There's a new kid in town, and by kid in town, I mean almost 12 week old maniac puppy in my house. I posted on instagram yesterday that he was 10 weeks old, but when we actually sat down with a calendar this morning we realized he was 12 weeks, not even close to 10.

We have been in a weird time vacuum this summer- busy and traveling at first, and now trying to settle back into a new routine and trying to teach this puppy to sleep in his new home and be a good citizen. NYC is a loud smelly place and our sweet pup is learning to love it more and more everyday, even if it is overwhelming - a 20 minute hang on the stoop is stimulating enough to send him straight to a 2 hour nap. Me too pup, me too. This city is tiring.

Some friends of ours, I've mentioned a couple of times, decamped Brooklyn for the Pacific Northwest and moved to a house with a hearty rhubarb plant, alongside an Italian plum, and hazelnut tree. Pete joked that their new yard makes it's own trailmix, a very Northwestern ideal.

Apparently that plum tree is an excellent producer of the most beautiful deep-blue purple plums with orangey centers, and our generous pal sent me a box full that I sadly haven't had much time to play with because of aforementioned pup that requires hourly monitoring...But yesterday I said enough is enough - I need to bake something with these plums! As I sliced them open I smiled at the perfectly contrasting colors and was so happy to be hanging in the kitchen with a peacefully snoozing pup in the other room.

It was a bit slap-dash as all of my pies are these days. I use my new fave easiest pie crust ever, but swapped in 1/2 rye flour for the all purpose, and employed my general prefered fruit pie formula - adjusted it a bit to suit the fruit.

Italian Plum Pie

makes one, 9-inch pie

Plum pie is my very favorite summer-to-fall transitional treat. Italian plums are so perfectly suited to cooking and baking that I can't resist them at the market everytime I go. They pair well with both bright citrusy flavors and deeper toastier ones like whole grain flours and warm spices like cinnamon. In a moment of Four and Twenty Blackbirds inspiration, I shook a bottle of cardamom bitters into the filling which ended up being a totally delicious move, which I highly recommend if you happen to keep a bottle in your bar. If not, a bit of ground cardamom is great too.

2 1/2 times Easiest Pie Crust Ever, split into two discs (sub 1/2 of the all purpose flour for rye)

2 lbs (900g) Italian plums

1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar

seeds of 1/2 vanilla bean or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup (30g) flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

5 shakes/dashes cardamom bitters or 1/2 teaspoon cardamom

pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 400º F and place a rack in the bottom of the oven. In a large bowl combine the sugar and vanilla bean seeds. Use your fingers to rub the and seeds into the sugar until well combined and fragrant. Stir in the flour, cinnamon, and salt.

Pit and cut the plums into quarters. Add them to the bowl but don't stir quite yet.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of the dough into a roughly 12-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick and place it into a 9-inch pie pan. Place in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the pie. Roll out the other piece of dough into a roughly 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick.

Add the bitters to the filling, then gently stir the filling ingredients together. Fill the pie shell, press gently to compact the fruit, and top with the second crust.

Trim the edges so they are even, then crimp them together. Alternately, cut the second crust into 1 1/2 to 2-inch strips and weave a lattice top.

Slide the whole pie into the fridge or freezer for about 15 minutes or until the crust is very firm. When you are ready to bake, carefully and gently brush the top of the pie with a beaten egg and sprinkle with a healthy dose of coarse sugar.

Put the pie on a baking sheet to catch any drips and bake for 45-55 minutes or until the crust is deep golden brown and the juices bubble. Cool before slicing.

lemon berry bundt cake | apt 2b baking co

Before we talk about this killer bundt, can we talk about the Olympics for a second? I freakin' LOVE the Olympics SO MUCH! One of the best perks of working from home is that I can just stream that business all day long in the background. I will watch any sport that's on - rowing, diving, synchronized diving (which is insane, btw), golf, tennis, dressage (did you know that horse dancing was a sport?!), water polo, weight lifting - seriously whatever is, on I will watch, and I will cry at every medal ceremony.

I will also cry especially hard when someone is the only person from their country to ever qualify for an event, like Indian vaulter Dipa Karmakar who barely missed a medal a few days ago. I will cry at every mention of the Refugee Olympic Team. I will cry every time someone makes history like Simone Manuel (first African American woman to win an individual gold in swimming!), Simone Biles (3 golds and 1 bronze so far in her first Olympic games, and one of the best athletes in the world!) Usain Bolt (so relaxed, so magnetic!), Wayde van Neikerk (ran a WR time from lane 8!) and Oksana Chusovitina (her 7th Olympics!) Michael Phelps (one million medals!), and there are so many more to tears come - track and field and synchronized swimming just started. I even get emotional thinking about how excited Leslie Jones is about the Olympics, and how NBC was so impressed they had to get her in on the action.

