Both Dona Mularkey and Dolores Runyon absorbed cooking from their mothers and began cooking for their families in their early teens. Both now consider cooking with their children and grandchildren one of their greatest joys. Born in the tiny town of Randolph, northeast of Dallas, where the Baptist church was the social activity, Dolores fondly recalls big annual family reunions at Greenville State Park especially her Aunt Blonda s fresh ham. Retired from Texas Instruments and living in Dallas, she s proud to call herself a plain Texas country cook. Dona, from a military family, has lived all over the U.S. and in Japan, the Ukraine and several European countries, as well as circling the world on aircraft carriers while teaching mechanical engineering, her specialty at SMU. But she s stayed the longest 30 years in Texas, and she now lives in McKinney.