angeled eggs
by
Jane Marie
I love deviled eggs, but I no longer
think the name appropriate because of my mother, Marie Fries Harkins,
who was the embodiment of grace.
Many years ago, when I was a new mother
living in a new apartment, I anxiously awaited the arrival of my own mother
for her first visit to see her infant granddaughter. I expected Mom around
two o'clock in the afternoon so the question was what should I serve?
I decided upon some sort of appetizer, but having no experience in that
particular culinary category, or any culinary category for that matter,
what came to mind was a pretty plate of deviled eggs. My mother made wonderful
deviled eggs, so I knew she liked them. What I didn't know was that there
are many and varied recipes available. I should have called her and asked
just how she prepared hers. But wanting to appear the perfect homemaker,
I looked in my only cookbook.I was pleased with the appearance
of the finished product and upon Mom's arrival, I presented the platter
while she held her new grandbaby. After commenting how lovely my deviled
eggs looked, Mom chose one and took a bite. She smiled her approval and
popped the rest of the halved egg into her mouth. Then she declined another
saying thank you, but she'd had a filling lunch earlier. It wasn't until
after she'd left that I had my first taste of the eggs. To my horror,
I'd misread an amount in the recipe and had clearly put in too much salt!
However Mom swallowed the first bite, let along the rest of it, is beyond
me. She never made a face, never flinched, and never spoke of the embarrassing
incident to me the entire rest of her life. Did I mention that my mother was a
graduate of Penn State University and taught home economics? Lucky the
student who had her for a teacher and lucky the children who called her
Mom.About Jane Marie:
Jane Marie Malcolm, aka The Most Gracious Person on the Internet, is an
author, wife and mother not necessarily in that order. She lives on historic
Amelia Island, Florida where she grows roses, collects Gone With The Wind
memorabilia and plays hand bells. She says, "These days I adapt mother's
recipes for the website I share with my sister, writer Nancy Kamp, and
to suit the tastes of the characters in my books. Our mother would have
been pleased."
Please visit Jane Marie's site, www.graciousjanemarie.com
which is devoted to gracious living, food, romance, and maybe even a garden
or two.
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