May 19, 2024

 Mary hosted and we were joined by neighbors Carol and Dena.  The more the merrier!

The theme was church picnic.  Or, Mississippi church picnic if we want to get specific.

No church picnic is complete without a cocktail.  Mary mixed up these bourbon and fig jam cocktails.  YOWZA.  These are strong.  We topped with some sparking soda. 

I brought two appetizers:  stuffed peppers and DEVILED EGGS.  Again, a church classic.   

The deviled eggs were mostly pickle juice and less vinegar.  

I sprinkled the top of the peppers with some Tony's which adds both salt and heat. 

Carol prepared a very delicious and unique pasta salad.  I will definitely make this again! I love the shape of pasta used and there is a sweet though not overly mayo heavy dressing.

This layered salad recipe was modified by Tonya to have spring mix for the greens, chickpeas instead of green peas, gorgonzola as the cheese and no sugar in the dressing.  We also think half of the dressing could have been put on the top and the remainder served on the side. 

Mary picked chicken cakes as our main dish.  These are much like crab cakes with canned chicken. The panko on the outside makes such a crispy cake and very little oil was used to pan fry. The cakes were finished with a remoulade sauce.

The most beautiful cupcakes were served by Angelia for dessert.  These hummingbird cakes are banana bread meets carrot cake. Very moist and with a sweet cream cheese frosting.