Roll out the (updated) Website

Link to SkilletDiaries.com with a refreshed focus on books, family, culture, history…and of course RECIPES.

Granny’s homemade rolls were only one of the dishes securing her reputation among the Gulf Coast’s finest Creole family cooks. As her oldest granddaughter, I was honored to serve as her chosen apprentice while she effortlessly combined yeast, flour, eggs, and butter for our family’s southern yeast rolls.

photo by Donna B. Pierce

I’ve often shared my memory of being barely tall enough to see above the kitchen table the first time my grandmother showed me how to knead yeast dough.

As I wrote years ago, “Both our faces were dusty with flour by the time we shaped and placed rolls on lightly-oiled baking pans.” And now, this elder has become a grateful trustee of Granny’s love, knowledge and cooking skills. 

Shortly after her funeral, I invited almost 40 people to my California apartment. And, in her honor as her oldest granddaughter, I prepared many of the favorite recipes she had been so caref…