This week’s Challenge theme is dinner. So many ways to go with this. I considered blogging about a person I would like to invite to diner-- that would give me a chance to ask a lot of questions and fill in some blank spots. However, since the person would not be there, I would get no answers. Then, I thought about Sunday dinners. Dinner on Sunday with your family seems to be a tradition that no longer exists. But it did when I was growing up, so I decided to write about Sunday dinners.
When I was a child, every Sunday we had dinner with my grandmother, Regina Eitelbach. Nana lived about 30 minutes away so we drove and spent the day. I did not realize it at the time, but she was an outstanding cook. Anything Nana made was always delicious. She always made a full meal and served it on her best china. I remember my father carving the meat, the bowls of vegetables and potatoes on the table. However, what I remember best is dessert. Nana’s deserts were the highlight of the meal--apple pie, lemon meringue pie, chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting, shadow layer cake, and yellow cake with coconut frosting. At Christmas, Nana made butter cookies with a cookie press, rolled and frosted cookies as well as German leubkeuken. 
Sometimes when I visited, Nana and I would bake, usually cupcakes. I loved to frost those cupcakes in all kinds of colored frosting. The blues ones were my favorites, and I thought tasted the best. I have some of her recipes, but I have not been too successful in making them. While I know that butter the size of an egg is a quarter of a cup, 2 cups of flour and enough more so it feels right is beyond me. I have no idea what it should feel like. Unfortunately Nana died before I was really old enough for her to teach me how to bake. I would love to talk to Nana again. I would ask her how she learned to cook and bake, and what some of her favorite recipes were. I think I also would ask for a lesson on baking.
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