Lemon Soup Meringue Pie

This month's Daring Bakers Challenge was to make Lemon Meringue Pie. I was excited to try this recipe since it was my favorite dessert when I was growing up. I think I have made one or two in the past but it has been a LONG time.

It is definitely lemon season around here. I have a basket full of lemons from our lemon tree and several bags of Meyer lemons that friends have given me. I love using Meyer lemons; they are a little sweeter and very juicy.

The challenge was set by Jen at The Canadian Baker. You can find the recipe on her site. The recipe seemed pretty straightforward though a number of bakers reported having problems with the filling. I had waited to the last day to make the pie but it seemed like I would have plenty of time. The dough for the pie crust came together fine and it was easy to roll out. The kids had fun helping me roll out the dough and then they played with the extra dough. I didn't have pie weights so I raided the kid's piggy bank and used about $5 in change in the foiled lined crust. After baking the crust had shrunk a bit and didn't look as pretty but it was a nice golden brown.

Since I had to let it cool for the filling, I went to the grocery store though that took a whole lot longer than I expected. Once I got home, it was close to dinner time so I assembled the rest of the pie while heating up soup and boiling noodles. The filling involves cooking cornstarch and sugar in water until thick, adding it to egg yolks and cooking a bit more and then adding butter and lemon juice plus zest. The cornstarch and sugar got very thick, after adding the egg yolks and cooking a bit more, it was still very thick. But after adding the butter and lemon juice, it was more like soup. I thought it might thicken up more as it cooled but after adding the meringue on top, baking it for 20 more minutes, and then letting it cool, it was definitely not set.

Even though it wasn't pretty, the pie still tasted good. It was more like buttery crust and meringue with lemon sauce on top but it was still good. The lemon filling was tart but went well with the sweet meringue. I definitely want to try this again and get it right.

Carmel Chicken

I have two recipes for Carmel Chicken, one from a newspaper food section and the other from a cookbook The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking by Mai Pham (called Gooey Ginger Chicken). I like both of them and they are very similar. Recently though, I found another recipe for Carmel Chicken in a food blog, Anne's Food posted on Jan 16, 2008. This recipe calls for less sugar and no ginger but with the added ingredients of cider vinegar and worcestershire sauce. While the combination of sugar and vinegar with chicken did not promise to be a favorite with V, I thought the worcestershire sauce might give it a slightly different flavor that he might like. I decided to give it a try. Plus it let me try out my new julienne tool that I got for Christmas to julienne some carrots.

It was a very easy recipe to make and it only took about 30 minutes to prepare, a definite plus. I love the sweet and slightly sour taste of the sauce and the combination of sliced sweet onions and bits of carrot. My mom was visiting and she thought it was good too. G tried it, said she liked it, but then didn't eat any more. When V got home, he ate it but didn't give it rave reviews. I guess I will have to save this for when I'm cooking for just myself.

The Green Smoothie

When A was 2 yr old, he would eat broccoli all the time. Sometimes, it would be the only thing he would eat for dinner. At some point though he gradually started refusing to eat broccoli and then anything that resembled a vegetable, except for raw carrots. He even refuses to try dishes that contain a few bits of parsley.

Recently, A has been requesting the Odwalla Superfood Smoothie which is recognizable by its lovely shade of green, instead of chocolate milk when we have gone to Starbucks. The first few times I talked him into something else, but then I decided to let him try it. And he liked it. Looking at the ingredients, it's not surprising as the first two ingredients are apple and mango. The green color comes from wheatgrass.

We were shopping at Whole Foods yesterday and A found the 1/2 gallon container of Superfood Smoothie. I did not want to spend $7 for juice so I promised him that I would make a green smoothie at home. So tonight for dinner I mixed in a blender a very ripe frozen banana, a handful of frozen mango chunks, partially thawed, two spoonfuls of lowfat Greek yogurt, some orange juice and 1/4 cup chopped spinach (Trader Joes frozen chopped spinach, microwaved for 1 minute). I mixed everything in the blender for about 2 minutes to make sure it was well blended. It was definitely green though lighter in color than the Superfood Smoothie.

The verdict? A thought it was great and wanted more. G decided she had to try it as well. She also really liked it and took a few guesses at the secret green ingredient. I guess this is one way to get the kids to eat more veggies.

Orange Cranberry Bread

The kids were interested in making something this afternoon and we had an excess of oranges so I decided to try making Orange Cranberry Bread. I had just seen a recipe for Orange Raspberry Pecan Bread at Baking Bites but we had cranberries rather than raspberries and G doesn't like pieces of nuts.

G and A loved juicing the oranges. I have a hand press juicer that works well. G also enjoyed zesting the orange with the microplane zester and she did a good job. Then they took turns measuring flour, sugar, baking powder and soda. G stirred and A added the wet ingredients to the bowl.

