panko and za'atar crusted chicken with balsamic date chutney

did i ever tell you about the time i won free schnitzel for an entire month? 

back when i was an upper west side bicycle-riding college person (and also a "restaurant blogger") one of my twelve twitter accounts became the 5,000th follower of the schnitzel truck and the prize was free schnitzel for a month. it was one of the greatest most delicious most water retained months of my life. you can read all about it in vintage my name is yeh.

the glorified chicken nugget that is schnitzel always has and always will be one of my most favorite foods. in today's molly on the range, i confess that if ever a valentine gave me a heart-shaped schnitzel, i'd probably propose right then and there all leap-year style. but then i go on to discuss the downsides of eating so much schnitzel (especially when there is a cute valentine's day outfit to wear) and give an alternative yet equally as tasty option complete with the superhero spice blend za'atar. za'atar!!!!

it's a really tasty valentine's day meal if i do say so myself. i won't be having it because i had it every day for a week when i was testing this recipe. but you should!

-yeh!

asian breakfast tacos

between the triple loop triple lutz triple axel thingies on the telly and the six quarts of muhammura that came out of my kitchen and the egg grandma birthday and the bit of jazz at the venue in a back alley, this weekend trumped a lot of other weekends. 

as of this weekend i have two new favorite people: meryl davis and charlie white. ohhhmyyygahhhh i have never loved ice dancing so much. i always thought it was just something that my mom and other people her age like. (and i even did a twizzle once.) but davis and white float about the ice like a disney princess and her shaggy midwestern knight and it is just the most goose bumpy thing i ever done saw since pelletier and salé. i still don't fully understand this whole team figure skating event at the olympics, but i am so glad that i get to see davis and white skate to my fair lady again. i might even make a cake about it. am i too old to be fangirling so much? 

speaking of being old: another highlight of the weekend was investing in a humidifier. soon my skin will be less like a prune and more like a grape! we've named the humidifier pat, which i think is the ultimate sign that we need to get out more and that we need this upcoming arizona trip.

and speaking of arizona: tacos! there are few things i love more than a taco and a margarita. and there are even fewer things i love more than a taco and a margarita before noon. so i made breakfast tacos, complete with gochujang roasted potatoes and other asiany flavors. they are now up on betty crocker!

-yeh!

this morning

this morning is about a few things:

1. live streaming the ice dancers in a really low quality image. but one choppy besti squat is better than no besti squat, amiright?

2. practicing my heart shaped eggies! with a well-greased heart cookie cutter and a well-greased pan and an extra firm egg, i am officially unstoppable.

3.  decorating a birthday cake for the egg grandma!

4. prepping for a dinner for 40 on monday that i am cooking. ermygosh. i tested jerusalem's recipe for tomato sourdough soup last night and it was a real winner.

5. shopping for hiking shoes so that next week, when the entire egg family whoops my butt in hiking, i can at least look like i was prepared.

-yeh!

valentine cake

do you ever taste a cake and think "i was this cake in a past life" but then realize you're probably just recalling an early memory of eating the same cake?

(i still think i was a cake in a past life.)

there's a newspaper clipping with a recipe for an italian almond cake in a binder of family recipes that mum made for me. when i was a very very wee one, my family ate this cake every valentine's day. mum would beat up all of its six egg whites while stoop would open up the can of almond paste and eat half of it. (maybe, if i was lucky, she'd give me some.) the spongy almond cake and its pretty pink whipped cream meant that valentine's day was officially in full swing. that and power rangers valentines for all of my friendsies.

for a few years we fell out of tradition and stopped making it. idk, i had better things to do in high school than eat valentine's cake with my family, for example: receive teddy bears from golfer boyfriends... but once i moved to new york, i began making it religiously every valentine's day.

you can see last year's, 2012's, 2011's, and the true embarrassment that is 2010's. 

for one second i thought about doing something funky this year in the form of an herby infused whipped cream or dying it red with pomegranate juice, but no, the valentine's cake is sacred and must not be altered. every valentine's cake requires a few things:

1. a full on raid of the candy aisle for all of the valentine's shit that you may or may not use as a decoration

2. chocolate hearts

3. marzipan hearts (these aren't *necessary* but... you really should...)

4. lots of little almond paste nibbles while making the batter

5. it may not be made at any other time of year

for the first time this year, i used almond paste that i made from scratch. it was so great! here is the recipe that i used. i omitted the kirsch and butter and i also halved it, resulting in the perfect amount--enough for the cake and a few nibbles along the way.

oh! and you may wonder what the best way to eat this cake is:

(hello, eggboy's farmer hand!)

---

italian almond cake

10-12 servings

ingredients

cake:

1/2 c flour*

1 tsp baking powder

8 oz almond paste

6 eggs, separated

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

pinch of salt

1/2 c sugar

*i have made this before using almond meal instead of flour for a gluten free option. its shape didn't hold very well, but it tasted just as great.

topping:

1 1/2 c whipping cream

1/2 c powdered sugar

1 tsp almond extract + a few drops of red food coloring or 2 tb creme de almond liqueur

chocolate hearts, marzipan hearts, any other decorations you'd like

clues

preheat oven to 350ºf. prepare two 8- or 9-inch or three 6-inch cake pans and set aside.

combine flour and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside.

beat almond paste and egg yolks until well blended, mix in vanilla and almond extract, and set aside.

in a separate large bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. beat in sugar one tablespoon at a time and continue beating until stiff peaks form.

gently fold the whites into the yolk mixture and then gradually fold in the flour mixture. pour batter into prepared pans and bake for about 30 minutes, until a tooth pick comes out clean.

let cool.

for the topping, whip up the whipping cream and add the almond extract and red food coloring or the liqueur.

decorate to your heart's desire (heh, no pun...) and enjoy!!!! 

---

-yeh!