If the lovable cartoon character Marmaduke were a beer, he would surely be a cool can of Ten Fidy Imperial Stout. Big and intimidating but surprisingly friendly and fun. After my last post on canned beer, a reader tipped me off onto this imperial stout made by the Oskar Blues Brewery in Lyons, Colorado. I had to have it! So when a buddy of mine was headed to Atlanta, I sent him directly to Hop City (a beer geek's mecca, trust me) to procure a 4 pack of these lovelies. At first pour the aggressive color was shocking, it looked like the used motor oil in my 1982 Mercedes diesel, appetizing right. I was blown away. How did they pack all that flavor into a tiny can? Sweet and smooth with a balance of caramel, tobacco, and well done toast spread with Nutella. Ohhhhh my goodness. It's definitely a 1 can maximum with an almost 10% ABV. I recommend tucking into this power house on a cool evening after a hearty meal.....instead of dessert.

You are guaranteed to find a delicious southern recipe each month in our new column Mama's Way or Your Way? We take a from scratch favorite and streamline it for today's busy lifestyle. I love how we share both recipes because I am constantly on both sides of that spectrum, and i bet you have too. You want homemade flavor and tradition but you only have a handful of minutes and the in-laws happen to be on their way -OR- it's Saturday afternoon and you are feeling like a fun and tasty project to share with your family. Well this column is for you! Busy weeknights to weekend "chef-ing" you can have it either way to suit your desire for a home cooked treat.

I use to carry a secret as I walked the halls here at Southern Living. I don't really like cornbread, I know absolutely shocking! A member of the THE test kitchen that doesn't like cornbread?!?!?! It took a culinary epiphany to realize why, I have been doing it all wrong. I felt like Micheal Keaton in the movie Mr. Mom. He's in the car pool line for the first time and there's a knock at the window by an angry patrol mom........"SIR, SIR YOUR DOING IT WRONG hello sirrrrrrrrr your doing it wrong," as she bangs recklessly on the woody station wagon window (he is entering the car pool line clearly going in the wrong direction) O-M-G! I was totally him, behind the wheel of some pitiful quick bread.

Want a quick peak into the Southern Living Test Kitchen this week: It's Christmas in August!!!! I am working on our new super-fantastic double issue for this December. The special foods section will include our top pick for Christmas cookies. With help from our new intern Alison, we (actually she did ALL the work) sliced and baked our way through at least 5 pounds of butter and countless cups of sugar and flour to produce beautiful cookies for the photo shoot. The cookies themselves are so buttery and tender with the right level of sweetness y'all are are guaranteed to lov'em. The only thing I am missing is that glass of milk....now were did i put it?

We recently received this great question from Diana Odenbrett. What is the equivalent of switching a cake recipe from regular flour to cake flour? Test Kitchen to the rescue!

To substitute all-purpose flour for cake flour, reduce the amount of flour called for by 2 Tbsp. per cup.  In a pinch and out of cake flour.  Whisk together 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus 2 Tbsp. cornstarch to equal 1 cup cake flour.

Cake flour is soft wheat flour with low protein content.  What does this mean to a novice baker?  It’s more forgiving than all-purpose flour. If you make a mistake and over mix the batter, the cake’s texture won’t be tough after baking. Less gluten is developed, and for cakes this is a critical factor – it means a soft, tender crumb. Cake flour is bleached, which explains its very bright, white appearance.

 

At Last you can have a quality beer in a can! Earlier this summer my husband Lee and I got turned on to a brewery from Lyons, Colorado called Oskar Blues. They make a family of very fine craft brews all available in aluminum cans. My favorite is Gordon, sold in 4-packs, it has a killer punch coming in at 8.7% alcohol by volume (this ain't no Bud Lite kids.) It reminds me of a mix of my two favorite styles: a super hoppy IPA and a Trappist Belgium ale like Chimay. It has a nice balance of malt and hops, and a subtle fruity sweetness. A match made in heaven that happens to be easily recyclable in my neighborhood where sadly glass is not.

One thing is for sure, if I didn't work in our test kitchen, I would definitely own a food truck or as i call'em a grease truck. Every time I get out of town I always look for a new one to try. It's a food adventure with the added bonus of being inexpensive (no fancy tablecloths here) and a great way to get the feel of a new city.

The watermelon cooler on the July cover screams SUMMER and we knew you guys would love it. It's fast, easy and the best part to me, it uses the rind of the watermelon that generally ends up in the trash can. It's just the thing for that backyard BBQ or kids party this season. But let me tell you, finding that perfect watermelon to grace the cover wasn't easy.

I got the assignment and thought "no problemo." I picked up five good size melons (thinking i was very prepared and would have three left over for sure.)