D. Walker - The Snacking Dead

2 Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and sear until golden on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a plate.

3 Prepare the red sauce: Add the olive oil and garlic to the same pan. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Add the meatballs and cook until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce is thick, 15 minutes.

4 Assemble the grinders: Preheat the broiler. Rub the cut sides of the sesame loaf with the garlic clove and place on a baking sheet. Broil until the bread is toasted, about 2 minutes. Top the bottom half of the bread with the meatballs and sauce and layer mozzarella slices on top. Return to the broiler and broil until the mozzarella melts, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle with basil leaves and Parmesan, top with the top slice of sesame loaf, and cut into 4 sandwiches. Serve hot.

Red pepper flakes are a better choice than black pepper in your go-kit. They retain their heat longer and you don’t need to carry a pepper mill.

“T he fence is down!”

The man in the pink polo rushed out of the kitchen with his putter, leaving Daryl tied to the table. Daryl yanked hard at the ropes until they frayed on the steel edge and came loose.

He hobbled to the door to see what was going on.

Outside a battle was raging. A section of the chain-link fence had been pushed down, and a filthy mob of walkers poured onto the shaggy lawn. The club members were hacking at them with whatever they could find. Wedges and drivers seemed to work best, but not good enough because they were quickly driven back against the giant grill where the hog was already starting to scorch.

He searched the kitchen for his weapons, and found his things piled on a golf bag full of sharpened clubs. He rubbed the bruise on his skull.

Not many of the biters had come around to the front side of the club-house yet. He made for the creek as fast as his hurt leg would carry him.

A terrific mechanical roar came from the building behind him. Out of a double garage rumbled a huge riding mower, four whirling blades extended in front of it. The driver waved his hat like a rodeo cowboy and steered the juggernaut straight for the biter swarm.

Biter after biter fell underneath the grinding blades as the man whooped and yelled. But eventually the blades clogged up and the motor sputtered out. Before he could restart it, the doomed driver was pulled down from the cab into the grinding mob of dead, joining his fellow country club members.

Turning his back to the awful sight, Daryl spat, put his crossbow over his shoulder, and limped away to the road.

makes 4 sloppy josés

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 pound ground beef

Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 (15-ounce) can tomato purée

2 chipotle peppers in adobo, finely chopped

1 lime, juiced

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon ground cumin

10 cilantro sprigs

1 small white or red onion, coarsely chopped

4 sesame buns, split and toasted

1 Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the oil. Stir in the yellow onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 7 minutes. Add the beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the beef is browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Drain off most of the fat and stir in the tomato purée, chipotle peppers, lime juice, Worcestershire, cumin, and half the cilantro sprigs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 20 minutes. Discard the cilantro sprigs.

2 Finely chop the remaining cilantro and add to a small bowl. Mix in the white onion. Serve the sloppy Josés on toasted buns topped with the onion-cilantro mixture.

Manual meat grinders are well worth the small amount of extra weight. Ground meats are hard to identify, and unusual proteins easier to disguise.

A monstrous form rose up in the silent water of the creek.Daryl fired the crossbow.

“Boo-yah!”

He reeled in the line attached to the bolt, which had impaled a big old flathead catfish. He pulled it up the bank and licked his chops. He still had bread he’d swiped from the country club kitchen.

As he fixed his lunch he wondered what had happened to the girl from the woods with the sandwiches. Maybe she’d grown up and had kids of her own. But what was the point thinking about all that now? The walkers had erased that world.

One day he’d told her about the chupacabra, how it roamed the countryside feeding on live sheep. She told him the story scared her. He picked a wildflower from the side of the creek and gave it to her.

“Ain’t no chupacabra gonna get through me,” he had promised her. “I’ll always protect you.”

A low sound came from the trees, interrupting his reverie. It was too loud to be a live killer and too quiet to be a dead one. Maybe it was just his stomach growling.

A pair of miserable eyes met his through the scope. He lowered the weapon. Just a goddamned half-starved dog with a desperate growl. The thing was bone-skinny and stared at his lunch with hungry eyes.

Ah hell , he thought. Might be some company, though.

He cut his sandwich in half and tossed it over. The dog snapped it up and swallowed it before it even landed. It stared at him again.

“Don’t even think you’re getting this half, you mangy dirtbag,” he said. The dog whimpered.

He cooked up another sandwich to share and they ate their fill. He called her Charlie after Chuck Norris. Even though she was a girl dog, he felt better having an action hero by his side.

The dog lay down in the leaves beside him and kept watch while exhaustion finally caught up with him.

serves 6

Vegetable oil, for frying

2 cups shredded cabbage

⅓ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup thinly sliced red onion

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

2 loafs long French or Italian breads (about 14 inches each)

6 (6-ounce) mild white fish fillets such as catfish or tilapia

1 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1 cup cornmeal

½ cup all-purpose flour

Pinch cayenne

Sliced pickles

Hot sauce, for serving

Lemon wedges, for serving

1 Pour about 3 inches of oil in a deep fryer or large, heavy pot and heat to 375°F. Preheat the broiler.