Buy The Book #3: Baking Illustrated

So. You know of my lemon bar obsession. I almost threw a tantrum when I found out the McDonald's that sold me the best lemon bar I ever tasted no longer carries them. I was offended because there were Apple Dippers where the lemon bars should have been. When you want butter, flour and sugar, apple slices just won't do. This heightened the urgency for a good recipe. space You remember the previous lemon bar disaster. I now have an important announcement: People, I have found the lemon bar recipe of my dreams. Thank you Baking Illustrated. I wasn't ready to use Baking Illustrated in this series yet, but kick-butt lemon bars warrant you buying this book. The scone recipe is also wonderful, but let's focus on the lemon bars. I promise these will be some of the best you've ever had.

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Start by preparing your pan. Spray a little cooking spray into a square baking dish. Fold two sheets of parchment paper and place them perpendicular to each other. The papers makes a sling. It will be so easy to get the bars out of the pan.

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Let's move on to the crust. Take the dry ingredients for a spin.

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Press it evenly into the pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

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Put the crust into the oven and start working on the filling. The filling needs to go on a hot crust so mind your timing. You'll need lots of eggs, a total of nine. Yes, I too was thinking that for nine eggs, this better be the best damn lemon bars ever. They are.

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Lightly beat the eggs. Incorporate the sugar. Whisk in lemon zest and lemon juice. Add the butter and head for the stove top. Yes I said stove top. You are actually making a lemon curd.

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I managed to contain my mess; I'm so proud.

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Here is where the pics get sketchy because the curd required constant attention. Once the curd hits 170 degrees, strain it, add a little heavy cream and pour it over the hot crust. (Going after the pot with a spoon later was a special treat.)

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Note how I managed to splatter the lemon curd onto the parchment. I'm quite skilled like that.

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All done. The filling is opaque and the center is jiggly. Cool to room temperature. Remember the curd splatters? Now they're a problem because as I move the parchment, it flings the burnt curd onto my pretty square of sunshine.

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Grab a pizza cutter and slice your squares. Garnish with powdered sugar. I sprinkle sugar on the individual squares as I eat them.

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These were worth every cent, minute of cooking and the cleanup afterward. Please go buy this book for the lemon bar lover in you.

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Tools of the trade:

• Square Pyrex Baking Dish
• KitchenAid Food Processor
• Microplane Multi Citrus Tool
• 2-in-1 Citrus Juicer
• Glass Mixing Bowls
• Pyrex Measuring Cup
• All-Clad 2-Qt Saute Pan
• Taylor Thermometer
• All-Clad Strainer
• All-Clad Pizza Cutter

Things Fall Apart (Or Never Set Up)

Last Sunday was really a great day for me -- figured out how to get to church using public transportation and made it back to the kitchen to rock a four-course meal. I got tired before I finished cooking, but that's not the point.

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I was most excited about making lemon bars. Think about it: the house smells like cookies from the crust, you get to nibble on the raw dough and the filling -- lemony heaven! Unfortunately, that was not the case with these.

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I wanted to do another post in the Buy the Book series, so I chose the lemon bar recipe from the Nordstrom Friends & Family Cookbook. Had I just stopped to think, I would've remembered that I really didn't like the lemon bars at the Nordstrom Cafe. I could've used the recipe in Baking Illustrated instead. Not that the recipe in the Nordstrom book is the same as what's in the store, but I dislike the ones in the store so much that I wouldn't have chanced it (had I been thinking). Yes there is really a combination of butter flour and sugar that I don't like. I know it's shocking.

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Things started off well enough. The dough for the crust came together just fine. I started by creaming butter and powdered sugar.

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I then added flour.

I ended up with a really soft dough.

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I got it into the pan and pressed it in as evenly as possible with my fingers.

I moved to the oven. Here is where the problems start. I ended up baking it twice as long as the recipe called for to get the lightly browned color called for. This sent me to Williams-Sonoma later in the week for an oven thermometer. So after 40+ minutes, here's the crust:

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The crust has to cool completely before you can add the filling. To start the filling, beat some eggs add some sugar and beat until pale and thick.

