A cautionary tale

We went to Bucket's great-aunt's house for Easter dinner. It's always interesting there because there are too many people in a too small house, and everyone is just drinking away the social awkwardness. Good times are had by all.

So, there is a plate of what appears to be nut roll, all sliced up and ready to eat. I grab a piece, because who doesn't love nut roll? I take a big bite. It tastes like... meat? What the hell is that? Hawaiian Punch suggests that I give it to Bucket because he'll eat anything.

So I give the rest of the piece to Bucket and say, "Finish this for me." He shoves the whole thing in his pie hole, because again, who doesn't love nut roll? And then I tell him, "I think it's meat." He managed to choke it down and not spit it out, because he has manners.

As we're eating the (dry and oddly flavored) ham dinner and discussing this meat roll, my mother-in-law asks Bucket's great-aunt about it. Apparently, 40 years ago, the aunt's mother made this "veal roll" for Easter and she liked it. But then her mom died and she never got it again (that is the sad part). So this year, she ground up some meat and rolled it up in nut roll dough in hopes it would be the same.

It was not the same. I ate meat roll for no reason. I'm lobbying for labels on all the foods at Christmas Eve dinner (at the same house), lest I get tricked again.

The cautionary part: Don't just eat things because they look like things you have eaten before without incident. People are tricky.