Golden, crispy fried catfish is one of those soul food staples that hits every note -crunchy cornmeal coating on the outside, tender flaky fish on the inside, and enough seasoned crust to keep you reaching for one more piece. This version leans into deep Southern fish fry traditions but gets a flavor-forward upgrade from a …
Modern Soul Food
Rustic salad made with grilled butternut squash, fresh black kale, and nectarines topped with a garam masala and maple vinaigrette. The dressing is as good as the grilled butternut squash. It's got both heat and sweetness which pairs well with the smoky butternut squash slices. The nectarines add both texture and tartness. MOOD MUSIC …
Cajun smothered green beans is a down-home Southern comfort dish where tender green beans, buttery new potatoes, and spicy ground andouille sausage slowly braise together until every bite is infused with smoky, savory flavor. The ground andouille melts into the pot, seasoning the broth with deep Cajun character while the potatoes soak up all that …
This blackeyed peas and collard green recipe is vegan soul food at it’s finest plus a little Afro-Caribbean to match. Both the greens and blackeyed peas are cooked in a tasty curry sauce and then paired with fonio grain. This dish will smell up the kitchen with an unbelievable aroma and it delivers on taste. …
Grilled prawns plus spiced lemon butter sauce equals winning in a major way. Make this dish as a great appetizer or main dish weeknight option. The prawns require no preparation and are easily cooked then topped with a kicked up lemon butter sauce seasoned with a dried Piri Piri seasoning mix which you can buy …
Related Air Fryer Recipe Posts: Welcome to the world of crispy and flavorful air fryer broccolini! If you're a fan of this good and good for you vegetable, get ready to take your broccolini game to the next level and get perfectly cooked broccolini with that nicety crunch using the magic of your air fryer. …
Smoked dry rubbed ribs are the kind of backyard barbecue that turns patience into payoff - meaty pork ribs coated in a bold spice blend, then slow-smoked until the bark turns dark, smoky, and packed with deep flavor. The dry rub creates layers of sweet heat, savory spice, and caramelized crust while the low-and-slow smoking …
This collard greens salad flips a soul food staple into something fresh, crisp, and deeply flavor-forward, pairing tender ribbons of collards with a warm homemade bacon vinaigrette that hits smoky, tangy, and savory notes all at once. The technique of massaging the greens softens their bite while keeping that signature hearty texture intact, creating a …
This grilled cedar plank salmon will wow with its color, fragrance, and flavor. The cedar smoke combined with the hibiscus based rub makes this easy grilled dish everything that is everything. For other smoked seafood dishes try these smoked mussels or smoked fish dip. The fish has got it all. The flavor of the hibiscus …
Juicy and tender scallops, brined to perfection and delicately smoked, provide some serious flavor in each bite. This dish elevates seafood with just a touch of smokiness love, making it some serious grub. Related Scallops Posts: Extraordinary smoked scallops recipe that’s perfect as a starter or main dish. Scallops are slow-smoked but still tender and …
Turn your next dinner into a flavor explosion with these jerk roasted onions — smoky, spicy, and caramelized to sweet perfection. Whether you’re serving them up at a backyard BBQ or a weeknight dinner, these oven roasted onions bring island heat and soulful depth to any plate. Well now, my brothers and sisters in flavor …
These Instant Pot beef short ribs are fall apart tender ribs braised in a rich West African inspired maafe sauce made with peanut butter, tomatoes, and beef stock. The pressure cooker transforms a traditionally long simmered dish into a deeply flavorful meal in about 90 minutes, delivering silky sauce, succulent beef, and the soulful comfort …
Tender and delicious instant pot oxtail cooked in a rich and complex Cuban based sauce with citrus, peppers, tomatoes and oregano. The instant pot is perfect for converting this normally slow cook braising recipe into a weeknight win. Picture the richness of those flavors, paired harmoniously with the creamy allure of grits – a culinary embrace that …
