Watching Shirley Catlett create a stylish reception table topped in burlap, colorful fabrics and artfully-arranged savories and sweets — most of which she made herself — one might have a hard time picturing her as a girl working on her daddy’s cotton farm near the Missouri bootheel. That is where Catlett’s elemental relationship with foods has its roots, however. There the family worked together in fields and gardens, and raised their own cattle and chickens.
“I was probably 8 years old before I learned you could buy a loaf of bread in a grocery store,” Catlett says with an easy laugh. “I was amazed!”
That foundation is fundamental to the Columbus cook’s culinary talents today, talents she used in planning food for a recent reception at the Rosenzweig Arts Center for an exhibit by Studio 206. Catlett is a member of the local artists’ group, but rather than display her own artwork, she instead created an artistic repast. Cranberry feta pinwheels, stuffed cucumber slices, cheese wafers, a festive cheese ball, baked poppyseed muffins, key lime tarts, cherry pie tarts, toffee bars and sweet “forget ’ems” were among fare she prepared, along with a cheese and fruit bar.
“She just does a fantastic job,” said Studio 206 artist Patti Johnson. “We were just excited she would do the reception because we knew the food would be wonderful and the table would be artistic.”
With simple touches like tiering foods, mixing shapes and adding a few whimsical accents (including a few trays and baskets she found at the Habitat for Humanity ReSale Store), Catlett created an appealing tablescape, in spite of the fact that most of her tablecloths and serving pieces are currently in storage.
“I’ll tell you what I’ve learned over the years,” she began. “If you just find a fun way to display or present something, most people just seem to enjoy it more — and it doesn’t take much.”
Simple efforts
Catlett has always been partial to a pretty table.
“When I was growing up, we always cooked on Sundays; you might not know who was coming to dinner, but people always came home with us from church,” said the artist. “At that point we had no fine china or anything like that, but I always thought we had to have a centerpiece on the table, so I’d go out and collect pine cones or whatever else I could find.”
She enjoys the presentation as much as she does the cooking, she admitted. And that cooking began early. Once the cotton came in, Catlett, who was allergic to the blooms, spent a lot of time indoors, helping her mother in the kitchen.
“I was always an experimenter,” said the cook who was working on cornbread by the age of 5, and prepared Baked Alaska at about age 13 for the pastor who came to dinner.
There were not many books in the house, but she enthusiastically read the few cookbooks her mother had, and devoured the encyclopedia and every volume of the Book of Knowledge.
“I read those like novels,” said Catlett, still an avid reader today. “I felt like I traveled the world because I loved reading about anything.”
Eventually, college took Catlett to California, but she always knew she would one day want to be “closer to nature and farm.” She moved to Columbus in 1984.
Little mysteries, real truths
Life has always been a blessing, Catlett said, but, as with most people, that does not mean there haven’t been demanding times. Small things can help in navigating them, perhaps something very simple, like the “surprise dinners” she used to serve her children one night a week.
Many years ago, Catlett was working full-time, sustaining her family post-divorce and stretching the budget. With a bit of ingenuity, she turned leftovers into an anticipated treat.
“I would make little foil pouches and fill them with different leftovers and heat them in the oven,” Catlett explained. She then put all the pouches on a large platter in the center of the table. Each child could choose three “mystery” pouches.
“It might be all green beans, or it could have been meat and potatoes … they could trade if they were in agreement,” she smiled. “It wasn’t anything but leftovers, but that became their favorite meal all week. Even when they got to bring their friends to dinner, they’d say, can we have a surprise dinner?”
Her few years in that position helped hone an empathy she has today for young mothers, many single, trying to nurture their families. She draws on her own experience when saying again that small touches can have an impact — such as using the pretty platter for foil-wrapped leftovers or making sure her boys grew up using cloth napkins.
Even in strenuous times, she refused to give up mentally, a strength that probably has as deep a foundation in her years on the Missouri cotton farm as her cooking skills do.
“I have always been blessed, no matter what the difficulties … I have always been rich,” Catlett said.
STUFFED CUCUMBER SLICES
Makes 20-25 slices
1 large cucumber
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon blue cheese, crumbled
1 teaspoon grated onion
2 teaspoons minced parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
20-25 pimiento strips
CHEESE WAFERS
Makes 10 dozen
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 sticks butter
2 cups flour
2 cups Rice Krispies
1-2 teaspoon red pepper (I use 1/2 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
FORGET ‘EMS
Makes 4 dozen
2 egg whites
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup chocolate chips
FESTIVE CHEESE BALL
Makes two 4-inch balls
3 (8-once) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (4-ounce) package crumbled blue cheese
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 (8-ounce) package chopped dates
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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