I’m hosting Thanksgiving this year, and I find my emotions swinging wildly between ecstatic (my sister is coming! With nieces!! Michael’s family will be here! With oyster dressing! And rolls!!) and sad (it’s my first Thanksgiving without my mom). But mom feels like she is constantly with me over the past few days. I canContinue reading “Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad”
Author Archives: katherinesandifer
Meatballs and Red Gravy
Next week, high school soccer kicks off — which means between high school and junior high, we will spend every night this week shivering in a stadium somewhere watching the boys play — and I love every single minute of it. Seriously! Teaching seniors reminds me yearly how fast these days go by. Plus, itContinue reading “Meatballs and Red Gravy”
Watermelon Salad
I love the Monroe Farmer’s Market. I realize that it’s ridiculously small by big city standards — usually just three stalls. But they stock the most delicious… well, everything. I buy perfect small red potatoes for potato salad and the best cantaloupes and watermelons. My favorite Cherokee Purple tomatoes. Peaches, fresh corn, blueberries, yellow squash…Continue reading “Watermelon Salad”
Cucumber and Tomato Salad
For various reasons, my boys are out of the house a lot during lunch time this summer. When they are at work or camps, I find myself doing solo lunch instead of feeding the crowd. I keep a big bowl of this in the fridge and scoop it out for one of my favorite summerContinue reading “Cucumber and Tomato Salad”
Favorite Blueberry Muffins
If you’re not the parent of a teenager, a school counselor, or a teenager yourself, you may not have known that the June ACT was today. But in my world, it’s all I’ve talked about, thought about, and done since school let out at the end of May. And so while all my teacher friendsContinue reading “Favorite Blueberry Muffins”
Spinach Madeline
I don’t love everything about living in the South. August, for instance, is truly terrible. And every time I go over when to use “good” and when to use “well” in my ACT prep class, at least one student says “That just doesn’t sound right!” My standard answer: “You live in northeast Louisiana. You probablyContinue reading “Spinach Madeline”
Cornbread Dressing
Thanksgiving was one of my mom’s favorite holidays. No present-buying stress… just good food and all of her family around us. She hosted every year — her family, my dad’s family, neighbors, friends — everyone was always welcome and we usually had over 20 people there. My Uncle Bill always smoked the turkey and broughtContinue reading “Cornbread Dressing”
Apple Cranberry Streusel Pie
My husband is a “cake person,” but I am a “pie person.” The boys claim to be cake people, too, so for most of the year when we celebrate birthdays, report cards, and soccer victories, it tends to be with cake. But Thanksgiving is when all my pie loving goes on display. I start experimentingContinue reading “Apple Cranberry Streusel Pie”
Shortbread Hearts
You know who I don’t envy on Valentine’s Day? Elementary school teachers. All those sugared-up kids. Meddling class moms. Sliding cupcakes sent from home. Artistically-challenged nine-year-olds who can’t cut a paper heart to save their lives (why yes, that was me!). Kids who insist on writing in the “To” part of the Valentine, despite specificContinue reading “Shortbread Hearts”
Sweet and Spicy Pecans
One of our pandemic adventures was to purchase a new rental property, this one on a lake a little over an hour from where we live. When we were looking, I was focusing on deep water and open floor plans; my husband’s main goal was finding something that required minimal repairs, since it was quiteContinue reading “Sweet and Spicy Pecans”
Louisiana Pickle 