Part 2 (Bettina Gives a Porch Party continued)

How It Tasted

Sunbonnet Baby Salad

A baby, yes—but from what planet?

Nut Bread Sandwiches

Much to my surprise these sandwiches were successful—my oh-so-picky son wolfed down three halves and my husband four! It was truly amazing—particularly as I didn’t care much for them myself. I just don’t care for sweet-and-salty combinations, and the raisin-laden nut bread spread with butter and cream cheese fit that description exactly.

Still, I can’t complain as two out of the three of us enjoyed them. And the bread, while not exactly delicate, held up remarkably well overnight. My husband emptied the plate at breakfast the next morning and commented on how good they tasted [cue fainting spell].

Iced Tea

Good as always, and made still better with the addition of fresh mint and lemon slices. Maybe it wasn’t particularly sensible to serve a caffeinated drink just before bedtime, but I have to admit iced tea was a good fit for the rest of the meal.

Mint Wafers

Sadly these cookies were a disappointment, and only my son seemed to enjoy them. DH thought the mint flavor was a little too strong, and I was dismayed to find the chocolate coating the wafers had turned gummy in just a few hours. I’m still not sure what was wrong with this recipe, but the makers of Girl Scout Thin Mints have nothing to worry about.

Lemon Sherbet

Filip: It’s too sweet.

As expected this sherbet wasn’t solid enough to be served at the luncheon, and so we didn’t get a chance to try it until the next day.

The texture was surprisingly smooth (no ice crystals, thank heavens) but, as my son observed, it was unsettling sweet—we could barely taste any lemon. More lemon (or lemon extract) would have given it more of a citrus snap, and of course I goofed by not preparing it far enough ahead.

Tea Cakes

Yes, the frosting on the cakes was chock full of HUGE sugar crystals—but in fact their gargantuan size proved something of an advantage as we could easily spot and remove them.

The cakes themselves were good, but only I had appetite enough left to truly enjoy them. By the time we arrived at this final course DH and Son had gobbled down their pear salads, eaten any number of sandwiches, swilled glasses of ice tea, and sampled freely from the bowl of mint wafers. They were happy and stuffed and (DH’s words) “would explode with one more bite.”

Fortunately both their appetites revived overnight and by the end of the next day every cake had been eaten. I myself thought the cakes were good but not great—they just seemed a little too sturdy for a supposedly dainty luncheon.

Would I Make This Again?

It’s astonishing to admit that this Bettina meal was arguably the most successful to date, but it’s the truth. My husband and son seemed to enjoy every course: they grinned over the salads, gobbled down the sandwiches, slurped up their ice tea, and gorged on the mint wafers.

Strangely enough the only two dishes not particularly well-received were either not in evidence at the luncheon (the sherbet) or were eaten the next day (the tea cakes) after the effects of the luncheon excesses wore off.

So maybe those crazy salads did in fact set a festive mood for the luncheon, and anything I plopped on the table would have been met with enthusiasm. So chalk one up for Bettina and her feminine wiles—one successful dish can make a huge difference!