A Casserole Says Plenty PBS - A Chef's Life Season 3, Episode 7. I cannot tell you how much fun I had with my dear friend, Vivian Howard, and the entire crew when we taped this episode.

A Spoken Dish is a series of short documentaries on Southern food stories sponsored by the Southern Foodways Alliance, Georgia Organics, and Whole Foods Market. I am in five of them and could not be more proud.

In this video I shared the wonder that is Chocolate Gravy:

I also talked about Fermented Half-Runner Green Beans:

Being a good table citizen:

The art form that's essential to life:

And a video about my magic pickling rock:

These videos were also mentioned on Food Republic and Huffington Post.

Food as Folklore Southern food is about more than what's on the plate. It's about the here and now, and it's about bygone days. Eating a meal creates a memory, but it also evokes memories of other meals, the people who cooked them and the people who shared them.

Food For All Celebrates the stories about food that bring communities together.

Sweet Potato Cornbread

North Carolina and sweet potatoes go way back. The relationship, according to the food writer Sheri Castle, hinges on a history of abundance. "Sweet potatoes were plentiful, even among the poorest folks of any ethnicity," she said. "Enslaved Africans used sweet potatoes in place of yams and other West African root vegetables." To this day, the state is a national leader in growing the crop. Stephanie L. Tyson, the chef who oversees the kitchen at a Winston-Salem spot called (appropriately) Sweet Potatoes, likes to blend one Southern staple into another. The result is a cornbread laced with a holiday-friendly undercurrent of cinnamon and nutmeg. Ms.Tyson has said that the cornbread just clicks with a side of greens, but we have a feeling it will play well with cranberries and gravy, too.
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Traditional paw paw pudding

When it comes to pawpaw, accept no substitutes. Trust us; we tried. We went to a bunch of experts � scholars who specialize in fruit, plus chefs and cookbook authors who know all about the proud culinary history of Appalachia � and we asked them, "If a home cook doesn�t happen to have any pawpaw, what combination of other fruits and vegetables might work well as a replacement?" We picked up passing nods to sweet potatoes, bananas, papayas, avocados, really ripe mangoes. But in the end everyone came back with variations on "Forget it, there�s nothing like a pawpaw." The weird, goopy-textured, tropical-ish fruit whose name sounds like a punch line on "Hee Haw" can be found scattered all over the country, but recipes (for cakes, pies, puddings) abound largely in West Virginia and nearby states like Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. If you happen to secure some pawpaw, best to get out of its way, as is the case with this pudding. Pawpaw is a holiday guest who responds well to minimal interference.
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The April 24, 2013 article A Fresh Pod Cast: Savoring Spring's Green Peas featured a history of green peas and three recipes, including the Venetian classic Risi E Bisi (Rice and Peas).

On November 7, 2012, NPR's Kitchen Window featured my article Cider House Jewels Get Creative Juices Flowing. In includes a brief history of apple cider in America as well as six recipes, including Chicken With Cider Pan Sauce and Apple Cider Pound Cake With Cider Caramel Sauce.

My October 3, 2012 article It's Time to Pick a Peck of Peppers has instructions for roasting peppers. The article's five recipes include the Roasted Pepper and Pear Soup that's "like a bowl of fragrant liquid rubies."

The November 28, 2012 issue of the Washington Post featured my recipe for Cider-Braised Cabbage with Apples and Pecans. It's an adaptation of a recipe from my book, and it happens to be both vegetarian and gluten-free.

• A feature article on The New Southern Garden Cookbook
• An article on Cookbooks with a Southern Twist featured my recipe for Miracle Drop Biscuits from The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook.

In August 2011, I shared tips for what to do with zucchini in the article Making the Most of Extra Summer Produce. The article featured my recipe for Easy Cheesy Zucchini Squares.

In November 2011, I was quoted along with Virginia Willis and other authors in the article At Thanksgiving, regional dishes take a place at the table. I talked about the importance of sweet potatoes on the North Carolina Thanksgiving table.

The Chicago Tribune featured my recipe for Zesty Black-Eyed Pea Salsa on December 26, 2012 as part of the article "Lucky Little Bites for the Holiday." My recipe for Spiced Rhubarb Ketchup appeared on May 25, 2011.Both articles were syndicated and appeared in many newspapers around the country, including the San Jose Mercury News; the Arizona Daily Star of Tucson, Arizona; the Journal Times of Racine, Wisconsin; and the Daily Heralds of Everett, Washington and Kileen, Texas.

• Peaches, bacon sausage and tomatoes at Federal Plaza farmers market
• Drama at the holiday table: It's not about the food
• Cranberries add tart accents beyond relish or jelly
• The magic of vinegar can brighten, balance and sharpen your food