Lemon

Limoncello Trifle – Andy style of course

Trifle, this is a dessert I was brought up with, very traditional in England and my mother used to make it for a lot of her grown up events, by grown up events, I mean, it has alcohol so as kids we were only allowed a “taste” ❤ .

A good friend Lucy Henderson sent me a message yesterday asking me for my mother’s recipe, which of course I forwarded to her but was then left with this mmmmm feeling (you foodies know what I mean), so I decided to make it for dessert for tonight’s dinner.

Well as life has it, I got to the supermarket and of course, could not find lady’s fingers which are the main ingredient for this dessert (some people use pound cake or sponge cake but I like it better with lady’s fingers). Anyway, for a second there talking with my daughter, I thought I might have to come up with plan B (no plan B in my head at the time of course 🙂 ! )

Then I saw these new Lemon Nilla Wafer cookies and it suddenly occurred to me that why not go out of the box and make a Limoncello Trifle instead! We are huge lemon lovers in our house so that would work out perfectly!

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So below is a list of the regular ingredients and what I replaced them with:

  • Lady’s Fingers – used Lemon Nilla Wafers
  • Rum and coffee – used Pink Limoncello
  • Vanilla Pudding – used Lemon Pudding
  • Strawberry Jam – used Raspberry jam – decided that Lemon and Raspberry would be the perfect combination!
  • Whipping cream – oh look at that, this one is still the same! 🙂

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Lemon Caper Capellini Salad Obsession!

Too all my my Lemon Caper Capellini Salad Obsession followers and lovers, check out my first cook book “For The Love of Lemons“, available on Amazon 🙂

Just got back from yet another fantastic trip to the wonderful state of Arizona!

Whilst staying with my BFF, she introduced me to this delightful, refreshing Lemon Caper Capellini salad from her local supermarket “Safeway‘” which I immediately became obsessed about! So now that I am back in swampy Florida, I decided it was time to replicate such delicacy!

Here is how I did it:

  • 1lb angel hair pasta
  • juice and zest of 2 large lemons
  • 1/2 cup of olive oil
  • 3 tbsp of rinsed and chopped capers
  • 5 garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes
  • as many chopped tomatoes as you want

Warm up the oil and cook the garlic till nicely blonde (do not over cook). Let it cool.

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In the meantime cook the angel hair (al dente, do not overcook!) and reserve some of the pasta water.

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In a large salad bowl, add the lemon juice, lemon zest, oil and garlic, chopped capers and chopped parsley,parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and a handful of quartered cherry tomatoes.

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Add the pasta and toss till it’s nicely coated (add some pasta water if you need to loosen up the pasta a bit), add more chopped tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste!

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I of course had to go a bit more lemony so I drizzled some wonderful Meyer Lemon Sedona Vinegar.

Now every bite I take of this refreshing salad, not only transports me to the magical state of Arizona, but it also reminds me of my good friend Mo <3!

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To make this a complete meal, add some shrimp or serve with some poached salmon or protein of choice 🙂

Rosemary, Rosemary, Rosemary…

Walked by my huge fragrant Rosemary bush today and decided, whatever I make today will have to have lots of Rosemary!

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I had 3 nice fat chicken breasts in the fridge so decided that was it, tonight we are having Garlic Rosemary & Lemon Chicken!

Out came the following ingredients:

  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 cup of rosemary
  • 1 lemon zest and juice
  • salt and pepper
  • chicken stock
  • 2 1/2 lbs of chicken breasts

I sliced the chicken breast in big thick slices, the thicker you cut them, the juicier they stay :-). Placed my chicken in a pan.

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After peeling my garlic cloves, I used my handy dandy garlic press and added that to the chicken, together with a 1/4 cup of rosemary and rind of a lemon.

Drizzled it with some aromatic rosemary olive oil and tossed it nicely before putting it into a 450 deg F oven for about 20 minutes.

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After 20 minutes, I pulled it out, gave it a nice toss, added 1/2 cup of chicken stock and juice of 1 lemon and put it back in the oven. Turned oven off and let it rest in there for another 5 minutes.

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While the chicken was resting, I placed my newly discovered bag of petite sweet potatoes by Green Giant in the microwave for 8 minutes and presto! Dinner is ready for the lovely hubby and I ❤

Best part of it is that for once, I have leftovers to take to work for lunch tomorrow, now there we have it, 2 meals for the price of 1 🙂

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PS: Next time I make this I am going to quickly sear the chicken to give it a little more color as it looked a bit anemic for my taste!

Out with the Old and in with the New!

What do you get when you mix the below ingredients?

