Last night was the first time I’ve cooked any sort of food for Dave and myself… in… let’s see… 11 days. Unbelievable! I think that is the longest stretch of “no-cook” time for me since back in 2008 when we were traveling through France and Italy with the kids. But, I’m back and the recipes will again be flowing, thanks for hanging in there with me through the trip to Sedona, the foot injury, and birthdays. :-D

On Wednesday, my dad took me to True Food Kitchen at Scottsdale Quarter for my birthday lunch. I usually order the light and luscious Edamame Dumplings, or their delicious Herb Hummus, or the fabulous Wild Ahi Sliders… but this time I decided to try the Mediterranean Chopped Salad. Good choice! Actually, I’ve never had anything I didn’t enjoy from the menu. The photo at the top is the True Food salad – taken with my new iPhone 4s, which I LOVE!  Once I got home, I just had to recreate it for Dave.  He, of course, loved it… and you will too.

True Food uses red quinoa in their salad, I had the white on hand (you can also find black quinoa), otherwise, this salad tasted exactly like the one you’d be served at the restaurant. They also offer the salad with the addition of grilled chicken or salmon, obviously you can too.

True Food Kitchen’s Mediterranean Chopped Salad Knock-off

2 cups cold water
1 cup uncooked quinoa

Lemon-Oregano Vinaigrette
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 of an English cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives
2 large handfuls green beans, trimmed and steamed
2 cups cherry or teardrop tomatoes
3/4 cup Marcona almonds
3 cups arugula or spinach leaves
1 cup crumbled feta or queso cotijta cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the quinoa and stir, simmer over medium heat, stirring often, until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, cover, and set aside for 15 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and spread out on a plate to cool to room temperature.

While the quinoa is cooking and cooling, make the vinaigrette. Place the garlic, lemon zest, juice, vinegar, mustard, honey, oregano, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl and blend well.  While continually whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil, until dressing is emulsified.

In a large salad bowl, toss together the cucumber, olives, green beans, tomatoes, almonds, and arugula. Add the cooled quinoa, cheese, and vinaigrette.  Toss until all ingredients are coated with the vinaigrette, taste for seasoning, and serve.

Serves 4

Inspiration for this recipe came to me after enjoying a white chocolate and limoncello cupcake while visiting my daughter in San Francisco. Limoncello and white chocolate are a match made in heaven. You may use store-bought limoncello or make your own with THIS RECIPE.

I brought these sweeties to a neighborhood luncheon last week to test them out, and since they were a hit, I will be making them tomorrow, along with this puff pastry appetizer, on Channel 3-  Your Life A to Z.          I hope you can tune in at 10:00 AM Tuesday morning.

Oh, and please note, there are only six ingredients – seriously, these are “easy-breezy”!

White Chocolate and Limoncello Cookies

1 cup heavy whipping cream
14-ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup sugar
2 sheets (1 package) puff pastry
1  1/2 tablespoons cold limoncello liqueur
1 teaspoon additional lemon zest

In a 4-cup glass measuring cup or a large microwave-safe bowl, heat the cream to the point just before it boils, between 2 and 3 minutes, depending on your microwave.  Add the white chocolate to the hot cream and let stand for 4 or 5 minutes before whisking the mixture to blend completely.

Cover and chill for at least 2 hours before using.

Combine the zest of 1 lemon with 3/4 cup of sugar.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats.

Sprinkle a work surface with 3 tablespoons of the lemon sugar and place one sheet of puff pastry on top.  Sprinkle the top of the puff pastry with another 3 tablespoons lemon sugar and roll out just enough to even out the seams in the dough and to press in the sugar mixture into both sides of the puff pastry dough.  Use a 2  1/2-inch round cookie cutter and cut out rounds.

Place the rounds on the prepared baking sheets.  Repeat with remaining puff pastry sheet and remaining lemon sugar mixture. You should end up with about 30 rounds. Prick the rounds all over with a fork and place in the oven to bake for approximately 15-18 minutes or until they are lightly browned on top.

Set aside to cool.

