“Dude. Seriously? Don’t even try it. Just buy the can.”
My sister was less than enthusiastic when I told her I was working on a recipe for homemade Sloppy Joes. She’d tried a few copycat recipes for the canned mix. And really, really hated them.
So, I looked up the ones she’d tried, jotted down some notes and decided on a few things. Namely, I didn’t want green or red peppers in my sloppy joes. It’s a texture thing. And I didn’t want to replace the canned mix with ketchup. I know that not all ketchups are created equally, but the one in my fridge contains high fructose corn syrup and other amazing feats of science. So does my favorite canned sloppy joe mix. Why trade one for the other? For me, the point of making sloppy joes from scratch was to avoid any man-made nutritional grenades.
(Butter and brown sugar don’t count, because they are surely of The Lord. Testify!)
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Once upon a time, before mesclun greens and other frou-frou salads took over, the Wedge Salad ruled.
A cold, sweet, crunchy head of iceberg lettuce, quartered and topped with a liberal amount of dressing, diced tomatoes and cheese. Maybe some green onions or a chopped hard-boiled egg. Lots of freshly fried bacon.
The wedge was a staple in homes and steakhouses until we got wise to the dangers of liberal amounts of dressing, cheese and lots of freshly fried bacon. So, it doesn’t need to be a staple. But, as a once-in-a-while splash of decadence – especially when you pair it with a grilled steak and a baked potato – it’s pretty spectacular. Big flavors and big crunch, best devoured in nice, big bites.
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“Hey, girls! Peanut butter or pimento cheese?”
Mama called out that choice every day of summer vacation, when my sister and I were too busy – knee-deep in Barbie dolls, books and baby dolls – to bother with sitting at the table to eat our lunch like civilized humans. With one of those sandwiches, we could eat with one hand and keep the other hand free for more important things, like playing “Life” and pillow-fighting and doling out the occasional Slap of Justice when someone cheated.
My summertime choice was always pimento cheese. Nothing against peanut butter, but when you step outside into the summer heat and feel like you’re suffocating in the armpit of Satan, the coldness of that pimento cheese is a cure-all.
Of course, I’m assuming you know what pimento cheese is, but if you’re not a Southerner (by birth, marriage or choice), I have some explaining to do.
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I think I’ve been in denial about summer. About it coming back. But yesterday, the temperature was around 90, and this morning, I saw Lifestyle Expert Colin Cowie on TV flanked by huge pitchers of sangria. So, resistance is futile. Especially to the sangria.
If you’re like me, the less time spent in a hot summer kitchen, the better, but salads and sandwiches can get a little boring. This recipe was inspired by a sandwich I sampled at the Potlikker Film Festival last month. Two slices of thick, fresh bread stuffed with chopped radishes, arugula and capers. It was light but full of flavor, a vegetarian option that didn’t seem like an afterthought.
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I’m really not a slaw person. Before this recipe, I thought it existed solely as a condiment for barbecue sandwiches.
But I really needed something light and cold and crunchy to eat with my Peppery Brown Sugar Salmon. Something to take the place of my beloved corn casserole and its buttery booty-enhancing properties.
This recipe works for me because of the Asian-inspired dressing. Instead of vinegar or mayonnaise, you taste sesame oil, fresh lime juice, rice wine vinegar, fresh ginger, dark brown sugar and soy sauce. And it’s easy to tweak these ingredients to suit your taste and whatever vegetables you choose for your slaw. I used green cabbage, red cabbage and spinach, because that’s what I had on hand, but you could substitute the spinach for bell pepper strips, snow peas or shredded carrots for a bright, colorful slaw with loads of texture.
That booty’s looking better already. Work it!
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I just read that Jessica Simpson is going to appear on “Oprah” this Friday to complain about John Mayer calling her “sexual napalm.”
What’s wrong with being sexual napalm?
MUST I BEAR THIS BURDEN ALONE?
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“Have a nice glass of wine, and take your top off.” – Julia Roberts, on how to have a great Valentine’s Day
Last Valentine’s Day, I made a big mistake. Well, actually, four small ones. A lovely little set of pastel Conversation Heart Mini Cakes. Elisa Strauss (from Confetti Cakes!) linked to them on her blog. My photo of them popped up on other food and design sites.
They were cute, but they were so not for my man. All that fondant? I might as well have shown up for Valentine’s dinner in a turtleneck and sensible pants.
So, this year, it’s not about handmade truffles or homemade lollipops or anything that looks like it would fit right in at the unicorn-themed birthday party of a 4-year-old girl. Nope. This year, Jeff’s getting a huge candy heart full of the culinary equivalent of taking one’s top off: Sausage Balls.
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When it comes to dips, I’m an equal opportunity glutton. Warm spinach and artichoke? Yes. Ro-Tel® Queso? Can’t pass it up. French onion? Give us some privacy.
But every once in a while, you find a dip that transcends the genre, and for me, that’s Seven Layer Dip. Black beans, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), chunky guacamole, fresh salsa, scallions, cheese and cilantro. It’s like a bean burrito in a bowl. And by that, I mean it’s like Heaven.
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