Once in the oven, the kids checked on the baking bread every few minutes and then were eager to try it once out of the oven. G liked it but A decided not to try it. Oh well, more for us. It was good with a subtle orange flavor and I liked the contrast with the cranberries. V thought the cranberries were a little tart so maybe next time I will try it with raspberries.

Texas Chili

Today I made my favorite chili recipe, lots of meat and red sauce, and more importantly NO BEANS. I cut it out of the Williams Sonoma catalog years ago (I couldn't find any reference to it on their website). It is also a fairly simple recipe of meat, chili powder, garlic, oregano and cumin. Commercial chili powder is usually a mix of chili powder mixed with oregano and cumin (Cooks Illustrated recommends Spice Islands), but today all I had was pure ground New Mexico red chili powder so I went with that. It is fairly mild so the only heat came from the cumin. I ended up with only about 2.5 lb of meat instead of 5lb so I cut everything in half. That was fine except the chili tended to cook down faster over the 1.5 hr of simmering so I added more water at the end.

This recipe is a little unusual it uses olive oil to cook the flour. The spices are cooked in the oil for a short time before added to the simmering meat. The oil sizzles as it is added to the pot and the mixture looks very red at the beginning. After 1.5 hr of simmering, the chili is a darker shade, looking more like rich chocolate.

I usually serve this chili over rice with a dollop of Greek yogurt on top.

Texas Chili (from William Sonoma catalog)

5lb lean beef, cubed
3 Tbsp sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp salt
1 quart water

3/4 cup olive oil
5 Tbsp flour
5 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 Tbsp ground chili
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin

Combine beef, sugar, salt and water. Bring to a boil, skim and reduce heat immediately to a simmer.

Heat oil in skillet, add flour and cook for 2 min without browning. Add garlic, chili powder, pepper, oregano, and cumin to oil, cook briefly and add to meat. Simmer chili for about 1 1/2 hr until tender.

The Easiest, Most Delicious Dinner

For Christmas Eve, we had the best but easiest dinner in the world (my favorite anyway): fresh, Dungeness crab. Apparently everyone else at Whole Foods thought it was a good idea too. I went to the store in the late morning and the customers were three deep at the fish counter (the only counter without a number system). Everyone was ordering 3-4 crabs a piece and they had extra people in the back working hard to clean and crack all the crabs. I ordered 3 crabs for dinner which seemed like a lot since it would only be me and V doing most of the eating. G also likes crab but A wouldn't touch it. I think he had applesauce instead.

Dinner was very simple. Cracked crab in a huge bowl on the table, lots of melted butter as well as mayonnaise mixed with Dijon mustard (one of the few times I will eat mayonnaise) to dip the crab in, garlic bread, and some steamed broccoli mixed with some leftover garlic butter. Amazingly, all the crab was devoured. I had hoped for a little leftover to add to scrambled eggs Christmas morning, but oh well.

Yule Log

As part of the Daring Bakers, I made a Buche de Noel (or yule log) last weekend. It was the first challenge that I've done and I was really excited to try this one. I made a Buche de Noel many years ago and it was a lot of fun. This one was also fun to make as I got to try my hand at making meringue mushrooms to decorate it which I hadn't done before. The cake is a basic genoise and I added cocoa to make it chocolate flavored. We had the option of filling it with buttercream or another filling and I chose to make a White Chocolate Mouse from Martha Stewart's Holiday Baking Magazine from December 2002. The outside was then covered with the Coffee Buttercream.

I had intended to take pictures of the whole process but my camera wasn't cooperating. Instead I only took a picture of the finished product before it was transported to a holiday party. Overall I thought it turned out really well and it looked great with the meringue mushrooms.

Chocolate Genoise:

3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
¾ cup of sugar
1/3 cup cake flour - spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off (also known as cake & pastry flour)
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup cocoa

one 10 x 15 inch jelly-roll pan that has been buttered and lined with parchment paper and then buttered again

1.Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

2.Half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat so the water is simmering.

3.Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Place over the pan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture is just lukewarm, about 100 degrees if you have a thermometer (or test with your finger - it should be warm to the touch).

4.Attach the bowl to the mixer and, with the whisk attachment, whip on medium-high speed until the egg mixture is cooled (touch the outside of the bowl to tell) and tripled in volume. The egg foam will be thick and will form a slowly dissolving ribbon falling back onto the bowl of whipped eggs when the whisk is lifted.

5.While the eggs are whipping, stir together the flour and cornstarch.

6.Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the beaten eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture, making sure to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl on every pass through the batter to prevent the flour mixture from accumulating there and making lumps. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture and finally with the remainder.

7.Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

8.Bake the genoise for about 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure the cake doesn’t overbake and become too dry or it will not roll properly.

9.While the cake is baking, begin making the buttercream.

10.Once the cake is done (a tester will come out clean and if you press the cake lightly it will spring back), remove it from the oven and let it cool on a rack.

