Lemon Squares

We have an abundance of lemons on the lemon tree this year.  So tried this Lemon Squares recipe and decided it was a keeper.

Lemon Squares 

(from My Nepenthe, by Romney Steele) 

Crust

1 cup flour

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Lemon Filling

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup of flour

4 eggs

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Confectioners' sugar for dusting. 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.  Line a 9 inch square baking pan with overlapping foil. 

For the crust, combine the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in the bowl of a processor.  Add the butter in pieces and pulse until it resembles coarse meal.  Scrape into the pan and press evenly onto the bottom.  Bake until the crust is golden brown and thoroughly cooked. (20 minutes) Remove from the oven and cool 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300. 

For the filling, whisk the granulated sugar and flour in a medium bowl.  Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth.   Stir in the lemon zest and juice. 

Pour the filling onto the still-warm crust.  Bake for 25 minutes, until the filling sets and no longer jiggles in the middle. Cool completely in the pan and on a rack.  Gently life out the foil liner and trasfer to a board.  Cut into small squares using a sharp knife.  Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving. 

Prime Rib Roast of Beef

Roast Prime Rib of Beef

If you follow the simple steps, you will have a perfect Roast Prime Rib of Beef for that special dinner. This recipe will net you rare to medium rare Roast Prime Rib of Beef roast to serve. If you want a more well done roast simply calculate extra minutes in the initial cooking stage and use a meat thermometer.

Step 1

So, my roast is 4.25 lbs. x 6 minutes = 25.5 minutes. I will round down to 25 minutes .

• Ingredients

  1 4.5 pound prime rib roast of beef (2 bones)  Plan on 1-1.25lbs per person

There are no measurements here.  Just generous amounts of the following:

• 2oz Butter at room temperature
• Herbs de Provence
• Fresh cracked pepper
• Kosher salt – a generous amount

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (this MUST be an accurate temp)
2. Put roast, rib side down in roasting pan
3. Mix the pepper and herbs in the butter until well combined.
4. Spread the butter mixture over the entire surface of the prime rib. The more the better.
5. Put the kosher salt over the entire surface of the butter. Be very GENEROUS. Use more than you think you should here. Most of the salt will run off and very little will remain on the meat. I can’t stress the “generous” enough.
6. Put the roast in the 500 degree oven for 30 minutes as outlined in step 1. The time will be according to the size of your roast. After the 30 minutes, simply turn the oven off and walk away from it for 2 hours. Yup, just walk away. Do NOT open the door, fiddle with it or anything else. Pretend the roast does not exist.
7. After 2 hours, remove the roast and LET SIT at least 15 min to allow it to rest before carving!
8. Slice and serve. You can remove the rib bones for easier slicing and it also makes it easier to get 4 generous servings from the roast. 

Corn Chowder with Feta and Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

3 oz bacon diced
1 shallot diced
1 onion chopped
3 Yukon gold potatoes peeled and chopped
Fresh sweet corn cut from 4 ears (about 3 cups)
2 tablespoons flour
6 cups 2 percent reduced fat milk
2 ounces feta cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup roasted tomatoes

Instructions

Place bacon, shallot and onion in a large dutch oven.  Cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until bacon is crispy.  Add potatoes and corn; stir. Add flour and stir well, cook 5 minutes. Add milk. Turn heat to low and simmer 20 to 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender.  To finish, add feta, salt and pepper and top with roasted tomatoes. Serves 6

Alternatives: Instead of Feta, top with Gorgonzola just prior to serving. 

Parmesan Baked Pork Chops

Parmesan Baked Pork Chops 

4 boneless pork chops
1 T. olive oil
1 C. Asiago or Parmesan cheese
1 C. Panco bread crumbs
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder

On a plate combine the last 4 ingredients. Rub the pork chops with olive oil and then dip (coat) each one in the cheese mixture. Press the mixture over the pork chops to make sure they are well covered in it. Line a pan with tin foil and spray with cooking spray. Place the pork chops on the pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Italian Vegetable Soup

Italian Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrots

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

2 (19 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed

3 cups water

• 5 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
  1 tablespoon dried parsley1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  2 cups chopped cabbage
  1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn
  1 cup macaroni

1. Place ground beef in a large soup pot. Cook over medium heat until evenly browned. Drain excess fat. Stir in onion, celery, carrots, garlic, chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, beans, water and bouillon. Season with parsley, oregano and basil. Simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Stir in cabbage, corn, green beans and pasta. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer until vegetables are tender and pasta is al dente. Add more water if needed.

Greens with Cannellini Beans

Our farm share box has forced me to find another gem of a recipe.  We got a bundle of greens (kale and Collard) so not being a green food eater I really had to work on this one.  Found this in our Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone book. Not sure how this book ended up in my house where Bacon has a very special place in everyone's heart.

Ingredients

1 1/2 to 2 pounds of kale or mixed greens, stems and ribs removed.
Salt and freshly milled pepper
1 small onion finely diced
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pump garlic cloves, minced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons chopped rosemary
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/3 cups cooked cannellini rinsed well if canned
Freshly grated Parmesan

Simmer greens in pot of salted water until tender about 10-15 minutes. Drain and reserve the water, chop the leaves.

In a large skillet saute the onion in the oil with garlic, pepper flakes and rosemary for about 3 minutes.

Add the wine and cook until its reduced to a syrupy sauce.  Add the beans, and greens and enough of the cooking water to keep the mixture loose.

Heat through, taste for salt and season with pepper and serve with a dusting of Parmesan cheese.  

Pumpkin Risotto with Prosciutto

I really like the salty taste the Prosciutto adds to the sweet pumpkin.

Ingredients

2 cups cubed peeled fresh pumpkin
3 cups low salt chicken broth
Olive Oil
1 finely chopped onion
3 cloves of Garlic minced
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup of Asiago or Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 ounce very thinly sliced Prosciutto

1 Steam pumpkin, covered, 15 minutes or until tender; set aside to cool

2.Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray; place over medium heat until hot. Add onion, saute until translucent about 5 minutes, add garlic and saute for another 1-2 minutes. Add rice and whine cook about 1 minute or until liquid is nearly absorbed stirring constantly.  Add broth 1/2 cut at a time stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next. (about 20 minutes total) Stir in the pumpkin; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese and remaining ingredients.  Serve immediately.