IN THE KITCHEN WITH ... BARBARA MYERS, ATLANTA
Bread and Butter Pudding

Nominated by stepdaughter Tara Morrison: "Barbara is one of those people who doesn't cook very much during the year, but when the holidays come, you think you've stepped into heaven. From Thanksgiving to Christmas, you will always find something wonderful in her kitchen. On Christmas Eve, we have a meal full of traditional fare. Barbara's specialties include her famous crab cakes, beef tenderloin, sun-dried tomato and goat cheese spread, and her incredible bread pudding. My husband tells me the reason he married me is so he can have this at least once a year."
When an electrical fire damaged Barbara Myers' 80-year-old home in Ansley Park last year, the retired businesswoman/artist walked through the debris looking for two things: the mural she had painted on the dining room wall (unfortunately destroyed) and her file of recipes. The folder, which contained decades of dishes scribbled on napkins, cut out of magazines and typed on file cards, was singed but it survived.
"They were yellow, but I was able to save most of them, " she says of the recipes. "They put them through an ozone room so they don't have that odor anymore. I was able to keep a lot of them, which meant a lot to me because so many are mementos. The person that gives you the recipe writes a note or puts a date on it, so when you pull it out it's a wonderful time to reflect on different experiences."
Though rebuilding of the house won't be complete until after the holidays, Myers is already planning the meals she will be preparing in her redesigned kitchen. One dish sure to be on the menu is her famous Bread and Butter Pudding, which has become a family tradition. It holds special meaning for Myers and her husband, Walt. The recipe comes from an old friend who also happened to be the person who set the couple up on their first date.