Gilding the Lily since 2006
Made a lovely selection of zakuski for afternoon tea with @onstad and @lifeandmarmalade yesterday — from the top: roasted peppers in adjika and krestianskaya sausage (both store-bought from Roman Russian Market), white cheddar, mustard, turmeric pickled eggs, pickled beets, homegrown cornichons, dark rye, tomato-cucumber salad, …
Fridge-clearing yachaejeon (vegetable pancake; center) made of gai lan, carrots, red bell pepper, zucchini, shimeji mushrooms, onions, and garlic chives (from the garden!) in a batter of flour and backyard eggs, seasoned with sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger and garlic. The rest of the stuff: …
Here’s my cake version of an Americano (a lovely apéritif coming into warmer weather). This could be more Negroni-ish with the addition of juniper berry extract (or could be brushed with gin before icing), but the orange and vermouth fragrance are just lovely with this moist and fluffy cake. Recipe after the jump.
Here’s a simple drizzle cake variation baked in a regular cake pan, with colorful sugar sprinkles on top.
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
3 whole mandarin oranges or one navel orange, seeded and cut into large chunks (leave the peels on!)
~3/4 cup orange marmalade, preferably chunky
3 eggs
1 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sweet red vermouth
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp Campari
couple drops yellow food coloring
Preheat oven to 325F and grease a 10-cup bundt pan (or two 8″ round cake pans). Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
If you’re using a navel orange, trim about 1/4″ off the ends. Pulse the orange(s) in a food processor until they’re very well chopped up but still sort of chunky. Add enough marmalade to make about 1 1/2 cups total, then mix with the eggs, oil and vermouth. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan(s) and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 55-60 minutes in the bundt pan or 30 minutes in round cake pans. If using a bundt pan, cool for 15 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack, or turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack.
When completely cooled, mix the powdered sugar with the Campari and food coloring (helps make it more orange instead of pink) and drizzle over the top of the cake(s).
I wrote about the breakfast habits of 17-century witches for Extra Crispy, possibly giving the anti-grain contingent a bit of ammo in the process. St. Anthony’s Fire sounds fucking dreadful.
Fresh rigatoni from @providorepdx smothered in Sunday gravy, meaty af thanks to plenty of @nicky.usa steak grind (trim from 35-day aged, grass-fed @creekstone_farms steaks). Homegrown tomatoes; tons of garlic, shallots, and red wine; fresh thyme and oregano from the garden. 🥩 🍝 🥩 🍝#meatconcierge #bolognese …
My latest book is now available, and I really hope you’ll read it!
“Berries are our food, our drink, our medicine; they get us high, they tell our lore, they underscore our social identities. Though they be diminutive and endearingly sweet, they should not be underestimated. There is no denying that berries have a magical hold on humans.”
Fun berry facts:
Look for Berries at your local bookseller’s, or right here:
Chocolate Easter bunny: Nicky Farms rabbit braised in mole poblano made with guajillo and ancho chiles, raisins, pumpkin and sesame seeds, cinnamon, cumin, homemade orange bitters, palm sugar, plus a goodly amount of homemade almond Nutella and @theochocolate. Served with orca beans and tomato rice, …