Remove the white chocolate cream from the refrigerator and transfer to the bowl of standing mixer.  Using the whisk attachment, beat the mixture until it becomes stiff.  Mix in the 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest and the limoncello, combine well.

Transfer the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe a swirl onto the top of each cookie round.

Top the cookies with white chocolate shavings.  Chill until you are ready to serve.

Makes about 30 cookies

To make chocolate shavings you will need a block of white chocolate.  Heat a block of chocolate in the microwave on low for just a few seconds.  Run a vegetable peeler along the softened chocolate to create shavings.

Had you already figured out that the title “BBR” stood for baby back ribs?  It’s my shortcut name for one of my favorite foods. Seems like it’s the favorite of quite a few people.  When we made these ribs in kids’ classes last month, we all broke into the that little tune that sticks in your brain all day long once you hear it….. “I want my baby back, baby back, baby back…. I want my baby back, baby back, baby back….I want my baby back, baby back, baby back….Chili’s baby back ribs…”   

(Click the link above for a retro Justin Timberlake and Co. take on the snappy song – or this link for a more traditional version.)

Sing now, and thank me later…

 Citrus Baby Back Ribs

6 pounds pork baby back ribs
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups orange juice, divided
1 lemon, zest finely grated and then juiced
1 lime, zest finely grated and then juiced
1/2 cup purchased barbecue sauce

Combine cornstarch, brown sugar, mint, and salt in medium saucepan; gradually stir in 2 cups of the orange juice, along with the lemon and lime juices.

Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in lime and lemon zest; leave sauce in saucepan and set aside.  Heat oven to 250 degrees.

Lay ribs on a rack in a large shallow pan; salt and pepper to taste. Pour the remaining 1 cup orange juice into the pan, cover pan tightly with foil and roast in oven for about 2 hours, or until tender.

Prepare medium-hot fire in grill.  Brush ribs with citrus sauce.  Grill ribs directly over fire, turning frequently and brushing generously with sauce, until ribs are well glazed, about 10 minutes.

Remove to a platter, tent with foil and let rest for 5 minutes.  While ribs rest, return saucepan with remaining sauce to the stove and place over low heat.  Stir in the barbecue sauce until heated through.

Slice ribs between the bones and serve with the citrus barbecue sauce for dipping.

Serves 4

I have a bad habit of taking a “snapshot” of images I see online that I like, putting on my desktop and then eventually into a folder and forgetting about them for a long time.  Later, when I want to use it, like the one above – which I really LOVE, I have no idea who or where to credit it to.  Needless to say, that is not my image, but it is super wonderful! Isn’t it?

Before I even tell you what today’s recipe is, let me say that the dry rub is a wonderful staple to have on hand and is great on any meat or poultry.  And the lemon garlic butter sauce is another fantastic staple, perfect for baked, broiled, or grilled fish.  That said, today we are making…. oh wait, a little story first.

I’ve had the extreme pleasure and joy to have traveled to France many times and one of the menu items I search out and like to try at various establishments is frog legs. It is often said that frog legs taste like chicken because of their mild flavor, with a texture similar to chicken wings. This is true, but what I enjoy is the mild fish taste too, the best of both worlds.  The very best frog legs I’ve had in my life were not in France, but at Binkley’s right here in Cave Creek, Arizona! I’m not certain if Chef Kevin Binkley prepares them the same every time, but the Lemon-Glazed Frog Legs I’ve had there, are out of this world.

I was at the “big fancy Fry’s” looking for crab in the seafood case, and that is where I saw frog legs.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen them in a regular grocery store around here before.  And they were on sale; usually priced at $10.99 per pound, on sale for $4.99 per pound.  So for the just over 2 pounds I purchased, I paid $10.43 and saved $12.54, gotta love that!

I have no clue how to make Binkley’s frog legs, I know they weren’t fried, but since I wouldn’t know how else to cook the little devil’s, I fried them up and added a lemon sauce.  They weren’t even close to “Binkley’s” but they were still darn tasty, comparable to those I’ve had in Paris!