I know our world is exceptionally messy, violent, and imperfect right now and in the US we are living through a presidential election season (year?) that we cannot wait to be over, but the Olympics are giving me so much HOPE. To see people from all over the world and all walks of life (the Mexican beach volleyball player who is a PE teacher just killed me) who have worked so hard, for so long and often have sacrificed so much to achieve their dreams and manifest their destiny just fills me right up. I LOVE THE OLYMPICS.

One of the things I made while watching the Olympics last week was this super-yum lemony berry bundt with cornmeal and ricotta from Kristin Donnelly's new book, Modern Potluck. You all know I love a bundt and this cake was a winner, bright from the berries and fruit and the combination of cornmeal and ricotta gave the cake a wonderful texture and crumb that was great the next day too.

I am admittedly biased when I say that I love this new cookbook by Kristin, and it's because I shot the photos for it! As I was finishing up my own book project last year, Kristin called me up and asked if I would be interested in photographing her book and I jumped at the chance, and last April (and May) we assembled a crack team and shot lots of photos and ate lots of good food.

I had the great pleasure of sampling a ton of the recipes from this book on shoot days and I can truly give it a hearty two thumbs up. Hello, Bloody Mary Deviled Eggs, Aquabeet Cured Salmon, the tastiest Chinese Chicken Salad, lots of veggie dishes, desserts, and more. Modern Potluck is filled with recipes fit for any crowd, with a handy key that identifies vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free recipes, and handy tips for transporting and assembling when necessary. It is the perfect thing to have in your back pocket as we wrap up summer entertaining season and get ready for fall. Damn, I can't wait for fall. This summer has been brutally hot.

GIVEAWAY!

The lovely folks at SnapWare are giving one lucky winner a Cake Keeper, perfect for carting your cake to your next potluck (or storing it for later) and a copy of Kristin's wonderful book. To enter please leave a comment below with your favorite potluck dish. Giveaway open to US residents only and entries will be open for one week. The winner will be chosen at random, announced here and alerted by email. Winner will have 48 hours to claim the prize. Good Luck!

Winner has been notified by email. Congrats to Lana!

Lemon Berry Bundt Cake with Ricotta and Cornmeal

From Modern Potluck by Kristin Donnelly

makes one bundt

Use deep colored berries like blueberries and blackberries for a purple hued glaze like the one shown, raspberries will make a pretty pink glaze. Also, I am a glaze lover, so I doubled the recipe below for some extra impact. The gorgeous pattern on top of my cake is thanks to the Nordicware 10-cup Heritage Bundt pan I used (and was asked about many times on Instagram :)) and the cake batter fit perfectly, just make sure to generously butter and flour the interior for easy release. There's nothing more frustrating than a half-stuck bundt!

Cake

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

zest of 2 lemons

1 1/2 cups ricotta

3 large eggs

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3 cups late summer berries - blackberries, blueberries, raspberries

Glaze

1/2 cup late summer berries

1/4 cup water

1 cup confectioner's sugar

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Generously butter and flour every crevice of a Bundt pan or spray with a baking spray that contains flour. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set a rack on top to use for cooling.

Make the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, rub the lemon zest with the sugar until the sugar is slightly moistened. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar with the 3/4 cup butter at medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the ricotta and beat until incorporated. Then add the eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated. Add the lemon juice. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, beating well between each addition. Very gently fold in the berries. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 60-70 minutes, until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan, springs back when you touch it, and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to the prepared rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack and let cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a small saucepan, combine the berries with the water and cook over medium heat, using a spoon to press on the berries, until they' re broken down and have released lots of juice, about 5 minutes. Strain into a small bowl, pressing on the solids to release as much of the color as possible (it's okay if a few seeds make it through).

Sift the confectioners' sugar unto a medium bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the berry juice and mix until a smooth glaze forms (you may need a little more juice to make a smooth glaze). When the cake is cool, drizzle the glaze on top and let it drip down the sides.

Potluck Prep: The unglazed cake can be covered and kept at room temperature overnight. Glaze within a few hours of serving.