Nealey Dozier

Everything I know about cornbread dressing — and Thanksgiving — I learned from my mother, which she in turn learned from her mother. It is a long line of resourceful Southern cooks, and I trust them with this important meal completely. The secret? It’s all about the butter! My very wise nanna once said, “Whatever the amount of butter called for in a dressing recipe, double it, triple it, heck, even quadruple it!

October officially kicks off comfort food season (in my house at least), and these cheesy scalloped potatoes are a decadent way to welcome in the fall. Even if you are cooking for two, there is nothing better than having a pan of these to graze from, whether it’s breakfast or dinner, throughout the week. The potatoes are sliced into 1/8-inch thickness, parboiled on the stovetop before baking, and prepared with onions, Dijon mustard, and cheese.

Spring is looming oh-so-near, and all this sun and warm weather brings the promise of grilling season. As much as I love braisescasserolesburgers My boyfriend on the other hand is the pit master in this relationship. In fact, he was raised on generations of secret family recipes, passed down from father to son. Their all-day smoked pulled pork is enough to make you weep. (Seriously, it’s incredible.

I didn’t grow up eating pickled shrimp, which is surprising considering my mom’s coastal upbringing. Her family spans from the Atlantic beaches of Florida, all the way to the bayous of Louisiana. Seafood made regular appearances at our family gatherings, but usually in the form of spicy Cajun gumbos and jambalayas. It wasn’t until I attended an annual Christmas Day cocktail party a few years back that I discovered the wonder that is Sea Island Shrimp.

Quick-cooking shrimp make for easy weeknight meals, plus their mild flavor makes them incredibly versatile so that you don’t ever have to get bored. I always have a few bags in the freezer — I honestly never buy shrimp “fresh,” which are usually just frozen shrimp that have already been thawed. This means I can always whip up some sort of 10-minute meal. They are a great way to get creative in your kitchen.

I was honored when my dear friend Maggie recently asked for my baking assistance; she wanted to conquer her grandmother’s celebrated chocolate cake recipe and thought I might be able to help. Although it is a beloved family favorite, not a single relative has been successful in their attempts to recreate it. I was (overly) confident in my abilities and gladly accepted the challenge. Little did I know how much of a challenge it would turn out to be. What resulted is five (count that, five!

Sausage gravy is one of those dishes that is so basic, you don’t even need a recipe. But it’s also one of those dishes that, in the age of everything being bigger, bolder, and more unique, tends to get lost in the mix. But let’s not let that happen! In this recipe, you only need only a few ingredients – pork sausage, flour, milk, salt, pepper, and hot biscuits – to make Southern sausage gravy.

I have to admit I’ve never understood the popularity of the “Sunday brunch” at otherwise decent restaurants—the lines are ridiculous, the food often subpar, and you know as well as me the waitstaff have plenty of better things to do (like nurse their own hangover). My indifference to this cultural phenomenon doesn’t mean I don’t love a pile of pancakes and a fried egg or two; it’s just that I prefer them from the comfort of my own home.

Everybody loves creamed spinach, even folks who hate spinach! Here’s a luxurious baked version that I love serving with oven-roasted pork tenderloin, though it pairs just as well with steak, pork chops, or any other protein on your plate. Splurge on a little mid-week comfort food and make this with your dinner tonight! This spinach bake is a cross between creamed spinach and a spinach soufflé, and in my opinion it’s the best of both worlds.

There really is nothing quite like a multi-day cooking project to ease winter’s biting chill, and with the current temperatures in the single digits I’m sure we could all use an activity to bide our time indoors. These Southern-style tamales are the perfect way to get your friends and family off the couch and into the kitchen, and a batch is guaranteed to keep your minds occupied and bellies warm!

Just when I thought I’d filled my arsenal with enough delicious homemade holiday treats, along came heavenly hash to sweep them all under the carpet. The combination of bittersweet chocolate, roasted almonds, and marshmallows is truly a gift from above! Heavenly Hash may be better known as an ice cream flavor, but it actually started out as a candy.

