The Seven Year Slip
We are having a delightful Arkansas summer filled with Andy’s frozen custard dates and watching Bridgerton by the pool. In between seeing as many outdoor concerts as possible at the AMP, I am hard at work trying to accomplish my reading goals for the year. I ended up generously increasing my Goodreads goal to fifty books this year and have been successfully reading approximately one book a week. It’s hard work reading that many books while sunbathing, but I am up for the challenge.
I recently finished a book that immediately became my favorite read this year. It encapsulated so many things I love about a good book: romance, reflection, and plenty of recipe inspiration. If you haven’t read The Seven Year Slip, it needs to go on the top of your reading list.
Clementine is a book publicist in New York City who is on the verge of becoming a workaholic. While she is doing her best to be on top of everything in her work life, her personal life is hanging on by an unwoven thread. One of her favorite people in the whole entire world, Aunt Analea, just recently passed away. Clementine finds herself the new owner of her aunt’s apartment. However, this is no ordinary New York apartment. This apartment has the capability of taking you back in time seven years.
Clementine’s aunt had countless metaphors for life, but only had two rules for the apartment: always take your shoes off at the door and never fall in love in the apartment. While the first was easy to follow, the second rule comes into question when Clementine opens the door to find a sweet chef with a love for tart lemon pie. There’s only one problem. He was at the apartment seven years ago.
As the sweltering heat of summer in the city progresses, so does a romantic flame between our protagonists. Clementine must ultimately decide if she will let this colorful relationship progress or if the brightness and warmth of new love will fade into the past.
There are so many aspects of this book I was obsessed with from the beginning. First off, Ashley Posten does a spectacular job of creating a setting that romanticizes summer in the city. Her style of writing truly reminded me of some of my favorite nineties rom-coms and made me want to book a flight to New York so I could enjoy wine and appetizers at a street side cafe. I was equally obsessed with Aunt Analea’s eclectic apartment. The way it was described reminded me of The Arconia in Only Murders in the Building, but, you know, without the murders. If there are unknown aunts who starred on Broadway that are ready to come out of the woodwork and leave me a fancy apartment, I am ready and willing to accept.
Posten also helped me realize there are certain tropes that I adore. Enemies to lovers may be at the top of my list, but I am also a sucker for a right person wrong time romantic conflict. There are also very specific subplots that drew me into the story as well. The fact Clementine works in the publishing world is a type of meta in writing that I find highly amusing. Her references to other literary works are also quirky and fun. I mean who wouldn’t fall in love with a guy who names his chef’s knives after Jane Eyre characters!?
I simply couldn’t just made one recipe from the book! The opening chapter gave me plenty of inspiration for some summer appetizers. We ate delicious fish fritters, bacon wrapped dates, and fried goat cheese while enjoying the air conditioning on a hot Sunday afternoon.
While her play on words and nods to beloved works of fiction may be exciting, there are some heavy topics that are addressed in the book. Several times the book touches on grief in a way that is spectacularly raw and reflective. I could tell these words were written from someone who has been forced to sit in tragedy, and I found myself constantly writing down insightful quotes as I flipped through the pages.
If I haven’t convinced you to immediately download this novel to your Kindle, then the food ideas alone should encourage you to read this book. I was inspired by several recipes and had a wonderful weekend where I made meals based on the book. We dined on bacon wrapped dates, fried goat cheese with lavender honey, and fish fritters with dill sauce. While each recipe turned out to be delicious, there was one that simply stood out among the rest.
During one of their first nights together, Iwan made Clementine fajitas that I could almost hear sizzling through the Kindle screen. After they finished, Iwan made her one of his favorite lemon pies. This pie was a take on key lime pie with a graham cracker crust, tart filling, and topped with fresh whipped cream. I knew immediately this was the recipe I wanted to perfect because there is nothing like finding love in a lemon pie.
I drew inspiration for this recipe from a few sources. One of my summer issues of Southern Living highlighted a no-bake lemonade pie that looks absolutely divine. While I could have just gone with this recipe, I knew the filling wasn’t quite what I was looking for. I ended up modifying this recipe by using the graham cracker crust recipe from the magazine and pairing it with Ina Garten’s lemon curd recipe. Once it was topped with homemade vanilla whipped cream, this pie turned out exactly as I pictured: tart, sweet, and perfect for a slow Sunday afternoon in the summer.
Love in a Lemon Pie
12 graham crackers
6 tablespoons of melted butter
¼ cup of sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Blend the graham crackers in a food processor until ground. They should be the consistency of sand. Add in the melted butter and sugar. Pulse to combine. It is alright if the mixture is clumped together. Pour into a 9 inch greased pie plate and press down with the back of a measuring cup until even. Bake for approximately ten minutes.
3 large lemons (½ cup lemon juice)
1 ½ cups of sugar
1 stick of butter, room temperature
4 large eggs, room temperature
⅛ teaspoon of salt
While the crust is baking, zest the lemons in a large bowl. Juice the lemons in a separate, smaller bowl until ½ a cup of juice. Whisk together the zest and sugar. Add in the butter and beat butter, sugar, and zest together with a hand mixer. Add in the eggs, juice, and salt and blend together.
Heat a saucepan on medium low and pour lemon mixture into the pan. Consistently whisk for 10-12 minutes, or until the lemon curd thickens. It should be able to stick to the back of a spoon and hold its shape. Pour the warm lemon curd into the graham cracker crust and let cool to room temperature before putting in the fridge.
Vanilla Whipped Cream
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or vanilla paste
Use a handheld mixer to whip together the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla on medium high until stiff peaks form. It should take about 3-4 minutes. Once the pie has cooled in the refrigerator (preferably overnight), spread the whipped cream on top. Zest more lemon on top if you desire. Cut a large slice and enjoy!
