Fried Coconut Shrimp with Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce

As promised, my thoughts have turned to spring this week.   I’m particularly excited for outdoor entertaining.  Now, before the heat and bugs of summer, is the perfect time to roll out the grill and invite some friends over for dinner under the stars.

This recipe for fried coconut shrimp with sweet and spicy dipping sauce is an ideal first bite for such an evening.  Our gas grill has a side burner on it that is great for warming sauces.  It’s also my preferred place to fry as oil splattering around our back patio does not cause the same dismay as it does in our house.

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Lentil and Vegetable Stew

I have a confession to make.  Here in Charlotte,  tiny, bright green leaves cover trees and tulips blossom with a host of other flowers.  The temperature is hovering around 80.  It’s gorgeous and  I’m wishing for just a little more winter. Have I lost my mind?

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Arepas de Queso

Raised on “Georgia ice cream,” I’d say I know a thing or two about grits.  For those who hail from other parts of the country or the world, grits are a porridge-like food made of ground cornmeal that is a staple on Southern tables.  They can be served for breakfast with chipped beef or red-eye gravy, cooked with cheese to make a savory side, or even topped with sautéed shrimp and sausage to make the Charleston favorite shrimp and grits.

While creamy, buttery grits are delicious, they certainly don’t fall into the eat-on-the-go category of foods.  Requiring a spoon to eat, grits are more suited to a  sit down meal and they certainly wouldn’t be your first choice for something to eat as you run out the door.  Or at least that’s what I thought…

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Culinary Inspiration

This week I received an irresistible offer from my college advisor.   He and his wife are down-sizing and he wanted to know if I might want his old Gourmet magazines.  Despite my overflowing bookshelves, my stacks of magazines waiting to be read, and my binders of recipes waiting to be tested, I answered with an enthusiastic “YES.”

Since picking them up this morning, I’ve been a bit distracted.  Ranging in date from 1987 to 1996, these magazines represent a mouthful of delicious reading and I’ve already found more than enough recipes to keep me in the kitchen for some time.

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Sweet Potato Biscuits with Country Ham and Honey Mustard

Flaky, tender and buttery, biscuits with a bit of country ham make a filling breakfast and a tasty appetizer. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Southern delicacy known as country ham, please let me educate you.  Country ham is dry cured for several days, before being smoked and then aged for up to a year.   While country ham is easy to come by and relatively inexpensive in most Southern supermarkets,  several artisanal producers have taken the stuff I grew up on to the next level.

While my favorite way to eat country ham is with a little red-eye gray, this recipe doesn’t disappoint.  The sweetness of the sweet potato biscuit and honey mustard paired with the salty country ham is a pleasure that’s worth the effort.    For those of you that have read enough to know this is something you must make, please jump ahead to the recipe.  For those souls aspiring to biscuit greatness, please read on.  For my visual learners, click here.  Everyone happy?

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Baked Egg with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Leek

Cooking for one is a funny thing.  I love the idea of making a delicious dinner just for me.  It seems wonderfully indulgent.  Yet every time the opportunity arises, I lose motivation.  Thoughts of ingredients that need to be prepped, dirty pans, and the final clean-up leave me feeling exhausted.  As if on cue, I’m mysteriously pulled to the pantry where cereal is lurking and before I realize it, I’m seated on the couch eating breakfast.

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Braised Short Ribs

You may have plans for a candlelit dinner in a swanky restaurant this Valentine’s Day.  As I write this, you’re dreaming of how you’ll woo your sweetheart through bubbling champagne in tall flutes, juicy bites of filet mignon, and the inevitable dessert that oozes dark chocolate as you and your special someone gaze into each other’s eyes.  It sounds wonderful, but I’d like to propose an alternative.  I’d like to suggest that you braise something.

Now don’t scoff in disgust at my seeming lack of romance.  Braising, while not nearly as sexy-sounding as lobster poached in vanilla butter or dark chocolate molten cakes, is a culinary technique that practically guarantees a night of love.

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