I always get a kick from cooking with booze. “Shots!” I’ll announce to nobody in particular as I add the tequila for salted margarita bars. And, without fail, “one for you, one for me” as I deglaze my skillet with a glass of white wine.
So “sláinte,” I will say, as I mix Irish cream into the batter for Irish cream coffee cake. It’s hard to turn down any coffee cake, but this one from Lidey Heuck sounds particularly irresistible: Tender sour-cream cake with hints of chocolate and vanilla (that’s the Irish cream) and a ribbon of sugary, cinnamony pecan streusel running through the center. That same streusel tops the cake, as does an Irish cream glaze.
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Irish Cream Coffee Cake
I asked Melissa Clark what to do with the rest of the Irish cream: “I’d add it to chocolate pudding or pots de crème,” she said. “It’d be great in butterscotch pudding, too. You could add it to whipped cream, pour it over ice cream, drizzle it in buttercream. Yum.”
To transition from the sweet to the savory, Genevieve Ko’s simple maple-baked salmon adds just enough maple syrup to balance the spicy mustard and acidic lemon in her pantry-friendly sauce. Mayonnaise and low heat ensure silky results. Whatever isn’t eaten with rice for dinner is going on my bagel for breakfast.
Speaking of leftovers: While the weather isn’t yet warm enough to keep me outside, I’m trying to use my weekend cooking to prep for weekday eating. A batch of kotlets — Iranian meat, potato and onion patties seasoned with cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves — will turn into quick dinners and, tucked into bread with some pickles, excellent lunchtime sandwiches. (For more easy, economical meals, be sure to check out this recipe collection.)
This jocón (chicken and tomatillo stew), adapted by Christina Morales from a recipe by Jorge Cárdenas, looks absolutely dreamy: chicken thighs braised in a velvety tomatillo-pumpkin seed purée that’s spiked with jalapeño and garlic. The recipe yields eight servings, so I’ll stash half of it into the freezer for a how-is-it-not-Friday Thursday night.
