Baked bone-in half ham, made with a brown sugar and honey mustard glaze.

Honey Mustard Glazed Ham

Most of y'all familiar with my website know my No. 1 ham is the one that has been a favorite of The South for many years and the same one my Mama made - a brown sugar and mustard glaze with a Coca Cola pan sauce.

It's just such a good ham and always so well received, that it's pretty much the standard around here.

A classic, cold salad made from carrots, raisins and pineapple, sometimes coconut and peanuts, and dressed with a sweetened mayonnaise.

Classic Carrot Raisin Salad

We are still in the process of moving out of our old home, while the new house is looking more and more like we have lived here for 20 years! And the garage, oh you don't even want to know what that looks like, but as I have the energy, I bring in a box and go through it.

We are moving all of the Christmas stuff, the china from the china cabinet and have a freezer and a few pieces of furniture to go and we'll be finished... finally. The Cajun and I were so tired and hungry yesterday afternoon that we stopped by Hartz's Fried Chicken and treated ourselves to their buffet for an early supper.

Skillet Asparagus

Fresh asparagus prepared by butter steaming in a skillet.

How to Prepare Asparagus

I have been a huge fan of fresh asparagus for years and love it just about any way that you can cook it - steamed, blanched, stir fried, grilled, roasted - the marinated bacon wrapped version is mighty delicious and a favorite of mine too.

 

Button mushrooms, sauteed and reduced in a bordelaise style butter and beef stock sauce, great as a side, on a sandwich or burger, or as a grilled meat topper, perfect for steaks!

Steak and Burger Mushrooms

Not that we ever put our grills up for the winter here in the Deep South, but springtime is prime grilling season for us, because summer is near unbearable standing outside over a hot grill.

There's certainly been a lot of grilling going on here already at our new house since we moved in - I'm sure our neighbors think the only cooking we do is on the grill!

Chicken thighs, seasoned with salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and rosemary, cooked with mushrooms and onions, and slow braised on the stovetop.

Braised Chicken Thighs with Onions and Mushrooms

This is a pretty standard recipe for braised chicken, although I based my version on Emeril's recipe he shared on Good Morning America some time ago.

While bone-in chicken thighs are most traditional, other pieces of chicken may also be used, simply by adjusting times accordingly.

 

Slow cooked pork roast in an incredibly tasty gravy, using a classic cola soft drink and an envelope of onion soup mix. Great for chicken and beef roasts as well!

Slow Cooker Cola Pork Roast

This pork roast uses that same combination of good ole cola soft drink and dry onion soup mix we love on a beef roast, and the same as that beef roast that is so delicious, so is a pork loin done the same way.

Yes, Southerners like to cook with cola - which of course includes things like 7-up and Dr Pepper and root beer, of course - because we all know that the word cola covers all beverage bases in the South.

Spicy Baked Jumbo Shrimp

Spicy Baked Jumbo Shrimp - shrimp marinated in a spicy hot sauce and baked.

Spicy Baked Shrimp

This recipe was intended to be somewhat of a take on classic New Orleans BBQ shrimp, but with a barbecue flavor infusion instead, which is exactly what New Orleans style BBQ shrimp is not.

I know. Confusing isn't it? You can read more about the New Orleans style version on this post, which explains it a bit more.

CHA! by Texas Pete® Sriracha Sauce

Hot pepper sauce is no secret to the Deep South and many Southerners are well familiar with the North Carolina based Texas Pete® family of wing and hot sauce products. While Sriracha hot chile sauce may be a bit more elusive here in the Deep South, though some of us certainly are familiar with it and do use it, it is certainly highly popular all over the world, including here in the United States.

Texas style chili, made with a roast, loads of sweet and hot peppers, stewed and Rotel tomatoes and beef stock and beer if you like, heavy on cumin and chili powder and thickened with a slurry of masa harina.

Texas Style Chili

I think the major differences in Texas style chili over what most of us know as chili, is that it is most often made from chopped beef off of a whole roast, like a braising roast, or even venison, rather than ground beef, or heaven forbid, chicken. There are more chilies, whether they are reconstituted dried, powdered or chopped fresh, and it's heavier in cumin and chili powder for heat and never, ever beans cooked in.

Books of Southern Poetry by Patricia Neely-Dorsey

Update! Congratulations to Patsy who said...

"I'm from Mississippi too. I live in Laurel. I would love the book of poems of Mississippi." ~Patsy H.

Patsy left me her email so she's already been contacted. Thanks so much everybody for participating!

Except for the distinct connection between poetry, romance and food, this post today isn't directly related to food, but with Valentine's Day approaching us, I wanted to share these books of poetry by one of our Mississippi treasures, Patricia Neely-Dorsey. You may recognize Patricia by her widely popular poem entitled "Southern Life" that has often been shared around the net.