Every time I see you one your funeral posts, I think someone inyour family died. Sheesh-- glad it's not so.

One way to make finger sandwiches fancy is to do a layered sandwich. Cut a long loaf of bread horizontally into three or four layers. Spread the filling between each layer and put it all back together. Then slice like you would usually slice a loaf of bread and serve on plates with a fork. If the fillings are colorful, such as egg salad or a salmon salad or even tinted cream cheese, it looks nice.

How about a zucchini bread? The zucchini are very plentiful at the moment.

You are a saint to do this.

Cucumber and cream cheese for sure, my Nan also like liverwurst and sliced olives...how about rolled peanut butter and banana ! LOL

I was at a shower a bit back and they served a roasted pepper foccacia sliced in finger slices. Very nice for a change of pace.

I like date nut breads with cream cheese. Walnuts aren't too expensive.

Definately use walnuts if you have to use nuts.
I like banana bread. I think Sourcream makes it denser or yogurt instead of milk or buttermilk. So just about anything and sub yogurt or sourcream...
Pumpkin or sweet potato..

Here is a link that might be useful: Here's Glenda's recipe I use.

oh boy Linda...when it rains it pours.

Her is Cindy's recipe for squash bread. It's good.

CINDY MAC'S BUTTERNUT SQUASH BREAD
1 large butternut squash
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
CUT squash in half lengthwise; remove seeds. Place cut side down in a shallow pan; add water to depth of 1/2 inch. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until tender; drain. Scoop out pulp; mash. Discard shell. Measure 1 3/4 cups pulp; reserve any remaining pulp for other uses.
BEAT butter, gradually adding sugar; beat well. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
COMBINE flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices; add to butter mixture alternately with squash, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in pecans. Spoon batter into greased & floured 9x5x3 inch loafpan and bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (Or bake in 4 small loaf pans for 50 minutes/mini loaf pans 40 minutes.)
COOL in pan(s) on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan(s), and let cool completely on wire rack.

Linda, as an aside, I'm glad I don't belong to your church it's like being a friend to Jessica of "Murder She Wrote"...you are likely to end up dead!! LOL

I am going to have at least one loaf of a supermarket French bread in the freezer. I am thinkint of cream cheese and pimento or roasted red pepper or olives...or maybe akll 3 mixed up, spread on that bread....but how to make it pretty?
I'll put out a cry for zucchini bread....
And sharon...don't LOL too loudly! The group here today were joking about.."When you make a lunch for my funeral....don't bother chopping the carrots at an angle"...or when you do mine, just call Mc D's and order it etc etc...
And off the top of my head we have 8 members who are well over 90...I know Ruth is 97 and another has been in the Alsheimer's unit for about 4 years..
ach...

Sounds like where I go to church.
DH and I are almost the "babies" in our mid forties.
We recently added 2 other couples that are probably late twenties. Our pastor has "volunteered" for the last 4 years.........he's 80.

I was going to suggest zucchini bread too.
Radish sandwiches with butter?

I sure don't envy you all the work. I'd help if you were closer!!

Deanna

There's a great book that covers this topic. I got a copy as a sort of funny birthday present for a close friend, and as I browsed through it before wrapping it, I liked it so much I bought a copy for myself! Apart from the recipes, it includes a lot of funeral "lore" and practical suggestions. (I have no connection with the author or publisher of this book.) ---Margaret

Here is a link that might be useful: Food to Die For

Radish sandwiches!! Forgot about them!
As for Foods to Die For...I wish I had thought of that....
Going to order a copy! Are these recipes geared to big batches? or things foir people to bring to a pot luck?
Linda C

How about a zucchini bread or an apple nut bread for quick breads?

How about mini "cream puffs" -- they make up almost as fast as a quick bread-- lend themselves to all sorts of fillings, look nice too.

I've never heard of butternut squash bread. I'll have to give that a try. How does it compare to zucchini bread--is it much stronger?

I unfortunately had to attend my father's funeral this past weekend. The thread title makes me jump every time I see it! My sister-in-law just ordered in Panera. I think your food would have been much yummier, Linda!

Sharon S.

Sharon, I'm so sorry to hear about your father, my sympathies.

LindaC, my church is much like that too, my girls lost two of their favorite "church grandmas" in the past couple of months. Fortunately, we have a lot of very young members too, so the church is strong and growing, but I miss the older members as we lose them, one by one.

Quick breads? My favorite is pumpkin, followed by apple, but zucchini is very easy and prevalent this time of year. The butternut squash bread sounds good, sort of like pumpkin, I'm saving that recipe for when the squash is ready, I think I'm going to have buckets full of butternuts!

