Last Friday, we had lunch at Come and Take It Barbecue in Alpine. It was no ordinary lunch… it was an opportunity to meet the artists that were participating in the 32^nd annual Trappings of Texas Art Show & Sale at the Museum of the Big Bend.

Our friend and neighbor, Mr. Marty Davis, gifted us with all-inclusive badges for this event where he and his wife Yana were Gold Cattle Baron Sponsors.

When we made our way through the line at Come and Take It with our plates loaded down with some of the tastiest food we’ve eaten lately, we found a couple seats at the “Lindy Cook Severns and Tim Oliver” table. I’ve known Lindy for several years now, and we joked about how we always end up at the same table at events.
Lindy is a phenomenal pastels artist based in Fort Davis, and Tim Oliver is a truly talented watercolor artist from Lubbock. We enjoyed visiting with Lindy and Jim Severns, Missy and Tim Oliver and the Severns’ friends, Sandi and Mike Boston, who were also at the table.

(Note: When we were brand new to Fort Davis, I bought a package of Lindy’s local art greeting cards – and only sent one of them because they were too beautiful to part with! Here’s Lindy’s website – you too can have your own postcards, greeting cards and artwork to hoard 🙂 https://www.lindycookseverns.com/  )

And in case you need to look at or purchase absolutely stunning Texas watercolors, painted by one of the tallest men I’ve been around lately, check out Tim’s website at https://timoliverart.com … his work was incredible. He and his wife Missy are really great, too.

Lots of stories were shared over our plates piled high with tender brisket, succulent pulled pork, homemade potato salad, crisp and tangy coleslaw and Come and Take It’s secret recipe ranch-style beans.

When Mike Boston was telling us a story about how he proposed to his wife Sandi fifty-some-odd years ago, she got embarrassed and went to visit with someone at another table. “Oh, I’ve heard this story so many times and he always gets it wrong!” she said with a wink.

All of a sudden, it was just the two of us left at the table, and Mike was standing up front with a microphone in hand. The ladies from our table, along with a few extras, were holding bouquets with happy sunflowers, and Sandi had a crown of flowers placed on her head and a look of surprise on her face.

Tim Oliver began a surprise wedding ceremony that Mike planned to honor his 55^th anniversary with Sandi. Flowers by Double K Flowers in Alpine and music by Bake Turner, the surprise wedding ceremony went off without a hitch. We had no idea we were having lunch with the wedding party. It was the sweetest thing.

While no wedding cake was served, Jenny Turner and her crew baked dozens of personal-size pecan pies and lemon chess pies. Just the right size, they were baked in the lids of mason jars. Two of my favorite pies in handy little servings was the perfect way to finish our barbecue luncheon.

We didn’t make it to all of the Trappings of Texas events, but we did attend the Grand Opening Exhibit Show & Sale at the Museum of the Big Bend later that night. We were still stuffed from lunch at Come and Take It and only ate from the fajitas table and the miniature cheesecake table.

In addition to beef and chicken fajitas, a pulled pork sliders table, chips and queso and all sorts of crudités platters were placed within reach. Big Bend Brewing Company provided beer, and wine was also available.

We made new friends and visited with plenty of old friends, and perused the many masterpieces of the talented artists that participated in Trappings. Getting to do all of that in the wondrous Museum of the Big Bend made for a fantastic evening.

Lemon Chess Pie

2 cups sugar
1 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon cornmeal
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup milk
grated lemon rind from 1 lemon
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 9-inch pie shell (uncooked)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, and cornmeal in a large bowl. Add eggs, melted butter, milk, lemon rind, lemon juice, and salt and whisk well. Pour into pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake for another 40 to 45 minutes. Pie will still jiggle a bit, but will firm up as it cools. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Printed with the permission of the Alpine Avalanche 🙂