BSI: LEMONS Roundup & Winner

I should have foreseen this, but somehow I didn't.  My list of bookmarks with the label 'lemon' is now bursting at the seems!  Although I can't say that's a bad thing...because I crave citrus quite often and I'm always looking for a new way to prepare it!  We have so many wonderful LEMONY foods this week that run the gamut from soups to side dishes to main courses with different meats and fish to cooling beverages to breakfast and snack foods all the way through to dessert!  I'm feeling particularly sunny and happy after visiting everybody and now I'm looking forward even more (if that's possible) to warm air and sunshine.

So, without any further ado...prepare to pucker and swoon over....

Starting things off this week is Amanda from Amanda's Cookin' with her stunning Lemon Olive Oil Rosemary Cake.

Vernonica from Recipe Rhapsody brought some sunny, "firm on the outside, chewy on the outside" Easy Lemon Cookies.

Chaya from Chaya's Comfy Cook Blog shares some creamy, tangy Lemon Pasta with Norwegian Salmon.

Music City Foodie made me nostalgic with some beautiful, bright Old Fashioned Mini Lemon Poundcakes.

Swathi from Zesty South Indian Kitchen made a Lemony Minty Poppy Cake that sounds different...and divine!

 

In need of an antidote for a rainy weekend, Monika of Illo Pro (check out her amazing illustrations!) produced some lemon sun with a Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake.

 illustration by Monika Roe of Illo Pro. Wow!

Kankana of Sunshine & Smile made a Lemon Mint Cake with Almonds to share with a friend who is visiting from across the country.  Wish it was me!

Roz from La Bella Vita made an absolutely delightful Lemon Layer Cake with Limoncello Cream Frosting.  How heavenly!

Renee from My Kitchen Adventures whipped up a beautiful batch of Lemon Ginger Cupcakes in which lemon was the star and ginger was the awesome understudy.

Lemon and Mint are "spiced up" with a few peppercorns to form this amazingly refreshing looking Spicy Mint Lemonade from My Creative Flavors.  Seriously, I think my thirst is quenched from here.

Biz from My Bizzy Kitchen (BSI creator) revisited a summer post in which she uses fresh thyme, lemon juice, and lemon zest in her Lemon Thyme Sauce that she serves with a beautiful, fat, grilled pork chop.

 

I haven't had crab in far too long, and I'm totally craving it now after seeing Sonali's Crab in Mustard and Lemon Juice Gravy over at Only Fish Recipes.

Shobha at Food Mazaa shares a beautifully spiced dish of Lemon Rice with BSI this week that I would gladly eat as a side dish or as my entire meal.

I would love to start the day off with one of these tempting Eggless Lemon Poppyseed Muffins baked by Priya from Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes.

I am dreaming of one of these beautiful glasses of Lemon and Cardamom Mousse from Ana at Anasbageri.  The combination sounds so luscious.

I know that I would have a hard time resisting these Greek-inspired Garlic Lemon Potatoes brought today by The V Kitchen.  Yum!

As a complete and total soup addict, I am thrilled to see this delicious bowl of Lemon and Coriander Soup from nicks n jits kitchen.

Sonali from Only Fish Recipes is back with some tempting kingfish flavored with lots of lemon and coriander in her Grilled Fish with Lemon and Coriander.

Inspired by the bright, sunny skies outside her windows, Karen from Karen Cooks made a batch of soft, cake-like Lemon Ricotta Cookies.

Debbi from Debbi Does Dinner...healthy and low calorie made a dish that I think sounds fantastic and I want it to grace my table very soon, Lemon Quinoa with Broccoli.

Our creator Biz from My Bizzy Kitchen is back with what I consider a fantastic way to start any day...with Mock Buttermilk Pancakes.  MmmmHmmm.

And now we will end where the week began...with these Lemon Bars that I made to take to a program at school...and then wound up making again almost immediately for home. So fantastic!

Every single dish, side, soup, and dessert that was sent in this week in gloriously lemony in its own rite, but the thing that I have not been able to get out of my head since the moment I laid eyes on it was the Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil Cake from Amanda! But honestly, everything looked so wonderful, I wish I could have a big, lemon-filled buffet to try everything.  Congratulations Amanda, please shoot me an email with your mailing address so I can get a little prize mailed out to you.  Thanks to everybody who joined in BSI: Lemons this week!

And another big thanks to Biz from My Bizzy Kitchen for having me as a host this week.  Please head over to visit my friend Tina at Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor to find out the next Blogger Secret Ingredient!

Lemon Bars

Once upon a time, lemon desserts hated me.  I could never get them to turn out right...which was infinitely frustrating since I adore the tartness of lemon combined with a little sweet somethin'.  After some "fails" and disappointments and "eeehhh, it's ah-ight's", I was ready to try again.  And just to prove that I enjoy making things hard on myself, I decided to bake them to share with others.  So, if I failed miserably I would do it in a public arena.  Nothing like a little pressure to make things go smoothly.  

