Lemon Meringue Pie

Meringue shrinkage. It is a serious condition effecting pies nation wide. And no matter how many times I tried, my pies would suffer greatly from it. Time and time again I attempted to make the perfect meringue for my lemon meringue pies. But sadly the limp, small, weepy, lifeless meringue would practically shrink away from existence leaving the lemon curd to stand alone in shame.

Not any longer! Finally I have discovered a recipe that has put a stop to this epidemic. Meringue shrinkage is now a thing of the past. When I first read the recipe for this unique meringue, it certainly stood out amongst the rest. I was used to the usual whipping of egg whites and sugar, but this technique is truly one of a kind. It may require a few more ingredients but boy was it worth it. The end result was a big, firm, fluffy, mile-high meringue that tasted like vanilla clouds.

So if your lemon meringue pies have been suffering from some serious meringue shrinkage, give this recipe a try. Not only will you have picture perfect meringue, but you'll have a deliciously sweet and tangy pie that will satisfy any sweet tooth.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Ingredients:

Pie Crust:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
3-4 tablespoons cold water

Lemon Filling:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh from 2 - 3 lemons)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Meringue Topping:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Pie Crust:
In a mixing bowl stir together flour and salt. Cut in shortening until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over the flour mixture. Gently toss with a fork. Repeat until all is moistened. Form dough into a ball. On a lightly flour surface, flatten dough with hands. Roll dough from center to edge, forming a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Wrap pastry around rolling pin. Unroll onto a 9-inch pie pan. Ease pastry into pie pan, being careful not to stretch pastry. Trim to ½ inch beyond the edge of the pie pan; fold under extra pastry. Make a fluted or scalloped edge using a fork. Prick the bottom and sides of the pastry with a fork. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Lemon Filling:
Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a large, saucepan.
Add egg yolks, then immediately but gradually whisk in 1 1/2 cups water.
Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking regularly, 8- 10 minutes, until thickened.
Remove from heat, whisk in zest, then juice, and finally butter.
Keep warm until meringue is made.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Meringue topping:
Mix cornstarch and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan.
Bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally until thickened.
Remove from heat when translucent and thickened.
In a large mixing bowl, mix cream of tartar and sugar together.
Beat egg whites with whip attachment of mixer until frothy. Add vanilla.
Beat in sugar mixture, 1 tbsp at a time.
Then drop in cornstarch mixture, 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form.
Pour warm lemon filling into pie crust.
Distribute meringue evenly over the top, starting with the edges, and then the middle.
Make sure it attaches to the crust.
Lifting with the back of the spoon, create peaks in the meringue.

Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Cool completely before serving.

Lavender Honey Butter

For the past two years, my husband and I have celebrated our wedding anniversary by dining at the famous Sky City restaurant at the top of the Space Needle. Perched on the crest of the beautiful Seattle horizon, this restaurant offers nothing but savory elegance brimming from their masterful entres, all the way down to the delicious details of the butter served with warm bread before dinner. It was there that I first experienced the subtle sweet taste of lavender honey butter.

I realize the humor in the fact that, out of all the amazing food the restaurant has to offer, I chose to seek out a recipe for the butter. However, it was the warm bread and butter that first welcomed us to the table before our meal even began. And it was that very same bread and butter that stuck in my mind throughout the entire evening. So that night, I came home and began hunting for the recipe online.

Luckily for me, I came across the recipe (found at http://www.food.com/) and have been enjoying it ever since. Whether you're sampling it in a fancy restaurant, or simply savoring it with tea and a biscuit in the comfort of your own home; this easy-to-make butter recipe is one worth sharing.

Lavender Honey Butter

Ingredients:
1 cup softened salted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons dried lavender, crushed
1 tablespoon honey

Mix ingredients thoroughly.

Shape the softened butter into a log and wrap with waxed paper or plastic wrap. Place into the freezer until firm.

Once firm, transfer the log into the refrigerator until ready to use.

Lavender Lemon Pound Cake

I have had a long standing love affair with lavender. During finals week at college, it was my lavender scented shampoo that helped calm me down after a stressful day of tests. In mid summer, the vibrant purple flowers of the lavender bushes flirted with my senses. And it wasn't until a few years back that I finally discovered that lavender could tickle my taste buds as well.

