the sweet potatoes infused the grits with super food nutrients. This is an easy dish to prepare and left us plenty of time to enjoy our new fire pit after dinner.  My sweet hubby built a fire pit for me recently, and we love spending time around it roasting marshmallows and making smores.  I

Purple (Blackberry Buttermilk) Pancakes, Cutie Pies & Pink Roses

I promise I haven't completely fallen off the blogosphere!  This year has been insanely crazy on so many levels.  In July, we moved into a new home, so we've been busy setting up house and decorating.  I'll have to share some photos of my new kitchen with you in my next post.   Because of all the packing, moving and disarray, my food photo studio has yet to be re-assembled in the new house.  It's coming VERY soon, though!  Then, I'll be back up and running in full force.  Because you know what?  I've missed you guys! :) Throughout all the moving chaos, my nieces and I have carried on our tradition of Sunday morning breakfast goodies after a sleep-over.  One such morning involved Purple (err, Blackberry!) Pancakes and hand-picked knock-out roses from the new garden.  I thought I'd have some fun and change up my favorite Buttermilk Pancake recipe with some chopped blackberries.  They added such a terrific color, that these photos don't even do t

Giada's Lemon Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze and Candied Lemon

Ahh, the joys of baking.  It's my therapy.  :) Today, I'm bringing you a gorgeous, mouth-watering concoction that you will love.  This beautiful, lemon-flavored bundt cake is smothered in a delectable chocolate glaze that falls over the edges and wraps the entire cake in an oozy, goozy hug.  The cake itself is studded with little bits of candied lemons that give it both a satisfying and surprising twist with each bite. This cake is so unexpected, thanks to the lemon.  Yet, somehow, the flavors are perfect together.  The addition of buttermilk in the cake batter helps to keep it moist and lends a wonderful texture.  I love baking with buttermilk and substitute it into all kinds of recipes whenever I can.   Although the recipe might seem a little long, I promise it's not complicated.  It would be an ideal baking session for a lazy weekend afternoon, when you can take your time and enjoy the process.  A few tips to keep in mind would be to not cut the lemon slices too

Kale, Mushroom & Tomato Saute with Polenta

Simple weeknight meals are something that I'm always on the lookout for.  After all, it's way too easy to get in a routine of making the same old things every week (I'm totally guilty of this!).  This meal from Whole Foods Market is a great example...It's one of their highest rated recipes on their website, plus it looked super easy.  So, I decided to give it a try. I'm a big fan of kale lately, so it's no surprise I was drawn to this recipe.  I jokingly say that I'm going to turn green one day from eating it so much.  I mean, it IS healthy!  :)  I love it, because it's pretty versatile and has a great flavor.  The ingredients for this meal are also inexpensive, and I ended up with LOTS of extra kale from the 32oz bag to use in other recipes. This dish did indeed  come together quickly.  It's as simple as sauting a skillet full of mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and kale.  Then, slices of polenta are quickly sauted in a separate skil

Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Pancakes

I just love it when my little nieces spend the night.  We always have such a fun time.  The last time they both spent the night with us, we drug the telescope out of retirement and gazed up at space, while the cicadas hummed and sang from the trees all around us.  They learned all about the craters on the moon, Saturn's rings, constellations and Mars.  Talk about a picture perfect summer evening! We have a tradition of waking up on Sunday morning and baking something fun together.  I've written about the Buttermilk Biscuits and Chocolate Chip Muffins we've made before here on the blog.  Well, these gorgeous, mouth-watering pancakes are the results of one such recent sleep-over. These pancakes are amazingly easy, yet so delicious you'll go back for seconds (okay, maybe thirds!).  I mean, who can resist a breakfast that's filled with ooey gooey chocolate chips and is covered with sweet syrup?!? Bon Appetit, my friends! Chocolate Chip Buttermilk P

Seattle's Best So Simple Iced Coffee

Have I ever told you the story of how Brad and I met?  Well, our little love story started out like this... One fateful summer day, I stumbled into a little coffee shop right down the street from my new college apartment.  It was smack in the middle of an ideallyic little area called English Village and was called Joe Muggs Newsstand.  I had just moved to Birmingham, AL with one of my best friends, Mary Katherine, to go to college.  We wanted part-time jobs, and low and behold, Joe Muggs was hiring! We filled out our applications and both got hired.  What a massively fun job that was!  I became a "Master Barista" and could make a mean iced coffee, cappuccino, mocha, or whatever your coffee-lovin' heart desired.  Those were such fun times that I'll never forget.  I could go on and on with stories about working in that little shop. Shortly after I started the job, I met a handsome fellow that also happened to work there.  Yep, you guessed it...His name was Brad

An Exciting Giveaway - $50 Southern Bite Cookbook Prize Package!

Okay, friends...How about another awesome cookbook giveaway?  This one is a new favorite and is authored by my food blogging friend, Stacey Little, from The Southern Bite .   The Southern Bite prize package features a signed copy of the cookbook in a Southern Bite bag, along with an assortment of fun kitchen utensils/gadgets. The prize package is valued at over $50! I had the pleasure of meeting Stacey at the 2013 Southern Baking Retreat in Nashville, TN.  I'm a big fan of his blog, and I'm thrilled to offer a copy of his long-awaited cookbook, The Southern Bite Cookbook , to one lucky reader. Stacey's work has been featured on The Today Show, Fox & Friends, Southern Lady Magazine, as well as many other print and online publications.  His new book is filled with luscious photos of some of the most mouth-wateringly southern food you can imagine.   I also love the personal stories and family shots that fill the pages.  This book is best enjoyed with a glas