As it turned out, I didn't fail.  In fact, I triumphed colossally.  And off to school my triumph went.  For moms and kids to enjoy.  I made sure I snatch one...the last one I might add.  I'm odd like that.  I'd rather eat something that I baked and I know I will enjoy than grab some random food made by some random person.  What can I say?  These lemon bars were so great that I made another batch for home less than 48 hours after this giveaway batch.  I will also be bringing them to the next family get together (at mama's request...although I planned on it, anyway).  They're adapted from an Ina recipe in that I made using one and a half times the (awesome, shortbready) crust so that the base would be a bit thicker.  Also, instead of making a lip (which I did for the first batch), I prefer the crust and filling to be even (which I tested on the second batch).  Equal cookie and lemony custard in each and every bite.

And okay, I suppose I was being a bit melodramatic about the public humiliation.  I totally gave myself enough time to make a backup...should I have failed.

Bacon Fudge w/ Bacon-Caramel Shards

I refuse to apologize for my love of bacon.  It's something I can't help.  Meaty, salty, smoky strips of goodness.  Me likey.  And you know those chocolate bars studded with bacon?  Well, I've never tried one.  Always meant to, just never ran across one...or took the time to order one.  But I know I'd like it...the combination.  I mean, salty marries sweet?  It's a natural.  So, as soon as Beth Anne rolled out her Bacon Games, I figured it was time for me to make that union at home.  Plus, 'tis the season for fudge...or it will be in the blink of an eye...which meant it was time to start experimenting!  This is one of those quick-fudge methods, which I learned from THE kitchen goddess herself, Nigella Lawson.  But the candied bacon nestled inside...I put that there.  You're welcome.

Bacon Fudge w/ Bacon Caramel Shards
from the kitchen of girlichef
yield: 64 bite sized or 36 two-bite sized pieces

 for the candied bacon:
½ lb. bacon
brown sugar, for dredging

for the fudge:
12 oz. bittersweet or dark chocolate, chips or chopped
14 oz. can sweetened, condensed milk
2 Tbs. butter

Begin by making the candied bacon.  Preheat oven to 400° F.  Dredge both sides of the bacon in brown sugar and lay on a parchment lined sheet tray.

Bake for ~15-20 minutes, or until the bacon is just done and the brown sugar has just set and caramelized.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  I also had some beautiful bacon-flavored caramel on left on my sheet of parchment and thought it would be an awesome addition to the fudge!

Place the chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, and butter in a medium pan over medium-low heat.  Stir everything around until the chocolate has melted and everything is melded together in a gorgeous, glossy mass. Remove from heat. Crumble the caramelized bacon and bacon caramel shards into the mixture, reserving a couple of pieces of each for the top, and gently fold them in.  Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper (for easy lifting) and pour the fudge mixture in, scooting it out to the sides if necessary.  Crumble the reserved couple of pieces of bacon & caramel over the top and gently press down.

Refrigerate for a couple of hours, or until set.  Life the fudge out of the pan using the parchment paper.  Cut into squares, ~1" (eight by eight) for perfect one-bite morsels!  Or, if you prefer, go 6 by 6 and get 36 double-bite-sized hunks.  Store in the fridge...or even in the freezer for longer-term storage...can be eaten directly from freezer.

I LOVED the combination of sweet and salty...just as I knew I would.  A marriage made in heaven, indeed.  This is my entry into the very first Bacon Games challenge!  I am also sending this over to Jenn at Cooking Aweigh the Pounds who is hosting BSI (Blogger Secret Ingredient) this week...secret ingredient...Bacon!

Cherry Almond Bars

I wait in nervous anticipation for cherry season to arrive every year.  Sweet, deep, red cherries that are like little bursts of joy on my tongue.  Bright red, tart cherries that perfume the pies and cobblers of mid-summer.  The red,  yellow and orange tie-dyed cherries that pop up in the tree outside of my mom's place, causing my sister and I to balance precariously on  each others backs or knees...limbs stretched...bodies teetering...are always the first indication that cherry season is upon us!  There's nothing like a good cherry pit spitting contest, either.  Watermelon seeds...pshaw...cherry pits can sail much farther!  Although I usually reserve sour cherries for baking and just revel in the glory of the sweet ones as-is...I decided to try a dessert using a sweet variety this time...

Cherry Almond Bars

slightly adapted from Rustic Fruit Desserts by Cory Schreiber & Julie Richardson

serves 12

softened butter for greasing the pan

Fruit Filling

3 c. (18 oz) cherries, pitted & halved

1/2 c. (3 1/2 oz) granulated sugar

1 Tbs. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. fine sea salt

zest & juice of 1 lemon  seriously, I highly recommend just using half a lemon...this much seemed to overpower the cherry flavor!!

