Hospitality | Drawl Magazine

Cinco de Fryo

So May 5 has already arrived, but why enjoy these delicious Mexico-inspired delicacies only once per year? Gather some friends, some beverages, and pull out the deep fryer. Try our Southern twists on Mexican delights, and you'll soon thank goodness it's fry-day. Are the recipes authentic? Nah. Are they delicious? You bet. Plus, prep is easy. All but the frying can be done in advance. Just put out the taco fixings and fry up the rest at party time. Menu BLTacos (Hard shells, lettuce, bacon, tomato, avocado, mayo, hot sauce) Pulled Pork Tacos (Barbecue, slaw, hard shells, sauce) Queso Pimento Chiles Rellenos Churros "Fried" ice cream (Crumble well-done churros over ice cream. Trust us... we tried frying ice cream. This works far...

Host an Apple Dippin’ Party!

by Summerlin Page

Forget bobbing for apples -- try something less wet (but in honesty, probably just as dang messy). Many of us love the thought of a caramel apple, right? That first bite of luscious caramel goodness and juicy apple. But they’re kind of a mess, and once you get down past the caramel layer, it’s just apple, and sometimes they’re just not that great. Sometimes it’s a bit much to eat, and they’re dang hard to share. Now, this is not to vilify the traditional treat but rather to help express the genius that is the apple dipping party. It can be tailored to the old, young, or both, and you’ll be surprised at how foodies can get into it. If you have a spectacular caramel sauce recipe, by all means use it. If you...

Too Hot to Cook Party

by Summerlin Page

The days are longer and the produce is at its peak. A great time to entertain, right? The problem? It is too dang hot to cook. As the mercury approaches (and surpasses!) the hundred degree mark, it’s hard to get motivated to make a grilled cheese, let alone use the oven. And yet, summer is the time to entertain, time when we’ve all slowed down a bit and want to socialize. Here’s a solution: a few recipes that come together in next to no time, with no real cooking involved, just some chopping and assembly. Throw them together, have a seat under a fan, and cool yourself off with some company. These are light enough to nibble and gulp when it feels too hot to eat. Redneck SushiWatermelon-Basil Feta SaladBlumeade...

Katherine Anne Porter: Southern Author and Serial Locavore...

by Susanna Klingenberg

“You waste life when you waste good food.” – Katherine Anne Porter, “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” I’m as big a fan of fresh veggies as the next gal, but here’s something I noticed on my last farmer’s market binge: You can’t utter the words “eat local” these days without sounding political. A tad smug, too. And with all the recent press about food miles and CSAs, it’s easy to forget that not too long ago, eating local was just…eating. Back then, refraining from mid-winter mangoes wasn’t a micropolitical statement. It was a like-it-or-not reality. Southern author Katherine Anne Porter lived in that reality. But as I discovered recently in her archives at the University of Maryland, Porter brought to the necessity of eating local an M.O. that will feel familiar...

Quick & Easy Holiday Hospitality...

by Summerlin Page

This is our favorite time of year to entertain. Our houses are probably the cleanest they’ve been all year, and we are eager to show off our tree and other holiday adornments. We’ve got stacks of baked goods and scads of aromatic candles. The problem? We, along with everyone around us, are overscheduled. If we’re not supposed to be at a party, there’s a church or school program, or we’ve got to shop or wrap gifts or bake twelve dozen cookies or clean the guest room for Great-Aunt Elmira’s white glove test. So, maybe there’s not time for a full-on catered, fancy-dress holiday party. Maybe you’ve spent all your cash on gifts. No worries; there are still a plethora of ways to celebrate socially. Some of these also combine celebration with finishing those holiday...

Thanksgiving Throwdown

by Summerlin Page

It’s an exciting time! Well, it’s exciting until you find yourself at the grocery store on Wednesday, or God help you, Thursday morning. We’re gearing up for our holiday and want to bring you along for the ride! To get us started, here’s a list of what Drawl is doing right now to get ready for Thanksgiving! Our Pre-Turkey To-Do Clean out your refrigerator and tidy up the pantry. We know. You don’t want to do it. We don’t either. But, we have to make room for the groceries and advance-assembled casseroles (and leftovers!) and we have to take stock of what we have already, so we might as well go ahead and throw out last year’s can of fried onions and the freezer-burned cranberries of good...