Pumpkin Power

Hello my snackable friends. Today’s letter is all about pumpkin because even though I am not necessarily a “go-pumpkin or go-home” kind of peep, I know many, MANY are. And thus I do jump on the pumpkin train each fall; and am actually very happy getting all pumpkin’y in my baking . . . as long as we are not talking traditional pumpkin pie, which is truly not my thing (sorry haters). But a pumpkin chiffon pie, on the other hand, is a whole different matter (I adore pumpkin chiffon pie) and if such a pie sounds yummy to you (think a much, much lighter version of the traditional one), let me know and I will include the recipe in a future letter. But I’m getting a little ahead of myself here, as I do, I want to give you some book tour scoops before we jump into recipes. Salty Cheesy has been all over the map - from NY to LA to SF (see below) to Chicago to Milwaukee and back again. 

And bottom line, it has been a blast. I have done a combo of TV appearances, podcast recordings (for my own pod and for this one), She’s My Cherry Pie x Salty Cheesy events (in which I not only celebrate my book but also moderate baking panels - the folks on my Chicago panel are pictured below - and yes: we have started a rock band (ha ha)).

And I’ve also done a bunch of bakery collabs and had the honor of seeing a recipe from my book on the menu of many a spot. So cool. And yes, on some level, this is a long way of saying, if you have not yet purchased a copy of the book, I hope you’ll consider doing so . . . you can get a signed one here, or you can have it delivered super quick here. And if all of this tour stuff sounds interesting to you, please consider subscribing to my paid letter, where you not only get a savory recipe each month from the book, but you also get loads o’ book tour BTS . . . just sayin’.

First up, we’ve got a pumpkin poke cake. If you have never had a poke cake, you are in for a real treat, as they are super flavorful and moist and give off loads of tres leches vibes, in the best way. The recipe does call for a store bought cake mix - but you can 100% make your own (this is a great homemade pumpkin cake) and it also calls for a jar of caramel sauce - and again: please make your own if homemade is how you roll. To make a poke cake, you bake the cake, poke it a billion times and fill the holes with a liquid ingredient - in this case a mixture of caramel and sweetened condensed milk. You then top the whole shebang with whipped cream (and here, with a drizzle of caramel) and, well, wow. Pretty delicious, even for a sometimes on- the-pumpkin-fence person like me. 

Next we’ve got Pumpkin Tiramisu. Everything you love in a tiramisu, but make it pumpkin. This is a super easy recipe, so there are no eggs involved, no sabayon, nothing fussy. You merely make a mascarpone and pumpkin flavored whipped cream, dunk lady fingers in espresso and bourbon, and layer them with the cream. A generous dusting of cocoa powder on top is not optional. The recipe can be found here and you can watch me make it here. 

Finally, one of my all-time fave desserts is bread pudding, and I have a pumpkin version that is just next level. And yes: I did fold in some dark chocolate chips pre-bake because pumpkin and chocolate is my everything. The recipe is here.

On this week’s episode of She’s My Cherry Pie . . . 

Paola Valez was on the pod this week and we talked all things plantain sticky buns. She has an amazing new book out, Bodega Bakes, and I loved chatting all about the inspiration for it and more. I am so sad to say that I do not have a photo of Paola and me together, so instead I am sharing a pic of her delicious buns. 

Have you watched?

I’m 100% digging in the crates when it comes to TV as of late, and as such am watching The Good Wife. And I am pretty into it. Julianna Margulies is a wife and mom who goes back to lawyering after her husband is put in prison for a variety of offenses, some of which are tangentially connected to the fact that he cheated on his wife. I’m finding it very entertaining BUT there are 22(ish) episodes a season and that number alone is very overwhelming - I think there are like 6 seasons . . . 

Have you read? 

All Fours? I read it and had very mixed feelings. Like I loved it for a while - like really loved it. But maybe about 100 or so pages in, I not only started to stop caring about the protagonist, but she really started to annoy me. Am I alone in this? I mean I would never stop reading a book mid-way in - just not my way - so I read it all. And I looked forward to reading it each night before bed, but the honeymoon of that first bit of plot and writing was over and I never got back there. 

Have you listened?

I’m listening to the first season of Suspect right now on Wondery and I am pretty engaged. The story involves a murder and sexual assault at a Halloween party and the wrongful conviction of an individual for the crime. I am only about halfway through but I am pretty sure there is no resolution at the end of the season, which kind of bums me out. I am a resolution kind of person. Very black and white, and all that . . .  And quick aside: I am finding it more and more difficult to find true crime pods that can keep my attention. Not sure if my taste for the genre is waning or what, but if you have something to share that you love, please let me know. 

Alrighty, thanks as always for subscribing and reading, my snackable friends, and see you in two weeks.