From Pilot Knob To Main Street: A Collection of Recipes and Stories from Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow - Tapa dura

"We are going to Aunt Ethel and Uncle Tom's for dinner tonight." With those words from mom, I knew my brother Keith and I would be putting on ties and "dressing up" for dinner at Aunt Ethel's. We would usually be seated in the sun room with Bill and Bohn Frazer, our "cousins-in-law." Keith and I are the sons of Howard and Imogene Stout (Howard, who died in 1978, is the brother of Ethel Tucker) and Bill and Bohn Frazer are the sons of Bob and Dorothy Frazer (sister of Thomas Tucker). Uncle Tom passed away in 2001. He was generally regarded as the foremost Crittenden County historian. Aunt Ethel is often referred to as the matriarch of our community. Even as I have grown older, I have come to realize how special meal time at Aunt Ethel's is. On Wednesdays, we often gather there as well as for Sunday dinner after church. From the simplest lunch to the most extravagant dinner party, the food is always delicious and the presentation is always enticing. To this day, the most coveted dinner reservation in our community is a dinner party invitation to Aunt Ethel's. This book is not just a recipe book. It tells the story of living in a small town. It also explores the fellowship developed when "we break bread together." Thanks to Aunt Ethel for all she has done. Alan C. Stout