I’m a Huge Dolly Parton Fan, So I Made a Whole Meal of Her Recipes

Dolly Parton was a fine person. She made everyone feel valued, and put her money where her mouth was. She never made herself smaller just to let someone else feel big. And she could make a mean bowl of chicken and dumplings.

A lot of people are talented enough to make it in show business, but so many of them seem like they’re on the run from the life they were born into. Dolly always seemed to just bring her life with her. She never stopped voicing love and respect for the people of Appalachia, and when people looked down on her or tried to take advantage, she defended herself partly because by doing so she was defending her people.

Then, she took that respect and spread it around to all kinds of people, not just her own. She had a beautiful way of taking up space while still letting others shine, and you can see this reflected in everything she did, whether it was lifting up other artists, looking the way she wanted to look without apology, turning down a music partnership with Elvis Presley on principle, or touting the simple, delicious foods she grew up with as worthy of pride.

Dolly’s recipes started showing up in newspapers and community cookbooks in the 1980s, from her home recipes and those featured in restaurants at Dollywood and in the Branson Dolly Parton’s Stampede dinner show. Cookbooks followed, like “Good Lookin’ Cookin’” with her sister Rachel Parton George.

She had more than 50 appearances on TODAY, many of them about food and the partnerships she made over the years. Dolly was a remarkable businesswoman, but she did it with authenticity, collaborating with Duncan Hines on a line that reflected her Southern style with mixes like cornbread and coconut cake.

When reached for comment, Conagra’s VP/GM for Duncan Hines, Eric Sword, remembered making the team’s video shoots with Dolly as “joyous,” saying, “She always took the time to say ‘Hi y’all!’ to everyone and talk with us about our families. We are tremendously grateful for what we created through this partnership. She was really one of a kind.”

I treasure my grandmother’s cast-iron pan, and the market is littered with name-brand cookware that isn’t worth a darn, so I appreciate that Dolly also collaborated with Lodge for skillets that will last several lifetimes if cared for properly, and that she felt personally connected to. A spokesperson from Lodge makes it clear the feeling was mutual, saying, “We were incredibly fortunate and proud to work with Dolly to bring her story to life through a collection that celebrates those same values and gives fans a way to create memories of their own.”

I’m still kicking myself for not having bought one of Lodge’s limited-edition skillets with the butterfly guitar on it. I just feel like it would make my cornbread taste better, and that’s because food isn’t just nourishment, but also connection, memory and enjoyment. It doesn’t have to be fancy to be any of those things; in fact, it might be less likely to be those things if it is fancy. It’s all about heart — and she knew that better than anybody.

“My food isn’t pretty,” Dolly once said on TODAY, “but it’s good.”

That viewpoint fills me with joy as a dietitian, and as much as I loved her talent and humor and that penchant for cast iron, it was my favorite thing about her. So many people feel pressure to make their dinner Instagrammable, or run themselves ragged chasing perfect health. That can be fun and fulfilling when you enjoy it, but people get bogged down in trying to plan the perfect plate, when really just cooking anything, anything at all, is half the battle.

So, I can think of no better tribute than to make a meal using her recipes. There are so many to choose from, and I found some I’d never seen before in my search, like downhome Cowboy Beans and the unique Apple Stack Pie. It was hard to choose just a few, but I tried to keep them iconic, delicious, and fun. Let’s make her Chicken and Dumplings, Miracle Madness Salad, Banana Pudding, and of course, a Dirt Road Martini, so we can toast Dolly with class.

Chicken and Dumplings

Although Dolly’s sister Rachel’s recipe appears in their cookbook and is reportedly the one often made for Dolly’s birthday, her own recipe as shared to Instagram is a little simpler. You simply boil a whole chicken with onion, celery, salt and pepper, simmer easy dumpling dough cut into squares in the broth, and then add the deboned, shredded chicken back in.

Since she often chuckled that she wouldn’t share her secret ingredients, I added some of the Morton’s Nature’s Seasoning that Rachel mentions in the book on the off chance it’s closer to the real deal, and I think it was a good call.

It’s not as beautiful as Dolly herself, but its simplicity lets the flavor of the actual chicken shine through. Rachel’s cookbook dumplings are like my grandmother’s were — spoonfuls that rise and fluff when dropped in — but these have a denser, almost chewy center around the lighter outside. If you grew up eating something similar, it’ll remind you of home.

Miracle Madness Salad

There’s nothing more authentically Southern than adding a little sugar to your salad dressing, and I love this retro reminder that the simplest mix can be refreshing and delicious. It’s just iceberg, tomato, the tangy zip of Miracle Whip, lemon juice, a little sugar, salt and pepper. If you’ve forgotten that iceberg actually has a flavor all its own, reintroduce yourself with this salad.

Banana Pudding

I know y’all were all waiting for this one. This beautiful pudding was reportedly the version of her mother’s recipe served at Dollywood’s Aunt Granny’s Restaurant, and it started appearing in newspapers and community cookbooks in the 1980s. I have never seen another one like it. The pudding is fully made from scratch with sugar, flour, eggs, milk and vanilla, and poured hot over the bananas and vanilla wafers. Then, the whole thing is baked with a sweetened meringue on top.

Because the wafers are piled at the bottom, they keep some of their texture, and this is more like an icebox cake or pie than the processed banana pudding of your school cafeteria. The instructions don’t say to chill before serving, so although I do think it benefits from sitting for at least a bit so that some of the cookies soften, it was delightful both room temp and chilled. (Worried about food safety with that meringue? The American Egg Board says that baking over a hot filling at 350 F for 15 minutes should put you in the clear, but you can also use pasteurized egg whites.)

Dirt Road Martini

Finally, let’s toast our dear friend with a cocktail of her own devising. I have to admit that I wasn’t sure this one would hit the spot, but it was so interesting that I had to try it. It’s equal parts vodka and unsweet iced tea with a splash of brine from giardiniera pickles.

Some recipes specify a rocks glass, and I think that’s right. This martini does not belong in a stuffy old V-shape, and it needs something that can handle this massive garnish.

This is the only cocktail I’ve ever had where the garnish takes front and center, and the drink just plays a supporting role. The tea adds a hint of bitterness that balances out the salty, vinegar-spiked veggies, making it a perfect after-dinner cap on a hot day.

Bonus: Duncan Hines Brownies

When we went shopping for ingredients, it turned out my husband didn’t know about Dolly’s Duncan Hines mixes, so I pointed out the bright-pink boxes. He held up the brownie one hopefully, and in the cart it went. I’m so happy we made this last-minute addition to the already packed menu. These brownies hit the sweet spot between cakey and fudgy, and they hold up to slicing and handing out to a crowd without crumbling.

Although I went with the basic model here, Dolly worked with Duncan Hines on recipes using her boxed mixes as a springboard for some scrumptious eats. If you can’t decide, I suggest the Southern Corn Pudding or the next thing on my own list, the Pecan Pie Brownies.

Whatever you make, whether you’re an accomplished chef or a total novice, I hope you’ll keep Dolly’s way of being in your heart. If you only have precooked chicken and a carton of broth, or your meringue cracks, or (gasp!) you use mayonnaise instead of Miracle Whip, just think to yourself, “What would Dolly say?”

I think she would say you use what you like and what you have, and if it’s not perfect, that’s OK. That’s just how you know it was homemade with love.