By Chuck Martin
Enquirer staff writer

Family cooks (from left) Dionne Cage, Chuck Kelly and Darlene Dickerson taste dishes each has made. (Brandi Stafford photo)

In honor of the 16th annual Midwest Regional Black Family Reunion this weekend (Friday-Sunday) at Sawyer Point, we recognize those who stay up late and get up early to cook for reunions and other family gatherings.

We asked three renowned family cooks to share a couple of their specialties - dishes they must make - along with cooking tips and recipes. Getting them in the same room together (they're so busy cooking) was almost as difficult as convincing them to divulge their secret recipes.

Dionne Cage, Forest Park

Specialties: Cheese balls, green beans, fried turkey, chess pie, sweet potato pie.

Learned to cook from: Her grandmother, Della Barnes, and mother, Johnnie McCarthur.

Motto: "If you enjoy cooking, they'll enjoy your food."

Best food compliment: "This is a bite of delicious."

Biggest crowd she's cooked for: 100 (her father's wedding reception).

Advice: "You can never cook too much."

Why do you love cooking for groups and family? "I love it when people call me up and ask: "What are you bringing?"

Darlene Dickerson, Mount Airy

Specialties: Fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, barbecued ribs, deviled eggs.

REUNION

More than 250,000 people are expected to attend the 16th Annual Midwest Regional Black Family Reunion this weekend, which begins with a breakfast at 8 a.m. Friday at the Vernon Manor Hotel in Avondale. The celebration continues with a parade beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday in the West End and concerts Saturday and Sunday at Yeatman's Cove on the riverfront. Food vendors will be open from noon-8:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Sawyer Point. More information: www.midwestbfrc.com.

Learned to cook from: Mother and father, Frances and Erwin McIntosh.

Motto: "I'll never give up my recipes."

Best food compliment: "This chicken is to die for."

Biggest crowd she's cooked for: 75 (family reunion three years ago).

Advice: "Prepare ahead as much and as far ahead as possible." (She's already planning Thanksgiving with her sister.)

Why do you love cooking for groups and family? "I get a joy out of doing it, and because the Lord gives me the stamina for doing it."

Chuck Kelly, North Avondale

Specialties: Fried fish, fish baked in foil with vegetables, rice and peas, German chocolate cake, 7-Up cake.

Learned to cook from: His grandmother, Josephine Wells.

Motto: "Make everything from scratch. That way, you know exactly what's in it."

Best food compliment: "You need to put that (his cakes) on the market."

Biggest crowd he's cooked for: 115 (Thanksgiving two years ago).

Advice: "Make a list of what you're going to cook and make sure you have everything available to make it."

Why do you love cooking for groups and family? "It's one of the best ways you can show you love them. One thing I hear most: You can tell someone loves you when they prepare something like this."

Recipes for a reunion

Dionne Cage's Cheese Ball

2 16-ounce packages cream cheese (softened at room temperature)

1/2 pound shaved and chopped corned beef

2 bunches green onions, chopped finely

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

Combine ingredients well and form into one or more ball shapes. Cover and refrigerate. Allow to stand at room temperature briefly before serving with crackers.

Chuck Kelly's Fish in Foil

Vegetable oil spray

1 fish fillet (fresh- or saltwater fish)

Mrs. Dash's Lemon Pepper

Morton's Natural Seasoning

Fresh crushed garlic or garlic powder, to taste

1/4 lemon or lime

Two thin slices lemon

1/4 onion, sliced thinly

1/4 red, green or yellow pepper, sliced thinly

1/4 fresh sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced

Dry ground ginger, to taste

3 whole cherry tomatoes

Spray one side of heavy-duty aluminum foil with vegetable oil spray. Place fish on top of foil and season to taste with Mrs. Dash's and Morton's Natural Seasoning. (Kelly doesn't use salt for health reasons.) Add sprinkle of garlic and juice of 1/4 lemon or lime. Place lemon slices on top of fish, with onion and bell pepper slices. Season sweet potato slices to taste with ginger and place on top of fish. Add cherry tomatoes.

Seal foil around fish tightly. Place on another sheet of foil and seal again. Bake on sheet pan in preheated 450-degree oven about 30 minutes, until fish is done through and vegetables are tender. Remove from oven and allow to cool briefly before opening foil. Serve in foil or on plate. Makes 1 serving.

Darlene Dickerson's Mac & Cheese

2 cups elbow macaroni

6 cups water

Pinch salt

Dash of vegetable oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups milk

3 cups grated cheese (Mixture of Velveeta, Colby, mild and sharp cheddar; see note)

1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring water to boil in large pot and add salt and oil. Add macaroni and boil 5 minutes. Drain and set aside in large bowl.

In another pan, melt butter with milk. Add 2 cups grated cheese and stir to melt. Add remaining 1 cup grated cheese and beaten egg to warm pasta in bowl. Stir to blend well.

Pour pasta into buttered or greased casserole or pan (11/2 quarts) and level evenly with a spoon. Pour cheese-milk sauce evenly over macaroni. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until cheese begins to bubble and macaroni begins to brown. Makes about 8 to 10 side-dish servings.

Note: Add more or less cheese to taste.

Dionne Cage declined to share her famous chess pie recipe, but she offered two suggestions: Don't overbake the filling (her pie filling is melt-in-your-mouth light), and serve each slice with freshly whipped cream. This recipe is from The Welcome Table (Simon & Schuster; $24).

Chess Pie

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons flour

3 eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 9-inch pie shell, baked for 10 minutes and cooled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In medium mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add flour and mix well. Beat eggs and add to mixture. Add cream, salt, vanilla and lemon zest. Beat mixture well and pour into the partially baked pie shell.

Bake pie for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake 20 minutes longer. Pie is best left a little soft in center. Makes 1 pie.

Darlene Dickerson wouldn't give us many hints about how she makes fried chicken, except that, as in this recipe from The Welcome Table, she does not cover the pan while the chicken is cooking.

Iron Skillet Fried Chicken

1 (2 1/2 to 3-pound) chicken, cut into pieces

Bacon fat and lard (or vegetable oil)

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 tablespoon poultry seasoning

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Wash chicken thoroughly and dry on paper towels. Heat fat in skillet to 380 degrees. Place flour, cornmeal and seasonings in brown paper bag. Add chicken pieces, a few at a time, and shake well to ensure each is coated well with seasoned flour.

Put chicken into skillet and fry, uncovered, 20 to 25 minutes, turning occasionally to make sure each side is golden brown. Remove chicken and drain on paper bag. Makes 4 to 6 servings.