No doubt about it. We Southerners like our fried foods. Growing up in a Southern home, fried foods were a regular part of our meals and my mother used lard for frying.

Names can be deceiving, but they can also be intriguing. This is true with recipes. Years ago, when I was entering cooking contests, my husband stressed the fact that the recipe needed a "hook" to catch the attention of the judges. Of course, the first thing that the judges see is the name of the recipe. Sometimes I will try a new recipe simply because the name is cute.

Marrying wine with food is not rocket science — unless the food is hors d'oeuvres and three courses featuring heirloom tomatoes.

Beware of recipes in old cookbooks. Sometimes they don’t give the temperature and seldom list the size of pan or bowl to use. Don’t get me wrong; here are some great recipes from the past. We just sometimes have to rework them a little.