Whole Lemon Tart

If you like to look at pictures of food like I do, you should check out Tastespotting. It's a website that combs blogs for beautiful pictures of foods that usually include recipes. Or at least, I think that is what the website does, all I know is that I am subbed to it via a blog reader and everyday I am treated to a feast for the eyes. Earlier this month, I saw a gorgeous picture of a lemon tart that directed me to the food blog, Smitten Kitchen. Smitten Kitchen is a wonderful blog with gorgeous pictures and wonderful recipes and I look forward to making more recipes from it! I finally made this recipe this past weekend for a girls dinner party and not only was it super easy, it was delicious! The picture above is one that my friend, Karen, took of the tart right before we dug in!

Whole Lemon Tart

Source: Smitten Kitchen (this recipe is verbatim from SK)

1 partially baked 9-inch (24-cm) Great Unshrinkable Tart Shell, or your favorite sweet tart shell

1 average-sized lemon (about 4 1/2 ounces; 130 grams), rinsed and dried (a regular lemon will make a sharper, more bitter tart; a Meyer lemon, however, will really make this tart sing)

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar

1 large egg1 large egg yolk

1 1/2 tablespoons (12 grams) cornstarch

1 stick (4 ounces; 115 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven 325°F (165°C). Line a trimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and put the tart shell on the sheet.

Slice the lemon into thin wedges, remove the seeds, and toss the lemon and sugar into the container of a blender or food processor. Blend or process, scraping down the sides of the container as needed, until the lemon is thoroughly pureed and blended with the sugar, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn the mixture into a bowl and, using a whisk, gently stir in the whole egg and the yolk, followed by the cornstarch and melted butter. [I actually just use the food processor for this whole mixing part, beating the other ingredients in until smooth.] Pour the filling into the crust but be sure to leave 1/4 inch between the top of your filling and the top edge of your crust. Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake the tart for 20 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C) and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling, lightly browned and set. Don’t take the tart out until it is clearly set, however — you’re looking for a slight jiggliness with no suggestion of liquid underneath. Transfer the tart, still on the baking sheet, to a cooling rack and allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes before removing it from the pan. The tart is ready to be served when it reaches room temperature.

Old-Fashioned Pound Cake

I made this recipe for a recent monthly birthday celebration at work. They requested a pound cake so I scoured my cookbooks and this recipe was the one I ended up using. The outside of the cake baked up crisp and golden while the inside had a dense, velvety texture. I added a teaspoon of lemon extract but I think that the addition of lemon zest would have really made a really good lemon pound cake into a spectacular one.

Old-Fashioned Pound Cake
Recipe from Southern Living

2 cups butter, softened
2 3/4 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 3/4 cups flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears.

Combine flour, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl; add to butter mixture alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Mix at low speed after each addition just until mixture is blended. Stir in vanilla. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 to 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

Christmas 2007 ~ 12.25.07

My friend Monica (also of the Chicken Buffalo Dip) made an incredible chocolate cheese ball for a get together at my house last week. It was so awesome that I had to go out and find a recipe for it! This is something different sort of cheeseball because it's sweet. It's also very easy to assemble by wrapping it in plastic wrap and then let it sit in the fridge until it sets before rolling in the chocolate chips. I do have to laugh at looking at the picture because the first time James saw the plate above he asked, "What are these turd looking things?". Now I can't look at chocolate graham without snickering.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

1 (8oz) cream cheese
1/2 c real butter
1/4 t vanilla
3/4 c powdered sugar
2 T brown sugar
3/4 c mini choc chips
3/4 c finely chopped pecans (I used more chocolate chips)

Mix first 6 ingredients and form ball. Roll in pecans. Chill--serve with chocolate graham crackers--the "stick" kind are ideal.