Something Sweet for the Table

By Marilyn Hunter

Serving a little something sweet on the dinner table is an unspoken rule in the South. Even before dessert, we enjoy the combination of savory meats and sweet fruits, and we love making compotes with fruits of the season. It’s so simple and fast to make a compote – it can be done before the pork is out of the oven or off the grill.

Ben is now old enough and tall enough to stir pots on the stove, including stirring to make this compote, as a way of helping prepare dinner. But he learned a valuable lesson not long ago: that melted sugar syrup is hotter than hot water and sticks to your finger if you “take a dip.”

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Dumplings around the World

By Marilyn Hunter

For centuries, dough has been shaped, molded, dropped into boiling water or simmering stock to poach. I grew up eating Southern-style chicken and dumplings. Maybe this explains my adult love for the little, more refined spaetzle.

Sometimes I imagine having a German grandmother on the plains of Texas making spaetzle instead of its bigger dumpling cousin. Spaetzle is a cross between dumplings and pasta. They are boiled and then pan-fried in butter. The boys like to eat them plain, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

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Dinner on the Run

By Marilyn Hunter

My first taste of pepperoni bread was several years ago on a cross-country road trip. A friend’s mom baked it for our long journey so we could make better time with fewer food stops. I’ve never forgotten her generosity or the convenience of eating something so delicious on the road.

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My Life in Recipes

By Marilyn Hunter

While searching through my recipe box the other day, it occurred to me that this little wooden box is a metaphor of my life. Every well-worn recipe tells a story, a snapshot of a particular time in my life – times when I’ve been up and times when I’ve been down.

There are recipes for celebrations (my favorite chocolate cake) and recipes for difficult times when I craved comfort food (mac ‘n’ cheese and pot pie). I can think of a recipe that has accompanied almost every milestone. These recipes tell my life story, and if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a recipe must be worth a million.

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Our Hero

By Marilyn Hunter

We all have heroes; so what if yours isn’t a star athlete or revolutionary poet? Meat stacked between a roll, that’s crunchy and soft at the same time, is honorable and ready to stave off your hunger at a moment’s notice. Our boys think such virtue is worthy of worship.

This stacked sandwich is perfect for game days and picnics so make ‘em ahead of time and pack according to the occasion. This hero was eaten just before game #2 of the Heat and Mavs series, which gave the boys enough strength to worship their other heroes … Dirk, LeBron and D-Wade. That’s how we roll.

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