Pimm's

For 1 Pimm’s:

• 2 oz Pimm’s No. 1
• 3½ oz very cold seltzer
• ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
• ½ oz simple syrup
• 3–4 cucumber slices
• 1 orange slice
• 2 strawberries, halved or quartered
• 6–8 mint leaves
• Lots of ice

Do this:

1. Make the lemonade separately. Stir together:

   • ¾ oz lemon juice
   • ½ oz simple syrup
   • 3½ oz very cold seltzer

   Taste it. You want lemony and lightly sweet, not lemonade-stand sweet.

2. Fill a large highball/pint glass completely with ice.
3. Add:
   • cucumber
   • orange
   • strawberries
   • mint
4. Pour in 2 oz Pimm's.
5. Add your homemade lemonade.
6. Very gently stir once or twice.
7. Finish with a generous mint sprig and, if you're feeling properly Chiswick-pub about it, a long cucumber ribbon.

One important tweak

Don't use a ton of lemon juice. This is where homemade Pimm's often goes wrong. You're not making a lemon cocktail. The lemon should be there to recreate the tang of British lemonade, while the Pimm's remains the dominant flavor.

And don't muddle the mint or fruit. London pub Pimm's should taste fresh and aromatic, not like a fruit mojito.

Vanilla/yellow cupcakes

recipe here: https://www.recipetineats.com/vanilla-cupcakes/

12 CUPCAKES:
Ingredients
▢1 cup plain / all purpose flour (cake flour OK too, Note 1)
▢1 1/4 tsp baking powder (NOT baking soda, Note 2)
▢1/8 tsp salt
▢2 large eggs (50 – 55g / 2 oz each), at room temp (Note 3)
▢3/4 cup caster / superfine sugar (granulated/regular ok too, Note 4)
▢60g / 1/4 cup unsalted butter , cut into 1.5cm / 1/2” cubes
▢1/2 cup milk , full fat (Note 5)
▢2 tsp vanilla extract , the best you can afford (Note 6)
▢1 1/2 tsp vegetable or canola oil (Note 7)

DOUBLE RECIPE FOR 24 CUPCAKES:

2 cups plain/all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

4 large eggs, room temp

1 1/2 cups caster/superfine sugar

120g / 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed

1 cup full-fat milk

4 tsp vanilla extract

3 tsp / 1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil

Instructions

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) for 20 minutes before starting the batter (Note 8). 

Place shelf in the middle of the oven.
Place cupcake liners in a standard muffin tin. (Note 9)

Cupcake Batter:

1. Whisk Dry: Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat Milk-Butter: Place butter and milk in a heatproof jug and microwave 2 minutes on high to melt butter. Do not let milk bubble and boil (foam ok). Cover and leave in microwave to keep very warm (stove: cover with lid and leave on turned off stove). (Note 10)
3. Mix eggs: In a separate, preferably heavy based glass bowl, beat eggs for 30 seconds on speed 6 of a handheld beater.
4. Add sugar: With the beater still going, pour the sugar in over 30 seconds.
5. Beat until tripled: Beat eggs for 6 minutes on speed 8, or until tripled in volume and almost pure white.
6. Add flour: When the egg is whipped, scatter 1/3 flour across surface, then beat on Speed 1 for 5 seconds. Stop beating, add half remaining flour, then mix on Speed 1 for 5 sec. Add remaining flour, then mix on Speed 1 for 5 – 10 sec until the flour is just mixed in. Once you can’t see flour, stop straight away.
7. Temper milk: Pour hot milk, vanilla and oil into the now empty flour bowl. Add about 3/4 cups of the Egg Batter into the hot milk (don't need to be 100% accurate with amount). Use a whisk to mix until smooth – you can be vigorous here. Will look foamy.
8. Slowly add milk: With the beater on Speed 1, pour the Milk mixture into the Egg Batter over 15 seconds, then turn beater off.
9. Scrape and final mix: Scrape down sides and base of bowl. Beat on Speed 1 for 10 seconds – batter should now be smooth and pourable.

Bake:

Fill muffin tin: 

Pour batter into muffin tin, filling no more than 2/3 of the way up. 
Start checking at 15min, usually done at 18 minutes or until golden and toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.

Miso Honey Glazed Salmon

Miso Honey Glazed Salmon

Ingredients

• Salmon filets
• 2 tbsp white miso
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp tamari
• Olive oil (for the pan)
• Green onions and sesame seeds, to serve

Directions

1. Whisk together the miso, honey, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, mirin, and tamari to make the glaze.
2. Heat a little olive oil in an oven-safe skillet and pan-roast the salmon skin side down over medium to medium-low heat (about level 4 on our induction stove) for 6–7 minutes.
3. While the salmon cooks, brush the miso glaze generously over the top of each filet.
4. Transfer the skillet to a 300°F oven and bake for about 4 minutes.
5. Switch the broiler to high and move the salmon to the second rack from the top — close to the broiler but not the very top. Broil for 2–3 minutes to finish cooking the top and caramelize the glaze.
6. Serve topped with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.

