I grew up with a jar for bacon grease beside the stove. Sometimes it was a Mason Jar, sometimes an aluminum pot with a strainer or sometimes just a bowl, but we always had bacon grease to use as seasoning and as an oil with which to fry. When we got married, I continued that tradition much to my wife Nancy’s concern. Her folks came from the north. They used Crisco, while cooking with … [Read more...]

Desserts don’t have to be complicated to be good. This recipe for Pineapple-Coconut Pie from the Rappahannock Electric Co-Op newsletter is a case in point. Vivian Vance, now deceased, is given credit for it. Nancy Riggs of Hanover County won a Blue Ribbon at the Virginia State Fair baking this pie. She got the recipe from The Smokehouse Cookbook by the K.S. Club from Louisa. All who have sampled … [Read more...]

It’s funny how tastes remain with you for long periods of time. It seems like just last week that I was on a church picnic at Beaver Creek Lake just outside Beckley, WV. I was 9 or 10.  Boy, what a spread those Beckley Presbyterian Church ladies set before us. Fried chicken, ham biscuits, yeast rolls, homemade pies and cakes, but the one thing I remember to this day were the pimento cheese … [Read more...]

I do a little cooking for some kids who love Mexican food, especially Tacos. They devour Tacos, it’s a fun dish to serve, but I’m usually at a loss  as to what else to serve with this dish. Doritos and salsa works, and so does refried beans. But I wondered what else might fit that’s more in the vegetable category. This week I experimented and came up with a simple but tasty side dish for tacos … [Read more...]

I saw a recipe for Meatball Lasagna that caught my attention. Everybody loves lasagna, but it can be a little labor intensive. This recipe looked really easy – my kind of dish. I made some – with my variations of course – and it turned out well. Here’s how to make another super easy entrée. The centerpiece of lasagna is the pasta. You can buy it oven ready or the old kind that you boil … [Read more...]

  One of my favorite sandwiches when we go out to eat is the French Dip, basically a thinly shaved roast beef sandwich with melted Swiss cheese, grilled onions on a French roll (baguette) and served with a rich dipping sauce. The old Sloan’s Restaurant made the best ever and Timberwood Grill now makes a very good French Dip. I was thinking about going to Timberwood and ordering just such a … [Read more...]

I’m a sucker for rubs. I have a cabinet full. Each time I walk down the spice aisle at the grocery store, I stop and inspect – forever seeking that perfect rub for my various meat dishes. After much trial and lot of error, I have arrived at the conclusion that Sauer’s makes the best rubs in the business. The C. F. Sauer Company is local, with headquarters in Richmond. Founded in 1887, they’ve … [Read more...]

  I wanted to offer this recipe mainly in order to be able to brag a little. Last week I caught a 20-inch flounder aboard “The Gamecock” with Capt. Ham (my son-in-law). It was one of the largest flounder I’ve ever caught. We were fishing out of  Wise Point near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel on the Eastern Shore. We put in at Wise Point ramp, back in the creeks and did floats on a … [Read more...]

  Chicken salad, egg salad, tuna salad. Then repeat. Chicken salad, egg salad, tuna salad. When it comes to salads for sandwiches, I have been in a rut. Chicken, egg, tuna. Not that there’s anything wrong with those three. They make great sandwiches, but I was bored. How about ham salad? I have had ham salad before that was gross – like cat food. Surely I could do better, and I think … [Read more...]

This cooking tip bears repeating. Don’t boil eggs, steam them. My son Jimmie told me several months ago that if you steamed eggs, rather than boiling them for hard boiled eggs, the shells slipped right off. I accused him of using two-week old eggs, with shells that always come off easily. Nope. He said it made no difference. I tried it and it worked - once. Could have been luck. I tried it … [Read more...]