Fresh tomatoes, air fryer roasted with onions and whole garlic cloves tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and blended. Perfect for pasta dishes but use anywhere you would use diced tomatoes or puree them for a more sauced version.

Air Fryer Roasted Tomatoes

Fall has "officially" arrived, though it does take a while to effect any change here in the Deep South. I mean, as we speak, there's a potential hurricane threatening the Gulf Coast!

Regardless, one thing is for certain, we're getting to the end of local and backyard tomato season.

Though he loves the sauces and casseroles I make with them, The Cajun is not a big fan of fresh, raw tomatoes and he wouldn't dream of a tomato sandwich! Me, I love them and I enjoy them with many meals, including simply sliced with a little salt and pepper, even alongside my breakfast eggs.

Fish fillets, tossed in a mix of yellow and Creole mustard with hot sauce, dredged in a highly seasoned blend of cornmeal and flour, then deep fried.

Mustard Fried Fish

In case you didn't know, we're pretty big on fresh fish here along the Gulf Coast!

Local Gulf favorites include speckled trout (my personal favorite), flounder, snapper, grouper, redfish, drum and lots of others in the deeper waters. Give me any one of them!

The Cajun goes fishing with his brother on occasion and the fish they come home with most often are two very popular fish found in the Mississippi Sound - white trout and ground mullet - also known more officially as southern kingfish.

A potato salad made using half smashed and half chunky potatoes and finished with a sour cream and mayonnaise-based dressing.

Sour Cream Smashed Potato Salad

Hope y'all don't mind me sneaking in another potato salad before we roll into Fall in a few days!

Not that it matters much what the calendar says in the Deep South because yesterday it was miserably hot and humid. Not that the weather has ever stopped a craving on me, I sure do look forward to some cooler temperatures and some belly warmin' meals though - hopefully soon!

I wrote this version of potato salad in honor of my mother-in-law, who passed away a few years back. Although it's a bit different from her version, very different from my Mama's and different even from the way my father-in-law, who was also a great cook, made his, she prepared her potato salad mostly mashed, something that was very new to me.

Thick slices of cucumber pair up with red onion and a tart vinegar dressing. Add the ends of some fresh tomatoes that you need to use up if you like!

Everyday Cucumbers

I'm constantly playing around with cucumber salads and while they may all look very similar, it's a bit surprising how minor changes in ratios, ingredient additions - such as with herbs - and even textures from different cut sizes, can actually make a big difference in taste.

The inspiration for this one came from Vivian Howard's mom's everyday summer salad featured in her book Deep Run Roots. This cucumber salad made a daily appearance at the table when she was growing up and while sometimes it was just cucumbers, other times it had red onion or included the leftover ends of tomatoes.

The best of late summer and early fall vegetables - eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash and sweet bell pepper - tossed with an olive oil, vinegar and herb-based dressing, diced tomatoes, garlic, chunks of red onion and sliced smoked sausage, then baked.

Ratatouille and Sausage Bake

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love a vegetable dish like this. The Cajun?

Not so much.

So, when I cook something like this it's all for me!

An easy, filling chicken salad, made with cooked chicken, seedless grapes and salted, roasted pecans, lightly tossed in a creamy dressing.

Chicken Salad with Grapes and Pecans

Fall doesn't arrive for a few more weeks and it's still pretty hot, so I'm hanging with the summertime food vibe here y'all.

I'm not quite ready to say hello to fall themed dishes, but there are plenty of other food bloggers out there who've got your back if that's what you're looking for! 

In the meantime, chicken salad is such a good and easy meal, especially during these extended southern dog days of summer and I lean on it a lot.

Bone-in chicken breasts, marinated overnight or up to 24 hours, in a brown sugar and apple juice or cider-based brine, then flame grilled.

Apple Brined Grilled Chicken

Y'all. Summer is coming to an end soon and I am not unhappy about it.

While I know many of you, including some of my very good friends who also live down south, and those of you who live in cold climates especially, y'all do love the heat of summer. I don't. And, it gets HOT in the Deep South. Fall can't come quick enough!

A skillet meal of zucchini, corn, onion and tomatoes with garlic, that can be used as a side dish or served stuffed into warmed corn tortillas for a vegetable taco.

