Let’s get personal

Hi, Y’all. I’m Heidy Linn McCallum, the quirky, sometimes nerdy, food history loving, writer, recipe developer, food photographer, and cook around here on The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch Blog.

If you love learning about cooking Traditional Southern recipes or better yet devouring delicious Iconic Southern recipes, Comfort foods, and reading about the fabulous history behind the recipes you love eating, you have landed on the right blog.

I launched The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch Blog back in late 2013,  as a hobby sharing family-friendly, Iconic, and traditional Southern favorites among family and my closest friends. By 2019 my family blog has developed a considerable fan base of those seeking the art of cooking delicious Southern Favorites and Italian-American Cuisine and the history behind the recipes.

My Southern-born and raised husband Ben grew up on Southern Foods, so of course I like to serve up his favorite recipes such as Chocolate Grits n Berries, Chocolate Gravy with Bacon, Sausage Gravy and Biscuits, Egg Salad, Fried Green Tomatoes, Tomato Pie, Collard Greens, Black-eyed Peas, Spicy Fried Chicken, Fried Dill Pickles, Gumbo, Jambalaya, Milk and Honey Corn on the Cob, Cornbread, Fried Okra, and so forth and so on.

Southern cuisine has an amazing historical foundation because of the fantastic influences of so many unique cultures coming together during the early settlement of the United States. It’s truly a great combination of Native American, African, French, Spanish, Greek, Scottish, Irish, English, and a few other cultures.

On the other hand, I was brought up in a family household where both delicious Italian-American Comfort foods and Southern foods were served during meals, so you will also find me sharing a few of my favorite Italian-American family recipes as well on the blog from time to time to spice things up a bit on the blog.

Currently, I moved back to Florida last August after living in Olive Branch, Mississippi, near the Tennessee border for over a year.  At heart, I’m a Florida girl who loves the year-round warm temps and bright sunshine. I hope you enjoy reading about some of the fascinating histories behind the recipes I make, and our family enjoys it. If you have any questions or comments, be sure to voice them in the comment section I love to hear from Y’all, so don’t be strangers feel free to introduce yourselves.

Current News/Work

Hey there Y’all, as you know I have been posting about every few weeks, however after taking some time to work on The McCallums Shamrock Patch blog doing updates to some of your favorite recipes, adding recipe cards, and more info, as well as starting to update old images, I am ready to get in full swing of things again and share more wonderful Southern recipes and Cherished Italian-American family ones. Stay tuned for future updates!

A few Iconic Southern Specialties to check out:

1. 1. 1. Ambrosia 
      2. Beef and Biscuits Casserole
      3. Cajun Flavored Hoppin’ John
      4. Chocolate Grits n Berries
      5. Chocolate Gravy with Bacon
      6. Classic Sausage Chicken and Okra Gumbo
      7. Collard Greens
      8. Corn and Rice Casserole
      9. Cornbread
      10. Cowboy Caviar
      11. Fried Dill Pickles
      12. Fried Green Tomatoes
      13. Green Gumbo
      14. Hamburger Steaks Smothered in Gravy
      15. Milk and Honey Corn on the Cob
      16. Old-fashioned Southern Meat Sauce
      17. Red Crawfish Gumbo
      18. Shrimp and Grits
      19. Sausage Gravy and Biscuits
      20. Southern Banana Pudding
      21. Southern Baked Bean and Ground Beef Casserole
      22. Southern Coleslaw
      23. Southern Chicken and Dumplings
      24. Southern Creamy Crab Dip 
      25. Southern Egg Salad
      26. Southern Fried Cabbage
      27. Southern Fried Green Beans 
      28. Southern Ham Salad
      29. Southern Pea Salad
      30. Southern Pimento Cheese Spread
      31. Southern Tomato Pie
      32. Southern Cornbread Dressing
      33. Southern Sausage and Biscuits Casserole
      34. Southern Smothered Pork Chops
      35. Southern-Style White Beans and Ham
      36. Spicy Fried Chicken
      37. Spicy Southern 15 Bean Soup with Smoked Sausage
      38. Strawberry Fluff Salad 
      39. Strawberry Pretzel Salad
      40. Watergate Salad aka Pistachio Pineapple Delight