This recipe from Barefoot Contessa has gotten my last two mornings off to a lovely start. This recipe has it all: crunchy bagel (I lightly toasted mine before spreading), creamy cheese, zesty veggies, briny, chewy, smoky salmon. Seriously, this is heaven. If you like green onions, I would suggest adding a bit more than the recipe calls for. You should use the cream cheese within two days, but that shouldn’t be a problem. It would also make a great cracker spread for a snack. Don’t be scared off by the salmon, if you’re not a fan – this spread is great by itself on a bagel, too.
And…ummm…did I mention my borderline unhealthy relationship with orange supremes?
Author: lara
Cinnamon Chicken
adapted from this recipe on Cooks.com
Girl is a HUGE Little House on the Prairie fan (OK, well I am, too). In some of the later episodes (the ones that we’ve been watching lately), Laura makes “Cinnamon Chicken” for her husband, Almanzo. I had never heard (aside from the show) of Cinnamon Chicken, so I decided to do some searching and see what I came up with up. This recipe looked promising, so I decided to give it a shot, but I changed it pretty significantly from the original. It turned out really well and all of us liked it quite a bit. The cinnamon flavor worked surprisingly well with chicken. The original recipe didn’t have a sauce, but when I saw all of the beautiful little browned bits in the pan, I decided that I just had to make a reduction. I mean, seriously…just look at this:
Could you pour that down the sink? Not me!
Cinnamon Chicken, inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder
makes 2 very large or 4 small servings
For chicken:
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper (white or black – your choice)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp turmeric*
1 tsp cinnamon
3 egg whites
1 cup bread crumbs
canola or olive oil (for frying)
For sauce:
1/2 of a small shallot, finely minced (2 – 3 Tbsp)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
Cut each chicken breast into two equal pieces. Gently pound each chicken piece to an even thickness. Mix the salt, pepper and flour and spread on a plate. In a small bowl, whisk the turmeric and cinnamon into the egg whites. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour, then dip them in the egg whites and coat them with the bread crumbs.
In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet large enough to hold the chicken pieces in a single layer, heat the oil over medium heat. Lay the pieces in the skillet and cook chicken until it is nicely browned on both sides and cooked through, turning once. Adjust heat if necessary to keep chicken from burning. Add slightly more oil, if necessary.
When chicken is done, remove it from the skillet (reserve oil and crusty bits in the skillet) and set aside. If there is a lot of oil in the skillet, pour it off until you are left with about 2 tsp. Re-heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook 2 – 3 minutes until softened. Carefully add the wine and simmer, whisking to incorporate the browned bits in the bottom of the pan, until the mixture is very thick and almost all of the wine has bubbled away. Add stock and simmer, whisking occasionally, until the sauce has thickened to the desired consistency. Pour over chicken or serve on the side.
*It’s worth the extra effort to find the turmeric, if you don’t already have some in your spice cabinet. It adds a little spicy flavor to this dish (without adding “heat”) to balance the flavors and keep the chicken from being too cinnamon-y sweet. Turmeric can be used in lots of other Indian and Mexican dishes and has been credited in a recent UCLA study with possibly helping to prevent amyloid plaques in the brain (which have been tied to Alzheimer’s Disease.)
Lemon Custard – Pine Nut Cake
adapted from a Betty Crocker recipe
Lemon Custard:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
3/4 cup cold water
3 egg yolks
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
3 Tbsp lemon juice
Cake:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
5 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
(250 degrees for 2 to 3 minutes – watch them VERY carefully to prevent burning)
Two possible garnish options:
a sprinkle of powdered sugar
OR
Make a glaze of 4 Tbsp lemon juice and enough powdered sugar to make a drizzling consistency (about 1 cup). Drizzle over cake, using a fork. Sprinkle each glazed cake slice with a tiny bit more grated lemon zest.
1. In small, heavy saucepan, whisk together 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar and the cornstarch. Stir in water and egg yolks with a wire whisk until well mixed and no lumps remain. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to thicken. Cook and stir 1 minute, remove from heat. Stir in 1 Tbsp lemon zest and the lemon juice. Refrigerate, uncovered, 20 minutes, stirring once, until room temperature.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and side of a 9-inch springform pan with butter; lightly flour. In large bowl, beat butter and 1 cup granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed about 1 minute or until smooth.
3. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until just blended, then continue beating on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl once. On low speed, beat in flour, 2 tsp lemon zest, the baking powder and vanilla about 30 seconds or until just blended.
4. Spread half of cake batter (about 2 cups) in bottom of pan. Spoon custard evenly onto batter, spreading to 1/2 inch of edge. Drop remaining batter by tablespoonfuls around edge of custard and pan. Spread batter evenly and toward center to cover custard. Sprinkle pine nuts over top.
5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until center is set, cake is firm to the touch and top is golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack at least 1 hour (center will sink slightly). Run think knife around side of cake; remove side of pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. Serve warm or cool. Store covered in refrigerator.
Makes 12 servings.
