What’s Cookin’ In The Parsonage?

I took about 2 1/2 days and dashed to Kentucky to have a visit with my parents and sister this weekend.  What a creative duo my parents make!  My mom will find a lovely idea, show my dad and then he puts it together.  Their newest project was creating tiered serving trays.  She selected the plates and the hardware, then my dad did the drilling and assembling.  Here is the result:

Lovely, huh?  I was excited to learn that they made one for me…

The top and bottom plates are special because they’re made by Cunningham/Pickett, Inc. from Alliance, Ohio!  The pattern is called Yellow Rose.  I know I’ll get lots of use from it.  (I’ve been collecting some cool ideas on Pinterest!)

When I was growing up, Sunday night after church we always had a traditional kind of “lunch.”  We had things like cold roast beef sandwiches (using the leftovers from the roast at dinner), chips, and a slice of pie (also leftover from dinner) and hot tea.  Sometimes we had crackers and peanut butter, slices of cheese, canned peaches and hot tea.  Being English may have called for the tea, but what family of girls doesn’t enjoy a cup of hot tea poured from a beautiful tea pot and sipped from a pretty cup?  This was our family tradition and I always looked forward to it each week.

So, while I was home this weekend, I got to enjoy our family lunch, served on the new tiered tray.  Mom made Cucumber sandwiches from Southern Living.  These were so good!

See them nestled on the bottom plate?  This isn’t just “girl” food – with cream cheese and mayo in the mixture, it really is filling.  Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup peeled, seeded, and finely chopped cucumber

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup minced red onion

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Stir together softened cream cheese, cucumber, mayonnaise, red onion, basil, freshly ground pepper, and salt.

Spread on: white bread; sandwich with diced fresh strawberries. We didn’t use the strawberries on the sandwiches, because we were having them with lemon cake, but I’m anxious to try it!

Something as simple as a square of pound cake placed inside a paper holder, and topped with a beautiful strawberry makes a perfect dessert for a tea!

Probably more important than delicious food and pretty serving pieces is the memories that family traditions make.  I’ve spoken about this many times, but it’s a passion with me, because I was blessed to experience it growing up and know how special it is.  You don’t have to have tea – it can be popcorn every Friday night when your family plays games together.  You could have pancake breakfast made by dad on the weekend or your special homemade pizza on Saturdays.  The point is, find something that you can make as a tradition for your family.  It will bind you together and help everyone look forward to that family meal that you “always” have.  You’re filling more than hungry tummies – you’re filling their heart with family love and memories!

Do you have a special meal you serve each week?

From the parsonage kitchen,

Denise