Crust and Topping

1 1/4 c. unbleached AP flour

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. slivered almonds

1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

6 oz. unsalted butter, cold & cubed

1 egg

1 tsp. pure almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter an 8"-square pan. 

For the filling, combine all filling ingredients in a saucepan over med-high heat.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil for 1 minute to thicken. 

For crust, combine flours, brown sugar, almonds, and salt in the bowl of a food processor.  Add butter and process until crumbly.  Add the egg and almond extract and pulse until mixture just comes together.  Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the pan.  Pour in cherry filling.  Press clumps of the remaining crumb mixture over the cherry filling. 

Bake in middle of oven for 30-35 minutes, or until light golden brown and bubbling around the edge.  Cool for 1 hour before cutting into bars.  Store in an airtight container at room temp for up to 4 days.

Although I'm a cherry freak, I was totally ga-ga over the "crust" portion of this dessert cuz I'm also an almond freak!?.  It was like a buttery-addicting shortbread-sandy!!!  So. Darn. Good.  I bet it'd be good using a blueberry/orange combo, too.

This post is linked to:

BSI (Blogger Secret Ingredient): Flour hosted by Veronica at Recipe Rhapsody this week
The Cherry event was started by Priya...

*Don't forget to enter my giveaway for your chance to win a $75. gift certificate to NOVICA!

Rustic Plum, Ginger and Almond Tart for BSI

When I saw these 3 types of beautiful plums at the market this week, I secretly sent a little wish to the foodie-fairies for this week's Blogger Secret Ingredient to be PLUMS...and it came true!!! This weeks BSI host is LK from Healthy Delicious (did you read my mind LK?). I didn't write down the names because I just knew I'd remember them...guess what? I don't remember them. Typical! They were something like...Red Star, Purple Moon, Yellow Rain...I don't know...they were dreamy, though! A quick side note...have you ever seen or taken a photo of food that you just know should be featured somewhere? Showcased? Seen? Well, Laura from Hey What's for Dinner Mom? has a new event over at her place for just this reason! It's called Best Foodie Foto...simple as that. Send her a picture (or 2 or 3) from your posts for the week...it's a weekly roundup...with a link to the post it was in and she will post a roundup. Get your readers to vote or leave it all to chance and you could win a prize. Cool, right? Right! So, just click on the name of the event above to find out the more detailed rules and start photographing your food...or keep photographing your food! You may be too late to enter this week...hmmmm, perhaps I subconsciously waited to tell you about it until last minute so that I would have a better chance this week... so if you just happen to be visiting her site sometime between mid-Sunday & mid-Monday and you didn't get a chance to enter a photo... I'll have a few on there (hint, hint)... but seriously, vote for somebody because don't we all like to win prizes? Back to Blogger Secret Ingredient: Plums! I knew I wanted to make a dessert, so I went for a "rustic" tart. I was feeling a bit lazy. I did not want to make a crust (I know, it's not hard and usually I like making it from scratch, but...) so I decided to use a sheet of puff pastry that I had in the freezer instead. Rustic Plum, Ginger & Almond Tart by girlichef 1 sheet Puff Pastry flour for rolling 8 plums, any variety 1/2" pc. of ginger, minced zest of 1 orange 1 Tbs. cornstarch freshly grated nutmeg- to your taste 1/2 - 3/4 c. raw sugar (depends on the tartness of your plums) + more for sprinkling ~1/3 c. almond paste 1 Tbs. chilled butter, cut into small pcs. for egg wash: 1 egg splash of cream or milk Preheat oven to 400 degrees f. Cut plums into 1/8's. Add ginger, oj zest, nutmeg, cornstarch and sugar. Toss well to combine. Let sit ~15-20 minutes. Sprinkle your work surface with some flour and roll out your puff pastry dough to ~14". It doesn't have to be circular...I'm going for rustic. But it can be if you wish. Transfer to baking stone (or inverted cookie sheet). Roll out almond paste until thin and ~12". Place in center of rolled dough. Mound your plum filling on top of the rolled almond paste. Fold edges roughly over the topping, leaving the center exposed. Dot fruit with butter. Combine egg wash ingredients and brush over crust. Sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake for ~35 minutes or until crust is golden and fruit filling is bubbly. You probably want to line the bottom of the oven with foil...some of my filling seeped through...or alternately, bake it in a pie plate if you wish. Serve alone or with ice cream! Don't forget to head over to Healthy Delicious to what other delicious PLUM recipes everybody came up with! And send your "best food fotos" over to Hey What's for Dinner Mom? while you're at it!