Hi annie,

Well, I know what you mean - I have only one or two recipes that I burn. This one is pretty easy - I just leave it on the stove, which is pretty much fireproof (I hope).

However, you don't have to burn off the liquor; the idea of doing so is that it leaves the flavor but takes away the alcohol. But I don't think anyone's gotten swacked eating pasta. I think there will be a more liquor-y taste, so why don't you try it with 1/8 c. instead of 1/4 c. It's a very good & easy recipe, annie, & well worth trying.

And, it's just occured to me that I could make it with one of those "new" lemon-flavored vodkas. (I know - slow learner.)

I've been AWOL and busy with school - but am definitely IN on this cooking adventure. We made this in my Pastry class last semester and it is divine. I'll be making it for us:

JAPANESE YUZU PUDDING

656 g buttermilk
424 g sugar
104 g pastry flour
8 eggs, separated
148 ml Yuzu lemon juice (just use regular lemons)
Zest of 6 lemons
1/2 tsp. salt
Pinch of cream of tartar

Mix buttermilk, yolks, zest, and juice. Add to the sifted flour, sugar, and salt.

Whip egg whites until stiff, but not dry, with cream of tartar. Fold into the above mixture.

Coat 18 ramekins with butter and sugar. Pour mixture into ramekins and bake in a bain marie at 350° F., covered with a sheet pan, for 25 minutes.

Remove sheet pan and bake an additional 10 minutes.

This is one of my favorite lemon treats. It's not something you make every day as there's a little butter in it, but oh my goodness, the lemon cream is fantastic. This can be spooned into a tart shell for a fantastic dessert or just eaten out of the container (not that I would EVER do that or anything).

Bri

Pierre Herme's Lemon Cream
Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 4 to 5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons (21 tablespoons; 10 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces

Procedure
Getting ready: Have a thermometer, preferably an instant-read, a strainer and a blender (first choice) or food processor at the ready. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.

1. Put the sugar and zest in a large metal bowl that can be fitted into the pan of simmering water. Off heat, work the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs followed by the lemon juice.

2. Fit the bowl into the pan (make certain the water doesnt touch the bottom of the bowl) and cook, stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. You want to cook the cream until it reaches 180°F. As you whisk the cream over heatand you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scramblingyoull see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as the cream is getting closer to 180°F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this pointthe tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Dont stop whisking and dont stop checking the temperature. And have patiencedepending on how much heat youre giving the cream, getting to temp can take as long as 10 minutes.

3. As soon as you reach 180°F, pull the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of a blender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream rest at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140°F, about 10 minutes.

4. Turn the blender to high and, with the machine going, add about 5 pieces of butter at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed while youre incorporating the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine goingto get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to beat the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.

5. Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and chill the cream for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Storing: While you can make the lemon cream ahead (it will keep in the frige for 4 days and in the freezer for up to 2 months), once a tart is constructed, its best to eat it the day it is made.

I hope I have time to participate. I've got a very busy weekend and week ahead, as my daughter is coming to visit! (YEAH!!!) But, we love to cook together, so we'll probably come up with a recipe to try or a T&T to use, and I'll post it when I can. I love, love, love lemon.

Oh, one quick thing, I sprinkle a little bit of lemon juice and a little bit of olive oil on my salad as a dressing. Does that count? lol.

Sally

Lemon-Berry Ribbon Torte

Annie and Linda and I are going to Peppi's this coming weekend. I was going to bring my 2nd prize winning chocolate mousse Kahlua cake, but I think since it is the lemon challenge, I will bring this instead. I made it in 2000, then promptly lost the recipe in all my cookbooks and magazines. I searched today and found it.
For Cake:
1-2/3 cups AP flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1-2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk
3 Tbs butter
2 tsp vanilla
For garnish:
2 oz. grated white chocolate
For Raspberry Sauce:
3 cups frozen loosepack thawed raspberries
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3 Tbs. water
For Raspberry Filling:
1 cup Raspberry Sauce
4 tsp cornstarch
Lemon Filling:
2/3 cup lemon curd (I never ever buy this, I always make it)

MAKE the Raspberry Sauce: Place 3 cups frozen loosepack raspberries, thawed, 1/3 cup light corn syrup and 3 Tbs. water in a food processor bowl or blender container. Cover and process or blend until smooth. Sieve mixture to remove seeds. Make 1-1/2 cups. Set aside.

