One of this grilled pimento cheese sandwich’s flavor secrets is sprinkling cayenne pepper on the cheese, said its creator, local cook Sara Bailey. She learned this little cooking tip from her mom. Along with this sandwich, a hot bowl of tomato and basil soup pairs well.
Chicken salad, pita chips and a tall pitcher of fruit water made with orange juice, mango juice, lime juice and seltzer is ideal for a summer snack, but Sara Bailey, local experimental cook, said it’s just as tasty the rest of the year.
This exotic-sounding pizza, Thai Chicken Pizza, is easy to make, according to its creator cook Sara Bailey.
This Mexican Salad pairs well with a spicy Mexican sausage, such as pork chorizo, said cook Sara Bailey.
Pasta Puttanesca may taste a tad on the salty side to some, local cook Sara Bailey said, so she often serves it with a fruit salad. She would never serve it with a food like garlic bread.
Sara Bailey calls herself an “experimental cook.” She first started learning about food and cooking “basics,” as she called it, from her mom who was an extension agent for Bertie County when Bailey was growing up. Not a fancy cook, Bailey said, she just enjoys having fun mixing ingredients and coming up with her own unique dishes.
She’s not fancy.
And, she’ll tell you so herself, most emphatically.
She’s not a gourmet.
But she loves food.
“I just like to play with food,” said Sara Bailey, a local teacher of health and wellness for the Surry County Wellness Department in Dobson, and an exercise and yoga teacher. She also carries among her titles that of wife, mother, and someone who calls herself an “experimental cook.” And this is what she means when she says she likes to play with food. She thinks it is fun to combine different ingredients and see what turns out. “I like to make things up as I go along … People shouldn’t be afraid of cooking food, afraid of messing up … It doesn’t have to be a classic dish. Just play.”
In addition to experimenting with a wide variety of dishes at home, Bailey also loves going into restaurants, finding dishes she likes, and then trying to duplicate them in her own kitchen — her way. She also loves learning from the many cooking shows prevalent on TV these days. She gets a lot of her initial ideas from them.
“I don’t like following recipes — except for baking,” Bailey said. “Bakers really need to follow recipes for baking.”
Growing up, Bailey first learned cooking basics from her mom, who was an extension agent in Bertie County. But mostly she learned about such topics as food safety and basic cooking techniques from her mom.
Over the years, Bailey has learned how to create her own unique dishes — what foods and ingredients go together best just by experimenting with different food combinations in her own kitchen. And, she also has learned a few tried and true guidelines along the way.
For example, she advised all cooks to start with good ingredients. If they do, they will create a good product, even if it is slightly different than the traditional dish.
“If the ingredients are good,” she said, “you’ll come up with something at least edible, if not delicious.”
A second piece of advice she gives all cooks out there is that even if you mess up a dish, most dishes can be rescued, she said.
“Don’t give up on a dish,” she said. “You really can’t go wrong … If you like it, that’s all that matters … that’s all that counts … even if it doesn’t follow a recipe.
For example, Bailey remembers adding cinnamon to a hot and sour savory soup rather than red pepper flakes.
“I realized immediately what I had done,” she said. So, she quickly scooped out what cinnamon she could, added the red pepper flakes, as well as more sesame oil to save the dish as much as possible.
“Yes, it was different,” Bailey admitted. But realizing her mistake immediately and knowing that adding sesame oil could save the day, she saved the entire dish. “The cinnamon made the dish sweeter … but it wasn’t bad either.”
More advice from Bailey includes always having some basic essential ingredients in the kitchen cupboard, including lemons, fresh garlic, onions, kosher salt, and fish sauce. She also always keeps a can of chicken in the pantry as well, just in case.
Another cooking tip is the addition of cayenne pepper to the pimento cheese in one of her favorite dishes — the Grilled Pimento Cheese Sandwich.
“Food needs to have two or three things going on,” Bailey said, “and cayenne gives this sandwich a little heat, a little edge. I also think food needs to have either a sweet or a salty taste, plus some variety of texture.”
She also loves adding garlic and onions to many recipes.
“I love the tastes and know they’re good for you,” she added.
Additional favorites of hers included are: a chicken salad with pita chips — a light meal especially perfect for summer; Thai chicken pizza, which was inspired by the California Pizza Kitchen pizza — it takes almost no precooking, she said; and a Mexican salad which she usually pairs with a spicy Mexican sausage like pork chorizo.
“It’s very fatty (the Mexican sausage),” Bailey said, but more of a balanced meal when paired with all the veggies in the salad. It’s how I like to do food — very healthy and balanced.”
Another favorite recipe Bailey that she has named Pasta Puttanesca is a tad on the salty side, according to the cook. That’s because of the capers, olives and anchovies in the dish. She recommends not pairing this dish with something like garlic bread. Instead, she recommends a fruit salad — something sweet — to help counteract the salty taste in the pasta.
“It’s a last minute dish,” she said. It’s a dish that can be whipped up on the spur of the moment for a tasty and hearty meal. That’s why she also always has a tin of anchovies, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, capers, pasta and a can of tomatoes in her cupboard as well.
Whatever you make, Bailey feels that food is an integral part of life.
“I think food can be a bridge between people,” she said. “It’s hard to be angry, prejudiced, unkind when sharing a meal.”
RECIPES
Pasta Puttanesca
Ingredients
1 2-ounce tin of anchovies
½ cup (total) chopped Kalamata and green olives
2 Tablespoons of capers
4 to 6 sundried tomatoes
3 cloves of chopped garlic
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Thin Spaghetti (I prefer Barilla Plus; it has more fiber and protein than white, but isn’t too chewy)
Directions
Start pasta as directed, and do NOT salt water. Place tomatoes in a cup of very hot water, and set aside.
