Lemon Meringue Pie for Gene’s 91st Birthday

When someone’s turning 91, they deserve the birthday dessert of their choice. On second thought, everyone should get their most-loved confection each and every year! Birthdays are memorable causes for joyous toasts, laughter, and yummy dinners ending with apple pie/chocolate cake/strawberry cheesecake/butterscotch tart and, yes, great coffee. But 91 — wow. Not all of us make it to that special moment and those that do are blessed. My husband’s Dad, Gene, celebrated 91 great years this week and while it wasn’t a huge party, we had a few family members for a roast beef and twice-baked potato lunch (lunch is better these days and he loves roast beef) as well as Gene’s forever fave sweet — Lemon Meringue Pie.

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Ask me about Dessert

Lemon-Syrup Pound Cake with Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream and Blueberry Drizzle

    What’s the fun of catering dessert?  What’s not the fun of catering dessert?  But I DO LOVE TO HAVE A REASON to make dessert.  And I adore having a reason to try something I love or have never done before; dessert for two is so different than dessert for a group.  We simply don’t need a whole pie (well, Dave would argue with that.)  We don’t want a whole cake or two quarts of ice cream, which is what my new ice cream maker makes.  But if I’m asked to bring dessert or have a catering job, I get to do the whole shebang. (Scroll down for Lemon-Syrup Pound Cake with Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream and Blueberry Drizzle.)

Seasonal crostatas — free-form pie

Creme Brulee avec  Torch.
Added art is free.
Chocolate-Hazelnut Torte
Elvis Presley’s Favorite Cake–Pound Cake I serve with Peaches and Fresh Ginger Ice Cream come summer.

 

Lemon Tart for a Birthday?

Individual Pear-Orange Crostatas.   They’re flavored with lemon or orange and have a streusel topping with or without almonds.
Coffee Cup Pies
Pagliacci’s New York Cheesecake

Any kind of whole pie

I start with numbers.  How many people?  When?  Where?  What’s the menu? 

The menu was tenderloin and fennel gratin with a carrot salad starter.  One that I blogged, in fact.  I thought that left me scotfree to make whatever I wanted.  The meal wasn’t so heavy that I needed to do a baby shot of custard and squeensy-tweentsy cookies.  It wasn’t so light that I needed to make tiramisu.  I offered several options:

 Bread Pudding!
Jam Tart?
Basket of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!!!

or….

–Chocolate pots de creme and ginger cookies
–Lemon poundcake and strawberry ice cream
–Fig-Brandy Vanilla Pudding with Skinny Fluted Shortbread
–Apple-Sour Cream-Walnut Pie w or w/out homemade vanilla ice cream
–Apple Tart w or without cinnamon ice cream
–Espresso pots de creme and milk chocolate chip-pecan cookies
–God’s Own Brownies or God’s Own Brownie Sundaes
–Chocolate-Dipped Salty Shortbread and Coffee Gelato
–Whole Lemon Tart

–Jam Tart
 

You can ask for pot pie, too, if you need dinner.   Here:  Turkey Roasted Vegetable

about the lemon-syrup pound cake, strawberry ice cream and blueberry drizzle:

 The choice this time was Lemon pound cake and strawberry ice cream.  After 2 seconds thought, I added a blueberry drizzle–for color and a flavor pop.   Instead of reinventing any wheels, I took two or three recipes and decided on my method. I like SILVER PALATE’S Lemon Pound Cake, but it was made in a bundt pan and I really wanted loaf pound cake as my group was small and a second loaf could go in the freezer.  I checked out Ina Garten’s Lemon Cake from her The Barefoot Contessa PARTIES book and ended up with a mixture of the two recipes aided by Marion Cunningham’s from Fanny Farmer Baking Book, which is my easy go-to for most things.   In fact, I end up with both the bundt cake and loaf cakes because I mis-read Ina’s instructions, which were a bit confusing.  The ingredient list doesn’t let you know that you’ll be using that 3/4 cup lemon juice in two parts.  Ditto sugar.  So when I dumped all the sugar in the Kitchen Aid, the extra bundt cake was born.  And while it’s obvious from the ingredient list there’s a glaze, it’s not so obvious there’s a syrup, too.  I just re-write the recipe to suit me.  No problem; the choir likes to eat, as does Word Team.  Tonight, I’ll bring the big bundt cake and a couple of pots of coffee.
 

How many cakes are you baking?  As many as it takes to get it right.

 Lemon Syrup Poundcake (new name):  all done.  Now I just have to make strawberry ice cream.
Ah gee.  And…a Blueberry Drizzle.   Could life be any more fun?
 