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of a 15x10x1" baking pan. Line with wax paper. Grease and flour the paper and sides of pan; set aside. Stir together flour and baking powder.

BEAT eggs with electric mixer on high speed in a large bowl about 4 minutes or until thick. Gradually add sugar, beating on medium speed 4-5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add dry mixture; beat on low to medium speed until combined. Heat and stir the milk and butter in a small saucepan until the butter melts; add to batter, beating until combined. Stir in vanilla. Pour into prepared pan.

BAKE in preheated oven 15-18 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Immediately loosen edges of cake from pan. Turn out onto towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Cool completely. Cut cake crossways into thirds.

MEANWHILE, for raspberry filling, combine 1 cup of the Raspberry Sauce and the cornstarch in small saucepan. (Reserve the remaining raspberry sauce to serve with the torte.) Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and cool to room temp.

FOR FROSTING: Beat the whipping cream, sour cream, and 1/4 cup powdered sugar and vanilla in a chilled large mixing bowl until stiff peaks form. ***I would increase the sugar to 1/2 cup as I remember this as not sweet enough (and I am not a sweet fan, so you know how unsweet it must have been)Perhaps you should test it before frosting the cake to make sure it is sweet enough for you.

TO ASSEMBLE: Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread with lemon curd. Top with another layer. Spread with thickened cooled Raspberry filling. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and sides of cake with frosting; pipe edges if desired. Cut into 8-10 wedges.

TO MAKE GARNISH, Melt 2 oz. white baking bar or candy coating. Spoon into a heavy, small plastic bag. Snip one corner off of the bag. Pipe melted white chocolate in a lace design onto a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Chill until firm.

GARNISH with white choclate lace and fresh raspberries. Add some of the reserved raspberry sauce and raspberries to each plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. Serves 8-10.

Note*** The cake recipe calls for 1 oz. melted white chocolate, but I substitute vanilla because I hate, hate, hate the gaggy sweet taste of white chocolate. I once made white chocolate mousse with a brandied cherry sauce for a company dessert, and threw the entire thing out and started over with a chocolate dessert cause I could not even stand the smell of the white chocolate.

well, hooray, I was wondering if we were going to be able to participate in that lemon challenge. It looks like we are.

Maybe we'll make some of those lemon/vodka drinks that lpinkmountain and I made. With lots and lots of sugar, LOL.

Annie

Here is a picture of the Chicken Piccata I posted earlier. I forgot I had taken a picture of it.

Sherry, I have that piccatta recipe also and it is the very best I have ever had. And that photo of the lemon berry torte.....

Does a lemon centerpiece on our table count?

I've posted this before but it's a salad I make often, especially with pasta or seafood.

LEMON SPINACH SALAD

1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
1 lb. young spinach leaves, washed and stemmed
6 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, slivered
Finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon
1 hard cooked egg
Freshly ground black pepper

Wash mushrooms and combine with spinach. Chill. Mix oil, lemon juice, salt, cheese and garlic. Chop up egg and sprinkle over salad. Add lemon rind to salad and grind pepper on top. Pour dressing over salad right before serving and toss.

Note: Best if dressing is made about an hour ahead of time and garlic pieces removed before pouring on salad. Crumbled bacon pieces can be added if desired.

Nancy,
I think that centerpiece should count. Nancy is pretty relaxed about the rules here, LOL.
The lemon dessert should qualify us though. However, Ruthanna's spinach and lemon salad sounds pretty good.

Ruthanna's Lemon Salad is a winner......soooooo good.

Yesterday was grocery delivery day. I had ordered some Cool Whip Creamy thinking it would come in handy with the dental surgery stuff I am going through and have more of coming up. I mix it with chocolate drink powder and it's like instant mousse[ish]. Anyway, yesterday I was looking at the Key Lime Pie thread and saw the one using cool whip. Aha, kismet, gotta love it. So, while I was waiting for my veggie soup to heat for lunch, I whipped up a lemon pie. We had it last night and it was pretty darn good and for only taking five minutes to prep, what's not to like? I made a few changes, like adding the zest and extra juice.

