There are probably as many recipes for meat loaf as there are kitchens in America. Every family has their favorite. I was particularly fond of my Mom’s meat loaf. She used – among other things – tomato paste and lots of onions in her meatloaf. When we married, Nancy used her Mother’s recipe with lots of catsup. It took a while, but now I’m used to that recipe and enjoy it. Last week, … [Read more...]

  I gained 5 pounds during our weeklong cruise to Hawaii. It could have been worse, but I managed to avoid desserts, otherwise it would have been 10 pounds. On a cruise ship, every time you turn around they’re trying to feed you something and they are usually successful. And now Thanksgiving and the holidays are here. I’ll soon look like “Fat Bastard” in the Austin Powers movie if I don’t … [Read more...]

  I don’t know why I bought a turkey tenderloin. I had no earthly idea how I would fix it, but it looked good, I knew it was healthy and it was under ten bucks, so I bought it. Maybe I should say “them” because there are always two turkey loins to a pack. You don’t often see turkey tenderloins in the grocery stores -  those cuts from the bottom of a turkey breast – the tender part of … [Read more...]

  A tradition our group celebrates each Oyster Festival while staying in an Urbanna cottage is the partaking of what we call Oyster Cups. Each year, we order 10 or 12 quarts of fresh oysters from a local Urbanna waterman and we eat them fried, raw, and baked as Oyster Cups. They are amazingly good and amazingly easy. Here’s how. In a small aluminum cupcake tin, put 1 or 2 oysters … [Read more...]

  Chicken makes a diet-friendly entrée – except when you deep fry it with skin on and serve with mashed potatoes, rolls and gravy. That’s my favorite way to eat chicken, but a sure-fire weight gain. Therefore, I am always on the lookout for a chicken dish that’s not as dull as a doorknob, but a little healthier and one that tastes good. I recently saw a recipe for chicken and avocado … [Read more...]

I had some really good Chicken Fried Steak at Mrs. Rowe’s in Staunton a few weeks back and thought I’d try my hand at it. In the past, I’ve attempted Chicken Fried Steaks with round steaks – pounded into oblivion – and they were still tough and chewy. Recently, I saw a cut called “Sizzling Steaks”. They were at Wal-Mart – 6 or 7 thinly sliced chuck steaks in a package. I knew chuck had a great … [Read more...]

  Say you go trout fishing in then next few weeks and catch a few. How do you prepare the trout so that they’re not just edible but really good. The Game Department chefs recommend Trout Mornay. Here’s how. Trout Mornay is a timeless recipe that can never be defeated. It’s quick, simple, and easy. Some recommend spicing up the sauce with red pepper flakes or something zesty for a … [Read more...]

  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...]