Not Exactly Binkley’s Frog Legs

All-Purpose Dry Rub
2 1/2 tablespoons Kosher salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon dried oregano, crushed
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Frog Legs
8 frog legs, rinsed
2  1/2 to 3 cups buttermilk, well shaken before measuring
Oil for frying
1 cup flour
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
Lemon Garlic Herb Butter Sauce
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon garlic, sliced thin
1/4 cup mixed fresh herbs; such as basil, thyme, and parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Dry Rub: Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Makes about 3/4 cup
Will cover about 5 pounds of meat

Frog Legs: Place frogs legs in a large bowl and pour buttermilk over to cover, soak for at least 1 hour (at room temperature) and up to 4 hours (covered and refrigerated).

Lemon Garlic Butter Herb Sauce: While frog legs are soaking; melt butter in a small saucepan, add the sliced garlic.  Sauté the garlic just until it begins to turn light golden brown. Add the herbs and remove from the heat. Carefully, add the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

When ready to fry frog legs, heat oil in a large pot or deep-fryer to between 360 and 375 degrees.

Remove frog legs from buttermilk and drain on a rack for 2 o r 3 minutes. Turn over and drain on the other side for another couple minutes.  Apply dry rub to the frog legs, coating well.

Place flour in on a flat plate and toss frog legs in flour, then coat with egg wash, then coat completely with panko.

Carefully slip into hot oil and fry for roughly 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oil with tongs, and drain on paper towels. Reheat butter sauce; drizzle over hot frog legs and serve.

Makes 8

If you have recently eaten out at chef-driven independent restaurants, instead of chains, then you already know that it is squash blossom season. Every chef I know in this town has them on his/her menu, and luckily for me Barbara Fenzl was at an event a couple nights ago where Duncan Family Farms had a whole extra case of squash blossoms. He gave them to Barb and she in turn gave some of the bounty to me. Thank you dear friend!

Summer squash is one thing I don’t plant in my small garden. It would just overtake the entire space and I’d be “one of those people”.  You know who I’m talking about, akin to the homeless person on the street, peddling my cart around and begging people. Not begging for your spare change, begging you to take some of this squash off my hands, “Please sir, please take some of this damned squash before it goes bad!”  So if nothing else, plucking the blossoms during their brief blooming window is a hugely effective form of squash birth control.

Squash blossoms are nature’s perfectly ingenious and most elegant wrapper. Prettier than parchment and tastier than phyllo or wonton, they fry up like a fine layer of perfectly golden pastry. Although I’m stuffing mine with ricotta, any soft cheese will do – mozzarella, Fontina, goat cheese, cream cheese, whatever strikes your fancy. When it hits the hot oil and that cheese begins to melt and soften, it enlivens the flavors of whatever herbs and spices you’ve added… a wonderful explosion of summer-time only delight!  But honestly, you don’t have to fry them if you are worried about the mess or the “fried food guilt”.  The stuffed blossoms are also wonderful steamed, baked, or poached.

Stuffed Squash Blossoms

Batter
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cold extra-large egg white
1/2 cup very cold beer
Stuffing
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon each; minced fresh thyme leaves, oregano leaves, and rosemary leaves
Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Grated zest of 1 lemon (reserve lemon for juice)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Blossoms
12 squash blossoms, with baby squash still attached if possible
Vegetable oil
Lemon juice
1/3 cup purchased olive tapenade

Batter: Mix the flour and cornstarch in a bowl. In another bowl, beat the egg white and beer together. Stir this into the flour mixture. Do not over-beat, or the batter will be tough; there should still be some lumps. Cover and refrigerate.  May be made up to 2 hours ahead.

Stuffing: Beat the ricotta in a bowl with the herbs, nutmeg, Parmesan, and  lemon zest  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Blossoms: Open the blossoms gently with chopsticks or your fingers, keeping them attached to the squash, and pinch off the pointed stamen in the center, discard stamen as it is  bitter. Give the flowers a gentle rinse under cold water if needed.

Spoon the ricotta into the corner of a  Ziploc bag. Snip off a small corner and use this as a piping bag to gently squeeze the filling into each flower, until just full. Carefully press the flowers back together around the mixture and gently twist closed to seal.

