FunnyLove

southern

Tomato Pie

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Guys. 

I love dubbing things MY NEW FAVORITE RECIPE because everything that I love goes through a pretty good phase of “let’s have this once a week,” but this is reeeeeally my new favorite recipe. It is also incredibly high maintenance and full of fat and carbs, two things that are very near and dear to my heart. 

But, before you x-out, trust me when I say that even though there are a lot of steps to this recipe they are all super simple and the results are a thousand percent worth it. I found this recipe while on vacation with Jay’s family back in June, when we were tag-teaming who was going to stay inside during naps on a boat day. I was making dinner that night and had a little extra time, so when I found this recipe I was all HECK YES LET ME AT HER. The recipe comes from Saveur and I have made it a few times with a tiny tweak here and there, but mostly I follow the recipe exactly as it’s written. 

The beauty of the recipe is that it includes a whole onion, caramelized for over an hour, roasted AND fresh tomatoes, and a great balance of salt + sugar to bring out the most delicious tomato flavors. There is mayo in the dish, but just enough to hold the cheese mixture together, so if you hate mayo don’t worry – it serves a purpose but doesn’t add any flavor. The Saveur recipe includes instructions on making pie crust which I firmly ignored in favor of a local all-butter crust made at my favorite grocery store IN A TIN FOIL PAN. I do not care that this doesn’t make for the best presentation, it is delicious and saves on dishes so we’re going for it. 

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Southern Sugar Snap Pea Salad

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Southern = it has bacon. 

Here’s our new favorite summer side dish! We are all about sugar snap peas, and this time of year when they’re actually GOOD and we have a chance of finding them locally we have them around all the time. We eat a lot of raw veggies as snacks with hummus or ranch, but turning them into quick side dishes to go with grilled meat or to take to a potluck is another favorite thing to do with peas especially. There are tons of variations of this salad, and I made mine with a combination of classic Southern flavors (bacon, mayo) with some extra brightening flavors from lemon juice and fresh herbs. The combination of creamy/salty with herby freshness is SO good, and of course it goes without saying that while not a perfect superfood, this is a better choice than, say, the exact same salad base with potatoes or pasta instead of a raw veg. 

Raw veggies balance bacon, is my aesthetic. 

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Southern Stewed Cabbage

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Oh hey!  There are a few teeny tidbits you should know.  First, last night I dreamed that my incredibly tiny sister Emily had decided to lose some weight because she met some PhD (?) students who were very thin but younger than her and she decided that she needed to lose weight.  We were in some sort of a convenience store and I went full WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU and she got really mad and yelled to our grandparents (?) that I am so mean to her.  Then she proceeded to say “it’s just the best because once I lose this weight I can set a new goal and lose more!” and then in this convenience store with our grandparents I made her repeat the word anorexia to me the same way I do with Beck when we are working on new words.  I’m going to have to call Emily and work….something…out. 

All that to say.  My sister married a guy named Ben who has a similar essence to Jay.  Buzzed head, hipster glasses, casual style.  And when Beck was learning to talk and figuring out that more people than just Mama and Daddy existed she referred to Ben as DAH!!! in pictures.  Because they look the same but not. 

And so now that you know that, you can know that when I did some kind of “what do we eat with cabbage?” query online a few weeks ago when I had 3 heads inexplicably in my fridge, Emily chimed in with BEN LOVES CABBAGE, he chimed in with a link to a recipe similar to this, and that is the story of why we are having a very simple but flavorful and delicious cabbage side dish today.  

It’s a pretty classic southern thing, and everyone has their own version of it, but the short and sweet is that you chop up cabbage, cook it down in some flavorful liquid, and when it’s super tender and flavorful douse it with salt and pepper.  Some people steam theirs for health purposes, some people add spices or herbs, use different kinds of cabbage, tons of options.  I think anything cooked with onion, butter, salt, and pepper is a winner, so I went that route. 

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What Not to Do While Dating

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Awhile ago when we were in NYC, I spent time chatting with a woman named Terri who promotes our tournament to fancy people in LA.  That’s literally all I know about what she does.  

I tell you that to tell you this:  Terri had some sort of misconception that I was this southern belle and THAT was why I’d snagged a husband before I was 30.  This was a legit conversation we had, and I think maybe it was because my hair was really big that day?  And I was wearing a dress, makeup, and heels all at once?  This is what I looked like selling CDs about 5 minutes into this conversation.  Mom face alert!

I tell you THAT to tell you THIS:  I am not a southern belle, and I did not snag a husband.  I basically dragged him to the altar kicking and screaming after a slew of silly dating mishaps on my part.  The idea that I’ve tricked anyone into thinking that I’m eloquent is just absurd.  To be fair, Jay once said in a fit of madness that he was really glad that I get ready for adult milestones before he does because it gives him the push he needs to move forward.  …

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