Simple and quick carrot salad that’s the perfect side salad that can be made ahead for easy weeknight dinner option. Carrots are shredded into ribbons using a vegetable peeler and served with homemade buttermilk ranch dressing. MOOD MUSIC WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SIMPLE CARROT SALAD CARROT SALAD COOKING INSTRUCTIONS There are no real cooking …
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Make these juicy coffee-rubbed and broiled lamb chops, easy gourmet in less than 15 minutes! This broiled lamb chops recipe brings high flavor with low effort, pairing a deeply aromatic coffee rub with fast, high-heat broiling for chops that are crusty on the outside and juicy within. Inspired by global spice traditions and weeknight practicality, …
These quick pickled red onions bring sharp tang, subtle sweetness, and vibrant crunch to everything from tacos and to bowls. Made with a fast vinegar brine, they soften just enough while still keeping their snap, creating that perfect balance of bright acidity and texture that shows up across Caribbean, Mexican, Southern, and global home cooking …
Enjoy this delicious grilled romaine salad topped with homemade buttermilk ranch dressing. It's the perfect side dish for your next barbecue or quick Summer weeknight dinner dish. This salad is a simple no-fuss go to on grill days. For my house it's usually a tide me over until the main dish items are ready whether …
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 …
Texas-style smoked beef brisket is barbecue stripped down to its essentials - coarse black pepper, salt, hardwood smoke, and enough patience to let time and fire do their thing. This brisket comes out with that signature Central Texas bark on the outside while the inside stays rich, buttery, and slice-apart tender, thanks to a low-and-slow …
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 …
Nigerian suya skewers are street food with swagger - smoky, spicy grilled beef threaded onto skewers and coated in a deeply savory peanut-based suya spice blend. These beef skewers hit with layers of heat, smoke, nuttiness, and charred crust, while staying juicy inside thanks to a quick marinade and hot-fire grilling technique. It’s the kind …
This tomato and basil salad is the perfect summer salad. It's just a few ingredients, but packed with a clean and fresh taste thanks to the ripe cherry tomatoes and just picked basil. It's simple enough to pack up for a nice picnic, but versatile enough to be a side at the family barbecue. This …
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 …
This air fryer corn on the cob recipe delivers sweet juicy kernels with lightly blistered edges and deep buttery flavor in less time than firing up the grill. I coat the hot corn in jerk seasoning compound butter so every bite lands smoky, spicy, savory, and just a little sweet like summer cookout corn with …
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 …
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 …
A Bold, Herb-Heavy Flavor Bomb That Is A Great Seasoning Base For Many Types of Dishes. Well now, cool cats and flavor peeps—lean in close, ‘cause I’m about to put you on to the heartbeat of Haitian kitchens: epis. This ain’t just no blend—it’s a mood, a movement, a Miles Davis “So What” kind of …
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. …
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, …
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.
Creamy Creole mashed potatoes take classic Southern comfort food and give it a Louisiana-style upgrade with buttery whipped potatoes smothered in a bold, smoky sausage gravy loaded with Creole seasoning and deep savory flavor. The potatoes stay light and velvety while the gravy brings rich texture, peppery heat, and that slow-cooked soul food feel that …
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 …
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 …
With Black History Month getting a lot of attention here in the States, I continue to explore the African Diaspora and the culinary traditions of black people worldwide. This recipe for Haitian Soup Joumou took me a while to develop as far as getting it to the standards that truly honor the heritage, tradition, and spirit of the people of Haiti. I don't know that I nailed it, but I definitely appreciate the history lesson and connection it fostered. I love the flavor and the focus on local ingredients in bringing this dish to life. Don't be intimidated by the ingredient list, execution is simple and easy as long as you have time and patience, taking things step by step. Enjoy!
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 …
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 …
Brazilian style fried chicken wings are a thing and they are damn good. Munch on these crispy, juicy wings and vibe on the sounds of Banda Black Rio for some out of site Brazilian Fusion Funk.
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.
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.
Low and slow is the tempo for these smoked pork belly burnt ends. I made homemade bacon and had leftover pork belly, so decided to use pork belly instead of traditional beef brisket to make the burnt ends. Fair warning - these bad boys are addictive and melt like butter in your mouth. Enjoy
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
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 …
NCAA College Basketball's Sweet Sixteen is set! As the countdown to the Final Four continues, add these sticky wings to your gameday appetizer menu. These are made with an Asian-Jerk fusion sauce that takes them over the top.
Change up your gameday menu and find a way to get some smoked ham hocks in your life via these pork nachos. Don't fret, just start your New Year's resolutions after the bowl season or just reward yourself with a cheat day.
A big green salad just in time for Thanksgiving side dish plans. It's a unique salad featuring an unlikely mix of ingredients that work magic together. Collard greens, baby lima beans, smashed cucumbers, and lemongrass-coconut pickled celery make for soul food meets Asian cuisine mash-up. Requires little cooking to free you up to focus on other things. The recipe is powered by a soulful hip hop track "Greeny Green" from Atlanta's finest Goodie Mob featuring Ceelo Green.
A vibrant, and refreshing main dish option that can be added to your 30 minute meals arsenal. Quinoa is easy to cook and requires little effort to impart flavor. Given this, it's a staple in our house as a busy weeknight go-to. Plus it offers so many other beneficial qualities that I recommend you get …








































