Hot Cheese & Olive Sandwiches
Look how sassy Mom is in her red tights and houndstooth skirt. Fab!
Christmas either 1979 or 1981 (I think 79?) at the Reed family house on Watauga Street in Kingsport, TN. I’m in the weird tuxedo dress on the left. With Grandma & Grandpa Reed and my aunt Jane in the center. Dad is wearing the leather vest that Mom HAND SEWED for him. Sheesh. I remember lots of broken needles.
The Reeds (minus my husband Chris who was taking the photo) at Christmas at my house in Austin, TX. I think this was maybe 2014?
Duke’s Mayonnaise is the only way to go if you are not making your own (which I rarely do). I suggest following Duke’s on social media as they are pretty funny and people are INSANE. I can’t tell you how many Duke’s themed tattoos I’ve seen over the years!
My friend Kat McTee and I hosted a yoga and art retreat one year. We served lunch. Both being Southern, there ended up being A LOT of mayonnaise. We had pimento cheese AND deviled eggs and I think something else mayo-based (maybe salad dressing?). Anyway, the next year we just decided to call a spade a spade and rebrand as a “Yoga, Art & Mayonnaise Retreat”.
This is the sticker that was on the side of the boat at Julia Reed’s sandbar party (story below) in the middle of the MIssissippi River. It amused me so much that I bought one for my husband to put on our boat.
“Mayonnaise Man” song by Bobby Lee Trammell. This came on the radio the other day and I was like “Goddamn! There’s a Mayonnaise Zeitgeist going on!”
My family had a tub of Amaretti cookies that we kept on top of the fridge. At the end of dinner parties, we would go around the table lighting the wrappers on fire to make them fly. As a kid it felt like pure magic!
Hello, world. I’ve had a hard time sitting down to write this post. It seems that everything is just TOO BUSY right now and that is uncool, as I actually like writing about Mom and food. My second cousin, Lynn Tanksley, passed through Austin on her way to her husband’s family’s place in Bastrop, Texas shortly before Thanksgiving. She reminded me that when we were kids she and her sister, Beth, came and stayed with us for a few days in Chapel Hill. My main memory of that time was that I got sick and threw up all over the door. Her memories were much better, a lot of them involved Mom introducing her and her sister to various delicacies. Apparently we made homemade pasta, which was something that we did occasionally after Mom and Dad’s summer on Lake Como. Mom also introduced them to pesto. (Yum!) At some point we had to whip something violently by hand (mayonnaise? meringue?) because Mom was waiting for a part to be shipped for her food processor or mixer. And, what I had TOTALLY forgotten, was that we introduced them to the Amaretti Cookie trick. (See video above.) You roll the cookie wrapper in a tube, light it on fire, and it floats up to the ceiling. How could I forget this gem? Kids burning paper products at the dinner table – what could go wrong?!
A while ago my buddy Missy, one of my best friends from college, asked me, “WHAT was that sandwich that your Mom made for us?!” Vague question, but I actually knew what she was talking about. You see, we stopped by Chapel Hill during our senior year Spring Break road trip and Mom made us one of her old lunch standbys: hot cheese and olive open-faced sandwiches. These involve a reasonable amount of mayonnaise. In fact a lot of things we ate that trip involved a reasonable amount of mayonnaise or rich dairy products. Mom also made Missy her famous Spinach Spaghetti since Missy was a vegetarian. I remember Missy asking, “Does everything your Mom make involve heavy cream? Not that I’m complaining ….” Good question! Mom was capable of a broad range of cooking but often returned to Southern comfort food.
I was just reading an article about the writer Julia Reed, who was an acquaintance of my parents. I’ve long been a fan of hers and Mom gave me a few of her books, one of my faves is Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties: An Entertaining Life (with Recipes). I’ve used several of Julia’s recipes over the years, she has a delicious curry dip (which she serves with blanched asparagus), a solid shrimp remoulade, and a recipe for something she calls “Party Mayonnaise” (which is really just homemade mayo, but I love the name!). I seem to have misplaced or loaned out my copy of that book, which is a shame because I wanted to share the mayo recipe with you. Mom made her own mayo sometimes, too. She kept hers simple, egg and oil with maybe a little lemon juice. Here’s a link to a recipe, should you want to go that route. Mom made the effort when mayonnaise was going to be a star ingredient. For example. in the summer when the tomatoes were perfectly ripe Mom would slice them, sprinkle on a little salt and pepper, and plop a dollop of homemade mayo on each slice. A perfect meal. God, I love mayonnaise. I think I’ve told this story before but please bear with me either way. Once when I was watching the trashy reality show America’s Next Top Model (don’t judge!) an emaciated model was complaining that she was trying her damndest to gain weight by drinking protein shakes. Tyra Banks, the host (who is Southern) was like, “GIRRRRRRL! Forget those shakes! Eat some potato salad!”. I 100% agree. My friend Lauren loves potato salad so much that she once had it instead of a birthday cake. Why not?!