Once pasta is starting to boil, in another pan over medium heat, empty tin of anchovies, oil and all. In a few minutes, and with a little stirring on your part, the anchovies will start to dissolve into a paste. Remove rehydrated tomatoes from water and chop into small pieces with kitchen shears. Once the anchovies are a bit broken down, add chopped sundried tomatoes, olives, capers, garlic, and red pepper flakes, stirring occasionally. Once the garlic starts to soften, turn down heat and wait for the pasta to finish. When the pasta is done, add olive oil to pan, stir, and then add drained pasta. Mix the sauce into the pasta until well blended and serve immediately. This is a VERY salty dish, so it’s nicely paired with a green salad topped with fresh or dried fruit, a few shavings of parmesan, a little balsamic vinegar, and some olive oil.
Don’t be afraid of the anchovies in this recipe. Unless you are allergic to fish, this dish is worth a try. It’s what I think of as a last-minute dish, because everything is already in my pantry most of the time. The end result is most assuredly not fishy, but earthy and delicious.
Serves about six.
Super-Easy Tomato and Basil Soup
Ingredients
6 sundried tomatoes
1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
1 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 14-ounce can of chicken or vegetable broth
4 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion
2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon of sugar
A handful of fresh chopped basil or 2 Tablespoons of basil paste/*(See note)
Salt and pepper
Directions
Place sundried tomatoes in a cup of very hot water and set aside. Combine both canned tomatoes and all but ½ cup broth in a large non-stick pot set over medium-low heat. Place softened sundried tomatoes and reserved broth in a blender and puree until the sundried tomatoes are finely chopped. Roughly chop the onion and garlic, and place in a blender along with the sundried tomato/broth mixture and the olive oil. Puree until smooth. (The mixture will look like a pink-tinted cream, which is the point.) Then add to the warming tomatoes in the pot, along with sugar. Stir regularly and heat slowly, about 30 minutes or until the onions and garlic have time to cook thoroughly. Just prior to serving, add basil and add salt and pepper to taste.
*You can find a variety of herbs in squeeze tubes in the produce section of your local grocery. I like to keep a tube of cilantro and a tube of basil on hand at all times when fresh herbs aren’t available and when I’m in a hurry. Use the herb paste as a sandwich spread or in place of fresh herbs in recipes.
Serves about six.
Mexican Salad
Ingredients
Salad Base
3 cups of frozen corn kernels
2 cans of black beans
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 container of grape tomatoes
1 bunch of cilantro
1 to 2 avocados
Dressing
2 Tablespoon of cilantro paste
¼ cup of lime juice
Directions
A few hours before serving, place corn kernels into a large bowl and set in refrigerator to thaw. You can do this the night before or in the morning when you leave for work. When you’re ready to eat, rinse and drain black beans, chop onion, mince garlic, chop tomatoes, chop cilantro, and dice avocado and add to bowl. Combine dressing ingredients and pour over salad and mix well.
The fun part of this salad is all the add-ons you can mix in according to your mood. Some ideas include shredded chicken, chorizo, shredded cheese, crumbled queso fresco, shrimp, or jalapenos. You can add hot sauce to spice it up or sour cream to cool it down.
Serve over a green salad or on its own with tortilla chips.
Serves about six.
Chicken Salad
Ingredients
2 baked or boiled chicken breasts
1 medium onion
1 container of grape tomatoes or 3 medium tomatoes
1 large cucumber
4 ounces of feta cheese
Chopped basil leaves to taste
Dressing
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons of basil paste
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
Directions
To me, the trick to this very simple salad is texture. Chop and dice all ingredients so that they are all about the same size. Blend dressing and pour over salad, mixing well. Add salt and pepper to taste. That’s it! It’s really delicious served with homemade pita chips.
Homemade Pita Chips
Ingredients
Whole wheat pita bread
Extra virgin olive oil
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Directions
Set a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add just a little olive oil to the pan, and once it starts to heat up, place pita bread in pan, pressing down with a large spatula so the entire surface gets hot and starts to brown. Flip over and sprinkle with garlic and onion powder, salt, and pepper. Remove and cut into wedges.
Serves about six.
Baked Pimiento Cheese Sandwiches
This is the sandwich for those of you who can’t stand the thought of mayonnaise but love grilled cheese!
Ingredients
Ciabatta bread or other rustic bread
Extra-sharp cheddar cheese slices
Roasted red pepper strips
Cayenne pepper
Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Split ciabatta bread in two so you have a top and a bottom. Place bread on a foil-covered baking sheet cut-side up (no clean-up!). Place sliced cheese on both pieces of bread and sprinkle with cayenne pepper. Spread roasted red peppers over one half of bread. Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until cheese is melty and bread starts to brown. Put the bread back together again. Slice into 1-inch slices, and enjoy!
Serves about six.
Thai Chicken Pizza
Ingredients
1 prepared pizza crust
1 cup shredded cooked chicken
Peanut sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ medium red onion, chopped
½ bunch cilantro
½ cup chopped tomatoes
10+ basil leaves, julienned
¼ cup chopped peanuts
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Sriracha sauce/(Sriracha is a hot chili sauce)
Directions
Set the oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet, top pizza crust with peanut sauce (just enough to lightly cover), chicken (this is a great use for leftover chicken), minced garlic, onion, cilantro leaves (pick leaves off the stems), tomatoes, basil, and peanuts. Top with cheese and bake until golden brown, which will take about 15 minutes. Add sriracha or other hot sauce as desired. This pizza is really delicious cold the next morning!
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