Saturday went very well. They key word was FOOD !! We had lots of it. Some of the food was from old family recipes. Stephanie made our famous sour cream apple pie, and somehow managed to make it even better. The famous rice salad was a crazy coincidence of the evening. Alice had mentioned that we should have it, but didn't know the recipe. I explained to her that it was something that my mother made when we were kids, and Paul must have continued the tradition. Marti then informed me that she had been looking for a rice salad recipe with peas without even knowing any of the tradition! Neither Stephanie, nor my mother knew the recipe, and at mom's suggestion I called around the family and found that no one else had it either. So much for that one. Until this past Thursday when I got an email form Paul's friend Sue, telling me that she was bringing Paul's Famous Rice Salad. Somebody wanted us to have that salad! The food was all fantastic, and plentiful. Almost too plentiful. Quite a bit of the leftovers were donated to Bard staff, in thanks for all of their help, and use of the facilities.
For music we played the number one song for each year Paul was with us. 1958 to 2007. I never timed the play list when I first assembled it and we were all very surprised when the last song played as we rolled the last table away and left! The music was accompanied by a great slideshow composed by our niece Jessica. Thank you Jess!! Click here to view the slideshow.
The song list is here
Thanks to everyone who brought food, and accessories. I spoke a few times, to welcome everyone and tell the rice salad story. I also read a Paul story sent in by Mark Anderson. You can read that story here
I will post more stories in the weeks to come, and pictures from Saturday. I encourage all of you to send in any stories that you remember. A day with Paul was frequently an adventure!
The trust fund continues to grow nicely. Thank you all again for the donations.
Yes, Don't worry.... no animals were harmed by stray balloons.. I know people worry about such things.
2 comments:
To Paul's friends and family,
Now that the much-anticipated "celebration of Paul's life" has come and gone, I wanted to share my feelings of that day. Firstly, for those who missed it, Neil and his wife, Marti, spent countless hours gathering items in preparation for this wonderful event. I arrived early and saw much of what it took to make this day a special one for the attendees. Marti's team transformed a nice room into a lively, balloon-filled party environment. Jessica, Lee's daughter, created a great slideshow montage of Paul with pictures from childhood through adulthood and it was running on a big screen throughout the party. Neil also played the Billboard hits that spanned Paul's life, and those in attendance enjoyed it very much. (I see he added the list to this site) There was plenty of delicious food and I tried to sample everything at least twice and even left a little room for dessert! Paul's daughter, Steph, is a lovely young woman and I wish her a long life filled with happiness. I enjoyed spending quality time with Veronica Lomax, Luis Mercado, Tim Haberstumpf, Edwin and Fran Gitlin, and of course Neil. I now realize Paul's wish for a "celebration" of his life was a more enjoyable and meaningful experience, as it far outweighed the feelings at a funeral. This was a fun day filled with enriching stories and I got to know more of the person Paul really was. Wishing everyone a healthy and happy year, Russell
"PAUL'S FAMOUS RICE SALAD"
1 - 16oz. Bottle " KEN'S ITALIAN SALAD DRESSING". (Use Ken's "Original" Dressing and NOT the kind with extra spices or cheese in it)
2 Cups of Water
5 cups "MINUTE RICE"
5 or 6 chopped green onions (scallions)Use only the green portion.
1 - Small Jar of Sliced Stuffed Green Olives - Drained
1 Bag 20 oz "BIRD'S EYE BABY PEAS" or 2 BOXES OF "BIRD'S EYE BABY PEAS" Thawed.
1 - 10oz Can of sliced chopped mushrooms - Drained
1 - English Seedless Cucumber Chopped or 2 regular Cucumbers seeded and chopped.
11/4 Cups - "HELLMAN'S MAYONNAISE"
Directions:
Pour the 16 ounce bottle of Ken's Italian Dressing and 2 Cups of water into a 6 quart sauce pan. Cook on stove top at Medium High Heat until it boils.
Take the sauce pan off the heat and place on a cool burner.
ADD 5 Cups of MINUTE RICE stir and Cover for 5 minutes until the Rice is tender and has absorbed the Salad Dressing/Water Mixture.
In a medium bowl, mix the Cucumber, sliced/chopped Mushrooms, sliced stuffed green olives (drained), thawed baby peas and chopped green onions
In a Large Bowl or Container, Mix the Rice Mixture with the Vegetable Mixture. Stir until everything is incorporated. ADD the HELLMAN'S MAYONNAISE and stir until the mayonnaise is incorporated with the salad. Cover and Refrigerate for several hours before serving.
NOTES: To Make a smaller amount of this salad, cut the amount of the ingredients above in half and follow the Directions as stated.
Paul was very specific about the Brands of the ingredients used in this salad. Thus the "KEN'S ITALIAN
DRESSING","MINUTE RICE", "BIRD'S EYE BABY PEAS" and "HELLMAN'S MAYONNAISE".
He was a very creative cook, so if you decide to substitute any of
the above ingredients or add Chicken, Shrimp or whatever your little heart desires to the salad, I am sure he would have been happy to know that his family's recipe has lived on.
BON APPETIT !!
Respectfully Submitted:
Paul's Friend - Sue
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