Author: Laura Crowley

Categories
Arts & Life Books Review

O’Farrell blends past and present

By Carolyn Williams

Staff Writer

Maggie O’Farrell’s fifth book, “The Hand That First Held Mine,” artfully melds two stories into one elegant novel: the first the history of Lexie Sinclair, a young woman blossoming in postwar London; the second that of Elina and Ted, a young couple introduced just after the birth of their first child, set fifty years after Lexie’s story.

Lexie makes her entrance in a burst of passion while fighting with her mother in rural Devon. After having been politely asked to leave her university, Lexie is displeased to find herself returned to the stagnation of her childhood home, bogged down by whining siblings and her patently boring life. Luckily for her, at this precise moment, the dashing, flamboyantly-attired Innes Kent appears, his car having broken down nearby. He immediately likes Lexie, and his well-timed arrival imbues Lexie with the courage to escape the stifling mediocrity ascribed to her in Devon. Without much of a plan, Lexie packs a bag and heads off to London, much to her family’s disapprobation, but with the promise of guidance from the intriguing Innes.

Lexie soon joins Innes in his work in bohemian Soho, where he edits an up-and-coming art magazine. Lexie’s natural vivacity and pert opinions make her a promising art critic, while her burgeoning love for Innes grows into a committed relationship, despite his estranged wife and frightening daughter. Lexie’s chapters, which interchange with those of Elina and Ted, are full of passion and an intangible gusto for life, which is somewhat dampened by the fact (made known early on) that she will die young. Still, Lexie’s adventurous zeal prevails, making her the undeniable star of the show, despite the bittersweet knowledge that she must die before the story ends.

Meanwhile, in contemporary London, Elina struggles with the aftereffects of the traumatic, botched delivery of her newborn son. A Norwegian painter, Elina wakes without any memory of the birth, which lasted several days and nearly killed her. Her apparent amnesia surrounding the event terrifies her pragmatic boyfriend, Ted, a film editor, prone to memory blackouts himself. As the days crawl by, Elina reacquaints herself with the day-to-day proceedings of her life, gradually beginning to remember the delivery, regaining strength and familiarizing herself with her new role as a mother.

Ted, however, is plagued by a sudden onset of alien memories which he cannot place. These memories, most of them triggered by interactions with his son, make little sense in the context of his life. Together, Ted and Elina begin to piece together the fragments of Ted’s early childhood, which, it becomes clear, is hardly what it has always seemed. Their search causes their current story to collide with the past, and, of course, with the long-dead Lexie, in an explosive “Aha” moment which leaves everyone reeling.

O’Farrell’s writing nears poetry, challenging the reader from the moment of Lexie’s first entrance. However, once accustomed to the style and pace of the prose, readers will find the story hard to put down. “The Hand That First Held Mine” is a very satisfying read, which, happily, never compromises artistry for story, because it simply does not need to.

Categories
Arts & Life

Actress portrays women in Gospels

By Laura Crowley

Arts & Life Editor

This past Saturday, acclaimed actress Nina Thiel played 36 characters and told 24 stories as the sole performer in her play “Always the Women.”

Thiel, the mother of John Thiel ’13, was excited to present her son’s school with her adaptation of the Gospels’ encounters with women. Thiel is a campus minister with the InterVarsity Christian fellowship at three universities and has brought her show to a number of colleges across the country. Through her play, Thiel seeks to contest conventional notions about Jesus’ encounters with women and show audiences how Jesus truly cared for all women. Thiel holds that Jesus never talked down to women. Rather, she believes that Jesus treated women as equals and forgave them of their sins as he would men.

By performing her interpretation of the Gospels’ stories, Thiel wants audiences “to see women elevated” and treated fairly by Jesus.

“I love playing Jesus. I love counteracting everything I’ve ever heard [about Jesus],” she said. Namely, Thiel loves bringing him to life as an impartial and sincere figure rather than a one-dimensional “pasty, white” man with blue eyes, as many may perceive him.