Pound Cake with Syrup and Glaze
Adding the last of the berries to the ice cream maker.  I use David Lebovitz ice cream recipes almost all the time, but this one is in the book that came with the Cuisinart 2qt ice cream maker.  The strawberries are marinated with lemon; half are mashed for freezing with the cream and sugar, and half are added during the last five minutes.
Blueberry Drizzle (instructions below)

Lemon-Syrup Pound Cake with Strawberry Ice Cream (Homemade) and Blueberry Drizzle

 Blueberry Drizzle:  Place one pint fresh blueberries (cleaned and picked over) in a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup each water and granulated sugar.  If you like, you can add a large piece of lemon peel or a cinnamon stick, but for this recipe, the blueberries are best left to their own devices.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and reduce heat to low, simmering and stirring the berries about 15 minutes.  When they’re softened, breaking apart, and a bit thicker, remove from heat and mash with a potato masher.   Strain the mixture over a small bowl.   Reserve the crushed berries for your peanut butter toast and use the strained liquid for your “drizzle,” which is also good on pancakes or English muffins.

Two-Dog Kitchen and Around the ‘Hood
Yesterday it was 60 and gorgeous.  Today it’s rainy and freezy and so gray.
I have no new pics of the dogs, but they are filthy.  Friday:  groomer.

New art in my kitchen.  Did I already show you this?
Cold Chickadees
This is melted…and we now have Minnesota Mush.

Here’s a Salmon Salad I made the other day for supper.  It might make the blog.

 Sing a new song, read my Lenten Blog
Alyce

Whole-Lemon Tart (Tarte au Citron)- or Life is Sweet and Sour

Tarte au Citron…

 When we study music or art, we find ourselves interested in the life of the artist.  What was happening when he wrote that first symphony or when she painted that particular picture.  It may be that cooks have similar tendencies…to make or bake dishes that reflect current life.  When you’re feeling unloved, do you make comfort food like beef stew or chocolate chip cookies?  When you’re celebrating, is it rare lamb and risotto?

As I ready the house (Who bought all this stuff?) for the move, I find myself baking.  As if I have nothing better to do?   At going-away dinners with friends, I continue to offer to bring something and end up with what could be the easiest part of the meal (dessert-and it isn’t) at a time when my pans should be packed already.  Pans of frosted scratch brownies, tiramisu and this lemon tart have been baked (or made, in the case of the tiramisu) and carried around town.  I’m still drooling over cookbooks, though I may have packed nearly everything but one JOY OF COOKING, one SILVER PALATE COOKBOOK and a wine guide that are staying here for reference. Well, there are, as well, a slug of cooking magazines I haven’t donated.  I have 17 book boxes full of hymnals and cookbooks.  Somebody should shoot me and put me out of my packing misery.

I typically blog original recipes, but this is too good not to share.  Dorie Greenspan is a fine food blogger and an even finer cookbook author who lives in both New York (where she sometimes “mans” a cookie cart in Manhattan) and Paris. The book Paris Sweets (2002) is not terribly new (her newest is Around my French Table), but it’s a go-to for French boulangerie or patisserie dessert recipes written for Americans, as well French.  If you’d like to see the patisserie from whence the recipe came ( Rollet-Pradier in Paris), click here.  By the way, the directions for this tart are easy to follow and the results are easy to eat.  Thanks to Dorie.
 

courtesy Clarkson-Potter

And while life is bittersweet (I love people in both places-), this tart seems to reflect just about how I feel right now. Oh, and, by the way, this is simpler to make than chocolate chip cookies.  Cheaper, too.  If you don’t have a tart pan (a 9-11″ metal pan with fluted sides and a removable bottom), use a quiche dish or a plain old pie pan.

TARTE AU CITRON  From Rollet-Pradier, Paris via Paris Sweets, Dorie Greenspan

                                      (Read More at epicurious.com)
1 partially baked 9-inch (24-cm) tart shell made from Sweet Tart Dough*
1 average-sized lemon (about 4 1/2 ounces; 130 grams), rinsed and dried
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar
1 large egg
1 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 degrees 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. Pour the filling into the crust.

Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake the tart for 20 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (180 C) and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and lightly browned. 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.

This is like lemon bars on steroids..
*I like traditional Pate Sucre (uses ground almonds), but this works, too.

TwoDog Kitchen and Around the ‘Hood

If my cream soups are packed, I’m leaving.

If your cream soups are packed, am I leaving?

Did you pack the bones?  Well, then where are they?

One more wine group

Dinner with Britta, too
Will post as possible!
Sing a new song,
Alyce