Church dinners in Southern Maryland are a great way to get your fill of delicious food. Some folks make the rounds during dinner season - crab cake dinners in the summer and oyster dinners in the fall. At many of these dinners, the food is served family style; at some, buffet style. I hit the oyster dinner at St. George's today (family style) and had my first fried oysters of the season.
Today's dinner included fried oysters a plenty, stuffed ham, and roast turkey breast. Sides included parsley potatoes, green beans, pickled beets, applesauce (cinnamon and sugar), dill pickles, dinner rolls. Once things got underway, our servers kept the hot oysters coming and they were delicious (although not as good as my dad's oysters - his are well-seasoned and crispy, not at all greasy). I know things are busy in the kitchen during these dinners, but fried oysters really need to be drained on paper towels or even paper bags for just a few seconds to get rid of excess oil before they are served. Additionally, the serving bowls need to occasionally be wiped out between refills to absorb excess oil. Guess I can't complain too much as it's been years since I worked at one of these events.
The pickles were a real disappointment. Mrs. Barnes, a black woman in her 80s, has made bread and butter pickles for the church dinners at St. George's for years. Honestly, I can sit there and eat beets, her home-made pickles, and oysters and forget about the other food. I knew by the look that the pickles at today's dinner were not hers but I put several on my plate anyway. I ate one - it was awful! I must ask her for a jar of pickles as a special treat. If I'm successful in acquiring a jar, I will not be sharing them. Oh no!
I'm not much for plastic ware - it you're going to use it, get the good stuff. Hubby actually broke his fork today. Good thing he was about finished with his dinner. Kudos to the servers - many parish members, students who will be confirmed in the near future, and volunteers from the Paul Hall Center.
I purchased an applesauce cake from the baked goods table and sent it home with my dad. Hope it was good!
No comments:
Post a Comment