Marston enjoys cooking Hawaiian, Portuguese

Marston enjoys cooking Hawaiian, Portuguese

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Scott Marston grew up in Hills, Iowa, a small town of only about 500 people seven miles south of Iowa City. But Hills seemed like its own universe. 

Marston was raised with two brothers and a sister. His mother was of Portuguese and Hawaiian descent, and his father was Irish. Their cooking introduced him to many kinds of different cuisines. 

During the week, his mother would cook Hawaiian or Portuguese, or even sushi.

Marston’s father enjoyed cooking fried meats and potatoes, so his dad would spend all day cooking for the family on Sundays. 

In 1978, Marston joined the Army and was stationed in Germany. After serving three years, Marston came back from Germany and earned a degree in psychology at about the time his parents moved to Birmingham, Alabama, for a promotion.

Marston visited his parents, and while in the South, auditioned for a stand-up comedy act, got the job and spent the next six years touring the country. He would ultimately meet his wife Melissa, who is a Kosciusko native. 

Raising a family in Little Rock, Mississippi, the couple eventually made their way to Philadelphia where he was in new car sales.

They have three grown children and five grandchildren. Marston likes spending time with his grandchildren playing ball and other outdoor activities. He is currently teaching his youngest grandchild to play golf. 

Marston is a sale associate at James Gray Sales and is passionate about his job, family, and cooking. 

“I learned to cook at a young age,” said Marston, “Each one of us growing up had a different job in the kitchen whether it be cleaning the table before and after we eat or helping to cook.”

Thanks to the different influences in his family, Marston knows how to cook many different foods ranging from Portuguese sweet bread to Irish meals and Hawaiian foods. 

Marston has many of the recipes from his childhood and is passing them down to his children.

PORTUGUESE SWEET BREAD PAO DOCE

2 tablespoons active dry yeast 

¼ cup warm water 

1 cup lukewarm milk (scalded, then cooled) 

¾ sugar 

1 teaspoon salt 

3 eggs 

½ cup butter, softened 

5-6 cups all purpose flour 

1 egg (for glaze) 

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl. Stir in milk, ¾ cup sugar, 3 eggs, margarine or butter, and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make the dough easy to handle. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Place in a greased bowl and let rise in a warm place until it is double in size (about 1 to 1 ½ hours). Punch down dough and divide in half. Shape each half into a round slightly flat loaf. Place each into a well-greased round pan 9 x 1 ½ pan. Cover and let rise until double (about an hour). Heat oven to 350. Beat 1 egg and brush over tops of loaves. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar. Bake until loaves are golden brown, about 35-45 minutes. 

MOM’S IOWAN POTATO SOUP 

10 lbs white russet potatoes 

2 cans cream of bacon soup 

2 cans cream of chicken soup 

2 cans cheddar cheese soup 

1 lb thick cut bacon 

2 large white onion 

2 tspn rosemary 

Wash off the potatoes. Bring the potatoes with skin still on to a boil for 30 minutes. Skin potatoes saving the boiled water, cube potatoes into 1-1/2-inch cubes, place potatoes back in water over med-high heat. While the potatoes are boiling chop bacon and onion and render, draining about ½ of bacon grease, add remaining grease and bacon and onion to cubed potatoes. Stir in cream of bacon soup then cream of chicken and finally stir in cheddar soup (add one or two cans of water depending on how thick or thin desired). After 15 minutes simmering serve with garnish of chives and capers. 

GRILL POPPERS

(You can use any red meat, especially venison) 

2-3 lb tenderized meat 

2 blocks Philadelphia cream cheese 

1 small jar jalapeño slices 

2 purple onions 

2 lbs thick sliced bacon 

1 lb of shredded cheddar cheese 

1 box toothpicks 

1 bottle Italian dressing 

Cube tenderized meat into 1–2-inch squares and marinate in Italian dressing while moving on. Finely chop onions and jalapenos. Mix onions and jalapenos with cream cheese and cheddar cheese, should be a very stiff paste. Place one piece of meat on dry surface dabbing 1 tspn of paste in center, roll closed and wrap in bacon, pinning with a toothpick, repeat until finished. Prepare on a hot grill (no flames). Place poppers evenly overheat, turn every 2 minutes until bacon is crisp on edges, remove from heat and let cool 5-10 minutes and enjoy. 






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