Easy Recipes for Weeknight Meals and Weekend Treats
“For those who prefer ease, this cake is for you.”
This is Melissa Clark’s inviting description of her Lazy Daisy Cake, also known as Danish dream cake (drømmekage). The “dream” aspect likely refers to the cake’s delicate texture and generous flavoring of vanilla or cardamom. The “easy” element is the remarkably simple frosting made with melted butter, brown sugar, and coconut. As for “daisy,” it might be a pleasing alliteration, or perhaps it’s because the toasted coconut strands on the frosted cake resemble daisies in a field after a brief broiling. Consider this as you effortlessly prepare and eagerly consume this delightful cake.
Featured Recipe
Lazy Daisy Cake
To borrow a phrase from Sam Sifton: Dessert is decided. Let’s consider dinner options.
Spatchcocking chicken is a favored technique. Employing kitchen shears to remove the backbone of the bird provides a sense of culinary skill and efficiency. A flattened chicken also cooks more quickly. Melissa’s spice-rubbed spatchcocked chicken is worth exploring this weekend. Her blend of brown sugar, sweet paprika, chili powder, and dried mustard powder promises a balanced sweet, savory, smoky, and spicy flavor profile.
Alternative Dinner Options
If chicken isn’t appealing, consider Melissa Knific’s baked pork chops. These chops achieve enhanced flavor through a dry brine and reverse sear method. Reader feedback is overwhelmingly positive. As one reader, Rose, commented, “Amazing recipe. I’ll never prepare pork chops any other way.”
Side Dish Suggestions
Complement your chicken or pork chops with a green salad and Dan Pelosi’s potato wedges. These potato wedges are exceptionally creamy and crispy due to a cold water soak before cooking, which removes excess starch. To further elevate your meal, consider Princess Pamela’s sauce beautiful, a recipe from Pamela Strobel adapted by Korsha Wilson.
Princess Pamela’s Sauce Beautiful
This versatile sauce, ideal for summer meals, features a peach preserve base brightened with lemon and vinegar and enriched with butter. Korsha Wilson notes that Pamela Strobel earned the moniker “Princess Pamela” when a printer inquired about her business name. She embraced the title while presiding over her small soul food eatery in New York City’s East Village, known for her selective door policy.
Breakfast Recommendation
For breakfast, Genevieve Ko’s honey oat pancakes are highly recommended. These pancakes gain texture and an oatmeal-like flavor from quick-cooking or instant oats. Ground flax (or flax meal) substitutes for eggs in the recipe, enhancing the nutty oat flavor and acting as a binding agent. If you prefer to omit the flax, Genevieve suggests adding two beaten eggs to the buttermilk-soaked oats in Step 3.