Proctorville woman serves #8216;taste of home#039;
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, November 29, 2005
PROCTORVILLE - When Wilma Bland throws a party, she goes whole hog.
Bland's recipes for her pig-themed party - “Ham It Up for a Fun Lunch” - were first published in the “Getting in the Theme of Things” section of the August/September issue of “Taste of Home” magazine.
Now, her creations are featured in the � Taste of Home Annual Recipes” cookbook.
“I was surprised,” Bland said. “It had been two years since I had sent it in and I had forgotten about it.”
The family had a lunch every month and Bland said she “wanted to do something novel.”
Bland had come up with idea for the theme from her grandsons who were, at the time, raising pigs for their 4-H project. She said that gave her the idea to throw a “Pig-Out Party.”
“I began ‘pigstorming' and came up with a menu of Sow-per Glazed Ham, Silk Purse Potatoes, Snortin' Good Salad and Little Piggy Sugar Cookies,” Bland wrote in the August/September issue of Taste of Home magazine.
Bland did not stop at simply preparing a meal, a great deal of work and planning went it.
Before guests entered the door, they were greeted by a wooden cutout of three pigs with a welcome sign. The centerpiece on the table was a piggy bank on a bed of straw with play money around it.
She also prepared some party favors for her guests to enjoy, making each guest a “magic pig wand.” She attached a pig face made of fabric to a dowel rod, complete with a sign that read: “Wave over food, to reduce calories, wave twice over desserts!”
“Because none of us wanted a pork belly,” Bland said as she laughed.
After lunch, the family got together for a family snapshot while wearing their pig snouts Bland had crafted for her guests.
Bland said her and her family had a great time at the luncheon and she was surprised when the magazine had notified her by mail that her recipes had been selected.
“We had fun,” she said.
Snortin' Good Salad
Prep: 15 min. + chilling
1 medium head iceberg lettuce, torn
1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 medium red onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup crumbled cooked bacon
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sugar
In a large glass salad bowl, layer the lettuce, cauliflower, onion, peas and bacon. Combine the mayonnaise and sugar; spoon over salad. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. Toss just before serving. Yield 10-14 servings.