Saturday Dinner: Sort-Of, But Not Quite Pork Chops, Applesauce and Mashed Potatoes

I didn’t really know what to call this post, really, because the dinner came out of improvisation on the theme of a many a childhood dinner in West Virginia: pan-fried pork chops served with applesauce on the side, with mashed potatoes and some sort of green vegetable (usually cooked from a vibrant verdant beauty into […]

What is Up With the Cupcake Thing?

Sometimes human beings confuse me.
Okay, I will amend that. Not all humans confuse me–just most of them.
And it isn’t sometimes–it’s most of the time.
So, let’s just start this over, shall we?
Most of the time, I find the behavior of most human beings to be quite confusing.
Take the case of the cupcake.
Cupcakes have become […]

An Early Summer Country Classic: Creamed New Potatoes With Peas

Eating the local foods of early summer should never be anything but a sensual pleasure.
I always feel privileged to have grown up tasting the turn of the seasons, my body sustained on what grew from the labors of my family tilling the red clay soil of my grandparents’ farm. Our bodies themselves were made […]

Up Close and Personal With Kimchi

Kimchi is considered the national dish of Korea. This broad category of lactic-acid fermented pickles is made of a wide variety of vegetables, fruits and sometimes seafoods, all brined in salt, flavored with herbs, garlic, ginger, and often, liberal amounts of red chili peppers. Some people find the array of types of kimchi intimidating; I […]

Hillbilly Fried Rice

So we come to it.
The fusion dish to end all fusion dishes.

The culinary equivalent of a bastard love child between the movies “Deliverance” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”
Hillbilly Fried Rice.
Oh, I hear the giggles. The laughter. The disbelief.
That is only because you haven’t tasted it, friends.
Because this here stuff is good.
Uh. Huh. […]