Slackin'
Well, it has been a crazy week for me already and it is only Wednesday. I have had 4 auditions, my acting class, I have taught a million beginners how to dance salsa, and I have traipsed all over New York City in order to get my headshots reproduced for said auditions. Crazy. Oh and did I mention I did all of this in 100 degree weather? Amazing, I know. The plan was to take pictures of my first ever pound cake and post them, but I haven't had time so I will tell you about it instead.
On Saturday, my friend Cecily and I went to Central Park to sunbathe. It was a lot of fun, but it was also crazy hot. At one point we got up and I showed her some quick salsa moves. It was pretty fun and a little silly. We had planned on going out to some cute roof deck bar for ice cold beverages, but when we both got home we were pooped. I wanted something refreshing so I went into my fridge to find my fantasmic Iced Jasmine Green Tea - 2 tea bags, one package of mild stevia and you are good to go. I had a sip or two (pitchers) and some tortilla chips. They are my go to snack. I was not moving off that couch and the glorious fan cooling me off. Cecily wasn't either, so my cable-free self was forced to watch the chick flick "Under the Tuscan Sun." I actually have great affection for this movie because I recently went to Tuscany for a wedding and we stayed at this Agriturismo where the HOTTEST guy - Eduardo - lived. I was like well it isn't Positano - incidentally where my grandfather is from - but he will do! Ha no. But my friends and I sure can dream can't we? Well after about an hour of the movie the caffeine from the green tea kicked in and I was like time to bake, time to clean, time to try a new recipe. But for what occasion? Oh, I know! Max's birthday.
Now, I wrote about Max a couple of weeks ago. He doesn't love frosting, but he loves a sweet cake. I recall him telling me this time last year that his favorite cake ever is pound cake. Nothing like a birthday pound cake, right? At the time I had too many things going on so the pound cake went by the wayside, but this time? It was on. So I go into my trusty cookbooks: the first stop - Better Homes and Gardens. This has by far the best old school recipes like pumpkin pie, pie crust, chocolate cake, and I thought POUND CAKE. They had lemon poppy seed pound cake and a cream cheese pound cake, but neither seemed simple enough for Max. So I went into my binder. Now this binder is a compilation of recipes I have collected over the years from my various temp jobs - ah boredom. I found one! Simple and at 11 p.m. that was definitely what I was looking for. I hit the kitchen, highly caffeinated, with "Some Like it Hot" on the tele and get to work. Sing that torch song Marilyn, mix, mix, mix. The batter smells amazing and the texture is to die for. I grab my loaf pan spray it down and fill the pan. Upon first glance I think it is pretty full. Maybe it is a double recipe? But I decide to ignore my instincts a la Sheila and Ron and place it in the oven.
I watch the rest of "Some Like it Hot" then I clean my bathroom during some superhero short, then I fold and put away all of my clothes while watching the PBS ask campaign, then I start watching CAMP - which as the HUGE musical theatre dork that I am, I was so thrilled about watching. Then I checked on the pound cake. A good 35 minutes in - which is when the recipe said it would be done - the center is like water. Ugh. Now I clean my kitchen sing a long to Promises! Promises!, try to figure out where to hang some more pictures on my super bare walls, watch the drag birthday party with glee and then check on the pound cake again. Did I mention I was highly caffeinated? I stick a knife in the center and it is a hot gooey mess. Man oh man. Especially because the outer ring is done. Almost beyond done. At this point I am exhausted and it is time for the big showcase when Stephen Sondheim himself appears on screen. Sigh. Considering I just did one of his shows and it was rumored we were going to transfer I was transfixed.
1 a.m. CAMP is over and I am over the baking of this magical birthday pound cake that I envisioned would come out like the entenmann's pound cake my "grandma" Mary would use when making her version of strawberry shortcake - entenmann's pound cake, sliced strawberries, and redi-whip. AMAZING. No, it was a half, dare I say it, burned - eek - pound cake. I went to bed and when I woke up the next morning I cut of the edges to find this GORGEOUS cake. The only problem is you can't present someone with a sliced off edge pound cake for their birthday. So I stuck it in my freezer and will take it out when I want to make my "grandma" Mary's version of strawberry shortcake with creme fraiche.
