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It is hard to believe that summer is nearing an end and school is about to start. I, for one, am looking forward to a little end-of-summer vacation after wrapping up my new cookbook, Southern My Way. Thanks to my incredibly talented team, the book is full of beautifully photographed (and delicious) recipes and really showcases the South I am so proud of.

November 1st will mark the debut of my new cookbook – a journey among the Georgia fields, farmhouses, and families that kindled my passion for Southern cooking. Along the way, you will also meet…

Every year my dad makes homemade cane syrup at the farm down in south Georgia. It is probably more fair to say that he calls some folks who really know how to make syrup and has them come to the farm to give him a lesson. Rusty Davis and his father have been making syrup for years and know the process like the back of their hand.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, Rusty arrived at the farm with a trailer load of sugar cane from Pelham, Georgia. Over the years, my dad has collected all the tools and equipment necessary to make old fashioned cane syrup. He has a cane press which squeezes the juice out of the sugar cane and a large cast iron syrup kettle that is built over a brick fireplace of sorts. Making syrup is an all day event and takes lots of friends, good food, hard work, and really good scotch to get through the day and into the evening.

It is hard to believe Christmas is over and the New Year is here! I apologize for missing a few blog entries, but coming down with the flu right before Christmas was poor timing on my part. 2010 brings many new and exciting thing along with some fresh recipe ideas I can’t wait to share. First, I would love to introduce to you one of my favorite local foods and one cool couple….

Over Thanksgiving my husband and I took a quick trip down to Thomasville, Georgia which is just an hour from my parent’s farm. You would never guess that in such a small, south Georgia town there could be an award winning goat cheese farm just off the main highway. Jeremy and Jessica Little were kind enough to take some time of there busy schedule of filling holiday orders, milking goats, and overseeing the production of their amazing cheeses, to show Davis and me around the farm…

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It is hard to believe Christmas is just around the corner. We had a relaxing time at the farm in south Georgia and an amazing trip to Sweetgrass Dairy, which I will be telling you about soon. Our son, Neely, went on his first quail hunt and of course, was the center of everyone’s attention.

There are so many things I would like to share with all of you this month – including some of my favorite southern, foodie gifts for the holidays. One of which is made right here in Athens, Georgia. Rebecca Wood, a local artist, handcrafts beautiful ceramics for serving, baking, and setting your holiday table. She starts with southern red clay…

The south is filled with amazing people, artisinal farms, and fabulous local ingredients for cooking. This summer I headed down to Savannah and visited with our good friend Ted Dennard, founder and owner of Savannah Bee Co. Ted gave me an amazing tour of his facility and taught me a little about bees.

At Ted’s retail store in downtown Savannah, I was able to taste each variety of honey from Tupelo to Orange Blossom and sample the most refreshing honey-mint tea I have ever tasted. The store has such a natural feel with a beautiful wood bar from which they serve assorted coffees and teas, sweetened with honey, of course. In the children’s education area

In the rural areas of the south there is a boiled peanut stand every few miles. Highly addictive and delicious, once you start eating them you just can’t stop. I have even been known as a child to eat so many that I had a stomach ache for hours.

Growing up, my dad grew peanuts and every fall, once again, guess what my weekend job was? Yep, selling boiled peanuts on the sidewalk of Reynolds, Georgia with my friend Anne. We set up a stand outside her dad’s Western Auto and I would take a basket and walk the streets hitting the local Chevrolet dealership, Hinton’s Building Supply, and anyone I passed on the street. We easily made $75 a day so for eight years old we were pretty happy.

As you head up north this boiled delicacy is a little harder to find…

Creekside, a local catfish restaurant, sits on the Flint River just outside of Butler, Georgia where I grew up. My parents would take all of us for an occasional friday night supper. Fried catfish, hushpuppies, and a plate full of pickles, lemon slices, and raw Vidallia onions were always on the menu. My favorite part of the whole meal – the fish tails. For some reason I loved the crunch of the fried catfish tails and of course, the side of cheese grits.

Fish Frys have always been a social gathering here in the south. In fact, my dad went to a fish fry every Monday night with all the men from the small, 9 hole golf course we had in town….