Brandon Weston
Lowell, Arkansas
This was my great-grandma’s recipe for potato salad. It was my mom’s, mom’s, mom if I remember right. She was from a German family and always had amazing recipes for things like brats, sauerkraut, coleslaw, and of course, potato salad! I unfortunately never had the opportunity to try this from the source, but my mom has a lot of great memories of her grandma’s cooking and this recipe has been a feature of our family gatherings since I was a kid.
Jaime Miller
Springdale, AR
We have a few persimmon trees behind our house. Each year I advertise when the harvest is available to my friends. This recipe comes from my friend Gennie Hirschy. Last year, my Marshallese friend came to pick the persimmons.
Jamie Nix
Bella Vista
Sunny's Bunch of Brie
Ingredients: block of brie cheese, handful of cranberries, choice of jam (peach), two spoonfuls of honey, baguettes or crackers
Recipe:
1) Heat up your honey, jam, berries in a small pan until hot and mixed well.
2) Pour over brie
3) Place Brie with syrup mix on a pan in the oven for 5-10 minutes until brie is baked inside.
Enjoy!
Growing up, my mom was a vegan. Even so, she would also incorporate meats and cheeses into the kid’s meals. One dish in particular, “Bunch of Brie.” She would serve this platter for dinner along with a salad or another small meal like lasagna, rice and curry, or mushroom burgers.
I finally introduced this dish to my husband last night and he fell in love with it (and me all over again, HA.) I did adjust her recipe by adding honey versus apple cidar vinegar because I cannot find it here in Rabat. The recipe remains the same though.
Jennifer Keith
Springdale, AR
In a large soup pot, starting first thing in the morning (or at least by noon) Note that we never measure anything in this, it's very much by "feel". But it is also very forgiving.
Combine:
1 Large Chicken (With bones) (organ meat optional)
Peeled Carrots 4-6 large, whole or halved
Celery 4-6 sticks, with leaves (adds extra tang to the broth)
White Potatoes 6-8 peeled and quartered
3-4 whole onions (remove outermost skin) White or Yellow are best, I don't love sweet or vidalia with this.
6-8 cloves of garlic
A few good grinds of fresh black pepper
Water to an inch or two below the top of the pot.
Place all items in the pot, bring to a boil. Once boiling, skim starches off top, and reduce heat to low and cover. Continue simmering for as long as you can, usually 6-8 hours. Check every hour or so to confirm water level and give it a good stir. Add water if needed.
Our family would traditionally serve this in two parts, but serve however you like.
1. Extract the broth (strain out any solids) into a separate pan and bring back to a boil. Add about 1T per 1C of fluid small pasta such as orzo or pastina and cook per box directions until al dente. Serve as first course. Usually we would top this with some salt and pepper and grated parmesan cheese.
2. Remove meat and veggies onto a serving plate. Many folks like the celery, we would always discard this and serve just the meat, potatoes, carrots, and onions. Cut into pieces and dress with salt, pepper, and a dash of white vinegar and a mild vegetable oil.
As I grew up in Wisconsin, this goes back to my family’s country Italian roots. I have since shared it with many of my Ozark friends.
My mom would make this as I was growing up, and I have continued to this day. I always looked forward to the first cool days of fall, because it meant that a chicken soup was going to happen soon! The aroma of the cooking soup would fill the house all day, and I couldn’t wait until dinner. Now I use a bigger pot, and extract the broth to freeze to use as stock in many other recipes. There was always a competition in the house as to which pasta we would use. My dad preferred Orzo, and my mom preferred the Pastina.
As often happens with recipes such as this, it morphs over the years and the cooks. My mom always only added 6 ingredients: Chicken, Potatoes, Carrots, Onions, Celery, and what she called her “secret ingredient” Beef stew chunks. It does richen the broth, but I never loved the texture of the boiled beef chunks. I have found that if you use a good organic/free range chicken you can get similar results without the beef. I added the garlic, and am a tad surprised she never did, as she loved garlic so much!
Jen Johnson
Springdale
My grandmother did not write down her recipes, so this one was created off my memory of eating it as a child.
3 eggs per person (so, 2 people = 6 eggs)
sausage (can substitute for other protein)
boiled potatoes
cooking oil
onions (optional)
salt / pepper (optional)
To cook – add oil and sausage to skillet and cook. Add chopped boiled potatoes (I like using small red potatoes, sliced) and, if wanted, onions. Cook until you get a nice crisp / slightly burned edge on some sausage and potatoes. Add eggs and salt / pepper. Cook until eggs are done, scrambling contents around. Once cooked, serve.
Optional additions – onions, seasoning, cheese.
It’s hard to describe this dish as it’s not just a memory but a smell and experience. Cooking it reminds me of my grandmother, standing in her kitchen with one of my grandpa’s button up shirts on and her short pixie hair cut. It smells like something she made and it tastes like she made it and it reminds me of how much she loved cooking and how much she loved me. It’s a way that I can still be connect to my grandmother.
Josh Bradshaw
Springdale
Cut desired amount of brussel sprouts and cover in olive oil.
Add 1 clove of garlic for every 5 or 5 brussel sprouts.
Bake at 400F until brussel sprouts are soft in the middle and outer leaves are crispy.
When they come out, sprinkle goat cheese and crushed walnuts on them.
My Dad introduced me to baked brussel sprouts when I was a teenager. I’ve added the goat cheese and walnuts over the years but his ratio of garlic and brussel sprouts still stands. Not to mention, roasted garlic is good on a cracker. Makes for a good date appetizer. Garaunteed to impress and extremely simple.