From Desert to Soul: The Easter Table That Brought Me Home (and Back to My Roots)
What started as a menu became a full-circle moment of family, flavor, and the legacy we carry to the table.
Beautiful Souls,
There’s something sacred about preparing an Easter meal. Not rushed. Not random.
But intentional… layered… and filled with flavor that tells a story.
Over the past few days, inside our Easter Menu Prep Series, I’ve been walking with you step-by-step. Not just to cook, but to create a table worth gathering around. And if you’ve been following along, then, you already know…
We’re leveling up! ✨
🥚 The star of the table: soul food deviled eggs
If there’s one dish that disappears first every single time…
Creamy. Tangy. A little smoky. A little soulful.
Not just a side. It’s a signal. That the table is set. That the flavors are right. That “Somebody in this kitchen knows what they’re doing!”
Soul food deviled eggs are your must-have Easter classic. Simple, nostalgic, and done the right way. And if you’ve ever watched a table come together, from deviled eggs to sweet potato pie. You already know, some recipes don’t just show up on the plate. They carry you all the way home.
From desert to soul — back where it all began
Somewhere between peeling eggs, glazing carrots, and planning the perfect Easter table… I found myself right back where my story started. In Virginia Beach. Not as a visitor. But as a daughter. A storyteller. A keeper of flavor.
This week, I was home for my first cookbook photoshoot, and not just any shoot. An Easter table. A real one. The kind I grew up around.
The kitchen felt familiar in a way you don’t have to explain. The sound of laughter bouncing off the walls. The clink of spoons against mixing bowls. That quiet rhythm of everybody knowing what to do without saying a word.
Someone reaching for paprika. Someone else slicing eggs just right. A taste test here… a “needs a little more something” there. And just like that—the recipes weren’t just recipes anymore.
They were memories.
They were muscle memory.
They were us.
I live in Las Vegas now…
But being back in Virginia Beach, photographing this cookbook with my family—my husband, my son, my daughter, my bonus grandson, with these recipes, with the flavors that shaped me. It felt like time folded in on itself.
And then we took it to the beach.
Under the boardwalk. Out on the sand. Surfers moving in the distance. Salt in the air. Sand in our toes. Outfits catching the breeze on one of those perfect spring days you wish you could bottle up and keep forever!
“And in that moment, I didn’t just see the woman I’ve become. I saw her.
That little girl.”
The one who spent weekends by the water with her dad— an esteemed Navy man who loved boats, the pier, the rhythm of fishing. And a good banana pudding, the way Grandma Florence taught him!
That little girl. She had imagination. A life already forming in color.
But she didn’t know Las Vegas. Didn’t know “Desert-to-Soul.” Didn’t know any of this yet.
She just knew the feeling of the ocean… and what it meant to belong somewhere.
Sometimes I think about that little girl.
The way she moved through the world like it was already hers. The way she carried joy without needing permission. And I realize something.
That little girl? She had no idea she would one day write a legacy cookbook.
We ended the day the way that made the most sense. Back at the table. Home together. Plates passed. Laughter easy. And right there in the center? Sweet potato pie!
Not just as dessert. But as legacy. As memory. As proof that everything we created that day was always leading back to this.
From the desert back to the soul. And if you’ve ever stood in a place that raised you, then returned as the person you were becoming all along… Then you already know: This isn’t just my story. It’s the kind of story that lives in all of us.
🍽️ ICYMI: Your dream Easter menu
Here’s everything we layered together to build a menu that feels as good as it tastes:
🥚 Soul food deviled eggs (a must-have classic)
🥕 Brown sugar glazed carrots (sweet + buttery balance)
🥘 Southern Instant Pot beginner recipes (your shortcut to easy cooking)
🍒 Ambrosia salad (the creamy surprise)
🥓 Million-Dollar bacon (crispy, caramelized magic)
🍖 Lamb chops (quick, elegant, and flavorful)
🍗 Cornish hens (perfectly portioned mains)
🍍 Pineapple-glazed ham (that sticky, sweet centerpiece)
🍰 Carrot cake (soft, spiced, and Easter-approved)
🥧 Best crust for sweet potato pie (because homemade hits different)
🍠 Black folks’ sweet potato pie (the Day-One classic)
Every dish plays its role. From the quick wins to the showstoppers to the recipes that carry memory in every bite.
Inspired by this story? Here’s what I’ve learned…
💬 Shaunda says: “Start with what grounds you.”
Maybe it’s a recipe.
Maybe it’s a place.
Maybe it’s a memory you didn’t realize was shaping you the whole time.
“For me, it was sweet potato pie at the end of a long day, and a little girl who only knew the ocean, not yet the desert.”
—Shaunda Necole
But look what happens when you honor both.
You don’t lose where you came from.
You build something because of it.
That’s how you create a table people feel.
That’s how you build a house of flavor.
And that’s exactly what I’m inviting you into next. ✨
📖 Grab a seat at the table…
If this story moved you, just wait until you see what’s coming next!
My upcoming The Soul Food Pot Cookbook is filled with the recipes, stories, and modern shortcuts that help you cook with confidence while honoring tradition.
✨ This book is a full-circle journey—just like this one!
And what you’re seeing here?
These are just my iPhone moments. The in-between, the real-time, the “had to capture it before it passed” memories!
The full story. The beautifully styled, professionally photographed version of this Desert-to-Soul homecoming lives inside the pages of my cookbook.
And trust me…it’s everything.
👉🏾 Join the waitlist and grab your seat at the table to be the first to experience the legacy, the visuals, and all the surprises coming with this launch.
Glad I found you! Food is definitely one of my love languages. 😋
You’re so right, deviled eggs are the best. Always a hit at any party. I imagine you’re your delicious. Love seeing the pictures of you, Tony and the kids 💜