I love to entertain. I remember growing up my parents would always have dinner parties. They had many friends and I remember once a month they would meet with their Friends Club as they called it. This friends club consisted of friends my Mom had known as a young girl. I mean we are talking elementary school or at least that was the core group. The men kind of came along for the ride and I think they ultimately became friends as well. Other couples came along later.
When it was my parent’s turn to host it was a big deal in our house. My Mom would go to Ebinger’s Bakery which unfortunately went out of business in 1972. They had a killer chocolate cake that had chocolate pudding and a heavy moist chocolate cake. The pudding was not in the cake it was actually between the layers and used as the frosting. And then as if it couldn’t get any better, the cake was crumbled and sprinkled on the top and sides. There was a little bit of heaven in each bite. I have provided the links for the cake and a short history of the bakery below.
For those who did not like chocolate, as if, my Mom also bought one of their spectacular Lemon Meringue pies. If we were lucky we got a piece if there were any leftovers. This was a big treat because dessert was not a staple on our dinner menus. My Mom and I were constantly on diets. My Dad and brother got off easy, they never seemed to gain a pound.
One of the other memorable aspects of this event was how my Dad set the table. He is a master at presentation. He once told me that when he and my Mom were first married and they entertained they had a limited budget so they made their table look as spectacular as possible so no one would pay that much attention to the food. It was all about the experience.
This Friend’s Club became our family. They were like Aunts and Uncles, there for all the good times and the sad times. I can honestly say I love them all.
So recently there was an article in the Post (link below) about entertaining outside. I have always had mixed emotions about dining al Fresco. On the one hand, if you get a beautiful night entertaining under the stars is wonderful. On the other hand if it is too hot and humid as is typical in DC you can swelter or get eaten by bugs or both.
So I have several dinner parties planned and I will have to make my decision whether to dine under the stars or in the climate controlled venue of my home. Either way my table will look great thanks to the tutelage of my parents.
A link for the recipe for Ebinger’s Blackout Cake or something close to it http://theweek.com/article/index/35247/recipe-of-the-week-blackout-cake-brooklyns-long-lost-dessert
A link for the recipe for Ebinger’s http://www.brooklyn.com/faqanswer.php?93
A link for Washington Post article http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/outdoor-entertaining-stay-calm/2013/05/07/a7e636e0-ac5b-11e2-a8b9-2a63d75b5459_story.html
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