As the sole actress and producer, “[I am] bringing a lot of myself into this,” Thiel said. While she did work with an acting coach to master aspects of her performance, she made the executive decision to exclude certain parables stories and to portray certain stories in a given light. For instance, Thiel portrayed a repenting adulteress in one parable as a woman who was purely victim of a “set-up.”

Because Thiel is offering stories so close to her personal beliefs, she says parts of her play hit her differently and frequently result in her becoming overwhelmed with emotion. At the same time, she said she was forced to hold back laughter at lighter parts.

Perhaps because of this range of emotion, a member of the audience told her that she truly “brought Christ alive.” By presenting Jesus’ encounters with women from a new perspective, Thiel has inspired young audiences across the country to re-examine both Jesus and women in the gospels.

Categories
Arts & Life Restaurants Review

BJ’s dishes out satisfying comfort food

By Michelle Joline

Contributing Writer

Sometimes all someone needs to pick up their day is a little comfort food. It happens to the best of us. There are dozens of options to satisfy the multitude of possible cravings in Lewisburg, but there is one local restaurant that seems to incorporate all indulgences. BJ’s Steak & Rib House, located just a short drive from campus in Selinsgrove, has become a favorite for many of the students and faculty at the University.

This past Saturday night I visited BJ’s Steak & Rib House with friends and had all my cravings fulfilled with their large menu. There are eight appetizer options, and each is distinctly delicious. One appetizer that the restaurant is known for is their “frickles,” or fried pickles–an option not so common at other restaurants. Although the frickles are good for a little taste, the restaurant’s nachos are a perfect combination of BJ’s chili, cheese and chips. The Tex-Mex Nachos are $9.75 and could feed a large table of hungry college students. The Bongo Bongo Dip was a choice many of the surrounding tables made, an $8.95 spinach dip served with garlic bread.

Along with these more filling appetizers, there are three options for entrée salads that are the perfect pair to BJ’s starters. The salads are slightly pricier, but well worth the money given their proportions.

A staple on the menu at BJ’s is the burger, offered in seven mouth-watering styles. A favorite among my friends was the Chicago Beer Burger, with cheddar cheese, braised onions and beer mushroom ketchup, with French fries and coleslaw served on the side. The Chicago Beer Burger will run you $10.75, but there are burgers that are priced slightly lower.

The eight steak options are the priciest on the menu but surely served to please. For the more modest eaters there is the “Petites” Steak, which is a smaller version of the classic BJ’s steak.

If visitors still aren’t stuffed from their main dishes, there is a dessert menu that recently had the addition of a chocolate soufflé, along with a peanut butter chocolate cake.

BJ’s is not only a restaurant with a fun and welcoming atmosphere; it is also a full service bar. The TVs that constantly play live games and ESPN are an addition that many of the male visitors love, with local college students packed around the bar during big games. The bar serves wine, beer and spirits to customers of age and has a long list of specialty drinks.

If you are planning on dining at BJ’s on Friday or Saturday, a reservation is recommended. Walk-ins are welcome on weeknights.

For your next night out visit BJ’s Steak & Rib House at 17 North Market Street in Selinsgrove, Pa. and make a reservation either by calling at 570-374-9841 or online at www.bjsribs.com. Bon appétit!

Categories
Arts & Life Featured

The man behind the e-mails: Rob Guissanie

By Tracy Lum

Senior Editor

When it comes to technology on campus, no name is more recognizable than that of Rob Guissanie. In times of critical systems outages, phishing scams or other technological issues, his name fills your inboxes, warning of impending changes or even danger.

As the Senior Technology Support Specialist of Library & Information Technology (L&IT), Guissanie focuses on boiling complex technological issues into simple advisory messages for the campus at large. Though Guissanie does not have a hand in all the projects he tells the campus about, the e-mails come only from him to establish credibility and trust. While informative, Guissanie’s e-mails also convey a subtle humor that will elicit a chuckle from any reader.

For instance,  this Valentine’s Day, Guissanie sent a message to the general campus about an imminent critical systems outage. “The Library and IT Enterprise System Team will be ‘showing a lot of love’ to some critical University systems later this week that will impact your relationship with them for a short time,” he wrote.

