What Dolly Parton Doesn’t Eat Her Homemade Mac and Cheese Without
Country superstar Dolly Parton is about as busy as it gets. But when she has the time, she enjoys cooking at home. She specifically likes cooking what she likes eating: comfort Southern dishes. One of her specialties is mac and cheese. And there’s a special side dish that the “Dumb Blonde” singer simply won’t eat her cheesy meal without.
Dolly Parton likes her mac and cheese with fried apples
“That’s something else I like is mac and cheese,” she told Insider in Feb. 2022. “And if you serve that with fried apples, that’s a great taste combination.”
Parton loves mac and cheese. In fact, she likely made herself a big bowl of mac after writing “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” on the same day.
Parton makes mac and cheese with butter and 2 – 3 different types of cheeses, but shredded cheddar and Velveeta are the two she consistently uses. She seasons with salt and pepper to taste.
But you know what goes perfectly with some mac and cheese? According to the singer, fried apples, which she likes sprinkled in cinnamon.
Combining mac and cheese with fried apples was a happy accident
Parton discovered one of her favorite combinations when she was rooting around her kitchen for something to eat.
“One time I didn’t have a whole lot of stuff in my refrigerator and I was hungry,” she said. “I don’t even know if it was some macaroni I’d made before or store-bought, but I just remember having some fried apples that had come out of another order of food from somewhere.”
“I thought, ‘Well there’s some apples,’ and I just remember putting that on the same plate,” Parton continued. “I thought, this is an absolutely great combination! And ever since then, that was years ago now, when I’m going to do mac and cheese, I always do fried apples. They’re just so good together. You’ll like it!”
Dolly Parton’s scrambled eggs hack
Mac and cheese isn’t the only thing Parton makes at home.
“I’m a really, really good cook,” she told GMA. “I’m not a gourmet cook. My food is not pretty, but it’s good. I cook like my mom, my grandmas and my aunts. I’m still one of those people that really can cook, like the old days. That soul food cooking.”
Another one of her specialties is breakfast food, particularly scrambled eggs. She makes them every weekend she can for husband Carl Dean. She has a special trick to ensure they turn out fluffy.
“Somebody told me this once and it works,” she said. “When you crack your eggs in the bowl, say if you’re going to scramble them, use ice water. Put a few drops of ice water as you’re cooking them and that makes them fluffier — it really does!”
Dolly Parton is just full of tricks.
