Happy Thursday, friends! Your thinking links this week:
We move into our new HOUSE this weekend, so I’ve got a to-do list a mile long and I’m running around like a crazy chicken (primer and paint! packing tape! don’t forget to forward the mail! more paint! call the movers! also how does a person get paint out of his/her hair?! asking for a friend), but I wanted to make sure to tell you about this cake before we forget about citrus and move straight to strawberries/artichokes/rhubarb.
Okay so before we talk about cake I have to tell you that I went to the dentist today (just after writing the intro of this post, actually) and it turns out that, HEY, I’ve got a cavity! Which I’m just thrilled about. But the best part was when my dentist very helpfully informed me that the reason I developed said cavity is because of carbs. Namely, that I’m eating them too frequently and they’re wearing away my enamel?
As he was explaining the situation, I looked at him with wide eyes and an entirely innocent pout and said I’d work on reducing my carb intake. Because clearly, homeboy doesn’t know the half of it.
So with that in mind, HERE IS THIS CAKE! It’s rich with grassy olive oil, bright with fresh orange zest, and positively bursting with carbs. It’s the kind of cake that would make a wonderful dinner party dessert, but also the kind that I can’t help but sneak small slivers from throughout the day as I work and putter around. (#cavities.) A perfectly crumbed, gorgeously scented, sweet-but-not-too-sweet snacking cake.
I’m thinking of baking one for my dentist.
…
Happy week, friends! What are your plans for the weekend? I’m looking forward to traveling to Utah to see my very talented cousin star in this funny-looking play. Here are your thinking links to enjoy!
It rained all weekend here, and I didn’t want it to end. The weekend, I mean, and maybe even the rain. I cozied up with (too many) fat slices of pie and a terrible/awesome line-up of movies on tv (Major League, Footloose, Sister Act… I could go on but I’ve got a rep to protect) – needless to say, it was GREAT.
And now it’s Monday and, I don’t know about you, but I think that sometimes Monday needs a big, juicy fist to the face. So we’re making french toast! In a waffle iron! On a weekday! Take that, Monday.
I’ve been leafing through Dan Shumski’s Will It Waffle? for the past few weeks and, in the matter of classic french toast, I just had to know: would it, indeed, waffle?
The answer is yes, my friends. The answer is YES.
Bonuses to waffling french toast (as opposed to employing the traditional skillet method) include but are not limited to: the elimination of flipping and/or babysitting; extra crispy edges; and, most importantly, the creation of delicious divots for maximum syrup collection.
So not only will it waffle but, indeed, it should. Let’s kick this Monday in the shins with waffled french toast!
…
Get ready to pull out all of your best emojis, peeps, because it’s the return of Pie Day Friday!!!!
Except it’s actually PI DAY Friday (in anticipation of tomorrow, March 14th), which is a similar concept, but also pretty different. More numbers. Infinity of them, to be exact. But also more pie!
Which, I think we can all agree, is a good, good thing.
The first time I can remember eating coconut cream pie was in Charleston, South Carolina which, if you’re in the business of eating coconut cream pie, it turns out is a good place to be. It was summertime, a year or so after college and mom, dad, Casey and I (where was middle sis Emily?? Did she opt out or did we forget her? It’s really hard to say) piled into a booth at Jim ‘N Nick’s. Before we paid the check but after we stuffed our faces with thick slices of barbecued brisket (and weren’t really sure we could handle any more), dessert arrived. A single slice of coconut cream pie, billowing with fluffy mounds of custard and cream, as cool and smooth as a southern summer’s day is hot and sticky…
We dug into it and just looked at each other, eyes wide, mouths working. Because THAT was some pie.
This one’s got the same sweet, toasted coconut flavor, the same piles of cooling custard and cream, plus an extra, blond layer of salty caramel, just to sweeten the deal. It’s still a balanced slice, though, because instead of using sweetened coconut, we call for unsweet. (What goes around comes around, as Justin Timberlake said that one time).
If ever a day called for pie, it’s tomorrow. Make this one! 3.14159265359 times. (Give or take a few).
…
Another week is (almost) in the books! Let’s celebrate with this week’s thinking links:
A few things that have recently blown my mind:
1. The amount of money someone needs, on their actual person, to buy a house. It’s… a lot of dollas. YIKES.
2. The kid who played Jimmy Woods in The Wizard is the SAME KID who played Les in Newsies AND Billy Heywood in Little Big League. THIS GUY’S CAREER THOUGH!
3. The correct way to say it is “Daylight Saving Time.” “Daylight Savings” isn’t a thing. WHO KNEW??
4. This cake. THE CAKE, MY GOD, THE CAKE.
Let’s talk about number four.
THIS CAKE. I think it’s my best one yet. (And as someone who’s made their fare share of chocolate cakes over the years, that is saying something.)
I made it for you to help celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, which is in a week. I’m not particularly keen on St. Patty’s, but any excuse to lick cream cheese frosting from the beaters is fine by me. Hooray for St. Patrick!
The dark stout in the batter is a dream – it really brings out the chocolate flavor and helps create a sturdy, moist crumb. And the chocolate cream cheese frosting? Smooth and dense and oh so luscious. It’s the perfect balance of deep chocolate flavor and bright, light tang. It’s like heaven on an offset spatula.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! (Yes, past tense did. It was a huge cake and now it’s definitely gone because we finished it.)
Still, it’s nice to know that even if we are low on dollas, we’re absolutely RICH with cake.
For the full recipe, head over to the Page-A-Day Blog from Workman Publishing!
Hi, friends! Some thinking links as we close out this week:
Evidence that you’re an adult:
1. You own a tablecloth.
2. 10pm feels TOO LATE. For anything.
3. A productive day is one that involves laundry.
4. Really high heels just aren’t worth it.
5. You can use the expression “on fleek” in a sentence but don’t actually know what it means.
6. You can eat cheese and crackers for dinner and answer to NO ONE.
7. You place a premium on being well hydrated, and keep a water bottle around at all times.
8. Dental floss is a necessity.
9. You know when stuff goes on sale at the grocery store (Wednesday, obvi).
10. YOU OWN A HOUSE!
Number ten number ten number ten number ten! It’s happening. We bought an adorable house in Seattle and it’s not ours quite quite yet but it’s going to be soon, and did I mention that it’s adorable? #ADULT.
To celebrate, I made you a warm and hearty red curry stew, with sweet squash and tender chicken, bright spinach and creamy coconut milk. It’s adapted from Amanda Paa’s lovely cookbook, Smitten with Squash, which it turns out I really am. I’ve dog-eared about twelve pages so far, and am excited to cook my way through them all (Brown Butter Delicata Doughnuts HELLO).
In the meantime, I’m going to eat a big bowl of red curry off of my tablecloth while contemplating my 401k. In my HOUSE! Like a grown up. Yikes.
…
Again with a slow week around these parts! Don’t worry, things will pick up soon. Once I finish wading through the paperwork for our NEW HOUSE! #adult. More on that soon.
In the meantime, here’s what I’m thinking about, this Thursday: