There is a reason why I am calling this reason Easy Paella, and it is this: Paella Is Easy. For ages and ages I suffered from Paella Intimidation, which is the completely unreasonable fear of making one of my favorite rice and seafood dishes because, I don't know, it looked HARD. And then I bucked up and made it, and guess what? Not. Hard. Nope, it's one of the easier fancy dinners I have ever made...so fancy in fact that I now make it on regular old Thursday nights, because it's basically just a matter of tossing some rice in a pan with broth and white wine and some seafood and veggies and whatever else catches your fancy, paella-wise, and letting it all simmer together until it is done. When I think of all the paella I haven't eaten in my lifetime due to Paella Intimidation...well, let's not think about that after all. Instead let's make some! Read More & Get the Recipe
Baked Taco Frittata
Here's the thing about this baked taco frittata. I do love me a good omelet, and I wish I was one of those people who could make a good omelet. I'm not. I'm one of those people who try to make a good omelet, but end up making something that looks more like scrambled eggs with stuff in them. It tastes fine, but it's not very handsome. Which is why I think I love frittatas so much...especially the oven baked kind. No battling with your frying pan, just fluffy delicious eggs filled with scrumptious insides. In this case, chorizo sausage, jack cheese, taco sauce and crushed tortilla chips. Read More & Get the Recipe
Low Country Boil
The first time I had this ultimate Southern summer dish was with my husband's extended family down in South Carolina. (That was the time I had my first red-eye gravy, and my first Krispy Kreme doughnut, and not the first time I ever had grits but definitely the first time I had THAT MANY grits). One of the many, many things I love about my Atlanta-born husband is that I have been indoctrinated into Southern cooking, Southern music and Southern figures of speech. And this easy, spicy, relaxed Southern dish is one of my sentimental favorites. Read More & Get the Recipe
Cookie Sheet Clambake!
I should start out by confessing right here and now that I have never in my life been to an actual clambake. I think they involve things like digging a hole in the sand, and wrapping things in seaweed, and other feats that I know I am never, ever going to pull off. Not unless someone invites me to a clambake and tells me exactly what to do. I would make a great clambake assistant, I think. But since there are no clambake invitations on my calendar, and since I know they involve clams which I do love, I decided to take matters into my own hands and create my own clambake. INSIDE. With a cookie sheet instead of a pit. So with apologies to the clambake purists out there, here goes! Read More & Get the Recipe
Bangers and Mash
Happy Saint Patrick's Day one and all (or as my Irish mama calls it, The Day!)...it's finally here, and I know all of you are Irish today regardless of where your ancestors hail from. Mine hail from Ireland, which is why you won't catch me wearing any green today. My Irish grandmother Aileen alway said to me, "Kate, you should never wear green on Saint Patrick's Day because you don't need to - you have Irish blood in your veins!" I do eat all the Irish food around me though, including my mama's scones and brown bread, and of course the classic corned beef and colcannon. But if you want to mix things up a little on The Day, you could also do bangers and mash. These are just as much English as they are Irish, which introduces a little harmony as well. Plus they are easy and delicious, especially when you top them with a little onion gravy. Read More & Get the Recipe
Grilled Seafood Packets
I used to be very wary of anything that combined seafood with my grill. Oh sure, I had all the stuff that’s supposed to keep it from sticking to the grill like a magnet (yes, I have that grill basket shaped like a fish…somewhere…), but this particular recipe takes a different approach that makes it pretty dang foolproof. In this case, you are not putting your beautiful seafood right on the grill. Nope, you are putting them into nice little foil packets that steam your shrimp and scallops into perfection. Read More & Get the Recipe