Pour oil into a medium saucepan to a depth of at least 3-inches and place over medium high heat to 350 degrees. The oil is ready when you drop a little of the batter into it and the batter sizzles and immediately pops up to the surface.

Set up your frying station; filled blossoms on a plate, batter bowl next, then  a plate with a double layer of paper towels atop for draining, and either tongs or a spider ready for removing the fried blossoms.

Dip one of the stuffed blossoms along with its mini-squash into the batter, making sure they’re completely covered, allowing any excess drip back into the bowl. Carefully place it into the hot oil. Quickly batter another one or two and get them into the pan. Don’t crowd the pan or they’ll stick together. Fry until golden and crisp all over, then lift them out of the oil and drain on the paper towels. Continue with remaining blossoms and batter.

Place on serving plates and sprinkle with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice.  Spoon a little tapenade over each and serve immediately.

Makes 12

I want to provide you with a bit of a “heads up” about not only this particular post, but the coming weekend as well. I’ve wanted to post this recipe for a couple of weeks but the picture taken, when I made the dish in a cooking class, is so out of focus that I’ve been putting it off.  Putting it off until I could make the meal again and take a decent photo.  I now just have to admit to myself, and to you, that that is not going to happen. So, please squint your eyes when you are viewing said picture and try to get it to come into focus on your own. (Oh, and good luck with that!) As for the upcoming Saturday and Sunday… just letting you know now, there will be no posts. No way, no how!  So don’t even waste your time coming back to see if I slipped one in, it won’t be happening! Sorry, hoping for a better week beginning on Monday!  Have a beautiful weekend.  xoxo

Poached Salmon-Tarragon Salad

Salmon
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 cup water
2 lemon slices
1/2 onion, peeled and cut in half
4 sprigs fresh dill
4 sprigs fresh Italian parsley
2 fresh bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound fresh salmon fillets, skinned and boned
Vinaigrette
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
Salad
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 cup diced yellow bell pepper
1  1/3 cups diced, seeded tomatoes
1/4 cup peeled and diced sweet onion
1 English cucumber, diced chopped
2 teaspoons capers, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped toasted pecans

Salmon: Combine the wine, water, lemon slices, onion, dill, parsley, bay leaves, and salt in a fish poacher or large skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, add the salmon, and cover.  Cook for 6 to 8 minutes or just until done.

Vinaigrette: While salmon poaches, make vinaigrette.  In a small bowl, whisk together lemon zest and juice along with the sugar, salt and pepper.  Slowly whisk in the olive oil, and set aside.

Carefully remove the salmon to a plate and let cool slightly.  Break into small pieces.

Salad: Spray four 6-ounce ramekins with nonstick cooking spray.  Equally divide and layer the ingredients in each ramekin in the following order: salmon, tarragon, yellow pepper, tomatoes, onion and cucumber. Cover the top layer with plastic wrap and firmly press the mixture into the ramekins with the bottom of a small glass or a similar object slightly smaller than the diameter of the ramekin.

Invert the salads onto individual salad plates; carefully lift off the ramekins. Sprinkle each serving with capers and pecans.  Rewhisk the vinaigrette and then drizzle over each salad.

Serves 4

When you have as many citrus trees as we do, you’re always thinking of how to use them up! I love citrus and I love salmon, so it’s a joy that they go so well and so beautifully together. I generally buy my salmon fillets at Costco. You can find them both skin on and skin off… and this recipe works for both. If you have skinless salmon, just skip the first cooking step and begin by placing the fillets on a bed of citrus slices, and then immediately cover with the dill stems and another layer of citrus. Cook the same amount of time, it’s as easy as that!

Mixed Citrus and Dill Salmon

2 grapefruit, thinly sliced
2 oranges, thinly sliced
3 lemons; 1 sliced into wedges, the other 2 thinly sliced
2 whole salmon fillets, with or without skin
1 cup Fage Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 bunch dill, leaves minced and stems reserved
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a large baking sheet with foil.

Using the equivalent of 1 grapefruit, 1 orange, and 1 lemon; cover the baking sheet with an even layer of the citrus slices.

