Impressively Easy Berries and Cream Cake Impresses, Easily

New York Times

12 hours ago

No words strike fear in me quite like 'butter, softened.' I've mentioned it before in this newsletter, but I'm missing that part of my brain that remembers to take butter out of the fridge to come to room temperature. And before you ask, no, I don't have a microwave, so I can't do that nifty soften-your-butter-in-short-zaps thing.
So I tend to stick to baking recipes that call for fridge-cold or melted butter, like Yossy Arefi's generously easy berries and cream sheet cake, which calls for butter, melted. You don't need any special equipment to make this beautiful cake, either: just a big bowl, a whisk, a flexible spatula for scraping said bowl and your trusty 9-by-13-inch baking pan. If you're angling for star baker at your July 4 cookout, arrange your berries in flag formation. But I like the 'pile 'em on' approach (which also means more berries).
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Pollo asado: I've planned a nice gathering for you. Get Ham El-Waylly's pollo asado in its marinade on Saturday so that it can luxuriate in all those citrusy, spicy flavors overnight. On Sunday, make beans and rice and ask your friends to bring corn tortillas, pickled red onions and beer. Enjoy your glorious Sunday feast (and your fantastic Monday leftovers).
Marinated green beans: This recipe from Dan Pelosi is now on repeat; I've made it twice in the past couple of weeks. I followed the recipe exactly the first time, but the second time, I swapped out his garlicky red wine vinaigrette for some ginger-scallion sauce loosened with a splash of apple cider vinegar. I haven't decided what to do for my next batch, but there will be a next batch.
Summer shrimp scampi with tomatoes and corn: The name pretty much says it all, doesn't it? As Ali Slagle mentions in her recipe headnotes, this dish is perfect on its own, but would also be great draped over pasta.
You made the pickle lemonade and loved it. And now you're thinking that you'd like to stay on this sweet-and-sour beverage train, but maybe introduce a little cold creaminess. Say hello to limonada (click the image to watch our video):