Mother’s Day is a day earmarked to celebrate moms. As a mom, I am fully aware that my children have been nurtured and cared for by many women! Nurture is an innate quality that most women have naturally and are taught by the seasoned women before them. Mother’...
Read More
Collard greens are my personal favorite green leafy vegetable. For me they drum up many childhood memories that span across the many kitchens of grandmothers, aunties, or any gathering worthy of the preparation of these tender and tasty greens. Bagged precut greens were not of that error. I very ...
Read More
I remember growing up and wanting to get my cheeseburgers from a fast food joint. If you grew up in a home like mine, fast food burgers came far and in between. If we had groceries at home, there was absolutely no reason the go by food from somewhere else. Either you ate what was...
Dessert is a sweet delectable treat that should be enjoyed by all. There is a greater fear of baking than cooking savory dishes. Baking is a science, that is true. However, there are some simple desserts that even the person who never picks up a pot or a pan can achieve! This mini cookie...
Winter time is the right time for the comforts of a turkey pot pie, and if you have leftover turkey from the holidays this recipe is for you. Quite frankly, this pot pie recipe will work great with chicken, beef, ham, or no meat at all! The filling can be made in advance and...
Who does not like macaroni and cheese?! In VINCENT COUNTRY, you will not find one. We are fans and are extremely particular about the preparation. There are many ways to prepare this soul-stirring comfort dish, and for us baked is the only way to go. Macaroni and cheese baked is considered a casserole. For special...
Game on! Football season is getting down to the nitty gritty and VINCENT COUNTRY is all in. It is the perfect time to whip up Chef Tommi V.’s monster pot of chili. It yields enough for a game day party, or you can break it down into batches of three and freeze in ziplocks. Chili...
There is nothing like a sweet potato pie! While some may favor pumpkin pie, hands down sweet potato pie wins over pumpkin pie in VINCENT COUNTRY. My family might send me to the woodshed if I even attempted to utter the words pumpkin pie. There is something very comforting and reminiscent of down south that...
For people who subscribe to being carnivorous in nature (ME 😃) the term vegan causes our ears to perk up. Not because we are curious to try the food, but because it does not translate into food we will enjoy. That is a result of the misconception that vegan eating is a “diet”. The bad...
Troy is a meat and potatoes kind of guy. He could easily go days without a vegetable, and not even realize he has deprived himself of nature’s promises! He is such a carnivore 😆! If I prepare them he has no problem eating them, but due to his work schedule and travel, he is the...
It is summertime, and with summer comes barbeques and a many variety of celebrations. I always enjoy the menu selection during this time of the year. There is nothing like charred meats on the grill, but no summer celebration is complete without the sides to accompany the barbeque. There are staples, such as, potato salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw, and a faithful toss salad. All good in a nostalgic kind of way. I like to mix it up, some staples with some surprises. This year I added my “Curry Shrimp Pasta Salad” to the repertoire. It is a sure crowd pleaser and may just...
If you grew up in a kitchen similar my Nana Edie’s, you know there are no recipes! You watch and observe. In my case, I could not just sit on the sidelines. The attraction to cooking came early and runs in my DNA. I come from a long line of amazing chefs. Yes, I used the term chef because that is exactly who they were. They cooked for the entire neighborhood daily. That sounds like a restaurant with customers to me! The difference is, it was a labor of love, and the compensation was watching others get full...
Yields 2 – 8” 1 – 10” deep dish Preheat oven to 350°F Ingredients: 8 Eggs 2 c. Heavy Cream 1 t. Salt 1 t. Pepper 12 Roasted plum tomatoes, diced – recipe on blog 4 oz. Smoked Gruyere cheese 4 oz. Colby cheese 4 oz. Jack cheese Tri-color tomatoes Fresh cracked pepper Pie crust...
Yields 12 Preheat oven to 325° F Ingredients: 6 Plum tomatoes, halved olive oil Balsamic vinegar Salt Fresh cracked black pepper Place tomatoes on a baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Place in oven for 40 min. Remove and cool.
It is always fun to take a very traditional staple and funk it up. VINCENT COUNTRY loves grits! I decided to use blue coarse grits instead of traditional grits. To me there is a nuttier flavor and they cook up smoother. They are not a typical grit found in the grocery store, at least I have not found them. I order them fresh from a milling company. It is a fairly simple recipe. My tip is to stir often. 6 c. water 1 T Salt 2 c. Blue coarse grits 8 oz. mascarpone Salt and pepper to taste Put water and salt into a saucepan, bring to a boil. Reduce water to medium, add grits while stirring constantly with a whisk. Add mascarpone to grits, continue to stir consistently. Reduce heat to low and...
Fresh corn on the cob just rings warm weather and barbeques! The weather has transitioned (fingers crossed) and it is time for outdoor entertaining. This a very simple salad power packed with flavor and vibrant colors. Ingredients: 8 Ears of corn 1 Pint grape tomatoes ¼ c. green onion, chopped 3 stems fresh oregano, remove leaves from stem 4 Fresh basil leaves 2 t. salt ½ t. pepper 2 t. Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb ½ c. Olive Oil 2 T. Balsamic vinegar Cut fresh corn off cobb, place in medium...
Fish cakes are common place in southern kitchens. If you are like our family, transplants in the north, fish cakes were a menu staple as well. Our grandparents and great-aunties & uncles continued to pass along the legacy—inspired cooking. Fishing is an enjoyable pastime and creating dishes to accommodate the buckets of fish that made it into the kitchen required thoughtfulness and ingenuity. These salmon cakes are drawn from that inspiration, coupled with finding ways to incorporate the tremendous health benefits of omega-3 fatty acid found in salmon. Yields 48 —1oz. patties 24 —2oz. patties 16 —3 oz. patties Preheat oven to 375 °F 2 lbs. Salmon filet 2 T. Butter ¼ c. Maple syrup Salt and pepper (to taste) Line a baking pan with foil. Place Salmon on pan, season with salt and pepper Cut butter into four slices and place down...
Waffles have become a menu item for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A simple addition of fruit elevates the mundane to magnificent! Blueberries are nutritious and antioxidant rich. Yields – 12, 4×4 waffles Ingredients: 3 c. whole wheat flour (I use King Authur) 1 ½ t. baking powder 1 t. salt 2 T. sugar 3 c. milk 3 egg yolks 1 t. vanilla 1 stick of butter (melted) 3 egg whites (whipped to a soft peak) 1 pint fresh blueberries Separate egg...
Providing comfort with food as the vessel is how I love people to life. Nothing says comfort like hot buttermilk biscuits. I cannot help but think about Martin and “his momma’s biscuits”! We all have a food from our childhood that makes us hum and a do a little gig. There are not many ingredients in biscuits. However, the preparation of making the dough is where the results will bear success or failure. Whenever possible do not skimp on the quality of your ingredients. Food goes into...