Howdy, y'all! May the luck of the Irish find thee well. Let's welcome in my favorite month: March. 

Why is March my favorite, you ask? Well, for starters, it's the month of my birth. Yes, I turn one more year older and bitter this month. March is usually a drunken blur for me (What else is new? SHUT UP, SUMMER!) because I usually drink like an old Irishman all month long to not only my own, but my fellow friends' birthdays as well. Here's a plug for you to buy me a drink: my day is the 12th, and this year it falls on a Friday. Needless to say, I will celebrate all weekend long. Then I have to have a martini in remembrance of Ira/ Stephanie's birthday, the 16th, followed by my drag sister's (Natalie Smalls) on the 19th. Speaking of Natalie, don't forget her Miss Shamrock pageant scheduled for March 13th. Don't miss the girls competing for that gold at the end of the rainbow. The month of Pisces is full of fun, and we're one month closer to spring and warmer weather.

Now that I've shared my shameless plug for free drinks for my birthday, let's get to cooking. 

As promised, this month we are gonna discuss the most important kitchen essentials. Besides the refrigerator and microwave (no, your Easy-Bake Oven didn't make the list), you'll need some essentials to get you cooking up a table full of goodies in no time. I just spent the last 2 years remodeling my kitchen and I could still add more to it.

I will tell you right now, the right cooking essentials are a must. You don't have to have everything from some high-end kitchen store, but the bare necessities are a must. I will say this: if you can afford it, a must is the KitchenAid stand mixer. I absolute love mine. It comes in handy more times than you think.

Next up: cookware. An absolutely essential factor when shopping for pots and pans is weight. The heavier they are, the better off you'll be. Trust me. Don't waste your time with those cheap, feather-light Wal-Mart all-in-one cookware boxes. I love All-Clad, Marco Pierre White, and a QVC exclusive cookware brand, Cook's Essentials. I know these can be expensive items, but that's why we have TJ Maxx/Home Goods, Stein-Mart and Tuesday Morning. Always check there first — you will save yourself some major money. Another good place I have just recently discovered is Sam's Club. Who would’ve thought a girl like me would be found in Sam's Club?  Their restaurant quality utensils and baking pans are fabulous, as well as the price. The spice aisle is a good place to pick up a year's supply of quality spices you will use every day. Speaking of "picking up some spice", Sam's Club also has good eye candy on every aisle. Oh, wait... that's another story. 

Tupperware is also a good bet in the kitchen. Dixie Longate is a girl's best friend when it comes to food storage. If you haven't seen Dixie on stage selling her brightly colored food storage, then you are missing out. I can't wait for her to come back to North Carolina. To order from her website, just go to, www.DixieLongate.com, then click on the "buy stuff, hookers" link.

I know I promised to have my favorite potter from Seagrove, NC stop by for a visit and talk about his wonderful work. Well, come to find out, he has been really busy gearing up for 2010 Spring Kiln Opening on April 17th. You know this old gal will be there. So look for that interview in the coming months. I will be teaming it up with a BBQ issue as I pass through Lexington, NC on my way to Seagrove. Summer does love her NC BBQ. If you can't wait till then, potter Dan Triece owns DirtWorks Pottery on Hwy 705 in Seagrove (336-873-8979). He also has a location in Blowing Rock, NC. If you stop by, tell him Summer sent you.

Sorry about the absence of a recipe this month. The only recipes I have for March involve vodka and cabbage anyway, and who can't make boiled cabbage and corned beef? Just follow the recipe on the bag while you pour me a drink.

While I am thinking of warmer weather, BBQ, dirt, and the South, I'll leave you with this from Miss Julia Sugarbaker: "You do take shorthand, don't you? Good, we take it in the South, too… Tell him that I have been a Southerner all my life, and I can vouch for the fact the we do eat a lot of things down here… grits and biscuits and gravy, and I myself have probably eaten enough fried chicken to feed a third world country -- not to mention barbecue, cornbread, watermelon, fried pies, okra, and yes, … I would have to admit we have also eaten our share of crow. And for all I know, during the darkest, leanest years of the Civil War, some of us may have had a Yankee or two for breakfast. But, speaking for myself and hundreds of thousands of my Southern ancestors who have evolved through many decades of poverty, strife, and turmoil, I would like for Mr. Weaks to know that we have surely eaten many things… but — God as my witness — we have never… eaten dirt!!!"

Summer Clearence resides in the cosmopolitan settlement of Burnsville, NC. When she’s not home watching reruns of Designing Women, she’s out shopping for something shiny and new to play with in the kitchen… we’re talking pots and pans and such but the eye candy is a nice bonus. She is also one of the many fine entertainers at O. Henry’s in Asheville.