Kara's Sights & Bites

By Kara Kimbrough   When I say “salads are spring/summer survival food,” I’m not referring to pale leaves of iceberg lettuce topped with a few shakes of tasteless low or no-fat dressing. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think a top-heavy salad of rich ranch dressing, oil-laden croutons and salty bacon pieces on a miniscule…

By Kara Kimbrough Just when I thought I had more than enough Crockpots, I was drawn back in. I’m blaming it on an ad proclaiming the GreenPot, a fancy name for a multi-use Crockpot, could perform 8 miraculous tasks: slow cook, sauté, grill, stir fry, steam, stew, cook rice and keep food warm. As always,…

By Kara Kimbrough It’s spring, which means summer is on the horizon. As soon as warm weather arrives, pool parties, cookouts and other social events offer the perfect opportunity to serve chips, crackers, sliced vegetables – well, almost anything, r4ally, with a big bowl or two of dip. I’ve never met a dip I didn’t…

Chicken cutlets have taken over my life or at least, my kitchen. It started with my usual selection at Mario’s in Hattiesburg – chicken parmesan, of course. Then I began seeing recipes for chicken cutlets everywhere. Online, videos of chicken cutlets topped with Caesar salad (who know that was a thing?) appeared, one after the…

By Kara Kimbrough I’ve shared my favorite cuisines in the past as well as those that I can do without. Specifically, I prefer to skip over the multitude of Mexican restaurants that seem to pop up on every corner of our state. One exception:  I enjoy a sizzling plate of fajitas, but that’s often too heavy…

By Kara Kimbrough Everywhere I turned last week…every internet post…every magazine cover in the supermarket checkout line…every conversation I overheard in the supermarket checkout line…you get the picture…it seemed like cakes were on the minds of many. As a result, the thought of soft, moist layer cakes covered with a thick covering of buttercream icing…

By Kara Kimbrough The homemade biscuit, a beloved American icon, is on the endangered species list. I blame it on supermarket biscuits marketing themselves as “homemade,” with an “old fashioned buttermilk taste.” In reality, they’re pale spheres of sticky dough ready to spring from their cans offering little more than synthetic butter. Here’s the main reason…

By Kara Kimbrough   The official start of spring is this week…this fact alone should be cause for celebration. After all, what’s not to love about spring? We’re in all-too-short balmy window before summer’s oppressive heat descends and stays around until mid-fall. Within that window are several entertaining opportunities, including celebrating Easter, high school or…

By Kara Kimbrough Disclaimer: I haven’t watched Meghan Markle’s Netflix cooking show, “With Love, Meghan.” I admired Princess Diana and have similar feelings for Prince William, as well as his wife, Princess Kate. Stodgy King Charles and Meghan’s husband, Harry…not so much. I assumed the cooking show would be more about Meghan than the introduction…

By Kara Kimbrough I’m calling it now…March is going to a great month! Why would I make such a bold statement? For starters, it contains two of my favorite occurrences of the year: Daylight Savings Time begins on March 9 and spring is sprung on March 20. And for those that have children at home…

By Kara Kimbrough A sure sign that Mardi Gras season is near are the stacks of packaged King Cakes in supermarkets. Decorated with a thick purple, green and gold sugary icing and filled with fruit or cream fillings, they’re as close as many will come to actually celebrating Mardi Gras. Lucky for me, the highlight…

By Kara Kimbrough Call me strange, but I don’t despair during the short period of time in which we experience a rare phenomenon: winter. Chilly temperatures and early nightfall provide permission to take our lives down a notch and spend cozy evenings indoors. And the other reason to savor cold weather? Savory, hearty and yes,…

By Kara Kimbrough Valentine’s Day is almost here and we can’t let the day go by without making a heart-shaped treat of some kind. I know…store shelves are filled with chocolates of all shapes and flavors, but something you make with your own loving hands is appreciated more and tastes better. If dipping candy fillings…

By Kara Kimbrough     The northeastern U.S. in the middle of January might not seem like an obvious vacation choice. However, I’ve never been one to follow the rules AND by the way, the south was simultaneously covered in even greater amounts of snow and ice, so it all worked out.  A trip to New…

By Kara Kimbrough 14 billion hamburgers…12 million pizzas…3.8 million pounds of wings and the snack food without which no Super Bowl party is complete – 28 million pounds of chips – are expected to be sold, prepared and consumed by Americans during the biggest game of the year in a couple of weeks. I love…

By Kara Kimbrough   It’s only January, but I’ve already discovered three new products that I can’t live without in the kitchen. As if that wasn’t life-changing enough, I found a recipe that’s quickly becoming my go-to dinner rescuer of 2025.   But first, the products that are making food preparation and cooking just a…

 By Kara Kimbrough Don’t get me wrong, I don’t actually “love” freezing cold temperatures, icy roads and sky-rocketing electric bills as a result of the first two factors. However, now that cold weather seems to have arrived – after all, it’s officially been “winter” for a few weeks now – it’s time to start thinking about…

By Kara Kimbrough I often hear from readers who fall into different categories: 1. They don’t cook, but instead, rely primary on restaurant or takeout meals; 2. They’re proficient home cooks and chefs who prefer preparing their own meals; and 3. Traveling the country and world is a favorite pastime, so they enjoy hearing about…

By Kara Kimbrough  Disclaimer: I don’t believe in luck. You’ll never hear me say that I’ve been “lucky” when something good comes my way. I’ll use the word “fortunate,” but I’ll steer clear of the “L word.” However, like any good Southerner, sitting down to a traditional plate of cabbage, black-eyed peas, pork and cornbread…

By Kara Kimbrough      I get it – Christmas is here (or perhaps already come and gone if you’re reading this later in the week) and baking any more cakes, pies, cookies or related sweet treats just isn’t in your plans. However, if you have a few days off between now and New Year’s, you’ll need…

By Kara Kimbrough A trip to the Christmas Capital of Texas should produce a column on…well, all things merry and bright…right? Don’t worry, everything you’d possibly want to know about Christmas in Grapevine, Texas, a magical place that adequately lives up to its official title bestowed by the Texas State Legislature, is forthcoming. Since it’s a little…

By Kara Kimbrough     I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: those on your Christmas gift list would prefer a gift you make over something that comes from a store. Even better if it’s a gift from the kitchen or at the very least, a bakery or specialty food or beverage item they can…

By Kara Kimbrough Watching the televised lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York City always conjures up delightful memories of a special trip; ones that I pull up and think about as soon as the month of December rolls around. Hopefully by the time you finish reading this, you’ll be planning your own trip…

By Kara Kimbrough     Thanksgiving is upon us and while it might seem impossible, there IS still time to get a decent meal on the table in mere hours. Of course, it involves a Crockpot to speed up the cooking process of a turkey breast since thawing a full-size frozen turkey is pretty much impossible at…