“I wondered how often people were reading the e-mails,” Guissanie said in his office in the labyrinthine Computer Center. “I wanted to liven it up a little to see if anyone was truly reading it.”

At first, some of his coworkers thought that his methods were unprofessional, but most have adjusted to his style since then.

“Rob’s e-mails have a consistent humor and a consistent tone,” said Mary Ann Burkland, Assistant Director of Technology Support at L&IT. With the consistency, “the campus then can know that it is not spam or a phishing attempt,” she said.

Guissanie says his humorous messages make it more interesting for everybody, including himself, but that the most important thing is to communicate critical information to the campus. For the most part, his strategy has worked.

Sara Grubb ’11 always reads Guissanie’s e-mails and even lets them accumulate in her inbox because she likes them too much to delete them right away. “I love his e-mails because I think they’re hilarious,” she said. “Because I know he’s funny, I always read his e-mails instead of just skipping over them like I do other official but largely unimportant-looking e-mails,” she said.

Guissanie has now been at the University for nearly 10 years. After graduating from Penn State in 1990 with a general business degree with a focus on computers and information systems, he served in the navy. He then worked in technology at Penn State for almost eight years before an opportunity opened up at the University.

For Guissanie, technology is both a blessing and a curse. “While it allows us to do so many things we could never do before, it raises the bar higher than it’s ever been before,” he said. In some ways it’s like an arms race, he said; people expect more and more of technology.

“People are reaching for that technological solution that’s going to be the solution to everything but never is,” Guissanie said. “A lot of it just comes down to process and applying what technology you need for the process … It’s the tool, not the solution,” he said.

A volunteer assistant coach for the women’s track and cross country teams, Guissanie believes the best part of the University is its community feel. “You can really get involved in anything you want to,” he said.

Even in the somewhat isolated Computer Center, he experiences this sense of community, largely because of his coworkers.

“When I communicate things, it’s not me; it’s really the people that work around me that create the great things happening on campus,” Guissanie said. “They’re just very talented and probably the most intelligent people I’ve ever worked with,” he said.

Guissanie says he has no reason to leave anytime soon, so we can expect more witty e-mails from him as soon as the next critical systems outage or technological issue hits.

 

Categories
Arts & Life Books Review

Rachman explores bleak realities of journalism

By Carolyn Williams

Staff Writer

Journalist Tom Rachman’s debut novel “The Imperfectionists” is a triumph. It’s the story of a struggling international English-language daily newspaper based out of Rome. The book is comprised of a series of vignettes, each starring a member of the newspaper’s staff or an auxiliary person involved in the paper’s operation. Heading each chapter are headlines of an article produced in that section, including such entries as “World’s Oldest Liar Dies at 126,” “Global Warming Good for Ice Creams” and “Europeans are Lazy Survey Says.”

The stories themselves are sometimes sarcastic and wry and sometimes poignantly sad, but they are always dynamic, multi-faceted and well-written. The novel begins in Paris with that city’s correspondent, Lloyd Burko, a man on his fourth marriage, estranged from all his children but one. He is struggling to conceal from his disinterested and unfaithful younger wife that he has fallen hopelessly behind in terms of technology. Having become obsolete to the already overstretched paper, he is looking at an old age of dependency upon his son.

Kathleen Solson, the paper’s editor-in-chief, has returned to the paper where she first began as a copy editor. Pegged for success, she spent several years working for a more prominent paper in Washington before taking on the challenge of pulling the old paper back together. Things are spiraling out of control in all aspects of her life, however, as she learns that her husband is having an affair while her attention is turned on the 24-hour-a-day job of keeping the paper from self-destructing. Considering an affair herself, Kathleen turns to her ex-lover from her years prior in Rome, only to be reminded that her policy of putting work first and her no-nonsense attitude, tanked that relationship as well.

Dickens’ Miss Havisham is revisited in Ornella de Monterecchi, the mother of Kathleen’s ex-boyfriend and the paper’s most devoted reader. An eccentric and lonely elderly widow, she reads each edition of the paper from start to finish like a book, taking days at a time and in turn falling more than 10 years behind from the present.