As for Max's cake? Tonight I try again with a new recipe in hopes that I can make his birthday truly a happy one with an incredible and moist birthday pound cake.
On Saturday, my friend Cecily and I went to Central Park to sunbathe. It was a lot of fun, but it was also crazy hot. At one point we got up and I showed her some quick salsa moves. It was pretty fun and a little silly. We had planned on going out to some cute roof deck bar for ice cold beverages, but when we both got home we were pooped. I wanted something refreshing so I went into my fridge to find my fantasmic Iced Jasmine Green Tea - 2 tea bags, one package of mild stevia and you are good to go. I had a sip or two (pitchers) and some tortilla chips. They are my go to snack. I was not moving off that couch and the glorious fan cooling me off. Cecily wasn't either, so my cable-free self was forced to watch the chick flick "Under the Tuscan Sun." I actually have great affection for this movie because I recently went to Tuscany for a wedding and we stayed at this Agriturismo where the HOTTEST guy - Eduardo - lived. I was like well it isn't Positano - incidentally where my grandfather is from - but he will do! Ha no. But my friends and I sure can dream can't we? Well after about an hour of the movie the caffeine from the green tea kicked in and I was like time to bake, time to clean, time to try a new recipe. But for what occasion? Oh, I know! Max's birthday.
Now, I wrote about Max a couple of weeks ago. He doesn't love frosting, but he loves a sweet cake. I recall him telling me this time last year that his favorite cake ever is pound cake. Nothing like a birthday pound cake, right? At the time I had too many things going on so the pound cake went by the wayside, but this time? It was on. So I go into my trusty cookbooks: the first stop - Better Homes and Gardens. This has by far the best old school recipes like pumpkin pie, pie crust, chocolate cake, and I thought POUND CAKE. They had lemon poppy seed pound cake and a cream cheese pound cake, but neither seemed simple enough for Max. So I went into my binder. Now this binder is a compilation of recipes I have collected over the years from my various temp jobs - ah boredom. I found one! Simple and at 11 p.m. that was definitely what I was looking for. I hit the kitchen, highly caffeinated, with "Some Like it Hot" on the tele and get to work. Sing that torch song Marilyn, mix, mix, mix. The batter smells amazing and the texture is to die for. I grab my loaf pan spray it down and fill the pan. Upon first glance I think it is pretty full. Maybe it is a double recipe? But I decide to ignore my instincts a la Sheila and Ron and place it in the oven.
I watch the rest of "Some Like it Hot" then I clean my bathroom during some superhero short, then I fold and put away all of my clothes while watching the PBS ask campaign, then I start watching CAMP - which as the HUGE musical theatre dork that I am, I was so thrilled about watching. Then I checked on the pound cake. A good 35 minutes in - which is when the recipe said it would be done - the center is like water. Ugh. Now I clean my kitchen sing a long to Promises! Promises!, try to figure out where to hang some more pictures on my super bare walls, watch the drag birthday party with glee and then check on the pound cake again. Did I mention I was highly caffeinated? I stick a knife in the center and it is a hot gooey mess. Man oh man. Especially because the outer ring is done. Almost beyond done. At this point I am exhausted and it is time for the big showcase when Stephen Sondheim himself appears on screen. Sigh. Considering I just did one of his shows and it was rumored we were going to transfer I was transfixed.
1 a.m. CAMP is over and I am over the baking of this magical birthday pound cake that I envisioned would come out like the entenmann's pound cake my "grandma" Mary would use when making her version of strawberry shortcake - entenmann's pound cake, sliced strawberries, and redi-whip. AMAZING. No, it was a half, dare I say it, burned - eek - pound cake. I went to bed and when I woke up the next morning I cut of the edges to find this GORGEOUS cake. The only problem is you can't present someone with a sliced off edge pound cake for their birthday. So I stuck it in my freezer and will take it out when I want to make my "grandma" Mary's version of strawberry shortcake with creme fraiche.
As for Max's cake? Tonight I try again with a new recipe in hopes that I can make his birthday truly a happy one with an incredible and moist birthday pound cake.
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