1 8oz container of Cool Whip [I used the creamy kind]
1 can of condensed milk
3/4 cup of lemon juice [they called for 1/2 cup but it was too sweet]
zest from 2 of the 3 lemons it took to make the 3/4 cup of juice. If you like it really tangy, zest all your lemons.[They didn't call for any zest]

I put it into a premade shortbread crust [They called for graham cracker. The shortbread was a great improvement I think].

Freeze and serve frozen.

I'll try to remember tonight to take a pic when we have some. Later I saw the same recipe but made with 8 oz. cream cheese. I'd have made that first if I'd seen it, so I'll be trying it next, but I'm glad I tried this one. Not bad and..... lemon.

Our annual Friends of the Library book sale starts prep work next Saturday and Ill be on a minimal cooking and eating schedule until April 25th so thought Id make an early lemon dish yesterday. I dug down into my aunts recipe files and came up with my Great-aunt Irenes Lemon Snowflake cookies. Theyre a classic tea cookie, delicate in flavor and texture. I could kick myself because this recipe had been sitting there for years and through many Saturday afternoon teas without me making it until now.

LEMON SNOWFLAKES makes 4 dozen

1 cup softened butter
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
3/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
1 cup finely chopped walnuts

FROSTING:
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 Tbs. melted butter
1 Tbs. lemon juice

Cream butter and extract; combine next four ingredients and gradually mix into butter. Chill one hour. Divide dough and shape into 48 balls. Drop one side of balls into chopped nuts. Remove balls and flatten the side without nuts with the bottom of a glass lightly dipped in flour. Put on greased cookie sheets, nut side up (I used parchment paper instead of greasing.). Bake at 350 about 7-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Cool on wire rack and spread with frosting. (I added some yellow sugar crystals on top.)

Cooling:

With after-dinner tea:

I made Ann T's Lemon Tart with Walnut Crust today and it was wonderful. My husband ate two pieces and he is not a sweet lover. Will be making this again and again!! Thanks for the recipe Ann, and thanks to sheshebop for posting it.

I've been a little out of sorts as I just lost a friend, way too young, completely sudden and unexpected. Somewhere along the line I fell under the impression that I missed the lemon cookalong, which I've been really looking forward to. So today I made lemon stuff, only to find now that I'm actually five days early, not two days late. Oh well. Here's what I made:

Fettucini with Lemon and Cream - Cook's Illustrated's variation on their Alfredo, basically just adding some lemon juice and zest to the mix. It was wonderful; it's been quite some time since I made homemade pasta and I forgot how easy and worth it it is. I also topped it with grilled chicken and shrimp for good measure.

The lemon squares that Canarybird posted. As promised these were very sweet and heavy - and delicious. I did make what I think was a critical mistake though; my only 9x9 was a pyrex dish, so the crust never really cooked right and was soggy and dripping with butter even after 30 minutes in the oven. So once cooled, I cut the squares and let them soak into some paper towels, and those of course stuck. So overall a less than perfect presentation, but we enjoyed them no less. Thanks Sharon!

Time permitting I'll gladly try a new menu on Saturday. Until then, I figure it'll be a few days before I dare to jump on the scale, or open up the "March Weight Loss Support" thread for that matter.

Food I am so sorry for your loss and especially so in that it was so unexpected. It's never easy but the shock just adds to the grief.

Your pasta sounds wonderful! I think I'm having the Gina's pasta Saturday, maybe I'll add some cream. Great idea.

I made lemon bars for my group....tried one....really good....tried another....still good

This weekend I made hummus with the juice of one whole big lemon! It is delicious! I have frozen two small containers to see how I like it after freezing. Lordy, I could eat the whole recipe!
Teresa

Here's a Lemon Risotto recipe I've made before and really enjoyed. I'm thinking of making it for this cook-off, but so many of everyone else's recipes look so good, too. It's from The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook by Jack Bishop.

