Dolly Parton says fried chicken is the one dish everyone should know how to make for a successful marriage

• Dolly Parton has been married to her husband Carl Dean for 55 years.
• Parton told Insider the one dish everyone should know how to make for a successful marriage is fried chicken.

After 55 happy years with her husband Carl Dean, Dolly Parton clearly knows quite a few things about love.

And Parton — who recently sat down with Insider on Zoom to talk about her new line of desserts with Duncan Hines — believes there's one dish everyone should know how to make for a successful marriage.

"You can't go wrong with fried chicken," Parton said. "I think everybody should really know how to make good fried chicken. No matter where people come from, they love good fried chicken. So you need to make good fried chicken!"

Parton said she often pairs her fried chicken with mashed potatoes and coleslaw. And the country-music legend has some tips for getting your chicken just right.

"Make sure your batter is good," she said. "And some flour, some pepper, and salt — I put a little extra pepper on mine. Then you just dunk it in your oil or grease, whatever you cook with."

When Parton isn't whipping up fried chicken for Carl, she's treating him to pork chops with green peas and mashed potatoes, biscuits and gravy, or chicken and dumplings — her specialty.

"A lot of people like my chicken and dumplings," she said. "I'm pretty famous for that. Carl likes all my cooking. But he, like the rest of them, especially likes the chicken and dumplings."

Parton also loves cooking a classic Southern breakfast every weekend, and she has a special trick for making her scrambled eggs perfectly fluffy.

"Somebody told me this once and it works," Parton said. "When you crack your eggs in the bowl, say if you're going to scramble them, use ice water. Put a few drops of ice water as you're cooking them and that makes them fluffier — it really does!"

When she's not cooking up a storm, Parton said she and Carl also love going to fast-food restaurants together, including Taco Bell.

Parton said she is a huge fan of the Mexican Pizza, which Taco Bell removed from menus in November 2020, and she thinks the chain should bring it back soon. She also always orders a Taco Supreme, along with an order of rice and beans.

"And I get mild sauce," she added. "I don't like to get it too hot and ruin everything."