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  • Old bread
  • Lemon Rind
  • Grated Lemongrass
  • Lemon Meyer Olive Oil
  • Pepper

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You get the most amazing Lemon flavoured Crostini with a lovely refreshing taste and that wonderful balancing black pepper! The lemon smell coming out of the oven was amazing!

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Not such a bad treatment for some good old bread, right?

For those of you who read my blog about the amazing Sedona Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegars, this was a great use of my Meyer Lemon Olive Oil!

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PS: Sticking with the lemon theme, I think a glass of Limoncello is in order :-).

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Its just another Manic Monday…….and its time for dinner :-)

Yes I know, Monday’s are horrible, you get up after the weekend is over needing more rest than you did when Friday came around…..

But the fact is that life still goes on, we get up in the morning, get ready for work, make breakfast, do packed lunches, take kids to school, drive to work in icky traffic, work all day and then back to the kids and time to cook dinner!

As tired as I am, I still find a lot of joy and relaxation whilst making dinner. Its my alone time in the kitchen and the results of what comes out makes everyone happy! What is there not to like about that right?

Tonight I made one of my hubby’s favorite proteins paired with one of my favorite veggies.

Poached salmon with herbs, butter and garlic served on a bed of mashed cauliflower.

FOR THE SALMON…

  • Get a pan and fill half way with water and place in oven AT 385 DEG F
  • Place your salmon on some aluminum foil, enough foil to make it into a tight package.
  • Season salmon to taste, I seasoned it with salt, pepper, freshly crushed garlic, butter, lemon juice and thyme
  • Seal package tightly and place in pan with water
  • Cook for 20 minutes, then open package to vent and cook for an extra 10 minutes.

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FOR THE CAULIFLOWER…

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  • Boil cauliflower in water seasoned with salt and garlic powder
  • Once its soft, drain water and place in food processor
  • Add a tsp of butter, handful of cilantro or parsley, clove of garlic, salt and pepper and  blend away till nicely mushed!

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And voila, in 30 minutes you have a delicious nutritional meal, make the family happy and have plenty of time to tackle the evening chores!!!!!

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Lemon Curd = Lemon Tart

There is nothing more refreshing than a lemon dessert, that sweet tartness is totally heavenly!

I grew up with my mother making Lemon Curd to put into a Tart, on top of a lovely Meringue Ring, adding whipped cream and making Lemon Cream, simply spread on a slice of fresh bread and goodness knows what else!

So, thinking of my mum as I made this dish and sending her lots of hugs and kisses down in Uruguay!

For the tart

  • 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • Pinch salt

Mix the butter and sugar together until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. Sift and add the flour and salt to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto your counter top dusted with flour and roll it out. Press the dough into a 10-inch-round tart pan and prick all over with a fork. Then chill for a few minutes while the oven warms up.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

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Bake for 40 minutes or until lightly browned. If edges are getting too gold, cover tart with foil. Take out of oven and cool down before filling.

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For the Lemon Curd

  • 4 lemons
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter
  • 4 eggs
  • Pinch of salt

Grate the zest of the 4 lemons. Squeeze the lemons to make 1/2 cup of juice and set aside. Put the zest in a food processor with the sugar and process until the zest is very finely minced. In the bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugar and lemon zest. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.

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Pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring all the time, until thickened, about 10 minutes or back of the spoon is coated and shiny.

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Fill the tart with the lemon curd and allow to set at room temperature.

Refrigerate after its set and serve with a little bit of whipped cream!

Romantic home cooked Lemon Shrimp Scampi dinner with the hubby……..

Its that time again when my honey goes galivanting through the world, so decided to make a nice home cooked dinner before he is subjected to dry-dock food!

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Prepared a lovely Lemon Shrimp Scampi which we had with some White Wine and Garlic Bread.

For the Marinade

6 garlic cloves grated
2 lemons, zested and juiced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper

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1 – 12oz bag of  shrimp (21 to 25), I used frozen ones
3/4 pound thin linguini
2 tablespoons butter
1 small bunch cilantro, leaves chopped

Mix the garlic, zest and juice of 1 lemon, olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, and the shrimp. Leave to marinate.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and add a generous amount of salt. Add the linguini and cook until just tender, 2 minutes less than instructed on the package. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

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Heat a skillet over high heat. Remove the shrimp from the marinade, reserve the marinade, and add the shrimp to the skillet. Cook until they turn pink and start to caramelize, about 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan to a plate and add the reserved marinade. Let cook a few minutes then add a 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Continue to cook until sauce reduces by half. Add the zest and juice of the remaining lemon, the butter and the parsley and stir to combine. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste. Add in the shrimp and pasta and toss to combine with the sauce.

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