The Dinner Menu Is Planned

I sat down last night and planned out my menu for my family Christmas which will be December 22nd.  I've decided since it's not on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, I am not planning a traditional holiday dinner.  It's going to be buffet style and one of the dishes I'm going to make goes clear back to when my mom was a girl.  She and her siblings grew up in eastern Washington (Sunnyside to be exact) and asparagus grew like weeds in that warm, dry climate.   Even during the depression they ate well, they always had chickens for eggs & Sunday dinner, always had several milk cows and beef, hundreds of watermelons & cantaloupes in the summer as well as vegetables, including carrots, rutabagas and of course asparagus. It was said that my grandmother was a wizard when it came to cooking their common vegetables.  One of the favorite recipes was escalloped asparagus.  My nieces all asked for the recipe but none of them have made it yet, so Aunt Linda is going to include it in the Christmas buffet . I'll share this very old family recipe with you, we all loved it, my mom made it frequently, especially during the summer months. It's very easy and so good. 

Escalloped Asparagus

1 bunch of asparagus, 3 or 4 hard boiled eggs, 1 pint white sauce, 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (optional), cracker or bread crumbs.

Cut tough ends from asparagus & cut into bite size pieces, cook until tender.  Make your white sauce, after hard boiled eggs have cooled...peel and cut into pieces and stir into white sauce. Add the asparagus & grated cheese to white sauce mixture and place in an oven proof dish.  Top mixture with cracker or bread crumbs and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.    YUMMY !!