Lunchrooms had recipe for tasteful recollection

It has been printed about 20 times, but still we get recipe requests for Memphis City Schools butter cookies. And when we sta r t talking about butter cookies, someone always brings up the peanut butter cookies.

We’re sharing both of the recipes with you again today, and asking you to share memories of the food you loved — or loathed — at Memphis City Schools, as the system’s 165-year run comes to an end.

The food at Melrose High School, in the cafeteria and around the football field on Friday nights, was legendary; you can find the decadent and lengthy recipe for Melrose Dressing online at commercialappeal.com.

The cheesy spaghetti at Douglass Elementary School was a favorite of Peggy McKenzie, an assistant manager editor at The Commercial Appeal. She recalls that some of the cafeteria workers were women from the neighborhood who saw to it that even the canned green beans were spiced up with good seasoning and pieces of meat.

But for many of us, there were peas and carrots that had to be eaten too. And the spaghetti at some schools — say Scenic Hills Elementary in the 1970s — was a mushy mess, the paper cartons of milk served close to room temperature. Of course, it was all made better by the tiny containers of ice cream, eaten with wooden spoons.

Sign on to The Commercial Appeal Facebook page at facebook. com/ commercialappeal to tell us what you remember about the food at your school, and to share any recipes you might have. Jennifer Biggs