January 2010 Archives

I debated a great deal what dessert to make next.  I toyed with lemon cupcakes or lemon curd spooned over angel food cake or perhaps over pound cake.  Finally, after much deliberation I settled on a pan of lemon bars.  

I've loved lemon bars ever since the first time I tried them over at a friends house in 4th grade.  The recipe her family used was Lucy's Lemon Bars out of The Peanuts Cookbook.  While I don't have that particular recipe, I have tried many different recipes over the years.  Lately my favorite has been Ina Garten's version.  I particularly like it because it seems to have about twice the lemon filling as the standard recipe.  These are lemon bars to eat with a fork.

Because I always must fiddle with things, I have made a few adjustments to her recipe.  Since I really like lemon and think that most recipes could use a bit more, I add lemon zest to the crust as well as the filling.  Also, I am a firm believer that sweet recipes need a bit of salt to round things out so I add a little salt into the filling as well.

Even on a cloudy and grey day these are a bit of sunshine.

Ina's Lemon Bars

adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties! by Ina Garten

Crust:

1/2 lb unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 C granulated sugar

2 C all purpose flour

2 t lemon zest

1/8 t salt

Filling:

6 eggs at room temperature

3 C granulated sugar

2 T lemon zest

1 C fresh lemon juice

1 C flour

1/8 t salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, cream together the butter and sugar in a mixer.  Add in the flour, zest and salt all at once and mix to combine.  Pour dough into a 9 x 13 baking pan and press evenly on the bottom and about 1/2" up the sides of the pan.  Bake for about 20 minutes until lightly golden.  Set aside while the filling is made.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, juice, flour and salt.  Pour mixture over crust and bake for 30 - 35 minutes until filling is just set.  Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into 20 squares and dust with powdered sugar.

This year I started subscribing again to Cooking Light magazine.  Years ago I was a subscriber but found that as time went by I was cooking from the magazine less and less, so I let my subscription lapse.  Last fall an issue caught my eye at the grocery store and I bought it.  I found the magazine had changed over time and we made quite a few dishes from that issue and enjoyed them all.  I decided to subscribe again.

Last nights dinner was from the January/February issue.  It was a quick dinner as promised, and both my husband and I felt that it was definitely a recipe to make again.  We try so many things around here that a dish has to be pretty good to make it worthy of multiple makings.

As always, I played around with the ingredients to match what I had on hand.  The original recipe called for halibut, but I had tilapia in the freezer.  Really, I think the recipe would be great with any flaky white fish.  The only frozen corn in our freezer was the fire roasted version from Trader Joe's.  That gave us a head start on the charring.  Also, the recipe called for cooking the fish on the stove in a grill pan.  I don't have that sort of pan and frankly like to cook fish in the oven as it leaves me free to deal with the other aspects of dinner.  Grilling does add flavor and lovely char marks though, so if you have the pan go for it.

Fish with Chimichurri and Vegetable Rice

adapted from Cooking Light, January/February 2010

1 1/2 T chopped fresh cilantro

1 T chopped fresh basil

1 T finely chopped green onion

2 t olive oil

1 1/2 T fresh lemon juice

1/2 t salt, divided

1/4 t black pepper, divided

4 - 6 ounce fish fillets, any white fish will do

Combine the herbs, onion, oil and lemon juice in a small bowl.  Stir in 1/4 t salt and 1/8 t pepper.  Set aside.

Place the fish in a baking dish and sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 8 minutes per inch of thickness.  Fish could also be grilled or seared on the stove.

Serve the fish topped with the sauce.

For the rice:

1 C rice

water

1 T olive oil

1/2 C frozen corn

1/2 C chopped zucchini

1/2 C chopped green onion

1/2 C halved cherry tomatoes

salt

Cook the rice according to package directions omitting salt and oil.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the corn and zucchini to the pan and saute until the vegetables char, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes and onion and salt to taste.  Cook an additional minute until tomatoes begin to wilt.  Stir in the cooked rice and serve with the fish.

printable version - fish&rice.pdf

-- marcella

As we children grew up two things became infinitely clear.  One, mom did not want us kids in her kitchen ever, but particularly not when she was in there cooking.  Two, at the age of 12 we were allowed in long enough for a tortilla lesson.

We were schooled in the method of our great-grandma.  No measuring utensils were allowed.  A mug was used to measure the flour.  The palm of our hand was used to measure the salt and baking powder.  Everything was measured by eye.  Once we produced a satisfactory batch of tortillas we were again banned from the kitchen.

As a result, when I moved away from home I had to make a few frisbee batches before I got the feel of tortilla making again.  After all, 6th grade was pretty far behind me.  Soon, however, I was back up to speed and making the occasional treat for my family.

One day my mom was over while I was making tortillas.  At each step she would question what I was doing.  I swear I was doing it like she taught me:  mug, check; no utensils, check; black cast iron skillet, check.  Turns out her technique had streamlined over the years and she had, ahem, "forgotten" to tell me about her new and improved methods.  Her "why are you mixing that by hand" really translated to "they mix up really fast in food processor."

