Jay came for a simple dinner for roasted chicken and fresh vegetables. The squash is from our CSA share, but I picked up the Brussels sprouts at Whole Foods because they were selling them on the stalk. I love them right off the stalk – so fresh. I had too many for dinner, so I roasted the extras in olive oil, salt and pepper for lunch. As I was eating them, I was thinking – oh man, I must be a grown up! I’m eating Brussels sprouts for lunch and I’m enjoying it!

The cake took a while to make. Lots of steps – cake, lemon curd, white chocolate base, buttercream. The buttercream is out of this world. Light, airy, not greasy at all. Everything a buttercream should be. I’m not a fan of white chocolate, but I loved this white chocolate lemon buttercream. The cake turned out really good. The only downside is that 17 eggs are required for the cake.

• Butterflied Roast Chicken with Chile-Cinnamon Rub (Fine Cooking #47, November 2001, p. 55)
• Balsamic-Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta (Fine Cooking #74, November 2005, p. 30)
• Roasted Rosemary Butternut Squash & Shallots (Fine Cooking #81, November 2006, p. 57)
• Woody’s Lemon Luxury Layer Cake (Rose’s Heavenly Cakes, p. 43)