Funeral Potatoes (California, 1997, adapted)

Funeral potatoes are an almost meme-worthy dish these days, one of the few mid-century canned-soup-and-cream casseroles that’s still aligned with the twenty-first century palate.  I’ve never been to a funeral with refreshments, much less a full meal.  The dreary name presumably stems from a custom of serving them at a post-service family meal, or perhaps……

Cheese Grits with Tomato Gravy (adapted from The Black Family Reunion Cookbook, 1991)

The Black Family Reunion Cookbook (1991) is a glorious cookbook compiled by the National Council of Negro Women.   The recipes honor NCNW’s founder, Mary McLeod Bethune, and commemorate the organization’s annual Black Family Reunion Celebration, which honors “the historic strengths and values of the Black Family.”  The recipes are peppered with stories of Ms…….

Cookbook Review: Cooking with Regis & Kathie Lee (1993)

CooDear heavens did I love Regis Philbin.  I’m not talking about a crush or some sort of romantic love, but he had this crazy manic energy that elevated everyone and everything around him.  He’s probably best remembered for his long-running stint on daytime television, but that’s not how I got to know him.  I’ve been…

Cookbook Review: The Best of Beta Sigma Phi Cookbook (1991)

This cookbook came to me in kind of a roundabout way. The first time I had ever heard of Beta Sigma Phi was in one of my old vintage church cookbooks. A lovely Apple Pudding Bread recipe casually bragged that it was selected for the Beta Sigma Phi International Dessert Cookbook. The recipe itself was…

Cookbook Review: Pasta Cookbook (Country Kitchen Collection, 1990)

Pasta Cookbook is one of Jean Childress’ Country Kitchen series, which I’ve written about previously. Like other books in the series this is a small, softbound, hand-illustrated cookbook focused on “simply delicious all-American food”. There are roughly 30 recipes, all of which can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. I picked up this copy…