Ricotta Souffle Pancakes with Raspberries

From Lou Seibert Pappas's Pancakes & Waffles, page 24.

See how I'm finally getting around to trying all these delicious pancake and waffle recipes?  Pappas writes that these are "a treat for brunch or dessert," and I totally agree.  Though I made a breakfast out of them until they were all gone.  They're light and fluffy but somehow kept me full.  I'll definitely be making these again.

 Yield: About sixteen 3 1/2-inch pancakes.


4 large eggs, separated
2 Tbs. sugar
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup fresh raspberries for topping

In a bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, then beat in the sugar until medium glossy peaks form.

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks until thick and pale in color, then beat in the cheese, flour, butter, zest, and salt.  Fold 1/4 of the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture to lighten, then fold in the remaining egg whites.

Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat and grease lightly.  For each pancake, spoon about 3 large tablespoons batter onto the hot griddle.  Cook slowly for about 1 1/2 minutes until golden brown underneath, then turn the pancakes over and cook about another 30 seconds longer.

Notes:
- I used part-skim ricotta, which didn't seem to cause any problems.
- This recipe made me wish I either had another mixing bowl for my Kitchen-Aid or a little hand mixer that I could use for the egg yolks.  As it was, I gently scooped the beaten egg whites into another bowl so I could use the mixer for the yolks (tried doing it by hand--too tiring for me!).
- I made a glaze out of 1 Tbs. melted butter, the juice from 1/2 a lemon, probably 1/2 tsp. (maybe a little more) lemon zest, and enough powdered sugar to make it the consistency I wanted.  YUM!

Steak Rub / Marinade

Yield: 3 1/4 tsp. (dry)

1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. dry minced onion

3 tsp. lime juice
3 tsp. lemon juice
1 Tbs. orange juice

For dry rub, mix dry ingredients together and rub all over steak.

For marinade, mix dry ingredients with lime, lemon, and orange juice and add to a Ziplock bag.  Add steak and marinate at least 1 hour.

Lemon Blueberry Bread

Adapted from AllRecipes.com, submitted by Tablespoon.

Makes 1 loaf.

I made a couple of slight modifications to the original recipe, and that's what I'm posting here.  A lot of other reviewers had variations that sounded good, as well, so I'll include them below the Notes section of this post.  If you want the original recipe, follow the link above.

2 lemons
5 Tbs. powdered sugar
3/4 cup + 1Tbs. white sugar
1/4 cup + 1 Tbs. melted butter
2 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 2/3 cup + 1 Tbs. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (no need to thaw)
1 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. brown sugar

Grate the zest from both lemons.  Put 1 tsp. lemon zest in a small bowl, along with the juice from 1/2 a lemon and the powdered sugar; stir until smooth to make the glaze.  Set aside.

Add the rest of the zest and lemon juice into a medium bowl, along with 3/4 cup white sugar, melted butter, eggs, and sour cream.  Mix until blended.  Stir in the milk.

Whisk together 1 2/3 cup flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Remove 3 Tbs and set aside.  Pour milk mixture into flour mixture (large bowl) and stir until just combined.

Toss blueberries with reserved flour mixture.  Fold gently into batter.  Pour into a greased 9x5" loaf pan.

Cut butter, brown sugar, 1 Tbs. white sugar, and 1 Tbs. flour together with a fork or pastry cutter until crumbly.  Sprinkle over top of batter.

Bake for 60 minutes at 350F, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.  Dust with powdered sugar.

Drizzle glaze over top of bread before serving.

Nutrition Facts:

1 slice (1/12 of loaf) + a little drizzle of glaze = 167 calories, 6.5 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 48.5 mg cholesterol, 115 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1.5 g protein.

Notes:
- I'm guessing I used about 6 Tbs. powdered sugar, but I didn't exactly measure.  Just keep adding more until the glaze reaches the consistency you'd like.  However, the nutrition facts posted below are for the amounts I've listed.
- I wanted streusel topping, but it ended up being more of a sweet, crunchy crust.  Still good, but not my intention.  I'll work on that.
- The original recipe calls for poking holes in the bread and pouring the glaze over it straight out of the oven.  I opted not to do that because several reviewers said it made the bread soggy if not eaten right away.

Other Suggestions:

- Use buttermilk or soured milk instead of milk.

- Double the glaze.

- Add vanilla extract (probably 1 or 1 1/2 tsp.).

- Add 1/2 box lemon pudding mix to batter.  (I wanted to try this but didn't have any lemon pudding!)

- Add a streusel topping.  (Again, my plan for this one went awry.)

