Sheridan and Allen.

It’s January, which means it’s time to figure out how to survive winter. One way to do that is to have people over to dinner. And having people over to dinner means there must be cake.

This is the perfect cake to serve after a rich, warm meal, like 40 Cloves of Garlic Chicken. Citrus is in season, embrace it.

You will need:

• 2 cups of sugar, sifted
• 1  1 /2 cups of cake flour, also sifted
• 3 tbsp lemon zest
• egg whites from a dozen large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix that 2 tbsp lemon zest with 1 cup of sugar. Set aside.

Combine 1 cup of sugar with the flour and sift four or five times.

Put the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat on high for about a minute, until medium-firm peaks form.

With the mixer on medium speed, add the cup of lemon sugar by sprinkling it over the beaten egg whites. Whisk for a few minutes more, until the mixture thickens and develops a shine. Add the vanilla and 1 tbsp of lemon zest and continue to whisk until very thick, about 1 more minute.

Add a quarter of the flour mixture to the egg whites and fold it into the batter with a rubber spatula. Continue adding the flour by fourths, gently folding until it’s all incorporated.

Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, smooth the top, and bake it for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan on a cooling rack until cool. If your cake is especially tall, you can use a wine bottle as a cooling stand. Just flip the cake upside down and insert the top of the wine bottle into the center of the tube pan.

Once the cake is completely cool, you can remove it from the pan by running a knife around the outside edge of the cake. Once you can remove the inner tube, pull that out and run a knife along the bottom of the cake to release.

To make a drizzle for the cake, combine 2 tbsp lemon juice and half a cup of powdered sugar, more or less to get the consistency you like.

Apples. Oatmeal. Cinnamon. Breakfast. What better way is there to start the day?

• 1 3/4 cups oats (I used old fashioned)
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 apples, 1 chopped finely and 3 grated
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg (beaten)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the dry ingredients and set them aside. Combine the remaining ingredients and fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Do not overmix.

Spoon muffin mixture into prepared muffin cups (cups should be about 2/3rds full) and add topping, if desired. (But why wouldn’t you?)

For the topping, combine the following:

• 1/4 cup oats
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Spoon a small amount on top of each muffin before putting the pan in the oven.

Bake in a preheated oven until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. In my oven it took about 18 minutes.

That’s right. Pepperoni.

If there’s one way to make sure Allen eats his vegetables, adding some sort of spicy meat product is it. He even went back for seconds. And claims it will be his lunch today.

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped
• sliced pepperoni, chopped into quarters
• 2 cans of white beans (rinsed) or a bag of white beans (soaked)
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper, salt to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 cups chicken broth
• kale, stems removed and leaves torn into medium sized pieces

In a dutch oven, saute onions in olive oil over medium-high heat until they start to become translucent. Add the garlic, carrots, celery, and pepperoni. (I used the same amount of pepperoni that I usually use for a pizza.) Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the oils are released from the pepperoni and the mixture starts to smell spicy. Add the chicken broth, beans, bay leaves, thyme, salt*, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Drop the heat down to medium low and cover. Let it simmer for around 45 minutes, and then add the kale. Drop the heat to low, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes, until kale has wilted. Season to taste.

*How much salt you will want to add depends on the type of broth you use. (ie Low sodium broth means you’ll probably need to add more, whereas regular broth means you’ll want to add less.)

Years ago, after grad school and before I came back to Maine, I taught for a company that sent me around the country to run workshops on learning skills, test prep, and reading rate. I drove through the Mid-Atlantic area a fair amount, and taught in Pennsylvania a lot. The first time I had Amish macaroni salad I think it was from a Wawa, really late at night. This macaroni salad was miles away from the kind I had grown up on, and I was absurdly fascinated with it. Admittedly it was not my best culinary moment, but I’m pretty sure I had been on the road for an obscene amount of time and I was probably desperate. Whatever the reason, it still holds a special place in my heart. Here’s my favorite version of it so far, admittedly far from what Amish macaroni salad actually is like, but I am, after all, still a girl from Down East Maine. Adapted from this recipe, which added tuna.

• 16 oz box elbow macaroni, cooked
• 3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
• 3 -4 stalks celery, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 1/2 cup dill relish
• 1/4 cup sweet relish
• 1½ cup mayonnaise
• salt & pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, combine the chopped eggs, celery, bell pepper, onion, and the relishes. Add the mayonnaise and the salt & pepper. Stir in the pasta until well combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Refrigerate for a few hours, if you can.

Allen’s made a lot of cocktails that have been delicious, and in the moment we can’t imagine forgetting the recipe. But somehow, some of them seem to disappear into the ether. So here’s this one, at least. Definitely agree that this is summer in a glass.

Add ice to two pint glasses. Combine the following (makes 2 servings).

• 6 ounces grapefruit juice
• 3 ounces vodka
• 3 tablespoon rosemary simple syrup

Distribute between the two glasses, and add sparkling water (or club soda) to fill. Add a pinch of salt before serving. (Makes a wonderful difference!)

This seems like a ridiculous recipe to have to write down, but I view this more as a means for remembering that dropping a few sprigs of rosemary (something that will actually grow in my little garden without that damn groundhog nibbling it down to a nub) in simple syrup can really make a difference.

Bring to a boil:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

Reduce the heat and add 5 or so sprigs of rosemary. Simmer for 10 minutes and remove from heat. Let cool, and remove the rosemary with a sieve. Store in the refrigerator.

Sure, you could fry it on top of the stove. But wouldn’t you rather have it (almost) make itself? Nothing revolutionary here. Just instructional. Thanks to Rachel Ray for bringing this idea into my life a few years ago. It’s adapted it for my oven and my preferences.

Line a rimmed cookie sheet with tinfoil. (This just makes it easier to clean up later.) Place a wire rack over the tinfoil and lay the bacon out on top of the rack. Try not to overlap the pieces, because that will prevent the bacon from cooking evenly.

Put the bacon in the oven. Turn the oven to 400 degrees (that’s right! no preheating!) and set the time to 20 minutes if it’s regular bacon and 24 minutes if it’s thick cut. Check it when it’s time, and then leave it in if you want it crispier. The top of the bacon will have collected a bit of grease, but you can remove it by blotting with a paper towel, should you wish.

Two of my favorite words.

Making this was a weekend goal of mine. Achievement unlocked. Here’s the original recipe. I made a couple of adjustments.

The first step is cooking the bacon. You can do this in a frying pan, or you can bake it in the oven. (That’s my preference.)

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 pounds cooked, chopped bacon.
• 3 tbsp butter
• 4 large yellow onions, diced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp fresh thyme, divided
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tbsp brown sugar (optional)
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Melt butter over medium heat and add the diced onions and salt. Cook until translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in sugar, red wine vinegar, 1 1/2 tsp of the thyme, and the peppers. Then add the bacon. Stir in the water and then continue to cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes. The jam will thicken and become dark brown in color. Remove from heat and taste. If you’d like a sweeter taste, like I did, add a tbsp or so of brown sugar. Add the balsamic vinegar and the olive oil, and taste again. Adjust accordingly.

Store in the refrigerator. Great on burgers and as part of a cheese plate.

This recipe made about 4 cups of jam.