Skillet Zucchini with Corn - Calabacitas con Elote

I think it may have been when I shared the recipe for my Southern-Style Skillet Ratatouille on the Facebook page recently when a reader, Austin, mentioned calabacitas, a Southwest/Mexican-style dish that also uses some of the summer bounty of fresh vegetables that many of us love.

Summer is coming to an end soon so let's get them in while we can y'all!

Cheese Delights - Broiled Open-Faced Tomato and Cheese Sandwich

An open-faced, broiled tomato and cheese sandwich with bacon and fresh basil.

Cheese Delights

One day, when I was sharing my broiled tomatoes on the Facebook page, Cheryl, one of the readers there, was reminded of an open-faced tomato sandwich her grandmother used to make. She called them Cheese Delights.

You can find a variety of open-faced tomato and cheese sandwich recipes around the net, and while they have different preparations and some with a variation in ingredients, you'll primarily find the ingredients to contain at least:

French Potato Salad - Pommes de Terre a L'huile

A cold potato salad, made with red skinned potatoes, tossed with chicken stock and white wine, dressed with a lemon and mustard olive oil vinaigrette and tossed with green onions and herbs.

French Potato Salad

One day, as I shared cookout recipes on my Facebook page, I shared my classic potato salad, a recipe that, while I do prepare other versions on occasion, is my standby recipe and most similar to the way that my Mama made potato salad. A reader commented that I really should try French potato salad sometime.

Of course, I took that as a challenge!

The Dish Rewind - Vol. 1 August 2022

This week's rewind: Speedy Strawberry Lemonade, Easy Cocktail Sauce with Boiled Shrimp, Hamburger Hot Dish Casserole, Carottes Glacées - Savory Glazed Carrots, Southern Summer Succotash and Coconut Key Lime Pie with Minty Whipped Cream.

Welcome to Vol. 1 August 2022 of "The Dish Rewind," where I highlight some of the past recipes from my many years of sharing this website.I hope you'll find some recipes in these collections that you may have missed seeing in the past!

Tap this link to visit all of the past collections from The Dish Rewind.

Chicken drumsticks dredged in seasoned flour and a buttermilk and egg batter and prepared in an air fryer.

Air Fryer Fried Chicken Drumsticks

While I don't eat it every day, and I rarely cook it at home anymore because it can be a bit messy, I do LOVE fried chicken.

Absolutely love it.

The chicken is tender. The coating on the deep-fried skin is so deliciously crunchy and loaded with flavor, it may well be my most favorite part. With easy access to places like Popeye's, and our local fried chicken buffet Hartz, fried chicken is The Cajun's and my top comfort food. We probably eat it more often than we should! 

A quick skillet meal of sweet or hot Italian sausage with seasoning vegetables, pasta noodles and a southwestern-seasoned tomato and sour cream sauce.

Italian Sausage and Pasta Skillet

Oh my goodness y'all... is this summer heat ever gonna end?? And it's not even August yet.

I know that I whine about it every summer but it's not getting any easier as the birthdays come on, that's for sure! The boys came by with their Dad for a swim and while PawPaw hung out in the pool with them, I had to go in and out of the house, alternating between visiting and cooling off. It was awful.

It's really been hard to get motivated to cook too.

Fresh, juicy tomatoes and garden cucumbers, paired with purple onion and dressed with a local honey and mustard vinaigrette, finished with torn basil, fresh from the garden.

Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Y'all know that I love me some fresh summer cucumbers and juicy, seasonal tomatoes and as salads go, I mostly just toss them with a mix of vinegar and sugar and call it a day. I do love that whole sweet and sour thing and that's the way I combine them most often.

Sometimes it's just simply cucumbers with onions, mostly sweet Vidalias, because it is the season for them too after all, but sometimes a sharp, purple onion is in order instead.

Chicken salad, made with green onion, celery, roasted pecans and bacon and dressed with blend of a mayonnaise and avocado. Serve as a sandwich filling or line individual plates or serving tray with lettuce leaves and scoop chicken salad on top, garnishing with tomato wedges.

Bacon, Pecan and Avocado Chicken Salad

C'mon now y'all... what's not to love about a chicken salad with avocado, bacon and pecan?

