A New Twist on an Old Favorite: Grapefruit Curd

 

I’ve been making lemon curd for close to 30 years. Initially, I would make a batch and refrigerate it, as I couldn’t find directions on how to can it. It seemed so much more delicate than jam or preserves. And given that it has eggs and butter, I was a fairly new and nervous canner. I remember calling in to a radio show my dad listened to when a well-known chef was on discussing canning. Question asked and answered. From then on, I have made double and triple batches at one time and canned that lemon curd safely.

 

Three weeks ago, my brother picked about 20 pounds of Meyer lemons and we met in Oxnard for a long weekend, part of which was spent canning lemon curd. Fifteen jars of it! We have since been in the California desert visiting family and getting a bit of respite from the freezing mountain temps. 

 

My godmother lives in a gated community called The Citrus, and throughout the property are lemon, mandarin, orange, and grapefruit trees. Residents (and guests) are allowed to pick all the fruit they want. Since I had my handy dandy canner with me (doesn’t everyone travel with one?), I thought I would give grapefruit curd a try, given their abundance this time of year. 

 

These were lovely ruby red grapefruits, bursting with bright pink juice. I used roughly the same recipe as with lemon curd, with one exception. Grapefruit juice is fairly mild in its singular form, but when boiled down you get a much more intense flavor that works well in the curd. I also threw in a bit of lemon juice to brighten/complement the flavor just a bit.

 

Needless to say, it was a hit. I ate it straight from the jar, but am looking forward to going home and making some crumpets on which to serve it. Nothing like a good crumpet with all its holes filled with curd to make me swoon. And you will too.

 

So here it goes…..

 

Grapefruit Curd

2 cups fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice

¼ cup lemon juice

7 tablespoons grapefruit zest

1 pound sugar

1 stick butter

8 eggs, lightly beaten

 

Boil the grapefruit juice down until you have 1 cup.

Before eggs....look at that color!

 

Combine juice, zest, sugar, and butter in double boiler over simmering water until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts. (I often use a very heavy bottom pan in lieu of a double boiler and it works if the heat is kept low enough and you stir constantly.)

 

Pour one ladleful of hot liquid into eggs, whisking constantly to temper the eggs. Repeat at least twice to warm up the eggs and keep them from curdling. Once warm, whisk the egss into the hot mixture, stirring constantly. 

 

Cook, stirring, until thick (about 20 minutes). 

 

Remove from heat, cool, and store in the refrigerator. If you want to can these, it will take 20 minutes in a hot water bath 

 

YIELD: approximately 5 cups.

 

Pinterest for Breakfast

You know, Pinterest can be a time suck. Especially when you are new to the social media site. But over time, I have come to enjoy my time with Pinterest. It keeps me occupied during lulls in Giant’s games, helps me decide on projects to introduce at my monthly craft circle, and it provides me with a never-ending wealth of recipes.

I have Pinterest boards for Breakfast, Lunch, Appetizers, Dinner, and Dessert. There is a general Food category, Party food, High Tea, and Inspired Food, which I share with Brilliant Daughter. Easter, Halloween, and Christmas boards all have food items on them, and there’s a secret Paleo/Atkins board when I want a substitute for carbs.

Needless to say, that’s a whole lotta pins.

So, I thought I would share some of my more positive experiences with Pinterest recipes. (Because, believe me, not all recipes turn out wonderfully….)

I thought I would start with two breakfast items: Lemon-Blueberry Bread and Cinnamon Swirl Donut Bread. Back in the day…when all my kids were at home, I often made breads, muffins, scones, coffeecakes, etc. Over the last few years, these items have been few and far between. But I now cook every week for a friend with cancer.  I like to include both a breakfast item and a dessert, along with 3 meals. (The more calories, the better.) So, I spend every Saturday and/or Sunday on food prep and baking.

The Blueberry-Lemon Bread recipe originally came from Glorious Treats.  Her pictures are far more appetizing than mine could ever be, so I didn’t even bother with snapping a photo. This moist breakfast bread is the perfect foil for my Meyer lemons. (And yes, I still have about a dozen left on the tree!)

The tartness of the lemons with the sweetness of the blueberries, all tucked nicely into a slightly sweet and dense cake-like quick bread was a big hit with all who tried it. Perfect with a cup of tea (or coffee), good for morning or afternoon (or even for dessert!). You will not be disappointed. I promise.

Note: I also tried making this bread with dried blueberries, but it just didn’t work. You need the moisture of the fresh berries to keep the bread from being too dry. While it was still tasty, it was only about 40% as good as the original recipe using fresh blueberries.

Blueberry-Lemon Bread recipe can be found here.