If you're not making and using compound butter, you're missing out on a super-easy way to add mad flavor to any dish from your favorite grilled vegetables, pasta, or any meat dish. This jerk compound butter is a five-minute flavor remix—soft unsalted butter folded with dry jerk seasoning to deliver heat, funk, and Caribbean depth …
Instant Pot New Orleans red beans and rice delivers all the smoky, creamy comfort of the classic Louisiana dish in a fraction of the time. Tender red beans, savory sausage, and the holy trinity pressure cook into a rich, velvety pot full of deep Cajun flavor while still keeping that slow-simmered soul food feel. Using …
Easy, delicious red rice recipe for a quick gourmet weeknight dinner meal. Tomato-kissed rice, smoky heat, and shrimp that snap back like a good bassline This easy red rice recipe with jumbo shrimp is a love letter for one pot good rice—savory, gently spicy, and built on pantry staples that cook into something greater than …
Quick and easy sauteed green beans cooked in under 20 minutes. Green beans are sautéed in a delicious creole based sauce for tender and flavorful side dish. Instant Pot Sauteed Green Beans Ingredients This may look like a lot of ingredients, but it's really not. Most of the ingredients are for the spice mix. Green …
Ensalada de Aguacate - an avocado salad that is the ultimate triple threat - flavor, easy, and fun. Just slice, mix, and serve this vegetable side dish. Cool, creamy, and citrus-bright—this Cuban salad slides onto the plate like a summer groove. This Cuban avocado salad, known simply as Ensalada de Aguacate, is proof that restraint …
My campaign to put okra on the map. I love okra. Okra is good for you. Okra tastes good. Eat more okra. If you don't know how, then read this post for recipes and cooking tips. Plus I'm sure you'll learn a bunch of cool facts about okra that I bet you never knew.
Sorry I'm a little late with this post, but it's actually an annual Kwanzaa celebration recipe. After hosting Christmas dinner, mentally I'm content to ride with leftovers for a few days. However, with Kwanzaa, there is no rest for the weary. Therefore I go with simple, low involvement recipes such as this Piri Piri Shrimp. It's usually an appetizer on my menu, but can easily be made for a fancy weeknight main dish.
Tender, smoky, and perfectly seasoned—your new favorite Southern soul food side This Instant Pot Cajun cabbage is what happens when Southern comfort meets Louisiana swagger. Green cabbage gets pressure-cooked low and slow (fast) with smoky bacon, spicy andouille, and Cajun seasoning until it’s silky, savory, and soaking up every drop of that seasoned pot liquor. …
Quick and flavorful recipes for instant pot Brussel sprouts. Sprouts are braised in a coconut-based sauce for a great vegan side dish that’s as good as sprouts cooked with bacon or in butter. Five ingredients less than 30 minutes. I grew up a big Dragon Ball Z Fan; so many life lessons learned! Work hard …
Easy, quick and complex homemade syrup sans the high fructose corn syrup. Humble moments led me to make this syrup recipe. Stuck in the house and short on groceries, so had to go back to my roots and improvise. Funny thing is I used to work for one of the bigger syrup brands …
Comfort food at its finest in the form of chicken wings marinated in chipotle infused buttermilk and deep-fried to crispy perfection. These crispy buttermilk fried chicken wings soak low and slow in a seasoned brine, then fry up loud with a shatter you can hear across the room. Rooted in Southern fry-house tradition and built …
This black rice recipe makes for a colorful side dish that is as delicious as it looks! The sweetness of the potatoes is balanced with the savory nutty flavor of the rice and the tartness from the pomegranate seeds and all work together for an incredible mouth experience. Often when I cook I take on …
This Southern Fried Jerk Chicken is the type of dish I make during days of gluttony, such as the Super Bowl or in this case March Madness. But this post also has big application for Sunday Dinners. In addition to this delicious, dope recipe I include and critical list of tips for making extra crispy fried chicken. Enjoy
Classic Cuban one-pan dish that’s perfect for a quick, 30-minute weeknight no fuss dish. Full of savory and aromatic ingredients this dish also makes for great, easy leftover ideas. This Cuban picadillo is comfort food that knows how to tell a story. Built on aromatic Cuban sofrito, ground beef, olives, and capers, this dish balances …
