I got this from my mother

Sometimes when the children are about to eat something delicious, I tell them I need to taste it first to make sure it's not poisonous. They will laugh and tell me to just take a little bite. Sometimes I fake die, then attempt to save them by making off with the delicious "poisoned" food.

Who knew I could work a piece of furniture into the mix?

credenza
noun
1. A buffet, sideboard, or bookcase, especially one without legs.
2. A piece of office furniture having a long flat top and usually file drawers.
[Italian, from Medieval Latin crēdentia, trust (possibly from the practice of placing food and drink on a sideboard to be tasted by a servant before being served to ensure that it contained no poison).
"credenza." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 31 May. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/credenza