melt |

So. Hosting. It is something I love to do. Have people over. Entertain.

Make one word sentences.

But, quite often, I spend so much time making the food, that I forget about the serving aspect of it. You know, making the food look good so people will want to eat it. The other night at my pajama party, I actually served my salad in my giant aluminum soup bowl. All of the pretty bowls were trapped in the cabinet in a cluttered pile-up of randomness. I opened the cupboard and saw that the bowl I needed was wedged underneath the trifle-bowl-I-have-never-used-to-make-a-trifle-with-but purchased because it-was-on sale-for-$15-and-Rachael-made-a-trifle-on-“Friends”-and-maybe-one-day-I-would-too. Without beef. Except I haven’t. And probably won’t.

Joey would be so sad.

I looked at that mess and quickly shut the door on it.

I dug out my stockpot, dumped my bag of salad in it and called it a night.

And it was fine.

Really.

But I wish I had done something more.

Leading me to this post.

Why did I not come across this before? Well, I can ~~blame~~ thank Ollie. The only reason I found this was because Ollie ate an entire plastic candy cane filled with white chocolate peppermint hershey kisses (not the plastic part) when he climbed into a chair and reached over and grabbed it from the side table. Who knew he was such an acrobat? Seriously, he even left the empty candy cane on the table. I could not believe he could achieve such a feat. I was trying to decide if he needed to go to the vet. Or join the circus.

He ended up being a perfectly fine dog without any other death-defying talents. But I came across an idea while searching for his ~~agent~~ cure.

Jenni, Jenni, Jenni, get a hold of yourself. What idea?

Okay.

Here it is.

Candy serving trays. Yes. Candy serving trays!

Have you ever heard of anything so wonderful? I used mine for all of my small serving bowls during Christmas Eve dinner.

I found the idea on the blog Tutto Bella.

You just line a baking sheet with parchment paper. And arrange your candy into a simple pattern.

My daughter did this one.

This is my son’s.

And this small sad affair is mine.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. I did eight minutes and twenty seconds. ; )

Remove from the oven. Let cool one to two minutes. Trim any unevenness carefully with a pizza cutter. This will still be extremely hot. Be careful! Don’t touch it with your bare hands. Let cool completely. Voila!

I think doing this with butterscotch candies or other thin hard candies during the year would be very cool, too. I might try it for a birthday party.

Had you heard of this before? Have you ever seen anything so simple? And cool? I am in love with this project. I wonder if I could create a stockpot for next year’s salad. That sounds just about as good as a beef trifle.

I am sure ~~Joey~~ Ollie would agree.

* I shared this on Savvy Southern Style.

And My Romantic Home.

Yes, tuna pie.

It is my favorite.

Dish.

Ever.

I am a freak.

When I was a young lass, a friend was planning a surprise party for me, she called my best friend to see what to serve at my party. She wanted to serve my favorite dishes.

My best friend responded, “Well, I do not know what you are going to serve. All I know is, she likes tuna pie.”

This answer still makes me laugh. Hysterically. Because I imagine being the person receiving that response and the questions and images it inspires.

But I digress…

My grandmother used to make this for me. My mother would make this for me.

My grandmother and mother used to make homemade pie crust and fold cheese into the edges to make the most amazing crust. Folks, I am lazy. If you choose to be ambitious, that would take this pie to the next level.

Tuna Pie (makes one pie)

Ingredients:

Package of refrigerated pie crust (I prefer Pillsbury. Choose the pie crust that can be rolled out. Not the frozen kind).
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
2 cans of white albacore tuna in water, drained
2 cans of cream of celery soup (and yes, it must be cream of celery. Not cream of anything else. It will not taste good.)
1/2 stick of salted butter or 4 tablespoons
1 green bell pepper seeded and diced
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/8 tsp. ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place refrigerated pie crusts on counter at room temperature while you perform the following tasks:

Melt butter in a skillet. Place onions and green pepper in skillet on medium heat. Cook until soft, about eight minutes. Turn off heat.

In a separate bowl, mix drained tuna, cream of celery soup, and pepper. When onions and green bell pepper are soft, add them directly to this mixture. Do not drain. Add that glorious flavored butter to the tuna creation.

Mix.

Add shredded cheese.

Mix.

I forgot to add pepper to my pie! Maybe I should have read my recipe first! Be better than me. Season.

Open pie crust package. It should now be malleable. If it is not, wait five more minutes before you handle it.

Place one layer of pie crust on the bottom of the pie pan. Pierce with fork.

Pour tuna mixture into the pie pan.

Cut a pretty shape into the remaining pie crust with a small cookie cutter.

Place over tuna mixture. Crimp edges. Pierce with fork.

Isn’t this lovely? You would never know it was a tuna pie.

Bake in the oven for 50-55 minutes.

Let cool for 15 minutes before serving. It’s not going to be pretty when you slice it. Hey! You’re eating tuna pie. This is the least of your worries.

This pie is even better reheated the next day. You have to eat it by the next day. Tuna products are bad after that.

My husband despises this pie. It’s okay. My dad despises this as well. My mother still cooked it. Thank God! So, I cook it when my husband is at work. The kids and I love it.

If you love tuna, make this! Enjoy! If you hate tuna, look away! While I enjoy!

Have a great day!

I shared this on Savvy Southern Style

And My Romantic Home

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

melt

A-h-Mazing Edible Serving Trays

Tuna Pie