Sugar & Spice by Celeste

    Photos courtesy of Southern Living First of all, Merry Christmas everybody!  It's that time of year again...my absolutely favorite.  A time that was so magical as a child, and yet still finds a way to be magical as an adult.  All of the twinkling lights, hot cocoa, holiday movies and music makes my heart happy.  And let's not forget the true meaning of Christmas! Today, I bring you a truly magnificent Christmas book by the awesome editors at Southern Living - Christmas All Through the South .  When I first received this book to review, I was delighted with the cover.  It's so festive and pretty, and it's made a beautiful display on my kitchen counter this holiday season sitting on its easel.  It's a rather large book filled with gorgeous, full-color photos, which I love. Photos courtesy of Southern Living Here's a blurb from the official press release: "Combining all the elements for which Southern Living is know and r...

Okay, friends...How about another awesome cookbook giveaway?  This one is a new favorite and is authored by my food blogging friend, Stacey Little, from The Southern Bite .   The Southern Bite prize package features a signed copy of the cookbook in a Southern Bite bag, along with an assortment of fun kitchen utensils/gadgets. The prize package is valued at over $50! I had the pleasure of meeting Stacey at the 2013 Southern Baking Retreat in Nashville, TN.  I'm a big fan of his blog, and I'm thrilled to offer a copy of his long-awaited cookbook, The Southern Bite Cookbook , to one lucky reader. Stacey's work has been featured on The Today Show, Fox & Friends, Southern Lady Magazine, as well as many other print and online publications.  His new book is filled with luscious photos of some of the most mouth-wateringly southern food you can imagine.   I also love the personal stories and family shots that fill the pages.  This book ...

A few weeks ago, we ventured to a wonderful little place called McEnally's Mercantile in Pinson, AL.  It's a great little store, and I hate that it took me so long to discover it.  Their website describes it as:  " McEnally’s Mercantile is a family-owned general store offering hardware, home & garden items, grocery, feed & supplies for those seeking locally made products, home-grown foods and DIY home & décor items."   When we walked through the front entrance, we were immediately greeted by the inviting smells of farm-fresh local greens being sauteed in coconut oil with bell pepper, onion, tomatoes and topped with some of the best bacon you've ever had in your life...all being prepared by a local farmer.  After seeing the rows and rows of local produce, milk, butter, freezers of local meats and several aisles of organic products, I knew I had found my new favorite little place to shop. I filled my cart with peppery arugula, farm fr...

First of all, thanks to everyone who entered my latest giveaway from White Lily, in celebration of National Biscuit Month.  The winner of this awesome prize is: Comment #28: From: Anonymous said... 28 My favorite type of biscuit is any kind with apple butter on it! :)  -Maranne CONGRATULATIONS!  :)

Did you know that it's National Biscuit Month?  Pretty awesome, huh?  What do you say we celebrate by making a mouth-watering, ridiculously delicious white chocolate bread pudding.  BUT - This isn't just any old bread pudding.  It's made with made-from-scratch buttermilk biscuits, which give it an incredible texture and presentation.   In fact, my father-in-law is a self-proclaimed bread pudding expert, and he deemed this bread pudding one of the best he's EVER had...That's serious stuff, folks!  :) Trust me, there will be audible OOHs and AHHS when you pull this baby out of the oven.  The biscuits are cut in half and arranged prettily in a pie plate, only to be topped off by fresh raspberries and then smothered with a creamy white chocolate mixture that you'll want to take a bath in.   Um, yes, please! After you finish licking your plate from the goodness that was the biscuit bread pudding (it won't last long!), take a minute to e...

  The winner of the Gourmet Garden Giveaway is: Comment #14 from:   FireRunner2379 Congratulations and THANK YOU to everyone who entered!!!    

In celebration of surpassing 2,000 Facebook fans, let's have an awesome giveaway, shall we?! I recently met Mary from Gourmet Garden at FoodBlogSouth 2013 back in January.  They were sponsoring the conference, and I got to taste samples of their goodies.  I love the convenience of their products, because I'm not always able to have a big selection of fresh herbs hanging out in my fridge.  That's where Gourmet Garden really comes in handy.   Their herbs are organically grown, and then washed, chopped, blended, and packed into handy little tubes for everyday use.  They also last months in the fridge, which is another big plus for me.  Some of their varieties include Parsley, Cilantro, Chili Pepper, Basil, Garlic and even Lemon Grass! Last night, I whipped up their recipe for Quinoa with Parsley & Bell Peppers.  I added some diced, leftover roasted pork loin from the night before, taking it from a simple side dish to a full meal.  ...

So, I'm super duper, incredibly excited to offer my wonderful readers (that would be you!), a chance to win a $500 "Your Set by Calphalon" giftcard... Yes, $500.00 , just in time for Valentine's Day !!   It's my largest giveaway to date, and I can't wait to give you all the details... I recently had the opportunity to have lunch with 2 awesome reps from Calphalon, and they told me about something that I think is really cool.  They have a new program called "Your Set by Calphalon".  Have you ever gone to purchase a new set of pots and pans and wished that you could customize your set instead of being stuck with whatever pots were already included in that particular box set?  The brilliant people at Calphalon have remedied that whole problem.  They've got a wonderfully interactive website where you can pick and choose exactly which pots you want in your set, so that you can create something special and unique... totally tailored to the way YO...

Thank you all SO very much for entering my latest giveaway for an autographed copy of "DADGUM That's Good, Too!" by John McLemore!!  It's an awesome cookbook, and I'm thrilled to be able to give one away to a lucky reader. So, without further ado, the winning comment is: COMMENT #30: Andrea said...     I follow you on Pinterest.   Andrea November 5, 2012 6:31 PM     Congratulations, Andrea!!!  Your cookbook will be on its way to you very soon!  :)

I recently had the chance to sit down with chef, cookbook author and CEO of Masterbuilt , John McLemore, for a delicious lunch here in Birmingham, AL.  John was in town for the day on a media blitz, and I'm so thankful that he took the time to meet with me.  Upon arriving, I was greeted by the entire gang - his wife Tonya, his daughter, his Social Media Specialist and even his pilot!  We had a great time at lunch, and I immediately felt like I had known them for years...What a wonderful group of folks.  We talked about all kinds of fun things - memories of his Memaw's Southern Fried Chicken, the story surrounding his most unforgettable meal, the strangest thing he's ever eaten (it was in China!) and even a visit with Paula Deen, in which she prepared an amazing breakfast spread for John and his family at her home.   I love that John's cookbooks have such a big focus on family.  Flipping through his cookbook is like looking through a family album, f...