Lay the salmon, skin side up, on top of the citrus. Place in the oven for 12 minutes.

Meanwhile make the dill sauce; in a medium bowl whisk together the yogurt, mustard, minced dill leaves, and the juice from two of the lemon wedges. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove baking sheet from oven and carefully peel off the skin from the salmon. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper.

Lay the dill stems on top and then cover with the remaining citrus slices.

Return to oven and bake until the salmon is just opaque in center, about 8 to 10 minutes more.

To serve; lay a few of the citrus slices on each dinner plate, place a serving of salmon on top and a spoonful of the sauce on the side.

Serves 6 to 8

OK, if you read this blog regularly, then you already know that I love citrus and specifically, lemon. Even if you’ve only been reading since the beginning of the year, you know that we are in the middle of citruspalooza, not it has been very evident, since I haven’t posted very many recipes yet, but they are coming… here is one to kick things off. Lemon Bars! Yep, another recipe on this blog for lemon bars. There are at least two other recipes already here, so why put up another? Well, because lemon bars are one my favorite things in the world and because this is the easiest lemon bar recipe in the universe. So easy that it is Connor you see making and then eating the bars!

Citruspalooza Food Processor Lemon Bars

Crust
2 cups flour
1 cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
Filling
6 eggs
3 cups citrus sugar (or regular granulated)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

Crust: Pulse together the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter to bowl and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the greased baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes.

Filling: In the same processor bowl, (no need to wash it out) mix together the eggs, citrus sugar or granulated sugar, flour, and lemon juice. Pour over the hot baked crust and bake for an additional 32 to 35 minutes. Cool on a rack for 20 minutes before cutting into 28 bars and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Makes 28 lemon bars

Friday, January 7, 2011

7:30 AM – Awake, shower, dress, eat breakfast, and put up blog post for the day.

9:40 AM – Open email and find this gem:

Happy New Year Linda!
Been following your blog and your bumper crop of citrus. I bought an ACME years ago when our landscape included many prolific citrus trees. It juices at lightening speed! Would you like to borrow mine? Let me know and I’ll drop it by ; )
Jeanie

9:43 AM - Immediately Reply:

Oh Jeanie, you are a lifesaver! YES, a thousand times, YES! Thank you so much, I was actually thinking of putting out a neighborhood search for a juicer I could borrow. I’ll have to show you the one I have, you will die laughing when you see it! Thank you! xoox
Linda

(that is my tiny little juicer in the background!)

9:44 AM – Go out the French doors and haul the crate of Meyer lemons inside. Thoroughly wash each piece of fruit. Zest and then cut in half the entire contents of the crate in anticipation of Jeanie’s arrival. Which she does, a mere 5 minutes after I have finished.

11:12 AM - Jeanie arrives with the Acme “Supreme Juicerator” in tow. After a quick tutorial of how to work the beast, Jeanie leaves and I set to work on the Meyer lemons.

11:45 AM – The Meyer lemons are all juiced! In only thirty minutes? It can’t be! It would have taken me at least 90 minutes with my infantile juicer, that would have included the time to let it cool down after it would have overheated repeatedly!

11:46 AM – Place 1 tablespoon zest in each compartment of mini muffin tins, top with juice and freeze for zest cubes. Pour juice in full size muffin cups (approx. 1/4 cup) and freeze for juice cubes. Once frozen, transfer to freezer quality ziplock bags, each labeled with type of fruit juice or zest and the date. Continue with the remaining fruit.

5:00 PM - With only a 15 minute break to eat a Subway sandwich Connor brought me, I have finished! My arms, shoulders and back hurt, plus my hands are raw and feel as though they have been soaking in acid for the last 6 hours… oh yeah, they have been! But it’s a great feeling – I can now look into my backyard, through those French doors, without dread and guilt.  Here is the bounty that my freezer now holds. Well, minus the amount that I brought to Jeanie, my angel neighbor, when I returned the rock-star Juicerator!

