Good Things by David

Summer is a great time to entertain.  Everyone likes to have company over at least once or twice during the season, so that one can share good food, lots of laughs and the best of the best.  I'm all for going to the farmers market every single week to pick up the most colorful, juiciest and flavorful fruits & vegetables for us to feast on here at home, but if I happen to be harvesting summer berries or other fruits from the property, even better.  Should I have company over for an afternoon luncheon or dinner, then I make an extra effort to bake a pie or a cake and pick the most flavorful meat for burgers or perhaps some Maryland blue crab for savory crab cakes, if I'm in the mood for them (this is most often the case during summertime).  After I choose a main course and at least one dessert, then everything else falls into place.  The dinnerware, flatware and glassware can be dressed up or down depending on the ambience I want to create. Here ...

The idea of mixing pumpkin and corn is nothing new.  At my house, cornbread is the bread of choice for the stuffing on Thanksgiving, and true to my predilections, it has to be homemade.  As I was thinking of the stuffing for our turkey this year, I decided to change it up a bit from previous years by adding delicious pumpkin puree to the cornbread.  Not only does pumpkin add flavor to anything it touches, but it makes baked goods uncommonly moist.  I'm pleased with the results. After conversing with a good friend of mine from the south, we both agreed that one ought to add sugar to any type of cornbread.  I don't mean that it has to be sweet bordering on cake, but there should be just enough to give it another dimension.  Again, it's the combination of sweet and salty.   What emerges from the oven is a thick cornbread that you'll be proud of bringing over to the holiday table for your guests.  The bread can be cut into squares of equa...

Everyone needs a good, basic cranberry relish for the holiday table.  I make mine every single year to enjoy with our turkey and other sides, but I truly like to have it slathered onto a buttered biscuit, roll or piece of cornbread.  It's that mix of sweet and salty that truly makes a relish like this mouthwatering.  My version, however, doesn't contain a lot of sugar like most recipes.  I think it's nice to have a bit of the tart flavor from the cranberries with every bite. The packages of fresh cranberries that one gets at the grocery store have cooking tips and recipes on the bags, which one can easily follow, but if you add a bit of something here and there, the relish takes on more depth and flavor.  From year to year I experiment with different dried fruits for added texture, but the two ingredients which never change are freshly grated orange zest and the cinnamon stick.   If I travel to California for the holidays, I'm in charge of the ...

When you come across an heirloom recipe for buttermilk biscuits, stop what you're doing, don an apron, roll up your sleeves and promptly gather your ingredients.  I recently had the pleasure of getting such a recipe from my friend, Kenn, whose late grandmother (lovingly known to all as Granny Vaughn)  made these biscuits year after year for all to enjoy.  I'm a big fan of tender, fluffy homemade biscuits made from a good recipe because they are far better than anything bought from the store.  For those of us who love the steps of making the dough, patting & cutting the biscuits, this particular recipe from Granny Vaughn is going to garner lots of praise from everyone. The basic ingredients of butter, flour and buttermilk in the right proportions make such heavenly biscuits, but having a quick and light hand when preparing this recipe is also a must.  I was told by Kenn that the dough could be finicky at times, so I paid attention.  Granny Vaughn ...

W inter squashes make great additions to our diets during the fall and winter, because they're so naturally good for us & also very easy to prepare at home.  Produce aisles at farmers markets change dramatically this time of year, but rest assured, everything is highly delicious, nutritious and wonderfully pleasing.  Acorn squashes can be cooked any number of ways from steaming, braising & boiling, to roasting & pan frying.  At my home I try to roast as much as I can when the temperatures dip outside, sometimes combining a roasted vegetable with a roasted main course to make things easier for me.  Let's be honest, these types of suppers are comforting for a lot of us during the season. Roasted Acorn Squash Packed with vitamins A, B6 & C, this winter squash is also rich in potassium, folate & fiber.  They're best suited for roasting in halves or in wedges flavored with some fresh herbs and a little drizzle of olive oil, along ...