Party Time!

On Sunday morning, I made a run to Westborn to get a fresh baguette for the appetizer I want to make for today’s 85th birthday party for Lu’s Mother.

So, I made those cucumber toasties again (Lu said her Mother liked cucumbers). I would have made deviled eggs, but somebody already is making them. Which worked out well, as Lu later said her Mother hates seafood, and I was planning on my shrimp deviled eggs.

Back at home, I made the spread, cut up the baguette and ran the cucumber through the mandolin. I assembled them and then sprinkled them with fresh dill.

Meanwhile, Lu had assembled her baked beans Saturday (sautéed onion, three big cans of Bush’s vegetarian baked beans, a can of drained kidney beans, some mustard, ketchup and molasses) and they were sitting in the fridge in Tupperware bowl, getting happy. So, when I first woke up, I put them in the slow cooker and turned it on High.

It was finally time to go (we were to get there early to help set up) and Lu drove there.

We got there a bit early, so Lu filled up her gas tank first and then drove the rest of the way to her Mom’s. We found we hadn’t secured the slow cooker very well (I did tape the top on with masking tape, like I do when I travel with it) and it slopped down the sides. Fortunately, the box Lu put it in had a garbage bag on the bottom, so there was no mess in the vehicle. Lu wiped the slow cooker off with a paper towel and I carried it upstairs.

Lu’s family was already there (well, her two brothers and one sister all live in the same apartment complex). So there was her Mother, her brother Brad, her brother Tim and his daughter Sarah, her sister Debbie and her other sister Peggy and her daughter Jennifer. Our family showed up more or less on time: Jeremy, Joe and Riese and Jake and Carla.

Peggy had made vegetarian lasagna two ways: One with a tomato-based sauce and one with Alfredo sauce. She also made the deviled eggs (Brad was going to, but he had to drive to Romulus to pick up Debbie, who doesn’t drive). She called down from her apartment, asking for some help filling the eggs.

So I walked down there to help. She had two Tupperware trays (really neat idea, BTW) and a bowl of filling. After thanking me, she handed me a spoon and took one for herself. I said, “Whoa, wait a minute Peggy. Do you have a gallon baggie and a pair of scissors?” She said, “Yes” and I said “Then give them to me.” She did and I put the filling in the baggie and snipped a small corner off. Then I piped the filling into the eggs, swirling it a bit to make it look better. She was amazed and said it would have taken her a half an hour to fill them with a spoon. Ah, the magic of cooking shows!

I carried them to the party and then came back for the slow cooker of one kind of ravioli and the other pan of ravioli. Meanwhile Lu had her portable table set up and Jeremy had put his soda and chips on it. Jake and Carla had brought potato salad, BTW. Her brother Tim had the grilled fired up and began to cook the burgers (and a garden burger for Lu). He had a small gas grill so it took four rounds to get everybody fed.

The food was good and it was nice to visit with everybody again. Jennifer (who is 29) said the last time she saw me she was sixteen.

I think Lu’s Mother had a good time. Lu took a picture of each person sitting next to her Mother and there were several group shots. Finally, after the cake was cut and dished out with the ice cream (I passed on that one), it was time to pack up. I gave away the rest of the appetizers and the rest of Lu’s beans, so we didn’t have to take anything home but the empty slow cooker and the half-sheet pan.

We left and got home around 6:00 PM. My daughter Melissa called and talked with me a bit and then with Luanne a lot.

We talked about dinner and decided we were both too stuffed to eat. We watched “Extreme Home Makeover” and then a 20/20 show called “Second Sight” (a documentary about a family that was lost and stranded in Oregon for 10 days in their car. It was interesting, but too long and had WAY too may commercials. Lu made some popcorn (herbs and salt for her, melted butter and salt for me) somewhere in there and we snacked on that. When the 20/20 show was over, we retired.