None of these characters get a happily-ever-after. Rachman’s writing reinforces the realities of the field but maintains a sense of levity and a clear love for journalism. All of the stories are artfully intertwined, adding layers of depth to the already intricate separate plots of an eclectic group of individuals. The lead characters from other stories appear casually in those of their fellows, creating the impression of getting to know the paper from the inside out. By the finish of the novel, the reader has explored thoroughly every corner of the offices of the little paper and is emotionally invested in its precariously balanced future.

As a traveling journalist himself, Rachman makes use of his extensive knowledge of the trade, while translating his own prose into a terrific example of contemporary fiction. More than anything, “The Imperfectionists” speaks to the changes the field of journalism has undergone since the advent of new technologies and the reluctant and the painful transitions which such advances inevitably create.

Categories
Arts & Life Columns Cooking Corner

Cooking Corner: Chicken Cutlets and Herb Sauce

By Emily Fry

Staff Writer

Chicken Cutlets with Herb Sauce

This recipe comes from “Real Simple: Meals Made Easy,” and it actually is very easy to make. You need very little culinary ability, even when it comes to making the sauce. The sauce is a simple wine sauce made from white wine, butter and herbs. There are even four different herbs you can choose from to make the sauce, so you can make whatever you’re in the mood for. Happy cooking!

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, chopped

1 1/2 pounds chicken cutlets

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 tsp chilled, unsalted butter

2 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, chives, parsley or tarragon)

Kosher salt

Black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat and add potatoes. Cook for about 15 minutes. Transfer to a baking dish and season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Bake for 10 minutes at 475 degrees F.

2. Rinse cutlets and pat dry. Season on both sides with olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook in a skillet on medium-high heat until browned, about 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate.

3. Add wine to the skillet, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and whisk until completely combined. Add additional tablespoon of butter and whisk until combined. Remove from heat and add herbs, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.

4. Add potatoes to the plate and spoon sauce over top.

 

Source: “Real Simple: Meals Made Easy”

Categories
Arts & Life Study Abroad

From Lewisburg to London

By Sarah Hasselman

Contributing Writer

Leaving Lewisburg, with a population of just over 5,000 people, and heading to London, one of the world’s largest cities with over seven million people was nerve-wracking and exciting. I had always wanted to go abroad for a semester, but it hadn’t yet seemed to work out with my schedule. The Bucknell in London program was the perfect solution, as it emphasized civil engineering and economics while studying the Olympics.

Who could have known that the group of engineering, economics, psychology and English majors would become so close with one another? Our group dynamic was something to be proud of. We did everything together, including eating, traveling and living in flats in Russell Square which was conveniently part of “Museum Mile.” We were within walking distance of all the major landmarks of London, including the London Eye, the Tate Modern, Parliament and “Big Ben.” We even walked past the British Museum every day on our way to class.

Even in a city as large as London, University students seemed to be everywhere. Not only were there 25 of us in the Bucknell in London program, but the alumni network in the greater London area was pretty amazing. One of my favorite memories of my semester was the alumni event at the Winston Churchill War Rooms. We had the opportunity to meet the alumni and show them what we had been up to in London during the semester. We highlighted some of our favorite memories including an American-style barbecue with hot dogs and hamburgers at Ron and Lynn Peterson’s estate in Wendover; both are alumni of the University.

The semester was a whirlwind, to say the least. Our group sure got a taste of the European part of the world. We all traveled to Paris, Barcelona, Edinburgh, Brighton, York, and Manchester (to name a few). We had a 10-day break where our professors encouraged us to travel some more. I was able to go to Venice and Rome in Italy and then to Prague in the Czech Republic. In Barcelona, Spain we learned that a three-star hotel was much different than a three-star hostel. I also got to practice my high school Spanish while ordering paella at a restaurant and ordering a chocolate croissant at a café. I rode a gondola in Venice while the gondolier sang “That’s Amore” in Italian. I saw the genuine Mona Lisa in the Louvre in Paris, and the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican in Rome. I even got to eat pasta for every meal while in Italy.

