Browsing: food

I hope that this year you will endeavor to eat right, stay away from fast food, processed food, and buy and consume local produce and meats as best you can.

Turkeys and hams grab the spotlight on our holiday tables, and perhaps that’s as it should be. A few folks might go for a Christmas goose, or even a round of beef, but who gives serious attention to the sides? I do and I hope you do too.

There is no doubt that the visual component of dining can have a big impact on what we think about the food that is presented to us. Some experts tell us its influence can be as high as 50 percent of the process of forming an opinion.

Chef Sean Brock likes to talk about Southern micro food cultures. To those that are less informed, Southern cooking has a specific meaning, as if the South was a single culture, with common and shared foodways.

The holiday season is upon us and far too many home cooks panic just at the thought. But, if you take the time to organize your holiday get together, like a professional chef would, it will be easy-peasy.

This year marks a monumental year for the South Mississippi Fair as it rolls into Laurel this weekend.

So, you have figured out how to make a roux for that Sunday gumbo, and you know that the holy trinity needs to be cooked for a long time. Seasoning? Yup, Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning and red pepper flakes, that’s all it takes, but what about the stock? Should you just use chicken stock out of the box? Well, that really isn’t a good idea.

Tasty Thursday is a monthly event the 4th Thursday of every month. Selected vendors invade the old Singing River Mall Property along Hwy 90. The atmosphere is festive with highly decorated stands, flags, umbrellas, and contests.

October is definitely a gumbo month, although I’d like to see it just a bit cooler. Making gumbo in a summer-time hot kitchen just doesn’t seem right. But it certainly is just fine to start talking about it. So, let’s get one thing straight from the beginning, gumbo isn’t a recipe, it’s an opinion. I know the gumbo makers out there are rolling their eyes: what does this guy know about gumbo. Am I right?

Gumbo is a magical recipe in many ways, not only is it delicious when properly prepared, but I truly believe in its restorative powers. It’s also not a meal to be prepared or served alone. It’s a meal to make for family and friends. It is something to be shared.

Let’s shake things up a bit, again, and talk about Italian-style pasta and red sauce this week. Please note, I said style, meaning sorta, kinda like the Italian way. This is not a traditional Italian recipe, because if you want to make a traditional Italian recipe, you have to be in Italy.

Jackie Seavey, executive sous chef at Island View Casino Resort was declared champion of the Seventh annual World Food Championship. Seavey competed on May 17, 18 and 19 in The World Food Championship’s Final Table in New Orleans.

I’ve had a lot of good things to say about the food scene in Jackson County Home over the last few months, but the new Our Mississippi Home now celebrates the three lower counties, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, and pays a little attention to George County and Hattiesburg as well. That’s a wide net, my friend, but I have been traveling the back roads of Mississippi as a food and travel writer for 10 years and nothing excites me more than more interesting places to visit.

Although many cultures influenced the Southern food tradition, the heart of this cuisine is what has become known as soul food or just country cooking.

Have you ever struggled to make fluffy, white rice like they do on TV?  Have you tried steaming it in a pot and burned it? There are a few other fancy recipes out there that take forever and produce marginal results, so what’s a poor cook to do?

Do any of these names ring a bell: True Wings, Twisted Magnolia, Mac Daddy’s Creole Kitchen, Chef in a Box, California Taco’s, Chow Me Down, Gourmet Grilled Cheese, or Charro’s Hot Tamales? They should if you are a foodie of any merit! They are all part of the food truck invasion that has hit Jackson County in the past year or so.