Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010
The traveling casserole dish
Emily Jarrett, Journal Staff
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Off the record, my family has a lot of odd traditions.
One of my favorites happens every Christmas. At some point during the holidays, all 25 of us will gather for “Ernst Family Christmas.” After we exchange presents and eat dinner, then dessert, then a snack to “tide us over” until the second dinner meal, we play Rob Your Neighbor.
Ernst family rules are as follows: each family member brings a wrapped present, three sets of die are passed around and if you roll a 7 or 11 you pick a present from the pile. After all the presents are gone, we set the timer for 10 minutes then play again. This time, if you roll a 7 or 11 you can steal a present from someone else. Simple enough.
The only catch is the presents must be brought from home, you can’t buy them.
Needless to say, Rob Your Neighbor is a great way to get rid of all those unusual, old or just plain “what was I thinking?” items from your house.
One year, my Aunt Sue – who has a basement full of unusual, old and “what was I thinking?” items – brought the now infamous traveling casserole dish.
First, let me describe this culinary wonder.
This avocado green dish is actually a casserole dish holder for those occasions where a plain, glass casserole dish just doesn’t cut it.
It is a true avocado green, not bright green, and fits right in with the harvest wheat and autumn gold color scheme that seemed to decorate many a kitchen in the 1970s. The dish was given to my aunt as a wedding present in the early 70s and has been housed in the same box for nearly 40 years. It truly is amazing.
So, a few years ago when the casserole dish was brought as a Rob Your Neighbor present, everyone had a great laugh.
I’m not sure who initially “won” the prize, but soon the casserole dish was making an appearance at family Christmas every year. After a few times of passing it around, the casserole dish turned into something more than a Rob Your Neighbor present.
It is now “passed on” to a family member when something more exciting happens – an engagement, a birth announcement, a job promotion. It’s also now adorned with travel postcards, computer print outs of postcard-themed scenery, to document where its been.
Its been shipped to Seattle and back again, all for the sake of the joke.
I received the dish two summers ago, when my family threw me a surprise house-warming party and it’s been sitting patiently in my closet, waiting for the next big family event.
Finally, something casserole-dish worthy has happened.
Congratulations to my cousin Keith and his wife Anna. May the casserole dish be the first of many crazy Ernst family traditions your little one enjoys.
Emily Jarrett is a staff writer for the Journal. To respond to today’s commentary, call 816-282-7018 or e-mail ejarrett@lsjournal.com.