Well, I for one can attest - it is delicious!

I've noticed when engaging on social media that a lot of folks favor and have one signature chicken salad that they make all of the time and that most everybody knows them for. It's the one that they always bring to events.

I guess in that case, mine would be what I call my deli-style version, a very basic but delicious version, though I've made multiple variations of that one over the years, this being one of them!

Boneless pork ribeye chops, dredged in a seasoned mixture of cracker meal and panko crumb coating, and cooked in the air fryer. Shown here with a drizzle of milk gravy.

Breaded Air Fryer Pork Chops

I really love using an air fryer, especially in this heat. It's way less messy than frying on the stovetop too, that's for sure!

I have mentioned before, but it took me awhile to get on board with them admittedly, but when I did finally, I ended up with several of them! The one that stays out of the pantry and that I use the most is an oven style version though I did use the larger basket style fryer this time.

The Dish Rewind - Vol. 2 June 2022

This Week's Rewind: Sour Cherry Lemonade, Pickled Shrimp, Summer Squash and Rice Gratin, Broiled Lemon Herb Chicken and Zucchini Nut Bread.

Welcome to Vol. 2 June 2022 of "The Dish Rewind," where I highlight some of the past recipes from my many years of sharing recipes on this website.

I hope you'll enjoy this new feature as well as to find some recipes that you may have missed seeing in the past!

Rotini pasta, tossed with a mix of vegetables - broccoli, red onion, sweet bell pepper, carrots and tomatoes here - mixed with a seasoning blend and dressed with a quality homemade or commercial Italian or Ranch dressing.

Supreme Pasta Salad

Whew y'all! It's been super-hot and humid here along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and we're heading into a couple of 100+ degree actual temperatures here the next few days. No telling what the "feels like" temp will be with the humidity factored in. Wow.

Many of you have been in a similar heat wave that we have down here, and it sure feels like it will never end, even though summer actually only "officially" started this week! Yeah, okay...

We all seem to be suffering with this heat.

The Dish Rewind - Vol. 1 June 2022

This Week's Rewind: My Perfect Mojito, Spicy Cheese Bites, Crabmeat Quiche, Old Fashioned Broccoli Salad and Rocky Road Candy Squares.

Welcome to Vol. 1 June 2022 of "The Dish Rewind," where I highlight some of the past recipes from my many years of sharing recipes on this website.

I hope you're enjoying this feature as well as finding some recipes that you may have missed seeing until now!

Large shrimp, tossed with olive oil and seasonings and quickly grilled with a Ninja Foodi or other electric, countertop grill.

Grilled Spicy Shrimp (Ninja Foodi)

I really enjoy grilled foods, though when I talk about "grilling" these days, it's less often on my outside, open-flame grill anymore, and much more often on my indoor countertop grill.

The heat and humidity outside in the summertime here along the central Gulf Coast is just too much for me!

It's not quite the same as that open flame flavor of course, so yeah, it loses a little in the translation on a tabletop grill, but it sure does still taste good! It's also easier, more convenient and faster, especially when you purchase your shrimp already peeled and deveined from the freezer section.

Salmon, simply seasoned and pan-seared in a hot cast iron skillet, then transferred to the oven to finish, producing a perfectly cooked, juicy, tender and flaky fillet.

Cast Iron Seared Salmon

I grew up, and still live on the Central Gulf Coast where seafood is abundant. Whether you catch your own, or pick it up from a local seafood market, there's nothing that can compare to it from a grocery store freezer section, nevermind that which comes from foreign markets. Nothing.

Tender and juicy pulled pork made with the ease of the Instant Pot!

Instant Pot Pulled Pork

I love a good pulled pork, and no, it doesn't even have to be one that is slow smoked, although yes, I adore that and it's really the best. Most of us home cooks are not going to be dedicated to that whole process, but we are happy to enjoy when somebody else does!

Mostly we stick with the tried-and-true methods that have worked for home cooks for years:

The Dish Rewind Vol. 3 May 2022

This Week's Rewind: Mint Infused Sweet Tea, Grilled Chili Lime Drumsticks, Southern Style Collard Greens, Spicy Rice and Corn Casserole and Lemon Icebox Pie.

