Lemon Bars

Maybe if I keep posting recipes that remind me of spring, our good pal Punxutawney Phil will not see his shadow this Sunday, and spring will show it's pretty little face early this year?!

HA!

"yeah right, wishful thinking" says the gal from Wyo.

Well, I'm gunna continue to make these bright, cheerful, yummy spring recipes anyways.

Next on the list are these lemon bars, again made with my favorite, Meyer lemons. I now only have two left in the bag....trying to find/think up one more recipe to finish them off! 

The lemon filling is smooth and creamy with just the perfect amount of lemon flavor and tartness, and the crust for these bars is like a sugar cookie, which makes them even better.

Crust 
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, partially soft and diced into 3/4-inch cubes* 
1/4 to1/2 cup ice cold water
 
Filling 
2 cups granulated sugar
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh navel orange juice
4 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
3 1/2 Tbsp heavy cream
 
Directions 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, set aside. In a food processor (you can also just use a bowl and a whisk then a fork or your fingertips to cut in butter), pulse together flour, powdered sugar, brown sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Add diced butter and pulse until mixture begins to come together in crumbles Slowly pulse and drizzle in ice cold water until mixture becomes a dough. Press mixture into an even layer on bottom and 1/2-inch up the sides of the prepared baking dish (be sure to press together any cracks). Bake in preheated oven until lightly golden, about 20 minutes (zest lemons then juice lemons and oranges while crust is baking and begin to prepare filling because you want to pour filling over a hot crust).
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, flour and 1/8 tsp salt. Several minutes before crust is done baking, mix in lemon juice, orange juice and lemon zest, then add eggs, egg yolks and heavy cream and whisk vigorously to blend well. Pour mixture over hot crust, then reduce oven temperature to 325 and return to oven and bake until filling is just set, about 20 - 25 minutes. Allow to cool at room temperature 1 hour, then cover and chill in refrigerator about 1 1/2 - 2 hours or overnight (if resting overnight I'd recommend letting them rest at room temperature a bit before serving). Cut into squares and dust tops with powdered sugar just before serving. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator. 





 Since this recipe makes a whole 9x13 pan and there is no reason besides the fact that I'd eat them to have that many lemon bars in the house; I halved the recipe to make an 8x8.



Recipe source: Cooking Classy

Meyer Lemon Cake with Strawberry Frosting

I absolutely LOVE when Meyer Lemons are in season & you can find big bags of them at the grocery store! Meyer lemons are tart like lemons, but sweet like oranges. Their zest is thicker and sweeter and their juice is perfectly tart. I love lemon flavored desserts so when I saw these the other day at the store I knew I had to pick up a bag and start lemon-infused baking! Plus, what says "spring" more than lemon? Okay I know it's only January but a girl can dream, right?

The cake part of this recipe is super easy, its the frosting made with fresh strawberry puree that can get a little tricky, but it's worth it. I adapted this recipe by swapping out a few ingredients from the red velvet cake I made last weekend. 

Cake

1/2 cup margarine

1-1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup fresh squeezed Meyer lemon juice 

2 T Meyer lemon zest

*Make a paste with the above, then add:

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2-1/2 cups cake flour

1-2 drops yellow food coloring

*Mix until well combined

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two, 9" round cake  pans.

Bake cakes 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out nearly clean. Cool on wire racks.

 

Strawberry Puree

2 large strawberries

1/2 tsp water

*slice strawberries and puree w/ water in a blender, this should make approx. 1/4 cup*

 

Frosting

1/4 cup strawberry puree

3/4 cup milk

5 Tbsp flour

*whisk above ingredients together in a sauce pan over medium heat, stirring continuously until thick, let cool to room temperature*

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1-2 drops red food coloring

*cream together butter, sugar and food coloring, add cooled milk and flour mixture and beat on high until smooth and creamy*

 

Strawberry Topping (optional)

1/4 cup strawberry jam

1 Tbsp powdered sugar

1 tsp milk

*whisk together until smooth & drizzle over the top of frosted cake*

 

 I cut each 9" round in half horizontally to make a thinner, 4 layer cake. Also, in the middle of the 2nd and 3rd layers on top of the frosting, I added super thin slices of strawberries. These are just my little touches, you can choose to do the same..or not :-)

Due to the fact that I definitely do not need a full sized layer cake in my house for me to eat, I sent this to work with Scott. I did try a slice...in case it sucked I didn't wanna send it as I have a reputation to uphold ;-) however I ate it so quickly I forgot to take a picture, which I am sad/mad about because the yellow cake with the pretty pink frosting and the bits of real strawberries peeking out of the middle was SO pretty! 

 

Enjoy this yummy, moist cake with the perfect amount of tartness from the lemons and sweetness from the strawberries; it's sure to give you spring fever!

 

 

 

 

Red Velvet Cake {Special Edition: Denver Broncos}

First and foremost please allow me to say....

  

GO BRONCOS!!!

In honor of my favorite football team, the Denver Broncos making it to WINNING the AFC championship and heading to the Super Bowl, I turned one of my favorite cake recipes into a special orange and blue edition to celebrate!

 This is still technically red velvet cake. It tastes the exact same, the food coloring is the only thing that has been changed. It's still moist, delicious and has a perfect hint of cocoa and almond flavoring which all add up to make this my favorite.cake.ever.

Here is my DISCLAIMER:

I've never, in any sense of the word, claimed to be a cake decorator. I am definitely NOT skilled in the area of making cakes look pretty, only in the area of making them taste good. So I can totally promise you that this will look taste magnificent.

