The Stieglitz family, German Jews who emigrated to Hoboken and later settled in New York, kept the German meal rhythm: an early Frühstück, a hot Mittagessen at midday (the real meal, especially on Sundays), the ritual of Kaffee und Kuchen in the afternoon, and a cold Abendbrot in the evening—bread, cold cuts, cheeses, no cooking. In the summer, at their Lake George country house, this schedule relaxed in favor of meals taken outdoors, in the spirit of the *Sommerfrische*, the summer holiday in the open air dear to German families.

The quintessential German trick: a brown sauce is thickened and flavored by crumbling gingerbread (*Lebkuchen* or *Pfefferkuchen*) into it. The combination of clove, cinnamon, and ginger with vinegar gives that deep sweet-sour profile that marks the North German cuisine the family came from.