sweet eggs

come spring

we bring it outside

entertaining is a bit more relaxed

food becomes

a bit less fussy

perhaps a tad more whimsical

certainly

more seasonally driven

we keep chickens, ducks and geese

which means we have a generous supply of eggs

when putting together a weekend brunch

i love to serve

sweet eggs

very simple and darling on display

these eggs are filled with vanilla yogurt and lemon curd

sweet eggs

emptied and cleaned goose, duck or extra large chicken eggs

plain or vanilla yogurt

vanilla extract (if using plain yogurt)-optional

brown or granulated sugar (if using plain yogurt)-optional

your favorite lemon curd recipe

-martha has a nice one HERE

using an egg topper such as this one

is by far the easiest way to get those perfect edges.  

-while the eggs are uncooked, take the top off.  separate the whites and the yolks as you empty the shell. use the yolks for your curd, the whites for another delicious recipe.

-you must be gentle when washing the shells, but you must be very thorough in the washing.  there may be a layer of membrane attached to the interior of the shell.  make sure you get that completely out.  it comes out easier when you run water through it.  once the membrane is cleared, use a good soap and hot water to get it completely cleaned out. let them air dry with good air-flow.

-you can either set the eggs in egg cups, or use the top inverted and glued to the bottom of the egg to create a stand.  you may also just want to place in a small bowl, or in a large bowl on top of artificial grass (or if you have access, hay or straw)

if you are using plain yogurt and wish to sweeten it up a bit (i recommend doing so, particularly if you have a nice tart lemon curd), add just a touch of sweetness with your sweetener of choice.  i like brown sugar because it takes very little and adds a bit of a caramel flavor to the yogurt.  start with 1 tsp per 2 cups and add more to taste. the same with the vanilla.

make the lemon curd as directed and let cool completely

to assemble...place the yogurt and lemon curd in separate decorating bags (alternatively you can use a small spoon).  layer directly into the shell starting with the yogurt.  fill the shell approximately 1/3 full with the yogurt. add a thin (max 1/4") layer of lemon curd. add more yogurt to almost reach the top of the shell, and top with more curd, placed to resemble an egg yolk. 

serve with demi-tasse spoons.

you may also add gingersnap crumbles or graham cracker crumbles to the bottom for additional flavor and a bit of crunch.  serving with a bit of granola is a nice compliment.  for something really fun,  fashion sugar cookies into "toast soldiers" and pop them right in to look like a soft boiled egg and toast.

while the eggs can be washed and prepped in advance, and the yogurt and curd can be made ahead as well, i do not recommend assembling until just prior to serving

*i do not recommend reusing the egg shells

lemon ricotta pancakes

i had originally planned

to be long-winded

and

apologetic

about my absence

then i thought

actions not words

&

i made you these

  

the best part?

none of that pesky

egg-white whipping

and

delicate folding

with their

buttery crispy edges

and

billowy lemony insides

these pancake

say

i'm sorry

and

you're welcome

all at the same time

lemon ricotta pancakes

(printable recipe)

1/2 cup ricotta 

1 Tbs lemon zest

2 Tbs lemon juice

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup fine corn meal (floury kind)

1 cup all purpose flour

6 Tbs sugar

whisk together the flour, corn flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. in a separate bowl whisk together the ricotta, lemon zest, lemon juice, eggs and buttermilk.  stir the dry into the wet a bit at a time, to minimize lumps.  stir slowly, and just to get all the ingredients incorporated.  allow to sit about 5 minutes while you heat up the pan.  i like to use butter to cook my pancakes, and i like it to get a bit brown before laying down the batter. but these pancakes are even delicious with pan spray.  

i suggest pureed fruit, fruit syrup or a glaze made with lemon juice and powdered sugar as a topper. 

lemon lavender cake

i love lavender-trimming day

delicate buds

not yet spent

but 

given their pollen

to the bees

at the ready

for

culinary cajoling

i bundle the limping stalks

tacking my baker's rack 

with 

lines of purple

a

scent of  Provence

filling the air

i toss the dried buds

in everything 

from

simple syrup to custards

aioli to bitters

shortbread to biscotti

i especially love it

in this cake

lemon-lavender cake

(this is a riff on a classic 1-2-3-4 cake)

(printable recipe)

Cake

1 cup unsalted butter--room temperature

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

4 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 Tbs lemon zest

juice of 1 large lemon

1 generous tsp dried lavender buds

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each

addition. Stop and scrape down the sides with a spatula and resume beating until the mixture looks like

buttercream frosting. Meanwhile…in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda.

Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice and buttermilk together. With the mixer on low, alternately mix in

the flour and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour, in 3 additions. Do not over-mix, just allow the ingredients to come together. Stir in the lavender. Pour into 2 loaf pans that have been coated in pan spray. Bake at 325 F for approximately 50 mins. Check for doneness after 40 minutes. Cake is fully baked when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.When cool, pour glaze over

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbs cream

Juice of lemon (more or less to your taste)

Stir together and pour over cooled cake.

i've linked my cake up to this great weekly party

wedding+cake

although i know how

i 

rarely make wedding cakes

here's the deal

elaborate

fancy

wedding cakes 

take time to 

build

(yes, just like pedro says)

which means

by the time

you

cut into that cake

it

is

old

yes

there are tricks

soak it in syrup

it will seem moist

(when really, it is just wet)

freeze it

suspending the stale
or

up the filling to cake ratio

all good ways to get the job done

but

not my thing

i'm a bit of a jerk about it

wedding cakes are expensive

and should be

delicious

which means

for me

baking and assembling

as
the bride is donning her veil

that being said

there are times

when you can't keep me from 

making a cake

last weekend 

was one of them

my younger brother got married

last of the lot

&

the bride requested

lemon

i 

made

this

lemon meringue cake
(recipe and instructions)

fondant topper
honoring
the year of the dragon

flowers
matching the bride's bouquet

lemon cooler cookies

honestly

i'm not sure if i have actually tasted

the original 

lemon cooler cookie

i. do. know.

i wanted to try them

but, alas

they were in a box

on a shelf

in the grocery store

lest you forgot

we have established

that my mom 

didn't do 

"store bought"

odds are

i only remember these cookies

by how my friends

(insert tongue in cheek )

with 

better brown bag lunches than mine

described them

and not

by taste

which is why

i believe

my version

is 

a perfect impostor

packing a lemony punch

with a

sweet sugar chaser

 lemon coolers

(printable recipe)

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter--room temp

2 cups powdered sugar-divided

2 heaping tsp lemon zest

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 tsp kosher salt

 stir together flour, cornstarch and salt in a bowl. in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and 1 cup powdered sugar until evenly mixed.  beat in lemon zest and lemon juice. slowly stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just combined.  gather the dough and form into a flat ball.  divide dough into 4 pieces, rolling each into a log.  the diameter of the log is to your own specifications, depending on your desired cookie size. my preference is about 2" round.  wrap each log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. you may also freeze the log(s) at this time.  

when ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325.  line cookie sheets with parchment.  remove the log from plastic wrap and slice in 1/4" rounds.  it is helpful to twist the log clockwise each time you cut, so as to avoid a flattened bottom. place cookies 1" apart on the cookie sheet and bake approximately 10-12 minutes. cookies are done when they are just turning golden on the bottom.

while cookies are baking, place the remaining 1 cup powdered sugar in a shallow bowl. as you remove the cookies from the oven, they will be too delicate to handle.  once they are cooled a bit (not fully cool, still slightly warm), carefully turn them in the powdered sugar, and place back onto same cookie sheet. the sugar will melt slightly and be a bit like frosting. once the cookies are fully cooled, toss them in the powdered sugar a second time.

lemon chicken

i seem to be on a bit of a citrus jag lately

i suspect the reason being
this

on our back porch

sits a potted lemon tree

it produces exactly 

8 lemons

every other year

we have coaxed coddled and crooned to it

sadly

this is its best work

consequently,

when it produces

i get to work 

this recipe

is really 

a bit of this

and 

smidge of that

really delicious

very lemony

and 

extremely popular

in our house

the best part

it

freezes well

lemon chicken
(printable recipe)

1 lb chicken breasts
olive oil
1/2 onion--finely chopped
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
juice of 2 large lemons (a bit less if you don't like your chicken really lemony)
1 tsp honey (or more to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley--minced
pound the chicken breasts until they are thin like a cutlet. pat chicken dry.  heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a large skillet.  cook eat chicken breast enough to just brown, but not to cook completely through.  remove from skillet and reserve.  add a bit more olive oil and toss in the onion.  cook on medium heat until onion begins to soften. toss in the chicken broth and use tongs or spatula to scrape up all the bits of chicken that stuck to the bottom of the pan.  add the wine, lemon juice and honey. stir to combine, then put the chicken back into the skillet.  simmer on very low until the chicken is cooked through.  serve with the sauce spooned over the chicken. sprinkle a bit of parsley on top.  serve with lemon slices if desired.

