Table Talk

Join me to talk entertaining, gardening, Southern recipes and timeless decorating. And meet the makers behind our collection of handcrafted beauty.

Articles Tagged with recipes

Black Eyed Peas & Cornbread

Usher in the New Year with black eyed peas for good luck...and this cornbread for the simple fact that it's delicious!

Autumn Sunday Lunch at Brookside

Of the many gifts Julia gave me during our long friendship, one of the very best was an introduction to Libby and Ben, two of the most talented people I've ever known. Like so many of the folks Julia brought into our lives, Libby and Ben have become the dearest of friends to Jon and me. That doesn't mean we aren't a little bit in awe of their prodigious talents. They can both do anything. Capable doesn't begin to describe it.

Julia's Cocktail Concoctions

During these past several weeks, we've had Zoom cocktails, solo cocktails, socially distant cocktails. Below, Julia has concocted some of her favorites -- for now and later -- in our handsome Reed Smythe & Company glasses.

Julia's Seafood Gumbo

I've been making this gumbo ever since I was in college and found a similar version in a Junior League cookbook, the name of which now escapes me. When I lived in New York in the 1980s and '90s, I served it along with a bucket of Popeye's fried chicken to my Yankee friends, who found both things wildly exotic. The okra added in the beginning gives the soup body, while the okra at the end provides texture. The all-important addition of andouille lends a deep flavor to the broth. If you can't find andouille, Polish sausage will do.

Julia's Milk Punch

I adore a properly made Bloody Mary and I would not turn down a refreshing screwdriver, but there is no better hangover cure on earth than a milk punch. Addictively tasty and immediately restorative, it is a staple in bars and restaurants that understand such things (Galatoire's offers up an especially good one, as does Commander's Palace), and de rigueur at daytime Mardi Gras gatherings.

Summer Squash Casserole

My friend Nancy Peterkin’s squash casserole has made the rounds! Nancy, a justifiably renowned Houston hostess and a cook of uncommon talents, gave my mother the recipe years ago and since then, I’ve published it in the food column I used to write for the New York Times Magazine and two cookbooks, including Julia Reed’s South. I’ve also tinkered with it over the years and served it at more parties than I can count. The shindig I’m hosting this coming Labor Day Weekend is no exception.