I made this sweet and tangy cake for a cooking class last week. Since I needed to serve 18 people, I made two cakes, one ahead of time and one in front of the students. For the class cake, I used one Meyer lemon and one blood orange. We decided to serve thin slices from each cake and the students loved them both but especially the the mixed citrus cake.

Either way, this is a simply lovely dessert.

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Marissa and Jeff were in Mexico this past weekend for a wedding and came back through here Sunday and Monday on their way back to Austin. I decided a big pasta dish was just the thing to satisfy everyone for our Sunday dinner.

The dish uses six garlic cloves. Four are peeled and sliced and 2 are left whole. If you hate mincing a bunch of tiny garlic cloves, as I do, this is the perfect way to use those little pains. Gather them up and estimate how many make up a large clove and use them as the whole cloves in this recipe. See, I got rid of eight little ones in one fell swoop.

Meyer Lemon Spaghetti with Parmesan Chicken

Chicken

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ½ cups Panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Italian seasoning
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Spaghetti

• 2 Meyer lemons, well washed
• 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil
• 6 large peeled garlic cloves, divided; 4 thinly sliced, 2 left whole
• 3/4 cup Panko
• 2 large shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 bunch of Italian parsley, leaves and tender stems, minced

Chicken: Use This Method to pound out the chicken breasts.

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Nearly all of my Meyer lemon crop has been juiced out.  I saved a few to candy.

Candied Meyer lemon, as well as regular lemon, slices are lovey as a garnish on dessert plates and delicious when added to salads, either whole or chopped. The slices are a sweet tangy treat on their own or dipped in chocolate.  They would be a lovely hostess gift, packed in a small Mason jar.

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This is the dessert I made with that microwave lemon curd I posted yesterday. The recipe said to serve it warm or at room temperature. I served it warm. That was a mistake.

I had a piece the next morning (yes, for breakfast – don’t judge!) that was at room temperature –

So. Much. Better.
Do not serve it warm!

As with the curd, this recipe comes from the February issue of Southern Living. I only altered it slightly; using Meyer lemons instead of regular lemons, honey yogurt instead of plain, and adding a bit of garnish.

The one other change I’ll make when I make it next time, is to cut the crumb topping in half. Not that it was overwhelming or that it was not wonderful, just to cut down on the fat and calories. It’s just that half a stick of butter seems like a better bet than a full stick when you can do with less, you know?

If you love lemon, lemon curd, lemon bars… yeah, any sort of lemony-goodness, you’ll love this. It’s a keeper!

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Earlier this week I told you that we were having, Karen, my long-time friend, who was a bridesmaid in our wedding, and her husband, Bob, over for dinner on Friday night.

As of Thursday night, I had not a clue what I’d make for dinner the next evening. I wasn’t too worried, I knew I’d figure out something, so I went to bed.

In the wee hours, the house phone rang.

That really is the worst thing, isn’t it? Nothing good can come of that, no good phone calls occur at 3:53 AM!

I rolled over, grabbed the phone, and looked, through very blurry eyes, at the caller ID.  “Starnetpaetec” is what it read. I immediately pressed “Talk” and then “End” and said a choice curse word or two.

Starnetpaetec, whoever you are, what the heck? It’s 3:53 AM, what could you possibly think you could sell me at that hour?!?

Thank you for ending my much-needed sleep for the night.  Yep, that was it. For the next hour, try as I might, I was not able to fall asleep, too many aches and pains in my leg prevented it. Finally, I relented and decided to get in the Jacuzzi tub to relieve the pain.

And that is where and when I came up with my menu and shopping list for the dinner party that was, by now, only 12 hours away.

I love to read books or peruse magazines in the tub. I had a stack there already and pieced together the menu from the February issues of Food & Wine, Cooking Light, and Southern Living. Today’s recipe comes from Southern Living.

On the cover this month, there is a gorgeous Lemon Bar Cheesecake.

Lemon! Yay! Inside, there are several recipes using lemon curd to make different desserts. Lemon Curd! Triple YAY!

The thing is, there was a new way of making the lemon curd that intrigued me. Using the microwave. I was curious as to just how that would turn out as compared with the usual stove-top method.  Turns out, pretty darn well.

Personally, I will probably use the standard method from here on out, because I found having to go to the microwave every minute, and then every 30 seconds, to stir it, more annoying than just standing there and stirring constantly, as you usually do. That could be attributed to the fact that I’m a bit ADD and find it difficult to keep track of all those time intervals.

Need proof of that? I had to put a Post-it note on the microwave to keep track of the times I stirred it.

Seriously! If I didn’t do this, God only knows how many times I would have cooked and stirred this for 1 minute, could have been 4 or 10 – most certainly not the correct amount!

But, if you’ve been afraid to try making lemon curd before, stop being afraid and make this recipe. It works perfectly and you’ll finally have homemade lemon curd you can be proud of!

The rest of the recipes from the dinner will be posted throughout the week to come, including the dessert I used this curd for.

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This was my horoscope on Tuesday.

