This recipe, a favorite of ours for years now, comes from the relentlessly delicious kitchen of The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten.  I've spent many happy hours of my life curled up with her cookbooks and a cup of coffee, dreaming that I too had a cooking assistant named Barbara by my side, and that I too had a gigantic barn-sized kitchen with two dishwashers and plenty of gorgeous natural light.  If I had those things, couldn't I too whip up some fantastically comforting food for my husband and millions of viewers?  I think I could.

continue reading...

Mmm...liver. And onions. And grits--don't forget the grits that should be a component of every true Southern breakfast. And the perfect biscuit, both cloud-light and butter-rich.

Riccobono's Panola Street Cafe, in the Riverbend, is a homey, silverware-clanking spot on a residential street (7801 Panola), which helps contribute to the feeling that you've tapped into a true locals' secret. You walk in and seat yourself (if there's a seat to be had), read the menu waiting for you on the table, and linger over the paper and a cup of coffee. Prices aren't high, service is friendly enough, and there are several interesting options to try.

For instance, the crawfish omelet, full of crawfish, sausage, bell peppers, and onions. With grits, of course. And biscuit.

If liver and crawfish don't call to you in the morning, don't fear. The ordinary but soul-satisfying breakfast fare is all here as well: pancakes, sunny-side upps, bacon, and benedict.

By the way, if you're wondering what eating liver for breakfast is like, it's like this: each chew alternates between the flavors of steak and vitamins. Vitamin-steak-vitamin-steak-vitamin-steak. Swallow. Not bad, lots of iron, fortifying. Not exactly juicy.

They also serve lunch--sandwiches, burgers, salads, gumbo--quickly and affordably.