Lemon Raspberry Bars

Wish your sweetie a ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ with these sweet and sumptuous lemon raspberry and blackberry bars.

Lemon Raspberry Bars

1 C. butter, at room temperature

½ C. powdered sugar

2 C. flour

¼ t. salt

Zest of 2 lemons

2 C. sugar

6 T. fresh lemon juice

1 t. vanilla

6 T. flour

1 t. baking powder

4 Eggs

About 24 raspberries (or your favorite berry)

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350.  Generously spray a 9” x 13” baking dish with non-stick spray. 

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and powdered sugar with a mixer.  When it is light and fluffy, add the flour a little at a time, mixing well between each addition.  Add the salt and mix until combined.  With your hands, press this mixture into the baking dish evenly.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the sugar and the lemon zest.  Rub the zest and the sugar between your thumb and fingers to release all of the oils and to flavor the sugar.  (*You could save this lemon sugar in an airtight container for other uses if you’d like).   Add the lemon juice, vanilla, flour and baking powder to the lemon sugar and beat with a mixer.  Add the eggs, 1 at a time and mix thoroughly. 

Pour the egg mixture over the baked crust.  It should level out by itself, but you may need to use a spatula and push it around so it is even.  Carefully place the raspberries into the lemon filling, spreading them out so that the whole mixture is dotted with red. 

Cover loosely with aluminum foil and place back in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove the aluminum foil and bake for another 10-12 minutes.  Your lemon bars are ready when the filling has set and the top is lightly browned.  Cut into your favorite shape, making sure to include raspberries in each one.  Dust with powdered sugar.  Serve with extra berries.

This recipe is loosely adapted from:  http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/lemon-bars-recipe/

Gluten-Free Lemon Pound Cake

One of my favorite people came to visit last weekend!  My aunt Sara came in from San Francisco with my uncle Marty and my cousin Grady.  I met Sara when I was 15 – she and Marty invited me to SF for a week and I had an absolute blast!  They helped teach me to drive, took me to the Blue Man Group and Sara even taught me to make pasta from scratch.  She and I have shared recipes and food stories from the beginning and I’ve learned quite a bit from her inside and outside of the kitchen. 

This weekend, Sean and I joined Sara’s family for dinner with my aunt Mary Catherine and uncle Peter at a “fresh” restaurant called True Food.  I’ll be honest – I thought it was going to be a rough dinner because I’d heard you could only order raw food.  But, it ended up being delicious!  Everyone at the table enjoyed their meal.  I had a roasted corn and kale pizza that I’d order again in a heartbeat.  The reason we chose this restaurant is because Sara cannot eat any gluten.  The restaurant offered many options and we had a splendid time. 

The next day, Sean and I met with Sara again and this time we baked together!  Sara brought one of her favorite gluten-free recipes and Mary Catherine was kind enough to offer her kitchen.  It was so nice and relaxing to just hang in the kitchen and chat over food.  And I learned quite a bit about special flour combinations and a gluten-free diet in general. 

We made gluten-free lemon pound cake.  It was great!  The cake was light and soft.  It reminded me of sugar cookies with a hint of lemon.  Not your normal cloyingly sweet cake drenched in frosting, this cake was divine.  This recipe comes from the cookbook, The Blackbird Bakery Gluten Free 75 Recipes for Irresistible Gluten-Free Desserts and Pastries* by Karen Morgan.

Thank you for everything Sara!

1 C. Sorghum flour

½ C. Tapioca flour

½ C. Cornstarch

½ t. baking powder

¼ t. kosher salt

Zest of 1 lemon

1 C. plus 2 T. unsalted butter at room temperature

1 ¼ C. sugar

4 large eggs

2 ½ t. pure vanilla extract

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees (F).  Butter a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan. 

In a medium bowl, combine both flours, the cornstarch, baking powder and salt and stir with a whisk to blend.  Add the lemon zest to the dry ingredients. 

In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar on high speed for 5 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time and beat for a full minute after each addition stopping once or twice to beat for a full minute after each addition, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the dry ingredients all at once.  Beat for 3-5 minutes or until light and fluffy.  Beat in the vanilla.  Pour into the prepared pan, smooth the top and bake for 60-75 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.  Check the cake after the first 25 minutes of baking; if it has begun to darken, loosely cover with aluminum foil and resume baking. 

            

Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.  Run a knife around the edges of the pan and unmold the cake a cutting board.  Cut into slices to serve. 

 Sara, Sean and I ate our pound cake with fresh fruit and peach and cherry sauces.  Yumm!

*http://www.amazon.com/Blackbird-Bakery-Gluten-Free-Irresistible-Desserts/dp/0811873315

Fizzy Piña Colada

This weekend, Sean and I reunited with my “work family” for a pool party in Gilbert, AZ.  We had a great time catching up on everything from new jobs and crazy coworkers, to summer vacations and baby stories.  We had delicious food – the biggest sandwich I’ve ever seen & my friend Lisa’s husband Darrin’s creamy guacamole.  I brought a drink that my dad taught me to make – and it was a HUGE hit!  I figured this was good timing, since today is father’s day. 

