Sugar & Spice by Celeste

After the 2013 Southern Baking Retreat , I couldn't help but come home and bake biscuits.  This resulted in a delicious explosion of flour in my kitchen, but it's so worth the mess.  Homemade biscuits have always been a favorite thing of mine to make.  Mostly in part because it brings back all those wonderful memories of being in the kitchen with my grandmother, cutting biscuits with an upside-down sweet tea glass.  Plus, I'm a self-proclaimed "bread girl," so no meal is complete without some sort of biscuit, toast or roll on the side. When it comes right down to it, is there any food more quintessentially southern and delicious than a well-made buttermilk biscuit?    It's an art form in itself.  Even though there's really only 3 ingredients involved - flour, butter & buttermilk - so much can go right, or so much can go wrong on any given biscuit-making day. It's all about the technique and ingredients that you use:  Southern fl

Recently, the wonderful folks at White Lily & Martha White invited 10 food bloggers for a fun-filled weekend in Nashville, TN for their first ever Southern Baking Retreat.  I was lucky enough to be among those 10 bloggers chosen, and it truly could not have been more fun.  It not only was a great opportunity to learn a little more about two southern brands that I already love, but it was also an unforgettable experience filled with great food, fun times, incredible music and new friends. Here's a fun little video that they put together of the retreat.  It does a great job of summing up all the fun we had! Also, here's a list of the other 9 fantastic food bloggers in attendance. Be sure to check out their sites: Mommy's Kitchen Southern Bite A Farm Girl's Dabbles Add a Pinch Bake or Break Table for Two Love and Olive Oil Mostly Homemade Mom The Country Cook    Mike Rutherford welcomed us into his studio. DAY #1:   We

Usually, my fried food intake is limited to the occasional french fry stealthily stolen from someone's plate or an egg roll at my favorite Chinese restaurant.  I try not to eat too many fried foods, but gosh, every now and then you just NEED a sinfully delicious doughnut that's been fried until golden brown and topped with chocolate ganache wonderfulness, I tell you! When my eyes first caught site of the cover of Saveur issue #154, my mouth began watering and it only got worse as I opened the magazine and was greeted by page after tempting page of all things doughnut.  There were pages of doughnut recipes, followed by pages of homemade glazes to top them with.   I mean, SERIOUSLY!?!  A girl's will power only goes soooo far. When National Doughnut Day (of all things!) rolled around, I decided to bite the bullet and make these divine doughnuts you see here.  And if you're wondering, they were worth every single calorie! Bon Appetit, my friends! Vanilla-

Isn't it wonderful that there's an entire day devoted to celebrating the incredible dads in this world?  I'm one lucky girl, because I was blessed with the greatest father in the whole world.  I know, I know...We ALL think our dad is the greatest, but mine truly is.  :) Not only is he a great dad, but he's an equally awesome cook.  Today is your lucky day, because I'm sharing one of his best recipes.  This is one that I've meant to write down for the longest time.  He visited recently and whipped this gravy up for dinner along with country fried steak, and I made it a point to take notes as he went. This isn't your mama's gravy!  It's packed with mouth-watering flavor and is kicked up a notch with the help of red wine and bacon.  The secret to the best gravy is bacon drippings, and this recipe takes full advantage.   Be careful - This is dangerously delicious and has been known to cause dancing in one's seat at the dinner table.

Photo Credit: Asia Geiger So, I know this isn't the normal recipe or food related article that you're used to seeing here, but I wanted to share a cool interview that I recently had the opportunity to do with Robby Takac from Goo Goo Dolls.  It ran today over on al.com .  Hope you enjoy! ____________________________________________ It was a cool December evening in 2002.  The Goo Goo Dolls were playing at the House of Blues in New Orleans, LA, and I was lucky enough to find myself standing in the 2nd row, near the middle of the stage.   That was a night I'll never forget, and they forever claimed a spot as my favorite band. Their lyrics stand the test of time, just as well as the band itself.  After 27 years, they're still going strong and are currently on tour promoting their brand new album that hits stores today, called Magnetic.  Their summer tour will bring them to the Oak Mountain Amphitheatre in Pelham on Friday, August 2nd, along with Matc

Do you like pineapples, bananas and shredded coconut? Do you like deliciously layered cakes? If you answered yes, then you are going to be in love with this cake.  A cake SO good, that it has actually become the most requested recipe in Southern Living magazine history !  It was o riginally submitted by Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, NC and featured in the February 1978 issue of the magazine. I can remember my mom and grandmother making this years ago, and it has always been one of my favorites.  My Aunt Sheila also made it every Thanksgiving.  There's just something about the bananas mixed with the crushed pineapple in the yummy cake batter, and don't forget the scrumptious cream cheese icing smothered over each layer.  The chopped pecans on top add the perfect nutty crunch, and I like to add a little shredded coconut to mine. I made this particular cake for my wonderful mom-in-law's birthday recently.  Everyone loved it, and several folks even went back f