  

lemon-pecan mascarpone pound cake

march 4th is national pound cake day

don't roll your eyes

it is legit

i read it on the internet

before my great aunt passed

i borrowed her box of tattered and stained recipe cards

and copied each one

into a book of my own

my aunt rose baked a great pound cake

several versions

all different

all delicious

for national pound cake day

i borrowed a recipe from her

with a few substitutions

  lemon pecan mascarpone pound cake

(printable recipe)

1 1/2 cup unsalted butter--room temp

4 oz mascarpone cheese--room temp

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs--room temp

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp lemon zest

1/4 cup + 1 Tbs lemon juice

2 1/4 cups flour--sifted

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup toasted pecans

cream butter and mascarpone until very light. gradually add sugar and beat thoroughly, about 2-3 minutes.  add eggs one at a time, scraping down sides in between additions.  beat for an additional 2-3 minutes after you add the last egg.  beat in vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt, until fully incorporated. the batter may look curdled, which is okay.  blend in the sifted dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) and mix until silky.  fold in pecans.  bake in a greased pan (10 cup capacity) at 325 for about 60 minutes.  if you separate the batter into smaller pans, bake for considerably less time.

once cool frost with icing made from powdered sugar mixed with lemon juice.  add enough lemon juice to make a drippy icing with good lemon flavor.

ten layer lemon meringue cake

a very dear friend

turned 80 this year

she deserved

a cake 

as fabulous as she is

i love this cake

because

it has great flavor

tart, tart citrus

creamy lemon icing,

thin moist cake layers

and 

sticky sweet meringue

Lemon Meringue Cake
(printable recipe)

cake

(from nick malgieri)

3 cups all purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

18 Tbs unsalted butter--softened

2 1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbs vanilla extract

9 large egg whites

1 1/8 cup milk

preheat oven to 350.  whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.  in a mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until very soft and light. beat in vanilla.  whisk together the egg whites and milk until just combined.  reduce the mixer speed to low and alternately beat in the flour and milk in 4 batches, starting and ending with the flour.  in order to not over mix, do not fully incorporate each addition before adding the next one. scrape down the sides in between each addition.

to bake

i bake this off in thin layers, making it easier to stack when putting the cake together. you can make 2 layers and slice into layers if you prefer...but i feel that the thinner layers, while taking longer to bake, are easier and fuss free, in the long run.  this will make 6-7 thin cake layers.  each layer should be less than 1/2" thick --i use about 3/4 cup batter or each layer.  spray 9" cake tins with pan spray and place a circle of parchment in the bottom.  if you only have 2 pans, you will have to wash in between bakings.  bake each layer about 10 minutes, but carefully watch, as the layers are so thin, they will brown easily. once you pull the pan from the oven, wait just a few minutes, then turn it out onto parchment, wash and dry the tin, then start the process again. let the layers cool.

lemon curd

grated lemon zest of 1 lemon

3/4 cup lemon juice

11/4 cup sugar

12 Tbs unsalted butter--cut into small pieces

12 large egg yolks

beat the yolks, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest together in a bowl.  place bowl over bain marie and cook, stirring continually until the liquid thickens to a nappe (coats the back of a spoon and retains shape when you swipe your finger down the middle). do not let it boil, as the eggs will scramble.  remove from heat and pour through a sieve into a clean bowl.  toss in the butter while the curd is still hot.  stir until the butter is full incorporated.  cover with a bit of plastic wrap placed directly on the top of the curd. 

italian buttercream icing

(if you have a favorite icing, use it and add the matcha and lemon curd)

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup water

4 egg whites--room temperature

2 cups unsalted butter--room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp green tea matcha powder (optional--i don't recommend if you are a purist)

about 1/2 cup lemon curd (you will have to taste and decide how lemony you want the buttercream)

place egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment

combine 3/4 cup of granulated sugar with water in a heavy saucepan.  bring to a boil over medium heat and continue cooking until it reaches 235 (just before soft ball)

meanwhile, while the sugar is boiling, begin whisking the egg whites.  once frothy, "rain" in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar.  whip to soft peak.

when syrup reaches 235, remove from heat (it will continue to get hotter and reach the desired 240f). with the mixer on medium speed, begin immediately pouring the hot syrup into the egg whites.  be careful not to hit the whisk directly.  once all the syrup is incorporated, kick the speed up to high and whisk until it cools to room temperature.

change the attachment from whisk to paddle, and begin adding butter, a few bits at a time.  once all incorporated and it looks like buttercream, mix in the vanilla and matcha green tea powder.

meringue

3 large egg whites at room temperature

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

Make sure the beater and bowl are extremely clean and free of any oil or fats.  Beat whites on low until foamy. Add salt and then kick up the speed to medium. Add cream of tartar.  Begin to slowly add the sugar "raining" it into the egg whites.  Continue to beat until soft peaks form, then add vanilla.  Beat to stiff and firm peaks.

