1. Bake French Sponge Cakes
ANN CHRISTENSON, SENIOR DINING EDITOR
I had never made madeleines, the little scallop-shaped French cakes that Marcel Proust made famous – in early 20th century literature, anyway. But I just got my hands on a copy of Greg Wade’s Bread Head, in which the James Beard Award winner and head baker for Publican Quality Breads in Chicago shares recipes for long-fermented breads, pastries and yes, madeleines. Wade is also a New Berlin native. What drew me to his recipe for these treats is the brown butter. I’m a sucker for it. It’s so easy to make and adds a wonderful toasty flavor. One of the tricks to making madeleines is whipping (or vigorously whisking) the eggs and sugar until the batter is at the ribbon stage. Also, you want to refrigerate the batter for several hours before baking the cakes. Once I added my batter to the mold, I popped the pan into the freezer for a bit as well. Between that and the very hot oven, the cake gets its signature hump. Despite sticking slightly to the madeleine mold, my madeleines turned out light and fluffy, with a toffee-like flavor.
2. Go to Milwaukee Film Festival’s Friends & Family Preview Night
ALLI WATTERS, DIGITAL & CULTURE EDITOR
Milwaukee Film is throwing a party to celebrate the drop of the 2023 festival lineup. The event is fully free, including the popcorn, and it’s at the beautiful Oriental Theatre. I’m most excited to see the trailers for some of the top picks coming to the festival.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
3. Listen to Ants From Up There
ARCHER PARQUETTE, MANAGING EDITOR
Last year, the English band Black Country, New Road released the best album I’ve heard in recent memory, Ants From Up There. I’ve been wildly recommending to everyone who’ll listen (so mostly just my Uncle Jerry). The album is sort of indie rock, but it confounds genre. (Wikipedia calls it “post-rock, chamber pop and art rock” for what that’s worth.) What’s important is that it’s an emotional journey, lyrical powerhouse and virtuosic display of musicianship that astounds with every track. The chorus of “Chaos Space Marine” is so pulse-pounding, it’s almost physically difficult not to leap up when lead singer Isaac Wood belts out: “So I’m leaving this body / And I’m never coming home again.” The forlorn verses in “Concorde” culminate in a sudden, beautiful ending that will rip you up. The last two minutes of “Basketball Shoes” contain the most heartbreaking lyrics ever written about a … uh … certain kind of dream. And “Snow Globes.” My Lord, do I love that song. If you listen to it at the right time, it might just leave you weeping like a child in the parking lot outside your job, desperately trying to compose yourself before facing your colleagues. Which, you know, obviously, is a hypothetical scenario.
4. Read The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel
BRIANNA SCHUBERT, ASSOCIATE DIGITAL EDITOR
This lovely book is set in Greenwich Village, NYC (I was just there on a trip!), and is about a group of people who all come together to take care of a baby when it is left in their care. It’s a funny, enjoyable and light-hearted read, which I found perfect for springtime. It had unique, fun characters and a lovely setting in a brownstone apartment with a bar underneath. I recommend!
5. Try the New Vienna Beef Ballpark Dogs
CHRIS DROSNER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
So, the Brewers home season started today, and while I am somewhat more excited about this A+ pitching staff and a dynamic lineup eager to take advantage of the bigger bases, I’m looking forward to a visit to American Family Field for the sausages. The actual ones, not the racing ones. Vienna Beef took over this year as the supplier of hot dogs at the “AmFam Clam,” as one of my co-workers is trying to get people to refer to it. These are good dogs. In a fun little MilMag office event recently, our staff them from a full Chicago-style dog kit sent over by the Brewers and Vienna Beef. As much as I enjoyed them – the beefy links are a far cry from the revolting stereotype of hot dogs – I would NOT, however, recommend having four of them in a single day like I did. (There’s also a great little This American Life story about how Vienna Beef replicated the flavor of its signature product at its then-new Chicago-area plant; skip to Act 14.)
