I grew up in an era of church socials and covered dish dinners. Whenever there was such an event, all the church ladies prepared their best dishes, casseroles, and desserts, filling the tables to capacity. Without fail, there was enough food to feed an army. The spread always included fried chicken, casseroles of every variety, and an array of cakes and pies. At some point, every church in town … [Read more...]
Tortelloni Soup with Chicken and Spinach
After weeks of engorging on calorie-laden holiday food, I'm always craving a return to something lighter and healthier. As I've said before, I believe life is about indulging periodically and balancing the indulgences with healthy eating. I find that soups are a great way to come back to that balance. Soup also warms the soul on a cold, wintery night. I grabbed some fresh tortelloni at my … [Read more...]
Cranberry-Glazed Stuffed Turkey Breast
Let's talk turkey! Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and cooks across the country are preparing their holiday menus. If you're like me, you look forward to planning and cooking this meal all year long. I don't even mind the chaos at my local farmer's market a day or so before the holiday where throngs of people are filling their carts to capacity with all the fixings. I have a small … [Read more...]
Pan-Seared Chicken with Parmesan Grits & Mushroom Gravy
In 2002, Georgia declared grits as its official prepared food. So, being a transplanted but almost native Georgian, I thought it only fair that I revisit grits on a semi-regular basis on Southern Boy Dishes. If you grow up in the South, grits practically become part of your DNA. In my childhood, this ubiquitous staple was found on breakfast tables across the deep South. As time has passed … [Read more...]
Easy Red Beans and Rice
For some reason, beans don't make it to our dinner table very often. Although they're high in fiber and a healthy alternative to meat, they're just not on my radar. Our good friends, Felix and Bruce, host us for dinner on a regular basis. Felix, a first-generation Cuban-American and an awesome cook, makes black beans every week and serves them to us on a regular basis. Each time we eat them, I'm … [Read more...]
Chicken Soup with Butternut Squash and Kale
I apologize for taking a little hiatus from the blog for the last couple of weeks. I have no valid excuse other than life got in the way. Out-of-town guests, crazy busy weekends, and a couple of recipe failures contributed to my absence. However, I had a productive day yesterday and got three recipes in the SBD pipeline. Fall is in full force in Atlanta with chilly mornings and beautiful warm … [Read more...]
Chicken Gumbo Pot Pies
We had our first cold snap this weekend and after waking up to a low of 43 degrees on Sunday morning, the mood hit me to make a big pot of something warm and comforting. After some consideration and an inventory of the refrigerator, chicken gumbo jumped to the top of the list. I've written before that my family has ties to south Louisiana and Cajun and creole food. My mother's sister and her … [Read more...]
Parmesan Chicken with Spinach and Roasted Red Peppers
How many of you cooks are often stuck in the kitchen alone while your family or dinner guests are having fun in another room? I've learned over years of entertaining that it's more fun to incorporate the cooking process into the party. In other words, bring your guests into the kitchen to visit with you while you cook or to help in the process. A bottle of chilled chardonnay usually does to trick … [Read more...]
Stuffed Peppers
I've probably said before that I came into this world with a ravenous appetite. When I was a child, raiding the refrigerator was one of my favorite pastimes. My Mom would regularly look for something in the fridge that she had planned for dinner, and whatever she was looking for disappeared days ago as a snack for little Billy. I was indeed an expensive child to feed! After my post-school … [Read more...]
Tandoori Chicken
We recently went to Cardamom Hill, one of Atlanta's premier Indian restaurants, for some of the best Indian food I've had a long time. Chef Asha Gomez specializes in fried chicken of all things, and if that wasn't "southern" enough, she serves it on a waffle! Now granted it is indeed fried chicken, but I wouldn't say it's the traditionally southern version. Gomez has created the perfect marriage … [Read more...]
Green Goddess Chicken Salad with Fennel and Red Pepper
I'm old enough to remember the Green Goddess salad dressing craze from the 70s and 80s. Anybody else remember it? Made popular in the 70s by Seven Seas (now part of Kraft Foods), this herb-tinted dressing got its start at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Executive chef Philip Roemer created the dressing as a tribute to actor, George Arliss and his hit play, The Green Goddess. It's a shame … [Read more...]
Middle Eastern Chicken Kabobs with Israeli Couscous Tabbouleh
Jim's brother and sister-in-law came to Atlanta for a visit this weekend. Since they were on a mini-vacation and since indulgence is part of a vacation, I decided that I might as well indulge myself. I don't think it should be a surprise that I'm referring to indulgences of the food variety. I couldn't let Joe and Elaine go home and tell their friends that they didn't have good food at our house, … [Read more...]