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Mommy & Me . . . Baking Apple Pie

13 May

It is National Apple Pie Day and I’m reposting this  “Mommy & Me” date on Mother’s Day Weekend.   I’ve enjoyed Mommy and Me cooking afternoons to make sure I have all the details on the heritage recipes our family loves.  Apple Pie is one dessert that Daddy loved.   Friends know this deep-dish fruit pie […]

Throwback-My Thanksgiving To-Do List

12 Nov

It is Throwback Thursday and two weeks before Thanksgiving so I’m dusting off my holiday planning timeline. I know the ChowChow & Soul™ family includes cooks that stretch from novice to the experienced folks, who are adept at finding their way around the kitchen. We all need to pre-plan and this time-tested guideline is a […]

Spatchcock Your Turkey

20 Nov

Holiday cooking can take many forms, and without a doubt turkey is the superstar. It can be brined, roasted, fried, grilled, slow-cooked, smoked or spatchcocked. Last week I shared my timeline to help holiday cooks organize for the Thanksgiving meal. Today I’m talking turkey and sharing how to cook a spatchcock or butterflied bird. Spatchcock […]

More Than a Flash in the Pan

7 Jun

When I moved back to Chicago after working in Alabama as a food editor for Southern Living magazine, I had a new favorite piece of cooking equipment.  Now I know some of you are thinking it must be a very specialized, unique item that you can only find in the specialty housewares stores or on […]

How to Make Classic Baked Ham

12 Apr

Grlled or roasted diamond-back ham.

It’s Spring, it’s Easter and time for ham. You’ve reached out to me with questions and even confessed that you cheat sometimes—“My family doesn’t know it, but I use the glaze that comes with the ham.” The question of the month is how-to make a star attraction ham. That diamond ‘n clove e studded ham […]

Let’s Talk Turkey

22 Nov

It’s all about turkey this month and there are plenty of gobblers to choose from. They come in all sizes and varieties. You can cook your own, pick one up baked, smoked or fried and ready to heat; you can even buy a whole stuffed turkey that you bake from its frozen state. If it’s […]

Putting Up Tomatoes

26 Sep

The summer has gone by at warp speed—seems like just last week we were celebrating summer solstice.  This week-end I was on the receiving end of some of the bounty from my friend Sylvia’s garden.  The garden’s wispy vegetable shoots have matured into sweet fruits and vegetables exploding with flavor.  The afternoon started with samples […]

Grill Pork Tenderloin for An Easy Dish with Big Flavor

25 May

Whether you’re grilling for the Memorial Day holiday or it is simply a fire up the grill day, try Spiced Pork Tenderloin. Though an F is not a rating we generally strive for in this case it’s all good.  It’s Fast, Flavor-full and  can be Fat-fighting  as a lean, lower calorie protein choice.  The dry […]

Podcast – Episode 01

29 Jun

Chow-Chow & Soul podcast (episode 01) from C.L. Draper on Vimeo. The spotlight is on the Sweet Potato as we wrap up the month of June (which just happens to be National Soul Food Month).