Now I know her real secrets and I'm sharing them with you.

So, heat up your skillet, pull out your measuring utensils and whip up a batch of tortillas - extra fast - in your food processor.  Tortilla heaven is only minutes away.

Flour Tortillas

makes 1 dozen

3 C flour

1 1/2 t baking powder

3/4 t salt

1 1/2 T vegetable oil

3/4 C warm water (approximately)

Stir together the dry ingredients.  Add in the oil and then slowly add the warm water to make a soft but not sticky dough.

Divide the dough into 12 balls and cover with a towel and let rest 20 minutes.

Heat a heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) on the stove over medium heat.

Roll out the dough into a thin round.  Cook in the skillet until bubbles form on top.  Turn over and cook the second side until brown spots are formed.  

Place cooked tortillas in a clean dishtowel to keep warm.

printable version - flour_tortillas.pdf

-- marcella

At the bakery I purchased some of their bread which we love and an eclair for my husband and I to split for dessert that night.  However, I just could not resist one of their oatmeal cookies too.  Normally I am not a fan of bakery cookies.  They are generally hard and chemical-y tasting and just all around nasty.  These cookies are delicious.

That oatmeal cookie was so delicious in fact that I wanted needed more.  I tried to resist, but by the end of the week gave in.  Fortunately, I have their bakery book and was able to stir up a batch of their oatmeal cookies as I'm not entirely sure just any batch of cookies would have done.

The first night I baked up a dozen and we ate them for dessert.  The next day I baked up the rest and ate far too many of them myself.  They were wonderful and fully satisfied my oatmeal cookie craving.

Oatmeal Cookies

from The Village Baker's Wife

1 C butter at room temperature

3/4 C granulated sugar

1 1/4 C firmly packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 egg yolk

1 t vanilla extract

3/4 t ground cinnamon

2 C all purpose flour

3/4 t salt

3/4 t baking soda

3 1/2 C rolled oats 

1 C raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl cream the butter with the sugars.  Add in the eggs and egg yolk one at a time beating well until each is incorporated.  Mix in the vanilla

In a second bowl whisk together the cinnamon, flour, salt and baking soda.  Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture.

Add in the oats and raisins being careful to not overmix.  The cookie dough will be moist.

Drop 2 tablespoons of  cookie dough onto a baking sheet.  Space cookies about 2 inches apart.  Bake cookies in the center rack of the oven for 12 - 14 minutes or until golden brown.  Makes about 40 cookies.

printable version - oatmeal_cookies.pdf

-- marcella

The recipe is from the book The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz.  We've tried many recipes out of this book and they are all winners.  Given the abundance of lemons we have around here the lemon version seemed like the one to try.

Normally, I gravitate towards ice cream recipes with a custard base.  I find them to be more creamy then the simply stirred together versions and less icy when the leftovers are eaten the next day.  However, the description in the book made me fling caution to the wind and try for this simple version.  I was so glad I did!

Lemon Ice Cream

From The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

zest of 2 lemons

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C lemon juice

2 C half and half

pinch of salt

Put the lemon zest and sugar into the bowl of a food processor and process until the lemon zest is very fine.  Add the lemon juice and process until the sugar is dissolved.

Stir in the cream and salt and chill for at least one hour.

Pour the ice cream base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturers instructions.

printable version:  lemon_ice_cream.pdf

-- marcella

Yesterday my brother in law and I were talking about how we enjoy all the wicked foods during the holidays but it was time to get back to healthy eating.

Then I made pancakes for breakfast this morning.  Probably not the most healthy breakfast choice.  Ok, so I'm a slow starter at this healthy eating thing.

This recipe is a favorite here for a couple of reasons.  First off, pancakes made from scratch are so simple and much tastier then those made from a mix.  Second, this recipe makes just enough pancakes for two people with no leftovers.  This way, I don't have a pile of leftover pancakes that I dutifully freeze and then we never eat and finally throw away when they are ice crusted and horrible.  Finally, these pancakes do contain a few healthy ingredients like whole grain flour and ground flaxseed which is reported to cure just about anything.  You can even jazz them up as we did by tossing in a handful of fresh blueberries.  Any chopped fruit or berry would be a tasty addition.

Oatmeal Pancakes

1/3 C whole wheat flour

3 T oatmeal

1 T ground flaxseed

1 T brown sugar

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t ground cinnamon

1/8 t baking soda

dash of salt

1 egg, separated

1/2 C milk

1/2 t vanilla

In a mixing bowl stir together dry ingredients.

Stir together the milk, egg yolk and vanilla.  Mix into dry ingredients.

Whip the egg white until stiff peaks are formed.  Fold into batter.

Pour batter onto a hot skillet by 1/4 cupfuls.  Cook until bubbles form and then flip over to cook on the second side.

Makes 6 pancakes.

printable version:  pancakes.pdf

-- marcella