My dad’s been making this drink for 30 years and I know why.  I couldn’t even find a thing about it to change.  It’s perfect.  I just added some vibrant garnish for looks.  Thanks dad for this incredible summer staple and for always being my go-to guy for advice, help and a grounded, objective opinion.  Happy Father's Day!

This drink’s got the pineapple and coconut flavor that you expect from a Piña Colada, with a tart fizziness that everybody loves.  It is frothy and icy and temptingly refreshing.

1 12 oz. can of frozen lemonade concentrate

12 oz. pineapple juice

½ C. cream of coconut*

¼ C. clear rum (or to taste)

Lemon lime soda

Raspberries

Lemon wedges

*Cream of coconut can be found in the liquor section, although it’s not alcoholic

In a freezer-safe container, whisk together the frozen lemonade, cream of coconut, juice and rum.  Make sure these ingredients are well combined, without lumps, and place the container in the freezer for at least 12 hours.  It will form a sorbet-like mixture.  Don’t worry – it’s not supposed to harden completely, because of the rum. 

Drench a glass of ice with the lemon lime soda, leaving just a smidge of room at the top.  Scoop a healthy (read: extra large) spoonful of the sorbet into the soda and stir until it’s completely combined.  Complete this drink with a wedge of lemon, some raspberries and a place by the pool for an amazing tropical getaway in a glass. 

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes

My mom is one of my biggest motivations and best role models.  From her hard work ethic to her adventurous & traveling spirit, she’s a stand up woman who I admire with all my heart.  This morning, the recipe is for her.  Happy early mother’s day, mom, and thank you for making me the person I am today.

These pancakes are small and light, but full of bright, fresh flavor.    They have a crunchy edge and bursts of warm blueberries that your mom will love too.  Serve them for breakfast or brunch for an elegant and refined start to your day. 

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 C. flour

1 C. milk

1 t. baking powder

2-3 T. sugar

3 T. ricotta cheese, whipped (optional)

2 eggs
1 pint Blueberries
Butter

Powdered sugar, to garnish

Extra blueberries and whipped cream, to garnish

Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 1 T. butter. 

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and sugar.  In a second bowl, beat the milk, ricotta and eggs until they are thoroughly combined.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and combine.  Add zest and enough lemon juice to create a wet batter. 

When the pan is hot, spoon small spoonfuls of the batter into the hot, buttered skillet and fry the pancakes.  Immediately add several blueberries to each pancake.  When small bubbles start to form, flip the pancakes and cook for another minute.  Remove from the pan and cover in foil to keep warm (or place in the oven at 200 degrees until your meal is ready).  Repeat with all of the pancake batter. 

To plate, pile a small stack of pancakes and add a healthy spoonful of whipped cream.  Sprinkle with blueberries and dust with powdered sugar.  Breakfast is served. 

*The ricotta works really well with the lemon.  It also adds fluffiness to the pancakes that eliminates their normal heavy nature.  I like to beat the ricotta to lose some of the graininess ricotta sometimes can have.  

Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

My friend Kelly Rowe has taught me many of her baking techniques and this is one of my favorites.  Baking scones always reminds me of mornings in Flagstaff when I would teach French to her daughter Clio.  Each week, Kelly would make some delightful pastry to snack on while Clio and I parlé français.  Thank you, Kelly, for your wisdom, sanity and friendship. This morning, I traded some of them for a basket of fresh produce which I’ll use for meals later this week.  Paired with a cup of coffee and the orange blossoms in the back yard, these scones make my weekend mornings sublime. 

As you all know, I’m rather a nerd when it comes to food.  If you’re like me, you’ll be fascinated to learn that most of the world pronounces these pastries as “skon.”  Here in the U.S., they’re primarily known as “skoan.” Thank you to Kateryna and her exceedingly witted comrade, Priestly, for their tip du jour.

These scones are light and airy and packed with fresh flavor.  The lemon glaze on top adds just the right amount of sweet zeal. 

2 C. flour

2 t. baking powder

½ t. salt

Scant 1/2 C. sugar (less sugar for more traditional scones)

1 t. lemon zest

1/2 stick of frozen butter, diced

1/2 pint blueberries

2 eggs

½ C. whole milk, plus extra for glazing

Lemon glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 350.  In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, zest and salt.  When combined, add butter and mix with a pastry tool until butter is the size of small peas.  Add one egg at a time and cut into the pastry with a knife and a fork until well combined.  Fold in blueberries.  Pour in about 1/2 C. milk and fold gently until the mixture is slightly wet and sticky.  Add a bit more if it feels too dry.

On a floured surface, roll out dough until it is about 1" thick.  Cut into your desired shapes with a cookie cutter and place on a greased sheet pan.  Brush with more whole milk so that when it bakes it will have a beautiful golden glaze.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the scones are lightly golden.  Serve warm with butter, or cooled with lemon glaze.

Lemon Glaze

1 C. powdered sugar

2-3 T. lemon juice

In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice, adding more juice as necessary until glaze is thin and glossy.  Drizzle over the cooled scones.