More than any other time since social media became such an intimate part of our lives, cooking is now a major topic of interest for friends, families and perfect strangers who are all becoming creative cooks, and making cooking intimate occasions.

In Necessary Goodness, four cooks and authors impart experience and wisdom gained from a half-century of cooking. The contributors include a white house chef, presidential diarist, former director of presidential personnel, and an award-winning author and government official. Each contributor shares the joys and rewards of cooking no matter what your title. The book is especially useful to women and men who lead busy lives and seek ways to make everyday life as simple and enjoyable as possible for their families and loved ones.

The contributors to this book are from diverse backgrounds, with a few common denominators – a love for good food, for cooking, and for sharing our love of cooking with others. In Necessary Goodness, you will meet Charlie Santoina Redden, Jr., aka “ Master Chef Charlie,” is the first Certified Executive Chef in the history of the White House Presidential Food Service and has now obtained the coveted rank of Master Chef.

A retired Navy Culinary Specialist, Chef Charlie was born in Florence, South Carolina and raised in the tough streets of the East Riverside Projects in Wilmington, Delaware. Chef Charlie credits invaluable mentors for his career guidance the culinary field. His mentors taught him not only the food service aspect of catering and food preparation, but more importantly, about how to best prepare for the real world. Beyond his well-recognized culinary skills, Chef Charlie is also the author of Following the Tides to Nourish Your Soul, and in the midst of planning the opening of a restaurant.

Eartha S. Dunston is an award-winning author, a career public servant, and a quintessential southern cook. Her culinary journey began with her standing in a chair at the stove helping her father stir up a traditional southern breakfast at the age of three. Her maternal grandparents were both professional cooks in Mobile, Alabama and she very early learned her way around the kitchens where Gumbo was made from fresh-caught Gulf seafood; and homemade barbecue sauce rivaled pit-smoked meat. Eartha is known for serving up traditional southern Sunday meals for her family and friends, and she is working on a solo cookbook at the urging of her followers.

Eartha was named the 2016 Black Pearls Magazine Literary Excellence Author of the Year award recipient for her debut Children’s book, The Hair Adventures of Princess Lindsey Sidney. She was a contributing author for the 2020 Writing our Lives: A Southern Storytellers Anthology. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the Celebrate! Maya Project, a non-profit serving youth and promoting the life and work of literary icon, Dr. Maya Angelou.

Janis F. Kearney and Bob J. Nash are native Arkansans whose love of cooking began in their respective homes–Janis, in the small southeast Arkansas delta town of Gould; and for Bob, a place considered the cross between the south and the west, Texarkana, Arkansas that sits right on the Arkansas-Texas line.

The couple met, fell in love and married in the midst of the exciting 1992 presidential campaign, and later the presidency of William Jefferson Clinton – America’s 42nd President.

While Janis’ love of cooking came later in life, she actually became her mother’s helper in the home and the kitchen at the age of nine; helping her mother care for and cook for the large number of Kearney children.

Bob’s cooking began during his teen years as he began to seek work to make extra spending money. He worked in various small restaurants in Texarkana and learned the basics of restaurant cooking and serving food. It was much later that he fell in love with preparing and cooking much more than small restaurant fare.

Janis and Bob crossed paths with Chef Charlie during their service as Assistants to President William J. Clinton. None of them dreamed that one day their friendship would result in co-authoring a cookbook!

The recipes are a cross between meals found in America’s south, middle America and the East Coast, and are broken up into meats, vegetables, desserts, breads and side dishes. Recipes include:

BREAD AND ROLLS
Bob’s Southern Jalapeno-Onion Cornbread
Aunt Dorothy’s Sweet Butter Dinner Rolls

SOUPS, SALADS & CHILI
Chef Charlie’s Cream of Lobster and Crabmeat Soup
Chef Charlie’s Cream of Asparagus Soup with Grilled Salmon
Chef Charlie’s Chicken Noodle Soup
Chef Charlie’s Cream of Mushroom Soup
Chef Charlie’s Texas Style Beef and Seven-Bean Chili
Chef Charlie’s Seafood Tri-colored Pasta Salad
Janis’ Ambrosia Salad
Janis’ Seven-Layer Salad

FISH AND SEAFOOD
Bob’s Arkansas Delta Fried Catfish
Eartha’s Easy Shrimp Creole
Janis’ Southern-fried Mackerel Croquettes
Chef Charlie’s Grilled Sword Fish Steaks with Mango Salsa
Chef Charlie’s Grilled Surf and Turf
Chef Charlie’s Grilled Scallops with White Wine Sauce

DINNER & ENTREES
Chef Charlie’s Grilled Teriyaki Lamb Chops
Chef Charlie’s Chicken and Sausage Gumbo (Low Liquid)
Chef Charlie’s Chicken Breast Stuffed with Lump Crabmeat Served with White Wine Sauce
Chef Charlie’s Rainbow Bell Peppers Stuffed with Sautéed Curry Vegetables
Chef Charlie’s Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Grilled Vegetables
Chef Charlie’s Grilled Juicy Beef Burgers
Chef Charlie’s Ultimate Philly Cheesesteak
Chef Charlie’s Baked Southern Style Turkey Wings

SIDE DISHES
Janis’ “Yellow, not White” Potato Salad
Eartha’s Bourbon Baked Beans and Smoked Sausage
Eartha’s Bahamian Macaroni and Cheese
Eartha’s Creamy Cheese Grits
Eartha’s Fried Cabbage and Smoked Sausage
Chef Charlie’s Southern Fried Potatoes with Onions & Peppers
Chef Charlie’s Southern Style Seasoned Collard Greens
Chef Charlie’s Fried Green Tomatoes

DESSERTS
Janis’ Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Lemon Icing
Chef Charlie’s Banana Pudding topped with Granola
Chef Charlie’s American Apple Pie topped with French Vanilla Ice Cream

Necessary Goodness is not only for today’s stress-filled existence, but for all times. These diverse and delicious dishes are sure to satisfy every palate. Readers will get to know authors by their palates. A special treat: Readers will be able to contact each author with follow-up questions about their recipes.

Necessary Goodness: Delicious Cuisine for Gathering and Entertaining
Master Chef Charlie S. Redden • Eartha S. Dunston • Bob J. Nash • Janis F. Kearney