One of my favorite parts of RV life is how every stop brings a new flavor, a new dish, or a recipe I just have to recreate when we get back to the camper. That’s exactly what this series, Forks in the Road: Recipes from Across America, is all about—real meals inspired by the places we’ve been and the people we’ve met along the way.
We’ve been to tiny roadside diners in East Texas, smoked meat shacks in Kansas City, and fish shacks tucked along the Louisiana coast. And every time I taste something that sticks with me, I jot it down in my notes: where we were, what we ordered, and what made it memorable. Then I get to work recreating it—sometimes exactly, sometimes with a few tweaks to make it work better in our little RV kitchen.
What I end up with is something that’s more than just a recipe. It’s a bite of our travels, tied to a place and a memory.
The Journey Behind the Plate
Our travels have taken us from the crab boils of the Gulf Coast to the smoked ribs of Missouri, and I’ve tried to honor those traditions in a way that feels doable for anyone, especially people cooking in small spaces or just making dinner for two.
Take our trip to St. Louis, for example. We were staying just outside the city and spent the weekend bouncing between barbecue joints, antique shops, and local bakeries. That’s where I fell in love with gooey butter cake. I’d heard of it before, but tasting it in its hometown? Game changer.
It’s buttery, sweet, a little crisp on the edges, and dangerously easy to eat one piece too many. When I got back to the RV, I made it my mission to create a version that didn’t require fancy equipment or a ton of ingredients—and it’s now one of my most requested recipes.
Then there was our time in San Antonio. The shrimp nachos at a little spot called Rosario’s were so good I practically licked the plate. I went home and made my own version with candied jalapeños, and it’s now one of my husband’s favorites. Restaurant flavors can be recreated in a tiny kitchen—you just have to simplify the process and trust your taste buds.
Cooking for Two (With Leftovers in Mind)
Now that it’s just the two of us on the road, I’ve had to rethink how I cook. Gone are the days of feeding two hungry teenage boys with big appetites and bottomless stomachs. These days, I’m cooking for two and doing my best to plan meals that stretch. If I roast a whole chicken on Sunday, I’m turning the leftovers into chicken pot pie on Monday. If we smoke ribs on the weekend, I’m using the extras in a BBQ-stuffed baked potato later in the week.
That’s part of what Forks in the Road is about—making the most of what you’ve got, using every last bite, and still keeping things exciting. Each post in this series includes both a family-size recipe and a scaled-down version for two, because whether you’re traveling solo, with a partner, or feeding a crowd at the campground, there’s a way to make it work.
Regional Inspiration, Real Ingredients
These Recipes from Across America aren’t meant to be fussy. I use ingredients I can find at any small-town grocery store, and I try to keep the prep time reasonable, because when you’re on the road, time feels different. Sometimes you want to hike the trails, explore the town, sit by the campfire… not spend all day cooking. (Although there are times I love doing that too!)
From Hatch green chile stew in New Mexico to City Barbeque-style potato salad from South Carolina, each dish in this series is inspired by the places we’ve been and the flavors that made us want to stay just a little bit longer. Sometimes I learn the recipe from a local. Sometimes it’s something I try once and can’t stop thinking about. Either way, I test it until it feels right and write it down with real instructions—nothing vague, nothing fancy, just practical, good food.
Bringing People to the Table
Even though our kids are on their own now, food is still the thing that brings us together when they visit. I used to theme our family dinners—Asian night, French night, Cajun night—and now I’m doing that again, just scaled down. Sometimes it’s just the two of us, but it still feels worth celebrating.
Cooking these regional recipes is a way of bringing those memories back. I might not be able to fly to New Orleans for a po’boy, but I can make one at home, press it in the skillet, and remember the music drifting out of that French Quarter bar while we ate fried shrimp sandwiches on the curb.
That’s what Forks in the Road is really about—remembering where you’ve been and sharing it, one recipe at a time.
What’s Coming Up
In the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing recipes for:
If you’ve got a favorite regional recipe—or a hometown classic you think I should try—I’d love to hear from you. Drop a comment or send me a message. This series is just getting started, and I’ve got a long road ahead (literally and figuratively).
Thanks for coming along with me, and I hope these Recipes from Across America make your table feel a little more like home, no matter where you’re parked.