The first time I discovered a recipe that involved lavender was, I am embarrassed to admit, in a wedding magazine. As I flipped through the pages of day dreams, I stumbled upon a recipe for lavender shortbread cookies. Enthralled by the notion of cooking with lavender, I immediately set to work on testing out the recipe. Although I loved lavender dearly, I thought for sure that a lavender cookie would taste nothing short of munching on potpourri. But boy was I wrong! It was a whole new flavor I had never experienced before. Mingling with the buttery sweet taste of the shortbread was an aromatic, earthy flavor that is hard to describe.

Ever since that day I have been trying to think of new lavender concoctions, allowing this distinguished new flavor an equal opportunity in the world of desserts. And this weekend I finally took the plunge, testing out one of my ideas: lavender lemon pound cake. It was my hope that the sweet, tart flavor of the lemon pound cake would blend harmoniously with the distinctive taste of lavender. I am happy to say, the experiment was a success! This new twist on a classic dessert brought to light a whole new explosion of flavor that I feel quite proud of. I had to take a picture of the small heal of cake that was left before the last of it was consumed by my husband! This turned out to be one popular cake!

 

Lavender Lemon Pound Cake

Ingredients:
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), plus 1 tablespoon, softened, for greasing pan
1 1/2 cups flour, plus 1 tablespoon for dusting pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup dry lavender buds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice (from 1-2 medium lemons)
4 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze (Optional)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice (from 1-2 medium lemons)

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with 1 tablespoon softened butter; dust with 1 tablespoon of flour, tapping out excess. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, dried lavender buds, and salt; set aside.
In glass measuring cup or microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter, covered with plastic wrap, at full power until melted, 1 minute.
In a medium bowl, mix together sugar and zest until combined. Add lemon juice, eggs, and vanilla; beat together with an electric mixer until combined, about 5 seconds. While beating, gradually add melted butter in steady stream. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Sift flour mixture over egg mixture, whisking gently after each addition until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and continue to bake until deep golden brown and skewer inserted in center comes out clean, about 35 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto wire rack.
If using lemon glaze, while cake is cooling in pan, bring sugar and lemon juice to boil in small saucepan, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened slightly, about 2 minutes.
After turning cake onto wire rack, poke the cake's top and sides with a toothpick and drizzle on Lemon Glaze. Cool to room temperature, at least 1 hour.

Chicken & Vegetable Kabobs

Although it is technically the first day of fall, today has turned out to be hotter than it was mid summer. And like most sunny days around here, everyone is running outside to mow their lawns and fire up the barbecue before the rain takes back its throne over this sodden city. So in honor of this unusually nice weather, I decided to post a classic summer-time dish for those of you who want to squeeze in one last barbecue before the weather turns sour. This is an extremely easy dish to make that packs in a lot of flavor. So fire up the barbie, strap on your "kiss the cook" apron, and enjoy the taste of summer before the fall season truly settles in.

Chicken and Vegetable Kabobs

Ingredients:
Chicken, cubed
Onion, cut into chunks
Bell pepper, cut into chunks
Mushrooms
Eggplant, cubed
*1 bottle of Italian dressing

Place all ingredients in a bowl and coat generously with Italian dressing. Cover and allow it to marinate in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally so that everything is evenly coated.

[If you are using metal skewers, skip this step.] While the veggies and chicken are marinating, soak bamboo skewers in water so they wont burn when barbecuing.

Pierce the marinated vegetables and chicken onto the bamboo skewers. Place kabobs on the prepared barbecue and cook, turning occasionally so all sides are cooked evenly, until the chicken is cooked all the way through.

Remove from the barbecue and serve hot.

*If you don’t have Italian dressing, combine the following ingredients into a jar and shake well to mix. Continue recipe as follows.

