Free Apron Anxiety by Alyssa Shelasky Page B

door in the late afternoon, I know it’s time. “You take care, chérie,” she says kindly and gently, and as our glossy eyes lock, she exits my boxed-up empty office and shuts the door.
    I stare at the blank wall, where I once hung a framed copy of a John Updike quote, “The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding.” And I weep.
    I don’t know why the experience of parting ways with my boss hits me harder than separating from any of my girlfriends or even my family, but I suspect a small part of me knows that in saying good-bye to Liz, I am leaving behind so much more.

    Cheese Toast for Two Kids in Love
    SERVES 2
    I could become a James Beard Award—winning food writer or a Top Chef Master and I will always believe that the best food in the world is a simple thing called “cheese toast”—which is fancy for cheese melted on toast. Chef has made me cheese toast with Muenster, cheddar, Gruyère, Swiss, smoked mozzarella, Roquefort, and anything else we can find in the fridge. The more options in our cheese drawer, the more he layers. Usually he’ll use three slices with interesting flavors on a piece of thick, hearty bread (I like pumpernickel). But to be perfectly honest, a few slices of Kraft Singles on a frozen sesame bagel could make me swoon, too
.

    2 large slices of bread, approximately 1 inch thick
    Dijon mustard (optional)
    Unsalted butter (optional)
    4 to 6 large slices of cheese
    Salt and pepper
    On your bread, spread mustard or butter if you so desire. Cover the bread with 2 or 3 slices of cheese. Put the bread on a baking sheet under the broiler or in a toaster oven for about 2 minutes, or until the cheese gets brown, bubbly, and almost burned. Then remove from the heat, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve.

    Life-Altering Lemon Cake
    SERVES 8 TO 10
    My life changed forever that night at Fabiane’s in Williamsburg, and the lemon cake was the star of the meal, so it deserves a lot of attention. This version is from the original
Silver Palate Cookbook
(Workman Publishing, 1982), and it’s one of the best. I will never forget sharing dessert that night with Chef
.

    For the cake
    ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus additional for greasing the pan
    2 cups granulated sugar
    3 large eggs
    3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
    ½ teaspoon baking soda
    ½ teaspoon salt
    1 cup buttermilk
    2 tightly packed tablespoons grated lemon zest
    2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
    For the lemon icing
    1 pound confectioners’ sugar
    8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
    3 tightly packed tablespoons grated lemon zest
    ½ cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
    Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 10-inch tube pan.
    Make the cake: In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition.
    In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture, alternatelywith buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice.
    Pour the batter into the prepared tube pan. Set the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes, or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and a tester or knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
    Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes.
    Prepare the icing: In a medium mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter thoroughly. Mix in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Set aside.
    Remove the cake from the pan and spread the icing onto the cake while still warm.
    Let cool before serving.

4 .
Capitol Hell

    I have rug burn.
    In the first six weeks of living in our unbelievably cool apartment in D.C., which is on the second floor of an enchanted corner