Summer Citrus Risotto

We're now in the thick of summer--OK, the unofficial thick of summer. I'm putting away the potatoes and squash until its winter and that's all there is. Because right now, it's about fruit and greens. Last night I sat out on my back porch eating risotto watching the sun set and the neighborhood was spinning with people outside. The neighbors three doors down have a half basketball court in their backyard, two doors down their garden is blooming and the laundry is hanging on the line (love), and the tenement house next door has an unfortunately oft naked neighbor on the first floor and some lovely aged hippis with a small garden in the basement apartment--no sirree, these folks won't be stealing my tomatoes this year. People are even starting to set off fireworks. I love summer.

Risotto is one of my favorites. I have a autumn version and a winter version, so it's only fair that there be something for summer. The citrus lightened it up beautifully, as did freshly-cut basil and parsley from my porch garden (success!).

Citrus Risotto: with help from Amateur Gourmet and 101 Cookbooks
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 onion, chopped
2 green onions, chopped (usually I do one kind of onion, but I had both so I used both)
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup Arborio or short grain rice
1 cup dry white wine
3-4 cups chicken stock
1 cup pre-cooked shrimp
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (or to taste)
1/4 cup creme fraiche, sour cream, mascarpone or plain yogurt (or to taste)
1/4 cup lemon juice (or to taste)
salt and pepper
basil and parsley

In a medium sauce pan on medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the onions, after a minute stir in the garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes until onion is soft. Pour in a glug of olive oil, then stir in rice coating with the oil. Add the wine and let simmer until it reduces completely.

Meanwhile, on another burner, heat chicken stock to just below a simmer in a medium sauce pan. Once wine has reduced begin adding stock to rice one cup at a time waiting until the rice has absorbed the stock before adding more. Stir frequently. Continue adding stock every 5 minutes or so until rice is cooked through. Whilst adding stock you can toss in the shrimp at any point. Once rice is finished, remove pan from heat. Stir in zest, yogurt, parmesan cheese and salt and pepper, adjust according to taste. Top with basil and parsley. Serves two.

Lemon Berry Tart

I escaped last Saturday to Bellevue Berry Farm with the goal of picking more strawberries than I knew what to do with. It only took an hour or so before I was ready to leave; my box of red berries weighed in at four pounds--a respectable amount I thought. But at home I couldn't fit them all in the fridge or even in one container. In anticipation of welcoming 30 to 40 people to the apt within a few hours, I was forced to ban the beer to an oversized cooler that has been taking up space on our back porch. All went well and I was able to escape from people for a few hours before being bombarded by them once again (though I was unable to elude a small army of chiggers at the strawberry patch). The berries were perfect though. The juice colored my hands red and they tasted wholy unlike the giant grocery store strawberries. I know those strawberries are beautiful and pink and can be quite juicy, but when comparing to these small, organically grown berries, they seem quite abnormal. How, in God's name, did those berries get to be that size? They're berries. And out of season, they taste like styrofoam. These berries taste like summer, perfect combination of the sweet attributes of a blueberry and the tartness of a raspberry. I've been chomping the berries plain and adding them to my bowl of Kashi granola cereal every morning. I have an eye for making some jam--just to torture myself. But first things first: a tart.

Now that I've mastered the art of the crust, I feel an urge to flex my pastry-making muscles. I loaded up on berries (black, rasp and blue) at the grocer for the perfect summer dessert. The tart I ended up with was absolutely devine.

The lemon curd was just tart enough to cut the sweetness of the berries. And the crust was perfectly crumbly. Even the roofer admired the pastry. And crusts aside, it was shockingly easy.

Lemon Berry Tart: (lemon curd courtesy of David Lebovitz) I followed this recipe for the tart crust. 6 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup lemon juice 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 2 large egg yolks 1 9-inch already baked tart shell 2 cups assorted berries powdered sugar for dusting (optional) In a medium sauce pan on medium-low heat, melt the butter. Stir in the sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest until sugar has dissolved.

Pre-heat oven to 350. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and egg yolks. Pour half a cup of the warm lemon mixture into the bowl with the eggs and whisk to heat the eggs. You want the eggs to be warm so they don't scramble in the sauce pan. Pour the egg mixture into the sauce pan with the lemon-butter sauce. Stir continuously until curd thickens (it will be nearly bubbling on the side, some chunks may develop, which is fine, it just means it's time to remove it from the heat). Immediately remove from heat once it has thickened. Pour the curd through a strainer onto the already-baked tart shell, pushing any chunks through the strainer with a spatula. Smooth the top of the tart and pop it in the oven for 5 minutes to set. Remove and let cool. Top with berries and powdered sugar.

Dutch Baby

Saturday mornings mean sleeping in. Late. Or at least until the sun shines through the slats in your blinds and the birds start singing and the neighbors start mowing their lawns (which is actually somewhere around 7 a.m.). But when there's no incessant alarm buzz to jolt you into consciousness, it feels like sleeping in. Especially when you can stretch and pull out the book you fell asleep reading and continue until hunger pangs you.

At which point you'll roll out of bed and head to the kitchen to make some coffee to go with scrambled eggs, pancakes or french toast. But next Saturday, you should make a dutch baby instead. It's like a pancake but fluffier and crispier. And it's the perfect thing to share.

Dutch Baby: adapted from Gourmet and A Homemade Life 3 large eggs 2/3 cup whole milk (I used a mixture of half-and-half and skim) 2/3 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon vanilla dash cinnamon dash nutmeg dash salt 2 tablespoons butter lemon juice powdered sugar Pre-heat oven to 450. Place large sauce pan in middle rack of oven. In a medium bowl, beat eggs until fluffy and pale. Add in flour, vanilla, spices and salt, beat until smooth. The batter will be pretty runny. Remove sauce pan from oven. Melt butter on the pan and spread around evenly. Pour batter into pan. Bake until puffed up and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. The dutch baby should slide out of the pan onto a plate pretty easily. Drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Lemon Sandwich Cookies (the cutest ever)

These cookies are like that girl you see who is really cute and you think that she couldn't possibly be nice too. And when she does turn out to be deep and interesting and smart, you really can't believe it. I mean look how stinkin' cute these cookies are.

I made them for our party on Friday (which was excellent by the way), and thankfully there were still a few left over.

This cookie was featured in December's Gourmet magazine, and unfortunately I must say, my photos are not quite up to par with theirs (click through to compare). But they were just as good (I think), even though I accidentally added an extra tablespoon of lemon juice to the icing. The other really great thing that happened while making these cookies (aside from the copious amount of Christmas music I was listening to) was that I realized I had used up all the eggs making the latkes earlier in the week. I didn't want to leave the apartment, so I considered running downstairs to borrow from the neighbors, until I realized these cookies require no eggs. Life never seems to work out like that, isn't it great when it does?

Lemon Sandwich Cookies: 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 2/3 cup cornstarch 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest 1 teaspoon vanilla White or colored sanding sugars (for icing): 1 cup powdered sugar 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour and corn starch. In a separate bowl, mix together butter and sugar, beat in lemon peel and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture until blended.

Put sugars in separate bowls. Roll a "scant" teaspoon of dough into a ball, drop into sugar and turn to coat. Bake cookies in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are cracked and the bottom is golden.

For filling, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until blended. Transfer to a piping bag (or, as in my case, a big Ziploc), snip the corner and apply to flat side of one cookie. Sandwich with a matching cookie. Try not to eat too many before your party. Use a healthy amount of icing to glue the two cookies together--there will be some left over.