55th Annual Delaware Show

Charlotte Moss Entertains Have you ever considered how much ridiculous pomposity surrounds the word entertaining? . . . I wish there was a word to replace that rather stilted one. I like better, “having your friends to the house.” –Dorothy Draper How often do you think about where you came from, the place where you were born and grew up? If you still live in your hometown, the answer is obvious. If at some point you moved away and settled elsewhere, you probably have gentle reminders of all sorts. There are some of us who, after moving away, realize that we took something else with us that could not be packed, crated, or shipped. What we took was a bond. In my case, it was a bond to all things Southern. Southern women look after each other; are fiercely loyal; and, let’s put it on the table, are credited with inventing hospitality. No one else in the country has shared as many recipes as the Junior League through their cookbooks of the South. Family recipes are available in these nothing-fancy, spiral-bound cookbooks that have been produced in the hundreds of thousands and reprinted countless times. They are tried, true, and beyond just tempting; they have been served repeatedly, because that is what we were taught to do—cook, serve, please. Every year I have two big gatherings of girls at home: my annual Christmas buffet and my summer Caftan Caucus. I love planning — 18 —