How perfect is that? Oh, here are the last few words you can’t see, “… nourishment and warm feelings.”

It’s perfect because I already had on my calendar two dinner parties this week.

Peggy and Anne were over last night and my dear friend, Karen, who was a bridesmaid in my wedding 27 years ago, and her husband Bob, are coming over for dinner tomorrow night. Got to Love It!

Are you ready for the onslaught of Meyer lemon recipes? I hope so, that is what I’ll be making for quite a while now!

Don’t have Meyer lemons? Not to worry. You can use regular lemons in any of my recipes that call for Meyer lemons.

I saw a photo of a version of this salad on Pinterest and was inspired by the use of a trifle bowl to serve it in. I created the recipe from scratch but stole the visuals and serving idea. If you don’t have, but have always wanted, a trifle bowl – Crate & Barrel always has them in stock.

It’s so pretty and springtime fresh and it turned out to be a delicious main course salad. I’m sure Peggy and Anne will attest to that. It would be lovely as a side salad on a buffet too.

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In case you’re not local and just in case you haven’t heard – we’ve been freezing here in the desert this past week.

Literally freezing.
It’s not right.
This is the desert!
That land of saguaro cactus and yucca, not ice and snow!

Winter is our prime time! It’s what we live for, perfect weather! Not freezing temps that damage our desert-loving plants. (Yes, those are sheets covering plants and trees in my backyard.)

We aren’t supposed to be moaning and groaning about the weather now, that’s what we have 6 months of summer for … 115+ degree days … that’s our moaning and groaning time.

I am not happy! Not happy because it forced me to get out and try to pick as many of my Meyer lemons as I possibly could pick in one day. I wasn’t able to get them all. Close, but not all. The photo above represents about 1/4 of the crop I got off the tree.

My dad took home a full crate plus a full shopping bag.

The tree was the most prolific it has ever been. Here is what it looked like on Thanksgiving day.

So many lemons, that they were laying on the ground, still attached to the tree. The weight of them brought them down that far.

In late November and early December, I picked all the low lemons and took several bags to Les Gourmettes, to share with the teachers and students there.

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FYI: Before I get to today’s recipe, a quick update about “Wednesday’s Child.” I received an email from AASK saying that the segment may be pushed back to tomorrow due to the Republican presidential contenders debate happening here in Arizona tonight. Now back to my regularly scheduled program…

Wanna hear the song “Lemon Tree”? CLICK HERE.

Last year at this time I was juicing more citrus from my seven trees than I could handle. I only had a tiny juicer but was lucky enough to borrow my neighbor, Jeanie’s, ACME Juicerator. Yay, I received my own Juicerator as a Christmas gift this year! CLICK HERE to reminisce with me.

Currently, I am reminiscing back to when my lemon tree produced crates of lemons. This year… not even one lemon from that very same tree! My Meyer lemon tree, on the other hand, produced a bumper crop this year.

As a result, I shall make a bumper crop of marmalade!

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I have a dozen or so crab cake recipes but I chose this particular one for Peggy’s birthday because it is extra light. What makes it so, is separating the egg and folding it in the whipped egg white just before cooking. The presentation with the herbed salad and aïoli is especially lovely, but the cakes are delicious on their own, so make it “easy-breezy” and leave those elements out, if you wish. I know I’ve mentioned before the fabulous real crab sold at Costco, but it is worth talking about again.

The brand they used to sell was Phillips, now they carry Blue Star, both are exceptional quality and totally fabulous. What makes them so? Real lump crab that has been pasteurized with a “use by” date on the bottom of the container that is generally about 9 months to a year out. So there is no excuse to not have crab on-hand anytime you need it. For this particular recipe, only about half of the container is used, so you can either double the amounts or be sure and use the remaining half container within a day or two.

To that end, I shall post another crab recipe tomorrow to finish it off. Another thing I have talked about before is the fact that the food processor has a special feature especially for making mayonnaise and aioli. If you need a refresher, click here to go back to that post. Finally, as always, if you don’t have Meyer lemons, no problem, just substitute regular lemons.

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Preserved lemons are a common ingredient in Moroccan and other North African cuisines. The pulp is sometimes used in stews and sauces and can be used sparingly in Bloody Marys or added to homemade seafood cocktail sauce. But the true treasure of preserved lemons is the peel. The flavor is slightly tart, intensely and wonderfully lemony. Preserved lemon peel is the key ingredient in many Moroccan dishes such as tagines.

Not all preserved lemon recipes call for olive oil, but I like to add it after the fermenting process to help “seal” or cover the lemons and prevent spoilage. Since I have Meyer lemons from my yard and also have the Queen Creek Meyer Lemon Olive Oil, I’ll be using both of those, but regular lemons are more than fine, and in fact, are the traditional lemons used. Limes and grapefruit can be preserved, using the same method and are delicious with curries, seafood, and lamb.

Make your own preserved lemons along with me today, because next week I’ll be posting delicious recipes to get you started using your new bounty!

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