Food and the memories it conjures up is priceless, isn’t it? Growing up I was blessed with a mother who loved to cook and she is a fabulous cook. We spent many a weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks at our lake home. It was a precious time filled with happy moments. Cooking and tradition run strong but seemed to be etched forever in those lake meals. Every Sunday morning we enjoyed Biscuits and Sausage Gravy. How awesome is that?
It was my dad’s favorite. He would rise early, go fishing by himself and know that when he returned my mom would have biscuits and gravy along side a hot, steaming cup of coffee waiting for him. It was perhaps one of my favorite times of the week.

While my dad recently passed away and our family is in the midst of deep grief, it is comforting to know that I can return to all those warm, wonderful memories with the stir of a spoon in the thickened gravy. That gravy will become a glorious crown for the warm country biscuits. Enough said. [Read more…]

A Dutch Baby for Easter? You bet!  The name doesn’t sound like a scrumptious breakfast or dessert, does it? Some may know it as an oven baked German pancake, and others may not have heard of this super simple, great tasting dish. Fantastic flavor with a show stopping appearance, combined with oh-so-easy prep, makes it the perfect dish for your Easter weekend. [Read more…]

Traditions! Yes, traditions run deep in our home this time of year. Our family treasures all of our traditions (and yes, some are quirky,) Christmas brings as many traditions to our home as wishes on Santa’s list.

It was a joy to share our Christmas morning tradition this week on the Kansas City Chow Town blog. You will find our tradition of southern style monkey bread. Each Christmas morn for as long as I can remember, we have started this holy day with a breakfast that can be prepared ahead. Amaretto infused citrus, cheese and sausage laden casserole and of course, monkey bread.

A friend shared this Amaretto fruit recipe with me years ago. She is quite a gourmet cook. I thought her comment about this recipe were spot on. She said, “this recipe is so very simple and elegant at the same time.” I added maraschino cherries to entice our daughter to try this recipe and it seemed to work. [Read more…]