Upside-Down Pear Cake and Upside-Down Friendships

Walt Whitman once said, “I have learned that to be with those I like is enough” and that is probably one of the truest quotes I have heard in my entire life. It is absolutely possible to still feel empty even when you have numerous text messages waiting in your inbox every time you check your phone and a monumental and growing number of Facebook friends. While it always brightens my day when I find sweet text messages waiting for me or amazing people leaving lovely posts on my Facebook wall, friendship is about finding people who you truly feel connected with and who appreciate you in your entirety.

A truly wonderful friendship that is Casablanca-ending-worthy is rare and precious. So why should we settle for classifications like “BFF” and “Soul Sister” when we know that the relationships we have with certain people are not based on really “liking” each other? I have “friends” who want me to be their therapist and “friends” who want to be my therapist (um no thanks). I have “friends” who belittle my quirks (what, you don’t like my abrupt rambling and bursting into song? Fine) and “friends” who only stick with me because my quirks are attention-grabbing.

Why do I spend so much time interacting with “friends” when the actual friends with whom I feel completely comfortable and amazing with deserve all of that time? Recently, Jimmy Kimmel announced something he called “National Unfriend Day” for deleting Facebook friends who really don’t mean anything to you. Now actual friendship of any sort (regardless of whether or not there should be quotation marks around the friend part) should not be deleted just like that. The whole point of my abnormally serious and emotional post is that we need to learn to re-evaluate our friend-related priorities in life. We must focus on those who truly love and appreciate us.

But let’s set aside the drama-queen-side of things for a moment, shall we? Let us think about what is to come and smile and marvel:

• I have wisened up so I will spend my spare time with people who I can imagine myself walking away with like Humphrey Bogart at the end of Casablanca.
• I will buy Christmas gifts and imagine how people’s faces will light up when they open their gifts.
• I will celebrate my dog’s belated 5th birthday.
• I will turn another year older in a week.
• I will hope that a very dear friend K– who has recently moved in with her boyfriend (Congratulations! You two are so amazing!) will be able to spend time with me come Winter Break.
• I will hope that I will not be so blind-sighted by “friends” and make time in my life for the valuable friendships I have managed to hold on to and rekindle those which I have so mindlessly let go of.
• I will not hold so many grudges.
• I will take final exams and at the end of it all throw my hands up in the air and say “Ay-yo, I’m done with finals!”
• I will listen to Christmas music and dance around with my cup of peppermint hot chocolate.
• I will tell you guys how to make an amazing upside-down pear cake.

Upside-Down Pear Cake (From Bon Apetit)

Ingredients

• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided, plus more
• 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons coarse yellow cornmeal or polenta
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 2 medium pears (about 1 pound)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• Whipped cream or caramel gelato (optional)

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°. Butter pan; line bottom with a parchment-paper round. Whisk four, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Stir 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high. Boil syrup without stirring, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with a wet pastry brush, until sugar turns dark amber, 8–10 minutes. Remove pan from heat; add 1 tablespoon butter (caramel will bubble vigorously) and whisk until smooth. Pour caramel into prepared cake pan and swirl to coat bottom.
• Peel, halve, and core the pears. Place flat on a work surface and cut lengthwise into 1/8″-thick slices. Layer slices over caramel, flat side down, overlapping as needed.
• Mix remaining 3/4 cup sugar, 8 tablespoon butter, and vanilla in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add yolks one at a time, beating to blend between additions and occassionally scraping bowl. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
• Using clean, dry beaters, beat egg whites on low speed in a medium bowl until frothy. Increase the speed to medium and continue to beat until whites form soft peaks. Fold about 1/4 of the whites into cake batter. Add in remaining whites; gently fold just to blend. Pour batter over pears in pan; smooth top.
• Bake cake, rotating pan halfway through, until top is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out with a few small moist crumbs attached, about 1 hour. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Run a thin knife around the inside of pan to release cake. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
• Invert cake onto a plate; remove parchment paper. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or caramel gelato, if desired.