I also like the cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches on a whole grain bread. One of the guys in the courthouse here always made a spread of cream cheese, chopped olives and red peppers, it was really pretty, bits of red and green in the white. Kind of "christmas-y" but pretty.

Annie

Annie, my favorite cucumber sandwich is on a nice hearty kind of heavy multi grain bread - open faced and sprinkled with dilll,....mmmm.

Sharon, I am so sorry about the loss of your dad.

I wouldn't say the squash bread is "stronger" than zucchini.

Tell me about radish sandwiches someone...do you just put radishes on top of butter on top of bread??? Open faced? any spices?

Sharon, my condolences for the loss of your father.

LindaC, you are a SAINT!!! If I was in Wisconsin visiting family, I would drive west and assist you.

Zucchini would be good with any filling..I love zucchini bread! And the squash bread sounds very good...

I've never eaten Radish Sandwiches so googled and found what sounds like something I would like.

Radish Sandwiches
Mobile Junior League community cookbook

8 radishes, trimmed
6 ounces cream cheese (I used low fat)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used Smart Beat Spread)
1 tablespoon parsley, without stems
1 teaspoon chives, snipped
fresh lemon juice
salt
ground black pepper
6-8 slices pumpernickel bread

For the filling, finely chop the radishes in the food processor (or hand grater). Place in a large sieve or colander. Press with paper towels to drain and squeeze out any excess liquid.

Cream the cream cheese and butter together until fluffy (I used the food processor); add drained chopped radishes, parsley, chives, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, and cream again.

Cut crusts from bread and cut into small squares or rounds. Spread with filling, and garnish with sliced or whole radishes coated with coarse salt.

Chill thoroughly before serving.

Michelle

Thank you for the condolences. I really just wanted to say to Linda that it's a very nice thing that she volunteers for. Panera was fine, given our situation, but there is something comforting about a meal cooked for you, and we would have jumped at the chance for that, had it been an option.

I don't know if people are in a position emotionally to properly thank you and your fellow meal-makers (funeral squad? to inject some humor) but I hope you know that you are offering comfort, in what sounds like a delicious form.

Alright, now I have butternut squash bread on my list of things to try, along with croissants from the other Linda. If things continue this way, it's going to be a very fattening winter. ;-)

Sharon S.

Two down one to go....
My condolences also, Sharon...Dad's are hard to lose..

The cucumber sandwiches are a specialty of one of my helpers. She has a Dr's appointment Monday ( she worries the hell out of me....she had a heart attack in November and goes like a steam engine most of the time!!) so has passed on "The" recipe. It's cream cheese mixed with some mayo and perhaps something else, with a slice of cucumber and somewhere in there some Good Seasons seasoning mix. Simple enough but people rave.
The way I like a radish sandwich is just on white bread with butter and sprinkled with a little salt and pepper.
Something says to me that we will se no "tax free contrubution" to defray the costs of this upcoming funeral....so I want to keep costs down as much as we can. We will have donated cookies, I will make some sandwiches out of some ham left from today, ground up to make little tea sandwiches, and the cucumber and some sort of a zucchini or nut bread spread with cream cheese....
Coffee, tea, lemonade bottled water and some PB and J for kids and maybe some fruit on a toothpick and that should do it....and i think I can do that for about $40 with donated cookies and leftover ham.
Any other ideas for fruit?...I really don't want to deal with forks.
Also the raves and oohs and ahas over the veggie pasta salad today were embarassing! I simply cut up, in fairly big pieces, veggies, zuch, onion, colored peppers, cuke, shredded red cabbage, broccoli, carrots, and tomatoes, and dressed it with a simple home made dijon vinaigrette with some "green box" parmesan and dry oregano. and I added cooked penne as needed...LOL! The crowd today was smaller than expected so there was only about 1/5 pasta and 4/5 veggies.
Anyhow...for 2 funerals ( which are more economical per person than one) I fed about 270 people lunch of ham sandwich and or chicken salad sandwich, veggie pasta salad, fruit, mostly fresh some frozen, coffee, tea, lemonade, bottled water.. for a total of $330....but the cookies and brownies were donated.
Not bad I think.

To make pretty..you can always remove crusts..butter sides and dip in sesame seeds:) Add Nasturtiums inside..

Pansies on top:)

Herb your cream cheese..:)

Not everything at once:)

Just add flowers to the platter~:)

You are The Mother Theresa of Funerals..Wonderful things you do!

Thanks Monique....with the downpours we have been having pansies and nasturtiums are hard to come by, day lilies are gone....and, dummy me just cut all the blossoms off my basil and oregano. We may have to do with leaves instead of flowers.
Great hint about the sesame seeds!...probably do also with ground nuts and poppy seeds too...
Good hint!! filing that one....
Linda C