Semolina Egg Noodles with Smoked Ham, Asparagus, Onions and Garlic
We had to add a bit of parmesan to the finished dish…
This recipe is from one of Ruth Reichl’s autobiographical books (I can’t remember which one, but they’re all wonderful), but I can’t find a link to it anywhere, so I’m posting it here. This recipe was very yummy. The noodles were rich and chewy and velvety, but I think that I didn’t roll the dough out thinly enough, because they were pretty “beefy”, as far as pasta goes. I was afraid that the noodles would fall apart when cooked if I made them too thin, but the dough is VERY sturdy because of all of the egg yolks. If I make these again, I will probably use this recipe for the pasta, instead, just to cut down a bit on the richness (and cholesterol!) If you really wanted to simplify this, you could just use store-bought pasta, instead of making your own, although making your own is quite simple.
Charlene Rollins’ Semolina Egg Noodles with Smoked Ham, Asparagus, Onions and Garlic
For the pasta:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina flour, plus additional for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
18 large egg yolks
3 Tbsp olive oil
For the sauce:
1 large red onion, chopped
salt and pepper
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
2 Tbsp finely chopped garlic
¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
½ cup water
¾ pound sliced smoked ham, cut into 1- by 1/4-inch strips
1 pound medium asparagus spears, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1/2 -inch long pieces
To make the pasta:
Pulse the flours and salt together in a food processor. Add the egg yolks and oil and process just until mixture forms a ball of dough. Divide the dough into 6 pieces and form each into a disk. Wrap each disk of dough in plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
Dust 3 baking sheets with some semolina flour.
Rolling out one of the six dough “disks”
Unwrap 1 piece of dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin until paper thin, making a rectangle about 11 by 13 inches. Cut the dough crosswise with a pizza wheel or sharp knife into 11- by ½ inch wide strips.
Cutting the dough into noodle strips
If the “edge noodles” bother you, you can discard them.
Carefully transfer the pasta, overlapping strips slightly, to a sheet pan to dry at room temperature, gently turning occasionally, for about 2 hours.
Noodles, drying for 2 hours.
Repeat the rolling and cutting with the remaining dough.
While the noodles dry, feel free to paint some posterboards (on the other side of the kitchen, well away from the noodles) to test out a new kitchen wall color.
To make the sauce:
Cook the onion, with salt and pepper, in 4 Tbsp of butter in a heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add the garlic and parsley and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Cover and keep warm.
Combine the water, ham, asparagus and remaining 4 Tbsp of butter in a large, heavy saucepan and simmer, covered, until the asparagus is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the onion mixture and season with more salt and pepper. Keep sauce warm, covered.
To assemble the dish:
Cook the pasta in an 8-quart pot half full of boiling salted water until just tender, about 1 minute, and drain in a colander. Return the pasta to the pot, add the sauce, and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
Serves 4 to 6.
This is the last lemon post, I promise…
Some of the desserts in my lemon dessert round-up specified Meyer lemons, so I wanted to briefly describe the difference between them and a regular lemon. Meyer lemons taste sweeter and fruitier than “regular” lemons. They are larger and they have edible skin. You can substitute regular lemons when Meyer lemons are called for in a recipe, but the result will be tangier and not quite as sweet. In recipes that call for a lot of Meyer lemon juice, you can substitute 3 parts regular lemon juice and one part Mandarin (clementine) orange juice. Peak Meyer lemon season is over the winter, but depending upon where you live, they can sometimes be found into the Spring. For more information and great ideas on how to use Meyer lemons (if you can get your hands on them!), check out this wonderful article from the Los Angeles Times.
And…one LAST lemon-crazy note:
If you’re in a “lemony” mood, but don’t feel like baking, this Sugar Lemon body lotion from Sephora is amazing. I can’t do it justice, but check out what Dooce has to say about it here.
Lemon Bars/Lemon Squares Round-up
As promised:
Lemon Bars, from a variety of sources, in all of their tart, creamy, sugary, crusty, lick-your-sticky fingertips goodness.
Quite Possibly the Best Lemon Squares Ever, from Anna Ginsberg of Cookie Madness and winner of the 2006 $1 million Pillsbury Bake-Off (thanks for the link, Trish!)
Lemon Bars from Paula Deen
Lemon Shortbread Bars from December 2006 Fine Cooking magazine
(they usually don’t post free recipes on their website – you have to have a membership – so this one is a BONUS!)
Perfect Lemon Bars from Cook’s Illustrated
Cook’s Illustrated operates the same way as Fine Cooking; they want you to buy a membership to access their recipes online. Click here for a free trial membership to their website, if you have, like, morals and stuff…or click here if you are feeling like a rebel and want the no-strings-attached version. I won’t tell if you won’t.)
By the way, if you’ve never read Cook’s Illustrated, I recommend trying it, at least once. The detail can sometimes be overwhelming, but they really go into the science (and testing) of why a recipe works well and work to create the very best version of whatever dish they are making. It’s like a less-humorous Alton Brown on steroids, but the recipes are sure-fire, never-fail winners.