¾ cup olive oil
¼-½ cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken

In this day and age there is bacon everything: bacon vodka, bacon flavored mints, bacon salt, bacon chocolate, bacon maple bars, bacon scented soap, even band aids that look like bacon (which I find particularly gross. Why would you want to put what looks like raw pig meat on your open wound?). The bacon craze has taken over the world producing some of the most horrifying bacon concoctions out there. What ever happened to a simple side of crispy bacon next to some scrambled eggs and toast?

Now don't get me wrong. I often will save leftover bacon grease to use as a fat for sauteing onions and mushrooms in, or for other pan cooked dishes. But with all the bacon Frankensteins out there, I was honestly afraid to play around with this celebrated ingredient.

It wasn't until we recently bought some peppered bacon that I began toying around with the idea of using it other than as a side dish with breakfast. Normally when I hear about a bacon-wrapped something-or-other, I can't help but avoid it in fear that I will fall in love with its artery clogging goodness. (I once tried a bacon wrapped stuffed jalapeno that was dangerously delicious!) But since my husband and I have been under a lot of stress with house hunting and adjusting to parenthood, I figured we deserved a little comfort food. But could I pull off a bacon dish that wasn't a bacon-stein?

Well much to my excitement, and my husband's delight, the dinner turned out to be a great success! I even gave samples to my parents and the neighbors next door. Everyone raved about it! So here is it, my contribution to the bacon craze. There isn't much of a story to tell as to why I did stuffed chicken. Quite honestly, I did it simply because we had a lot of chicken, some leftover goat cheese, and because I had fresh Swiss chard at my disposal. I looked at the ingredients and the recipe practically wrote itself.

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
6 tablespoons soft goat cheese
2 cups Swiss chard, shredded
8 strips of bacon
Paprika
Garlic salt
Pepper
8 grape tomatoes, halved
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Lightly drizzle olive oil in a oven-safe baking dish. Set aside.

Working with one chicken breast at a time, wrap the chicken breast in plastic wrap and beat with a wooden mallet until flat and tenderized. Flip the chicken breast over and repeat.

Once all the chicken breasts have been flattened and tenderized, sprinkle both sides of the breast with garlic salt and pepper. Season only one side (the inside of the breast) with paprika, using only about ½ teaspoon on each breast depending on the size of the chicken breast.

Break up the goat cheese and distribute as evenly as possible on the inside (the side with the paprika) of the breast. Then top the goat cheese with Swiss chard.

Grabbing one end of the breast, begin gently stretching and rolling the chicken breast onto itself to create a roll (the goat cheese and Swiss chard should now be rolled up inside the chicken breast). Pin the edges of the chicken breast together with wooden toothpicks so that the stuffed chicken will stay together.

Wrap the bacon strips in plastic wrap and, using a wooden mallet, pound the strips of bacon until they are flat. Then gently take the tenderized bacon strips and carefully wrap them around the stuffed chicken breasts. You may need to remove and then reinsert the toothpicks as you go, or you can try skewering the bacon onto the toothpicks that are already in place.

Once the stuffed chicken has been wrapped in bacon, place each breast into the lightly oiled baking dish. Toss the grape tomato halves into the dish over the chicken and drizzle with about 2 tablespoons more of olive oil. Sprinkle additional pepper over the chicken. Cover with a lid or tinfoil.

Bake for about 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked completely through. Remove the toothpicks and serve hot.

Raspberry Sorbet

If you are looking for cold refreshing dessert that requires very few ingredients, look no further! Just about anyone with a surplus of berries and some time to kill can make this dessert. I do give you fair warning though: it's not a very hard dessert to make but it does require a good amount of time. Unless you have a magical raspberry bush that makes seedless berries, you're going to find that sifting out the seeds will be the most time consuming part of this dessert. But don't let that discourage you. It is well worth it! Of course, you can make this dessert with just about any kind of berry. It doesn't have to be raspberry. I was just lucky enough to come across a goldmine of raspberries tucked away in my parent's big freezer, raspberries that they so generously shared with me. I realize it's a little late in the season now for a cold dessert like sorbet considering that this Friday will be the first official day of fall. But perhaps you can make some tomorrow as a farewell tribute to summer.

