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Magnolia II
Pamela Shirley
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Expectation II
Art Print
Osborne, Susan
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Roses and Magnolia
Joe Anna Arnett
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Southern Comfort II
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Caruthers, M.
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The Sweet Potato
Queens' Big-Ass Cookbook (And
Financial Planner)
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Cemetery at Sunset, New Orleans, Louisiana
Photographic Print
Leigh, Kevin
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La Belle Cuisine
Homemade meals
can soothe a family's loss
by Marcelle Bienvenu
Thursday, March 31, 2005
The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, LA
“Recently I
read about two ladies, Charlotte Hays and
Gayden Metcalfe,
from Greenville, Miss., who wrote
Being Dead Is No Excuse:
The Official Southern Ladies Guide
to Hosting the Perfect Funeral
(Miramax, $19.95)
Now why didn't I
think of that? [Amen, Sister Marcelle! Wish I'd thought of it!]
I certainly can
relate to the subject of the book. In my hometown (and I'm sure
in others
across the South), it was easy to recognize who brought what to
after-
funeral family gatherings. Aunt Lois always made fabulous
ambrosia.
Mrs.
Martin was known for her hot tamales. My mother's signature dish was
stuffed
bell peppers. And Aunt Git's pepper-stuffed turkey [recipe follows] has always
been
the star of
not only funeral tables but also at christenings.
And who can forget Aunt Rita's seven-layer salad? These days I'm known for
potato salad with homemade mayonnaise and slow-cooked brisket. And my
sister
is the queen of the sweet table; she always comes with cookies and
cakes in hand.
Just last week I was called to help organize an after-the-funeral
reception. I
belong to a group of ladies (we work in teams) who prepare
and bring food to families following the funeral services of their loved
ones. Most of the time we
have only one- or two-day notice, so we have
become very organized. For in-
stance, we have several menus that we can
offer to the grieving family, as well
as recipes and checklists that are
at the ready when we are called for our services.
On the day of the service, we had several large 6-foot folding tables that
were
draped in sparkling, carefully ironed white tablecloths, arranged on
the large
patio. Napkins, plastic cups, sturdy paper plates and disposable
eating utensils
were stacked neatly on side tables. Nearby another table
held assorted soft
drinks and bottled water, iced down in huge deep bowls.
Various and sundry
chairs were scattered around the yard.
I heard the bells tolling the end of the funeral Mass at St. Martin de
Tours in
St. Martinville, and that was my cue to get the food out.
The tables were laden with several slow-cooked briskets, sliced and ready
to serve. Potato rolls were set out in baskets and
condiments in small
bowls stood alongside the platters of meat. Two
crawfish and shrimp
fettuccine casseroles were coming
out hot from the oven. Aunt Git had sent
her pepper-stuffed turkeys, kept moist
and warm in the pan juices. We had
potato salad, mixed green salad and a salad
of carrot and raisins.
And of course, there were cakes:
coconut,
carrot, and
pineapple
upside-down as
well as chocolate chip cookies and
macaroons. By the time
guests arrived, two
huge urns of coffee were freshly brewed.
Three hours later our team (which includes my sister Edna) had the house
spick
and span; the tables had been dismantled; the leftovers put away.
Whew! It had
been a long day.
My sister and I packed my Jeep with unused paper plates and trash bags and
headed home. We laughed on the way about our family funeral gatherings.
'Remember Mr. Broussard tripping and his plate of food went flying through
the living room? What about the time two
spaghetti casseroles slid off the
oven door and crashed on the floor? What a mess! Then one time, Aunt Eva
inadvertently seasoned the tuna fish casserole with sugar rather than
salt? And what about
the time Uncle Cowboy had one too many, fell asleep
on the swing and snored
the afternoon away?'
Ah, the memories!
Here are some recipes you might want to have on hand should you be called
upon to send something after a funeral.”
Aunt Git's
Pepper-Stuffed Turkey
Makes 10 to 12
servings
2 sticks butter,
cut into 1/4-inch slices
8 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons
cayenne
1 cup minced
onion
1/2 cup minced
green bell pepper
2 tablespoons
minced garlic
8 to 10 Cajun
Chef sport peppers
(or pickled jalapeno peppers)
3 tablespoons
pickle juice from
the pepper jar
1 turkey, 10 to
12 pounds
Put the butter slices in a bowl and season with 2 teaspoons salt and
1 teaspoon cayenne. Freeze for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven
to 400 degrees F.
Combine 4
teaspoons salt and 2 teaspoons cayenne in a small bowl.
In another bowl,
combine the onions, bell peppers, garlic and sport
peppers, the remaining
two teaspoons salt and one teaspoon cayenne
with
the pickle juice.
Prepare a work
surface, either a large tray or cutting board, topped with
a large clean
towel to prevent the turkey from sliding around while you
work.
Remove the neck,
gizzards and livers from turkey cavity. Rinse
the turkey under
cool water and pat dry with paper towels. Place the
turkey, breast side
up, on the work surface with the cavity facing you.
