Author: Debbi Covington

I was determined to start out the Thanksgiving season on the right foot. For the first time in years, I decorated our home with pumpkins, fall leaves and orange pillows. I pulled out our fall dishware and put an autumn tablecloth on the dining room table.

Some days you just want comfort food. True comfort food for me usually consists of some form of chicken and a bunch of carbs. In eastern North Carolina, I grew up eating a lot of chicken and dumplings. My husband, Vince, who grew up in the Lowcountry, ate a lot of chicken and rice.

When Vince and I were dating, he used to love to tell me all about Beaufort. One of Beaufort’s claims to fame (that he repeated way more than once) was that The Great Santini had been filmed here. “You know, from Pat Conroy’s book. He’s Conrack. He’s the guy who wrote The Lords of Discipline.”

What should I cook for supper? Believe it or not, that’s an almost daily question at our house. When it’s just Vince and me at the dinner table, I’m inclined to try some new ideas. That’s what I did on Tuesday. My broccoli salad recipe had originally consisted of broccoli, strawberries, salted cashews and toasted coconut, but when I couldn’t find any pretty fresh strawberries, I had to resort to Plan B.

Whether you’re heading to your alma mater for a fall football game and tailgate meal, or to the river for a picnic, this menu of make-ahead dishes is sure to be hit!

Thanks to the deluge of summer showers that we’ve been experiencing on Lady’s Island, our yard has been full of all kinds of wild mushrooms. The neighborhood squirrels have been feasting, and sometimes gorging, on the various toadstools. Smart little darlings, they are. They can instinctively tell the delicious mushrooms from the poisonous ones.

By Debbi CovingtonPhotos by Susan DeLoach Photography Do you like to cook and entertain? Want to do something special for your fiance? How about throwing a party for your groom and his best friends? Easy and fun, these simple recipes guarantee a successful event.

By Debbi CovingtonEvery summer, our friends Jon and Lolita throw a party that features culinary creations from Jon’s smoker. Friends and guests share appetizers, side dishes, desserts (and copious amounts of adult beverages) to complete the annual feast. Over the years, Jon has smoked just about every type of meat that you can think of. His lasagna is my personal favorite. Always a fun event, we all eat way too much and smell like smoke for at least a week. This year, I asked Jon if he would be willing to share some of his recipes with my readers. He graciously agreed. These are a few of the offerings from this year’s soiree.

The Dog Days of Summer are upon us! It’s too hot to cook. It’s almost too hot to eat. Finding refreshing and satisfying foods can be challenging. The menu this week can easily be prepared in the morning before the sun is at its peak and then reheated at suppertime. Each recipe features a bit of citrus.

July is usually a slower month for Vince and me. Somehow, this year, it has turned out the be the total opposite. Vince is super busy with his work and I find that I’m still slap-in-the-middle of my wedding season. On top of everything, this morning no less, it suddenly occurred to me that I had a column due – and that I was two days past deadline. Yikes! I had no ideas and didn’t want to go to the grocery store.