Lemon Risotto

6 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, minced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon grated zest and 2 tablespoons juice from 1 large lemon
6 large fresh sage leaves, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for the table
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)

1. Bring the stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Keep it warm over low heat.

2. Heat the oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy-bottomed medium pot. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the rice and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook just until the alcohol aroma fades, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Add 1/2 cup of the warm stock and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice absorbs the liquid. Continue adding stock in 1/2-cup increments, stirring. After about 15 minutes, stir in the lemon zest and sage.

4. Continue adding stock in 1/2-cup increments, stirring, until the rice is creamy and soft, but still a bit al dente, about 10 minutes more. (Add hot water if you run out of stock.) Stir in the lemon juice and parsley and continue cooking until the lemon juice is absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes more.

5. Remove the pot from the heat and vigorously stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the 1/4 cup cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the heavy cream, if using. Divide the risotto among individual soup bowls. Serve immediately with more grated cheese passed separately at the table.

I'm looking forward to this cook-off.

Sally

foodonastump, I'm sorry to hear about your friend.

As for lemon, I'm thinking lemonade and limoncello. Just for Sherry, of course. LOL

Annie

Oh, Foodonastump, I was totally remiss in not acknowledging your loss. I'm so sorry that happened. It's so hard.

Sally

Foodonastump, I'm sorry to hear of the loss of your friend.

Foodonastump, it's so hard to lose a friend, my condolences.

I'm pumped for this lemon thing! I had to go to Traverse City yesterday, so I hit the Meijer's store. Love that store (regional chain).
I bought Meyer Lemons!!!

Not sure what I'll make with them, any suggestions?
This cookalong virtual dinner will be hard for me, I need to make something that I can freeze because Kim is out of town until Monday.

Nancy

Foodonastump, I'm sorry about your loss.

Here's a recipe I posted last spring. If you want a dead easy lemon recipe, this is it.

Delicias de Limón La Venta -- Lemon Yogurt Pudding
June 1987 Gourmet

Whisk together a cup of yogurt, half a cup (I recommend using less, because I found it a bit too tart) of lemon juice, half a cup of sweetened condensed milk,and two teaspoons of grated lemon rind, and chill for four hours or overnight. Divide into six serving bowls, garnish with thin slices of lemon, sugar wafer cookies, and cinnamon.

Thanks a lot for the thoughts, I really appreciate them. But really all I was trying to convey was my blunder with the dates. So, back to lemons! I'm trying to hold on tight to a free Saturday night, but it's getting tougher with each passing day. Something tells me I'll be "clipping" off this thread a bunch!

I think I'm going to make a very Canary Island dish although I understand it's also made in South America....called Leche Asada, or Roasted Milk, which is, in fact a milk and egg pudding with added sugar, grated lemon and cinnamon. And I'll probably be making it tomorrow (Saturday) or Sunday so I can come back here when I have more time and type out the translation to English. It's dead easy to make but I'd like to try it and see how it tastes.
It's also served here with a swirl of the dark honey from the island of La Palma, which I'm going to buy today.

{{gwi:1507082}} (image from web)
Till later,

SharonCb

I am mostly just a lurker here but I have a great cocktail recipe if anyone is so inclined.

Lemon Drop Cocktail

1 part Citrus Vodka
1 part sweet and sour
1 part fresh squeezed lemon juice
sugar to taste

Serve over ice with a lemon wheel. You can also rim the glass in lemon and sugar if you like.

Foodonastump, adding my condolences to you and yours.

I've had a weather delay but will be cooking tomorrow...think I'll start with breakfast and take it from there.

Oh man, those lemon drops are killer in more ways than one!!

David

Here's what DH whipped up last night.

Planked salmon with lemon-dill mayonnaise, steamed broccoli and spinach salad with lemon vinaigrette dressing. Dessert was mini-cheesecakes with raspberry-lemon topping (from a jar).

And he even made the plank :-)

I had company from out of town that requested teriyaki salmon so I made Lpinkmountain's lemon scented olive oil muffins for breakfast. Yum!

I made the Algerian Chicken posted by Lars. I roasted it in the oven, though. Very good! I have been meaning to try that for a long time. Thanks to the Cookalong I finally did.

