Buffet Party

Every year in December we host a large buffet party for family and friends. Last year for something different I looked up my favorite recipes from my Grandmothers, Great Aunts, Aunts and so on.   For each of them I scanned one or more favorite photos of them and typed up a little text of their name, relation, and a bit about their recipe and what it meant to me.  Then I glued this to 8 1/2 x 11 poster boards with decorations on them and made a little "holder" out of copper wire from the hardware store and pushed it into little plastic flower pots with foam in them.  This was placed behind or next to the food item being served.  Our buffet is all over the house, I place items in every room to keep the party moving and everyone loved seeing the old pictures which sparked all kinds of talk about family, "remember when Gramma made this?!".  It also brought lots of ooh, ahs and ohs when Cousins, Grandchildren, and children saw treasured pictures (scanned copies of course!) of their Mom, Aunt or Grandma and had the miraculous pleasure of tasting that wonderful old family favorite just like their loved one made.  Friends loved seeing pictures of our relatives and talked happily about theirs and their own family parties and food.  Everyone still talks about it.  One of the nicest things about it was young Cousins calling me up weeks or months later saying they would like to come over and learn how to make Aunt Isabels stuffed dates!  She would have been so pleased to know her recipe is still being handed down in the family.  It was a huge hit.  I called it "The Memory Buffet".