Monday Musings on All Things Southern

There are items every Southern girl must own, my mother once told me.

1.  A deviled egg platter. 
                 The deviled egg platter is not only useful for church suppers (making deviled eggs is time efficient and, really, not that difficult), but it is also perfect for taking a little something over to the home of the grieving. In the South, when someone dies, it is paramount that you take something edible to the home. A kitchen counter top, tabletop, and refrigerator can fill up faster than rigamortis sets in. There are Southerners who are all about death and dying. As our beloved Lewis Grizzard used to say, "you start looking bad and we'll hang out in your driveway." Southerners love a good funeral.

2. A black dress.
                This is, like the platter, useful for a number of occasions:
                           A.  Wear it right and you'll drive a man crazy.
                           B.  Wear it right and you'll make all the women envious.
                           C.  Funerals (see above). Of course the "sexy" black dress must be curtailed somewhat to be appropriate for the funeral. The options are limitless but should include pearls.
                           D.  Cocktail parties (just don't you dare be caught wearing the same dress twice. Good heavens, no!)

My mother gave me a deviled egg platter shortly after I married. She explained how important it was to have said platter. I took notes. I understood.

When she died, I found her deviled egg platter. My only biological child (a daughter) is not married yet...so I decided to gift her with it. But between one place and another, it fell and broke.

I cried. As you can imagine, for a number of reasons.

Recipes for Deviled Eggs (and some good Christian folk want to call them "Angel Eggs" but that just doesn't cut it with this true Southern girl) are fairly simple... but numerous. This Wednesday's Recipe of the Week will be all about the deviled egg.

If you have a recipe you wish to share, send it to me privately at PenNhnd@gmail.com.

We'll talk more about black dresses and funerals. Later.