89 Meyer Lemons produced 29 cups juice and 48 zest cubes

12 Blood Oranges produced 2 cups juice and 10 zest cubes

117 Lemons produced 24 cups juice and 60 zest cubes

62 Oranges produced 42 cups of juice and 36 zest cubes

46 Pink Grapefruit produced 34 cup of juice

Although I did zest all of the Meyer lemons, blood oranges, and lemons; I gave up about 1/3 of the way through the oranges and didn’t zest any of the grapefruit, since there is still plenty of grapefruit on the trees (they aren’t at as great a risk of freezing as the other smaller fruits).

And yes, I have ordered a Juicerator of my own from HERE! Jeanie, I can’t thank you enough! You truly were my own personal angel yesterday. xoxo

Oh, and I did manage to make dinner for the family too! I know, I am amazing! What can I say, the Juicerator and the joy of not having the citrus hanging over my head gave me an extra surge of adrenalin. Plus, I really needed to use the fresh homemade mozzarella I made a couple days ago, while it was still fresh!

Caprese Pizza

1 pound whole wheat pizza dough (which Dave picked up at Trader Joe’s)
Pesto
3/4 pound Mozzarella cheese
Heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced
Sea salt

Place pizza stone in oven and preheat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly dust a pizza peel with cornmeal.

Shape and stretch the dough into the desired thickness and shape on the peel. Spread with the desired amount of pesto. Thinly slice 2/3 of the mozzarella cheese and finely grated the remaining 1/3 of the cheese. Lay the cheese slices in an even layer over the pesto. Top with the sliced tomatoes. Season lightly with the sea salt. Sprinkle with the grated cheese.

Carefully slide off the pizza peel onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the crust is cooked through and the top layer of cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Remove with pizza peel and slide onto a cutting board. Slice and serve.

Makes 1 pizza

Guess what that big pile of citrus that I showed you last week, looks like now? Exactly the same as it did then, except it has a blanket covering it. It’s all still overflowing in the crates, still sitting on the back patio, right outside the French doors, staring through the windows at me. Mocking me and saying, “Hey, you there – stop what you are doing and get to the work at hand; zesting and squeezing us!” But I continue to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to that pile and TRY and keep motivated enough to get all the Christmas stuff taken down and put away. I’m not getting very far on that either.

This is what our dining room looks like. And that bright light in the background, those are the French doors and they are my only defense between the citrus and my sanity! It’s coming at me from both directions!  And yes, the tree is still up, but everything else from all over the house, including the kitchen Christmas tree, is stacked on every possible surface of said dining room, just waiting for me to get the storage boxes down and pack it all up. I don’t want too! It feels overwhelming this year. I don’t know why, it just does. So tomorrow morning, when a TV film crew comes to the house to shoot a “homemade mozzarella” piece for Valley Dish, I’m just going to casually lie and say, “Oh, we always leave our tree up until after the Epiphany.  The tree comes down tomorrow and everything will get packed up and put away.”  (Epiphany – a Christian festival, observed on January 6, commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles in the persons of the Magi). That sounds like one convincing lie to me, I think it will work. In the meantime, I will just continue to close those dining room doors and pretend the mess doesn’t exist!

The citrus is another matter, I can no longer ignore it. To get motivated on that, I have created this cocktail which has now dispensed of exactly four pieces of the fruit.  Four down, only about 600 to go!

Meyer Lemon and Blood Orange Margarita

2 Meyer lemons, washed
2 blood oranges, washed
1/4 sugar
3 ounces tequila
1  1/2 ounces Grand Marnier or triple sec
1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey
Ice

Place the zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange into the bowl of a food processor. Add sugar and process until well combined. Pour citrus sugar onto a small flat plate and set aside.

Juice all the citrus and place in a cocktail shaker, reserve the juiced citrus halves.  Add the tequila, Grand Marnier, and agave nectar to the shaker. Fill the shaker 3/4 full with ice.

Cover the cocktail shaker and shake. Shake some more. Keep on shaking, until you can’t shake anymore. Give it to someone else to shake until they walk out on you. Now you are done!

Wet the rims of 2 margarita glasses with the cut and juiced halves of the lemons or oranges. Dip rims into citrus sugar to coat.

