Meyer Lemon Loves

Happy Easter!

Lemon always seems to be such a spring flavor and color, doesn't it? I thought these bars would be a perfect Easter post. Lemon bar recipes abound but I normally stick with two basics. One is the triple layered version my kids adore that's been around for ages...it has coconut and nuts in it and I remember making it the first cooking class I ever took (a gazillion years ago). Frankly, I'm astounded I've never posted it, but then it's a pretty common recipe. We made an unusual chocolate bar in that class as well, which was one of my first blog posts. When he comes to visit, one of my sons insists the freezer contain bags of each...the coconut/nut bars with lemon glaze and the chocolate bars.

Anyway...back to my second lemon bar of choice, which is the recipe for this post. I'm quite certain it came from the Boston Junior League Cookbook, long missing from my shelf. They were called Lemon Loves and now that I make them with some Meyer lemons, I altered the name just a bit. Meyer lemons are sweeter and more floral than regular lemons so I used half Meyer lemon juice and half regular so that perky, tart flavor is still there. Then I took a closeup of the bar because I wanted you to see this is not your usual lemon bar. It's more like a lemon pie bar. If you're a lemon addict like my sister, you're gonna love these.

Meyer Lemon Loves

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
4 Tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 Tablespoons lemon juice (half Meyer lemon, half regular)
1 lemon, rind only (regular lemon)
pinch salt

Method:
Blend flour, butter and powdered sugar. Press into a well greased and floured 9 by 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Watch closely. Beat eggs until frothy. Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth. Pour onto the crust and bake 20 to 25 minutes more at 350. Dust with powdered sugar, cut into squares (if you don't do it before refrigerating, they're difficult to cut; I'd forgotten, hence the irregularity of my squares below) and then refrigerate.

This charming video was emailed to me by my friend Janie...let's hope spring arrives soon for you in the north.

Asian Fried Rice

During our Air Force years in the 50's, we became friends with a Chinese couple. She taught me lots of quick, easy tricks to cooking Chinese....and this fried rice was one of the recipes. Although I don't know if you can call it a recipe exactly, it's more of a guide. Use what's in your fridge. If you have leftover chicken or shrimp, use it. Ditto with vegetables. I remember she often started with chopped bacon and used the bacon grease to scramble her eggs; she also used onion instead of shallot.....I just prefer the milder taste of shallot. Your choice. Edamame was not available back then (I doubt I even knew what it was), that's been a more recent addition; I always have some in my freezer. This is one of those quick meals that I loved when I was a busy mother, a refrigerator with lots of leftovers and an added bonus: my family was crazy about it.

Asian Fried Rice

Ingredients:

3 cups leftover cooked brown rice (or any rice you have left over)

2 or 3 eggs

1 tablespoon oil for cooking

1 large shallot, chopped

2 cloves garlic, diced  

6 scallions, chopped (reserve some of the greens for the top) 

1/2 cup shredded carrots 

1/2 cup water chestnuts, sliced 

1 cup ready-to-eat edamame 

2 tablespoons soy sauce

salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Method:

Beat the eggs and scramble them (I used Pam in the pan). If you have a wok, that's perfect, but I do it in a largish frying pan. Remove the cooked eggs from the pan and put aside.

Reheat the pan until hot, add the oil, then the shallots, scallion whites, carrots and garlic. Cook, stirring, for about a minute until soft. Add brown rice and stir for several minutes to heat through. Add your cooked eggs, soy sauce, water chestnuts, scallion greens and edamame, and fry together for a few minutes. Garnish with some scallion greens.  

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Much as I think word verification is annoying AND time consuming for my followers, I've been getting way too much spam (and some of it not very nice). So starting with this post, I'm adding word verification. Sorry everyone!

Update: Susan's comment above suggested turning off the anonymous comments might be enough, so I'll try that first. (Can't read those numbers and letters anyway half the time!)

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

I'm thrilled to announce hothouse rhubarb appeared in Fresh Market last week! You know me and rhubarb.  So I came home with a couple pounds and proceeded to make the first entry in my annual spring rhubarb love-in. More recipes on the way, of course.
As a start, I found a fantastic upside down cake recipe using rhubarb. The cake nearly floats away it's so light and it has a slight lemon flavor. Ever so slight. It takes a few steps, but it's simple enough to make and it's a cake to make you proud to serve to friends and family for dessert. It's elegant, bright, makes a beautiful presentation and the flavor is ambrosial. What more could you ask? Love, love love.

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake
From Andrew Scrivani for the  The New York Times

Ingredients:

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, more to grease pans 

1 1/2 pounds rhubarb, rinsed and sliced into 1/2-inch cubes (about 4 cups) 

2 teaspoons cornstarch 

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1/2 cup light brown sugar 

2 cups cake flour 

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 

Zest of 1 lemon, grated 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

4 large eggs 

1/3 cup sour cream 

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Method:
Preheat oven to 325.
Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Butter the paper and sides of the pan. Wrap two layers of foil under the pan, and place it on a buttered baking sheet. 

In a bowl, mix the rhubarb, cornstarch and 1/2 cup of the sugar.

In a small skillet, mix the brown sugar and 1/2 a stick of butter. Place over medium heat and stir until smooth and bubbling.

In another bowl, sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the 2 sticks of butter until light. Add the 1 cup of sugar and the lemon zest. Cream until light and fluffly, scraping down the sides often.

Add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Then beat in the sour cream and lemon juice. It will look curdled at this point.
On low, add the flour mixture 1/3 cup at a time until mixed in, scraping the sides of the bowl often.

Pour the brown sugar mixture into your prepared springform pan, the  add the rhubarb. Pour the batter over everything, smoothing it over.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool (with the foil turned down a bit) on a wire rack for only 15 minutes. Run a knife around the cake, place a plate on top and turn it upside down. This is when I removed the foil and released the springform sides carefully.