Normally I steer clear of chicken breasts as they all too often come out dry and boring. I’m a dark meat girl. Give me a hunky juicy thigh and I am in heaven. But I was pleasantly surprised by the tender juiciness of the chicken breasts my aunt made the other night.

As her sous chef I was instructed to do the stuffing. We made a paste with garlic and kosher salt and had a pile of fresh fragrant cilantro. I sliced the breasts almost through and liberally stuffed them with the garlic paste and freshly chopped cilantro (you could also substitute Italian parsley or basil if you aren’t a cilantro fan). Then we pan fried them in a bit of olive oil. To finish them off we squeezed fresh lemon juice on top and sprinkled on some lemon zest.

Easy. Delicious. And, yes, they were juicy! Dark meat girl was sold.

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I was perusing through some of Julia Child’s great cookbooks last night and came upon her recipe for Basic Vinaigrette Dressing. I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’m horrible at making salad dressing. If it extends beyond a good oil, a splash of lemon juice, and some salt, I’m afraid I tend to fail miserably. Inevitably it comes out too vinegary or just simply lacking in flavor. Salad dressing should be easy, right!? I can create a beautiful cassoulet, a lovely osso bucco, delicate homemade pasta, even fresh sushi. But a simple salad dressing? Not my forté. I usually pass the task on to Barnaby.

So, I’m turning a new leaf (pardon the salad pun), grabbing the oil and vinegar bottles by the <er> horns, and approaching this salad dressing business with a new attitude.

I..will..master..the..vinaigrette!

Who better than to show me the way than our friend Julia Child. I followed her Basic Vinaigrette recipe and minced scallions, mixed in some Dijon mustard, a pinch of salt, some vinegar and lemon juice, a really good olive oil, and a few healthy cracks of fresh black pepper. I gave it all a little vroom! vroom! with the immersion blender and voilà, the perfect vinaigrette. Like Julia says, you can always add more vinegar or lemon but you can’t take it out. I spooned some into the salad bowl, added my just-snipped-from-the-garden baby lettuces, and gave it all a toss. A bit of lemon zest gave it a fresh snap of flavor.

I think Julia would have been proud.

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It’s Friday and you know what that means. It means we get to kick back, put our feet up, and pat ourselves on the back for doing such a fine job all week. What better way to celebrate your goodness (and take a well-deserved load off) than to sip a lovely cocktail in your sunny backyard. I’ve got the drink for you (the yard is up to you). It’s a delicious Lemon Lavender Martini.

What inspired me was the beautiful lavender bushes in our yard. I looked longingly at them one evening, knowing that soon I would have to cut them back, and commented on how they looked pretty enough to eat (or drink!) So we cut off a bunch of stems and made a lavender infused simple syrup. With our simple syrup we mixed in vodka, a splash of fresh lemon juice, and gave it a shake with ice. Adjust the syrup citrus ratio according to taste.

Now there’s some lemon lavender love for you.

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The mild flavor of shark is a good foil for robust seasonings. Here we have used garlic, lemon and cracked pepper in copious amounts as we love all three. Quick cooking methods such as grilling or broiling are recommended to avoid overcooking which turns shark to shoe leather in no time.

It’s never a bad idea to keep a close eye on any shark, in or out of the oven!

Shark with Lemon, Pepper, and Garlic

Ingredients:
1 lb shark steak or fillet, serves 2-3
2-3 large garlic cloves, put through a press or chopped fine
1 /2  t cracked pepper, or to your taste
I T olive oil or lemon infused olive oil
Juice of half a lemon, fresh squeezed

Preparation:
Preheat broiler to HIGH setting
Prepare both sides of fish as follows:
Brush with oil or flavored oil
Add the garlic and pepper, spreading evenly and pressing in to adhere
Sprinkle with lemon juice

Place on broiler pan and set at least 6″ from the heat source to avoid burning. The garlic will burn quite easily if the heat is too high. Brush with more oil and/or lower heat to LOW broil setting if the color is getting too dark.
Cooking time will vary based on the temperature and thickness of the fish.

Serve with fresh lemon wedges and enjoy.

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Gremolata is a traditional accompaniment to Osso Buco, an Italian dish of braised veal shank. It is simply made of chopped parsley, lemon peel and garlic, which makes it divine on all kinds of meats, poultry, and seafood. Personally, I could put it on top of a good toasted bread and be just fine.

I made a batch of gremolata the other night to go on top of our delicious red wine stewed oxtail. It adds the perfect blend of herb-citrus-lemon flavors to a hearty meat dish.

Gremolata

1 lemon
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the lemon peel in long strips, then mince the peel. Transfer to small bowl and mix in parsley and garlic.

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When life throws you lemons make limoncello!

The first time I had limoncello (lee-mohn-CHEH-loh) was years ago in Sorrento, a charming sea town on the Amalfi Coast in Italy known for it’s narrow windy roads, beautiful citrus groves, and well, limoncello.