My second Pinterest find for today is Cinnamon Swirl Donut Bread from Lauren’s Latest. I chose this recipe because it reminded me of one of the first things I learned to cook in high school home ec. We made these very simple plain cake muffins. No spices or fruit or nuts inside. Just a plain cake muffin. But when they came out of the oven, and were still warm, we rolled them in melted butter and then in a cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Oh. My. God. They were delicious. I must have made those things dozens of time every year until I went to college. (Then I lost the recipe and the internet wasn’t a thing way back then.)

This recipe has a similar bent, but instead of that plain cake mixture, it has a swirl of tasty cinnamon goodness. It took only about 5 minutes to make it and there are no fancy ingredients. In fact I had everything in the house, except the buttermilk, and you can make your own quite easily.

In essence, you have a tasty batter, of which you take out ½ cup and add a bit of cinnamon and molasses. Then you layer your plain mixture—cinnamon mixture—plain mixture and then give it a quick swirl. Pop it in the oven for 45 minutes and let it cool for about 10. While it cools, you melt some butter and make the cinnamon-sugar coating. (I put the butter in a sheet cake pan and then in the cooling oven to melt.)

Pop out the bread, roll it into the butter and then coat all sides with the sugar. We actually had some while it was still slightly warm – better than any donut I’ve ever had. Seriously, you’ve got to try this, but be prepared; it won’t last for long!

Cinnamon Swirl Donut bread recipe here.

Week 2: Lemony Lentil Soup

I think that dried beans are underrated and underutilized. This may be due to the length of time that they take to cook, which is certainly a hindrance to someone who wants a meal in an hour. But they are cheap, usually $.90 - $.1.50 for a pound, which will feed 6-8 people. Legumes absorb liquids and seasonings well, making them flavorful once cooked, and they help fight against heart disease and cancer, can lower cholesterol and be beneficial to those with diabetes. I wholeheartedly encourage you to explore beans of every variety. Maybe try some cranberry beans, some heritage Berlottis, or good old-fashioned white navy beans. There are hundreds of kinds, so you will never get bored!

This week’s dish uses lentils, which like their cousin the split pea, cook very quickly and make quite a tasty meal. Lentils can be cooked plainly with some diced garlic and onion and curry to make a simple daal (served with plain yogurt), or they can be dressed up with lots of veggies, herbs, maybe some ham, and served for supper. They can be cooked with a small amount of liquid (water or broth) to make a hearty stew-like dish, or you can add a large amount of liquid to make a soup. Either way, start to finish, you can be done in an hour or less. This particular recipe makes use of our Meyer lemon bounty, which is just now ready to pick.

Today's recipe took me about 30 minutes from the time I walked in the kitchen to the time it was served. It got positive reviews from the family, made enough for 6-8 people, and it did not take any great culinary skill. A bit of chop, a bit of dice, a stir here, and you are done. It can be served to carnivores and herbivores alike, including vegans.

Originally a lentil dish featured in Sunset magazine, I turned it into soup by adding additional broth. (Depending on how thick you like your soup you can adjust the amount of broth.)

Lemony Lentil Soup

2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups yellow or brown lentils
7 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
Grated or zested peel from 1 lemon (yellow part only)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Lemon wedges

Shaved or grated parmesan

Melt butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir until just beginning to brown, about 1 minute.

Add lentils and stir to coat with butter, then add broth. Simmer on low, covered, until lentils are tender but not too mushy, 20 to 30 minutes. They will thicken as they cool.

Stir in ginger, lemon peel, juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with parmesan and lemon wedges on the side.

Servings: 4

Meyer Lemon Bonanza

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We’ve been experiencing several concurrent days of frost here in California, and while the weather is certainly not as severe as in many parts of the country, it is dire when it comes to my prized Meyer lemons. So Saturday found me picking 3 flats of Meyers, yielding a total of 71 pounds.

On Sunday I began to make use of the lemons, and it’s much harder than you might think. Here is what I have done so far:

1. Limoncello

I started off with peeling 15 lemons for limoncello. I’ve got those peels mixed with 1.75 liters of Skye vodka, marinating for a month in my large glass sangria dispenser. Then I’ll make some lemon simple syrup to combine and finish it off. I keep my limoncello in the freezer and it can be used over ice cream, served plainly over ice, and in a version of the favored lemon drop cocktail. It’s a perfect summer drink (try adding some to your iced tea for a tasty adult version!), and will store nicely chilled until that time.

2. Simple Syrup

I also made a quart of lemon simple syrup, which involved 2 cups of sugar, 2 cups of water and 6 quartered lemons. I just boil it all for 10 minutes, let it cool, strain and pour into jars. We use this to flavor sparkling water, ice tea, hot tea, and of course, those lemon drop cocktails.

