liv bites

When you’re craving a juicy, old-fashioned, no-nonsense steak, I find there is no substitute. A delicate filet of fish can’t compete, and even a hearty pasta dish falls short. It must be the umami flavor that makes your mouth water at the mere thought of red meat (I stopped myself from writing “je ne sais [...]

Ever since we made that delicious pork tenderloin in our Napa Valley cooking class, I’ve been dying to try some more pork dishes of my own. The catch, of course, is that I couldn’t just rip off the same recipes we cooked in the lesson, so this time I went in a completely different direction. [...]

Although most people imagine Mississippi as a hub for consuming grits, my mom only makes them once a year, at Christmas brunch. Along with about a hundred other side and main dishes, she whips up her version of gruyère grits that I adore, topped with mouth-watering grillades that take her all day to make (it’s [...]

My complaints about not having an outdoor area to grill in have been well-documented on this site, and I guess my generous dad took note! He sent me a very cool product, the Sanyo Electric Indoor Barbeque Grill, so I can fire up some meat and veggies in my little one-bedroom. The grill doesn’t get [...]

I love pizza. Especially the fancy Neapolitan kind with the rich, moist cheese and crispy crust that bubbles up. In fact, I love it so much that I gave it extra attention on my About page, but I’ve never made it for the blog before. Truthfully, I’ve been waiting for a very special ingredient that [...]

I recently went home to Jackson, Mississippi for a long weekend to celebrate a friend’s recent engagement, and I ate the whole time I was there. Friday night we went to my favorite restaurant, Walkers, where no less than two desserts were shared. Saturday I picked fresh basil from my dad’s garden and made a [...]

My assistant and I just shelled out some cash to join Costco. It seems a little ridiculous since I live within a one-block walking distance of no less than three grocery stores (truly), but when I heard that I could buy a whole quart of Fage yogurt for $5, I was sold. I eat a [...]

While considering an easy, Sunday night dinner for two, I settled on lettuce wraps. My assistant and I made them a while back with success, which turned out to be just the confidence I needed to take the basic recipe to the next level — but this time, I was cooking for a girlfriend instead [...]

The first time I attempted the bacon and brussels sprouts combo, the sprouts were hardly cooked, but the bacon turned out more like bacon bits — fail. The second time, I introduced red wine into the mix and loved the result. But I got a little cocky about the small success and decided it’d be [...]

I was craving a burger a few nights ago, but I decided to buy ground lamb instead of beef to make things more interesting. With the lamb came the opportunity to turn an all-American classic into a Mediterranean meal, so I went with it. Except that I think hamburgers are actually originally German. Sigh. I [...]