Lemon Bars

We forgot to take a picture of these before they were gobbled up at dinner with our friends, Jesse & Amy.  These are the perfect amount of sweet and tart with a hint of saltiness in the crust.

From the ATK cookbook:

Ingredients

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• 1¼ cups flour
• ½ cup Confectioners sugar
• ½ teasp salt
• 12 tbsp butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
• 7 egg yolks, Large
• 2 eggs, Large and whole
• 1 cup and 2 tbsp Granulated sugar
• ⅔ cup lemon juice (fresh)
• ¼ cup lemon zest (grated) (I sometimes use more for more flavor)
• 3 tbsp heavy cream

How to make it

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• Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350. Line a 9" square baking pan with two pieces of aluminum foil at right angles (to form a sort of sling). Lightly coat foil with vegetable oil.
• Mix together flour, confectioners sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter (or food processor) incorporate 8 tbsp. of the butter until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal.
• Sprinkle the mixture inot the prepared pan and press firmly into an even layer. Bake until the crust starts to brown slightly, about 20 minutes.
• While crust is baking, wisk together egg yolks and whole eggs in a medium non-reactive saucepan.
• Whisk in granulated sugar until combined, then whisk in lemon juice, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt.
• Add remaining 4 tbsp of butter and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens slightly and registers 170 degrees (F) on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes.
• Strain the mixture immediately into a non-reactive bowl and stir in cream. Pour the warm curd over the hot crust. Bake until the filing is shiny and opaque and the center jiggles slightly when shaken, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Let cool completely on a wire rack, about 2 hours, before removing from the pan using foil and cutting into squares.
• Dust with confectioners sugar just before serving.
• Note: it is important to pour the warm curd over the hot crust when making these intensely flavored bars. This ensures that the filling cooks through evenly. You will need about four lemons for zest and juice.

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Bobby Flay's Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

For my first attempt at making and eating pineapple upside-down cake, this was fantastic!! My friend's birthday was last week and when I asked for a request, she said she had just watched Throw Down with Bobby Flay and he made this cake, so that's what she wanted.  I happened to find the exact recipe on foodnetwork.com, but adapted it to cook in the oven instead of on the bbq.  (We also left out the YUCK of maraschino cherries and chopped nuts).

Ingredients:
2 c. cake flour
2 t. baking powder
pinch salt
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, sofened
1 1/2 c. white sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 c. milk
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 stick butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 (20-oz) can pineapple, drained (I used rings)

Directions:
Place a 10" cast-iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Cake Batter: sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together; set aside.  With a mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and egg yolks.  With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ngredients to creamed mixture, alternating with the milk.  Add vanilla.  In a separate mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and then fold them into the batter.  Set aside.

Place the 1/2 stick butter and brown sugar in the skillet and let it melt and begin to caramelize.  When lightly caramelized, place pineapples to cover on top in a decorative patter. Then pour the cake batter over, filling to within 1/2" of the top of the skillet.  Transfer the skillet to a large foil pan and cover with foil (be careful handling the skillet as the handle will also be very hot).  Pierce the foil in the corners to allow steam to escape during the cooking process.

Bake until golden brown and the cake spring back when lightly touched with your finger, about 45 minutes.  Remove from the grill and run a knife around the edge of the skillet to free the cake.  Whle cake is still hot, place a serving plate on top of the skillet and careflly turn the cake over.  I recommend serving cake warm!

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Dehydrator

This is just a quick "rave" post...

I LOVE having a dehydrator!  Unfortunately the one I have is old and doesn't belong to me, but it's a great tool to have in the world of semi-natural living!  Currently, it is filling the house with an herby aroma as we have had 2 batches of thyme and rosemary going for the last few hours.  I also like to use it to dry fruit to snack on and have attempted the dehydrating of nuts for flour and almond milk.  Whatever the use, it's a great tool to have...

To read more about dehydrators, check out Passionate Homemaking's latest post about the Excalibur Dehydrator!

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Chai Cookies

We have been on 2 kicks lately... chai and lemons.  Ooh! Maybe I should make something chai-lemon... okay, can you tell it's late?  That will be for another post... look forward to LEMON posts in the near future and maybe the addition of a chai-lemon something.  I bet you can't wait.

Back to THIS recipe.

I made a batch of my homemade chai mix recently (adapted from this allrecipes contribution).  Needless to say, we've been drinking blended chai's every night of the 100 degree summer weather!  As I was sipping on my favorite drink after a hard day, I got the ambitious idea to put my drink into cookie dough.  THESE are the result!  I did use inspiration and guidance from allrecipes on this one as well... enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. chai tea mix
2/3 c. white sugar
1 egg
1 T. vanilla
1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

Directions:

Blend together butter, chai mix and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add in egg and vanilla and beat well.  Throw in the dry ingredients (if using a kitchenaid, if not sift together first), and mix well.  If you do not have a cookie dough scooper, I recommend popping it in the freezer for about 20 minutes so it will be easier to work with.  Otherwise, drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

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