Easy

Sweet Potato Pie is always served at Thanksgiving at my house. I used to think there wasn’t much of a difference between Sweet Potato Pie and Pumpkin Pie, but this recipe made me change my mind. It’s just sweet enough, and it’s so smooth and creamy. Hmmm … I need to think of more holidays to make this for, so I can eat it more often!

I’m always looking for fun recipes to make with our girls, hoping they will grow up to love cooking as much as I do. This cake is fun because they can’t believe you put all the pretty decorations on the bottom of the pan and the cake still turns out to be gorgeous!

Using solid shortening instead of butter results in a pure white frosting that you can tint any color you like.

I like a good plain pound cake, but I also like it when I can find a way to make it a little bit different or special. Chocolate pound cake is so simple and so good. This cake is excellent served at room temperature or heated for 15 seconds in the microwave and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

This recipe is basically the same as the White Cream Decorator Frosting (page 168) except that, because you’re not worried about the icing staying white, you can use milk and regular vanilla extract.

My wedding to Garth was such a wonderful day! We wanted it to be a small, private event, and it was, made possible by the help of our friends and families. Everybody was happy to pitch in and help—everybody except my mom, that is, when I asked her to make the wedding cake! I know, it sounds crazy, but I knew she could do it. My mom taught school for twenty-five years, but there was a period in her life (when she had me, to be exact) when she needed to be home. To earn extra money for the family, she began baking and selling cakes for birthday parties and weddings. She resumed her teaching career when I started first grade and retired in 1991 to run my fan club. (She has since retired from that too, and has gone back to being just Mom.) She came out to Oklahoma the week before the wedding to make a wedding cake that I think turned out to be much bigger than she had been picturing, but it was simply stunning. She gave me the bride and groom decoration from her own wedding day, June 19, 1960, and it literally made the cake. My parents were very happily married for forty-five years, and the only thing that could have made my wedding day better would have been to have Daddy there. I think he was, though. He probably wouldn’t have had any wedding cake, but he would have enjoyed the fried chicken and the barbecue! My finished wedding cake took four electric mixers to make, but we’ve included the regular pound cake recipe here.

My nephew Kyle requests this cake every year on his birthday. You know that if this is a twelve-year-old boy’s favorite cake, it’s gotta be good!

Beth makes this cake every time it’s her turn to take refreshments for her Sunday School class. It’s made in a bundt pan, so it looks beautiful, and the sour cream gives it great flavor and a moist texture. Those little tunnels of brown sugar and nuts are a nice surprise. People always ask her for the recipe.

These muffins are rich and chewy, but they are also a bit delicate, so be sure to use paper liners in the muffin tins and spray them with nonstick spray; otherwise, they will crumble when you peel off the liners. This recipe also makes great mini-muffins; just shorten the baking time by 5 minutes.

These are the best muffins of all time! My friend Lisa brings me quarts of fresh frozen blueberries every year, and I make these yummy muffins until the blueberries run out. Of course, either fresh or frozen blueberries will work in these muffins. This is a classic choice for breakfast; serve with a fresh cup of coffee.

Every summer, my sister Beth fills her freezer with blueberries her family has picked. They eat as many as they can while the berries are in season, share some with friends and family, and then freeze the rest. This quick bread is good made with fresh or frozen blueberries, and Beth uses lemons from her own lemon tree, right in her backyard! (I’m jealous!)

This is great bread for any meal, but one of my favorite ways to eat it is crumbled up in a big bowl with really cold milk. Mmmm! Beth likes it cold with buttermilk. Now that’s just wrong!

My sister hates bananas. Imagine all of the yummy recipes that eliminates for her! Nonetheless, when my niece Ashley makes this banana bread, it’s so good, even Beth will eat it. Maybe it has something to do with all that butter.

Biscuits are synonymous with southern cooking. If I had the time, I would have homemade biscuits at every single meal. They should be required in every household! When my niece Ashley was small, one of the things she liked best about going to Granddaddy and Grammy’s house was breakfast. There was usually a conversation the night before about all the awesome things on the menu—bacon, grits, sausage, and, of course, homemade biscuits. Ashley would be up early to help make the biscuits, standing on a chair beside Granddaddy, wearing a big apron and covered with flour.

There are as many versions of this casserole as there are southern cooks and church cookbooks. Beth’s is a compilation of several. I like the potatoes shredded instead of cubed and not as much butter as some recipes have (don’t worry, there’s still plenty!).

If I had to name the dish that is requested most often at home it would be this one. My family will eat almost anything if they can have these whipped potatoes on the side! I have been asked many times what secret ingredient makes this recipe so good. The answer is—potatoes! You’ll be amazed at how simple it is to make really great mashed potatoes. Everyone has his or her own preference, but I like to use red potatoes, as I think they are lighter and don’t get gummy like other kinds can. I also peel the potatoes completely, leaving no trace of skin, but if you like the skins, simply leave them on. For this recipe alone, I would encourage everyone who doesn’t have a pressure cooker to get one. They are safe and save a ton of time in the kitchen. A pressure cooker cuts the prep time for this recipe from 1 hour to 15 minutes.

Cornbread dressing is my absolute favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal. In fact, I have been known to make this recipe in July because I just can’t bear the thought of eating it only once a year! The recipe was never written down until Beth and I demanded that Mama show us how to make it. She came up with the ingredient amounts and demonstrated the mixing technique. (Hint: You’ve gotta get your hands in it!)

I’m not sure if I ever had a store-bought French fry before high school! Mama made these home fries and served them with fresh-off-the-grill burgers. They’re the perfect side for Herb’s Fried Catfish (page 106) and Mama’s Cornmeal Hushpuppies (page 140).

This casserole belongs on a plate with roast beef, rice, and gravy for Sunday lunch. We probably didn’t have it every Sunday, but it was often part of the standard after-church meal. I’m a little surprised that as children we ate asparagus, but Daddy always said we’d eat anything with Mama’s cheese sauce on it!

I guess because most of my recipes are southern, we’ll just have to say this one is way south of the border! This is a hearty side dish that can be used any time you serve rice. We serve this rice on the Fourth of July with Barbecued Pork Ribs (page 84).