The Coconuttiest of Coconut Cake of all time from John Barricelli of SoNo Bakery and Café

         

         When Andrew made this cake for a party recently, it was a huge hit.  And no wonder, this is a coconut lover’s dream, because it’s coconut on coconut covered with more coconut.  The result is a decadent buttery cake filled with coconut pastry cream. But it doesn’t even stop there.  Shredded coconut covers the coconut buttercream icing like a blizzard of sweetness.  It’s a three layer cake made in a single nine inch pan.  Is it hard to make?  Well, to a non-baker like me, anything this elaborate looks difficult.  But Andrew assures me it’s not.  And I can promise you that the results are worth any degree of difficulty, it’s just that good.

Meryl Streep’s favorite Julia Child recipe: Poulet Poele a L’Estragon or Casserole-roasted Chicken with Tarragon

The Meryl Streep Version of the dish...

And mine...talk about falling off the bone.

Meryl as Julia 

         Who doesn’t love Meryl Streep?  With us, it’s degrees of loving Meryl Streep.  Over the weekend we saw her once again in “It’s Complicated” with Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. It’s truly a very funny movie.  Our friend Ana is extolling the virtues of her latest movie “Hope Springs” which, of course, we plan to see. Meryl takes our breath away in movies like “The Iron Lady”.  She even renders a turkey like “Mama Mia” watchable.  But of all her recent movies, the one that combines our love for Meryl and for her subject matter is, of course, “Julie and Julia” where she is joined by the wonderful Amy Adams in a movie by Nora Ephron.  This was sheer perfection. 

Portobello Mushroom Burgers with Pesto, Mozzarella and Red Peppers and a great recipe for Walnut Spinach Pesto from Daniel Holzman

         Our friend Stephen, the vegetarian, came to stay for a couple of days recently.  I always use Stephen’s visits as a chance to work on vegetarian recipes.  This particular stay, I had one triumph and one miserable fail.  I won’t go into the fail because it did produce a pesto that’s a great addition to any collection of recipes for that summer favorite.   And the triumph?  A Portobello Burger that even the most carnivorous among us can call his own.