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I discovered Mississippi pot roast about five years ago at a potluck, and like everyone else who’s tried it, I became completely obsessed with that combination of ranch seasoning, au jus, butter, and pepperoncini peppers. It’s one of those “weird but it works” flavor combos that shouldn’t be as good as it is. Last winter, I had some sirloin steak in the freezer that needed to be used, and I thought – why not try the Mississippi treatment on steak bites instead of a whole roast? Best decision ever. These Mississippi Steak Bites have all that tangy, buttery, slightly spicy …

My grandmother kept a fruitcake in a tin on top of her refrigerator for approximately fifteen years. I’m not exaggerating – fifteen years. She’d pull it down every Christmas, slice off a piece, soak it in brandy, and put it back. The thing was basically indestructible. When she passed away, my aunt threw it out and we all secretly breathed a sigh of relief. For years after that, I wouldn’t touch fruitcake with a ten-foot pole. Then one December, my friend Maya brought something to our cookie swap that she called fruitcake, and I politely tried to decline. She laughed …

My neighbor Sharon used to bring this dessert to every single block party, and I swear people would hover around the dessert table waiting for her to show up with it. One year she couldn’t make it, and you would’ve thought we’d cancelled the whole event based on the number of people who asked where the éclair cake was. Finally, I cornered her at the mailbox one day and basically begged for the recipe, expecting some complicated French pastry technique. She laughed and said it was literally just pudding, graham crackers, and Cool Whip layered in a pan. I didn’t …

  Last summer, I was cleaning out my mom’s old recipe box when I found a water-stained index card with “Tea Room Chicken Salad” scrawled across the top in her handwriting. Underneath, she’d written “the one from that place on the corner – you know which.” I did know which. That little tea room had closed years ago, but I could still picture the mismatched china cups, the lace tablecloths, and most vividly, that chicken salad served on buttery croissants that I ordered every single time we went. I made the recipe that afternoon, standing in my kitchen chopping celery …

This quick Grandma’s Old Fashioned Potato Salad is pure nostalgia for me. It’s the taste of summer cookouts, backyard barbecues, and family reunions. It’s the bowl that’s always scraped clean first at every gathering, with people coming back for seconds before they’ve even finished their burgers. When picnic season rolls around, potato salad is one of those dishes that everyone expects to see on the table. It’s creamy, it’s tangy, and it’s got just the right amount of crunch from the celery and pickles. Every family swears their version is the best, and honestly, everyone’s probably right about their own …