A Beautiful Mosaic

Hitting a high note:  musical themed lemon bars

It seems the sort of function where one is to bring a dish or dessert dots my calender several times a month.  Most recently, I was asked to bring from sort of dessert for my daughter’s biannual violin recital.  I’ve already done the usual suspects in the past:  chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, brownies, fresh fruit platter, and the like.  The forecast was in the 90s that day, so I decided to make lemon bars.  They’re refreshing, delicious and most importantly, they don’t melt. 

I made a musical note stencil out of card stock and placed it on each cut bar before I dusted with powdered sugar. One can make any sort of stencil according to the occasion, and this sweet and easy touch makes an ordinary lemon bar cookie special.  This recipe is perfectly balanced between tartness and sweetness, with just the right amount of lemon juice and sugar.  The texture combination of jelly-like lemon custard and crumbly shortbread makes for a very satisfying dessert.

LEMON BARS

Shortbread base

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
2 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cut butter into 1/2-inch pieces. In a food processor process all ingredients until mixture begins to form small lumps. Sprinkle mixture into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan and with a metal spatula press evenly onto bottom. Bake shortbread in middle of oven until golden, about 20 minutes. While shortbread is baking, prepare topping.

Lemon Topping

6 large eggs
2 1/4 C. granulated sugar
1 1/4 C. fresh lemon juice
1/2 C. all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons powdered sugar

In a bowl whisk together eggs and granulated sugar until combined well and stir in lemon juice and flour.

Pour lemon mixture over hot shortbread. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. and bake confection in middle of oven until set, about 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan and cut into 24 bars. Sift powderred sugar over bars before serving.  These will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days, but tastes best served the day you make it.

 Making hours of screechy violin music a distant memory.

Traditional biscotti - just add coffee.

My husband comes from a large Italian family for whom bringing a plate of homemade biscotti to any gathering is de rigueur.  The first time I brought my version to a family celebration, I received more than a couple incredulous ”You made this?” kind of comments.  It’s funny how food is so intricately woven into our very identity.  Instantly, the Korean girl who married cousin A. was now truly part of the family. 

When I was newly married, I asked my mother-in-law for her mother’s biscotti recipe and have tweaked it enough to feel I could claim ownership to it.  After years of my husband’s family telling me how different my biscotti (albeit delicious) tasted from any of theirs, my mother-in-law and I actually went over my recipe ingredient by ingredient since my biscotti was heavy, dense and crumbly and hers was lighter, more porous and crispier.  We were bemused to discover the two recipes were completely different and she still has no idea whose biscotti recipe she wrote down for me all those years ago.

This is the only dessert recipe I have committed to memory as I have been making it about once a month for the past 5 years or so.  I make it for cookie exchanges, for parties, as hostess gifts, for school snack days, and of course, for our family to munch on.  My favorite way to eat it is dunking it in my morning cup of coffee.  Or, for those who like to mix it up - try it with a glass of red wine.  If your only experience with biscotti is Sahara-dry Stella D’Oro cookies, give this recipe a whirl.  I think you’ll like it.

One Spicy Mama’s Biscotti

4 large eggs

3/4 C. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. anise (optional)

4 C. flour

3/4 - 1 C. sugar

3 heaping tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Whisk eggs, oil, vanilla and anise in a medium bowl. 

Combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) in large bowl. 

Add wet ingredients to dry and mix with whisk or rubber spatula until just combined. 

Do not overwork.  The flour will be aborbed into the dough because of the high oil content.

Divide dough into two.  Pat the dough alternately on the sides and on the top the elongate the dough into a long, slightly domed log, 3-4 inches wide.  Repeat with other ball of dough. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 - 17 minutes or until golden.  Take out and let cool slightly. 

Cut the logs into 3/4 inch wide strips and place on one side. 

Place cookie tray on the bottom rack in the oven and broil on high for about 3-5 minutes. WARNING:  Do NOT walk away from the kitchen.  You WILL burn your biscotti!

Turn the biscotti over on the opposite side and repeat.  Let cool completely and dust with powdered sugar if desired.

I have made healthier variations of this recipe using 1 C. whole wheat flour, 3 C. regular flour.  That’s a easy way to sneak in more whole grain into your family’s diet.  I’ve also tried 1/2 C. Splenda, 1/2 C. sugar combination, but my outraged husband protested so strongly that I never tried it again.

Most newlywed (or not so newlywed) brides know the mixed blessing of overregistering.  Oh - an ice cream maker!  The double espresso maker!  Pay no mind to the immaterial fact that you like your coffee the color of the sand beaches of a Caribbean island - we need it!  So, fast forward to 9 years later.  Most of those unused machines still in their original boxes taking up space in your attic, basement (or your parents’ attic or basement) are woefully outdated, out of fashion, and would most likely be passed on your local Freecycle.  Or would it?

I recently became the new owner of a previously unused pizzelle maker, handed down from my sister-in-law, who received it her bridal shower … *gasp* off-registry.  My son is a pizzelle lover, so this is one gadget I happily made room for.  Once you try home-made pizzelle, you will never again buy store-bought ones again.  In the one short month we’ve had it, I’ve already made 5 batches to bring to my son’s preschool for his snack day (a huge hit with 4 years olds), to give to as gifts to my husband’s Italian side (met with an approving nod) and of course, to gobble up ourselves.

Pizzelles 

3 eggs at room temperature

3/4 C sugar

1/2 C butter (1 stick), melted and cooled

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. anise (1/4 or none if you don’t care for anise flavor)

1 3/4 C flour

2 tsp. baking powder

In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar. 

Add the cooled butter, vanilla and anise. 

Sift the flour and baking powder together and add to the egg mixture. 

The batter will be stiff enough to be dropped by spoon (you will need to use the two spoon method to get it off since it is quite sticky).  The batter can be also refrigerated to be used later.

Place a tablespoon of batter slightly above center and close the lid tightly, clamping it shut. 

The pizzelles will cook in about 30-40 seconds.  Mmmm…. can you smell that?

Cook until golden (slightly brown).  If you do not cook it enough, it won’t have that crispiness that makes a pizzelle a pizzelle.

Use a spatula to lift the pizzelle onto a flat plate.  I use a marble cheese board since it’s nice and cool and ultra flat.  The pizzelles will lift easily and be pliable.  You can experiment into forming cones, etc. with a warm pizzelle.

Let the pizzelles cool completely.  This may involve swatting little (and big) hands away for a few minutes.

Try your fabulous pizzelles with ice cream.  Scrumptious!

my official pizzelle taster

Pizzelles also double as spaceships.