Although rumor has it that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and I think the way to a woman’s heart is through her children, it’s possibly as true that one way to have an epic reunion is to include plenty of delicious food.
(The first breakfast customers were always the children!)
However, at the ripe old age of 72, I’ve found it pretty much impossible to meet the needs of our growing family.
Susan’s Dining Room
I have a girl friend whose family Christmases have grown to 50, including kids, grandkids, great grands, and even siblings’ families.
Her home always reminds me of a Norman Rockwell painting, and she is a master organizer.
Barn on Susan’s historic farm in Maine
When Alan and I visited her during our autumn Northeast tour, she gave me some tips on how to survive large crowds, even sharing flow charts with such items as who’s responsible for keeping the coffee pot full and who’s responsible for keeping the trash baskets empty. Although there are now 36 going on 37 of us, Alan and I haven’t quite become the lean, clean, kitchen-patrol machine that Susan is, but we definitely made some adjustments this year to make KP duty more fun and keep us all in great food.
Probably the single most significant change was asking my daughter-in-law Carleen to be the Master Chef the first week, my son Michael the second, and my daughter Kathryn the third. I promised to be sous chef and work beside them, but it was HUGE relief to be second in command rather than trying to be the bottom line for three meals a day for over three weeks. These capable cooks were creative, totally responsible, knew what kids like to eat, and taught me some tricks of their trades. It kept me from exhaustion and made working in the kitchen an almost irresistible team sport!
Our grandchildren are now old enough to care for each other, so we had the “Cousins” table and the “Parents” table. It made serving the kids easier, and they could eat and run, allowing the parents to linger after meals and chat a while.
Many people had ideas for fun. Aaron sponsored building a gingerbread house with the kids, which turned out to be a work of edible art oft nibbled and long remembered!
My eldest sister-in-law used to tease that I’d figure out what I wanted to serve for dessert and then plan a menu to compliment it. I’m afraid my terrible sweet tooth has been passed down to my children and grandchildren, so I had many allies when it came to making desserts!
Here are two of my most devoted bakers, who single-handedly provided wonderful additions to the parties! They’re young, but they’re already excellent cooks!
Cinnamon rolls for breakfast, anyone? We’ve got a young lady who can pump them out, even if it means staying up until 11:00 pm for that last rise of the dough before tucking them away to be ready for the hungry hippos’ breakfast at 8:30 am the next morning!
One of Michael’s daughters, only 13, is already selling her wares professionally! She made these “Hot Chocolate Balls” for our New Year’s Eve party. She’s a true gourmet and often gets specialty cooking gear for her birthdays.
It was clearly beyond me to keep ahead of all the food items we’d need, so I had anybody who was cooking write on our kitchen chalk board any time they used the last of something (or close to the last of something). Pretty much every morning I’d take a trip to Meijer with the Master chef, and we’d pick up whatever we needed or foresaw a coming need for.
We had so many volunteer bakers, with so many great ideas for tea time treats (ya, I guess we actually ate 4-5 times a day), that we had to plan in advance which day we could prepare which Christmas favorite.
Oh, and as any of you know who’ve been over, when we have a crowd, I always use a very informal buffet line. It makes serving (and especially getting seconds or thirds) really simple.
Over the course of the 3.5 weeks, we were able to fit in almost everybody’s wishes for family favorites, but about once a week, we unabashedly ordered takeout to relieve pressure and give the cooks a night off.
Besides, who doesn’t enjoy a pizza party with paper plates every once in a while?
And Alan, who was heading up the dish crew (with a fine staff of willing helpers), needed some breaks too.
(Sharon Willing, Grace’s older sister—who led Grace to the Lord when she was seven—was one of “the best” Willing helpers! Thanks again, Sharon. You’re great!)
Anyway, thanks to all the adults working tirelessly to provide love and care for the kids as well as love and care in the kitchen, everybody flourished without getting too fat, and we all thought it was a great reunion.
“Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; To shew that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him” (Psalm 92:13-15)
Summer Setting 