The Daily Dish Recipes

I went to a funeral recently for one of my best friends father. In the planning stages before the actual funeral, we talked a little about ways I might be able to help her in the coming weeks. I’ve been through this before. One of the things she mentioned was food. She wanted me to bring her dinner a couple of times. She said “Food is comfort”, and then proceeded to rave about several of the things that I had prepared her in the past.

So in the coming days, I drug out my freezer cooking reference notebooks and went to work making her a weeks worth of meals that she could simply drag out of the freezer and prepare for her family.

While I was standing there cooking for her, I started thinking about funeral food. What is funeral food? Is there a right or wrong thing to offer? I know that many cultures have standard cuisine or a special type of food that is prepared, but overall, is there anything that isn’t acceptable?

I did check out the food that they offered after the funeral. There were small sandwich rolls, cookies, cakes, brownies, pasta salads, vegetable and fruit plates, and dozens of other things. It made me think that perhaps maybe there is no standard food. I liked the eclectic mix of happy foods.

I have an addiction to Pasta Salads. I don’t know why, but I love to make them. I eat them for lunch, snacks, dinner, etc. This one is a favorite to bring to our picnics and barbecues.

Cold Chicken Pasta Salad

1 8 oz. package of rotelle pasta
3 c. cubed cooked chicken (sometimes we use canned)
3/4 c. diced celery
1 c. diced tomatoes

1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

3/4 c. sour cream
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tbsp. dried basil

Cook and prepare pasta as directed on package. Drain and rinse with cold water until pasta is cooled. Add the chicken, the tomatoes and the celery. In your blender, place the mayo, salt, pepper, sour cream, lemon juice, oregano and basil. Blend until mixed well. Put the dressing into a storage container, and chill for one hour. Add to salad, toss well making sure the noodles and veggies are coated all over.