Fruit

My first encounter with this dish was in a Nicaraguan steak house in Miami. The citrus-marinated steak with its beautiful green sauce just blew me away. Making the Chimichurri Sauce—a Latin version of pesto—takes no time, so you could easily fit this into your after-work grilling repertoire.

If you’re looking for an appetizer with a summertime attitude, here’s a simple, refreshin’ recipe. The scallops grill up in minutes, and the tangy citrus marinade gets transformed into a delicious sauce.

When we were children, we never made homemade ice cream unless we had company. I’m not sure if it was because we were being sociable or if it was because we needed help with the old hand churn. After working that hard, you definitely deserved a big bowl of ice cream! Daddy always added fresh peaches to this recipe because he loved homemade peach ice cream. Feel free to experiment with a fruit you love. I usually make it plain, then put out bowls of peaches, strawberries, bananas, nuts, and chocolate syrup so my guests can top it as they please.

Don’t be surprised at how sticky this dough is as you’re trying to shape it into a log for the first baking! After it comes out of the oven, it’s easy to cut into biscotti slices. Cooking the slices slowly on both sides gives it that nice biscotti crunch.

We should rename this recipe Goldilocks Pudding! My mother’s notes say she made several attempts at my dad’s favorite dessert before coming up with this particular version—not too hard, not too soft. It has become a mainstay in my home, too. Garth prefers the pudding without the meringue, so I usually make two versions, one with and one without. Either way, it’s a homey, satisfying finish to any meal.

You can’t be considered a serious southern cook if you don’t know how to make peach cobbler. Canned or frozen fruit works better in some recipes than fresh, and this is a perfect example. I recommend any brand of canned freestone peaches because they are tender and tasty. This dessert is easy to make and it tastes delicious, especially with a huge dollop of Home-Churned Ice Cream (page 212) on top.

My nephew Bret is allergic to eggs, which always presents a challenge when it comes to dessert. The bigger challenge is that Bret loves banana pudding. When a seven-year-old boy who is very cute asks why everyone else is having banana pudding while he is not, Aunt Trisha has to think quickly, and because my regular recipe calls for four eggs, I have to get really creative. This banana pudding recipe came about on the spot, and Bret isn’t the only one who loves it!

After moving to Oklahoma in 2002, I discovered an abundance of wild blackberries growing on our farm. Channeling my best Martha Stewart, I decided I had to pick these berries myself and prepare the perfect blackberry cobbler for my family. (This is also where I learned about the abundance of chiggers in Oklahoma, something we call red bugs in Georgia. They apparently love to feast on unsuspecting berry pickers.) After talking a couple of my girlfriends into going blackberry picking with me, I had an ample supply of beautiful blackberries. When I called my mom, the goddess of all things culinary, to ask for Grandma Paulk’s blackberry cobbler recipe, I got the familiar reply: “Well, actually there is no real recipe.” Ahhh! My notes from that day go something like this: Berries in water, Sugar, Bring to a boil, Flour, Shortening, Milk. You get the picture. The cobbler actually came out great, and I was proud of my handpicked berries, but truth be told, it was the first and last time I picked the berries wild. Store-bought berries at your local grocery or farmer’s market are usually plumper and sweeter than wild berries. If you use wild berries, you will probably need to add more sugar.

You can make the homemade pastry recipe if you like, but if you start with a purchased pie crust, this is a really quick and easy dessert. Be sure to use grated fresh or frozen coconut for ease in slicing.

It has become a tradition in my house that I make everyone’s favorite dessert on his or her birthday. Garth’s favorite is German Chocolate Cake, Taylor’s is Banana Pudding, and so on. When it came time for my friend Joe’s birthday, his wife, Kim, let me know that his favorite was cheesecake. “No problem,” I said, as I started thinking about that awesome cheesecake in a box I was going to make (I have to admit that it’s my favorite). “He loves the old-style New York cheesecake,” she explained. Umm … no problem? But I was committed, so I did what I always do: call my family for help. Beth hooked me up with several cheesecake recipes, and this is the one I like best. It made me a big hit on Joe’s birthday.

We seem to place a lot of emphasis on birthday cakes in my family. We like for everyone to have his or her favorite cake, but more than that, we like the variety of awesome sweets we get to eat throughout the year! This cake was once Beth’s birthday cake of choice—or so Mom thought until she learned that Beth actually preferred the chocolate caramel cake I always ask for. At first, I thought she was just trying to copy me (it’s a sister thing!), but then I realized that if it’s her favorite cake, too, that’s twice a year for me!

I’m always looking for fun recipes to make with our girls, hoping they will grow up to love cooking as much as I do. This cake is fun because they can’t believe you put all the pretty decorations on the bottom of the pan and the cake still turns out to be gorgeous!

Every February, when Garth’s birthday rolls around, I make this beautiful and delicious cake for him. Last fall, he made some sad statement like, “Only three more months until you make me that awesome German chocolate cake again!” I made the cake the next day. (I know, I’m a sucker.) I double the frosting recipe to frost the entire cake, because my husband likes extra frosting, but one recipe will frost the tops of the layers and do the trick just fine—unless you’re Garth, of course! If you have some left over, the frosting is also good spread on a graham cracker or on brownies (page 198). Okay, it’s also good right off a spoon!

My nephew Kyle requests this cake every year on his birthday. You know that if this is a twelve-year-old boy’s favorite cake, it’s gotta be good!

These are the best muffins of all time! My friend Lisa brings me quarts of fresh frozen blueberries every year, and I make these yummy muffins until the blueberries run out. Of course, either fresh or frozen blueberries will work in these muffins. This is a classic choice for breakfast; serve with a fresh cup of coffee.

Every summer, my sister Beth fills her freezer with blueberries her family has picked. They eat as many as they can while the berries are in season, share some with friends and family, and then freeze the rest. This quick bread is good made with fresh or frozen blueberries, and Beth uses lemons from her own lemon tree, right in her backyard! (I’m jealous!)

My sister hates bananas. Imagine all of the yummy recipes that eliminates for her! Nonetheless, when my niece Ashley makes this banana bread, it’s so good, even Beth will eat it. Maybe it has something to do with all that butter.

My sister Beth’s sister-in-law, Margaret, makes this salad, and it’s a nice alternative to plain cranberry sauce for holiday meals. In fact, it’s rich enough to serve as a dessert!

This unusual take on chicken salad is a meal in itself, with the rice, fruit, and almonds as well as cooked chicken. Just add bread or crackers.

This is great served with Barbecued Pork Ribs (page 84) or prepared to take to a covered dish supper, because it’s sturdy enough to stand at room temperature for a while without wilting. It also adds great color to a picnic spread.