Chef Rick's Southern Cooking

Turkey Trivia

A fun collection of facts about turkeys to amaze your friends and confuse your dog.

Choosing A Good Country Ham

A guide to selecting and cooking salt-cured country ham, sometimes called Smithfield hams or Virginiai hams.

Fixing Thanksgiving Disasters

It’s your first time cooking Thanksgiving dinner, and you’re sweating bullets. The turkey is a whiter shade of pale, the potatoes are overcooked, the gravy has an oil slick floating on top, and your In-laws just pulled in the driveway. Don’t panic. Take a deep breath-we can fix this. Here’s what to do to fix almost any [...]

Ultimate Pumpkin Pie

A traditional pumpkin pie recipe based on one from the 1890s made with pure maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

Aunt Ruth’s Pound Cake

An old Southern family recipe for lemon pound cake made with real butter. It has a fine crumb and a delicious lemon flavor.

Andouille Sausage

Andouille is a spicy Cajun smoke sausage made from pork buttand seasoned with cayenne pepper and garlic. It is used in gumbos, jambalaya and many other dishes from south Louisiana.

Cheesecake Tips

Hints and tips for baking great cheesecakes, including information on why cheesecakes crack and how to keep cheesecakes from cracking.

Ultimate Cheesecake

For the Crust: 2 1/2 cups Graham cracker crumbs 1/2 cup Butter, melted 1/2 cup sugar For the Filling: 5 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature 1 1/4 cup sugar 3 tablespoons All-purpose flour 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 5 large eggs 2 [...]

Basic Rice Recipe

The basic formula for cooking rice is one part rice to two parts water; i.e, if you have one cup of rice, you need two cups water. This recipe will give good results with any long grain white or brown rice. Yield: 4 servings 2 cups cold water 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon butter 1 cup rice In a 2-quart saucepan [...]

Baby Back Ribs

North Carolina style Baby Back Ribs with wet rub and a Lexington Style Mop Sauce. For the wet rub: 1/4 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons salt 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon onion powder 1 teaspoon sage 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Using your hands or a sauce mop, rub over [...]