If you asked me 10 years ago after feasting at a trattoria in Florence on fiocchetti alle pere con salsa di taleggio e asparagi that one day I would be able to replicate the experience, I would have laughed in your face. Back then the only thing I knew how to make was frozen pizza. But time has a way of changing us, and that trip to Florence changed me too. Here I am 10 years later, recreating that meal of a lifetime.

Still looking for a Mardi Gras recipe to celebrate the season? Try this creamy crawfish pasta that comes together in a breeze. I just so happened to have some crawfish squirreled away in my freezer; this was a sensational way to use it. Instead of heavy cream, I used half & half and added tomato paste and white wine to make a creamy pasta sauce. I threw an over-the-top crawfish boil for my fiance’s birthday party last year.

This stunning savory stuffed pumpkin is bound to be the pièce de résistance at your next party, but don’t fret — while it is definitely a noteworthy centerpiece, it won’t give you nearly as much grief as a turkey dinner for 12 people! This recipe, a mash-up of sausage, bread and cheese, is guaranteed to impress guests when it makes its grand debut at the table.

I love serving a roast tenderloin as an hors d'oeuvre, offering it up as part of a slider station. This allows me to cook a smaller cut and get more bang for my buck.

This is so much better than a turkey sandwich.

Don't wait another minute to make these delectable bites of sausage-studded bliss.

I’ve been having a blast recreating recipes from my summer food adventures in Taiwan. Thank goodness it’s soup week at The Kitchn because I think I saved the best for last! Beef noodle soup is considered a national dish in Taiwan, and I had a chance to experience it firsthand at Lao Zhang Beef Noodles, a former winner of Taiwan’s annual Beef Noodle Festival.

I’ll be the first to admit that my daily “lunch” usually consists of a wedge of Gouda and a handful of (oftentimes stale) crackers. Other days it includes a few slices of pie. But every now and then, when I want to feel like an actual grownup, I make a gussied-up sandwich that I may even sit down to eat. I am a firm believer in keeping plenty of basic ingredients on hand so I don’t get into trouble when I need to throw together a spontaneous meal.

My future mother-in-law is allergic to yeast. I’m talking full-on, debilitating allergic, which totally sucks, because before she developed the allergy she really, really liked bread. And being a huge space cadet, I am always shoving a new yeast-laden recipe I developed into her face (yes, even Irish car bomb cupcakes are guilty, too), which she always so gracefully declines, while I stand there wanting to smack myself for forgetting for the umpteeth time.

You know it’s a good day when your future father-in-law arrives at your house with a brown paper sack full of ripe Elberta peaches, straight off a farm in rural Georgia. And while it’s not the first of the sweet fruit I’ve enjoyed this year, it is certainly the most. So many, in fact, I had to ask Twitter what to do with them! Besides the obvious—to eat them one-by-one until my tummy ached—I actually didn’t get too many responses.

Sometimes I ask my fiancé what he wants for dinner, sometimes I don’t. Typically I don’t, because his answer is always the same—Dragon Express. (Seriously, he would eat Chinese takeout over homemade cooking any day. I really wonder about him sometimes.) I made an exception last week by asking his culinary opinion, and he threw me a serious curveball. “Chicken Cordon Bleu!” he exclaimed.

Okra is usually something you either love or hate. There’s not much in-between territory. I’ve grown up eating it, so naturally I adore it. Mind you, it wasn’t something my mother or my grandmother ever cooked up for us, but it was always ordered when we went out to eat. Whether at a divey meat-and-three, or at Morrison’s Cafeteria for Sunday supper, a little side dish of the deep fried vegetable was always on the table.

I stopped by my local market to pick up some salad greens for dinner, and I returned home with a pile of fresh Georgia peaches instead! They were quite a pleasant surprise to find at the store, since I’m not used to seeing decent ones until mid to late June. This called for a recipe to kick off the peach season.Southern peaches should start popping up everywhere due the unseasonably warm winter we experienced this year.

The ultimate Kentucky Derby sipper.

