Appetizers

Pulled Pork Tacos with Cherry Salsa

July 16, 2012
Pulled Pork Tacos with Cherry Salsa

That right there, that’s one of the biggest, sweetest victories to ever come out of our garden: yellow tomatoes. Squirrels and birds love yellow tomatoes. Like swarm-the-plant-like-locusts-and-leave-nothing-but-bare-stems love yellow tomatoes. For the most part, they’ve ignored the rest of the garden but the potted heirloom tomatoes? Total buffet. The very second that a would-be yellow [...]

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Grilled Fish Tacos with Cantaloupe-Pineapple Salsa

May 4, 2012
Fish Tacos with Cantaloupe-Pineapple Salsa

Back when we were dating, Jason would to drag me to an Astros games a few times a month. He lucked out – he found a girl who loved sports (really, just football) and beer (mostly margaritas) and would listen to three hours of pitching analysis and commentary. (He was cute and had some serious [...]

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Grilled Pineapple Guacamole

May 2, 2012
Grilled Pineapple Guacamole

Guacamole is one of those foods that doesn’t really need anything fancy to make it more exciting. You can smash some lime and salt with a perfectly ripe avocado half and call it a day. But I like the crunch of red onion and jalapeno. And there’s no such thing as too much cilantro! But [...]

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Roasted Strawberry Crostini with Basil and Goat Cheese

April 19, 2012
Roasted Strawberry Crostini with basil and Goat Cheese

I absolutely fell in love with the idea of roasting strawberries with basil long before I even took the first bite. Because after 30 minutes in the oven, my kitchen smelled amazing. My mother-in-law once served us cheesecake drizzled with basil syrup for dessert. Back then, the idea of basil going anywhere near something that [...]

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Pimento Cheese

April 5, 2012
Pimento Cheese

Growing up, my mom adored Pimento Cheese sandwiches. And as a kid who saw nothing more than a scary bowl of nuclear orange spread, I couldn’t get passed the word Pimento. Yet I could knock back a bag of dye- and preservative-laden Cheeto Puffs, no questions asked. She’d slather a big spoonful on a slice [...]

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Grilled Oysters

April 3, 2012
Grilled Oysters with Monterrey Jack and Pico de Gallo

Living on the Gulf Coast has its perks. The ability to garden nearly year-round, swimming the afternoon before Thanksgiving, and having access to some of the freshest seafood anywhere. The trade-off is hurricane season, mosquitoes the size of rats, and wicked humidity. We deal. There’s usually booze involved. But we deal. Oysters are among my [...]

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