 

Raspberry Sorbet

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
4 cups raspberries, hulled and sliced
6 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup honey

Bring the sugar and 2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
Reduce the heat and allow the mixture to simmer, without stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 3-5 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.

Place the raspberries and lemon juice in a food processor and puree. Press the raspberry puree through a strainer to remove the seeds. When the sugar syrup has cooled completely, combine with the raspberry puree. Add the honey and stir well.

Pour the mixture into a glass/ceramic pan and freeze. Stir every 30 minutes until sorbet hardens.

Spaghetti with Braised Kale and Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Delicately I balanced the plate on my swollen pregnant belly as I shoveled in mouthfuls of the delicious dinner before me. My husband was working late that night and so my friends, generously helping me out in my puffy tired state of being, came over to cook me dinner. Normally when I make a pasta dish, spaghetti in particular, I can't say that I am that creative. Usually I slather it with pesto sauce or the traditional marinara sauce that so commonly is coupled with spaghetti noodles. But that night, my friends opened my mind to a whole new spaghetti dish that is both rich and light all at the same time. It was an aromatic dish that depended solely on the other ingredients to add flavor to the pasta rather than a heavy sauce. And yet the creamy smooth texture of the melted goat cheese offered a depth of flavor that made this dish truly unique.

I never did ask for a written-out form of this recipe. It was nothing more than a verbal discussion of ingredients amongst friends. So below, I posted a recipe that is compiled from both memory and my own liberties. Hopefully this recipe will break the nasty preconceived notion that spaghetti is a dish made with stringing noodles, a tomato based sauce, and the occasional ball of seasoned meat. But rather, spaghetti is a type of pasta that can give birth to many wonderful culinary possibilities.

Spaghetti with Braised Kale and Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients:
10-15 grape tomatoes, halved
4 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 cups braised kale, chopped (here is a link to the recipe: http://thetastyspoon-gingerales-kitchen.blogspot.com/2011/09/braised-kale.html)
Spaghetti, cooked
¼ cup olive oil, plus extra to drizzle on tomatoes
¼ cup herbed goat cheese
Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Set the oven to broil.

Arrange the grape tomato halves on a pan so that they are facing open side up. Drizzle with olive oil and crushed garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set in the oven and broil until they are slightly shriveled on the sides and juice is running out. About 10-15 minutes.

While the tomatoes are cooking, boil water and cook the spaghetti until soft. When done, drain out the water and mix in the ¼ cup of olive oil into the spaghetti until all the pasta is coated.

In a large bowl, combine the roasted tomatoes, braised kale, cooked spaghetti, and herbed goat cheese while all ingredients are hot. Continue to mix the ingredients as the herbed goat cheese melts, creating an even coat of cheese throughout the pasta.

Serve hot and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Almond Flax Wafer Cookies

With my days devoted to my newborn son, I have been feeling a bit like the milkmaid around here. Every few hours his little lips start to smack as he roots around for more milk. But what goes better with milk than cookies, right? So today, during my son's nap time, this milkmaid whipped up a batch of these deliciously toasty wafer cookies for a sweet afternoon snack. I think my husband described it best when he said they kind of taste like Cracker Jacks. They are subtly sweet with a nice nutty flavor and, not to mention, they are highly munchable. Be careful though, because it's hard to stop at just one cookie!

Another great variation of this recipe is exchanging toasted almonds and flax seeds with toasted sesame seeds. It creates a whole new tantalizing flavor that is truly unique.

Almond Flax Wafer Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup crushed almonds, toasted
1/2 cup flax seeds, toasted
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 F. Cover cookie sheets in parchment paper. Toast the crushed almonds and flax seeds in a heavy skillet over medium heat until they are golden brown.

Beat the brown sugar and butter together in a medium-sized bowl for several minutes until fluffy. Beat in the egg. Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder, then add these dry ingredients to the butter, sugar, egg mixture, mix well. Stir in the toasted almonds and flax seeds, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. 

Chill the dough for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. This makes it easier to drop the cookies on the sheets.

Drop by teaspoonful onto prepared cookie sheets, leaving space for the cookies to spread. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until the edges are slightly brown. Cool for a minute or two on the cookie sheets, then transfer to a rack to continue cooling.