I was holed up in a strange apartment, my legs were swollen and I was quivering with pain. The sweltering heat pulsed from wall to floor to ceiling without mercy or regret. It wasn’t just hot. It was an inferno. I had been in Italy for mere hours and was already living out the trip from hell.If you’ve ever been to Florence in the summertime then it probably didn’t take much time to realize you made a very big mistake. Unfortunately, it’s usually too late.

I’m not going to pretend this is an authentic, best-in-the-world Philly cheesesteak — I’m from Alabama, for cryin’ out loud! For the real deal, you’ll have to head to Philadelphia; eat your way through a couple hundred hoagie shops, gas stations, and street food stands; and then decide a favorite for yourself.

Southerners are famous for their quick and easy dips, most of which come together using canned ingredients and a lot of mayo. Judge if you must, but I’ve never seen any of these dips not get devoured within minutes of serving. That being said, since it’s already summer and the produce is rockin’, I decided to nix the usual pantry staples (canned corn and green chiles) and use sweet corn on the cob and spicy jalapeños instead.

I know I’m not usually the one to share bountiful salad recipes here on The Kitchn. It’s not that I don’t like salads. I do, I really do. But most of the salads I eat on a regular basis are not “exciting” enough to photograph and wax poetic about for the blogosphere. Something tells me this bright summer salad might make a pretty good exception. I have a dear friend and coworker who just so happens to be a master of all trades.

Everyone needs a few go-to dinner recipes like this. Think: fresh, flavorful, and fast. Mild white fish gets a boost from smoked paprika, Parmesan, and a brown butter sauce. Shredded greens are then sautéed in the same skillet for the ultimate 10-minute meal. Mind-blowingly simple, mind-blowingly good. I just returned from my family’s annual vacation to our beloved Rosemary Beach, and now I can’t get seafood (or sunbathing) off of my mind.

You may be thinking that a recipe for a thick, hearty soup is a bit odd considering that yesterday was the first day of spring. But this Spanish bean soup is not just any soup. Rather, it is a soup sent straight from the soup gods (if the soup gods took the form of my future mother-in-law). As I was walking out the back door of a recent family gathering, Tina (my future MIL) forced two large Tupperwares into my hand. This happens often, and I never quite know what I’m going to find inside.

I am definitely a cold weather cook. Even in the spring and summer I can’t seem to stop braising meats and baking casseroles. Comfort food is definitely a major theme in my kitchen. And while exploring Southern cuisine — which is the ultimate comfort food in my book — is my passion, I also enjoy exploring the comfort foods of other nations. Since it’s Pasta Week at The Kitchn, I thought I’d share one of my favorite carb-loaded recipes.

On Monday I went a little over the top with my Chicken Cordon Bleu-Croque Monsieur. To prove that’s not how I always eat, I’m sharing a lighter meal that’s perfect to enjoy any day of the week. It’s a good thing my favorite Greek joint in Atlanta is a trek from my house, or I just might go there every day (and that could get a little dangerous). Without fail I order the lamb gyro plate with a zesty salad and garlic roasted coin potatoes.

It’s amazing what a few flavorful ingredients can do when it comes to getting out of a breakfast rut. Greek yogurt, garlic, and greens come together to give these scrambled eggs a tasty (and healthy) makeover! When it comes to the most important meal of the day, I am completely, utterly predictable. Monday through Friday, it’s a slice of crisp sourdough nested under a perfectly poached egg, all washed down with a side of mocha.

Have you ever spent months, years even, trying to replicate a recipe from a favorite restaurant? I’ve been trying to perfect this chopped salad since the day I first tasted it at my beloved red-sauce Italian joint in L.A., and I’m proud to say I think I finally nailed it. (Sans the red checkered tablecloths.) When I lived in California, there was a little hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant about a half mile from my house.

This soup comes with a memory: a bowl of hearty soup served by my mother-in-law one chilly fall afternoon many years ago. I remember the tomatoey broth being so complex yet so comforting, and the cheesy tortellini were a brilliant touch. I asked her for the recipe, but she, being the MacGyver of the kitchen that she is, didn’t have anything to give — it was a one-time-only melting pot of a week’s worth of leftovers. But I didn’t forget it.