September 3, 2026
From the Church Cookbook: Chicken and Dumplings, the First Cool-Weather Supper
There comes a first cool evening in September when a pot of chicken and dumplings is the only right answer. The plain, forgiving way to make it.
Weekly series
From the Church Cookbook
Time-tested recipes from the South's community cookbooks.
Installments
August 20, 2026
From the Church Cookbook: Fried Green Tomatoes, or What to Do With the Ones That Won't Ripen
Green tomatoes are firm, tart, and unlovely raw. Dredged in cornmeal and fried, they become one of the great small pleasures of a Southern summer.
August 13, 2026
From the Church Cookbook: Banana Pudding, the Dessert That Feeds a Crowd
Wafers, custard, bananas, and a little patience. Banana pudding is the Southern dessert that shows up whenever people gather, and it never comes home full.
August 6, 2026
Fried Okra: The Vegetable That Wins You Over
Rolled in cornmeal and fried crisp in a cast-iron skillet, okra converts even the people who swear they cannot stand it.
July 30, 2026
Boiled Peanuts: The Taste of a Roadside Summer
Green peanuts simmered for hours in salty water, sold from roadside pots and gas-station crockpots, and eaten hot from a wet paper bag.
July 23, 2026
Pimento Cheese: The Caviar of the South
Sharp cheddar, mayonnaise, and a jar of pimentos make the spread that shows up at every Southern gathering and somehow never lasts.
July 16, 2026
The Tomato Sandwich: Summer Between Two Slices of Bread
The plainest sandwich in the South is white bread, mayonnaise, and a perfect tomato, and it is proof that the simplest thing can be the best thing you make.
July 9, 2026
Buttermilk Biscuits: The Bread That Forgives You
A biscuit is a few plain things and a hundred small decisions, and the Southern kitchen has been arguing about them since before any of us were born.
July 2, 2026
Peach Cobbler: The Taste of a Southern July
Made right, with real summer peaches, it is less a recipe than a way of catching the season before it gets away.
June 25, 2026
From the Church Cookbook: Skillet Cornbread and the Pan That Made It
The plainest bread there is, baked screaming hot in a cast-iron skillet for a crackling crust around a tender middle. The skillet is the secret.
June 18, 2026
From the Church Cookbook: The Tomato Pie That Never Survived Sunday Lunch
The dish that vanishes first at every Southern potluck: summer tomatoes, sharp cheese, and a flaky crust, straight from the church cookbook.