Relief Society Dinner 2010

This dinner was the first big shindig over which I had responsibility as 2^nd Counselor.  Luckily I had a committee that helped me plan and execute this event.  When it was time to set up the tables and put out the cloths, dinnerware, food, etc., I would have never made it for sure.

Our original plan had been “A Christ-Centered Christmas” with nativity sets for the centerpieces on the table, but when we learned that the ward party was already going to have that, we had to come up with another idea.  We settled on “The Gifts of Christmas” and focused on the gifts that the Savior has given to all mankind.  Sister McDaniel did a beautiful job of wrapping some boxes and placing tags on them that reflected these gifts:  “Peace”, “The Gift of the Atonement”, “Hope”, etc.  We used these as our centerpieces:

After the meal, but before the dessert, we went into the Relief Society room where Sister McDaniel read a short story about having a simple Christmas.  She then played, “The Nativity” DVD which she had brought.  It showed scenes depicting Christ’s birth and his mortal life, with music from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the background.  Near the end, Gordon B. Hinckley said a few words (Sister McDaniel told us that this was one of the last “video” appearances he had made before he passed away.)  This video really helped to give the feeling that we wanted to have in our meeting.  Here’s how she had the room set up:

After the video, we presented them with our gift to them:  a loaf of “homemade” pumpkin bread (recipe to be found at the end of the blog).  I baked, wrapped, and decorated 50 of these little loaves and was quite happy to see them finally go:

Here is a close-up of the tag that Sister McDaniel made to put on them:

Of course, anyone who knows me also knows that I will find “decadence” in anything that I am doing, even if it is a church Christmas party.  Well, I found it:  Chocolaty, gooey, sweet, womanly decadence!

This dessert is so sweet, so rich, and so chocolately that a couple of my teeth didn’t even wait for the tooth decay to set in; they just popped out right there at the table.  But let me tell you, it was worth it.  Luckily for me, Sister Hair agreed to give me the recipe for this little creature (also found at the end of this blog).

Well, that’s it.  I survived my first official dinner as 2^nd Counselor, and I think that the sisters had a good, fun, uplifting time.  I can’t lie, though; I am glad that our next dinner is not until March!

Recipe for Pumpkin Bread

Sister  Hair’s original recipe is as follows:

1 Spice cake mix

1 30 oz. can of Pumpkin puree

4 eggs

350 until toothpick out barely moist.  There's no time on the recipe...so I would start out at about 15 or 20 minutes.

I don’t know if I’m just a bad cook, or if it was due to the fact that the thermostat in my oven is slightly off, but I tried a couple of batches and the original recipe didn’t work for me.  So I modified it a bit, and had better luck.  Here is what I did for the loaves we gave out at the dinner:

1 Spice cake mix (I used Duncan Hines, 18.25 oz)

1 15-oz can of pumpkin puree

4 eggs

As I said, my thermostat is off just a bit, so I baked the recipe at 365° and checked it at 30 minutes.  It was almost done, so I let it cook for between 3-5 more minutes (at this stage you just have to watch it like a hawk).  This worked great for me and I was happy to have a recipe that makes something good without too much work.  This makes between 4-5 of the mini loaves (3 x 5 pans) depending on how full you fill them.  I tried to fill them between ½ to 2/3 full of batter.

Now, as promised, here is that decadent recipe for Sister Hair’s great dessert (I can’t wait to try it!):

Recipe for Hot Fudge Bar

Dough:

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

3 cups quick oats

1 tsp salt

2.5 cups flour

Filling:

2 cups milk chocolate chips

1 cup sweetened condensed milk

3 tbsp margarine

2 tsp vanilla

Mix together dough ingredients.  Pat 2/3 mix in 9 x 13 pan to cover bottom.  Melt filling ingredients on low heat and pour over batter.  Sprinkle remaining 1/3 dough mixture on top.  Bake 350 for 15-20. Do not over bake.