Hi! I’m Katie and I love food. Particularly Southern food.
For all of my life, the center and heart of every home I’ve lived in has been the kitchen. Whether it was making biscuits with my grandmothers or taking my first cautious steps in coming up with my own best recipes as a kid, I’ve always loved being in the kitchen almost as much as the results of the time, patience and intelligent work standing at those counters. I’ve also learned that food can help make a family when you’re in far-flung places away from those warm central hearts and hearths: sharing food can bring a group of strangers together and create the most basic of shared human connections, nourishment not only of the body but of the heart as well.
I’ve loved Southern cooking for as long as I can remember, and growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, I was always seeking out the niches, the holes in the wall, the places where food was made best by caring hands using time-tested processes and memory. When I left the Deep South to pursue a life in other places, I took those taste memories with me and shared them with the ones I loved. Along the way I learned a lot of new things which added to the love and joy I have for the foods of my heritage, and I’ve learned to find the way to make each dish the most delicious version of itself. That’s what I want to share here with you.
The Recipes
Most of the recipes I share here are favorites that have been passed on through my family and in the families of my friends. Ideally they can be made with lots of things on hand or with substitution, so sometimes you’ll see advice about the way you could do it versus the way that someone’s granny says you should do it versus the was that I do it. And if you know a better way, by all means let me know in the comments! Recipes are about sharing the best tips and tricks we have for making life delicious, and I welcome your feedback.