Campfire Cake

This month was a whirlwind of saying goodbye to one of my best friends, enjoying funemployment and starting a brand new job. Here’s what was happening on the foodie front:

  • My friend Jen moved to Switzerland! I’m so excited and happy for her, but I was very sad to say goodbye. For her epic farewell party, I made a Campfire Cake (pictured above), which somehow managed to serve 50+ people (I used this slicing method). It’s three layers of chocolate cake, toasted marshmallow filling and chocolate malt frosting. The only change I made to the original recipe was to make Graham Crumbles and add them between the layers and on the outside of the cake as a decorative border. Everyone loved it and I’ve never heard the word MOIST so much in my life.
  • I’m slowly learning about my new work neighbourhood and what my go-to lunch spots will be. During my first week, there were two team lunches (one to welcome me, one for September birthdays) and we went to Margaritas (which has subsequently closed due to a fire!) and Midi Bistro. My new teamies said that the go-to move at Midi is to get quiche, and then they let you do “half and half” for your sides (half fries, half salad). I can’t even tell you how happy I was eating this lunch surrounded by people that understand the joy of “half and half”.
  • For the Emmys this year (which were on a Monday, wtf) Kristine and Nicole came over and I made a late summer feast of Smitten Kitchen’s Tomato Shortcakes with Whipped Goat Cheese, Zucchini Carpaccio with Almond Pesto (both from her first cookbook), roasted mini red potatoes, and Saltine Crack Ice Cream Sandwiches. I do not understand how she cut her sandwiches in such perfect squares, as mine were a hot mess. To quote Kristine: “the people don’t demand perfection, we just want ice cream sandwiches”. We ate ours in bowls with spoons and everything was just fine.
  • My new VP had the whole team over for a late summer BBQ potluck and my contribution was Nutella Brown Butter Rice Krispie Squares. Super easy and a crowd pleaser! A few people asked if they could take one or two home for their kids, which I thought was so cute.
  • I threw a little low-key Bachelorette night out for my friend Lusina who’s getting married on Thanksgiving weekend. I kept everything a surprise for her and planned out a mini “Beer Hall Crawl”. We started at Craft for Happy Hour, then went to Northern Maverick for snacks (bacon popcorn and a 1lb soft pretzel!) and more beer, and ended our night at The Craft in Liberty Village for dinner (yes, we have “Craft” and “The Craft” in Toronto, which are two totally different things, don’t get me started). We had so much fun and it was a perfect little party!
  • I went apple picking with my friends Kristine and May and their mom and niece and brought home the biggest bag of Honeycrisps you’ve ever seen, plus a smaller bag of Empires. I currently only have one apple recipe saved on Pinterest, so we’ll see what happens with these over the next month.

Other non-foodie things I was obsessed with this month:

  • My friend Heather got tickets to Jason Reitman’s Live Read at TIFF, which this year was The Breakfast Club. I’ve probably seen this movie like 100 times or more, so it was really interesting to see how the actors interpreted it. My unexpected favourite was Jesse Eisenberg as Bender; you wouldn’t necessarily think of him as the bully, but remember his performance in The Social Network and you can see how he pulled this off.
  • Kristine and I went to see Bruno Mars and it was AMAZING! It was my first time seeing him and I felt like I was at my own personal Superbowl halftime show! Just thoroughly entertained, and I feel like I’ll see him now every time he comes to Toronto.
  • I didn’t read a ton this month, but my one recommendation is Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell. I read a bunch of her books like 15 years ago (Ralph’s Party, Thirtynothing) and it looks like she’s pivoted to murder mysteries. I read this very fast because I had to know what happened, and it was great!

Flashback!