Lemon Almond Bread

Original Recipe HERE

 

This stuff was so good.  The lemon zest and juice made all the difference, and the tartness complimented the mild almond flavor well.  It is definitely a dessert bread, though I disregarded that fact and had it with every meal (and in between meals).

 

My only complaint is that there wasn't a taste of glaze in every bite.  I'd like to make this in muffin form in the hopes of rectifying that minor flaw.

Ingredients

* For the bread:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose white flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup white sugar

2 Tablespoons lemon zest

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

* For the lemon glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1-1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon almond extract

3 tablespoons sliced almonds, for garnishing [I did not use]

 

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9x5" loaf pan

(2) In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.

(3) In a small bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest. Rub together with fingers until fragrant.

(4) Whisk sugar into the flour mixture.

(5) In a medium bowl, combine almond milk, oil, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla, and almond extract.

(6) Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir until combined; pour batter into loaf pan.

(7) Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

(8) Place the loaf on a cooling rack; cool for 15 minutes.

(9) Loosen the sides of the bread with a knife; remove loaf from pan. Let cool completely on wire rack.

(10) Meanwhile, combine powdered sugar, lemon juice, and almond extract in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over bread. Sprinkle sliced almonds over the bread if desired.

 

Kid Participation:

* Measure dry ingredients

* Sift dry ingredients

* Lemon-ify sugar

* Measure wet ingredients

* Stir batter

* Whisk glaze

* Sprinkle almonds

Baked Ham with Spiced Cherry Glaze

Original Recipe HERE

* This is one of the menu items Husband researched, planned, shopped for, and executed for Easter 2013. It was the best meal he's ever made. *

 

Ingredients

Nonstick spray

1 (5-pound) boneless ready-to-eat ham

1/2 cup water or white wine [he used water]

1 cup cherry preserves

1 tablespoon creamy prepared horseradish [he used regular]

1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 lemon, zested and juiced

 

Directions

(1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a roasting pan with foil and spray it with nonstick spray.

(2) Score the top and sides of the ham with a small sharp knife in a crisscross pattern.

(3) Put the ham in the pan, pour 1/2 cup water or white wine into the bottom of the pan and bake, covered loosely with a tent of foil, 45 to 60 minutes.

(4) To make the glaze, combine the preserves, horseradish, brown sugar, cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, salt, and lemon juice in a medium bowl.

(5) Transfer the cherry mixture to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil until the glaze is slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in the lemon zest.

(6) Remove the ham from the oven and brush the top with 1/4 cup of the glaze.

(7) Bake, uncovered, until the ham is hot and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 140 degrees F, about 20 minutes longer.

(8) Remove the ham from the oven to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Arrange the sliced ham on a serving platter and serve with the reserved glaze.

Orange-Glazed Orange Cookies

Original Recipe HERE

I'm not normally a fan of orange-flavored...anything.  Except Sunkist.  I would have put that stuff in an IV and mainlined it as a child if an adult had let me.  Probably because my parents only let me indulge on special occasions, and "Thou most desires that which thou canst not obtain" - or something like that.  Anyway, I wasn't sure whether to proceed with the orange in the original recipe or switch it to lemon.  I stuck with the orange and was glad I did.  It was noticeable but not overpowering.  Husband brought these to work and received raves for them.  I'm glad to have added another recipe to my small-but-growing arsenal of Cookies That Don't Involve Chocolate and Aren't Incredibly Dense (I Mean Satisfyingly Filling).  Broadening my horizons and all that.  This recipe made about 30 cookies.

I also am excited to have learned the trick of infusing the sugar with the zest.  It may have been in my head, but I do think it made a difference.  I've subsequently used the technique a few times with lemon.

Ingredients

* For cookies
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons orange zest
1 cup [2 sticks] unsalted butter
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 egg

* For glaze
1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 Tablespoon orange zest
Fresh orange juice

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

(2) In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

(3) In  small bowl, combine sugar and zest by rubbing them together with your fingers until zest is completely incorporated into sugar.

(4) Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and zest-infused sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).

(5) Add juice and egg; mix until combined.

(6) Reduce mixer speed to low.  Gradually add dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. If dough seems slightly soft, refrigerate it for up to 30 minutes.

(7) Using a medium cookie scoop (or 2 tablespoonfuls), scoop dough and roll into balls.  Place them 2" apart on cookie sheets.

(8) Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until very lightly browned around edges but still pale in the middle. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes on the cookie sheet.  Remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

(9) To make glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, orange zest, and enough orange juice to achieve the desired consistency (less juice for a thicker glaze, more for a thinner one). Spread glaze over top of cooled cookies; allow to set at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Store at room temperature in an airtight container (divide layers with wax paper so the cookies don’t stick together).

Kid Participation:

* Whisk dry ingredients

* Rub sugar and zest

* Scoop dough balls

* Drizzle glaze if thin; spread glaze if thick (and you don't mind losing a few broken cookies to a heavy-handed spreader)

Glazed Lemon Bars

Original Recipe HERE

I love the refreshing taste of a good lemon bar, but often they're too sour or too sweet and don't strike the right balance between the two.  This recipe is being saved to make again, so it's the closest I've found.  I'd have liked the lemon flavor to be a little more pronounced, but that can be remedied by adding more grated lemon zest or a little lemon extract.

