PUBLISHER’S COLUMN: LET’S EAT

Bacon-wrapped water chestnuts.

Many-way meat balls.

Heartbreak chili.

Scotch eggs with sausage.

Frito corn salad.

Impossible pumpkin pie.

Pawhuska cheesesteaks.

Those are just a few of the local recipes that graced the pages of The Courier through our former feature, “In The Kitchen,” which we sacrificed earlier this spring in an effort to reduce the number of pages in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Uncertain of what kind of economic impact the health crisis would have on the newspaper, we needed to take measures to reduce expenses, and the number of pages we print is one way to do that.

Anyway, I miss the “In The Kitchen” feature and I’m guessing readers do, too, so we’re bringing it back starting next month.

You wouldn’t know it by looking at my slender frame, but I enjoy food immensely. I always have. Like many, I grew up in a household where there was a home-cooked meal almost every night, with my mom dishing up a wide variety of foods. Her homemade pizza and macaroni and cheese rocked, she was a master of soups and there were family specialties to be had; ask her sometime about her Gerber Goop. And I remember my dad teaching me to take hamburgers to the next level using horseradish, Worcestershire sauce and A1, and how to make delicious bagels topped with cream cheese, thin slices of dried beef and onion.

All of that good eating clearly left an impression on me, because cooking for my family is among my greatest pleasures in life. It scratches all of my itches — creativity, experimentation, following rules when appropriate and breaking rules when desired, not to mention the end result of a tasty dinner. I believe strongly that cooking and then sharing the food with other people is also an act of love; it also paves the way for conversation. How many discussions have taken place over dinner? How many times has, “how was your day?” been asked over a meal? After all, a dinner table is tailor made for conversation among family and friends in a compelling way.

We all need food for sustenance; that much we have in common. When we’re sharing it together, it seems like all the division caused by politics, religion, social issues, class warfare and whether the Chicago Bears or the Minnesota Vikings have the best fan base, goes away.

Anyway, I like food and I like recipes, so we’re bringing them back to the pages of The Courier. And this is where you come in. I’m looking for eight cooks to sign up and share recipes on a rotation basis. The recipe, a little bit about the recipe and a photo will be included weekly, and we can all share in some of the foods that you like best.

I can’t do this without you, so let me know if you’re interested. Call or text me at 605-351-6097 or send an email to courier@gwtc.net. Let’s do this.