With Memorial Day here this month, which means the start of fabuLyssfun family barbecues, I want to introduce you to a new deLysscious healthy snack: New Pop. The world’s first skinless popcorn, recently launched, and my kids can’t get enough. This non-genetically modified, gluten-free and vegan popcorn is revolutionary to the snack category, and you will thank me after you try my favorite flavor — the sweet cinnamon.
• • •
A new #fabuLyssFind is Dr. Kestin, a world-renowned facial rejuvenation expert specializing in non-surgical cosmetic procedures. Dr. Oz calls him the “Wizard of Eyes!” With summertime upon us, a quick visit to Dr. Kestin’s office will keep you feeling and looking refreshed. You will love his “magical chair.”
(635 Madison Ave. between 59th and 60th streets, williamkestinmd.com).
• • •
A new #divaMustRead is “How to Be Married: What I Learned from Real Women on Five Continents About Surviving My First (Really Hard) Year of Marriage” by Jo Piazza. Written with refreshing candor, elegant prose, astute reporting, and hilarious insight into the human psyche, “How to Be Married” offers an honest portrait of an utterly charming couple. When life throws more at them than they ever expected — a terrifying health diagnosis, sick parents to care for, unemployment — they ultimately create a fresh understanding of what it means to be equal partners during the good and bad times. Through their journey, they reveal a framework that will help the rest of us keep our marriages strong, from engagement into the newlywed years and beyond. I could not put this fabuLyss book down.
www.amazon.com/How-Be-Married-Continents-Surviving/dp/0451495551
• • •
Another new #fabuLyssFamilyFind: Take your family to see Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – The New Musical.” Your kids will agree they all won the Golden Ticket after seeing this Broadway show. My 9-year-old son said that it is “better than Hamilton.” It’s the best new production for families. He went Oompaloomadoopitydoo for the new, fabuLyssFun musical.
At the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 W. 46th St. between Eighth Avenue and Broadway, www.charlieonbroadway.com).
• • •
And on Thursday, May 4, please join the Divamoms for the fifth annual Mom Moguls Breakfast!
At Lord and Taylor (424 Fifth Ave. between E. 38th and E. 39th streets, www.divam
Lyss Stern is the founder of DivaLysscious Moms (www.divam
Strawberry country cake
INGREDIENTS:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
For the filling for each cake:
1 cup (1/2 pint) heavy cream, chilled
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter the bottom of two 8-inch cake pans. Then line them with parchment paper and butter and flour the lined pans.
Cream the butter and sugar on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream, zests, and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine just until smooth.
Pour the batter evenly into the pans, smooth the tops, and bake in the center of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then remove to wire racks and let cool to room temperature. If using one cake, wrap the second well and freeze.
To make the filling for one cake, whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until firm. Slice one of the cakes in half with a long, sharp knife. Place the bottom slice of the cake on a serving platter, spread with half the whipped cream and scatter with sliced strawberries. Cover with the top slice of the cake and spread with the remaining cream. Decorate with strawberries.
From Ina Garten, www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/strawberry-country-cake-recipe.
