Author: Debbi Covington

As it turns out, my nephew has also inherited Mama’s “love of cooking” gene! We recently spent an afternoon together baking cookies in my kitchen. Ray wanted to bake sugar cookies. I wanted chocolate chip. We compromised and baked them both!

My husband, Vince, and I have just returned from a much-needed vacation to the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. We both have salt water in our veins and love the ocean. Still, it’s always great to admire the breathtaking majesty of the mountains. The cooler temperatures were pretty wonderful, too! Always on a quest for new recipes and catering ideas, I found myself surrounded by trees loaded with apples and couldn’t resist the temptation to test some inspirations.

Seafood is a favorite choice for a small and casual party. All three of the recipes in this issue are delicious and easy to prepare and two of them can be made the day before serving. It’s easy to be a hostess! This is how we do it in the south.

Cooler morning temperatures over the past few days have inspired me to dine al fresco! This week’s recipes are perfect for a weekend breakfast on the porch.

Okay, so we’re all looking for quick, tasty and low-calorie foods to help us unload a few extra pounds. These two SKINNY recipes are easy, satisfying and delicious — and take almost no effort. They’re fast to whip up and won’t leave you starving in the afternoon.

Following a recent seafood photo shoot for DIY Weddings Magazine I found myself with a bunch of fresh lemons that needed to be used quickly. What an excellent excuse to make Preserved Lemons! If you’ve never cooked with preserved lemons, I urge you to try them. They add a unique and bright flavor that is indescribable. Preserved lemons may be purchased on line or at gourmet specialty stores — but why would you want to buy them when you can make your own?

‘Tis the season of hot days and warm nights! Who doesn’t like a refreshing cold beverage in the summertime? I carry around a tervis tumbler filled with herbal raspberry tea almost all of the time these days. It’s so important to stay hydrated in this intense Lowcountry heat. My recipes this week are personal favorites photographed by three of the best photographers in Beaufort. Hope you enjoy them!  (Photograph of “Sangria! Sangria!” by Paul Nurnberg)

The weather is beginning to get warm (downright hot some days) and no one wants to spend a lot of time in the kitchen! The recipes this week are all short, easy and delicious! Whip up a pitcher of Sweet Dreams to sip while you put together this simple supper. (Be careful, there’s a reason why they’re called Sweet Dreams! Too many of these potent beverages and you’ll be in la-la land!)

I didn’t grow up eating lamb. In eastern North Carolina we regularly dined on fried chicken, barbeque and chicken and dumplings. In fact, Vince and I had been married for several years before I tasted my first lamb at a restaurant in Charleston, SC. It was love at first bite!

What’s more fun than a Friday night with girlfriends? Jodie Miller and I put together a Movin’ & Shakin’ party over the weekend to celebrate the move of Plum Productions and Susan DeLoach Photography to new locations. We invited some of our favorite moving and shaking friends to join us downtown to sample a few of my new hors d’oeuvres and to have a cocktail or two.