Stewed Potatoes — The Humble Side Dish That Belongs on Every Table Set With Love

This was the week Marcus was supposed to start at Tuskegee. He was accepted last May—a month before he died, and we were still celebrating, still planning the move-in weekend, still arguing about whether he needed a mini-fridge or would just live off the cafeteria—and August thirteenth was the date on the orientation schedule we printed out and put on the refrigerator. I left it there. Every morning for five months I've seen it when I opened the refrigerator door: Fall 2018 New Student Orientation, August 13-16. I left it there because taking it down felt like a lie. It was real. He was going. He would have been in his car with CJ's old shower caddy and new bedding and his grandfather's wind-up alarm clock, because Marcus believed in backup plans.

He would have called me by noon Monday to report on the dining hall. He would have texted Darius pictures of the campus. He would have sent his father a photo of the engineering building and said, "Rev, this is it," with the conviction of a boy who knew exactly what he was going to build and where and why. And his father would have pretended to be nonchalant and then shown me the text six times. That's how we would have spent Monday. That's how it should have been.

I cooked his entire favorite menu. Mac and cheese, fried chicken, collard greens, sweet potato pie, banana pudding. I started Friday night and cooked all day Saturday. I set the table for five—me, Calvin, CJ who drove down from Huntsville, Destiny, and Marcus's place: his plate piled with food, his glass of sweet tea without ice, the way he always wanted it. We said grace and we ate and we talked about Marcus. Not around him—about him. CJ told the story about driving a fifteen-year-old Marcus in an empty parking lot and Marcus running over a curb and saying "I meant to do that." Destiny told about the time Marcus replaced a whole sheet cake she'd made for the bake sale with Little Debbies arranged to look homemade. We laughed. We cried. We ate everything.

At the end Calvin prayed over Marcus's plate and we wrapped it and took it to the church for whoever was hungry that night. Because Marcus is hungry everywhere now. Feeding the hungry is the same as feeding him. That is my theology now. Simple, practical, fed with both hands. Amen.

The mac and cheese and the fried chicken and the sweet potato pie — those were Marcus’s. But every spread like that one has a quiet dish underneath it, the one that fills the gaps on the plate and asks nothing of you, and for us that was always stewed potatoes. Soft, buttery, simple as a prayer you know by heart. I’m sharing this one because after you’ve cooked from grief, you need a recipe that doesn’t demand much — just a pot, some patience, and the belief that feeding people is still worth doing. This is that dish.

Stewed Potatoes

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold or russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chicken broth (or water)
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. Soften the aromatics. Melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
2. Add potatoes and liquid. Add the potato chunks to the pot. Pour in the chicken broth — the liquid should come about halfway up the potatoes. Stir in salt, pepper, and paprika.
3. Simmer until tender. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are fork-tender and beginning to break down slightly at the edges.
4. Add milk and finish. Pour in the milk and stir gently, letting the starch from the potatoes thicken the broth into a creamy, loose gravy. Simmer uncovered for 3–5 more minutes. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
5. Serve warm. Ladle into bowls or spoon alongside whatever else is on the table. Garnish with parsley if you like. These are best eaten fresh, while the broth is still pooling around the edges.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 210 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 33g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 420mg