Make two to three
slits on either side of the breastbone, inside the cavity, with a sharp
pointed knife, without piercing through to the skin.
Insert
two to
three slices of the frozen butter into each slit. Next, spoon
about
1/4
teaspoon of the salt and cayenne mixture into the slits. Insert
about
one
teaspoon (or more if you can) of the vegetable mixture into
each
hole,
pushing with your fingers. Gently pull the drumstick forward and
outward
to expose the inner thigh. Pull the skin away from the meat.
Make
a slit
following the bone lines from the top of each leg. Use your
index
finger
to make a path and repeat the stuffing procedure described above.
Where the skin
has been loosened on the inner thigh, spoon in
about 1/4 teaspoon of the
salt and cayenne mixture.
Turn the turkey
breast side up, with the neck opening facing you. Lift
the skin flap and
make a slit down each wing from the shoulder, again following the bone
lines. Repeat the stuffing process on both wings.
Season the
outside of the turkey with any remaining salt and cayenne mixture. Place
any leftover butter or vegetable mixture inside the cavity. Secure the
wings by folding the lower half back over the top of the wing.
Tie the
legs together with kitchen twine. Place the turkey in a large deep
roasting pan. No fat or cooking liquid is required.
Roast at 400
degrees [F] for 15 to 20 minutes to get the browning process started. Lower
the temperature to 350 degrees [F]. Cover with a lid and
bake
for 3 to 3 1/2
hours or until the juices run clear.
Remove from the
oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Lift the turkey out
of
the pan and
carve. Serve warm with pan juices.
For a buffet, lay
the carved pieces in the gravy.
Slow-Cooked
Brisket
Makes 12 to 14
servings
“Make sure the
brisket isn't trimmed. The fat prevents the meat from drying
out.
It can
be removed after cooking and before serving if you wish.”
1 brisket, about
8 to 10 pounds (untrimmed)
1/4 cup olive or
vegetable oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon
cayenne
1 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
1 (12-ounce) can
beer
Preheat the oven
to 450 degrees F.
Rub the brisket
with the oil and soy sauce. Season it with the salt, cayenne and black
pepper. Put the brisket in a large roasting pan and bake for 15 to 20
minutes to brown it well. Reduce the heat to 250 degrees and add the
beer
to the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan with a lid or with heavy-duty
aluminum foil. Bake until fork tender, three to four hours. The brisket
can
be basted with the pan juices several times during the cooking time.
When cooked, remove from the oven and let rest for about 15 minutes.
Skim as much of
the fat from pan juices as possible. Thinly slice the
brisket and drizzle
with the pan juices before serving.
Seven-Layer Salad
Makes about 10
servings
1 large bag fresh
baby spinach, washed and patted dry
1 medium size
head lettuce (romaine or iceberg), washed,
patted dry and torn into
bite-size pieces
8 hard-boiled
eggs, coarsely chopped
1 purple onion,
skinned and thinly sliced
1 pound bacon,
crisply fried and crumbled
1 (16-ounce) can
baby sweet peas, sliced beets
or string beans, drained
1 cup shredded
carrots
1 1/2 cups
mayonnaise
1 (8-ounce)
package cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons
sour cream
Salt and freshly
ground black pepper
1 cup shredded
cheddar cheese
Combine the
spinach and lettuce in a large bowl and toss to mix.
Arrange the mixture
in the bottom of a large, deep platter. Sprinkle
with
the chopped eggs,
then arrange the onion slices over the eggs.
Make a
layer of the crumbled
bacon, one of the peas (or beets or
green beans),
and shredded carrots.
Combine the
mayonnaise, cream cheese and sour cream in a food
processor and pulse
several times to blend. Season with salt and
black pepper. Using a rubber
spatula spread the mixture over the
salad. Top
with the shredded cheese.
Cover and chill for at least four hours before serving.
"Comfort food: quirky, quaint, quixotic. Personal patterns of
consolation,
encoded on our taste buds past all forgetting, as
unmistakable as greasy
fingerprints. When the miseries strike, and
you’re down in the dumps,
food transformed by love and memory becomes
therapy... When
hearts
are heavy, they need gravitational and emotional equilibrium."
~ Sarah Ban Breathnach
(from Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy )
But wait!
There's more! Check out the Sweet Potato
Queens' ideas about
What to
Eat When Tragedy Strikes...
From the Spice Cabinet Archives:
Comfort Food
Comfort Food Revisited
More Comfort Food!
Nothing bad could ever happen
to me in a cafe...
Nursery Food
So... what about your wake?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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Marcelle's Stuffed Brisket
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The Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese
Layered Salad Collection
Favorite Layered Mexican Dip
Favorite Shrimp Dip
Kansas Pan Rolls
Mrs. Stern's Noodle Kugel
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Pound Cake: The Ultimate Comfort Cake
Ultimate Chocolate Cake
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