Salmon Soft Tacos

Serves: 6-7.

I wanted salmon; Matt wanted burritos.  I think our little compromise came out pretty well.

1 lb. salmon fillets
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. Mexican style chile powder
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. lime juice
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 Tbs. canola oil
Dash cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper

Marinate salmon in lemon and lime juices for 5-10 minutes at room temperature.

Mix together dry ingredients.  Rub over both sides of salmon.

Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook salmon 5-6 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until cooked (fish will flake easily).

Pull salmon into chunks using a fork.

Serve in tortillas with your favorite toppings.

Topping suggestions:
Brown or Mexican-style rice
Cheese
Sour cream
Guacamole
Black beans
Corn
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Jalapeno yogurt dip (Skotidakis is a great brand)

Notes:
- If you don't have special paprika or chile powder, just use what you've got!  (Though I really do love smoked paprika.)
- Don't marinate your fish too long or it will start to "cook."
- We recently discovered the Tortilla Land uncooked tortillas at Costco.  So delicious.  Try some out (I'm sure other brands are good, too!).
- This salmon is really good in quesadillas--that's how my son likes it.  I'm sure it would also be delicious in a salad.

Grandma's Sugar Cookies

From Grandma Larsen.

Prep: 10 min. / Bake: 8-10 min.

Yield: about 100 cookies

2 cups sugar

1 cup shortening

1 heaping tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup cream or 1/2 and 1/2

1 tsp. lemon juice

4-6 cups flour (I used 6)

Extra sugar for dipping (probably about 1/2 cup)

Cream sugar and shortening.  Add baking powder and salt; mix well.  Add vanilla and eggs; mix well.  Add cream and lemon juice; mix well again.

Add 4 cups flour, mixing well after each cup.  Gradually mix in 2 more cups flour until the dough reaches the consistency you want.

Roll small balls of dough in your hands and place on greased (or parchment-lined) cookie sheets, six cookies per sheet.  Dip a cup into a bowl of the reserved sugar and press down on a cookie until it is pretty thin; repeat for each cookie.

Bake at 375F for 8-10 minutes, or until edges turn golden brown.  Remove cookies to cooling racks immediately to prevent breakage.

Notes:

- My grandma's recipe was a little vague on some things (come on, she probably made these from memory and didn't actually need the written recipe), so I've amended it.  (For example, the original recipe calls for mixing in 3 cups of flour, then turning the dough onto a bread board to "roll or mix" with 1 more cup, then possibly adding more flour so the total comes to 6 cups.  I stuck with my Kitchen Aid (using the paddle) and gradually added flour after the first 4 cups until I thought the dough looked right.  Would you believe it was at exactly 6 cups that I thought it looked good?  Perhaps it depends on the weather.)

- Her recipe doesn't call for mixing dry and wet ingredients separately, so I didn't!  I just added them in the order they're listed.

- Her recipe notes that the cream or 1/2 and 1/2 can be sweet or sour, meaning you can use it even if it's a little old.  (Here's a great way to use the cream you forgot was in the back of your fridge.)

- I found that using a level cookie scoop's-worth (or a little less) was the perfect amount for each cookie. If you don't have a cookie scoop, use about a teaspoon (the table kind, not the measuring spoon kind); if you're picky, it's probably about 1 Tbs. of dough.

- I used a flat-bottomed, 12-oz glass tumbler for pressing my cookies.  My grandma's cookies ended up being about the same diameter as a can of sweet potatoes or pureed pumpkin; mine were about the diameter of a can of Campbell's Chunky soup.

- Before dipping the cup into the sugar, you'll want to rub your hand (after rolling up the dough balls) over the bottom so that the sugar actually sticks to something.

- These freeze really well.  My grandma would make a batch and freeze the cookies in bags so that there would always be some on the counter for us.
- One cookie has about 65 calories.

Napa Valley Burger

From Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries, and Shakes, page 52.

Serves 4.

This burger is very tart and tangy because of the citrus and the goat cheese.  It has a very fresh flavor.

Meyer Lemon-honey Mustard:
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 heaping Tbs. clover honey
1 1/2 tsp. grated Meyer lemon zest, or 1 tsp. grated orange zest and 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 1/2 Tbs. Meyer lemon juice, or 1 Tbs. fresh orange juice and 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together the mustard, honey, lemon zest, and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

Burgers:
1 1/2 lbs. ground chuck (80/20) or ground turkey (90/10)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 Tbs. canola oil
8 round slices fresh goat cheese, each 1/2" thick
4 sesame seed hamburger buns, split; toasted, if desired
1 handful of watercress

Divide the meat into 4 equal portions.  Form each portion loosely into a 3/4" thick burger and make a deep depression in the center with your thumb.  Season both sides of each burger with salt and pepper.