Ingredients

* Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
* Filling
4 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice, strained of pulp and seeds [2-3 lemons]
1 teaspoon lemon zest [optional]
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
* Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons strained freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions
(1) Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
(2) Whisk together flour and powdered sugar.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture is crumbly.
(3) Lightly press mixture into pan and bake 15-20 minutes or until light golden around the edges. Remove from oven.
(4) Mix eggs, lemon juice, flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed for 3 minutes. The mixture should be frothy and very pale yellow.
(5) Pour mixture over warm crust.  Return pan to oven for another 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top (begin checking at 15 mintues).
(6) Remove pan from oven and allow to cool completely on drying rack.
(7) When bars are cool, whisk together glaze ingredients until smooth.  Gently spread over bars. Refrigerate at least 2 hours (preferably more).  Cut into squares before serving. Makes about 36 bars.

Notes: (1) I couldn't get the crust dough to stop sticking to my fingers, so it was tough to make it an even thickness.  Maybe letting the dough sit in the refrigerator, then rolling it out into large pieces and "patching" them together in the pan would work.  (2) While I let the glaze sit on the bars for the two hours it recommends, it was still pretty runny when I cut the bars.  I assume this would be fixed by letting them sit in the refrigerator longer (probably overnight).  However, the glaze would crack and the appearance might not be as nice.  An option is to cut the bars before applying the glaze, then drizzle the glaze over each individual bar and letting it run down the sides. (3) Directions say to bake the lemon topping for 20-25 minutes, but I checked at 17 and it was already pretty browned.  Next time I'll check earlier.

Kid Participation:

* Whisk dry ingredients

* Add wet ingredients to bowl

* Operate mixer

* Pour glaze over bars

White Bean Dip

I dusted off this oldie-but-goodie the other weekend when Husband told me at 8:00pm that he needed an appetizer to take to a work party the following afternoon.  Isn't that the sort of stunt your kids are supposed to pull ("I need 48 cupcakes for the fourth-grade bake sale tomorrow morning!"), not your full-grown Husband?  He offered to just buy something at the store on his way, but I told him I'd rise to the occasion.  This dip is easy because I always have the ingredients on hand.  I've doubled the original amounts since it didn't make that much, but exact measurements aren't necessary. You can be careless and taste-test throughout.  This dip can be served hot, cold, or room temperature.  So what I'm really saying is that there's no real way to mess it up.

A note about the garlic: when deciding how much to include, err on the side of less.  I'm a garlic fanatic, but I've been played for a fool by this recipe in the past.  It will sneak up on you, and all of a sudden you have wicked Garlic Dragon Breath.  Also, I like to do use both roasted (for a deeper, more subtle flavor) and fresh (to provide a little sharpness).  The original recipe just called for fresh, so any combination would work.

Ingredients

2 or 3 15 oz cans cannellini or great northern beans, rinsed and drained [any white bean could work]

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 tablespoons plain yogurt

4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley [or substitute a few big shakes of dried]

1 teaspoon black pepper [approximate]

1 teaspoon kosher salt [approximate]

Hot pepper sauce [Tabasco], to taste

4-6 garlic cloves

olive oil [if roasting the garlic]

Pita bread, chips, or vegetables for dipping

Directions

1) To roast garlic, separate desired number of cloves from bulb, leaving them in their peels.  Make a packet out of aluminum foil, put the cloves in, and drizzle them with olive oil.  Seal packet and put on the middle oven rack at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

2) Add beans, lemon juice, yogurt, parsley, pepper, salt and hot sauce to the food processor bowl.

3) Take whatever garlic you're using, fresh or roasted, and remove peels from each clove.  Smash so they're slightly broken up and add to food processor bowl.  Process mixture until it's a smooth consistency.

4) Do a taste test and adjust ingredients accordingly for desired result.

Kid Participation:

* Add ingredients to food processor bowl.

* Smash garlic cloves.

* Push buttons on food processor (if you're so inclined).

Mustard-Roasted Potatoes

Original Recipe HERE

I was looking to use up the rest of a 5-pound bag of potatoes, and *N* loves fries (as do her mother and father...).  They turned out better than expected, since I've never had good luck with homemade fries.  They were a little more heavily crisped (OK, burned) than I'd have liked, but I think I cut the potato wedges too thick (because I didn't have the small potatoes the original recipe asked for).  Still, I was surprised at how well they reheated in the toaster oven the next day - maybe the butter kept them from drying out too much?  I'll be trying these again.

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray

1/2 cup whole grain Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick or 1/2 ounce) butter, melted

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon lemon extract [since I didn't have lemon peel]

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

2-3 pounds unpeeled white-skinned potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch-wide wedges

Directions

1) Position one rack in top third of oven and one rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 425°F.

2) Spray a large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray.

3) Whisk mustard, olive oil, butter, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, lemon extract, and salt in large bowl.

4) Put potato wedges in a large resealable container, sprinkle with pepper, and add mustard dressing.  Shake until wedges are well coated.

5) Spread potatoes in a single layer on baking sheet, leaving excess mustard mixture behind in bowl.

6) Roast potatoes on lower rack for 20 minutes. Move baking sheet to upper rack and roast until potatoes are crusty outside and tender inside, turning occasionally, about 25 minutes longer.

7) Optional: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand on baking sheets at room temperature. Rewarm potatoes in 425°F oven 10 minutes.

Notes: I'll use less lemon extract next time to see if more mustard taste comes through (though the lemon was not overpowering).  I'll use smaller potatoes as well to make sure the insides of the wedges are tender before the outside gets too browned.  Also, I did the rewarming trick because I made these during *J*'s late afternoon nap.  I'll (try to) plan to make them so they're timed with the rest of dinner.

 

Kid Participation:

* Whisking mustard dressing.

* Shaking the container with potatoes and mustard dressing (unless, like my child, they get the giggles repeatedly and collapse on the floor, dropping the container that somehow, miraculously, stayed closed each time until I came to my senses and took it away).