Tender vegan braised collard greens cooked with aromatic spices, offering a flavorful twist on a classic Southern dish. Related Collard Greens Posts: Braised vegan collard greens recipe, a quick and tasty way to get a soul food staple on the weeknight menu! It's only 5 ingredients and made with ingredients you're likely to have on …
Collard greens are a weekly staple in our home. We have our traditional Sunday Dinner recipe that ain't changing. However, I do keep quite a few of what I call weeknight greens recipes. These are meant for us to explore the greatness of the humble but nutritious collard greens but within the context of our busy lives. So these are actually quick hitters. This curried collard greens recipe falls into this category. As its the norm, we explore cultures through food in an effort to become culturally aware as well deepen our empathy for others. Collard greens more than any other vegetable/food is most often the vessel for these explorations. Enjoy
Roasted Acorn Squash with Honey Ancho Chile Glaze are outstanding in both their taste and simplicity! Make this sweet and savory squash for your Thanksgiving meal, Sunday family gathering or even a weeknight dinner. They are naturally sweet but the glaze amplifies the flavor. Surprisingly I don't cook a lot most Thanksgivings. Between volunteering as …
Squash smoked on the grill until fork tender is a beautiful thing! Now listen my fellow soul food flavor this one’s comin’ straight from your guy's smoke and soul kitchen. We takin’ sweet butternut squash halves, givin’ ‘em low-and-slow smoke love ‘til they’re tender like a Sunday groove—about 90 minutes at 250°F, my friends. With …
Sometimes when things feel like they're spinning outta control or you're just off your game, it's best to jump off the treadmill and just get re-centered or grounded. That's what this comforting bowl of black eyed pea soup represents for me. It's slow cooking and sustained eating for a few days. Just what I needed.
Simple and delicious roasted eggplant recipe that is bursting with bold flavors. This dish features a crispy brown outside with a creamy sweet inside then is topped with a garlicky Cuban mojo sauce. Silky roasted eggplant meets bright, garlicky Cuban mojo in a dish that eats like comfort but dances like a block party. High-heat …
Favorite to eat root vegetables is roasted. Roasting can turn any humble root vegetables into greatness. Baby turnips make the perfect foil for this technique. You get concentrated flavor and tenderness delived in 30 minutes. It's the glaze that actually puts the dish over the top. It's time to stop running from those root vegetables your grandparents tried to get you to eat. Actually these aren't your grand dad's turnips. They're way more flavorful.
Weeknight grilling sometimes is the best grilling. This flank steak is a quick cook, but the flavor and tenderness are off the charts. The key is the marinade which blends both Asian and Caribbean flavors which also helps to tenderize. Marinate a day ahead then grill in less than 15 minutes.
Recipe for Kerala fried chicken for unique, Indian take on Southern style fried chicken thighs. Chicken is brined in a buttermilk herb-based marinade, deep-fried and spiced with a fragrant and complex garam masala spice. For other flavorful fried chicken ideas, checkout this seasoning guide. “Make my funk the p-funk, I wants to get funked up. …
Football season is almost upon us. I'm in grilling two-a-days to get ready for tailgating season. These brined pork chops may be on the menu for the first game! Brining meat prior to cooking, all but guarantees a juicy, moist and flavorful finished dish.
Summertime is fun time. Grilling all things including watermelon is a favorite past time of mine. It's hard to describe grilled watermelon, but trust me it's simple and delicious. Give this one and try and impress family and friends
Fried chickpeas are fairly comomn these days. But fried black-eyed peas are much better. The recipe is simple and takes less than 20 minutes to make. Try these out.
Grilled wedges are one of my favorite and easiest ways to enjoy sweet potatoes. The best thing about this recipe though is the perfect sweet heat chili lime sauce pairing. Just a few a few ingredients that net a lot of flavor. They go fast so make enough!