Exploring didn’t stop even when we would head back to London. My courses had a platform of civil engineering but were anchored by courses in theatre, and art and architecture. Every week our entire group saw a different British-style play and went to a different museum with our classes. My favorite play was “Faust,” where some of the stage was above the audience’s head on a netted platform and the actors were extremely acrobatic. We discussed all the performances in our next classroom session, which taught me that there is much more to theatre than New York’s Broadway musicals. The learning experiences didn’t stop at the theatre; Professor Richard McGinnis and Professor Jean Shackelford, with the support of Professor Jeffrey Evans, established an amazing learning environment where the entire city of London became our classroom. We could discuss something in class such as the structure of Parliament and then go take a tour of the Parliament building and meet with a Member of Parliament, or MP, to discuss her duties in her career. Clearly, learning became more than punching numbers into a calculator and writing papers; it was a holistic experience where everything I visited and everything I saw enhanced my learning.

All in all, my time abroad was incredible, interesting and necessary. I could not have imagined a better experience, nor could I imagine making better friendships with the students and professors that were there to share the experience with me.

Categories
Arts & Life Movies Review

‘King’s Speech’ moving despite bland topic

By Carolyn Williams

Staff Writer

Tom Hooper’s “The King’s Speech” is a touching gem of a movie in this year’s batch of Oscar-worthy films. The main character is, of course, King George VI (Colin Firth), but for much of the movie he is only the innocuous Bertie, an ex-naval officer and the Duke of York.

Bertie, the second son of King George V, has spent his entire life in the shadow of his more dynamic older brother, David (Guy Pearce), the Prince of Wales, and has subsequently developed a crippling stutter. After many embarrassing public speaking incidents and years of seeking help from innumerable specialists, all to no avail, Bertie gives up and asks his supportive wife (Helena Bonham Carter) to stop her search for a truly helpful speech therapist.

Despite Bertie’s lack of confidence, the Duchess believes she may have found the right match for her husband’s problem in the enthusiastic and unorthodox ex-actor turned elocution specialist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Bertie struggles to open up to Lionel’s unusual and somewhat invasive therapy, but over time, the pair begin to build a veritable friendship, overcoming differences in class and situation, and undeniably strengthening Bertie’s self-confidence.

After the death of their father, the rather wild David is crowned King Edward VIII, but much to the chagrin of his very proper brother and sister-in-law, continues dallying with an American divorcée named Wallis Simpson. The law prohibits that England’s sovereign and head of its church marry a divorced woman, but David protests he cannot give Wallis up. After a year on the throne, David is forced to abdicate his reign in order to avoid government uproar, thrusting the mantle of king onto the unwilling and terrified Bertie.

Convinced that he is unfit to be king, but obligated by honor and family duty, Bertie assumes his role as King George VI, the job made more difficult by approaching war with Germany. His speech impediment remains a problem–remains the focus of the film, in fact–and Logue continues to coach the new king up until the climactic moment of his first-ever wartime speech.

Though the film itself is definitely one of the best of 2010, some moviegoers claim the film did not command the attention of its audience with the tenacity of its competitors.

“Although audience opinions regarding the film’s ‘excitement’ factor range from dull to riveting, when asked to rate the film’s conviction, results would probably be unanimously high. While I felt that the subject matter of ‘The King’s Speech’ was rather bland, its level of execution and ability to transport me to that time period was extraordinary,” Monica Burney ’14 said.

“The King’s Speech” is definitely a moving film, if not a gripping one. The cast is superb, and Oscar nominations to Firth for Best Actor and Bonham Carter and Rush for Best Supporting Actress and Actor are undoubtedly well-merited. The film garnered 12 nods in total, including the coveted Best Picture and Best Director nominations. Specifically, Colin Firth’s commitment to his role as the stuttering, unconfident Bertie is terrific, successfully breaking out of his typecast as Mr. Darcy, in which many have assumed him to be stuck since the BBC’s 1995 “Pride and Prejudice.”

“’The King’s Speech’ is splendidly performed and guaranteed to entertain all audiences. I left the movie speechless,” Ava Giuliano ’14 said.

Categories
Arts & Life Review

Students’ guide to local prices

By Laura Crowley

Arts & Life Editor

For college students on a budget, buying products at their lowest price is essential. A comparison of prices reveals that Wal-Mart and Weis offer many common items at much lower prices than CVS and the Bison Café.