NOTES:

I decided to make a chocolate genoise cake so I changed the proportions as suggested. The chocolate flavor wasn’t very intense though. I used Hershey’s cocoa and I think next time I would use a different brand. I also think my oven runs a little hot, I think the cake was done at 8 minutes but I left it in until 10 minutes and it was pretty brown on top and crispy at the edges. I trimmed all around before rolling up the cake and I also brushed the cake with rum mixed with simple syrup to give more rum flavor to the cake and help it stay moist.

White Chocolate Mousse (from Martha Stewart's Holiday Baking magazine, Dec. 2002)

1 ½ tsp powdered gelatin
¼ cup cold water
12 oz chopped white chocolate
2 cups heavy cream

Dissolve gelatin in cold water, set aside for 5 minutes. Place chocolate in a bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Place ¾ cup cream in a small saucepan, and bring just to a boil over medium-high heat. Add gelatin and stir 30 seconds to dissolve. Pour into food processor with the motor running and process until smooth.

Transfer mixture to a medium bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Chill until thick enough to hold ribbons, about 20 minutes.

Whip remaining 1 ¼ cup cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into chocolate mixture.

Use immediately.

NOTE: I ended up chilling it for 30 minutes instead of 20 and it was very thick and gelatinous. I ended up stirring in 1/3 of the whipped cream to loosen it up and then folded in the rest of the whipped cream.

Coffee Buttercream:

4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
24 tablespoons (3 sticks or 1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons rum or brandy

1.Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set the bowl over simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot.

2.Attach the bowl to the mixer and whip with the whisk on medium speed until cooled. Switch to the paddle and beat in the softened butter and continue beating until the buttercream is smooth. Dissolve the instant coffee in the liquor and beat into the buttercream.

NOTES:

I didn’t want to make a full recipe of buttercream since I was using a different filling, so I decided to cut it by a ¼ or a 1/3. I should have written out the reduced recipe because I started out cutting it by ¼ (I used 3 egg whites instead of 4) but then I somehow switched to reducing by 1/3 so I added 2/3 sugar, 2 sticks of butter. Then at the end I used 1 ½ Tbsp each espresso powder and rum. It still turned out fine. I have a recipe for buttercream in The Bakers Dozen Cookbook that says to whip the egg whites for 6 minutes before adding the butter. When I first made that recipe last summer, I didn’t wait the full 6 minutes. The bowl didn’t feel that warm, but it was warm enough to turn the buttercream into soup. After tossing that batch, I waited the full 6 minutes before adding the butter and it turned out perfectly. I did the same with the coffee buttercream, 6 full minutes of whipping and then added butter.

My husband thought the coffee flavor wasn't as intense as he would like, so maybe next time I would add more of the espresso powder.

Filling and frosting the log:

1.Run a sharp knife around the edges of the genoise to loosen it from the pan.

2.Turn the genoise layer over (unmolding it from the sheet pan onto a flat surface) and peel away the paper.

3.Carefully invert your genoise onto a fresh piece of parchment paper.

4.Spread with half the coffee buttercream (or whatever filling you’re using).

5.Use the parchment paper to help you roll the cake into a tight cylinder.

6.Transfer back to the baking sheet and refrigerate for several hours.

7.Unwrap the cake. Trim the ends on the diagonal, starting the cuts about 2 inches away from each end.

8.Position the larger cut piece on each log about 2/3 across the top.

9.Cover the log with the reserved buttercream, making sure to curve around the protruding stump.

10.Streak the buttercream with a fork or decorating comb to resemble bark.

11.Transfer the log to a platter and decorate with your mushrooms and whatever other decorations you’ve chosen.

Meringue Mushrooms:

3 large egg whites, at room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup (3-1/2 ounces/105 g.) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (1-1/3 ounces/40 g.) icing sugar
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

1.Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Have ready a pastry bag fitted with a small (no. 6) plain tip. In a bowl, using a mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar until very foamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar while beating. Increase the speed to high and beat until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Continue until the whites hold stiff, shiny peaks. Sift the icing sugar over the whites and, using a rubber spatula, fold in until well blended.

2.Scoop the mixture into the bag. On one baking sheet, pipe 48 stems, each ½ inch (12 mm.) wide at the base and tapering off to a point at the top, ¾ inch (2 cm.) tall, and spaced about ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. On the other sheet, pipe 48 mounds for the tops, each about 1-1/4 inches (3 cm.) wide and ¾ inch (2 cm.) high, also spaced ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. With a damp fingertip, gently smooth any pointy tips. Dust with cocoa. Reserve the remaining meringue.

3.Bake until dry and firm enough to lift off the paper, 50-55 minutes. Set the pans on the counter and turn the mounds flat side up. With the tip of a knife, carefully make a small hole in the flat side of each mound. Pipe small dabs of the remaining meringue into the holes and insert the stems tip first. Return to the oven until completely dry, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool completely on the sheets.

4.Garnish your Yule Log with the mushrooms.

NOTES:

I only had a no 12 tip which is a little bigger but it seemed to work okay for making the mushrooms. I forgot to dust with cocoa before baking so I dusted with cocoa after the mushrooms were done.