Pistachio Encrusted Salmon

I live in the Northwest. I've been fishing ever since I could walk. I even worked in the seafood department at the local grocery store in high school. And yet, until two days ago, I had never cooked a piece of salmon in my life! Luckily for me, my husband just went salmon fishing over the weekend and brought us home a beautiful salmon for me to play with in the kitchen. But much to my dismay, I hadn't a clue how I wanted to cook it. Every time my family had salmon, my dad would usually season it with lemon, garlic, and a combination of herbs; it was the classic combination of seafood and citrus. But to me "classic," though always delicious, had become boring. I wanted to try something new.

Then it hit me....I have pistachios!

It was by rare chance that I had just recently bought pistachios for the soul purpose of trying new recipes with them. And the idea struck: pistachio encrusted salmon! I had seen a recipe for pistachio encrusted salmon weeks ago and was tempted to give it a try. With pistachios waiting anxiously in my pantry and my husband proudly slapping a large salmon onto the cutting board, it was as if the universe was saying: "make me dinner!" The end result was heavenly: fresh juicy salmon coated in a crispy golden layer of toasted flavors that tickled my pallet. This recipe makes restaurant quality fish in less than 30 minutes and will easily impress your family and friends.

Pistachio Encrusted Salmon

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted pistachios, shelled
1/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs, or other type
2 Tbsp. fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 (3-oz.) salmon fillets
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. In a small food processor combine nuts, breadcrumbs, cheese, salt & pepper. Pulse mixture until fine. Transfer nut mixture to a shallow bowl, drizzle with olive oil and toss with a fork until crumbs are well moistened.

Spread the top of each fillet evenly with mustard. press the mustard-coated side of each fillet into the crumb mixture to generously coat the fish. Set the fillets, coating side up, on the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the fillets to form a thick crust.

Bake fillet until top is crisp and browned and the fish is cooked through, 10-12 minutes, depending on thickness.

Braised Kale

I'm back! On July 18th I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy, Andy, and for the past month we have been living off of the generosity of our family and friends. Thanks to them, our refrigerator remained full and I was able to focus my attention on our new little bundle of joy.

Well, as life would have it, two weeks after bringing Andy home, our apartment complex decided to raise the rates of our rent by $200 a month. With a newborn in our arms, we were suddenly facing a difficult reality: we had to pack up and move. Luckily we have family that offered us the use of their family-room to live in for awhile while we save up for our next home. It's basically like living in a studio apartment, which is actually pretty cozy. But unfortunately I had to put half of my kitchen supplies into storage while the other half is now crammed into the built in bar in the family-room. The funny part is, even though we have less space to store my pots and pans, I have more counter space to work with. Plus, I get to take advantage of my family's beautiful garden full of fresh vegetables and fruits! And so The Tasty Spoon continues in a temporary kitchen but with more resources for great new recipes!....It's the silver lining.

I am so excited to be back in the kitchen. Granted, now with a newborn around, my cooking consists of me frantically running around the kitchen as soon as the baby passes out in a milk induced coma. It certainly takes some adjusting to. But a couple days ago, I managed to sneak off and harvest some deliciously lush kale from my family's garden to have with dinner. When I was pregnant, my friends made me a dish that included braised kale and since then, I had been dying to try my hand at making it. So for the first meal I have made since I have been pregnant, and for the first meal in my new kitchen, I decided to try making braised kale. Not only was it surprisingly easy to make, but it was absolutely delicious! I served it on wild rice topped with meatballs in peanut chili sauce (check out the recipe at: http://thetastyspoon-gingerales-kitchen.blogspot.com/2011/04/crock-pot-meatballs-in-peanut-chili.html). This recipe would also mix well with pasta, or simply served as a side dish.

Braised Kale

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 cups (firmly packed) torn kale pieces
1 cup chicken broth

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and minced garlic and sauté for about 2 minutes.

Add the kale and chicken broth, stirring occasionally for 8 to 10 minutes until the kale is soft.

Remove from the heat. Serve immediately.