Pour margarita into prepared glasses. Yell for that person who left you, and tell them to come back and have a fantastic Margarita with you. They will forgive you at first sip, I promise!

Makes 2

I hope your Christmas was merry and bright! It was at the Hopkins’ house and I have a very good reason for not posting a recipe yesterday… it is pictured above. Santa brought be an iPad for Christmas and I’m having a blast with it! Thankfully it wasn’t opened until AFTER I had gotten Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas morning breakfast on the table, otherwise people may have gone hungry! Somehow, I did manage to make Christmas dinner, but the day after Christmas… it was all iPad, all day long! And I’m feeling the itch to get back to it right now. Before that happens, here is the potato dish I made for Christmas Eve to accompany pomegranate molasses lamb chops -yummers!

"perfect" potato slices in the bowl on the left, "imperfect" in the gratin dish and in the processor bowl on the right.

Meyer Lemon Potato Gratin

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, divided
4 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
1 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Zest of 2 Meyer lemons, grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups half-and-half

Place an oven rack in the center setting and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a sheet of foil on the rack below to catch any drips. Generously grease a 15 x 9-inch baking dish or gratin dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter.

Peel the potatoes and use the slicing blade of a food processor to thinly slice. Set aside 1/3 of the potato slices that are “perfect looking” for the final top layer.

Cover bottom of the buttered gratin dish with half of the remaining “imperfect” potato slices, in an even layer. Do not worry about the slices being laid out orderly, this and the next layer will not be visible.

Sprinkle potatoes with one-third each of thyme, nutmeg, and lemon zest; season with salt and pepper. Dot with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the second layer of “imperfect” slices; season and dot with another tablespoon butter.

Top with the “perfect” potatoes, neatly arranged in an overlapping pattern. Pour the half-and-half over the potatoes. Sprinkle with the remaining thyme, nutmeg, and lemon zest, and dot with the final tablespoon butter. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with aluminum foil. (Gratin may be made and then refrigerated to this point 8 hours in advance, add an extra 15 minutes to the baking time.)

Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife.

Remove foil, and continue to bake for about 10 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

(Gratin may be baked 3 hours in advance. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour, then cover with foil and return to a 200 degree oven for 1 hour before serving)

Serves 8 – 10

After putting up the cocktail recipe on Sunday, then posting it on the LPG facebook fan page, I found that my “followers” want and need more cocktail recipes. I am here to serve!

We have a built-in 50 bottle wine refrigerator in the kitchen. It is generally stocked about half full with everyday, drinkable, and reasonably priced bottles. My favorite summer wine is rosé. I find it to be the perfect “cool me down” hot-weather choice. For some unknown reason, my dad figures that if I like rosé, I must love Riesling and Gewürztraminer. I despise both! In fact, I find them so cloyingly sweet that I can not bring myself to serve them to others either. So what to do with the three bottles I have? Yup, that’s right, it took me three weeks to tell my dad, that I do not like these wines – and yes, it hurt his feelings. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do to stop receiving bad “gifts”! What I’ve decided to do is make lemonade out of lemons, or in this case, sour up overly sweet wine with a bit of acid.

German Raspberry Wine Cooler

16-ounce bag frozen raspberries, thawed
1 750 ml bottle Riesling or Gewürztraminer
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/4 limoncello liqueur
Ice
Lemon slices, garnish

In a blender or food processor, purée the raspberries and their accumulated juices. Place a strainer over a bowl allow the liquids to flow through. Do not use a wooden spoon or spatula to press the raspberry purée in the strainer, this will only push the tiny seeds into the strainer holes, clogging the strainer. Instead, use the handle of the spoon or spatula to lightly tap on the side of the strainer. This allows the seeds to “jump” around as the liquids easily flow into the bowl.

(When I demonstrate this tip in cooking classes, there are “oohs and aahs” and at least one person will pipe up and say, “That tip was worth the price of the class!”  You will understand when you give it a try.) Makes about 1 1/4 cups raspberry purée.

Pour the raspberry purée, wine, lemon juice, and limoncello into a pitcher and stir. Serve in tall wine classes filled with ice, garnish with lemon slices, and enjoy. Or in my case, enjoy getting rid of the German wine!