Cook the burgers (click HERE for Bobby's burger cooking times), using the canola oil and topping each one with 2 slices of cheese and a basting cover during the last minute of cooking.

Place the burgers on the bun bottoms, drizzle with some of the Meyer lemon-honey mustard, and top with watercress.  Cover with the bun tops and serve immediately.

Notes:
- Meyer lemons are sweeter than regular lemons, which is why the substitutions are a mixture of orange and lemon juice.
- We only used half the amount of goat cheese.
- I feel so repetitive: I typically buy 90/10 ground beef, so I use a pound of that for my burgers.

Saucy Baked Chicken

Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 45 min.

Serves 6.

6 chicken cutlets (about 1 1/2 lbs)

1 medium onion, sliced

8 oz sliced white mushrooms

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

4 Tbs. all-purpose flour

2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 450 F.  Pour oil into large roasting pan.  Add chicken, onion, and mushrooms, turning to coat with oil.  Bake 5 minutes; turn chicken over and stir vegetables.  Bake an additional 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in medium bowl, whisk flour into chicken broth.  Add vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, stirring well.

When chicken has cooked for 10 minutes, add broth mixture to roasting pan, cover with foil, and bake 10 minutes.  Remove foil; stir vegetables and bake, uncovered, until sauce bubbles and is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

Heat broiler.  Turn chicken over.  Place pan 6 inches from heat and broil until chicken just starts to turn golden, about 3-5 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Notes:

- I only used about 1 lb. of chicken breasts and cut them into smaller (though not bite-sized) pieces.  This made about 5 servings.

- Bottled lemon juice worked just fine.

- I had about 1/4 of a large red onion in my fridge, so I used that instead of 1 medium onion.

- I didn't have a lot of mushrooms on hand (5 medium), but the recipe worked just fine.  Still, we like mushrooms, so next time I'll go for the full 8 oz.

- We ate this over angel hair pasta, and it was good!  It would probably be good over rice or other pastas, too.

- I used a glass casserole dish instead of my roasting pan.  No big deal.

Pina Colada/Fuzzy Navel Punch

From Carole Larsen.

Serves: approx. 25

1 can frozen white grape juice concentrate (Welch’s)
1 can frozen lemonade concentrate (Minute Maid)
1 can frozen Fuzzy Navel or 1 can frozen Pina Colada concentrate
2 (2 liter) bottles Sprite
4 quarts ice

Combine. Allow concentrate to reach slushy consistency before mixing. Allow enough time for ice to melt slightly before serving.

Advance preparation:
Combine the three concentrates in a Ziploc bag. Squish together to mix. Lay flat in freezer to store until needed. Remove from freezer 15 minutes or so before mixing punch to allow it to become slushy.

Notes:
- We had the Fuzzy Navel version at our wedding reception in California (yummy!).  However, we haven't been able to find the Fuzzy Navel frozen concentrate anywhere for a few years.  If you find something comparable, please let me know!

Flank Steak with Orange Sauce

From Quick Cooking (Jan./Feb. 2006), page 8.

Prep: 15 min. + marinating / Broil: 15 min.
Yield: 4 servings.

¾ cup orange juice
¼ cup honey
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh gingerroot
1 beef flank steak (1 pound)

In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Cover and refrigerate ½ cup for serving. Add oil and ginger to the remaining orange sauce; pour into a large resealable bag. Add the flank steak; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Drain and discard marinade. Place steak on a broiler pan. Broil 4 inches from the heat for 7-8 minutes on each side or until meat reaches desired doneness.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, warm reserved orange sauce until heated through. Thinly slice steak across the grain; serve with sauce.

Notes:
- Use reduced-sodium soy sauce.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

From Simple and Delicious (March/April 2006), page 12.

Prep/Total Time: 30 min
Yield: 1 dozen.

2 cups biscuit/baking mix (like Bisquik)
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant lemon pudding mix
1/8 cup poppy seeds
¼ teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 eggs
1 cup milk
¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
¾ cup confectioner’s (powdered) sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a large bowl, combine the baking mix, pudding mix, poppy seeds and lemon peel. In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened (it will still be quite clumpy). Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.

Bake at 375ºF for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. In a small bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice; drizzle over mostly-cooled muffins.

Nutrition Facts:
1 muffin = 220 calories, 10 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 38 mg cholesterol, 369 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein.