In the early 60s, through this child's eyes, it seemed as if there was a holiday every weekend when fall came.
If not a bona fide one listed on the calendar, reasons for the family, friends and neighbors to drop by and gather every Saturday or Sunday afternoon, fluttered by like the brown leaves swirling to the sidewalks.
My grandmother, of the "...love the stranger, providing him with food and clothing..." school of hospitality, always had a nosh available for those who came by, with the snacks getting heavier and more kitchen-intensive as the dinner hour approached.
Arts and Culture This chocolate cake goes best with soulful conversations By Ellen Spear, Berkshires Week
A large dish of unshelled walnuts and a nutcracker were the anchor of the coffee table where appetizers congregated. I can't remember a Sunday when they failed to appear after Labor Day. The glass top on the table, which protected a deeply and elaborately carved mahogany bas-relief of flowers and foliage on the top of the table, was easy to wipe clean after the grazing. It took a lot of punishment as the assembled arrived, sauntered over to the table, reviewed the stream of choices, dug in, inevitably spilling something and floated back to their respective seats or into the kitchen to talk with Grandma. Every grazer had an audience -- the eyes of all the other guests would be upon the nosher, inspecting the relative level of tidbit that remained, to plan their move before nothing was left.
Next up, for family members who arrived on staggered schedules, was a dish of celery and carrot stalks. I could not abide the celery (still can't) but made short work of the carrots.
If it was a special occasion, sliced hard-boiled egg slices on Ritz crackers made their way from the kitchen, arranged in concentric circles on the plate. This would be followed by freshly made chopped liver with more Ritz. I waited for this moment. The chunks of egg and onion punctuated the smooth mash of chicken livers, which had been sauteed in chicken fat. It remains a mystery to me why my cholesterol has always been, and remains, at a hyper-healthy level.
A bowl of chopped herring with crackers usually arrived at the same time as the liver. I was careful to remain as far away from it as possible.
If it was a Saturday afternoon, baked goods were king. Visitors got sugar cookies to dunk in black coffee or hot tea served in a glass, rugelach (upon which I've expounded previously), ice box horns (for which I have a recipe so scant, it will be near impossible to attempt), and slices of cake. Marble loaf, chocolate sour cream cake, apple cake, babka and the sour cream pound cake -- the focus here.
Arts and Culture Tuck this easy-to-make apple cake into a lunch box By Ellen Spear, Berkshires Week
Grandma's cakes were always served in slices or squares, not wedges. The confections were baked in coffee cans, creating round slices, loaf pans for your average slice or baking dishes that yielded squares.
A slice on a dessert plate, fork poised next to it, was passed down the table from grandma's position at the dining room chair nearest the kitchen, where she was busy slicing and plating, leaving the task of each plate getting to the right recipient to the rest of us. There were always multiple choices. Many asked for "little pieces" of each, so there was no mindless passing. Attention was to be paid.
Have this pound cake on hand for expected or unexpected guests this season. Enjoy their smiles as they sample your handiwork with a cup of something hot and some good family gossip.
ANNIE'S SOUR CREAM POUND CAKE
INGREDIENTS
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter at room temperature
2 1/2 cups sugar
6 eggs at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon flavoring -- orange, lemon or vanilla (I tend to use lemon or vanilla so I can't vouch for the orange)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a tube pan or bundt pan with butter or your favorite baking spray. If using an unadorned tube pan, you might try lining it with parchment paper.
Sift the flour with the baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (a large bowl if you are using hand beaters), cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each is added.
Add one-third of the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed. When incorporated, add half the sour cream, mix until no white streaks remain. Repeat with another third of flour and remaining sour cream, ending with the rest of the flour, mixing thoroughly after every addition. Add the flavoring and mix through, for about a minute.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 80 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let the cake stand in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Then invert onto the rack to cool. Pull off any paper, if you used it and it adhered. When cooled, slide onto a serving plate and wait for guests to arrive. Resist the urge to eat most of it yourself with scoops of ice cream.