A Block Party

It’s easy to organize a guest list when all the invitees live within a three-block radius, some in apartments in the same building. So any occasion for celebrating — a baptism, a first communion, a cousin arriving from the old country — the number of people invited to a party is enormous. No apartment is large enough to hold all the nonnas, nonnos, zias, zios, sorelli, and fratelli, and, of course, the parish priests.

Heaven defend the host who neglects to invite a family member or neighbor. Besides losing the affection and respect of the non-invitee, the host stands to lose half the guests. “You don’t invite my niece Maria, I don’t come,” shouts a nonna lying in wait for the host of a baptism party.

So, the block party is born. No invitations needed. If a nonna can see the festivities as she looks out a window, she is invited. No decorations needed — only the starched and ironed tableclothes on card tables surrounded by folding chairs. No hard liquor needed. A keg of beer, resting on two wooden saw horses, is the beverage of choice. No band needed. A nonno with an accordion and a friend with a mandolin are the music-makers.

The party begins at 5pm and lasts until … .

Little kids run underfoot. The baptismal baby is passed from hand to hand. Three nonnas stand in the middle of the street, linking arms and clapping their hands over their heads while dancing a tarantella. The baby’s mother and her friends move carefully through the crowd as they carry hot dishes to the tables. Guests sit at each table for only a minute—just long enough to taste the special dish there —and then move on to the next table.

All is fun and frivolity as dessert time approaches. The three nonnas, one of whom is the baby’s grandmother, have volunteered to make sweets for the party. Each leaves her table with a good deal of fussing, throat clearing, and announcing to the neighbor on either side what her mission is, and enlisting preteen boys to help with the “carrying.”

A few minutes later, the now front-apron-clad nonnas form a procession leading the blushing boys from table to table distributing the cakes and pastries. Each nonna has prepared her specialty, and the tension is strong as each attempts to overhear the rave reviews her dish receives.

The guests are talking about baseball, the baby’s sleeping habits, the price of sausage, the newest pizzeria. But nobody mentions the sweets. As the nonnas wend their way back up the street, they notice that each table holds empty dessert dishes. The guests have consumed every generous morsel in the time it took for the nonnas and their crew to serve them.

The nonnas sit together at a table. “Next party, I make nothing,” one says.

“Next party, I’m not even going,” says the second as she dismisses the whole affair by dusting her hands together.

“This time, I have no choice, it’s my granddaughter’s baptism,” she says. “But next party, I invite you both to go to the movies with me. Maybe we’ll see something good with Esther Williams in it.”

Cream Puffs

Makes 24 party puffs

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unslated butter
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 4 eggs, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 450 degreesF.
2. Bring water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil.
3. Add flour all at once.
4. Stir into water mixture until a thick paste forms and the batter leaves the sides of the pan.
5. Place batter into bowl of electric mixer.
6. With flat beater, beat eggs into batter one at a time until the batter is smooth and glossy.
7. Drop 1/2 tablspoons of batter onto buttered cookie sheet, leaving space around each puff.
8. Bake 15 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 350 degreesF.
9. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until puffs are golden and dry.
10. Cool puffs on wire rack

Orange Cream Filling

• 2 cups whole milk ricotta, drained
• 6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange rind
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling

1. In an electric mixer with a wire whisk, beat all ingredients, except sprinkling sugar, together.
2. Cut each puff crosswise; fill bottom generously with orange cream; replace top.
3. Arrange on serving platter; sprinkle generously with confectioners’ sugar.

Whipped Cream Filling

• 2 cups heavy cream, well chilled
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling

1. With the well-chilled whisk attachment of an electric mixer in a well chilled bowl, beat all ingredients, except sprinkling sugar together until soft peaks form.
2. Cut each puff crosswise; fill bottom generously with whipped cream; replace top.
3. Arrange on serving platter; sprinkle generously with confectioners’ sugar.