The quantities above make enough glaze for roughly 2–3 filets, so it scales cleanly if you’re cooking for the whole family.

S’mores Bars

Courtesy of Bernstein fam!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 10 graham crackers, broken into pieces and crushed into crumbs
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1½ cups marshmallows

Makes:

16 bars

Directions

Prep

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan.
3. Line with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches overhang on two sides.
4. Butter the parchment paper.

Make the Dough

5. In a medium bowl, whisk together:
• flour
• baking soda
• salt
6. In a large bowl, beat:
   
• butter
• brown sugar
• granulated sugar
  until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
7. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.
8. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
9. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until blended.
10. Stir in graham cracker crumbs until combined.

Assemble

11. Press about ⅔ of the dough into the bottom of the pan in an even layer.
12. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the dough.
13. Add marshmallows on top, packing them closely together.
14. Take the remaining dough and:

• pinch off pieces
• flatten them (about ½ inch thick)
• place over the marshmallows

15. Cover as much as you can — it’s okay if some marshmallow shows through.

Bake

16. Bake until the top is light brown, about 40 minutes.
17. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Finish

18. Lift out using the parchment paper overhang.
19. Place on a cutting board.
20. Cut into 16 squares and serve.

If you want, I can also streamline this into a super quick “glance version” for when you’re actually baking.

Matzah Brei

Ingredients:

• Matzah
• Eggs
• Milk
• Salt
• Jam
• Syrup

Directions:

1. Soak 6-8 pieces of broken up pieces of matzah in a colander under cold water for a few minutes to soften
2. Beat about 8 eggs in a large bowl, add splash of milk
3. Add matzah pieces to bowl of egg/milk
4. Sprinkle with salt
5. Grill on stovetop until set
6. Serve topped with jam and syrup

Passover

Buy as early as possible:

Matzah

Gluten free matzah

Matzah meal (matzah ball mix)

MAKE:

Matzah ball soup

Brisket

Vegetable side

Kasha varnishkas

Hardboiled eggs

Coconut macaroons

Cake?

SEDER:

Matzah

Charoset

Horseradish

Gefilte fish

Parsley

Salt water

Grape juice

Red wine

Wine

Butter 

SUPPLIES:

Haggadahs

Seder plate

Elijah cup

Afikoman wrap

Salt water cups

Soup plates, seder portion plates, big plates

Sparkling waters (La Croix)

Buy early in stores: Matzah

Horseradish

Matzah balls: use manischewitz recipe on box

Soup: Rotisserie chicken, broth, mirepoix

Devil's Food Cake

Devil’s Food Cake

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (if using cake flour use 2 cups + 4 tbsp)

• 1.5 tsp baking soda

• 0.75 tsp baking powder

• 0.75 tsp salt

• 1.5 sticks (12 tbsp) butter, room temperature

• 2 cups white sugar

• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (sifted)

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 3 eggs, room temperature

• 1¼ cups water

• ¼ cup milk

• 1–2 tsp instant espresso powder (optional but recommended)

---

Instructions

1. Prepare oven and pans
   Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment circles if possible.

2. In a small saucepan heat water and milk until very hot but not boiling. Remove from heat and stir in 1–2 tsp instant espresso powder until dissolved. Let cool 2–3 minutes so it is hot/warm but not scalding.

3. Mix dry ingredients
   In a bowl, whisk together:

   • flour

   • baking soda

   • baking powder

   • salt
     

4. In a stand mixer on medium speed, beat butter until smooth, about 2–3 minutes.

5. Increase speed slightly and slowly add the sugar. Beat for 4 more minutes, until light and fluffy.

6. Add the sifted cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Beat for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.

7. Turn mixer to low. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

8. Combine batter (alternate dry and liquid)
   With mixer on low, add ingredients in this order:

   • ⅓ of the flour mixture

   • ½ of the hot liquid

   • ⅓ of the flour mixture

   • remaining liquid

   • final ⅓ flour mixture

   Mix just until combined. Do not overmix! Finish gently folding with a spatula if needed.

   (The batter will be fairly thin — this is normal.)

9. Divide batter evenly between pans.

   Bake on the middle rack for 30–35 minutes, until:

   • the center springs back when lightly pressed

   • or a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs but not wet batter

10. Cool
    Let cakes cool in pans 10–15 minutes, then turn out onto racks to cool completely.