Well my lemon dish wasn't all that I'd hope it would be.
LECHE ASADA or Roasted Milk, a Canary Island recipe, tasted more like sweetened scrambled egg to me, although my DH thought it was quite alright.
I would suggest it as an ideal dish for someone who has teeth or stomach problems and needs a bland, soft, custardy egg dish.
It won't be making it to my try-again list!
Here it is though:

LECHE ASADA - Milk and egg pudding

Ingredients

1/2 liter milk (1/2 quart approx)
4 eggs
3 TBS sugar
salt 1/2 teasp
lemon zest - grated rind of 1 medium lemon
1 teasp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Beat eggs, add milk, lemon rind, cinnamon, sugar and salt.

3. Pour mixture into buttered 9 inch square casserole dish and cook about 30 - 40 minutes or until
centre is done when pierced with knife.

4. Let cool a little and cut into portions, topped with cream, honey or fruit slices.

Translated from : Traditional Recipes of Gran Canaria

SharonCb

I made Gina's Lemon Shrimp Scampi with fresh homemade ( by Clive!) pasta. It was wonderful. Made it along with a Caesar sald and Gilroy garlic bread...you would have thought it was the garlic virtual dinner ! LOL

I'm at the coittage without the stuff I need to download pics but will do that Tuesday. Such a great dish , thanks again Gina!

PS: I swear I have made this dish more than Gina has !!!!

PPS: Leona you are getting on my nerves.......

I started with a late breakfast With Sue's Lemon-Ricotta Hot Cakes. Added some bacon, cantalope, and a pot of coffee. YUM!

I planned on making Gina's shrimp recipe thinking I had shrimp in the freezer...nope...no shrimp to be found darn it. I do have Oly's lemon pound cake in the over now and it smells wonderful. I'll share a pic later tonight or tomorrow.

Good looking and sounding food so far. Congrats to himself for making the pasta Sharon. Nancy, sorry you were home alone this weekend. Looking forward the next cookalong!!

David

Ooh, the Chicago contingent had a wonderful Lemon Challenge. Since my bettery was dead on my camera, I did not take any pix, so I will let someone else post about it.
Sherry

We made the Lemon Picatta recipe from Sherry and the Lemon Risotto from Sally, both were very good, first time cooking Risotto. Couldn't find Chicken Cutlets at the store we shopped today so simply used chicken breasts and cooked longer. Enjoyed the strong lemon/garlic/caper flavors on the chicken...DH said its a keeper!

{{gwi:1507087}}

Oh yeah, I got that covered!

Peppi made some really good chicken with lemon, I think she said it was greek....

Sherry made a wonderful cake. The cake was from Joy of Cooking, the filling was a combination of two lemon curd recipes, a raspberry filling from another recipe and a frosting with lemon and mascarpone cheese. Oh my, it was good. So good we had some for breakfast on Sunday, after having it for dinner the night before!

What? Me? I participated. I brought the Limoncello, LOL. Hey, it was important!

Annie

I was thrilled tonight that my son and his girlfriend joined us for dinner, especially since my daughter is here for the week visiting us from Portland. I made the Lemon Risotto, plus I picked some beets and the greens from my garden and made a roasted beet and carrot salad to top the cooked greens. I was planning on making a beet salad and the beet greens, but there weren't enough beets for 5 people, so I added the carrots and just topped the greens with the salad. I also broiled some tofu I marinated in some lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, soy sauce and some herbs. My daughter and I made a couple of loaves of ciabatta to go with the meal, plus we made some World Peace Cookies for desert. We all had a great time.

Early on, I took some pictures of my freshly gathered beets, but my battery went dead. So, I put it in the charger, planning on having the camera ready for supper when the Risotto and everything was ready and dinner was served and I could take some pictures. Well, the best laid plans....... we were half way through dinner when I remembered about taking pictures. Sorry guys, I'm just not good at the picture thing.

Sally

Seems my post from yesterday was deleted.

Anyway, I just didn't get motivated to cook this weekend. I certainly intended to but I was home alone and got into another project. I'll be back to share what I do with my Meyer lemons....that are sitting on the counter.

Great theme, David. It was nice to have something that inspired both cooking and baking.

