Drum Roll, Please
Let's have a throwback party!
Passed down through generations and re-created with love, these lesser-known recipes from across the South set a table brimming with forgotten flavors and Southern memories.
Damon Lee Fowler, famed Savannah cookbook author, and the intriguing Beth Yarborough @Southern Voice caught my attention with their discussion about food at receptions and showers.
I hadn’t thought about reception food until I read their discussion. I had been digging through my mother’s collection of recipes while resurrecting heirloom desserts for my new cookbook, Taste of the Tide, inspired by recipes from the coast. I was hoping to find some long-lost cake that needed a light shining on it once again. The beloved caramel cakes haunt me with stories of what can go wrong because caramel burns easily and the caramel tends to harden too quickly.
I started thinking why today’s moms and ladies of all ages race to the store and grab bags of Cheetos, chips, cupcakes with green and blue icing, and a few bottles of Coke and set it up on a card table and call it a reception. This is what their latest menu looks like for a bridal or baby shower. Yahoo! Be sure to write it down. I decided they were right about some things. Skip the caramel cake for sure but why skip out on everything else? Keep it simple but elegant with just a few fun ideas.
Not so long ago, we took pride in setting a proper table with delicious bites. Here is my recollection, based on Piedmont North Carolina tradition. While living in Salisbury, NC I was in charge of receptions of all types for our Ladies Guild of the Symphony Orchestra. The guild also believed in having monthly meetings to carefully plan our activities and fundraising events and always served some homemade goodness.
Nearly every big event featured a sterling silver punch bowl filled with the pride and joy of our little town, Cheerwine Punch. Always we had toasted sugared pecans, cheese straws, cucumber, and tomato sandwiches on circles of buttered white bread. Each sandwich was a single bite. Our tomato sandwiches began with basil butter and were topped with tomato slices.
Retro recipes that were a standard at every party were Ribbon Sandwiches. These are delicate tea sandwiches that are layered with different fillings and usually two different types of bread. These were our “perfect” sandwiches for luncheons and receptions. They would sit next to the Cheerwine Punch and the little cream cheese mints. (made with great pride by one of the ladies of the Guild.)
Typically there are two or three different fillings in each sandwich, egg salad, ham salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, and pimento cheese. When in a hurry, these ingredients are readily available.
My personal favorite is a cousin of pimento cheese, an under-the-radar local cheese spread called Benedictine spread, best known in Louisville, Kentucky.
Made from cream cheese, cucumber, onion, and a dash or two of green food coloring, Benedictine was the invention of Jennie C. Benedict a popular caterer and restauranteur in Louisville. You will find it everywhere during the Derby season get-togethers. She developed it as a filling for her tea sandwiches but it has since evolved into an all-purpose dip that tops crackers and is served on sandwiches with bacon, lettuce, and alfalfa sprouts. It takes very little time, is a true crowd-pleaser, and is something almost anyone can pull together with a little creative energy. It’s tried and true and simple and has a great story behind it.
Benedictine Spread
1 1/2 cucumbers
1/2 small white onion
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
3 cups or 24 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
Preparation:
Peel and slice the cucumbers lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and discard them. Cut into large pieces.
In a food processor, puree the cucumber and onion together. Squeeze out excess liquid with a cheesecloth or by pressing the mixture through a fine sieve with a spatula.
Combine cucumber and onion with other ingredients, whether by hand or using the paddle attachment on an electric mixer. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.