Double Lemon Bars from July 1991 Bon Appetit magazine
Sour Cream Lemon Shortbread Bars from Nicole at Baking Bites
Lemon Dessert Round-Up
If you love ANYTHING LEMON as much as I do, then this post is just for you. I’ve recently done some culling through my recipe files, looking for a special lemon dessert for my grandmother’s birthday this weekend. My Granny loves lemon desserts as much as I do. Some of the recipes I’ve actually made before and some are in my “try soon” folder. I would be embarrassed to admit how thick my “try soon” folder is, but there are just SO MANY yummy recipes out there and I find more every day!
So, anyway…here’s a list of some highly-rated and recommended lemon desserts. Some are fancy, some are simple, some are easy, some are more complicated. They are from a variety of sources, but they all have something in common: luscious LEMON!!!
Lemon Pudding from April 2007 Gourmet magazine
(very cute and tongue-in-cheek!)
Ultimate Lemon Layer Cake, adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
Meyer Lemon Custard Cakes, from February 2009 Bon Appetit magazine
The Best Damn Meyer Lemon Cake from Saveur magazine
Lemon-Ginger Cake with Pistachios from April 2006 Bon Appetit magazine
Nathan’s Lemon Cake from May 2008 Cooking Light magazine
Lemon Meringue Cupcakes from May 2008 Food & Wine magazine
Lemon Icebox Cake from July 2008 Gourmet magazine
(yellow cake with tart lemon cream, topped with whipped cream and candied lemon peel)
Saucy Lemon Puddings (from my very own little bloggie – make sure you chop the lemon zest VERY finely!)
Lemon Custard-Filled Cake, from Betty Crocker
Lemon Spice Macaroons (scroll down a bit)
Barefoot Contessa Lemon Yogurt Cake with Blueberry Sauce
I decided that Lemon Bars (Lemon Squares, whatever you call them…) needed their own post, so check out the next post for SCADS of lemon bar recipes.
I could go on all day, but these are the best of the best that I found. I hope that you will try some. If you do, please report back to me!
Red Lentil-Rice Cakes with Pico de Gallo
Red Lentil- Rice Cakes with Pico de Gallo
adapted from this recipe in Cooking Light magazine
Red Lentil-Rice Cakes:
5 cups water, divided
1 cup dried small red lentils
1/2 cup uncooked basmati rice
(or 1 and 1/2 cups cooked
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 tsp cumin seeds, crushed
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
Bring 4 cups water and lentils to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain. Place lentils in a large bowl.
Combine remaining 1 cup water and rice in pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 18 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Cool 10 minutes. Add rice to lentils.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, onion, cumin seeds and garlic pan; saute 2 minutes or until tender. Cool 10 minutes. Add to rice mixture. Add cheddar cheese and remaining ingredients, stirring until well combined. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Wipe skillet clean with paper towels. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Spoon half of rice mixture by 1/3 cupfuls into pan, spreading to form 6 (3-inch) circles; cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Carefully turn cakes over; cook 5 minutes on other side. Remove cakes from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil and remaining rice mixture. Serve with pico de gallo.
Pico de Gallo:
2 cups coarsely chopped plum (Roma) tomato
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 small squeeze fresh lime juice
3 pickled jalapeno slices, finely chopped
Gently fold all pico de gallo ingredients together. Add a small amount of salt, to taste. This stuff is GREAT as a chunky salsa to top quesadillas or dip chips into. You can also stir it into mashed avocados to make a mild, fresh guacamole. I could eat this stuff with a spoon if you let me.
Note: There is NO SUCH THING as too much cilantro. Cilantro is awesome.
The lentil cakes were really yummy and could easily be adapted to any flavor combination that suits your fancy. The original recipe has a more “Italian” flavor, with basil, mozzarella and fennel seeds instead of cilantro, cheddar and cumin seeds. You could probably easily go Mediterranean or Indian with these, too. These took a little time and prep, but were not difficult at all. The “5 minutes at medium heat” time was PERFECT: you really don’t even need to peek or watch them much as they’re cooking; just set a timer for 5 minutes and walk away (or work on the rest of your dinner or set the table, or whatever).
I served these with roasted chicken and a green salad with balsamic vinaigrette and Baby Bam croutons.
Lots and lots of cupcakes…
4 batches of this recipe for my dad’s birthday party last night. I replaced the white chocolate with more bittersweet chocolate to dial up the chocolate flavor. When made into cupcakes, these take about 22 minutes to bake and one batch makes 21 – 24 cupcakes. Using cake flour in this recipe really does make a big difference; don’t be tempted to skip that step and use all-purpose.
Also: If you’re making these into cupcakes, one batch of frosting is enough to frost two batches of cupcakes, so if you’re only making one batch of the cake batter, then I’d make a half-batch of the frosting. Not sure what the cake-to-frosting ratio turns out to be when you make this as a proper cake, because I’ve only ever made this as cupcakes.
Black Bean Soup (with Great Harvest Spinach-Feta Bread)
Yum! This recipe is simple, healthy and delicious. You’ve got to soak the beans overnight and the soup has to simmer for a long time, but the actual hands-on prep time (some chopping and sauteing) for the soup is pretty minimal. All four of us loved this. Is delicious as served in the recipe (sour cream, cilantro and bacon) or is also wonderful served over rice. Very kid-friendly.