I just drew the name for the next Cookalong.

Ruthanna...are you up to the challenge? :)

I'll check back here to see what Ruthanna picks (will keep an eye on my email too).

Nancy

Wiz why don't you make some of that myer lemon vanilla bean marmelade. I made it two years ago--very yum. In fact I didn't make any marmelade this year because I still have so much left over from last year to use up. I don't have my recipe handy but you could probably find it by doing a search of the Harvest Forum.

I am soooooooo slow in the kitchen. I am one cookalong behind. This weekend I made carrot and red lentil soup from the last ingredient! It was good. I've also been using Thai Curry paste made from cilantro and lemon juice and other stuff in my stir frys this week. The recipe comes from Moosewood Restaurant Lowfat Favorites. Very yummy if you like cilantro.

Sherry that cake is the bomb!! Wow.

I didn't really cook either. My lemon use was on Weds night when I whipped up a quick chicken piccata after work that I served with a salad, roasted zucchini and brussels sprouts.
Friday night I sauteed some mushroom(?) asagio sausage with some white wine and lemon juice. Enuf said.

Hope Ruthanna sees this!

Ruthanna....next Cookalong ingredient is your pick!

Nancy

theresafic, a chicken cutlet is just a chicken breast that you have pounded until it is quite thin. But yours looks wonderful anyway. Great picture. Did you like the lemon risotto? I have never made it before but it sounds like something I would like.

Sherry, I know, but my husband who is doing the cookalong with me, didn't want to pound it out. He felt you needed a special tool and he thought the recipes were too complicated already.... I am bringing him along slowly.. At least he is participating and he is the one who takes the pictures.

The lemon risotto was really good, not that hard to make and it was really lemony. I liked the fact it was not too fattening. I didn't use any butter, just oil, and just the amount of cheese specified without extra for the table. I will make it again.

Theresa

Oooo, I feel like the Iron Chef whipping the cover off the challenges's secret ingredient.

The ingredient I've selected another one that can be used in either sweet or savory dishes - Dried Fruits. That includes dried apricots, raisins, dried cranberries and cherries, dried plums (formerly known as prunes), dried apples or figs and any other varieties of dried fruit.

I LOVE that idea ruthanna. I always have dried fruits and would love to get some more recipes besides the prune and apricot stuffed pork roast that I frequently do. Yummy!

Too bad the Chicago trip crew didn't bring back some of those dried persimmons!
:)

Continue to post anything else here that applies to the Lemon Cookalong.

I just want to thank everyone for another great Coolalong!

Nancy

I'm too late for the cookalong, but I recently made these to take with us on a road trip and wanted to post my favorite Lemon cookie recipe with the rest of yours. Lemon Lover's Cookie is made entirely in the food processor, so it's super easy. I first made these in August 2004, to try out my new convection oven, and they were an instant hit, light and delicate. Keeping an extra cookie roll in the fridge or freezer is nice to have on hand. I recently visited some friends in New Mexico and took them a bag, along with a few for ourselves. They cookies keep beautifully, and still tasted fresh after 10 days on the road. I like a lot of lemon flavor, so I punch it up by adding the zest of two lemons, which I didn't include in the recipe.

Lemon Lovers Cookies
A delicate cookie, from The Lemon Lovers Cookbook.

Plan ahead, as you have to leave the dough in the refrigerator for several hours before baking.

1 large lemon, zest of
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter, chilled and cut into pieces (2 sticks)
2 1/3 cups cake flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Process the lemon zest and sugar in a food processor until the zest is as fine as the sugar. Add the butter. Process until fluffy. Scrape down the bowl. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Process briefly until mixed. Form dough into two 1-1/2-inch-round logs and wrap each in wax paper. Refrigerate until firm. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice each log into 1/4-inch thick cookies and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden around the edges. Do not overbake!

I love lemon cookies. I'll have to add those to my list to try.

Just a little addendum on the lemon risotto - the recipe I use calls for butter, and optional cream, although I don't use the cream. It also allows for additional parm at the table if you choose to. The way Theresa made it sounds intriguing, since she cut out the butter. I like the idea of making it a little bit healthier and it still tasting good.

Sally