After hours of preparation for these modern Thanksgiving meals, few members of the opposite sex are neither knowledgeable nor fully appreciative of the hours of preparation that go into those fine and delectable dishes. Enjoy, they do, along with morning parades on the television and afternoon football games. Nope, only other cooks truly realize the time and effort spent in preparing and presenting the Thanksgiving “spreads” feasible to hungry eyes – that is, unless you’re one of those who just cook hotdogs.
That’s why, when I received an invitation to attend my first “Gobble, Gobble Post Thanksgiving Get Together” at cousin Pam’s home, I jumped at the opportunity to spend time with relatives. I normally don’t get the chance to see them often and was really looking forward to their company. This was a “post” get-together – translates into no cooking, just bring leftovers! However, my husband was a long distance truck driver, and this was, yet, again, another holiday in which he was not able to come home. Earlier, I had cooked a Thanksgiving meal for both mine and my husband’s family at the lake house, and there were no leftovers.
With a show of good Southern manners, I displayed my “raising” by asking, “What can I bring?” One of the “nieces” mentioned a pound cake; therein, was the beginning of my problem. Now (chest puffed out with a little pride), I can say that I bake one of the best Cold Oven Pound Cakes that you have ever tasted; so, initially, I saw no problem.
The next morning, eager to tackle this beloved task, I awoke early and, with reverence, hauled out the Artisan KitchenAid – Platinum Series (love, love, love that big stand mixer), set out the eggs and butter to come to room temperature, measured all dry ingredients and buttered and floured the tube pan. I was humming and in my own little bit of heaven, but before long, I discovered the day was going to be a little hectic. First sign was when the cake did not rise; something was wrong with the oven!
“Okay,” I thought, “Stay calm.” There are enough ingredients. Just mix another cake batter. So, this time I watched the cake in the oven - like a hawk; it had to cook an additional 20 minutes. After ten years, the oven no longer calibrated the heat correctly – you might as well cut off my right arm! Eventually, the cake turned out fine – just not my best. After removing the cake from the Nordic pan and placing it on the crystal cake stand, I stood back to admire it and take a picture. Every woman admires a perfectly molded pound cake; they are a work of art.
It was still early afternoon, so I decided a nice warm shower would calm my nerves and put me in a refreshed mood for the evening. When I returned to the kitchen, to my horror…of all horrors, the cake was strewn in little pieces … all over the kitchen floor! It never dawned on me that when I fed the German Shepherd pup inside the house, he would discover that on this day, Thanksgiving Day, that he was able to stand on his hind legs and help himself to the kitchen counter! Aieeee!!! Heart heaving erratically while grabbing the broom, I whisked his little fanny out the front door!
Breathe. Think. Pound cakes are not cheap. If done correctly, the beating of the batter takes time … to ensure that each egg is beaten thoroughly and incorporated into the batter which consists of five eggs, three sticks of butter , three cups of sugar, three cups of flour (in addition to other secret ingredients) – all of which I did not have enough to make a third batter!
Wet-headed from the shower, I threw on jeans, an old sweat shirt, and sandals and headed for the grocery store. Yes, the pedal was put to the medal; I got there in record time, and must have looked like a haint as I zoomed up and down the aisles. Nobody would look me straight in the face! It was like the young cashier knew I was there, but pretended not to see me! Thank goodness I did not see anyone I knew, and no one took a picture, for most assuredly, such a photo would have ended up as a post for one of those crazy Wally World shoppers on Facebook!
Finally, a third cake was baked – with 30 minutes to spare. After several mishaps in trying to bake The Thanksgiving Pound Cake, I found myself in a pretty thankless mood with a rotten attitude. As I walked through the door into my cousin’s home … into the welcoming arms of cousins and “nieces” … into a warm home filled with many wonderful and friendly folk, I was so thankful and glad that I had finally made it to the Gobble, Gobble get-together! Sitting and listening to young people talking and making fun with each other about their likes and dislikes… discussing shopping plans for Black Friday…and watching funny movies (Ernest T. & Don Knotts !!!) – well, you just had to have been there; it was a scene reminiscent of old-time family get-togethers! Pound cake forgotten, it was just the shot of “family fix” that was needed for this thankful heart!
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