My Madison Bistro

Make lemon cream cake!

I’ve loved this cake since my mom introduced me to it at a girls’ lunch we had at Olive Garden a year or two ago. She downright adores the cake, and we often share a piece when we lunch there. Since we don’t often get to go out to lunch together (we don’t live in the same city), it seemed time to figure out a way to recreate this cake. First, I dug out my go-to recipe for lemon curd from Sherry Yard.

Then I scoured the Internet for the right cake recipe, finally selecting Dorie Greenspan’s party cake. The rest was nothing other than an experiment, trying to piece together the cake based on my memory of taste and texture. All in all, I was pleased with my results, though I would double the amount of crumble topping next time for a bit more coverage on the sides of the cake. (And because, well, I’m not ashamed to admit the crumble topping is one of my favorite parts of the dessert. I’m still kicking myself for not just doubling the amount the first time around.)

Continue reading “Lemon Cream Cake”

Tags: cake, lemon

If you need a recipe for a fast dinner, look no further.

I intended to make this dish for dinner yesterday, but in my pre-severe weather ultra-preparedness, I decided to make it for lunch on the off chance I might not have power last night. Why did I go to such extremes? Well, my city was one in a list of predicted tornado hot spots for yesterday evening, and I can be of a superstitious nature, so I figured the more I did to prepare for severe weather, the more likely I wouldn’t actually get it.

Continue reading “Goat Cheese Pasta with Asparagus”

Tags: asparagus, everyday food, goat cheese, pasta

Remember when I had a very klutzy moment, and my camera lens suffered as a result?

Well, I had a few more “where is my head” moments when I tried to order a replacement lens filter. I shoot 99.9% of my pictures with two lenses, a Sigma 50mm Macro lens for most of my close-ups and a Canon 50mm lens for everything else. I have UV lens filters for both lenses; they’re an inexpensive way to protect the lens. (You know, for when you stop thinking for a moment and dunk your camera into your dinner.)

When I went to order the new filter, I decided to also order a filter in blue to help enable me to take better cooking pictures in my kitchen, to show you the progression of making a certain dish, since my previous in-kitchen pictures all had a yellowish cast. I was SO excited the day my order arrived…until I realized I ordered filters for the wrong lens.

Continue reading “Chicken Parmesan”

Tags: chicken, Italian Food, parmesan, tomatoes

Sometimes I get lazy. Sometimes I’m in a hurry. When either happens, I open up a jar of pasta sauce, because it’s quick and convenient.

But sometimes, sometimes I want to experience the comforting ritual of making my own sauce from (mostly) scratch. This tends to happen when I spy a few cans of San Marzano tomatoes on my grocery store’s shelf, or when the weather is cold and gloomy.

Or both.

Yes, these tomatoes cost more than other canned tomatoes, but they’re perfect for making a high quality red sauce.

When I cook up a batch of marinara, I tend to make a decent-sized batch so I can freeze some for later use. In the end, I find making marinara with San Marzanos costs less than buying a couple jars of pasta sauce, and it certainly costs less than a trip to Italy, though if anyone wants to take me, I’ll get my passport out and start packing!

Continue reading “Marinara”

Tags: comfort food, Italian Food, tomatoes