September 9, 2011

Happy Birthday, Kitty-mom!


Last Saturday was a flawless day in Virginia Beach, perfect for celebrating a milestone birthday. We decided on a cocktail party with an Alice in Wonderland theme. The guests arrived wearing themed hats!!

My sister Emily made truffled deviled eggs, which were heavenly. The food was simple yet elegant, and by the end of the party, it was gone. A good indication that it was a success!! Beets on arugula with goat cheese and chopped walnuts, dates drizzled with honey and manchego cheese, figs with balsamic glaze, Parmesan cheese and fresh black pepper, Louisiana pickled shrimp, hearts of palm stuffed with bleu cheese, baby fingerling potatoes with caviar and sour cream... It was one of those spreads where one thing just looked better than the next!!

We were entertained by the fabulous Steve Organ, who sang and played his guitar throughout the event. The cake was masterfully made by Burgess Hodges!

The party was an enormous success. Fun was had by all, especially the birthday girl. I can't wait for next year...and the eggs.










June 12, 2011

Marilyn Ethel Moon















Mention of the passing away of Marilyn, TLMM and JAM's mother and Savannah's grandmother, is most appropriate on a food blog. Marilyn was...shall we say...food obsessed. I can't remember a conversation with her that didn't include questions about what we ate that day or what we planned to eat later. She was the wife of a minister and she, along with the other women of her church and generation baked, baked and baked some more. Her confections had names like Ruth Burig's Mother's Ladylocks, Doris' Luscious Apricot Bars, Linda Dougherty's Holiday Fruit Squares and Rhea Myer's Seven-Layer Cookies. Her specialties included nut rolls, ginger cookies, apricot filled cookies and TLMM's favorite, Angel Food Cake. We have a thousand recipes, some of which were her mother's and were formulated to make 200 servings which (we think) were meant to feed the congregation.

When Marilyn was taken to the hospital on Friday evening, I arrived to find her resting in her room in the the cardiac intensive care unit. She promptly asked me what we all had for dinner and then told me that she wasn't hungry.

Marilyn fought a long, long battle with kidney disease, which eventually led to other serious problems. She was in the hospital so much over the past couple of years that she would ask the ambulance driver to take her to the facility with the best food. She was like the Zagat's guide to hospital fare. In case any of you reading this need to know, and I sincerely hope you never do, Marilyn recommends South Miami Hospital. The facility is "smaller" and "older" than other hospitals nearby, but the culinary fare is "superior"...and the eggs.