There’s a certain amount of mystery associated with the origin of Spoonbread; a delicious, simple baked dessert that has been a staple around our house this season. The name is derived from the fact that it’s best eaten with a spoon, and although it has been recorded that it was a favorite dessert of George Washington, it also has uncanny similarities to the Native American porridge called soppone.

And what is it about watermelon and feta that works so well? It has everything to do with the sodium from the feta and how it reacts with the sweetness of the melon; after all, most lovers of watermelon like it sprinkled with salt…a thirst quenched and activated simultaneously by these two seemingly opposing ingredients. We’ve also added thinly sliced radishes to this recipe to give it yet another level of peppery summer complexity.

Fried chicken is a way of life at Edible Culture, an important food that helps define the cuisine of the High South, Low Midwest region of the country, and we hold it in the highest of regards. We’ve designed a Nashville Hot Chicken inspired version using wings and a buttermilk based marinade using a super delicious chili condiment devised by our friends from Fractal NWA. This is no ordinary condiment, rather a simple in design, but complex in flavor recipe that is currently our favorite accompaniment to a myriad recipes.

While recently in a nostalgic haze, I procured the family Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from my mother and Aunt Sharon, which was an important part of the desserts we ate during the hot summer months in Missouri.

We certainly eat this chicken with a knife and fork at the dinner table, but all bets are off at midnight in the glow of the open fridge light, fingers gripping the succulent thighs until there’s nothing left but the short bone picked clean.