Welcome to Vol. 3 May 2022 of "The Dish Rewind," where I highlight some of the past recipes from my many years of sharing on Deep South Dish website.

I hope you'll enjoy this new feature as well as to find some recipes that you may have missed seeing in the past.

To visit and get more details for each recipe, just tap or click on the photo or the titles below. To view all of the Rewind Round-ups, tap or click on the link.

Marinated Grilled Ribeye Steak Sandwich

Inspired by a popular sandwich from a local hole in the wall tavern, this ribeye steak is marinated in a flavorful blend, then grilled, served on pistolette rolls and dressed simply with grilled onion, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomatoes. Serve with chips and a pickle spear.

Grilled Ribeye Steak Sandwich

If you're from Biloxi, you likely know of The Project Lounge, and at some point in your life, you've probably been there too.

Though they moved from their original location near Highway 90 on the beach to a little bit further away near Keesler Gate 7, they have always been known for being a dark and smoky bar, but they are also well known for their hamburgers and steak sandwiches.

The Dish Rewind Vol. 2 May 2022

This Week's Rewind: Fresh Hand Squeezed Lemonade, Cold Marinated Asparagus Salad, Cajun Steak Marinade, Southern Style Creamed Peas and Layered Banana Cream Pie Dessert.

Welcome to Vol. 2 May 2022 of "The Dish Rewind," where I highlight some of the past recipes from my many years of sharing on Deep South Dish website.

I hope you'll enjoy this new feature as well as to find some recipes that you may have missed seeing in the past.

This loose meat spoon burger recipe dates as far back as the 1950s and has been a favorite of many families all those years. It's made with ground beef, onion, a few standard condiments... and a completely unexpected ingredient!

Gumbo Sloppy Joes

I will be the first to admit when I first heard of this sandwich, I was super skeptical! It seemed a bit, well, crazy to me, as I'm sure it will to some of y'all, but... wait a minute.

Turns out, it is amazingly delicious, and downright addictive! This is how it came about.

The Dish Rewind Vol. 1 May 2022

This Week's Rewind: Old School Baked Chicken and Rice, Roasted Sweet Potato Salad, Bacon Drop Biscuits and Summer Berry Cobbler.

I've been running this recipe website for almost 13 years now. It's really hard to believe that, and yes, I know that there are many of you who have been here with me all along. Thank you for your love and support.

Born out of losing my long-held corporate career to a storm named Katrina, I didn't anticipate how much it would grow. Over those years, I've published a lot of recipes!

Highly seasoned grilled shrimp served on grilled fresh corn tortillas with salsa fresca, onion, cilantro and fresh lime.

Tex-Mex Grilled Shrimp Tacos

I love any kind of Mexican or Tex-Mex food, though outside of the usual standards of tacos, burritos and quesadillas - we pretty much go out more often than making it at home. The main reason is I have an adventurous palate and almost never order the same thing.

The Cajun, well he's the total opposite and almost never steers away from the crunchy beef tacos. It's kinda funny really, because he'll study the menu for awhile, but then when the server arrives, it's always crunchy tacos!

Cuban-Style Creole Fried Chicken - Pollo Frito a la Criolla

Bone-in chicken thighs, marinated in a classic sour orange with onions, and a paste of garlic, oregano, and cumin, then pan seared and gently simmered on the stovetop.

Cuban-Style Creole Fried Chicken

If you're from the south, when you first saw the words "Creole" and "fried chicken" in the title to this recipe, you may have had certain expectations.

A southerner would likely expect any chicken that claims to be "fried chicken" to be one that has been dredged in seasoned flour and deep fried.

A southerner from the Deep South would expect a recipe claiming to be "Creole" to have the typical influences of tomato along with the trinity of onion, bell pepper and celery.

You'll find that neither of those elements apply to this Cuban-Style Creole Fried Chicken!

A Chinese-American dish of tender beef, tossed in a rich and robust sauce, with stir fried carrots, sweet bell peppers and green onion. Serve over steamed rice or cooked Asian noodles with a side of steamed broccoli.

Mongolian Beef

Okay. I have to admit. I have been seeing copycat recipes for this thing called Mongolian Beef all over the place for years.