If you over-beat, you will see moisture starting to "weep" from the whites.  If this happens, start over!

phew!

now that you have all the elements, you can start building your cake.

place 1 cake layer on a round cake board.  pipe the buttercream around the edge of the cake making a bit of a dam. fill with lemon curd.  this curd is quite tart, so you don't want to over-do it.  also, your filling should not be any thicker than your cake layers. place another cake layer on top of the lemon curd.  pipe a layer of buttercream for this filling layer. top with cake. continue as such, alternating curd and buttercream until you run out of cake layers. refrigerate until cold and firm. you can cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a day.  when ready to finish, cover in meringue and hit with a torch to brown the edges.  i do not recommend using the oven, as the buttercream will melt and it will become a big mess.


i am linking up to 
tuesday night supper club
and
hearth and soul blog hop
and
a little birdie told me

clementine margarita marmalade

the other day

i was at a very large crafts store

and it was packed

lines around the store to check out

stuff was strewn everywhere

no one seemed happy

it wasn't black friday

or

trickle down tuesday

it was 5 in the afternoon

on a regular day

 i thought to myself

this is why i don't shop

at christmas-time

long lines

no parking

people on edge

thankfully

i have friends and family

who appreciate

gifts from my kitchen

each year 

i put together hampers 

full of  homemade goodies

this margarita marmalade was inspired by

a basket of clementines 

and bottle of tequila

nestled side by side

among the clutter 

of thankgiving past

it would be lovely on a warm crumpet

or freshly baked scone

clementine margarita marmalade
(printable recipe)

4 limes

12 clementines

2/3 cup tequila

5-6 cups sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 cup contreau

1 pouch sure-jell pectin

thinly clementines with skin on and place in bowl. supreme the limes over the same bowl and discard the pith and skin.  add sugar and tequila. let sit 8 hours or overnight.  pour into heavy saucepan and add the salt and contreau.  bring to a boil and let boil for 10 minutes.  add the pectin and boil for 1 full minute.  place in sterilized jars and put through canning process for 10 minutes. if you have never canned before--please do your research on how to can jams and jellies * the amount of sugar should be adjusted according to how sweet your fruit is. the marmalade is meant to be slightly bitter..but you need the sugar to assist in setting it up.  

you may notice in my photo that i thinly sliced the limes and threw them in rather than supreming them.  it wasn't a great idea. while it looks pretty, the limes really don't soften up like the clementines and they are more like candy than confit (not a good thing).  

lemon fluff

do you know who ron white is?

on this last road trip of ours, 

hubster and i

must have listened to at least

50 hours of

blue collar radio

and ron white

was one of the few comedians

who really got me giggling

every time

and he was full of

good advice

this here

being some of it

I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade... And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party

funny

right? 

so i was going to present a vodka, tonic with lemon

as my recipe today

and then thought

that might not be family friendly

so 

i went with dessert instead

this tastes like

lemon meringue pie

without the crust

and it is so light

and airy

and almost feels

calorie free

but it isn't

it just feels that way

but it is light

and would go nicely

with a vodka-tonic chaser

on a warm evening

with the windows wide

lemon fluff
(printable recipe)

zest of 3 lemons

1/2 cup + 4 Tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 cups sugar--divided

1/2 tsp kosher salt

8 large eggs--separated

8 Tbs  cold unsalted butter-cut into pieces

separate the whites from the yolks of the eggs, placing the yolks in the top of a double boiler and the whites in a clean bowl.  to the yolks add the finely grated zest of 3 lemons, 1 cup sugar, salt, and lemon juice.  whisk together and cook over double boiler until the mixture becomes the consistency of a curd or warm custard.  do not let it boil or simmer.  remove from heat and whisk in the butter. set aside.  meanwhile, beat the whites until they begin to get foamy.  "rain" in the remaining, 1/2 cup sugar and beat until the whites are at a firm but not stiff peak.  When the lemon curd is cool to the touch, but not ice cold, gently fold into the egg whites.  place in individual serving vessels or 1 large bowl.  serve with whipped cream, candied lemon peel, or toasted coconut...or all three!

i am participating in colors of the rainbow

for alphabe-thursday 

summer school

over at jenny matlock

this week

we honor the color YELLOW