Back to Julia Reed. I was amused to read the following quote by Laura Donnelly regarding a party for Julia in the Hamptons:
“The menu on one such occasion was deviled eggs, pimento cheese, Callie's cheese biscuits with country ham, fried chicken, tomato aspic with a dollop of mayonnaise, and lemon pudding cake for dessert. Coincidentally, I had just referenced Ms. Reed [Julia, not Dale] in a column about what I call "WASP soul food," things like Ritz crackers, creamed spinach made with cream cheese, mayonnaise anything, white bread, and dry roasted peanuts.”
WASP soul food! Evidently Julia threatened to steal that line and now I am actually doing it. It’s a gem, and WASP soul food was one of Mom’s specialties. Sadly, Julia died of cancer in 2020. She was a real spitfire and I had a girl crush on her for years. Julia asked Mom and Dad to judge the Delta Hot Tamale Festival one year and invited them to one of her famous “sandbar” parties (on a sandbar in the middle of the Mississippi River) afterward. Mom sent me photos of the boat they took to the party which was adorned with an official looking “Department of Having a Good Time” sticker on it. Unfortunately, I can’t find these photos. But, trust me, they had a good time.
Speaking of writers, I just listened to a compelling podcast called Once Upon a Time… At Bennington College about the environment that created and nurtured the writers Bret Easton Ellis, Donna Tartt, and Jonathan Lethem. Believe it or not, they were all three students of the Bennington Class of 1986. How could three such diverse and successful writers come out of such a small pond? Well, you have to listen to the podcast for theories. But, I can report that it’s fascinating. I’ve always written Bret Easton Ellis off as a young turk of the literary 80s Brat Pack. (You may know him from his books Less Than Zero and American Psycho.). The podcast delved into his history, how he started writing and why. Evidently, he was strongly influenced in high school by Joan Didion. I guess that makes sense with his spare, unflinching prose. Anyway, I know about this because my mom, old Dale, gave me her copy of Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem at some point, saying she thought it would be something I would like. I did. I was never much of a reader and I think Mom was trying to find ways to bring me in to the circle. It worked. Didion was a revelation to this teenager. I still don’t like Bret Easton Ellis’ writing, but it’s cool to understand his influences.
I recently attended the memorial of two friends of mine, Clint Willour and Reid Mitchell. They were a Houston couple who both died during Covid so their friends waited for the climate to improve before celebrating them. The service was at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, where Clint, a curator, was very involved. The service was gorgeous, friends and colleagues reminiscing about these two men who were very, very well loved. It reminded me of Mom’s service and I thought, “What a blessing to have lived a life that allows for such celebration!”. Clint and Reid’s service ended with this Mary Oliver poem read by Betty Moody, my former boss and forever friend. I thought it was lovely.
“Where has this cold come from?
“It comes from the death of your friend.”
Will I always, from now on, be this cold?
“No, it will diminish. But always it will be with you.”
What is the reason for it?
“Wasn’t your friendship always as beautiful as a flame?”
― Mary Oliver
My sister went through a bunch of Mom’s old emails, something I haven’t yet had the stomach to do, and selected some quotes for a poem she was writing. Evidently Mom signed off on one email, “everybody take care of everybody else”.
Indeed.
I’m wishing you a wonderful holiday. Take care of yourselves AND everybody else!
If you want to see our holiday card here it is.
Now, for the recipe. It’s short and vague but kind of hard to screw up. (I think they probably qualify as WASP soul food.)
HOT CHEESE & OLIVE SANDWICHES
In a bowl combine shredded cheese, mayonnaise, a splash of worcestershire sauce, some mustard, and chopped green olives.
Mix and spread on bread that has been toasted on one side. Broil until bubbly.
AS USUAL, KEEP ME POSTED!
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