The meal served midday on Sunday is called _________.  This simple little sentence recently stirred up quite a debate among the editorial team here at Cooking with Paula Deen.  It all started with Paula asking me to develop a story to pay homage to the traditional Sunday Meals of yesteryear.  Remember those?

I sure do. At my house, we’d gather ’round the table, say the blessing, and share a big home-cooked meal. Meatloaf, fried catfish, and Chicken Spaghetti were the kinds of main dishes we looked forward to.  The meal pretty much always had a side or two from Dad’s garden whether freshly picked or proudly canned by my mom during the crop’s peak. And this Sunday meal was the only one during the week where we had dessert.  I’ll never forget the hand-cranked ice cream, peach cobbler, or German Chocolate Cake. We could count on this big meal lasting long enough for us to talk politics and religion smattered with a little town gossip.

My colleagues had similar memories of Sunday conviviality and feasting but the list of favorite foods they recall went on so long it’d be impossible to squeeze them into one magazine story.  So we decided to develop the idea into a feature we’d visit each issue. 

Starting in the March-April, we’ll have “Sunday Dinner” Paula-style.  The first installment includes Paula and her family on a breezy March Savannah Sunday afternoon.  The hearty menu had the whole family lingering around the table leaving us plenty of time to snap photographs to share with you.  The menu is Orange Buttermilk Cake is to die for!

Now back to the controversial question.  What do you call a traditional Sunday midday feast? And wouldn’t you love to see its revival?

Until next time,
Elizabeth Taliaferro

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