We’ve never been able to make a really good lemon bar. Maybe that’s not exactly right – we’ve never made a lemon bar that we’ve thought was perfect. Either the lemon mixture wouldn’t gel, or they were impossible to remove from the pan, or there was almost no lemon flavor, and so on. And we were following the directions to the tee, so we couldn’t understand what was wrong.

So I stopped following the directions and started tweaking.

I got this recipe from epicurious, but I’ll post what I did below.

Shortbread Crust Ingredients
3/4 c cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 c flour
1/2 c light brown sugar, packed
1/2 t salt

Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Put all ingredients in a food processor and run on medium until mixture begins to form small, pea-sized lumps. Pour mixture into 9×13 baking dish and press evenly onto bottom (a metal spatula is good for this – don’t use your hands! It’ll melt the butter and throw off the texture of the shortbread). Bake shortbread on middle rack for 20 minutes and prepare the lemon mixture.

Lemon Curd Topping
4 large eggs
1 c sugar
3/4 c lemon juice
1 T lemon zest (2 large lemons)
1/3 c flour

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar. Add lemon juice, zest and flour and stir until just combined. Pour over hot shortbread base and carefully return pan to oven, turning temperature down to 300°F (149°C). Bake for 30 minutes, or until just set in the middle. Allow to cool completely (preferably overnight), then dust lightly with powdered sugar.

I love wrap sandwiches. When we’re anywhere with a Marks & Spencer food hall, I live on the things (mostly because those happen to be in England and it’s hella expensive there). So I wanted to try making my own. Here’s my first iteration – we enjoyed the results!

Salad
1 lb cooled poached chicken, chopped or shredded
2 large heads romaine lettuce, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
1 large bunch cilantro, chopped (about 1/3 c)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1/2 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped

Dressing
1/2 c olive oil
1/3 c lime juice (I used red wine vinegar instead)
2 small cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chile powder

Large tortillas or lahvosh bread

Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl. Whisk together dressing and toss with salad. Spread desired toppings in a thin layer on a tortilla (sour cream, cheese, sliced avocado, etc.) and top with salad. This should be enough for 6 large wraps.

I’ve been trying to get these right for a long time. After combining elements from several different recipes, I think I’ve finally hit on a winner. This recipe will probably make enough for four adult portions.

1 1/2 lbs medium potatoes – mealy or waxy, I don’t think it matters. Use what you like.
3 T olive oil
1/2 t coarse salt
1/2 t pepper

1. Preheat oven to 500°F. If your oven doesn’t get up that high, turn it as high as it will go. Seriously, do the preheat, because you want the oven ready as soon as you’re done dealing with the potatoes. Use a baking sheet with low sides (if the sides are too high, the fries with just steam; no sides and you’ll have an oily mess all over your oven). Line the baking sheet with heavy foil, shiny side up, and put it in the oven while preheating.

2. After washing and allowing the potatoes to dry, slice them into fries (peel the potatoes if you want to – I don’t). You want them to be roughly the same length and not much thicker than 1/3 inch. Toss the fries with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Take the baking sheet out of the hot oven and arrange fries, cut side down, in a single layer (they will sizzle upon hitting the pan).

3. Turn the oven down to 450°F and bake the fries for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, take them out and carefully turn them with a pair of tongs (they will probably stick a little), then bake for another 5-10 minutes on the other side.

4. After baking, toss the fries with more salt and pepper if desired and serve immediately.

While between jobs in Detroit, I worked for a few months at a place that served only soup – pretty good soup, too. They had one that, after I had decided it was my favorite, they quickly discontinued. With some help from this recipe, I hit on a pretty good replica.

6 red bell peppers
2 T butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 small can tomato paste
2 t sweet paprika
5 c chicken or vegetable stock
1 c orzo
3 T heavy cream

1. Preheat broiler, position rack about 4 inches under element and line cookie sheet (use one with sides!) with foil. Cut the peppers into quarters and remove seeds and ribs. Place peppers on the cookie sheet skin side up. Roast the peppers for 15-20 minutes, until skins are mostly blackened. Using tongs, place peppers in a large ziploc (also, pour in any juices collected on the foil) to steam and set aside for 20 minutes. Remove peppers, peel blackened skins and chop coarsely.

2. In a deep soup pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender and translucent. Add rosemary, tomato paste and paprika, stirring until tomato paste is well distributed. Add peppers and chicken stock, bring it all to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Remove rosemary from the soup. Using a stick blender, process soup until fairly smooth and no large pieces remain. Add one cup of hot water to soup, stir well and bring back to boil. When boiling, add orzo and cook according to package directions. After orzo is cooked, turn down heat and stir in cream. Adjust seasonings and serve.

Well, we have a good biscuit recipe. Isn’t this the next logical step? This is not by any stretch of the imagination diet friendly, but it’s absolutely delicious. Plus, it’s enough work that you won’t want to make it that often.

1/2 lb bulk pork sausage, crumbled (or make your own!)
2 T flour
1 1/2 c weak beef broth
1/2 c whipping cream
1/2 t sage
1/2 t black pepper
pinch ground cloves

In a deep skillet over medium heat, brown sausage, breaking up with back of spatula while cooking. Drain off fat except for one tablespoon and stir flour into meat until no lumps remain, then add beef broth, stirring frequently until liquid comes to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low and add cream in a slow stream while stirring. Add sage, pepper and cloves and stir constantly until mixture thickens and just begins to boil – gravy should well coat the back of spoon. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

I’ve made this twice and loved it and totally forgotten to post it. The original is here and I don’t think I’ve made that many changes to it. A couple of notes, though: using dried chickpeas never works for me. I soaked those little bastards for about 18 hours and they were still hard when chopped up. When I made it again, I just went with canned and the texture benefited greatly. And use the fresh rosemary. It makes all the difference.

1/2 lb (250 g) dried chickpeas soaked overnight and then simmered for 2 hours until tender *or* 1 can of chickpeas, drained (I used two cans – I like lots of chickpeas)
2 T olive oil
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 stick of celery, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
2 T tomato paste (one small can
1 sprig rosemary
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 c vegetable or chicken stock or water the chickpeas were cooked in, with more plain water added to make up the difference, if necessary
* optional* 500ml extra water or stock for if you cook the pasta in the soup
Parmesan rind
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lb small dried tubular pasta (ditali)
*optional* olive oil for on top
*optional* shredded Parmesan for on top

Heat the oil to medium-low in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Add the carrot, celery and onion to the oil and sautée until soft and translucent. Stir in tomato paste, rosemary and garlic, then add chickpeas.

Cover everything with stock or water and throw in Parmesan rind. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Remove the rind and rosemary and pass everything through a food mill or give it a blast with the stick blender until you achieve the desired texture. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Now, two choices:

1. add some more water or stock to the soup, bring it to the boil and cook your pasta directly in the soup

or

2. cook your pasta separately, then add it to the soup, letting things rest for about 5 minutes so the flavors mingle. Serve drizzled with oil and some freshly grated Parmesan.

This came out of my high school cookbook and it was something special. We were looking for something carby and savory to have with salad for dinner and gave this a try. Turns out, we were nearly licking the plates. These mushrooms would probably be fantastic smothering a steak or chicken breast, folded into an omelet or as a base for a creamy pasta sauce.

1 baguette, day old and sliced into 1/2 inch slices
2 T butter
1 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb mushroom, sliced
1/2 t dried thyme
1 T Madeira wine
1/2 c chicken or vegetable broth
1-2 T fresh parsley or chives, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 400° F (200° C). Arrange baguette slices in one layer on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until golden.

Heat a skillet to medium-low and add olive oil and butter. When butter starts to foam, add onion and cook until transparent. Add garlic and mushrooms to skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid evaporates. Add thyme, wine and chicken broth and bring to simmer, stirring until mixture is reduced by two thirds. Remove from heat and stir in parsley or chives and salt and pepper. Mound a heaping spoonful of mushrooms on top of each crostini.