It feels so good to be back in the kitchen again, even if it is only on weekends.. The stress of the last couple of months, the stress that seemed to have stolen all of my creative energy and inspiration, is finally abating.

Or it could be that I’ve just gotten used to stress as a fact of life.

My father is doing much better, getting stronger and in much less pain from his numerous broken ribs. He is still in the rehabilitation hospital, working with occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech therapists. He seems more like himself again, and that is something I am so grateful for.

Of course, my dad’s life – and my mother’s life – will never be the same after all of the health issues he has had since January. My mother is coming to grips with the reality that she will be a caregiver for my father, probably for the rest of his life. When he leaves rehab the day before Thanksgiving, to resume his life in his own home, a home he has not seen since early October, we’ll enter the next chapter in this saga.

In the meantime, I’ve felt like making pie. Which is a good thing, of course, as this is pie season after all. Making pie crust dough, rolling it out in a circle (often lopsided), sampling a little piece of dough here and there, and finally nestling it into a beautiful pie dish – these simple things give me moments of peace.

I realize that Thanksgiving is right around the corner, but I simply could not wait until then to bake a pie. This past weekend I pulled out an old family recipe for chess pie and made some tweaks. A rich chocolate chess pie was the result. Balanced with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream, this pie was a complete hit with my children.

It’s hard to improve on a Southern classic like chess pie, so I won’t say that I’ve done that. But this chocolate version may well be tied with the classic in the race for chess pie excellence.

Yield: Serves 6 to 8.

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Chocolate Chess Pie

Chocolate Chess Pie is a wonderful riff on the classic Southern Chess Pie, especially for you chocolate lovers. Serve with whipped cream and a glass of ice cold milk.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cornmeal
3 eggs, beaten slightly
1/4 cup whole milk
1 stick butter, melted
3 tablespoons Dutch process unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 9-inch unbaked deep dish pie crust

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place a baking sheet on a lower middle rack of the oven.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together sugar and cornmeal. Add beaten eggs and milk, and mix well. In a small bowl, stir together melted butter, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to egg mixture and stir until well blended.

Pour batter into the pie crust, place carefully on preheated cookie sheet, and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn oven temperature down to 325 and bake for additional 45 minutes, or until center of pie is set. Turn oven off and let the pie cool in the oven with the oven door cracked.

Serve warm or chill in the refrigerator prior to serving.

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We’re getting our first real cold front this weekend. As I type, it’s only 37 degrees out, and tonight it will be even colder. Of course, this is Florida, so we can still wear shorts and flip flops later today, if we choose. But this morning, it’s all long-sleeves and sweaters and cuddling on the sofa with a cozy red blanket.

I’ve been having pangs of wistfulness for the days before we adjusted our clocks back one week ago. I adored gaining that extra hour – though I can’t think of anything productive that I did with it – but I do miss the early evening sunlight. I miss being able to sit on my front porch when I get home from work, rocking in my rocker and listening to the birds and squirrels.

It’s just not the same, sitting there in the dark.

Our summer and early fall vegetables tend to hang around for a while, thanks to our warm Florida climate. Some of you up north may even still have zucchini showing up in the markets. If you do, these Spicy Zucchini and Ricotta Fritters make great use of the vegetable. You could omit the jalapeno and cayenne, if you wish, but I don’t recommend it. The heat really adds something to the recipe.

The fritters make for a wonderful vegetarian side dish or appetizer, but they also make for a great light lunch. My daughter and I did just that one day, sitting down to a batch of zucchini fritters and a couple of glasses of iced tea. Madeline enjoyed them so much that I had to keep her from eating the whole batch.

Yield: approx 15 fritters

Spicy Zucchini & Ricotta Fritters

These make a wonderful vegetarian side dish or appetizer. Be sure to serve with lemon, for squeezing over the top right before taking a bite.

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini, coarsely shredded
1/2 jalapeno, stemmed and seeded, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
Zest from one lemon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
Olive oil, for frying
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the zucchini, jalapeno, garlic, scallions, ricotta cheese, eggs, lemon zest, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Stir well until combined. Add the flour and cornmeal and stir until incorporated.

Line a large baking sheet with paper towels. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 inch of olive oil over moderate high heat until shimmering. In batches, add 2-tablespoon mounds of zucchini batter to the hot oil, spreading them out to form approximately 3-inch fritters. Fry until browned and crisp, turning once, about 3 minutes total. Drain the fritters on the paper towels and serve immediately. Serve with lemon wedges.

*Fritters can made in advance. Store for up to 2 hours at room temperature. Re-warm in a 325 degree oven.

Adapted from this recipe in Food & Wine.

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I did a lot of cooking this weekend. After all of this with my dad’s health, all of this stress and tension piling on, the cooking finally felt right again. I can’t really explain it, but it felt like I got my groove back. It felt so wonderful to be in the kitchen again, chopping and stirring and cleaning up after myself. And yes, I am one of those people. I clean as I go, and I enjoyed every last minute of it. Every one.

One of the things I made was a pumpkin bread pudding. The sauce I made to go with it broke, but I didn’t care much. The bread pudding was great without the sauce. I plan to share the recipe with you, but I can’t share it yet. I will soon – maybe later this week – but there is something else that takes priority. Something more important.

Grits.

Creamy, luscious, and perfectly-salted grits.

The type of grits that, when you taste a warm spoonful on your tongue, closing your lips completely around the spoon, you immediately and involuntarily close your eyes and emit a soft sound, almost like a purr, from somewhere deep inside. You can’t help it, that sound. It just comes.

If you know me, you know I have a thing for grits. Shrimp with grits. Grits with corn and tomatoes and bacon. Grits topped with barbecue pork or beef. Grits with manchego cheese.

You get the picture. Grits rock.

The culinary trend for all things Southern has made me very happy of late. It means I can generally find grits on restaurant menus – whether for breakfast or dinner. Sometimes the bowl of grits has an orange hue indicating contamination by cheddar cheese, but I’ve learned to ask about the cheddar before ordering.

I made these grits in the slow cooker, a method that eliminates the constant stirring that my usual creamy grits recipe calls for. Actually, I made a couple of batches in the slow cooker this weekend, just to get the texture of the grits right. I was aiming for creamy, without a hint of graininess. This method, using a bain marie technique, turned out to be just the trick.

The pumpkin bread pudding recipe will come later. Today, grits take priority.

Yield: 4 cups

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Slow Cooker Creamy Southern Grits

Usually, creamy stone-ground grits -- not the quick cooking kind, mind you -- require standing at the stove top and stirring, for up to an hour. This recipe eliminates the need for that, while satisfying your craving for the best grits, ever. They really don't even need butter, but you can add it, for looks, if you wish.

Note: You will need a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker.

Ingredients:

1 cup stone-ground grits (not quick cooking)
2 cups water
1-1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

In a 4-cup glass measuring cup (or similar size bowl), stir together grits, water, milk, cream, and salt. Carefully place the glass bowl/measuring cup (with the grits mixture in it) in a slow cooker, and add enough cold water to the slow cooker to come about half-way up the outside of the glass measuring cup which holds the oats mixture.

Cook on low setting for about 8 hours or overnight. Remove slow cooker lid and stir grits well to break up any lumps.

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