Makes about 4 cups

It’s been nearly two months since I promised this recipe would be posted here. I can not believe how quickly the summer goes by!  The last week of May we finished the third and final step for homemade limoncello liqueur. Then I gave you a wonderful recipe for lemon-limoncello meringue pie and said another limoncello dessert recipe was forthcoming. It has arrived in the form of these amazingly creamy, yet not too sweet, cheesecake squares. This recipe comes courtesy of the talented and lovely Giada De Laurentiis. Not only am I surprised how long it has taken me to finally make these but I am shocked to realize that this is the first cheesecake recipe posted here. And since it’s not made in a springform pan, it’s not even an actual cheesecake.  Shocking, because I love cheesecake, which is by far one of my favorite desserts. Not only that but I can honestly say that I am a master at making them; The Cheesecake Factory has nothing on me!  I’m not bragging, just stating the facts and I’m going to share with you three of the most important tricks of the trade to making creamy and crack-free cheesecakes of your own.

#1.  Always place your cheesecake in a water bath. The water bath slows down the baking so that the filling cooks evenly, creating the creamiest cheesecake imaginable. This is easy to do with a recipe such as this, where the bars are made in a baking pan. Not so easy with a traditional cheesecake made in a springform pan. Since springform pans are comprised of two pieces that come apart, it is imperative to wrap the springform pan well with two or three layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil before placing it in the water bath. If you fail to do this most vital step, you will have waterlogged and completely ruined cheesecake.  By the way, any cheesecake recipe can be modified to be made in a baking pan (such as these squares) instead of in a springform.  So if you don’t own a springform or just don’t want to hassle with one – use a glass or metal baking pan in its place.

#2.  Mix all your ingredients well before adding the eggs. Then always (whether the recipe says so or not) add your eggs, one at a time, and never over-mix or beat on high speed.  Doing either of those things will incorporate too much air into the batter and will cause your cheesecake to crack in the center.

#3. The importance of “room temperature” ingredients; cold eggs do not blend properly but room temperature eggs are malleable and will mix in better and act as a binder for other ingredients. Cold dairy products will coagulate and clump in the batter and cause the need to over-mix. All in all, room temperature ingredients create a lump free and velvety smooth batter. So unless you are making pastry or if the recipe states otherwise; this rule is true for all baking, not just cheesecake.

There you go, now you too, can be a cheesecake master. One last little tip; since you’re using limoncello as the liquid, you don’t use the juice from the lemons you zest. Be sure and juice those lemons ASAP, otherwise they will dry out since they are missing their “skin”.  And if you don’t think you’ll use the juice in the next day or so, place it in muffin tins and freeze – then pop out and place in marked zip-locks bags.

FYI – I found the large container of individually wrapped almond biscotti cookies at Smart and Final. There is enough in that container to make 3 times the recipe, a nice thing to keep in mind when the holidays roll around again… and we all know how soon that will be!

Limoncello Cheesecake Squares

Pam nonstick cooking spray
8 ounces purchased biscotti
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons grated lemon zest, divided
12-ounces whole milk ricotta, drained, at room temperature
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1  1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup limoncello liqueur, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom of a 9 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan with Pam.

Finely grind the biscotti in a food processor. Add the melted butter and 1 tablespoon of lemon zest, and process until the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until the crust is golden, about 15 minutes. Cool completely on a cooling rack.

In a clean food processor bowl; blend the ricotta, cream cheese, and sugar until smooth, stopping the machine occasionally and scraping down the sides of the work bowl. Blend in the limoncello, vanilla, and remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon zest.

Add the eggs one at a time, and pulse just until blended, do not over-mix. Scrape down the sides of the bowl between the second and third egg.

Pour the batter over the cooled crust. Place the baking pan in a large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the baking pan. Bake until the cheesecake is golden and the center of the filling moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour. The cake will become firm when it is cold.

Transfer pan to a rack; cool 1 hour. Refrigerate until the cheesecake is cold, at least 8 hours and up to 2 days. Cut into squares and serve.

Makes 12 to 16 squares