Some Snackable June Things . . .

Happy June, peeps. Sitting here in some light weight, leopard print bell-bottoms, if you must know (and a black tee), eating roasted salted cashews and thinking about . . . you - and all the recipes and news and such that I am excited to share with you. First things first, I would be remiss in not mentioning that I am now in possession of an actual copy of Salty Cheesy Herby Crispy Snackable Bakes, my new easy-peasy savory baking book and I couldn’t be more excited (have you pre-ordered? Feel free to do so here). The book doesn’t hit shelves until September 24th (I know, I know: you’ve already noted as much in your calendar and thank you for that) and it seems so early to already be holding it in my hand, but here we are.

I’m super proud of this purple cutie, as she is both very on-brand for me, what with her 100 easy and DELICIOUS baking recipes. But she’s also very off-brand due to the fact that my beloved sugar plays a miniscule, if not non-existent, role in the book. Cheese and herbs and veggies and meat, instead, take center stage here, which is proving to be a good move. Like, I’m actually thinking peeps might be into that fact, as I cannot tell you how many people have said, “Oh my god: savory baking?! I love that.” I think  maybe - even though I am still very much Team Sugar - many folks are - well - not. And thus will welcome Snackable Bakes savory little sister with open arms (and mouths).

And if learning more about all things Salty and Cheesy sounds like something you might be into, don’t forget you could always subscribe to my paid newsletter, which is all about my new book and always includes a never-before-shared recipe from the book.

But don’t get anxious: despite my new-found enthusiasm for savory baking, I promise I still love baking with sugar and sharing sweet recipes, too, including those like the cake, pie and treat, I’ll be getting into in more detail below. And speaking of cake, I did want to share a little about my latest podcast guest.

She’s My Cherry Pie Podcast Update . . .

Noelle Blizzard of New June Bakery in Philadelphia is a masterful cake artist and her cakes are unbelievably gorgeous and decorated in a vintage, Victorian style. We talk all about the “lambeth” style that Noelle embraces when decorating and I learned so much from her (as I do from all my guests . . . ). Please listen here. And if you don’t already subscribe to/follow She’s My Cherry Pie, oh, gosh: please do that here.

And in addition to telling you about the fab peeps I’ve been chatting with on the pod, I also wanted to remind you of a few fun events that I’m doing in the coming months.

Some events worth mentioning . . .

I’m heading to Provence from October 23rd through 29th with Modern Adventures and would be so happy if you considered joining me. There will be medieval villages and vineyards to explore, incredible art to gaze at, incredible food and wine to eat and drink (and talk about!). We’ll be in cities as well as in the countryside and I think it is fair to say the trip will be magnifique!

I am also going to be in Napa at Cookbook Fest from June 21st to 23rd and although we will not be exploring medieval cities while there, we will be immersing ourselves in food and drink and talking all about it during panel discussions, live podcast interviews, massive BBQs, etc. I think it is going to be a super cool weekend and if you happen to be a fan of Paula Forbes’ fab newsletter, Stained Page News, well, I am participating in a panel that Paula is moderating! And I’m pretty sure you won’t want to miss that . . . all the info is here.

Recipes . . .

Alrighty, recipe time: First up, is an easy coconut layer cake that I developed for the Kitchn a few months back and have been DYING to share with you.

But I was a little worried, as I feel like coconut can be a controversial ingredient? That not everyone loves? But I adore it, and am hoping you do, too. Also, the fact that this cake is so impressive-looking, despite being so super simple to assemble, is kind of a win-win, no? Anyway, I think this cutie would be lovely served with fresh berries at a graduation or end-of-school gathering or late spring potluck or for a father’s day event, just sayin’. However, if you are more of a fruit pie peep than a cake-lover, what about making my lattice-topped strawberry rhubarb pie?

I probably don’t need to tell you that strawberry and rhubarb is a fantastic combo and makes for a wonderful pie filling. But I might need to tell you that this pie crust calls for - wait for it - sour cream. Yes - you heard that right. Butter is in the mix too, but there is no ice water (sour cream takes the place of it) and the pie dough is probably one of the easiest and flakiest you will ever come across, as the sour cream helps make it foolproof and deliciously tender. Finally, if both cake and pie sound a tad too laborious for you, first, I feel you, and second, might I suggest you whip up a batch of peanut butter and jelly rice krispies treats?

I get it if this is something you have never seen before - the addition of PB&J  to a rice krispies treat. Truth be told I’d never had one until I made my first batch and I’d highly recommend. You might think they’d be too sweet with the addition of jelly, but the peanut butter is in the rice krispies themselves, giving them a nutty, salty vibe that wonderfully tempers the sweetness of the fruity center.

Finally, some non-food related thoughts . . .

As you may now know, in addition to developing baking recipes, recording baking podcast episodes and waiting for my new baking book to hit shelves, I also spend an inordinate amount of time reading fiction and watching TV. And so wanted to share both the show and book I am enjoying right now. So years ago, when it first aired, I watched season one of Bridgerton and just adored it. I think I may have watched the entire season in less than 24 hours.

But for some reason, when season two came around, I decided it was not going to be as good as the first season, and I should skip it. Well, for the record, I was wrong and just finished season two and am on to three. Yes the series is all about folks falling in love in England during the Regency era (about 1795 to 1837) and yes it is fluffy and not super deep and yes I find it impossible to tear myself away. Go figure.

As for books, I am absolutely in love with Elanor Catton’s Birnham Wood.

Catton wrote the Luminaries a few years ago and it won the Man Booker prize but, don’t tell, I didn’t love it. But Birnham Wood? In love with it. It’s not exactly a book I would imagine loving, as it’s been described as being inspired by climate change, Macbeth and the “perils” of social media - and there is an anarchist guerilla gardening collective that takes center stage, but it is truly fantastic. Please read it.

Alrighty, that’s it for today’s letter. See you in two weeks!