My Carolina Kitchen :

Barefoot Contessa?s Mexican Chicken Soup & Our Very Own Homemade Tortilla Strips for Garnish

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One of the things I like about recipes from Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) is that you always can count on them to turn out great. This soup is no exception. It?s rich tasting yet not filling, feeds a multitude, is colorful, can be spicy[...]

Happy Mother's Day

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This is a day around the world when we give tribute to our mothers. Meet my mother, a school teacher and educator. This picture is from an old yearbook. She graduated from college in 1932, the height of the Depression. Jobs were hard to[...]

The Chef custom designed a wine dinner just for us at Bistro 41 in Fort Myers, Florida

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When my husband Meakin?s birthday rolled around this year, we wanted to do something extra special because it was one of those ?milestone? years that calls for a celebration. We tossed a lot of ideas around, but finally decided to throw an[...]

Shrimp and Sausage Stew with a Creole Flair

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There are times when I crave spicy food and nothing fills the bill better than a seafood and sausage stew with a little kick. When I think of seafood and sausage stews, my mind immediately goes to Louisiana with their rich jambalayas and[...]

Asparagus ? Easter?s Favorite Side Dish

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Asparagus is our favorite side dish to serve for Easter. It spells springtime for me and besides, almost everyone loves asparagus. Each year I try to find a new asparagus recipe to add to my every growing list of favorites. When I saw Grilled[...]

Coastal Living Magazine Features Elbow Cay: The Island Time Forgot

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Coastal Living magazine?s current issue features our old stomping grounds of Elbow Cay in the Bahamas in their April travel section. The main settlement on Elbow Cay is Hope Town, where their picturesque  kerosene powered candy striped[...]

Wild Mushroom Toasts with Eggs Recipe and the Winner of the Give-away

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Eggs are probably the original convenience food. According to Sara Foster of Foster?s Market fame in the Durham/Chapel Hill area of North Carolina, ?When it comes to convenience food, you can?t do much better than eggs; they?re nourishing,[...]

Bistros of Provence and a Giveaway

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I've been feeling very French lately. Perhaps it's because I've just discovered the lovely blog Paris and Beyond and it's brought back wonderful memories for me of our trip to Provence. This lovely watercolor is from the cover of a menu of a[...]

Shrimp and Scallop Salad with Mango Salsa

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I find that when people visit from other areas of the country and are invited to dinner, they expect certain foods to be served. For instance, if I visit my sister in Texas, I hope she?ll prepare some of my Tex-Mex favorites, since good[...]

Grilled Bread with Prosciutto Barefoot Contessa Style

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This grilled bread with prosciutto recipe is in Ina Garten?s (The Barefoot Contessa) latest cookbook How Easy is That? Ina put it in the cocktails category, but for us it easily was dinner when we combined it with a green salad and a cold[...]