Easy, creamy Southern mashed potatoes with heavy cream - Soft, tangy, and butter-smooth* this is an all-family pleasing winner.* old fashioned creamy mashed potatoes are the kind of comfort food that quietly steals the whole plate - buttery, velvety potatoes whipped until smooth and seasoned deep enough to stand beside fried chicken, smothered pork chops, …
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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 …
New Orleans is my favorite city in the U.S. and I love cooking and eating its foods. I'm a sucker for red beans and rice with sausage made in that creamy New Orleans style. Enjoy this recipe and a little history that traces its history back to Haiti in another post that combines delicious food and history as we continue to celebrate Black History Month.
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 …
Slow Burn, Deep Flavor: Cajun Seasoned Shredded beef with comforting gravy served over rice. Ooh baby, you feel that low, slow simmer startin’ to bubble up? That’s that Cajun rice and gravy with shredded beef heat—deep, rich, and ready to pull you all the way in. We talkin’ melt-in-your-mouth beef slow-braised for hours 'til it …
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
Southern chicken and dumplings is pure comfort in a bowl; tender shredded chicken simmered in rich savory broth with soft, homemade herb-infused fluffy dumplings that soak up every bit of flavor. This soul food classic leans on slow-building technique, from making a deeply seasoned stock to rolling and cooking dumplings until they’re pillowy, silky, and …
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 …
These brined and smoked pork chops deliver everything I want from backyard barbecue. They are juicy and deeply seasoned on the inside with a beautifully caramelized exterior that develops a lightly crunchy bark from low and slow smoking. If you've ever struggled with dry pork chops, this recipe solves that problem while dialing up flavor …
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 …
This month's focus is on staple recipes from South American countries. I'm a big fan of yuca fries which are the Latin American version of French fries.
Lately I've been revisiting old recipes and converting them for Instant Pot use. This version of Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken came out really well. It's a quick and easy recipe but does require as meal prep you make an even more simple doctored up BBQ Sauce which I featured in my last post.
These roasted sweet potatoes are a lab recipe gone well. I was literally toying around with Thanksgiving sweet potatoes recipes and stumbled into this one. It's easy, quick, no fuss and damn good. Don't feel like you have to wait til the holidays though. Its perfect on plain old weeknights and weekends too.
Delicious salmon steaks made in 15 minutes tops with maximum flavor in the form of a green onion vinaigrette.
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 …
I've always been a big fan of a good sandwich - Reuben, bahn mi, old school Dagwood you name it, but this grilled blt may be the ONE. Bacon is everything, but on the grill and with charred romaine lettuce and heirloom tomatoes. Oooh weeee, it's something to behold! Give it a try.
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.
Quick, simple, yet gourmet is this charred baby eggplant. Charring vegetables is a go-to move for getting quick, no fuss sides on the table that look and taste phenomenal. Try this dish with the frequently used harissa sauce.
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.
An easy doctored up bbq sauce you can use to make many a Caribbean dishes quick and easy. Store-bought jerk marinade + pineapple juice + basic store-bought bbq sauce for the win! This jerk bbq sauce can be used on anything from brown stew chicken to braised oxtails.
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
One of the best things about summer is the availability of fresh fruit and vegetables. And living in hot Texas you're always looking for ways to stay cool, get refreshed, etc. Cooking wise I'm trying to avoid turning on my stove as much as possible. This chilled soup "Gazpacho" addresses all these things. It's the soup equivalent of a nice cool summer breeze. The fact that it's a chilled peach soup that's spiced up and topped with charred kernels of corn just makes this next-level gazpacho. Don't worry, all you need is a blender and a few ingredients.
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!
As you know I've designated July okra month. This is my favorite way to enjoy okra outside of a good pot of gumbo. It's quick, flavorful, and only requires a few ingredients. You'll want to keep the harissa sauce on hand and use it for other dishes as well.
Cool, crisp, and straight-up refreshing — this Japanese sunomono salad is your go-to side for summer dinners, sushi nights, or when the grill’s running hot and you need a little chill on the plate. Your flavor DJ here, spinning something cool for your plate and your palate — this ain’t your average cucumber salad, baby. …
Cazuela de moriscos is a Colombian Seafood Stew common in the city of Cartagena which has a strong Caribbean vibe to it. My wife and I visited multiple cities (Bogota, Medellin, and Cartagena) in Colombia earlier this year. I was impressed by the appreciation for culture andh heritage as evidenced by its visual and performing street artists. Food-wise we had so many great experiences from street food to restaurants. This seafood stew recipe was inspired by a dish at had there and I plan to make others that I experienced during my visit. Stay tuned! This one tastes like I spent all day cooking it, but in reality, it was just 30 minutes.
Fun vibes with this Okra Fried Rice. It's a fusion of cultures that results in high flavor. The best part is it comes together easily for a quick weeknight dish. But it's also fancy enough to serve to guests at a weekend celebration.
Quick and easy take on an American classic recipe. I make this Cuban twist on sloppy joes. The sauce is based on a spiced ketchup that is elevated with smoky paprika and cumin. When I'm feeling nostalgic or need to get something of substance on the table fast this is a go to. This ain't your momma's sloppy joe recipe though. It's straight-up homemade with a sauce that's over the top. In keeping with this month's TR808 music production theme, Daft Punk's "Doin It Right" powered this recipe.
A salad you can eat with your hands in the form of a watermelon wedge salad. Fresh, ripe watermelon is cut into wedges and topped with chimichurri style sauce featuring fresh mustard greens, cilantro, and lime juice.
Bold, Sticky & Fall-Off-the-Bone: Smoked Jerk Oxtail with Deep Heat and Tender Soul Now we talkin’ smoked oxtail, baby and this one’s got that low-and-slow groove that hits like a funky bassline. Jerk seasoning is added for next level flavor. Smoked oxtails take a classic soul food cut and give it the slow-burn magic of …
Braised beef neck bones are a humble, flavor-packed cut slow-cooked low and steady until the connective tissue melts into rich, silky goodness. This recipe leans into deep browning and a well-built red wine based braising liquid, delivering fall-off-the-bone tender meat with a bold, savory gravy that clings to every bite. It’s all about patience and …
This tuna salad has gone from my weekday comfort salad to a quick light dinner meal. It's tangy, aromatic, and delicious featuring ingredients you likely have on hand making for easy meal prep. This recipe is a twist on a tuna salad sandwich my uncle used to make. He would drink Schlitz Malt Liquor Beer and …