Sunday Dinner Menu– Grape Salad over Greens, Brown Sugar-mustard glazed Pork Tenderloin with Applesauce-mustard-horseradish Sauce, Squash Soufflé, English Peas with Potatoes & Cream, Hot Rolls, Strawberries in Amaretto Syrup over Lemon Pound Cake.
Yesterday, was Sunday. My husband and I had a delicious dinner, served around noon. For me, the dinner was not about what I cooked so much as it was a reminder of my late mother, dad and my old home. I loved those long Sundays in the South, the feeling of peace in our family, and the sense of belonging that came with us all being together, and sharing a meal.
Sunday dinners were more elaborate meals than weekdays or Sunday suppers with a table full of pretty dishes to put that delicious food on. My mother loved to cook, and she was great at it too. It helped that our vegetables were local, seasonal and produced from dirt that was the color of pure coal, in a region known as the “Alabama Black Belt”. Everybody knew, even way back then, that we had the best tasting food on the planet, partly because of the richness of the dirt.
After dinner, depending on the weather, we’d leave the dining room for the front lawn. Sitting in twig chairs, under giant pecan trees, our mother would serve us desserts of banana splits or strawberry shortcakes, as a breeze was gently blowing away the Alabama heat.
A walk in the cemetery or a quick ride out to my great grandmother’s “old place”, were rituals, a right of passage. Something to look forward to. By the time we had arrived back home, my sister and I were hungry again. Since my dad didn’t like to eat the same food for dinner and supper, there were no leftovers served on Sunday evening. A meal for the evening was more like breakfast than supper. (Southernsundaymornings.wordpress.com).
On hot summer days, our Sunday dinners moved to the Tombigbee River. My daddy loved his boat, and my mother loved a good picnic. The menu changed from something more elaborate and seasonal, to a deep South picnic menu of pimiento cheese, fresh sliced pineapple, baked ham, cold fried chicken, stuffed eggs, sliced tomatoes and lots of iced tea. That was even better as far as we were concerned, because my sister and I could ski, eat, and ski again. To this very day, the idea of that picnic makes me feel excited and when I am really down about something, I have fried chicken with a pimiento cheese sandwich. Two of my favorites.
Like I had done so long ago, my children have “flown the coop”, so to speak. So, it’s just the two of us now, unless we can coerce them into coming over to eat with us. We do understand that they are busy with their children, even though I wish they had been here. I loved cooking dinner yesterday, and thinking and feeling the past.
I hope you enjoy this dinner. I have to admit that I couldn’t stop eating the squash soufflé. I’ve included the recipe for the salad, pork tenderloin and sauce, squash soufflé and strawberries. I’m still working on peas with potatoes. I’ve never been able to make them quite like my mother could.
Make some Sunday Dinner memories with your food. More to come, including the Sunday picnic foods.
Grape Salad
Green, red or purple grapes, about 1/2 cup per serving
equal parts of mayonnaise and sour cream
brown sugar to taste
toasted, chopped pecans to taste
Wash and dry grapes. Add to a bowl. Mix equal amounts of mayonnaise and sour cream. Add brown sugar to taste. Add toasted chopped pecans. Mix well. Serve on fancy, fresh greens.
Squash Soufflé
I gave mother a soufflé dish as a birthday gift in 1969. I used it to make her beautiful squash soufflé yesterday. It was a little big, but it didn’t matter. You can half this recipe for 4 people. This recipe makes about 8 servings. It freezes well if you have leftovers.
2 pounds squash, washed and cut into small cubes
20 Club crackers, crushed
4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 large onions, finely chopped
2 cups grated sharp cheddar
1 cup milk
1 1/2-2 teaspoons salt or to taste
pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook squash and onions together in a small amount of water until very tender. Drain the water from the squash, and mash the squash until it is pureed. Add salt, pepper, cheese, butter, egg yolks, milk and crackers. Beat egg whites until stiff; fold into squash mixture. Bake in a buttered casserole, or soufflé dish until brown, about 30 minutes, depending on what kind of baking dish is used. * I put this in the oven to bake after the tenderloin was removed. When it’s done, there will be no jiggling in the center and the top will be slightly brown.
Brown Sugar, Mustard Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Serves 4
1 (1.5 pound) pork tenderloin
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
Prepare the tenderloin for roasting by slipping a knife under any sliver skin and removing it. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and mustard. Place a piece of foil on a baking sheet. Put the tenderloin on the baking sheet and smear it with half of the brown sugar mustard mixture. Bake for about 15 minutes and add the remaining brown sugar mixture. Baste every 10 minutes until the internal temperature of the tenderloin reaches 160-165 degrees. About 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and wrap the foil over the top of and around the tenderloin. Let it rest for at least 10-15 minutes before slicing. After slicing and plating, spoon some of the pan juices over the tenderloin. Serve with sauce.
Applesauce-Dijon Mustard-Horseradish Sauce
1 cup “original” applesauce
1 tablespoon horseradish sauce, or to taste
1/2-1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard, or to taste
Mix ingredients together, serve on side of pork tenderloin.
Strawberries in Amaretto Syrup
4 cup strawberries, washed, hulled and cut into slices
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 overflowing tablespoon of amaretto, or to taste
Bring the sugar and water to a boil, reduce heat and cook until the sugar is melted and syrup has thickened. Remove from the heat and add the amaretto.
Place prepared strawberries in containers such as glass canning jars, or plastic storage containers. Fill with the syrup, and freeze until ready to use. Thaw quickly by taking the top off the container and putting in the microwave for 20 seconds at a time. Serve over cake and add whipped cream, or over ice cream as a sundae.