Red Wine Chocolate Cake

Having wi-fi on a bus is a rather awesome thing for someone who has to bus for more than an hour everyday to get to school. I used to pass my bus time with the timeless act of sleeping, the discovery of unbelievably terrible music on my iPod when I put it on shuffle, and trying to figure out the last couple clues for the crossword puzzle in my school’s daily paper. Now not only can I Facebook stalk my best friends (among other people), I can watch the latest episode of Castle, download the weekly free single from iTunes, and write in my little blog.

Blogging on a bus…I love the thought of that. The blogger on the bus. That’s me. Isn’t that snazzy?

So you probably want me to give you a full-fledged explanation about why it’s been so incredibly long since I blogged. A full two months…what in the world has Natalie been doing? I’ve been juggling classes, taking care of chickens at my college farm, being super enthusiastic for incoming freshmen during our welcoming weeks, welcoming foreign exchange students at a really awesome organization, declaring a major, having Criminal Minds marathons with a bag of my favorite cheese puffs (very productive, I know), and laughing so much. Wow. Not that great of an explanation, but I have more to say.

These past two months have been quite typical with the usual routine of school organizations, classes, and work, but something about them has made them the best two months of this year so far. It goes beyond that internal contentment I gloat with when I see my planner filling up and my days being structured towards my ambitions. For one, my music collection has expanded exponentially because of the amazing new music I’ve been able to listen to both through friends’ shared music libraries and the live events I’ve been going to. I’ve also embraced the beauty of unplanned lunch breaks that involve trampling crunchy leaves in the park and sipping eggnog lattes with one of my colleagues and friends M– as we watch the constant, yet strangely calming, activity on the streets along Lake Union. Lastly, I’ve smiled and waved at more strangers than I ever have before.

By “strangers”, I mean those people with whom you exchange fleeting glances because of a certain familiarity that you can’t quite put to reality or imagination. Was that person in my freshman literature class or am I mistaking her for someone else? Was that the guy with whom I had a random conversation about pulling on doors that say “push” the other day as we were both exiting the library? Those instances are so abundant on a college campus that I have decided that the best way to handle them is to simply smile at everyone who even looks vaguely familiar. That may result in you looking foolishly happy…but, hey, what’s wrong with that?

Although, I have to say, because of the great amount of activities I have filled my life with this quarter that have made me unbelievably happy, I have not been able to take as much time to catch up with many of the friends I cherish most dearly.

To V– and M–: You two were the most amazing study buddies and friends in Winter and Spring quarters. I don’t know how I would have managed to smile through all of that o-chem studying if it wasn’t for you guys.

To J–: Our insanely conflicting class/work/bus schedules seem to prevent us from seeing each other at any time besides microbio class. I want you to know that even if it’s only 5 minutes of conversation after microbio class, you still crack me up like you did when we were 13.

To A–: Our summer times spent sitting on the swing on your front porch or arm dancing at a music festival always make me laugh when I think about them. It’s too bad every month can’t be as amazing as our September was.

To my blog readers: the fact that you’re reading this makes me feel so adored. I adore you just as much.

So then, yes, life has been good. And to celebrate the beauty of Autumn, the excitement of a new month, and the dawning anticipation for the holiday season, I present to you…red wine chocolate cake.

Red Wine Chocolate Cake (From Smitten Kitchen)

6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (179 grams) firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) white granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
3/4 cup (177 ml) red wine, any kind you like (I used a classic Merlot from my Dad)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (133 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (41 grams) Dutch cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (this is a great place for that fancy Vietnamese stuff you stashed away)

Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment, and either butter and lightly flour the parchment and exposed sides of the pan, or spray the interior with a nonstick spray. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and yolk and beat well, then the red wine and vanilla. Don’t worry if the batter looks a little uneven. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together, right over your wet ingredients. Mix until 3/4 combined, then fold the rest together with a rubber spatula. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. The top of the cake should be shiny and smooth, like a puddle of chocolate. Cool in pan on a rack for about 10 minutes, then flip out of pan and cool the rest of the way on a cooling rack. This cake keeps well at room temperature or in the fridge. It looks pretty dusted with powdered sugar.