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Pound cake is not the first treat that comes to most people's minds when their sweet tooth starts calling out, probably because most pound cakes are bland in flavor, dense without being rich or just plain bad. But for my English, sweets loving husband, pound cake, specifically a lemon pound cake, is a revelation. He thinks it's perfect with afternoon tea (of course), after dinner with berries and ice cream, even for breakfast (I told you he has a sweet tooth).
 
Lemon pound cakes make my husband happy and since they are easy to make (and because I love the way his eyes light up upon smelling one when he walks in the door) I make them more than any other treat or, puddings, as he calls desserts. Last week I didn't have lemons around and instead used some limes and the result was just as delicious. So, here's my favorite lemon (or lime) pound cake recipe, one I adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible. The method may seem a bit counter intuitive at first (there's no creaming of the butter and sugar) but the result is a tender, delicious lemon pound cake.
 

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Nothing can kill kitchen morale like a slow night. And any cook will tell you that it is much more likely for their food to suffer on a slow night than on a busy one, even though a single plate might have the kitchen's full attention. Cooks thrive on energy, speed and efficiency, and without the challenge of a full dining room, they easily become bored and unchallenged, which leads to a lackadaisical cooking performance. So, they find ways to combat boredom. Some have cook-offs, contests to see you can make the best, original sausage (pork with coriander), or the best snack for a drunken night (French fries with pulled pork, gorgonzola fondue and tomato aioli). Other, less industrious cooks, play cards or take turns scouring the web for poker and porn on the office computer. Most spend at least some of the time tormenting the waiters or each other. One group of cooks I worked with came up with a truly original way to beat the boredom.
 
 When it became clear that the night was going to be endless with only a few orders trickling in from time to time at the most, the cook in charge of the kitchen (and the ringleader for most of the kitchen capers), would announce that it was time for Pants Off Dance Off. While singing the opening music to the 80's dance classic "Everybody Dance Now" by C and C Music Factory, each of the four or five male cooks would drop their baggy, elastic-waist kitchen pants. For the allotted time, the cooks would work with their pants around their ankles, which not only handicapped their movement, which was normally quick and efficient, but made them look incredibly silly. They had the added bonuses of being a wee bit naughty (they were working in their underwear!) and a wee bit dangerous (they were still cooking with fire). But laughing at each other and the confused looks from waiters was not enough.
 

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Most people love the idea of being regulars at their favorite restaurants or cafes, thinking that their frequent visits earn them special treatment or at the very least, a familiar greeting or free dessert. However, with the help of computerized reservation systems, we know a lot more about you than you’d probably hope, and we have it all recorded.
 
We know how many times a month you come to our restaurant, and which table (or glass of wine or waiter) is your favorite. All of this helps us keep our good customers happy. But we also know if you’ve ever been late, if you always show up late or worse yet, if you have no-showed one too many times, in which case you are definitely not one of our favorites, no matter how much you pride yourself on being a “good” customer.
 
We remember if you tip well (or not), or if you are a “whale,” someone who spends a lot of money. If you are a really big whale, your late arrivals might be forgiven, at least a few times. If you are a whale who makes us laugh (or more likely, makes us laugh at you) you might get a nickname next to your real name on the reservation list. For years, we referred to one whale of a customer solely as The Guy Who Thinks Tanaka Is Chinese, because he repeatedly presumed that Tanaka, a thoroughly Japanese sommelier, was Chinese. Even Tanaka played along, and thanked him for wishing him a Happy Chinese New Year.

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Dalia Jurgensen is our guest blogger during the week of April 20th. If you have any questions for Dalia Jurgensen, add a comment to any of her posts.

Here is more information about Spiced:

In the tradition of Kitchen Confidential, a revealing and entertaining insider's tour through top restaurant kitchens, told from the unique perspective of a critically acclaimed pastry chef.

Spiced is Dalia Jurgensen's memoir of leaving her office job and pursuing her dream of becoming a chef. Eventually landing the job of pastry chef for a three-star New York restaurant, she recounts with endearing candor the dry cakes and burned pots of her early internships, and the sweat, sheer determination, and finely tuned taste buds-as well as resilient ego and sense of humor-that won her spots in world-class restaurant kitchens. With wit and an appreciation for raunchy insults, she reveals the secrets to holding your own in male-dominated kitchens, surviving after-hours staff parties, and turning out perfect plates when you know you're cooking for a poorly disguised restaurant critic. She even confesses to a clandestine romance with her chef and boss-not to mention what it's like to work in Martha Stewart's TV kitchen-and the ugly truth behind the much-mythologized "family meal."