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12/28/2016 11:01 PMOne of my New Year’s resolutions is “spend less time on Facebook!”
Sure, I do use it for my work. And it does help me stay in touch with my childhood friends from the Midwest. But, I’m sick of the stream of fake or slanted news from both sides of the aisle. I’m annoyed by how it can exacerbate tensions and divide people. And it’s a time suck. You start out by doing something nice or productive, and you end up going down some rabbit hole related to something that has absolutely nothing to do with anything. Or you become mesmerized by the seemingly infinite number of videos of cute goats, cute cats, or some other cheerful but otherwise mind-numbing nonsense.
And then my childhood friend Jean posted this query: “You’re at a holiday party. It’s an appetizer buffet. Someone brought your favorite thing, and it looks yummy. What are you digging into? (Just curious).”
She got 53 responses, including my suggestion, which was artichoke dip, “the kind our moms served at parties when we were kids.” Those old fashioned parties, what with the artichoke dips, crab dips, Little Smokies, and other treats, are a vivid and fond memory from my childhood. My sisters and brother and I weren’t allowed to attend as young children, but, clad in our jammies, we did peer down at the couples as they came in, from our perch at the top of the stairs. And we did get awesome leftovers.
Jean responded by saying “I have your mom’s Korean salad recipe. I need to make that.” And, then, further down in the thread, she wrote “Isn’t that your mom’s handwriting, Pem?” And she posted a picture of my mom’s recipe written, yes, in my mom’s handwriting. Since my mom died, too young, in September 2009, this brought tears of joy to my eyes to, unexpectedly, see her handwriting on one her favorite recipes, written for one of our friends who lived just around the block in Corey Woods in Toledo, Ohio, and saved by that friend all these years even as she moved to Tennessee and then to the Pacific Coast.
The salad was a mainstay on my mother’s party tables and buffets growing up. And it wasn’t the only great suggestion in the discussion online we were having about a holiday party buffet. Most would be perfect for any New Year’s buffet, and most of them are easy to shop for, assemble, and cook.
So, yes, it’s still my goal to spend less time on Facebook in 2017. But I’m old enough to remember when it wasn’t quite as easy to stay in touch with my childhood friends, and how these online networks, as much as they can sometimes divide us, can also unite us, lift us up, and bestow unexpected gifts of friendship, such as the one Jean gave to me when she posted my mom’s recipe.
Here are some of the other suggestions from our discussion, along with a few more recipes. Enjoy!
• Cream cheese, chutney, and sausage
• Crab dip
• Sausage and cheese balls
• Fondue
• Petit fours
• Sliced ham on rolls or biscuits with a dab of sweet mustard
• Beef tenderloin with horseradish
• Knorr spinach dip
• Veggie spring rolls
• Sweet and sour meatballs
• Little Smokies
• Port wine cheese
• shrimp
• Little Smokies wrapped in bacon, sprinkled with brown sugar, and then broiled
• Cheese straws
• Smoked salmon
• Baked brie
• Bacon wrapped scallops
• Cream cheese and nut stuffed figs
• Rotel with cream cheese
• Cream cheese, anything with cream cheese
• Baked brie topped with pepper jelly
• Stuffed mushroom caps
• Deviled eggs
• Artichoke dip
Artichoke Dip
By Patricia Flaherty
(McNerney) Seifried
2 cans artichoke hearts
1 to 2 cups mayonnaise
2 cups shredded Parmesan
cheese
Combine all ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for about a half hour. Notes: Use more or less mayonnaise according to taste. My mom used Miracle Whip. I swear by Hellman’s. I sometimes add a little ground red pepper or hot sauce. Make sure you use good quality shredded Parmesan from a good cheese monger or in the cheese section of the grocery store. Do not use the Parmesan cheese/sawdust that comes in a can and is stocked on the shelves of the grocery store. Not for this recipe and not for any other recipe. Ever.
Korean Salad
By Patricia Flaherty (McNerney) Seifried
My mom’s salad recipe was basically a list of ingredients that could be easily deciphered by anyone who had been served this salad. Here it is, with some additional explanations.
1 package spinach
1 can bean sprouts
8 slices of bacon, cooked
3 eggs, hard boiled and diced
Dressing:
1 cup salad oil (any mild vegetable oil is fine)
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
⅓ cup ketchup
¼ cup vinegar
1 medium onion, grated
salt to taste
Directions:
Wash and drain spinach. Drain can of bean sprouts, and rinse them liberally in cold water. Dice cooked bacon. Combine spinach, bean sprouts, bacon, and eggs in a salad bowl. Combine dressing ingredients and dress salad. Serve.
Old Bay Hot Crab Dip
By McCormick
1 package (8 ounces) cream
cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons OLD BAY®
Seasoning
½ teaspoon ground mustard
1 pound lump crabmeat
¼ cup shredded Cheddar
cheese
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix cream cheese, mayonnaise, Old Bay Seasoning and ground mustard in medium bowl until well blended. Add crabmeat; toss gently.
Spread in shallow 1 ½-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese and additional Old Bay Seasoning, if desired.
Bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with assorted crackers or sliced French bread.
Slow Cooker Little Smokies
From Allrecipes.com
1 (18 ounce) bottle
barbeque sauce
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup ketchup
Heinz Ketchup Tomato
1 tablespoon
Worcestershire sauce
⅓ cup chopped onion
2 (16 ounce) packages little
wieners
Directions:
Stir together barbecue sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, onion, and wieners in the bowl of a slow cooker. Cook on low for 2 hours, or until ready to serve.