My dad has a theory about marriage: that if you can survive being sick, hanging wallpaper, and moving  together, you’re good. So far, Jeff and I have survived each of us being sick and adopted a staunch no-wallpaper policy. Tonight, we are loading the truck to start our first move together. He’s painstakingly breaking down all of his office equipment, which he will then arrange in the truck with Tetris-worthy precision. I’m packing up the bathroom, because I’M NOT READY to pack up the kitchen yet.

Towels? Whatever. I need my food processor.

This begs the question, how am I keeping my husband from strangling a bounty such as myself? It’s all about those three little words: homemade chocolate pudding.

I owe it all to Melissa of It’s Melissa’s Kitchen. She picked the pudding as this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, and thanks to her, I have six ramekins of impossibly creamy, rich chocolate pudding to buy Jeff’s good will while I procrastinate. Make that five ramekins. Four? It is good, and those ramekins are small.

What makes Dorie’s chocolate pudding so good? First, you can’t go wrong with any combination of whole milk, sugar, butter, vanilla, and chocolate. Second, you mix the pudding in your food processor, which makes it incredibly smooth. And finally, you chill the pudding for at least four hours before you eat it. Four. Hours. When you take that first bite, you might wonder what all the fuss is about, but this is a dessert that’s meant to be savored. Slow down, and the chocolate will become more pronounced.

After the first two ramekins, Jeff had this idea that the pudding would be even better with something crunchy over the top, so I baked a batch of thin lace cookies and sandwiched them together with melted chocolate. If you’ve never baked lace cookies, let me warn you that the secret ingredient is PROFANITY. You won’t get a decent batch until you’ve cursed. A lot. So, stay very close to the oven, and when you can smell the cookies, PULL THOSE #*%^&*$ OUT!

If we had a little more time at this house, I would make the pudding again and try it as a chocolate pie filling. But it’s time to pack the food processor. And the Kitchen-Aid. And say goodbye to our first home. I’m sure the next one will be filled with even more good times. And absolutely no wallpaper.

*You’ll find Dorie’s chocolate pudding recipe here. For the lace cookies, keep reading.

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We are moving this week, which means I should be packing boxes. A lot of boxes. Which means I’m making Paula Deen’s Corn Casserole.

Maybe you procrastinate by cooking? It’s not that I’m not excited about the move. I am. I’m actually going to have a closet INSIDE OUR BEDROOM. But our current home has magical drawers. Just when I think they’re empty, I open one, and there are, like, 38 pairs of takeout chopsticks, a 3-foot set of tongs, and two phone books. I thought about using one of those phone books to look up “exorcism,” but what we really need to put things right is this corn casserole.

I’m using the term “corn” loosely, since any nutrients this vegetable might have disappear in the casserole, bending like reeds before the great mass of butter, sour cream, and cheese. Oh, yes, and Jiffy corn muffin mix. But, you know, nutrients aren’t everything. There is beauty in the balance of sweet and tangy, soft and crunchy, whole food and soul food.

Tonight, surrounded by all these boxes, we need soul food. And for the USA Network to stop the “Law and Order” marathons. Seriously. I can’t pack boxes and watch fictional people solve fictional crimes at the same time. And crime-solving ALWAYS trumps packing boxes.

This corn casserole is incredibly easy. Stir the ingredients together, pop the dish into the oven, top them with cheese, and dig in. It’s delicious as-is, but Jeff likes to cut the leftovers into wedges and pop them into the toaster oven to get the edges really crispy. A great dish for potlucks, packing, and crime-solving.

Corn Casserole
From Paula Deen, “Paula’s Home Cooking,” Food Network

• 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix (recommended: Jiffy)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, stir together the two cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9-by-13-inch casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with cheddar. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

It’s too hot for skin today. So, why am I posting about soup?

A few weeks ago, my friend Karen Beth asked for a good gazpacho recipe, and it got me thinking and craving and obsessing about one of my favorite summer lunches: Jamie Oliver’s Fresh Tomato and Sweet Chili Pepper Soup with Smashed Basil and Olive Oil.

The fresh tomatoes, roasted red peppers, chili pepper, and basil form a unique mix that you can swing Italian or Tex-Mex. It tastes just as good with a toasted mozzarella, tomato, and basil sandwich as it does with a nice hunk of The Barefoot Contessa’s jalapeno cheddar cornbread. My research has been intense.

If you’re looking for a slow-cook, feel free to lovingly blanch, peel, seed, and chop the tomatoes … and grill, peel, and chop the red bell peppers. For a quick cook, pick up a can or two of plum tomatoes and a jar of roasted red peppers, which I’m sure God created on the Eighth Day, because I love them so.

So, Karen Beth, this isn’t gazpacho, but it IS just as amazing cold as it is straight off the stove. Again, intense research. Hope you like it!

Fresh Tomato and Sweet Chili Pepper Soup with Smashed Basil and Olive Oil
Adapted from Jamie Oliver’s The Naked Chef

• 15 ripe plum tomatoes
• 3 medium red bell peppers
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh seeded red chili
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, or to taste
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 handfuls of fresh basil leaves

Score the tops of the tomatoes, blanch in boiling water for about 20 seconds, or until you can remove the skins and seed. Grill the peppers whole (to achieve a really sweet pepper taste they should be grilled until black), rest in a covered bowl, then peel and finely chop them.

