Before I moved to the big city of Los Angeles, I went to college in the small city of Winston Salem, NC. Although I’m glad to have moved on, I still pine for my favorite foodie spots. If you ever find yourself in Winston Salem, I have a few suggestions of places to visit.

First, you need to get a cup of coffee at Chelsee’s downtown. Order something with chocolate in it.

For lunch I recommend the fish and chips at Foothills Brewery. If you’re in a rush, don’t go. You’ll see a server approx. once per hour, but the fish and chips are worth it if you have an afternoon to kill.

Be sure to stop by 6^th and Vine for a glass of wine. Tell them I say hi, and that I miss them. Ask if they’ll move to LA, pretty please?

Then, you need to mosey over to 4th Street Filling Station. Order the spinach-artichoke dip. Because it has feta in it. No one else in town makes it with feta, and therefore no one else in town has a better dip. This is logic, pure and simple.

I have to admit I was a little hesitant to post this. Partly because Adrianna already made her delicious recipe for a spinach artichoke dip a few months ago, and really, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right? Also, I feel sometimes like spinach artichoke dips are the one recipe for which there is no shortage of supply.

However, I ended up going with my gut on this since I’m on somewhat of a mission. See, I feel like I have a calling to spread the word on the wonders of feta. I know you’re probably scoffing at the screen right now thinking, “yeah Caroline, I KNOW what feta is, thank you very much.” But here’s the question you should really be asking yourself – sure I know what feta is but have I ever put it in my artichoke spinach dip? If the answer is “no” then I think a trip to the grocery store is in your near future.

Spinach-Artichoke Dip with Feta

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8 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained

6 oz cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup mayonnaise

3/4 cup feta cheese

Pita chips (for serving)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl mix together the all ingredients, leaving out 1/4 cup of the feta cheese. Pour the mixture into a baking dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the dip is hot and bubbly and beginning to brown on top.

Serve hot with pita chips.

I understand that no one needs a recipe for nachos. I get it.  We’re all adults. Nachos are a no-brainer.

And I’ll happily admit that this really was just an excuse for me to make nachos.  It was game day and I thought I’d get in the mood with a little chips with cheese.

And then proceeded to watch Teen Mom instead of the game. Good idea.

Before we move on with nachos, can we all just agree that Teen Mom is the scariest show on television? Even more terrifying than Hoarders…

Back to nachos.

I have some nacho theories (um, don’t we all?).

I’m particular about nachos. And can sometimes get an attitude about the way nachos are assembled.

Here it goes:

I firmly believe that nachos should be built in layers. It’s a drag when you get to the middle of a pile of nachos and can’t find a piece of cheese in sight. That is not OK! Bad nacho etiquette. I don’t like it.

That’s why I place one layer of chips on the plate, then add some cheese, and then add another layer of chips. And then more cheese. Then more chips, chili and the final bit of cheese. Nachos 101. It’s intense.

I understand that lots of people have opinions about nachos, and want to make it clear that–while different from mine–I have much respect the way Texans make their nachos.

Their method is to dress each chip separartely with cheese and a jalepeño. Texans are delicate nacho makers. I dig it.

And while I like their technique, I need toppings in my life.

I added some chili, sour cream, fresh jalepeños, fresh tomatoes, diced onions, a bit of lime, green onions and avocado.

Phew! Lot of toppings. But that’s the fun, right?!

Nachos!! Nachos!!

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4 handfuls of white corn tortilla chips

2 cups of medium-cheddar cheese

1/2 cup of canned or homemade chili

1/4 a white onion, diced

2 green onions, diced

1/2 tomato, diced

1/2 avocado, cubed

2 jalepeños, sliced

Grab a oven-proof plate or casserole dish.  Place a thin layer of chips on the plat, top with cheese and one more layer of chips. More cheese, chips and then top with chili and more cheese. Phew. Basically, make make how many layers you like.

Bake at 350F for 10 minutes or until cheese it melted.

Top with white onion, green onions, tomatoes, avocados and jalepeños. Holy yum!

On my tiny little back porch in my apartment I have 3 little planters, and every summer I plant an assortment of herbs that flourish for those first few warm months. Then winter comes and it is survival of the fittest to see who can make it to springtime. The basil always dies first. Basil is  an amazing  herb but is sort of a wimp when it comes to cold weather. Mint is my prize fighter. Every year it shrinks up and sheds brown leaves and I think it’s totally dead until spring comes and then it regrows with a vengeance.

However, this year the new winner is my chive plant. This little guy hung on with green stalks all through the winter, but now that it’s spring it’s really starting to take over it’s little planter home. I can feel it reaching out over the box like it wants to go play somewhere. Somewhere like…my scrambled eggs?

I have always been a big fan of scrambled eggs with chives. Something about that mild onion flavor just works magic with plain old eggs. However, I felt a little adventurous yesterday and decided to try adding sour cream, thinking maybe it would mimic one of my favorite potato chips. I was surprised to find that the tanginess of the sour cream actually sort of vanishes after cooking, but the eggs are fluffy and creamy in a way that is heavenly. I wish I could think of better words to describe how much I loved this simple recipe, but probably the best thing would be for you to just try it yourself.

Sour Cream and Chive Scrambled Eggs

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As you can tell by the pictures, I cooked this recipe with two eggs. However, I’m writing out the directions with one egg so that you can easily multiply everything for the amount of eggs you need.

1 egg
1 teaspoon sour cream
1-2 stalks fresh chives, cut into pieces
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Wisk together egg, sour cream, chives and salt in a bowl. Heat the olive oil in a pan over low heat and add in the egg mixture. Gently stir and flip over until eggs are cooked to desired consistency, 1-3 minutes. Add in some toast and have a lovely breakfast.