Lemon Decor for Your Table

Instructions

Crab Cakes

1. Lightly chop the crab meat in the food processor and set aside.
2. Melt one TBL of the butter in a large skillet and saute the scallion, garlic and red bell pepper until wilted, about 2 minutes.
3. Add the ground red pepper, cream and mustard.
4. Cool slightly. Add the egg, basil, parsley, 1/2 cup of the bread crumbs, and the crabmeat.
5. Mix lightly. Mold into 25 one-inch wide patties.
6. Combine the remaining 1/2 cup of bread crumbs and the parmesan cheese in a shallow dish.
7. Roll the patties in the crumb and cheese mixture.
8. Chill for at least one hour. (The crab cakes can be made one day prior and refrigerated, covered, up to this point.)
9. Combine the oil and the remaining 2 TBL of butter over moderate heat in a large skillet.
10. Saute the crab cakes 3 minutes on each side.

Lemon Dill Sauce

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.
2. Chill until the mixture thickens.

Instructions

1. Cut the artichokes vertically and down the middle. Take a strong spoon to scoop out the fir. Scoop out as much of the hair like filaments as you can, then remove the inner red-tipped leaves. (This took a lot of practice to figure out!)
2. Steam over high heat in a covered pan for 40 minutes.
3. Brush the cut side of the artichoke lightly with olive oil and place on the grill cut side down. Cook until just browned, about ten minutes.
4. Mix the mayo, lemon, and garlic.
5. Serve artichokes with lemon sauce and enjoy!

Instructions

INSTRUCTIONS
Cook the large-grain couscous in stock or water and a pinch of saffron, per the package instructions.

Cook the corn in butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil for a few minutes, until it is just beginning to brown. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer the couscous to a bowl and season with the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and zest, and additional salt and pepper. Stir in the cooked corn, blanched sugar snap peas, and parsley.

Taste for seasoning and add more lemon juice if needed, because there is no such thing as too much lemon. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Instructions

1. To make the dressing, either by hand or with an electric mixer, whisk together the anchovy paste, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.
2. Add the mayonnaise and parmesan cheese.
3. Chill until ready to use.
4. Pour over lettuce, add additional parmesan cheese if desired.

Instructions

Combine the marinade ingredients. Place the flank steak in a ziplock bag and add the marinade. Chill and marinate for at least 4 hours, or best it marinate overnight.

Instructions

Place the salmon in a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Drizzle the olive oil on the top of the salmon and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika.

Grill the salmon on high heat for five minutes on each side. Or bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for thirty minutes.

In a separate bowl, lightly toss avocados, 1/4 red onion, the juice from one lime, 1 Tbsp. olive oil and salt to taste.

Spoon avocado salsa on top of the cooked salmon. Top with finely cut cilantro and enjoy!

Instructions

Once the pie is made and baked, it needs to refrigerate overnight, so make sure you allow the proper amount of time.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crust:

1. Combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and melted butter together. Mix well until completed combined.

2. Spray pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.

3. Add crust mixture to the pie pan, pressing into the pan and up the sides of the pan.

4. Bake crust for 8 minutes.

While the crust is baking, make your filling:

1. Add lemon juice, both cans of sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks and salt to bowl, mix together until well combined.

2. Once the crust is out of the oven, fill the crust with the filling mixture. Fill all the way to the top, the filling will not expand or overflow while cooking.

3. Bake filled crust for 17 minutes, until small bubbles begin to form in the filling. When there are about 20 bubbles on the top of the pie, it is done.

4. Once the pie is baked, let cool for at least 30 minutes before refrigerating.

5. Refrigerate the pie for at least one hour, overnight if possible.

Whipped Topping:

Combine heavy whipping cream, whipped cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon juice. I like to use an immersion blender to make whipped topping, you can use an hand mixer also. Beat until the topping is thick enough to pipe into a design.

Candied Meyer Lemon Peels:

1. Wash the lemon.

2. Cut off the ends of the lemon

3. Cut lemon in half and remove seeds

4. Slice the rind of the lemon half and cut away the pulp so that you are left with a long piece of lemon rind.

5. Roll the rind into a tight pinweel and cut thin slices of the rind (about a 1/4" wide). Hold the pinwheel tightly while slicing.

5. Combine the water and 1/4 cup of sugar in a small saucepan. Heat until sugar is dissolved and has created a simple syrup (don't boil to avoid scorching).

6. Add the thin slices of lemon rind to the simple syrup and cook over low heat for about 30-40 minutes until peels have absorbed most of the syrup.

7. Carefully remove the peels from the syrup with a slotted spoon and place on parchment paper to drain. They will be goopy from the syrup.

8. Once the peels have cooled enough to handle, twist them around a dowel or straw to create the twists. (I used the dowels from my pasta drying rack)

9. Spinkle with the additional sugar to coat the peels.

10. These will keep in airtight container for about a week.

Once the pie has been refrigerated for at least an hour, ideally, overnight, pipe the whipped cream onto the top of the pie in any design you like. You can also serve the whipped cream topping on the side if you prefer. If you serve the whipped cream on the side, I recommend doubling the recipe, it's that good!

Add the candied lemon peels on top of the whipped cream or if you are serving the whipped cream on the side, simply pop the peels onto the top of the pie as a garnish.

Keep pie refrigerated when not serving.

Instructions

Gluten-Free Shortbread Crust

Lightly spray removable bottom tart pan(s) with non-stick spray. 

Blend flour, confectioner’s sugar, salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add vanilla and butter pieces and pulse until the dough just starts to come together and form clumps. This dough will be very crumbly. It is ready when you can scoop some into your hand, squeeze and it holds its shape when you open your hand. 

Press the dough into the prepared pan evenly on the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork so that it doesn’t puff too much while baking. Place the crust(s) in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.

While the dough is in the freezer, turn the oven on to 350 degrees and make the tart filling below.

Meyer Lemon Tart Filling

Whisk together eggs, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Once melted butter has cooled, add to the egg mixture and whisk until blended.

Once the dough has been in the freezer for at least 15 minutes, remove it from the freezer and place it in the oven for 15 minutes or until the edges are starting to brown. Remove from the oven and fill with the tart filling. Return to the oven and continue to bake 15-20 minutes until the top is firm and bubbly looking (like lemon bars look) and the crust is browned.

While the tarts are in the oven, slice blood oranges, oranges, grapefruit, and Meyer lemons in ¼ inch rings. Cutaway most of the pith, leaving just enough to help the fruit keep shape. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and place all of the citrus onto the foil. Sprinkle each of the citrus liberally with sugar. Place the cookie sheet under the broiler to brulee the citrus. Do not walk away! Keep an eye on this so that the sugar/juice does not flame.

Remove from the broiler after 6-8 minutes or when the juices start running from the citrus fruit. Remove the citrus to a cooling rack. Once the sugar is cooled so that you don’t burn yourself, place the citrus. sugar side down to the top of the tart and allow the citrus juices to bleed and stain the tart. Let cool completely. Remove the citrus when ready to serve.