Put the chopped peppers in a warmed, thick-bottomed pan with 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and the chopped red chili. Add a pinch of salt and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the roughly chopped tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes with another pinch of salt and red wine vinegar so that they sort of melt and infuse themselves together. Add the stock and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.

In a food processor, chop the basil to a pulp. Add a pinch of salt. Stir in the remaining olive oil and a drop more red wine vinegar. Drizzle the mixture generously over your soup.

Today, Barefoot Bloggers around the world are posting Ina Garten’s jalapeno cheddar cornbread. It’s a recipe she prepared on her TV show, “Barefoot Contessa,” for an episode called “The Cat’s Away.” Apparently, when Ina’s husband Jeffrey is away, she makes herself a pan of jalapeno cheddar cornbread and a steaming pot of Mexican chicken soup.

When my husband Jeff is away, I make myself a bowl of Fruity Cheerios.

Jeff’s working late this week, so it seemed like a good time to try Ina’s way. Be warned, her cornbread recipe has a few stunning omissions: a cast-iron skillet, buttermilk, and bacon fat. (Special note to my mom: I KNOW! Maybe they don’t have bacon in Connecticut.) Her cornbread also has three times more flour than cornmeal. Barely yellow, bless its heart.

But I think the Contessa is on to something. The cakelike crumbs soak in soup like a sponge without completely falling apart. And the fresh jalapenos add just enough spice to save the cornbread from being too sweet.

I guess we all have certain things we eat when the cat’s away. Ina has her cornbread and soup. I have my Fruity Cheerios or something Jeff doesn’t like (i.e. fruit salad, brie and crackers, a smoothie). So, I’m curious. What do you have for dinner when it’s just you? Do you make a serious effort or go for the Meal of Least Resistance?

P.S. I’ll get to the soup tomorrow! It’s fast, summery, and delicious hot or cold. Plus, it’s red. Bonus!

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Ah, comfort food.

You have no idea how much we were looking forward to the Fourth of July. First, we were going to drive to my parents’ house for our annual Red, White, and Blue Breakfast–an event that started after Momma handed Daddy the business end of a sparkler and we had to come up with a fireworks alternative.

Then we were going to drive to Jeff’s hometown for the Fourth of July Family Reunion. Imagine hundreds of people gathered near a huge oak tree with so many grills going that they use refrigerators powered by hundreds of yards of extension cords to store the uncooked meat. Older people explaining how everyone’s related and children underfoot. Taking your turn shooting the potato cannon–a PVC pipe that, with a little pump action, will blast a raw baking potato into the middle of next week.

And after a day with family, we were going to drive to the small-town festival where we got engaged. It’s a sign post on blacktop, but the entire city raises money 364 days of the year for the fireworks show, and it is spectacular. People drive in for miles.

But Jeff got sick. Very sick. The nurse told me to restrict his meals to white flour, which was quite a blow to a man with visions of slathered ribs dancing in his head.

So, I baked him some angel biscuits.

Angel biscuits are the biscuit/roll hybrid that have been a staple of Southern ladies’ luncheons and the dinner table for at least 60 years. They are light, foolproof (thanks to three leaveners), and the yeast gives them a unique flavor. Plus, the dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, so you can bake them off as needed.

While I was looking for the right recipe, I found Kitty Crider’s “Anything For Mother,” a column the food editor wrote about flying to visit her dying mother, a Southern cook who had lost her appetite. Kitty offers to cook anything. Her mother sits silently for a long time, sips her tea, and settles on angel biscuits. It’s a beautiful piece. One worth reading.

Just like Kitty, I burned the first batch. But the second batch was delicious. Jeff ate enough to take his antibiotic, and I ate enough for a third-world country.

After the jump, you’ll find the angel biscuit recipe from The Blue Willow Inn Restaurant in Social Circle, Ga. These biscuits are true comfort food–easy to prepare and proven to comfort the sick, soothe the soul, and serve as an excellent vehicle for both butter and love, which are often the same.
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My sister is always telling me she can’t do the Tuesdays with Dorie recipes at home. Too many pans, too many steps, weird ingredients.

Jennifer, this one is for you: apple cheddar scones.

You probably have most of the ingredients right now. And if you don’t, this is a great recipe for substitutions. Not feeling the apples? Replace the 1/2 cup of apple juice with water and the 1/2 cup of dried apples with something else (i.e. a 1/2 cup of smoked bacon, country ham, sausage, dried blueberries, dried cranberries). Or trade the cheese for toasted walnuts or pecans.

Seriously, you don’t even need a rolling pin. Stir the ingredients together, sprinkle a little flour on the counter, and pat the dough into a circle or rectangle, 1/2-inch thick. Then cut it into 12 slices. If you’ve patted it into a circle, cut it pizza-style. If you’ve done a rectangle, cut it into 12 smaller rectangles or grab a glass and cut it biscuit-style. Then place the slices on a baking sheet, and bake them for about 15 minutes.

If you don’t want 12 scones, divide the recipe in half.

The apple cheddar scones are great plain or with butter. But if you decide to go with fruit and nuts instead, try making a glaze with powdered sugar, milk (or cream), and a little vanilla. And invite me over.

For the full recipe, visit Karina of The Floured Apron.