This recipe is an old family favorite, from the cook book called The Feed Bag by Ann Galles and Karla Dundas whom I am lucky enough to call family. It is simple and never fails. My husband's grandma even has "famous" red cake recipe that she has made for ages and my mother in law said that this one is just as good...almost as good ;-)

 

 RECIPE

1/2 cup margarine 

1-1/2 cups sugar

2 T cocoa powder

1/4 cup red food coloring (yikes)

*make a paste with the above ingredients and then add:

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 T vanilla extract

1 T almond extract 

1 T white vinegar

2-1/2 cups cake flour

*mix well 

Preheat oven to 350. Grease & flour two, 9" cake pans (I line the bottom of mine with parchment paper, it makes it sooo much easier to get the baked cakes out of the pans)

Bake cakes 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out nearly clean. Cool cakes on a wire rack while you make the frosting.

We've gotta have a chat about the frosting. Pretty much everybody thinks that red velvet cake should come with cream cheese frosting. I used to be one of those people; but let me just tell you that is incorrect. Yeah cream cheese frosting is delicious and I could eat it by the spoonful on dang near anything but the traditional icing on this cake shall not be tampered with, kapeesh?

 

For the frosting, heat 1 cup of milk in a sauce pan on low-medium heat. Whisk in 5 T of all purpose flour. Cook, stirring constantly until thick (you want this thicker than brownie batter). Let the mixture cool to room temp. Meanwhile, beat 1 cup of room temperature butter with 1 cup of granulated sugar until light and fluffy. 

*The key to this frosting is beating the living daylights out of it*

Add the cooled milk/flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and mix on high until light and fluffy. You do not want this frosting to be thin and grainy; if that's the case...turn it back on high and keep at it until it is smooth and creamy!

 

I cut each of my 9" cakes in half horizontally and make a thin, 4 layer cake. If this is out of your comfort zone, just skip it and make a 2-layer cake.

Obviously you can use your brain and figure out that I swapped the red food coloring for orange, and turned some of the frosting blue. I suppose you could do this with any combination of colors you want...just beware that the cocoa powder in the cake won't mix well with certain colors. 

Also, I suggest making this cake a day ahead of time, for some reason it just gets better over night :-)

 

 

 

Welcome Back! + {Parmesan Orzo}

HOL-Y Hiatus!

Guys, the holidays totally got the best of me. I am so so sorry.

I am sorry for myself because I seriously feel terrible for those of you that were following my blog; what a complete let down!

But I am most sorry because I cooked some absolutely delish stuff over the holidays. I know I will be making them again though; and if I get super duper, new-years-resolution-type ambitious I will post the recipes from the yummy stuff I made over the last couple months (you will just have to deal with no pictures).

Between flying to Nebraska for Thanksgiving...where I wasn't able to do any cooking of some of my favorite traditional dishes for my favorite cooking-holiday because we stayed in a hotel...and the extra short amount of time between Turkey Day and Christmas this year...AND hosting Xmas eve dinner at our house...okay you get the picture; I WAS BUSY! I could go on and on....but truthfully I apologize for my lack of posting over the last two months. I promise to post aaaalooott more this year (its 2014...weird?) and I thank you all who will continue to visit and follow my blog :-)

Lets start with a delicious recipe I found on one of my all time favvvv blogs Cooking Classy.

Parmesan Orzo

The best part of this recipe? Besides the fact that its incredibly easy but tastes like you got it from a gourmet bistro? IT'S VERSATILITY whoa- too big of a word for the first day back.

Honestly though, you can make this delicious Parmesan Orzo into anything your little heart desires. 

+PLUS+ I know we are all going to be on this 'new year new me' kick...which I totally appreciate, don't get me wrong I'm trying to fit into a bridesmaid dress in less than 6 months! I'm not sayin' this recipe is healthy because it's really not...BUT it's light on the tongue and tummy. You can eat it without feeling like you just ate a giant 5 lb. bowl of Fettuccine Alfredo from Olive Garden, but with the same kinda taste. YES!

The original recipe is called Parmesan and Spinach Orzo, because there is spinach in it- obviously. I had some spinach (which is why I originally decided to make this) but discovered real soon after I opened the bag that it was no longer okay to eat |YUCK|

You should add spinach! I've made it this way before and it gives the dish a beautiful color, a yummy crunch, but also a healthy-ish factor that you shouldn't pass up. You really can really add justttt about anything to this and it would be good. I've added chicken, it would be so good with shrimp. You can serve it warm right out of the pan as like a side to some fish at dinner, you could refrigerate it and add some halved grape tomatoes and it would be an awesome pasta salad side dish for a pot luck! 

I just had a small bowl for lunch with a left over warmed up bread stick, it was perfect!

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups uncooked whole wheat orzo
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 6 Tbsp finely chopped yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 cups packed chopped spinach
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 3 oz. finely shredded Parmesan (3/4 cup slightly packed), plus more for topping 

Directions

• Cook orzo according to directions listed on package. Meanwhile in a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add in garlic and flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. While whisking slowly pour in milk and cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.
• Mix in chopped spinach and parsley and allow to heat just until spinach begins to wilt, about 1 minute, then remove from heat and stir in Parmesan. Stir until cheese melts (returning to warm heat if needed to help melt cheese). Stir in drained orzo and serve warm garnished with additional Parmesan if desired.