Most Sunday breakfasts are some version of a pork gravy. Biscuits and ham or biscuits and sausage gravy, either way to make it a proper Sunday breakfast you need a little something extra on the side. And that something extra should be fried apples.

They’re similar to the apples you toss into a pie crust, only you cook them on the stove and there is no crust. They come out gooey and candy-like, a perfect treat for your Sunday morning. Or evening — they are also great with pork chops for dinner. (more…)

Filed under:
Breakfast, Comfort food, Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Side Dish, Southern, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney

My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. Somewhere around October 1st I start getting the urge to plan, to start thinking about what the perfect meal will be. Come November 1st, it’s high time to start pulling out all of my previous menus, turkey recipes saved, Martha Stewarts from Novembers and Decembers past. About a week or so before I’ll finalize the menu, send it around (in the fancyfont), solicit feedback. Then my master shopping list is printed out – every ingredient for every recipe listed, then compiled, ticked off against what I already have, and split out into various trips to the store (weekend before, Wednesday before).

With all of this planning and anticipation, you’d think I’d be uptight about the big day. That I might send out a letter similar to this nut, stipulating that everything must be perfect! Actually, it’s not about that at all. Enter the above turkey… (more…)

Filed under:
Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Side Dish, Thanksgiving, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney

Today is Diwali, or the festival of lights, which is celebrated in India among many other countries. I’ve been on board with this holiday since my husband (then boyfriend) told me about it. The Indian New Year — it means you get to buy new clothes!

Really, though, can you imagine a guy getting all that excited about clothes? Over the years, as he told me a little more about the holiday (because previously I just heard “new clothes” and didn’t care too much about the actual meaning) he would always talk about the sweets his mom would make, and he’d get that happy look on his face, twinkle in his eye. Ahhh! This is what it’s all about for him — sweet treats! (more…)

Filed under:
Dessert, Gluten free, Indian, Vegetarian, World traveller by Courtney

A few years back I bought the book French Women Don’t Get Fat. I’ll admit it, I was intrigued to see what this book would have to say, whether it would reveal some magical secret that allowed me to eat croissants and drink red wine all day long. Or at the least, it would tell me the magical secret was to drink red wine all day long!

What I hadn’t anticipated about this book were all the yummy recipes. One of them, Chicken au Champagne, I’ve had my eye on quite a while, but it’s taken me 5 years to get around to making it. This week, when I received a shipment of new Champagne glasses, I decided it was time. (more…)

Filed under:
Dinner, French, Gluten free, Gourmet, Wine pairings by Courtney