Homemade Guacamole is a thousand times better than the store-bought kind. And it’s easy. And fast. And super good for you! Fair warning: My Homemade Guacamole is mainly unadulterated avocado, lightly seasoned, doused with lime juice, and left a little chunky....
Dips, Dressings and Sauces
Lemon Artichoke Spread
Lemon Artichoke Spread is one of my very favorites and another oft-requested recipe. I’ve been making Lemon Artichoke spread for at least ten years, and all of my party on the porch friends have had it by now. We had a tough time keeping it in the coolers at the shop...
Restaurant-Style Salsa
It’s so easy to grab a jar of salsa at the store. I used to do it all the time. That is, until the day I came home from the grocery store without it. By the time I realized my error I had enchiladas in the oven, rice on the stove, and I was setting the table for...
Black Bean Salsa
Black Bean Salsa is one of those recipes we make all the time at my house. I could live on it--and often do--especially in the summer. Black Bean Salsa uses mostly pantry ingredients, and the hardest part is opening the cans. I usually have fresh limes around, but in...
Grape Salsa
It’s summertime, y’all! And I have an easy and refreshing summertime snack for you: Grape Salsa. I served this Friday night at the Eastern Shore Art Center, and it seems many people had never heard of Grape Salsa. At first some people were confused. One sweet woman in...
Mexican Street Corn Salad
I served this as a dip at an event on Cinco de Mayo and several people asked for the recipe. It’s a recipe we sometimes had in the catering shop coolers for TexMex Tuesdays, and it was popular there, too. Based on Mexico’s beloved street snack, elote--charred corn on...
The Best (and Easiest) Homemade Marinara Sauce
Does anybody else have those weeks where you’ve been as busy as the dickens, busier than a one-armed wallpaper hanger, certainly too busy to cram in one more thing (especially laundry), but you still don’t quite know what you’ve managed to accomplish? If anything?...
Watermelon Salsa
The other day I heard someone say that they don’t like watermelon. Now I can’t for the life of me remember who it was--maybe I’ve blotted them from my memory altogether? I mean, who ever heard of such a thing? I adore watermelon, I always have, and I assume you do,...
The Best Ricotta Dip, Plus All-Purpose Ricotta Filling
Oooooh! Ooooooh! Have I ever got a dandy recipe for you! But first, let me explain: A while back I ran across a recipe I very much wanted to try. It was a whipped ricotta dip with rosemary for bread and vegetables. So quick and easy, I just knew it would be right up...
Chilled Asparagus with Curry Dip
I know y’all are all starting to think about what to serve for Easter dinner. After a year of Covid-19 seriously cramping our holiday style, I am ready for a big Easter feast. And I’m willing to bet that we’ll see a fair amount of Easter/Spring/Renewal celebrating...
A Trio of Citrus Relishes (Including Cranberry Orange Relish)
There are so many ways to use fresh citrus in season, plus the easiest and best Cranberry Orange Relish!