Cooking is always better than work.

I made a delicious dinner last night, mostly thanks to Martha. After a rather trying day, I popped over to Pavilions to pick up some filet mignon, which I broiled with asparagus, as E taught me to do. It tastes so nutty and wonderful with the crispy ends. Heavenly.



The steak cooked up nicely, perhaps a little well-er done than I would ordinarily like, but truthfully, I'm a little afraid of the meat from Pavilions. Lowering the bacterial count by whatever means necessary seemed worth the loss in flavor. But to be fair, the filet tasted like the sound of angels singing, so perhaps I should revise my opinion regarding the store.

Along with the steak and asparagus, I made some delectable saffron couscous, with currants, green onions and olives.



After that, I made Maya Angelou's grandmother's caramel cake, with accompanying instructions from my gal Martha.



Unfortunately, I had only two 9-inch cake pans, while the recipe called for two 8-inch pans. What's the difference? thought I. Well, the difference appears in the now-over-long baking time or the too-high temperature, I believe, as the cake turned out oddly chewy. The edges crystallized, which made them yummy, but oddly prominent in the final dessert. Anyhow, if I made it again, I'd make a few changes to the recipe.

Using my cake pans, I'd double the cake recipe. Additionally, this would improve the cake to frosting ratio, which was oddly imbalanced (I threw out half the frosting.)



In Martha's version, she and Maya top the cake with a gorgeous caramel syrup. My syrup did not come in the appropriate consistency and this I blame on the additional water requested by the recipe. Next time I'd reserve the topping, I think, from the additional water, or boil it down again.

It was a delicious breakfast this morning with coffee:



Inspired by Sassy Radish and Monday Night Dinner, I will report my recommended recipe:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Line with parchment paper and grease/flour again.

Heat one cup of sugar with one cup of water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat until golden brown in color. Reserve half for topping; stir in one-half cup of cold water to other half of syrup. This is the half to add to the cake. Let cool completely before use.

Cream two cups of sugar into two sticks of butter. Add one-half cup of caramel syrup.

Sift together four cups of flour, four teaspoons of baking soda and one teaspoon of salt.

Add flour mixture to butter, alternating with two cups of milk, but starting and ending with flour.

Beat four eggs with one-half cup of sugar until frothy. Stir into batter.

Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake for twenty-five minutes, or until cake springs back when touched gently. Cool for ten minutes in pans, then let cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Cook one and one half sticks butter in a saucepan until golden brown in color. Pour into a bowl, leaving behind any burnt bits. Add one tablespoon vanilla extract, 16 oz of confectioners' sugar and a pinch of salt, stirring until smooth. This will be very thick. Add one-half cup (or less) heavy cream until consistency is correct. Frost the cake. Drizzle with reserved syrup topping. Serve immediately.