Browsing: Food & Dining

To be honest, I sometimes mourn the fact that most of today’s kids will never have the opportunity to regularly dine at a place where everyone knows their name, their favorite dishes, and their latest accomplishments (and debacles) at school and church. Sadly, they are missing out on some great memories. 

But luckily for my grandkids (and for me), there is a special family-style restaurant in the Blue Springs community called Ray Ray’s. 

For most of my life, I have not been very interested in breakfast. Who can eat so early in the morning? But the experts tell us it is the most important meal of the day, the meal that starts the fires that get us moving and keep us going all day.

The Italians have roughly three hundred different kinds of pasta (if you think that is a lot, the Chinese have about one thousand two hundred kinds of noodles), but the Italian varieties can be broken down into two basic categories: fresh and dried. Eighty percent of pasta eaten in Italy is dried, and the balance is fresh.

They say that the measure of a great chef is in the sauces he makes. Now, we are not talking about pan grave here (although a good pan gravy under the right circumstances can be pretty darn good!), but great sauces that are the foundation of French cooking, like a creamy hollandaise.  

There are a vast number of ingredients that pair well with pasta, from the simple pasta carbonara (hot pasta, raw eggs, bacon and parm), one of the most popular dishes in Italy, to the even simpler pasta, olive oil and freshly grated parm. Is it hard to think of a vegetable or meat that would not go with pasta, don’t you think?

Salmon has to be one of my favorite fish of all. Fat, succulent, and bone free if you get a filet. It requires little seasoning, just a shake of salt maybe, it or some Tony’s, and that’s it! What makes a filet of salmon really good is when its cooked properly. It can be baked or sauteed, but the real diversity is the method: it can be blackened, honey glazed, smoked, cooked in garlic butter, a Greek recipe with a dill sauce: its really almost and endless list. 

A quick look at Rockin Chicken and Waffle’s Facebook page and you know exactly what this place is all about, Chicken and waffles. The place is relatively new (its only four months old), but the people I have talked to that have eaten there just rave about it. One Facebook comment even said that they would never eat chicken anywhere else again. That says a lot!

Spring is right around the corner! Not only does that mean more sunshine, it means an abundance of fresh and nutritious veggies! When I think of spring-time, one word comes to mind……green

This is about the easiest chicken noodle soup recipe I’ve ever seen, and it is absolutely delicious, and heaty, perfect for this time of the year.

 Travelers and locals to the Ocean Springs Visitors Center have tasted and voted for their favorite king cake treat of the season. Sugar Tribe Sweets & Events, bakery has been awarded as the best king cake for 2024. 

Off the beaten path, you’ll find Doe’s Eat Place in The Mississippi Delta. This award-winning bucket list destination attracts locals, foodies, out-of-towners, U.S. Presidents, and movie stars alike! Known for its out-of-this-world steaks and famous tamales, the family-owned restaurant has been at the heart of the Delta for nearly a century.

The French originally served charcuterie before the main meal, as an elegant appetizer or first course, but they have become so popular that they are now served at almost any time in the meal, or even as the main course. 

Meet Rosalyn L. Robb-Herrington, owner of LaTresa’s Treats. Rosalyn is a passionate full-time baker. She has a wonderful family including her husband of twenty-three years and her two children: Taylor and Mason Jr. 

Some things go better together. Like peanut butter and jelly. Oreos and milk. And Carnival Season and crawfish! Carnival Season, Mardi Gras, brings us together for festivals and fun but also offers us food like king cake and crawfish.

t wasn’t until I moved to the Mississippi Coast that seafood became a regular part of my diet. Seafood always was a real treat, but to have seafood shops and restaurants so readily available was and remains, a real treat. 

What could be better on a damp and chilly day than a bowl of steaming soup. I grew up on Cambell’s soups, and loved them, especially the bean and bacon, but nothing beats a homemade soup.