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NATCHEZ — After a lifetime of living in Natchez, Ann “Sissy” Eidt, at age 82, sold her house, packed her belongings, and headed to Oxford to begin a new life, one closer to her children and grandchildren.

While her many friends and family left behind in Natchez miss her dearly, so do other Natchezians who knew her simply for her delicious culinary creations. Eidt operated the Everything Fancy catering company for 30 years and was the go-to caterer for occasions in Natchez.

Eidt worked for many years as a nurse when the first of her four children were babies. However, when childcare became an issue, she left nursing as a stay-at-home mom. After her youngest was born, she began her catering business.

She no longer caters but still cooks for herself and her family when the mood strikes.

“Living in Oxford has been good. I’ve got my children here, which has been great,” Eidt said. “You bet I do miss Natchez. Yes, I do. I uprooted my life at 82. I lived my whole life there. Yes, I miss Natchez and all my friends there.”

She moved to Oxford on Sept. 9, 2022, and has been back to Natchez only three or four times. “It’s such a long drive.”

Eidt has acclimated well to Oxford and has hooked up with other Natchezians, such as Terry and Paula Estes, who gather for lunch regularly.

She also said Oxford is home to wonderful restaurants, but the “cost of living is outrageous. Grocery stores are outrageous!”

Eidt keeps up with Natchez through calls with her friends, through Facebook and by reading The Natchez Democrat.

She also frequently contributes recipes to the Natchez Cook Club Facebook page, where she posted photos and a recipe for an Apple Upside-down Cake she made recently.

“I don’t do a lot of scratch baking,” Eidt said. “It’s too exact. I don’t always measure.”

This cake provided some leeway for her to improvise a bit. Eidt found the original recipe on Pinterest but made it her own.

“It called for a spice cake mix, but I didn’t have that. I had butter pecan, so I used it, but I added some apple pie spice to it,” she said. “The cake was delicious. I put it in the freezer for my children coming in for the ballgame. And it freezes beautifully.”

Eidt said to say hello to her Natchez friends.

“Please tell everyone I love them and miss them,” she said.

Sissy’s Apple Upside Down Cake

Note: She does not measure, so she doesn’t often bake. Eidt has done her best to provide accurate measurements with this recipe.

Two medium apples sliced

6 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 tsp apple pie spice

Melt the butter and add the sugar and spice mix until combined.

Put in the bottom of well-greased bundt pan,

Add sliced apples to fill the bottom of the pan.

1 box of butter pecan cake mix (That’s what I had on hand. You can use whatever kind you want — spice, yellow or white.)

Add 3 eggs

1 cup of water

1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce

Approx. 1 tsp apple pie spice

Approx. 1 tsp cinnamon

An additional 2 to 2-½ cups of chopped apples

Mix well

Pour over brown sugar sliced apples

Baked at 350 for about 45 minutes.