Life is full of times when you decide to do something for a loved one even though you know you have many obstacles in the way, but you go ahead regardless: you make do with what you have; you use up your resources, you recycle plain staples into tasty viands.
My husband Carl Illig and I went to Rice Institute and graduated in 1930 only because William Marsh Rice gave us free tuition. Then Carl finished Texas University Law School.
In 1940 at the time of the Depression and WWII Carl and I and our five year old daughter, Elaine, lived on the outskirts of Houston on the corner of Wesleyan and Coleridge. Houston had not grown out that far yet.
Our white cottage with a red rose over the door sat in a prairie surrounded by sunflowers and Blackeyed Susans next to a shelled road which gave us access to a bus several blocks away.
The cottage had a living room/dining room combined in front and a small kitchen in back. The rest of the house had three small bedrooms and bath. The living room/dining room had blue wall paper, green rug and blue and green and white material on the love seat and two stuffed chairs. The long white dotted Swiss curtains gave an airy feeling. But since we had no air conditioning (that did not come to us until ten years later in another house) we had to open the front and back door to catch a prairie breeze blowing by.
Carl and I were happy at last to have our own home. No matter we lived on the outskirts of town and the guests might not have enough gasoline coupons; no matter I would have to stretch my budget and count my sugar coupons; no matter I had only a dining room/living room to place three card tables for twelve guests, I could cook so I was determined to have a wedding party for my cousin Virgil Ellis and his fiance, Bebe. Virgil’s mother, Aunt Edith, had been good to me all those years we lived in an apartment above them. I remember when she recycled an old hand-me-down evening dress into pantaloons for a costume for me for the Archi-Arts Ball at Rice.
I called Virgil who is three years younger than I, tall, lanky, with twinkling blue eyes, to invite him and Bebe for a dinner party before their wedding. He is thrilled; I can tell by his jolly response. (After his sister died of T.B. when the disease was all overHouston, he looked upon me as a sister.) I said, “Virgil, invite 12 all together for three tables.”
Virgil and my brother, Fisher, ran together. I won’t know his friends, I thought, but we’ll just have to get acquainted.
When Virgil thanked me, I could tell he was happy because he didn’t think anyone would be able to entertain for him.
When my vegetable man drove up in his truck, I greeted him happily as I was glad to get his fresh lettuce, green onions, celery, peppers, cucumbers, and radishes. For the menu I chose spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and cream puffs. This would be easy for me to cook, and cheap and filling. I would have the guests make their own salad.
The day before the party came Elaine and I went out in the prairie to pick wild flowers. We put the vases of flowers on top of the upright piano–the only spot available. I made the shells of the cream puffs: One cup water and one stick of butter in a saucepan; bring to a boil and add one cup of flour. Immediately stir and stir until it forms a ball. Take off stove and cool, then add, one at a time, four eggs, beating well. Drop by tablespoons-full onto an ungreased sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. Cool in an undrafty place. When cool, cut off the tops and save and scoop out any filaments of dough left in. Make custard.
How to Make Custard: In sauce pan mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 t salt and 6 tablespoons of flour. Then add two cups of milk. Cook over low heat to avoid burning, stirring constantly until it comes to a boil. Boil one minute, remove from heat. Now beat two eggs, and add a little of the above mixture and stir into eggs to temper them, then add eggs to the milk mixture and bring to a boiling point. Cool. Add two teaspoons of vanilla extract. Cool and put in refrigerator overnight until you are ready to serve the dessert, or just before so the custard won’t be so cold. When you serve the creampuffs, put custard in shells, add top and sprinkle with powdered sugar. (Modern version avoids powdered sugar because its hard to remove from clothes. ) You may serve the cream puffs with chocolate syrup or cover top with thin chocolate icing. (One cup powdered sugar and 2 T cocoa. Gradually add one or two T of hot water until it gets the consistency you wish.)
The day of the party came. I set up three borrowed card tables and put the dining room chairs around. Also I took the bedroom chairs, kitchen chairs and some folding outside chairs to make enough for 12 people.
I cooked the spaghetti sauce by sauteeing onion, pepper celery, and garlic and some grated carrot for about five minutes, then added three pounds of ground meat, until it browned, then added two bay leaves, three teaspoons salt, one teaspoon basil, three teaspoons sugar, one teaspoon oregano, and one teaspoon cinnamon. (I learned about the grated carrot and the cinnamon from an Italian neighbor.) Then I add three
Number two cans of tomatoes. I left the sauce cooking for an hour or two watching to see if it needed more liquid. Then I put a large pot full of water and two tablespoons salt ready to cook the thin spaghetti just before the guests came. Next the three loaves of sliced French Bread needed to be spread with butter that I softened and added three cloves of garlic mashed, paprika and salt and chopped parsley. Then I wrapped them in foil, put them near the oven to heat for twenty minutes just before serving.
It was getting late in the afternoon. The three tables needed silver. “Elaine, will you please set the tables for me.” She liked the idea I could trust her to help. Then in the center of each table I placed the following: a shallow bowl with a pin frog into which I stuck green onions, celery stalks with yellow leaves at the top. Onto the extended stalks I hung onion and pepper rings. I finished by adding radishes and cucumber slices.
The guests arrived. Being from a large family I am used to crowds, but my husband being an only child was not; so he was a little leery of having so many in our small house. Many had brought wedding presents so that took up the first part of the party. Then I announced, “Everyone take your place at your table according to place cards. I am calling on you to help me give this party for Virgil. You are to create your own salad, either green or fruit salad. You will find material for green salad at your table, fruit salad makings on the dining table and lettuce, nuts and spices and plates.”
The judges will give prizes for the most original, the prettiest and the ugliest. After the contest I shall serve the spaghetti from the stove in the kitchen. (This idea saved space but the kitchen would be hot from the oven and no large fan existed there. However, the open back door and opened windows helped some. In those days we did not have to worry about burglars.) Soon the pungent smell of garlic bread spreading through the house began to stir appetites and get guests moving.
Making their salads, the guests stirred around getting acquainted, bumping into each other in the crowded space, going to the table to get more things for their salads. Virgil, whose profession consisted of making designs in iron and whose hobby consisted in making designs in ceramics, was making a salad with a half of canned pear for the face; yellow celery leaves for the hair, raisins for eyes, red pepper strips for lips! Most everyone seemed to be enjoying their task; at least it seemed that they were; they were laughing so loud, making fun of the others. Finally ones who got prizes gave them to bride and groom. Next the guests came in the kitchen to get their serving of spaghetti, and later I brought around the cream puffs.
E.P. The party was a success, not because we had a caterer and servants, not because we had a large house, not because it was close to town, but because I was determined to do something for my cousin and had the ability to cook and the energy to do it.