Luncheon
Last Saturday was a rare "girls day" with a couple of my best girls. We shopped only for ourselves, drank several forms of hot and cold caffeine, and had a wonderful leisurely lunch. We left each other saying, as always, "why don't we do this more often?" Girls days or just a girls lunch are such a treat in this season of my life. But it got me thinking during that long drive back from Birmingham, why do we now refer to these times as "girls" and why do we use the simple word "lunch"?
Luncheon is such a descriptive word. When I think of the word luncheon it congers up misty pictures of ladies in hats and gloves, stockings and heals, gathered around an exquisitely appointed table sharing a meal and good visit. A standing day of the week, a strictly observed time, the guest list made almost of concrete. The luncheon menu as expected as the color of the fresh-cut flowers in the silver bowl on the sideboard.
"Lunch", of course, is the shortened version. Shortened in not just the vernacular, but also the actual meal itself. Ladies luncheons are now girls lunches celebrated in the newest girl-lunch spot. Don't get me wrong, I am all for this evolution from stockings and heals to yoga pants and a baseball hat. But, the luncheon. It is a fading art and a treasure that will be missed when it is gone.
My grandmother had a long standing lunch(eon) group. These ladies, some from Union Springs, some from Montgomery, would come out to her house for luncheon every so often. This misty picture comes into focus as I see Eva, my grandmother's cook, dressed in her neatly pressed light pink or french blue simple shirtwaist dress and starched white apron. My grandmother absently twirling the string of pearls around her neck as she surveys the dining room before her guests arrive. The ladies, I have known all my life, enter the front hall from the wisteria-roofed porch and feel welcome before the first "Hi-do" is uttered. "Hi-do" is a Deep South greeting meaning "How do you do?". Not to be confused with the formal English tea-time we just met question of "How do you do?" , but the real tell me how you are so I can laugh with you or cry with you question. In honor of these precious times, I have transposed below from my grandmother's index cards found in her recipe box. If I haven't noted before, reading my grandmother's handwriting is a gift very few people have. Recipes are noted with links.
Menu - May 24, 1967 Hazel, Ann, (Margaret or Marguerite, I can't tell)
salmon loaf with sauce
(illegible) peas
marinated cucumbers and parsley
Almond tarts
peach pickles
May 1 - Luncheon - 1975
Margaret Garrett, Hazel, Sister (my mother), Micky Ingalls, Edith Pratt, Ann Copeland (my aunt)
Menu- Bloody Marys
leg of lamb - squash casserole
new potatoes - lettuce salad
(from illegible) - strawberry short cake (berries from the garden)
January 20, 1983 - Luncheon
Margaret Garrett lamb
Hazel new potatoes
Edith Pratt carrots
Ann Copeland squash casserole
Sister carrot cake
Doris avocado and grapefruit salad
Me
Nan Rainer
Birthday Luncheon for Marguerite (my great aunt)
Feb. 9, 1982
Marguerite Curried Chix
Doris Grapefruit and avocado
Kathleen (probably herself) Pecan Pie
Bet
Bessie
Nan
Ruth B(illegible)
Lala (her best friend since they were about 5)
Below are luncheons that feature a few of her group and others (men).
Luncheon - April 14 - 1982
Macki, Edward (Macki's adult son), Mickey, Ann Copeland, (illegible name), Arthur (illegible), Stanley Espisito, Clyde Grant, Doris, K. (could be my mother, me or herself)
Chix Tettrazinni
Stuffed Tomatoes
Squash Croquettes
James Beard's pound cake
French chocolate mints (Andes; she always had a box stashed in the sideboard in her dining room. Also her almond Hershey bars. My friends and I loved it!)
Luncheon- Nov. 6, 1983
Goldbolds leg of lamb
Ingalls butter beans
Rob (my uncle) tomato casserole
Doris pickles etc...
Ann Copeland pears with custard
Little K. (me)
Luncheon is such a descriptive word. When I think of the word luncheon it congers up misty pictures of ladies in hats and gloves, stockings and heals, gathered around an exquisitely appointed table sharing a meal and good visit. A standing day of the week, a strictly observed time, the guest list made almost of concrete. The luncheon menu as expected as the color of the fresh-cut flowers in the silver bowl on the sideboard.
"Lunch", of course, is the shortened version. Shortened in not just the vernacular, but also the actual meal itself. Ladies luncheons are now girls lunches celebrated in the newest girl-lunch spot. Don't get me wrong, I am all for this evolution from stockings and heals to yoga pants and a baseball hat. But, the luncheon. It is a fading art and a treasure that will be missed when it is gone.
My grandmother had a long standing lunch(eon) group. These ladies, some from Union Springs, some from Montgomery, would come out to her house for luncheon every so often. This misty picture comes into focus as I see Eva, my grandmother's cook, dressed in her neatly pressed light pink or french blue simple shirtwaist dress and starched white apron. My grandmother absently twirling the string of pearls around her neck as she surveys the dining room before her guests arrive. The ladies, I have known all my life, enter the front hall from the wisteria-roofed porch and feel welcome before the first "Hi-do" is uttered. "Hi-do" is a Deep South greeting meaning "How do you do?". Not to be confused with the formal English tea-time we just met question of "How do you do?" , but the real tell me how you are so I can laugh with you or cry with you question. In honor of these precious times, I have transposed below from my grandmother's index cards found in her recipe box. If I haven't noted before, reading my grandmother's handwriting is a gift very few people have. Recipes are noted with links.
Menu - May 24, 1967 Hazel, Ann, (Margaret or Marguerite, I can't tell)
salmon loaf with sauce
(illegible) peas
marinated cucumbers and parsley
Almond tarts
peach pickles
May 1 - Luncheon - 1975
Margaret Garrett, Hazel, Sister (my mother), Micky Ingalls, Edith Pratt, Ann Copeland (my aunt)
Menu- Bloody Marys
leg of lamb - squash casserole
new potatoes - lettuce salad
(from illegible) - strawberry short cake (berries from the garden)
January 20, 1983 - Luncheon
Margaret Garrett lamb
Hazel new potatoes
Edith Pratt carrots
Ann Copeland squash casserole
Sister carrot cake
Doris avocado and grapefruit salad
Me
Nan Rainer
Birthday Luncheon for Marguerite (my great aunt)
Feb. 9, 1982
Marguerite Curried Chix
Doris Grapefruit and avocado
Kathleen (probably herself) Pecan Pie
Bet
Bessie
Nan
Ruth B(illegible)
Lala (her best friend since they were about 5)
Luncheon - April 14 - 1982
Macki, Edward (Macki's adult son), Mickey, Ann Copeland, (illegible name), Arthur (illegible), Stanley Espisito, Clyde Grant, Doris, K. (could be my mother, me or herself)
Chix Tettrazinni
Stuffed Tomatoes
Squash Croquettes
James Beard's pound cake
French chocolate mints (Andes; she always had a box stashed in the sideboard in her dining room. Also her almond Hershey bars. My friends and I loved it!)
Luncheon- Nov. 6, 1983
Goldbolds leg of lamb
Ingalls butter beans
Rob (my uncle) tomato casserole
Doris pickles etc...
Ann Copeland pears with custard
Little K. (me)
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