When I was a boy, Mom always had a bottle of buttermilk in the refrigerator. Sometimes she drank it straight up, not my cup of tea, but she used it frequently when baking. Occasionally, I or my wife Nancy use a recipe that calls for buttermilk, like a cobbler she baked recently. Buttermilk is extremely versatile and I’m convinced there should be a pint or so of buttermilk in every chef’s … [Read more...]

Longtime reader and subscriber of CvilleBuzz, Nancy Jackson of Urbana, says she came up with a concoction sure to please. It certainly pleased her husband Mike, so much so that he wanted it again within five days of his first sampling. Nancy is like many cooks – she likes to experiment. Here’s what she came up with on a recent culinary adventure. “I just cooked a ‘made-up’ recipe, as many of … [Read more...]

  I subscribe to Yummly, a really neat cooking site. They shoot me stuff about twice a week and I have used a number of their recipes. The thing I like most about Yummly is that most of their recipes are simple – no Bavarian Lentils Seasoned in Rabbit Fat type of stuff. Just simple, easy dishes. But I rarely follow their recipes to a “T”. There is always room for improvement, I figure, … [Read more...]

  When it comes to chicken, size matters. But in this case, the smaller, the better. When I was about 14, I spent the night with a classmate, Larry McDaniel, whose family owned a small farm on Muddy Creek Mountain, just outside Lewisburg, WV. Larry and I were going squirrel hunting early the next morning, so I spent the night and ate with his family the night before. For dinner, … [Read more...]

  My mom used to make Seven Layer Bars, especially if company was coming. These sweet morsels are to die for – rich, creamy, chocolaty and delicious. I thought about Mom and those bars recently and decided to make a batch for some kids I cook for. As expected, each and every one was wolfed down and an order is now on the table for more, any time I want to make a batch. Seven Layer … [Read more...]

I found a recipe in one of my many cherished Church Cookbooks that looked interesting – especially if M7Ms, Reese’s Cups, chocolate pie and candies are your thing. Choco-holics, you know who you are. My thought on deserts are that if they don’t have chocolate in them, why bother? Just have another helping of potatoes. But this recipe caught my eye – Triple Chocolate Mess? They named it … [Read more...]

  Wanna really indulge yourself, or maybe put a few children on a cloud of pure elation? Then make a batch of Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies. I saw this recipe someplace recently, and since I do a little cooking for a family with three kids, I thought I’d give it a shot. It’s really good and quite a treat for any choc-aholic. You start with a package of Thin Oreos. Don’t know … [Read more...]

  I felt creative a few weeks back. I also needed some color to add to my Chicken Stuffed with Cream Cheeses entrée. Why not bake some tomato slices, I thought? And I did. I decide to slice the smallish tomatoes and place them on a little round piece of wrap bread. It was the sun-dried basil version by Mission Wraps. I cut a circle with a biscuit cutter to match the size of the tomato. … [Read more...]

  I was suffering through another case of chicken fatigue, trying to figure out how to eat more of the weight-loss inducing poultry and have it taste great at the same time. In one of my Yummly e-mails (sign up to this site at yummly.com) and I saw an interesting recipe for Bacon Wrapped Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts. You know that anything wrapped in bacon is going to be good, even if … [Read more...]