Sallie's Kitchen Corner
Huevos Rancheros
Last night we had what I call a “desperation dinner”. That happens when you have a busy day and you haven’t planned ahead. Most people are probably better planners than I am. When I had a regular work schedule I made a list of dinners for the week and shopped on the weekend. …
Fabulous in 15
Everyone needs a show off dish that never fails to impress, that can be done at the last minute, and, most importantly, is ridiculously easy. I hate to brag, but I have the perfect one. This is so simple that Richard has already made it twice in his new apartment. …
The Ones Who Got Away
One of my favorite things to do is to plan a party. So when a friend sent me an email saying that she hated hosting dinner parties, and asking me to help her with some ideas, I was delighted.
For me it all begins with lists. There are two types of people in the world, list makers and those who just attack a situation when it arises. …
Let Them Eat Cakes
Yesterday was my husband Sammy’s birthday and I wanted to make him an absolutely dynamite cake. Recently Richard admired one in Food Network Magazine that looked like a cheeseburger. I guess it was cute enough, but come on, cake mix, pudding mix, and my least favorite thing, fondant icing. …
Play With Your Food
Ok, I admit it. You do not have to have Sweet Hungarian Paprika to make Hungarian Goulash. When my cousin emailed me that she had no clue where to look for the stuff, and had already been challenged enough by water chestnuts in THE Casserole, I knew I had gone too far. …
A Rainy Night in Tennessee
On our cold and rainy night in the mountains I made Hungarian Goulash for dinner, and, of course biscuits! A few years ago during a trip to Germany and Austria, I sort of fell in love with goulash. Although there were subtle variations in taste depending on where we were, I never found one I didn’t like. …
Tennessee Sunshine
Gatlinburg is not a culinary destination. Ever. But there is some fun food here and a couple of restaurants worth a visit. One is called The Wild Plum Tea Room. It’s on the Crafts Trail several miles outside of Gatlinburg in a pretty old building where you can eat on a screened in porch by a creek. …
Cooking on Vacation
I am a person who loves to cook on vacation. My golfing friends always travel with their golf clubs, but I travel with my kitchen spice collection and garden herbs. Everyone needs a hobby. We are at my beautiful house in the mountains, and this morning I’m having fun planning tonight’s dinner. …
How to Feed a Friend in Need
Don’t you just love Southern Hospitality? One thing I’ll say is that we sure know how to feed a friend in need. There is nothing like a home cooked meal sent by someone who cares to brighten up the corner of your world. Recently my friend Beth and I hatched a plan to take dinner to friend who would be returning home from surgery today. …
Ready for Success
After a dismal failure with soup yesterday I am ready for a success in the kitchen today. I was thumbing through cookbooks looking for inspiration, and stumbled on a quotation that looked like a sign!
“All sorrows are less with bread.”…
Alice in Wonderland
The recipes in Richard’s cookbook are all tried and true family favorites that he loves. When I realized that this would be for a greater audience, I started to REALLY PROOFREAD since I’m one of those cooks who “throws stuff in.” …
My Neighborhood
Last night I went to a fabulous party. It was a neighborhood potluck hosted by Phyllis and Bill who were very kind to do all the hard work and planning. Potluck suppers are my favorite type party for a variety of reasons. First of all, there is the “pigginess” aspect - eating lots and lots of delicious food. …
The Best Gift
I am incredibly lucky to have a friend who has been kind enough to share her beautiful daughter with me for almost 20 years. Caroline is just 7 months younger than Richard so they grew up together. When they were little they used to write and perform the most hilarious plays. …
Stocking the Pantry
Yesterday I went to lunch with a dear friend of mine, who is a brilliant doctor and everybody wants a piece of her, so lunch was a wonderful gift. She is also the mother of a newly enrolled freshman at Dartmouth. She never shed a tear at lunch, I can’t imagine being so brave. …
Cookbook Friends
I believe that there are two types of cookbook readers: those it who read a recipe and follow it exactly, and those who read a cookbook like a novel and throw it over their shoulder on the way into the kitchen. I have both kinds of friends and their reactions to my recipes are really helping me with my own cookbook. …
Cheese Omelette
Gosh, it’s amazing what interest the mention of an omelette can generate. I guess it’s just a perfect food. The first time I went to New York I was 22 years old. My cousin took me to an omelet restaurant who’s claim to fame was having 1000 omelets on the menu. …
Dinner for Friends
My two best teacher friends are coming to dinner tonight and I want it to be special. For 10 years of my life I was with them almost everyday at Hillsboro High School and although I miss the day-to-day contact, it’s a lot of fun to get to have a girl’s night out.
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Warm Chocolate Mess
I got bored with proof reading yesterday, so I started thinking about cooking tips that I want to include in the book for the less experienced cook. Looking at other books and online, I quickly found topics like 100 Things to Avoid in the Kitchen…
Perfect Setptember Football Weekend
This was a perfect September football weekend! Really, it started Thursday night, so a long football weekend. We had some wins, “Go Vandy”. Some losses, poor Saints and, well, I’ll go with a good showing by our Titans. By half time of the Jets and Cowboys game last night, we were ready to call it a quits. …
September 11, 2011
On this Sunday, September 11, 2011, I think about how lucky I am to be blessed with a loving family and how proud I am to be a citizen of the United States of America. Ten years ago on this date I sat with my seniors at Hillsboro High School watching the events unfold on television. …
Macaroons
Richard phoned home one night last week to ask me where to find pistachios in the grocery store. I wasn’t there, so he asked Sammy who had no clue and failed to ask the correct question, “why do you need pistachios?” Inquiring minds would want to know!
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Rosemary Parmesan Crisps
Last night I went to a cocktail party for another cookbook that some friends and I put together and I edited. They are all probably finding mistakes I missed at this very minute. Of course Richard’s will be flawless! The party was just lovely, perfect porch setting. …
Guest Chef
It’s just my fourth day doing this blog and I already have a guest chef. Can you believe it?!
Check out the photos. Benjamin is a high school senior. We worked on his college essays (he’s so smart- great sense of humor), and then he did a test run making one of the recipes from the cookbook. …
Five Ingredient Wonder
Here is a revelation: I thought this book would have a target audience of young people who want a good basic cookbook that gives very thorough instruction. The fact is that it’s a good book for anyone of any age who is a little unsure in the kitchen.
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Will - Dartmouth, Class of 2015
Will, center in this photo, left for Dartmouth this morning. He is “roughing it” with the freshman class in the great outdoors of New Hampshire for three days.
Will also will be one of the recipe testers for this cookbook. Best wishes to Richard’s “other brother.”
Initial Thoughts...
What started as request from my son, Richard, to make a cookbook for him as he moved into his first apartment has turned into a major project. Richard and I have always loved to cook together, but mostly he just did what I said to do (OK, in the kitchen, not necessarily in life). …