Although an American creation and not authentic Chinese cuisine, it seems it's a favorite from P.F. Chang's restaurant, a place I have been to exactly once in my life. That visit was in Texas of all places, when we were there visiting family. I actually don't even remember what I ordered there to be honest, except that while it was good, it wasn't the Mongolian Beef.

Cabbage, tossed with salt pork and onion and smothered down with a little chicken broth. Simply seasoned, satisfying, comfort food.

Smothered Cabbage with Salt Pork

I love cabbage. Any way really, but most often when I pick up a head of cabbage thinking I might prepare something new for the website, most of the time I go with the simple fried cabbage I love so much.

It's actually pretty close to this version, though bacon based, and for some folks, as much as a full pound of it!

Minced cooked crawfish combined with egg, crushed saltines, seasonings and fresh parsley, shaped into patties and pan fried or air fried for a Deep South favorite.

Crawfish Burger Patties

Most everybody is familiar with seafood cakes in the form of crab cakes and tuna or salmon patties. All are well-loved and popular, especially here along the coast during Lent, but you may not have thought about crawfish!

I know that around the country as a whole, crawfish are, well... let's say a little weird and misunderstood, but here along the Gulf Coast and especially in Louisiana and Mississippi, crawfish season is anticipated every year like a kid at Christmas.

Yep. Crawfish boils are a thing, and a pretty big thing here along the coast.

A cheesy pasta casserole made with a cream soup and sour cream base and rotini pasta.

Cheesy Rotini Casserole

This recipe is based on one that was popular back in the early 1980s among The Telephone Pioneers of America and was featured in their community cookbooks, Bell's Best and Calling All Cooks.

It was called Macaroni Casserole back then, because it was generally made with elbow macaroni. I used rotini pasta for my version because I had an opened box I needed to use up. Waste not, want not! 
 

An enhanced sweet cornbread that starts with Jiffy mix.

Hacked Jiffy Cornbread

I started this recipe website Deep South Dish back in 2008, when there really weren't many food blogs, much less many focused in any manner on southern cooking. Boy has that changed and talk about competitive!

There are now some very ambitious and focused 30-somethings out there and hey, I'm super proud of them. Support them please! They are hard workers.

On the other hand, me, I'm just a home cook, twice their age, sharing my recipes and just a tiny little bit outside of that league, so a special shout out to those of you who have been here and supported me and my old-school ways and recipes from the beginning. I love y'all!

Baby back ribs, seasoned with a flavorful rub, placed over a rack, steamed with stock and apple juice in the Instant Pot and finished with a caramelizing pass under the broiler or on a hot grill.

Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs

Ribs. More specifically, baby back ribs. So good and delicious!

We love them about any way they come really, but one of my top favorite ways to make them quite frankly, is in the oven. They are so tender and delicious and despite what the pro-Q'ers say, The Cajun and I love them that way.

The elements from my open-faced, spicy tuna melt come together in an oven-steamed hot tuna sandwich.

Cheesy Hot Tuna Sandwiches

Though they've been around a long time, you may not have heard about these yummy hot tuna sandwiches. They're a bit retro by now.

A riff on a tuna melt honestly, except while those are typically served open-faced on an English muffin and with cold tuna, topped with cheese and passed briefly under a broiler, hot tuna sandwiches are made on buns or rolls, wrapped and heated through in the oven.

Seasoned pork chops, seared in a skillet and smothered in gravy with caramelized vegetables.

Pork Chop Étouffée

We do so love to "smother" our food here in the Deep South!

I mean, what's not to love about food simmered in gravy or sauce? Good stuff! I mean, check these out y'all.

Cabbage Roll Bowl

Cabbage with ground beef or sausage, or a combination of them, cooked rice, tomato sauce and a little sweet and sour element - the flavors of classic stuffed cabbage rolls in a quicker shortcut, one-pot version.

Cabbage Roll in a Bowl

I love cabbage rolls, but the prep always seems overwhelming!

It's really not that bad though, it just seems so, because every time I go ahead and start them, I realize the dread of the "work" was mostly just in my head. It just seems so daunting to think about it all, but really, some of the prep can even be done ahead of time.

This dish is a bit of a shortcut on that classic stuffed cabbage flavor, but without that anticipated dread.

