I love every holiday, and I make ones up for periods of the year that fall short of them. But Easter has always had a special place in my heart. When I was small, antique postcards could be found for 10 cents a piece and I started my collection with ones with Easter scenes. Soon after I began to collect ornaments for the holiday and would put a branch in a vase and decorate my own little "tree" for the holiday. I still have these sentimental treasures and have added to them through the years.
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| Squeaky the Squirrel gets dressed up for all occasions. Doesn't he look happy about it? |
We always hunted eggs first thing the the morning, waking early enough to still get all dolled up for church. This was the first year that I had kids sleep in and hunt eggs later. It turns out that this year my middle son's 21st birthday fell on Easter Sunday! So much to celebrate...
I made most of our feast the day before. I filled deviled eggs, as well as two fashioned like chicks with peppercorn eyes and carrot beaks with a bed of clover underneath.
My butterhorn roll recipe lends itself well to being formed and so I make what the boys have always called "bunny butt rolls". You simply divide your dough into the usual amount for your rolls. Pinch off a small ball for the tail, and then roll the remaining dough between your hands to form a long rope. Just like when you were a kid, making snakes out of Play dough. Lay the coil out so that it crosses over to make a loop at the bottom and two "ears" at the top. Roll the leftover scrap for a tail and fit into the hollow. These freeze amazingly and then you can set them out to rise while at church and come back to big bunny butts, ready to bake for lunch!
The day before Easter, my folks came over and my Pop brought me a present. It is a silver plated roll warmer to sit on the table. It's shaped like a shell with a swan handle. It is so beautiful and I used it right off. My youngest son expressed thanks that it sat nearest him, so he had full access to the bunny butt rolls.
Grandma Beeman made her famous Potato Salad, and my moma made green beans fried with onions and bacon and a big crudites tray. I also made Grandma Ernestine's 7 Cup Fruit Salad and baked one of the beautiful hams from a hog we butchered last year. For dessert I made a Sweet Charity pie, and my birthday boy asked for a Lemon Meringue pie for his birthday "cake".
Sweet Charity is a pie I adored as a child, and is now beloved my my oldest son. I have never seen it anywhere other than when my moma made it. The crust is a shortbread filled with pecans, and the bottom is layered with a sweetened cream cheese and then topped with a fresh whipped cream and chopped cherry crown. The Lemon Meringue pie is a labor of love that takes right at 2 hours from homemade crust to baking the finished meringue.
The boys' great-grandma and grandpa Beeman felt well enough to come this year. Grandpa is 91 now and is legally blind, and grandma is 87. They used to always come for suppers, and Grandma would say, "You all just party all the time!" Now they don't get out as much, so anytime they feel like it I am so thankful. After eating we meandered to the sitting room because grandma has to put her legs up every so often. My youngest got a Spirograph for Easter. Remember those? You put one plastic circle inside of another and trace and it makes beautiful designs on paper. Everyone had to get in on the fun.
After we had chatted a bit and then watched a home movie in which my new 21 year old was only "2 fingers old", I casually mentioned that I had hidden eggs in the dining room and if anyone wanted to--. That was as far as I got, because my oldest had rocketed past me toward the dining room, hands outstretched in grabbing mode. The others leaped up yelling about fairness and waiting, and maybe something about tripping people. Then we were back to the table again, spilling chocolatey booty out of glittered eggs. My oldest found the giant golden egg.
In the center is my birthday boy, between his younger brother and his sweet fiance.
Celebrations are about gathering the ones you love. For me, that doesn't mean just making a groaning buffet of dishes. It also has to do with
making the table beautiful for the eyes, even as your palate is being
tempted by the tantalizing smells of food. Growing up, dinners at my
Grandma Tommy's were always special. The table was set with lovely old
china and silver, there were arrangements of flowers, and everything had
the air of a memorable occasion. I try to replicate this for my family
and friends. It takes lots of time and work, polishing and placing, and
then removing and washing. Especially hand washing all the silver, old china, and
cut glass goblets. Some people have questioned why I would work so hard
for something so ephemeral when paper plates and plastic cups can make do.
My answer is- If the people you love are not worth going the extra
mile, worth using all the special things, then who is? And when will you
ever do it?
In one of my cooking classes I opened my china cabinet and let them pick whatever tea cup they wanted to drink from during that class. They were astounded when I told them I did that for my boys even when they were very small. One of the girls said her grandmother had beautiful china, but she wouldn't even let the older relatives carry it, for fear of it being broken. I have had things irreparably damaged. But it is better to sometimes suffer loss than to not have the day-to-day enjoyment of the things you find beautiful.
The china was my Grandma Tommy's. I used the bone plates for our bread. The kids all got knife rest shaped like animals, while the others had crystal ones. I have been collecting antique napkin rings since I was in High School and no two are the same. Vintage linen napkins with a handkerchief edging finished out the setting. I also put out name tags so that people know where to sit. This ensures that you get to talk to different people each time. And at large gatherings it also helps to keep family members who might be abrasive to certain people at a proper distance.
These occasions are set aside for lingering. There is the enjoyment of the meal. Then the making of coffee and savoring of dessert. Often the table finds us still ensconced, talking several hours later, sometimes long enough to decide we have found room for one more piece of ham or small slice of pie.
My sincere wish for you is that you have memorable meals with your loved ones. Pull out Grandma's old dishes, find where you stowed away the cloth napkins you swore you'd never use. Pamper your tribe. And in doing so, stop in the moment, look at the candlelight bathing their faces, and take in their joy. Take delight in your table and it's occupants. Now ask yourself if it was worth it.
Yes. Yes, it is.
"Ponder well on this point: the pleasant hours of our life are all connected by a more or less tangible link, with some
memory of the table." ~ Charles Pierre Monselet
