TUESDAY WITH DORIE, BAKING WITH JULIA
First, The Side Story:
When life hands you lemons, forget the lemonade, vodka or tequila and salt. Here’s an idea…….Lemon Loaf Cake. (You can thank me later.)
Happy Easter. Pina, with her Sicilian candy, Torrone Siciliano, meets my very American Lemon Loaf Cake.
I’m a lucky woman. If I cannot join my kids for a holiday celebration, I am always invited to join neighbors Adriana and Bobby Scrima, and their extended family. I’ve been adopted. This Easter my kids were in Hawaii so I was asked to join the Scrimas for dinner.
Adriana and her family immigrated to the United States from Sicily forty years ago when she was 8 years old. Their story deserves a Post of its own but today’s TWDorie/BWJulia is about food so I’ll stay with that subject. Her mother, Pina, still cooks in the European tradition. Her food is fresh, what’s locally available, and absolutely delicious. If Pina’s cooking, there’s not an empty seat at the table. This year, as usual, Bobby’s boyhood friend, Joe, his wife, Amalia and their 8-year-old son were joining us. What made Easter 2012 special was the presence of Amalia’s parents, Maria and Fernando, who were visiting from Madrid.
Tony, Adriana’s father, keeps me stocked with ground Italian oregano and sundried tomatoes.
Clockwise, Tony, Fernando, Maria and Pina. A four-language conversation!!! A joyful Easter.
As far as languages go, here’s the lineup, who speaks what:
Maria – Spanish
Fernando – French, Spanish
Pina – Spanish, Italian, and English
Tony – Italian
Amalia – Spanish and English
Joe – English, English and English
Adriana – Spanish, Italian and English
Bobby – English, English and English
Yours Truly – English and French
Although we considered charting who could understand whom, we decided to throw all those languages into a pot and let it boil. It worked.
Bobby, by the grill, with Joe. And, the English-speaking guys stand alone.
Lemon Loaf Cake, Tuesdays with Dorie, Baking with Julia
Usually, at Easter, I give my hosts chocolates and wine. This year I decided to bake this week’s recipe, Lemon Loaf Cake, a scrumptious citrus sidebar to the traditional pound cake. Developed by Ritz Carlton’s corporate pastry chef, Norman Love, I found this cake to be moist, firm and rich.
Just out of the oven. No added attractions. The color is nice.
You can find the Lemon Loaf Cake recipe at the sites of this week’s generous and knowledgeable hostesses: Truc at Treats (http://www.treats-sf.com/)and Michelle at The Beauty of Life. (http://www.ladystiles.blogspot.com/). To see how other Doristas “zested” their lemons, go to http://tuesdayswithdorie.wordpress.com/.
This cake is simply made and easily eaten. The most difficult technique is grating the zest of 3 large lemons! The other ingredients can be thrown together in ten minutes. Bake it for 60 minutes. That ubiquitous toothpick, to be inserted into the center, must come out clean. Although I sprinkled confectionary sugar on this loaf, it requires no special embellishments. Simply standing on its own or with the fresh fruit and sorbets we offered as toppings, this Lemon Loaf Cake is a winner.
Zest three large lemons.
Ready for the Oven.
Everyone tried, tasted, and had an opinion about my dessert. In Italian. In Spanish. In French. In English. What I know for sure is that the English-speaking crowd loved it. My international friends wrapped up the leftovers, to enjoy a bedtime snack. Food has a universal language all its own, doesn’t it?
I want to whisk together a bowlful of gratitude to Marilyn, http://cookteachgrow.wordpress.com/about/, a Colorado baker who is part of the Tuesdays with Dorie/Baking with Julia group. Marilyn, aka Piebird, has just given me a Liebster Award, a fun recognition of food blogging sites. It’s nice to realize we high-altitude bakers are hanging together, Marilyn. Thank you.
Looks scrumptious can’t wait to cook it. Also, if you ever need lemon juice, John at City Market has just started carrying Meyers Lemons….ohhhhh so juicy!
Also loved your garden post last week…..one day I want to see it with my own eyes.
Love, Blanca
B- John and I will meet “over the Meyers Lemons” soon. Travel safely home from Germany. And, love to the Big Guy. M.
It looks like you had a wonderful time, it’s great to have such combinations of nationalities together, I’m from Madrid too!!!
It sounds like you had a wonderful Easter – love the photos! I bet they all loved this gorgeous yellow loaf cake – although I would love some of Pina’s Sicilian candy.
I am sure the comments (in the various languages) were great!
Mary, what great photos and terrific post! Looks like you spend a wonderful “international” Easter. The Lemon Loaf Cake also looks delicious.
…second comment: sorry, forgot to congratulate you on your “Liebster Blog” award!
Very nice post and your bread looks amazing!!
Love that you received compliments in multiple languages!
I love to share what I bake with other people who love food. What a blessing!
I am always amazed by mulit-lingual (is that the right term?) people. I took German for like 6 years and I’m still hopeless at it. Your Lemon Loaf looks lovely and I’m glad you had such a lively and fun holiday!
It’s so nice to have great neighbors! Your lemon loaf looks lovely and so delicious! Nicely done!
Congrats on your award!
Sounds like it was a lovely Easter gathering. Your cake turned out beautifully, too.
Wow, that is quite a round up; but it sounds like you were wrapped up with a great group of friends 🙂
Congrats on the award…
It sounds like you had a delightful Easter, Mary. I can imagine all the lively conversations going on in all those languages. 🙂 Your lemon loaf cake looks so good and when people wrap some up to take it home with them that is indeed an endorsement.
Gotta love the multi-lingual gatherings – it makes things so much fun!
Looks like a wonderful time!!
What a lovely gathering and such a great sharing event for your lemon cake. Looks like fun and your cake brought smiles.
Sounds like a delightful event! I love all the different languages, but they all agreed on the cake!
Aren’t you lucky to have such marvelous neighbors! Sounds like a fun time whenever you all gather together. I’m certain they all enjoyed your lemon loaf…it looks perfect!
I love the story about your adopted family. one of the best results of baking is the sharing!
It sounds like you have great neighbors. I think the plain cake would go well with lots of things: sliced fruit, whipped cream, ice cream, sorbet…
What a nice story about your Easter celebration. I call friends like those, the family you choose for yourself. Lemon Loaves was perfect for the holiday.