For instance, a 14.2 oz bottle of Head & Shoulders Shampoo at Wal-Mart costs $4.72, while the same bottle costs $4.99 at Weis and $5.99 at CVS. This gradual increase in prices from Walmart, Weis and CVS is seen across several products.

A 3.25 oz Old Spice deodorant costs $2.18 at Wal-Mart, $2.39 at Weis and $2.99 at CVS. The same 3.25 oz Old Spice deodorant costs $4.19 at the Bison Café. This means that deodorant is about twice as expensive in the Bison Café than it is at Wal-Mart.

Even more astounding is the price of Advil. A bottle of 200 Advil pills costs $14.28 at Wal-Mart and $15.49 at Weis. At CVS, 24 pills cost $4.29, and at the Bison Café, 10 Advil pills cost $9.97. Based on this, 200 pills would cost $199.4 at the Bison Café. Advil at the Bison Café costs almost six times as much as Advil at CVS and about 14 times as much as Advil at Wal-Mart.

Food costs across these stores mirror this trend. One box of Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers costs $2.78 at Wal-Mart, $3.19 at Weis and $3.99 at CVS. The same box of on-the-go pasta costs $6.99 at the Bison Café. In this case, the Bison Café’s prices are two and a half times higher than Walmart’s.

Another stark price difference is seen in Nutri-Grain bars. A box of eight Kellogg Nutri-Grain Cereal Bars costs $2.86 at Wal-Mart, $3.19 at Weis and $4.19 at CVS. The price of a single Nutri-Grain bar at the Bison Café is $1.05. This means that a typical box of eight Nutri-Grain bars would cost $8.40 at the Bison Café. In this case, you could buy three boxes of Nutri-Grain bars at Wal-Mart or two boxes at CVS for the same price of just one box at the Bison Café.

To save money, students should clearly shop at Wal-Mart or Weis and avoid CVS or the Bison Café as prices in these places can be more than double those of Wal-Mart or Weis. However, buying cheap introduces the problem of accessibility.  Of all these stores observed, the cheapest (Wal-Mart) is also the farthest.  Similarly, the most expensive (the Bison Café) is the closest to the majority of the student body.

This fact poses a problem for students who don’t have cars. Such students will be more likely to buy goods at inflated prices due to accessibility and convenience.

Perhaps because of such accessibility and convenience, the Bison Café can charge such steeper prices and still expect sales. Another reason may be our readiness as students to constantly swipe our BUIDs that seem to hold imaginary money usually provided by our parents. It is hard to blame the Bison Café for having such high prices as students seem overwhelmingly willing to swipe their cards in large ignorance of the enormous costs.

Students attempting to save their own money or their parents’ money should avoid succumbing to the convenience of the Bison Café and CVS and buy in bulk at Wal-Mart or Weis.

Categories
Arts & Life Columns Cooking Corner

Cooking Corner: Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

By Emily Fry

Staff Writer

Devil’s food cupcakes with vanilla butter cream frosting
Although it is so easy to make cake from a boxed mix and use canned frosting, nothing can beat the taste of cupcakes made from scratch. There’s something to be said for using all fresh ingredients and putting in that little extra time and effort. Overall, cupcakes from scratch beat those from a mix any day. Happy baking!
Ingredients:
Cupcakes
3/4 cups butter
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups milk
Frosting
5 Tbsp butter
1 pound sifted powdered sugar (about four cups)
3 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
Cupcakes
1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners and pre-heat the oven to 350 F.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
4. Gradually add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, making sure to mix well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for two minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Beat in vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition, just until combined. Beat on medium to high speed for 20 seconds more. Fill prepared cups 2/3 full.
6. Bake cupcakes for about 25-30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Let cool completely.

Frosting

8. Beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth.
9. Gradually add one cup of the powdered sugar.
10. Beat in milk and vanilla.
11. Gradually beat in the rest of the sugar. Add more milk if necessary to reach a spreadable consistency.
Source: Better Homes and Garden Cookbook