Kate Cooks The Books
Kate Sheehan
Like you, I have a “real” job that has nothing to do with food and a more than full-time child so I cook in my so-called free time. Fortunately for all of us, cooking is my golf and I don’t mind spending hours doing it in order to help find the cookbooks worth having.
Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Spring Pea Toasts with Lemon Olive Oil and Fresh Pea Shoots
I’m not going to lie to you: I made this way back in the spring when I was able to get fresh spring peas at the farmers’ market (or as Miss Sarah says they’re called in the south, English peas). But I might try them with regular frozen peas sometime…
Mache and Avocado Salad with Tortilla Strips
This salad, from the August 2007 issue of Bon Appetit, has been one of my favorites for a long time. As you can guess, it is a great accompaniment to a Mexican main dish. Use it as a bed for leftover fajita chicken, or shrimp or pork and it becomes a main dish on…
French Bread Pizza
Children, in the 1970s when I was growing up things were different. As I’m sure you’ve heard, we had 3 t.v. stations, drank Tab, and rode around in gigantic cars with unused seat belts. But did you know that they sold cigarettes in vending machines, and…
Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Deviled Ham Salad and Pimento Cheese
These were both so very good, I honestly don’t know which one I liked better. Miss Sara says that pimento cheese is a “Southern classic” and that Southerners are “passionate” about it. You should believe her because I’m beginning…
Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Summer Corn Cakes with Chopped Tomato and Avocado Salad
The last time my sister (the soon-to-be-famous writer) was in town we ate at a wonderful place called Tweet and I knew she had out-ordered me when I tasted her arepas. They were heavenly corn pancakes served with salsa, black beans, avocado and sour cream. I may…
Chicken Fajitas
This has been a favorite of ours for a long time. The brilliant thing about the recipe is that it understands that chicken breasts are about as exciting as a Steven Raichlen marathon and one needs a pretty creative trick to overcome that. And the trick is this:…
Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Summer Squash Casserole
This recipe does not need me to sing its praises. It’s got cheese, bacon, eggs, mayonnaise and breadcrumbs to do that. Yes, it’s as good as it sounds. You will want to be alone with it in a dim room and a big spoon. Even…
Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Spicy Pepper Jelly-Marinated Grilled Pork Tenderloin
I have made many recipes like this one. You marinate a pork tenderloin, apply some type of wonderful glaze and grill it, re-applying the glaze as it cooks. And this one didn’t fare any better than any of those. The problem being that none of this imparts much…
Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Buttermilk Strawberry Jam Cake
I know what you’re thinking: “Kate, you idiot, why didn’t you put some blueberries on top of this along with the strawberries since you made it over the 4th of July weekend?!?!?” That’s what I think when I look at this picture. This…
Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Grilled Peach Salad with Shaved Country Ham and Summer Herbs
My problem with this salad can probably best be summed up in one shocking statement: I don’t actually like peaches. I hate to be the world’s biggest party-pooper, and right in the midst of High Peach Season, and I know you will say that I have probably…
Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Kate’s Sweet Potato Refrigerator Rolls
How could I not make something with my name literally written all over it. These rolls were such a huge hit at my house. The recipe makes quite a few so we froze some but even those did not last long. I thought they could have benefited from just a tad…
Potato Gnocchi
I need to buy a ricer. Because I hate my food mill and I am going to want to make gnocchi more often. This is from the September/October issue of Cook’s Illustrated. I did not use one of the yummy-sounding sauces because I’ve always wanted to try…
Spinach Salad with Crispy Shallots and Strawberries
Every now and I then I just have to pat myself on the back. Like today, when I invented this salad. Strawberries are so good right now and I love how they taste with the balsamic vinegar in the dressing. I am also completely infatuated with the crispy shallots. …
Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Salt and Pepper Skillet Cornbread
I love this cornbread. I love that Miss Sara acknowledges that, although it is near blasephemy in the South, she thinks adding a touch of sugar to cornbread is a good thing. I love that the coarse salt and pepper are sprinkled on the top, adding a nice crunch and…
Spicy Shredded Mexican Pork Tostadas (Tinga)
Although this dish takes a little time to throw together, most of that is the meat simmering so it’s pretty easy. I made it even easier (and slightly more healthy) by baking the tortillas vs. frying them. I used a pork shoulder instead of a butt because…
Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Summer Succotash
We should all make more succotash. Especially in the summer. And this is a great place to start. I must acknowledge, however, the less-than-appetizing color of the butter beans. Those perky tomatoes and corn and basil are doing their best but they’re no match…
Sara Foster’s Kitchen: Slow-Roasted Pulled Pork Butt
How’s this for a bone-headed move? I made this amazing, amazing pulled pork, packed everything up for a beautiful night of music under the stars in the heart of one of the world’s greatest cities… …only to realize when we arrived that I had…
Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Memphis-Style Barbequed Spare Ribs
They look good, don’t they? Too bad you can’t eat them. Because they’re made of FIRE. I rarely make ribs because my husband half-heartedly but stubbornly insists he doesn’t like them. But once in a while I prevail and this was, after all, in…
Ramen-Broccoli Slaw
I’ve been making this slaw for a long time and it’s time I shared it with you because it’s addictive stuff. It’s cool and crunch and nutty and slightly onion-y but also has a hint of sweetness. It’s a perfect summer slaw but you can…
Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Anytime Hoppin’ John
More culinary discovery for me. I think I had heard of Hoppin’ John before but wasn’t sure if it was something you ate or the unfortunate side effect of something you ate. Of course now I know that this is one of those dishes that appears, in some form,…
Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Rosemary Cheese Crackers
There are many recipes like this out there (including “Cheez-it-ish Crackers” in Around My French Table) and I’m a sucker for every one of them. I’d rather eat a bowlful of these than candy. I’d also knock down a creme brulee to get…
Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Fried Green Tomatoes with Buttermilk Green Goddess Dressing
One of the reasons I wanted to explore this cookbook was to introduce myself to dishes that I’d heard about, and been intrigued by, but had never made. Fried green tomatoes was near the top of that list. My one and only point of reference for this dish was…
Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Minted Sweet Tea
Shall we start with a beverage? How about one that is quintessentially Southern? Of course sweet tea is not unique to the South. We drink it here in the frozen bits of the US. We even sweeten it. They serve it at McDonald’s for crying out loud — how…
Review: My Father’s Daughter
So we all know that the world’s reaction was to a cookbook by Gwyenth Paltrow, star of stage and screen (large and small), hopelessly blond and thin, child of bi-coastal privilege and mother of what I think we’re all just assuming are children (think about…