Leftover cooked rice is transformed into a fabulous fried rice dish that starts with bacon, onion and garlic to which leftover or thawed and cooked, frozen mixed vegetables are added along with beaten eggs, all finished with the classic Asian flavors of soy and oyster sauce.

Bacon and Egg Fried Rice

Recently we went to a hibachi dinner for a birthday celebration, and I think half of my plate was fried rice, so I had a good bit of it leftover to bring home. Okay with me!

It was so barely seasoned though, that I wasn't really super excited about eating it, but I figured I would get it home and play around with it because I hate wasting food and I absolutely love fried rice.

A bold, cream cheese-based chip dip, with the addition of Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies, chopped black olives and loaded with southwestern flavors.

Southwestern Chip Dip

I originally got the idea for this dip when going through a box of clippings. This one came from a rural EPA newsletter featuring a community cookbook called Cooking with Osyka! It's one of a few fundraiser cookbooks for the Osyka Civic Club of Osyka, Mississippi, usually available at their annual Fall Fest events in October, or by calling their business office at 601-542-5994.

They referred to this dip as Southern Heat Chip Dip in their cookbook, though I've played around with this one enough that I'm not even sure how close I am to the original clipping anymore!

Carrots and sweet potatoes, tossed with olive oil, salt and red pepper flakes and oven roasted.

Roasted Carrots and Sweet Potatoes

I love roasted vegetables, and this is the time of year - when you don't mind turning on your oven - to get your fill of them!

Roasting really brings out the natural sweetness and enhances the overall flavor of vegetables and you just can't beat the ease of preparation.

Soup Meat Vegetable Beef Soup

A rich, hearty mixed vegetable beef soup, made with The Bouilli of a soup meat roast and bone broth.

Soup Meat Vegetable Beef Soup with Bone Broth

In case you missed my previous post for The Bouilli, this is the Beef Vegetable Soup that I made after preparing the initial meal of "boiled meat with juices," served with rice.

In short, Creole Bouilli refers to the preparation of a beef roast that is slow-braised (you don't really want to boil it) for several hours, completely covered in liquid, and to which I added some seared beef bones.

While you can use any leftover roast for this soup, of course, the outstanding flavor of The Bouilli makes a knock your socks off soup. To learn more about The Bouilli, tap that link and learn all about it! 

Creole Bouilli, a boiled roast, slow-stewed with beef bones and seasoning vegetables and served over rice or potatoes with juices spooned on top for meal one, and a flavorful beef vegetable soup or second meal next day.

Creole Bouilli - Boiled Soup Meat Roast with Bone Broth

I love soup, and yes, around here it is usually featured as a main dish meal, accompanied by some kind of bread, crackers or a sandwich, rather than just a starter soup course to go along with an entree of some kind.

For the most part, I want those soups to be quick and easy, although there are times I do put a little bit more of my time into them.

This sheet pan mix of roasted potatoes with loads of vegetables and smoked sausage is an easy meal that's packed with flavor.

Roasted Potatoes with Sausage and Vegetables

You may remember a near viral recipe for a simple sheet pan roasted potatoes with onions and sweet peppers flashing across social media platforms the past year or so.

I'm old enough to remember when people just made these kinds of things with little to no fanfare, but hey, if social media can drum up some interest in cooking, well, anything... I'm happy about it!

Food, after all, isn't just about nourishment, although some would have you think so.

Chili Beans and Rice

A mix of kidney beans with pintos, chili seasonings and browned, smoked sausage, served over rice.

Chili Beans with Rice

Any kind of a beans and rice dish is a winner for me.

• It's hearty and filling.
• It's high in protein and fiber.
• It's inexpensive.
• If you use a brown rice and a turkey smoked sausage, it's pretty good nutrition.
• And, the most important thing. Done well, with a great blend of herbs, spices and seasonings, they are delicious!

A vintage sweet treat, pumpkin pudding is a dessert that falls somewhere between a dense cake and a crustless pumpkin pie. Slice into squares and serve with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and a garnish of freshly grated nutmeg.

Old-Fashioned Baked Pumpkin Pudding

There are a few pumpkin pudding recipes out there, but for the most part, they are just that. Pudding, with pumpkin puree, very often including a box of pudding mix, and usually prepared in individual custard cups.

This, is not that.