Sometimes you just need a little comfort food, and this is one of my favorites.  My mother, AKA Marmee, came into town for a very short, way too fast visit in October 2012.  My husband’s best friend requested her special grape salad, first seen by our friend’s at my husband’s 30th birthday party.  Marmee likes to make people happy, so here is a photo of the remains and the recipe:

Marmee’s Grape Salad

Ingredients:

2 lbs.  green grapes, pulled from vines, washed and dried

1 8 oz. cream cheese (I use reduced fat or Neufatchel)

1/2 cup sugar (I substitute equivalent of Truvia baking mix)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 8 oz. sour cream (I use reduced fat)

1/2 cup brown sugar (I use Splenda brown sugar baking mix)

1 cup chopped pecans

Mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract together in large bowl until combined.  Fold in sour cream.  Add grapes to bowl and combine to coat grapes well (I use a spoon and stir from the bottom up).  Spread grapes in pretty dish or bowl, I like using see-through Pyrex because it looks pretty from the side. Sprinkle brown sugar all over top.  Sprinkle chopped pecans on top of that.  Eat immediately (because it’s awesome!) or refrigerate until ready to serve.