3. Lemon Zest and Juice

I have recipes that call for lemon zest, and often just make a topping for veggies using garlic, lemon zest, salt and some toasted bread crumbs. So I like to have some on hand. I do two types, a fine zest using a microplane and a long curly zest done with a traditional zester. I make little piles on a sheet of wax paper and throw them in the freezer for an hour or two. Once frozen, they can go in a Ziploc or Tupperware in the freezer for future use. Once I’ve zested the lemons, I juice them and freeze them in half-pint and pint jars. They are perfect for desserts, lemon curd, lemonade, soups, any recipe calling for lemon juice. You can even defrost them slightly in the microwave and just pour out the amount needed, popping the remainder back in the freezer.  I now have 8 jars of juice in the freezer.  

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Strawberry-Lemonade Babycakes

I’m a fanatic when it comes to cupcakes. The reason being that I cannot make a layer cake. Well, I can make the cake, but it never lays flat and the frosting never looks like the magazine or cookbook picture. In fact, they end up looking like a five-year-old made them. So I gave up long ago and switched to cupcakes, which are easier to share with others anyway.

My latest creation is a strawberry-lemonade cupcake, which I made for a baby shower, and appropriately called “Babycakes.” These little mini-cupcakes are bold in flavor, not too sweet, and adorable as all get-out.

The idea was born out of the fact that the impending arrival will be a girl and I wanted pink cupcakes. Not just tinted white cupcakes, but something pink in flavor. And because my new favorite frosting is lemon meringue, I paired the lemon with strawberry for a refreshing spring-like melding of flavors.

I started with a box mix for strawberry cake. Now I know some of you may be purists and make your cake from scratch—and I do, too, sometimes—but cake mixes are quick, easy and have a good consistency for the small cupcakes. I buy the box mixes on sale for under $1, which leaves no guilt when I want to try out mixing in different flavors.  But, I digress…..

I started with the box mix, which required oil, eggs and water. I substituted ½ cup frozen lemonade for ½ cup of the water and added in an additional tablespoon of strawberry extract, as I wanted the flavor to pop and not be overwhelmed by lemon. The mix made 48 mini cupcakes and three 4-inch layers (one for tasting and two to make a daddy-to-be cake—which turned out slightly better than a five-year-old’s attempt).

Once the cupcakes had cooled I piped homemade lemon curd into the centers for a surprise treat. Because I have two lemon trees, I regularly can lemon curd. You can, of course, skip this step or use store-bought.

Then I made the lemon meringue frosting. (Recipe here.)  What I like about the frosting is that it only takes ¾ cup of sugar, is very light, holds up to piping or creative decorating with the back of a spoon, and tastes divine. Much better than a cream cheese-based or buttercream frosting. I even added a little pink gel color to match the cupcakes and piped it on with a star tip.

To top off the little gems, I used miniature rattles, safety pins and pacifiers. If you would prefer, you can buy miniature candy ducks or other edible decoration and avoid the hassle and waste of the plastic versions. But they just looked so darn cute. And, they tasted great.  

My New Favorite Frosting: Lemon Meringue

I am constantly searching for new frosting recipes for my cupcakes. Brilliant Daughter hates any frosting with cream cheese, and buttercream is fine but tends to be too sweet. I have a wonderful chocolate frosting recipe that Brilliant Daughter makes and is perfect and creamy, but is just too much for Easter cupcakes, so I went a-hunting. And what I found is remarkable: light, airy, not too sweet, and with considerably less sugar than any frosting, ever!

This lemon meringue frosting takes about 10 minutes to make, which is more than a traditional frosting, but once you taste its lemony goodness, you won’t complain one bit, and if you have a freestanding mixer, most of the work is done by the machine. This recipe garnered rave reviews from Butcher Son’s fellow butchers, as well as Brilliant Daughter, Mr. B, and the neighborhood kids—who happened to stop by and eyed them lasciviously.

While the recipe calls for raw egg whites, the process for preparation should eliminate any concern over salmonella. The egg whites are heated thoroughly with the sugar for several minutes, and according to the American Egg Board, “Although it is possible for Salmonella to be in both the white and the yolk of the egg, the white does not readily support bacterial growth.” So between using only the whites and the cooking, any fears should be allayed.

This tasty recipe yields enough frosting for 15 regular cupcakes and 24 mini cupcakes. This should translate to 24 regular-sized cupcakes, unless you want to really mound up the frosting, in which case, you may only be able to frost 18.

Lemon Meringue Frosting

4 large egg whites, preferably at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Pinch fine salt

Food coloring (if desired)

Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a double boiler. Whisk the egg whites with the remaining ingredients (except food coloring). Set the bowl over the boiling water and whisk continuously until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is hot, approximately 2 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment  (or hand bowl for hand mixer) and beat at medium-high speed until the frosting holds a soft peak and has cooled, which takes about 5 minutes. At this point you can add in food coloring (I used 4 drops of yellow to yield a very light pastel shade).

Continue beating on medium-high until stiff peaks form.

This frosting lends itself well to piping, but also holds shape, so using a spoon or spatula with also work to make either a smooth topping or a more traditional meringue topping with swoops and swirls.