Limoncello is a digestif made from lemon rinds, alcohol, sugar and water. Although it’s made from lemons it’s sweet not sour, since it’s made from the rinds and not the juice. It’s sipped icy cold (but never with ice) after dinner from small glasses.

Not only is limoncello delicious, it’s easy and inexpensive to produce, containing only a few simple ingredients and requiring just a bit of time to mature. Perfect for holiday gifts!

Limoncello

15 lemons
2 (750 ml) bottles minimum 80 proof alcohol (good quality vodka or grappa)
4 cups sugar
5 cups water

Note: If you use Everclear or some more pure alcohol, dilute it to about 40%, the strength of vodka. Below that, it will not properly extract all the oils from the rinds.

Step 1
Wash the lemons with hot water to remove wax; pat dry. Zest the lemons with a zester or vegetable peeler so there is no white pith on the peel. You want to take great care while zesting to make sure you are only getting the outer part of the rind. The pith is too bitter and will spoil your limoncello!

Step 2
Put the peels in a large 1 gallon plus glass jar and add one bottle of alcohol and seal tightly. Leave the jar to steep in a cool, dark place until the peels lose their color, at least 2 weeks.

Step 3
After the initial 2 week resting period, combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan and cook until thickened and clear. Let the syrup cool. Add the syrup and the additional bottle of alcohol to the limoncello mixture from Step 2. Allow to rest for another 10 to 40 days.

Step Four
Strain out the lemon peels through a coffee filter or cheesecloth and pour the limoncello into another container. Press down to remove all the alcohol and oils that you can from the peels before tossing them. Stir the liquid with a clean plastic or wooden spoon. Put the liqueur in clean bottles (I prefer swing top bottles), seal tightly and leave the finished bottles for at least 1 week before using.

Store your limoncello in the freezer to enjoy icy cold – it won’t freeze.

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Lemon curd is a quintessentially English treat. It reminds me of tea at Harrod’s in London when I was in the 5th grade. It’s delicious slathered over scones with cream or baked in a fruit tart. I especially love it when it makes you pucker.

The following recipe, from the cookbook Once Upon A Tart, was prepared the other night by my friend. She made another batch from a Martha Stewart recipe and, in a blind tasting, this one won hands down. While Martha’s was delicious, Once Upon A Tart’s had a cleaner, more pure lemon flavor, even though both were made from fresh lemons.

Give it a try…

Lemon Curd (from Once Upon A Tart)

Grate the rind of one lemon and set aside. Beat 8 egg yolks in a bowl to break them up. Pour the yolks through a sieve into a heavy-bottomed pot to strain out the white membranes. Stir in 1 ¼ cups sugar and ¾ cups lemon juice (3-4 lemons) and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden or heatproof rubber spatula in a figure-eight motion, making sure to scrape the edges of the pot.

Continue cooking until the curd thickens enough to coat the back of your spoon. Lift the spoon out of the curd and run your finger down the length of the spoon. If your finger leaves a line, the curd is thick enough. If the curd runs and covers up the line, it’s too runny and needs to cook longer.

Remove the pan from the heat. Add 10 tablespoons of unsalted butter and the lemon zest, and stir until the butter is completely melted. Pour the curd into a small bowl, and let cool to room temperature. Cover the cooled curd, and refrigerate until you’re ready to use. Lemon curd will last in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Stand in front of the refrigerator late at night, in your pajamas, and spoon-feed yourself lemon curd.

Sweet dreams…

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Welcome to the world of black lemons! If you’ve never had the opportunity to try these Middle Eastern goodies go to World Spice Merchants and order some. They’re completely dried and look inedible, but in fact their sweet-tartness is so flavorful you’ll want to use it in about everything: soups, stews, tagines, couscous, even sprinkled on salads. The tangy depth that the lemons add is wonderfully unusual and earthy.

We ground a couple of them (use a mortar and pestle, a clean coffee grinder or a microplane grater) and, with other spices, created a delicious North African-esque chicken dish. We just kind of created it as we went along, so sorry folks, no recipe. That’s the beauty of improvisational cooking!

Check out Syrian Zahtar and Black Lemon Spiced Chicken from The Hunger. In a word: Mmmm.

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My favorite citrus is the yuzu. I discovered this amazingly fragrant fruit while living in Japan years ago, and am happy that I am now able to find it more and more here in the States. Yuzu is a small citrus originally from China but also widely used in Japanese cuisine. Some refer to it as citron but I do not believe it is the same variety. It is smaller and a little less juicy than the average lemon but its fragrance packs a much more powerful punch. You can find it in the fall and winter months in Japanese markets. I love to zest some over fresh tofu with ponzu sauce, grilled fish, sauteed spinach, or simply use as a garnish. Also, typical in Japan this time of year, it is wonderful sliced in half and thrown into your bath for a nice long soak.

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