Sunday Dinners with Jason Stoner and Stephen Rogers

Reviving The Sunday Dinner Tradition

By Lisa Hanchey

Ah, Sunday dinners. Going to Grandma’s house, anticipating mouthwatering home cooking, gathering around the table with family and friends. With fond childhood memories of family Sunday dinners, Stephen Rogers and Jason Stoner have brought back that tradition with gourmand cuisine, artistic table settings and theme cocktails. “Everybody would go to my great-grandmother’s house and hang out in the kitchen around the dining room table or the kitchen table,” Stoner recalled. “I rarely went into any other rooms in her house because all the action happens there. Si I get that Cajun influence from my dad’s side of the family, and then my mom was a Texan through and through, and so I get that aspect as well.”

Rogers takes charge of setting the table, paying close attention to the design aesthetic, inspired by his grandmother, Bonnie Donham; Stoner is the creative mind behind the meals. Family and friends are always welcome to dinner in their home — a faily home that Rogers inherited and revamped with full-on Mexican décore, a nod to his grandparents’ South Texas heritage.

Dinner gatherings began following the historic 2016 flood after the couple revamped their home — knocking out walls, enlarging the kitchen, and adding Bonnie’s favorite color — red. Stoner and Rogers started having family and friends over for Sunday supper. It was so successful that one guest declared, ‘We should do this every Sunday!’” And so the renewed Sunday dinner tradition began.

My foodie photographer Bill and I were honored to attend a Sunday dinner. We were greeted with a welcome sign displaying our names, as they do for all guests. Master mixologist Rogers presented us with an Americano cocktail as we visited with his delightful daughter, Madison, and listened to Stoner’s latest playlist: New Orleans jazz.

So, how do Stoner and Rogers choose their special guests? “I usually choose somebody that has been very active on the [Foodies of Lafayette] post, then I’m like, ‘Come on!’” Stoner said. “Sometimes it’s outside of the Foodies page. Sometimes it’s just someone I meet, but we’ve even opened it up to strangers.”

While we sipped, Stoner, a moderator for the Facebook group Foodies of Lafayette, took his pre-prepped ingredients and started cooking his legendary shrimp and andouille over poblano cheesy grits. Rogers and I assembled the peach, mozzarella, and basil salad, sprinkled with Hawaiian black volcano salt and drizzled with imported Italian balsamic vinegar.

Finally, it was time for the highly-anticipated meal, all gathered around the dining room table and exquisitely set by Rogers — a green velvet table cloth topped with his mother’s verdant water glasses, a vintage floral table runner, and accenting blue napkins. The centerpiece featured cattails from friend Kim Vo’s garden. Roger explained, “My inspirtation fo r the table is connected to the cuisine being served. We work together on what servingware will be needed to accommodate the dishes. From there, I choose a color palette based on the season, often manufacturing my table linens and always creating a new centerpiece.”

While the wine and conversation flowed, I dipped into the shrimp and grits — and they were indeed the best I’ve ever had — creamy, cheesy, and gum-tingling spicy. This is not your ordinary shrimp and grits. Sparked by famed Dallas Chef Uno, Stoner started with stone ground grits stirred in with butter-sautéed onion, poblano, and garlic seasoned with salt and pepper and finished with chicken stock and heavy cream. He added Gulf shrimp and Cajun Family Traditions andouille. Talk about “mouth-watering goodness!” Stoner described.

To offset the richness of his heavy entrée, Stoner paired it with a light peach and mozzarella salad from fellow foodie Robyn Holbrook. The slightly sweet white peaches were enhanced by the tanginess of the balsamic reduction and fresh basil — a perfect accompaniment.

For dessert, we finished with Rogers’ fabulous Bailey’s panna cotta, a luscious custardy concoction blended with Bailey’s chocolaty Irish Cream. It was the ultimate adult treat.

The couple graciously hosts these dinners at their own expense, but guests occasionally bring a bottle of wine although not required. “I always say, just bring yourself,” Stoner shared. “It’s very lax; it’s not formal. It’s a family dinner, really. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.” R

Top to bottom: Table is ready; Clockwise: Stephen Rogers, Madison Rogers, Elizabeth Savoy, Jason Stoner; Luscious Shrimp and Grits (Photos courtesy of Jason Stoner)