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Whip out your favorite lemon-working tools. Mine are a Microplane and a citrus press. Use whatever you need to get the juice and the zest.

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Add the lemon stuff to the sugar and eggs. The recipe calls for flour and cornstarch too.

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Pour the filling over the crust and bake until "the filling is set -- firm on the edges, but still a little soft in the middle -- 15 to 20 minutes." Yeah. Not so much.

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But what good sweets-loving girl would let this deter her? Certainly not me. I grabbed a fork a pressed on.

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Eeewwww, ick and yuck! These were void of big lemon flavor and too sweet for even me. I couldn't finish a whole bar. Well, I couldn't finish the gooey, runny mess that should have been a bar. I have never been so disappointed. However, the taste was the same as those in the restaurant. Silly me.

Tools of the trade:

• Pyrex 9x13 Baking Dish
• KitchenAid Stand Mixer
• Microplane Multi Citrus Tool
• 2-in-1 Citrus Juicer

The Sublime

This is another recipe by Sue Weiler. She taught a Middle Eastern Favorites class a Sur La Table in Cleveland years ago. This pine nut tart was the dessert. It is one of my favorite desserts and simply sinful. The pine nuts, honey and lemon each add a subtle flavor that blends to create a richness that is almost indescribable. Each time I serve this, folks are always up for seconds.

Let's do it. Make the crust first. Add the flour and sugar to the food processor. Take it for a spin. Add frozen butter

and the egg.

Take everything for a spin and dump the contents onto the counter.

My intent was to roll out the dough. Halfway through, I decided to just dump everything into the tart pan and press it out.

Not bad if I do say so myself.

Dock the crust and fill with pie weights.

Bake until golden.

As this cools, let's move on to the filling -- eggs, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest and pine nuts. Start by toasting the pine nuts. I don't know why I used two small pans instead of one large one. Brilliance can sometimes be fleeting.

I placed the pine nuts in the crust instead of adding them to the filling.

The filling is scary. The lemon juice makes the butter curdle and I freak out every time.

Eventually I calm down and get everything into the crust.

Bake until beautiful.

Dust with powdered sugar and serve slightly warm.

Tools of the trade:

• KitchenAid Food Processor
• Oxo Bench Scraper
• Williams-Sonoma Two-in-One Citrus Juicer
• Microplane
• Pie Weights
• Tart Tamper

Baby Heaven

Given my quest to lose weight and my gigantic sweet tooth (we've discussed this before), I have to make mini versions of my desserts. I decided to try my first-ever key lime pie.

I used a mini cheesecake/tartlet pan from Williams-Sonoma. The removable bottoms really make getting the baby pies out of the pan a breeze.

This has to be the world's easiest pie. Once again, the folks at Cook's Illustrated didn't let me down. After reviewing multiple recipes, I chose theirs because they promised cooking the filling would provide amazing texture and increase flavor. I was sold.

Here we go. This is very simple recipe, but it allows me to use some great tools gadgets and we all know I love a good gadget.

Start with the filling because it needs to sit aside to thicken. Whisk the egg yolks and zest until the mixture turns light green. I didn't quite get there. New gadget alert: Microplane Citrus Tool! Available at Williams-Sonoma. Beat in the sweetened condensed lemon juice and then the lime juice. Let this sit while you work on the crust.

Break out your version of Miracle and pulverize your graham crackers.
Toss in the sugar and spin them again. Add the butter and spin them once more.

Although my pan was nonstick, I still gave it a spritz with a nonstick cooking spray. Next I spooned the crust into each cup.

Next I used a tart tamper to form the baby crusts. We're up to six gadgets so far (Microplane, citrus press, French whisk, food processor, mini cheesecake pan and tart tamper)!

Here's where I goofed. I baked the crusts for the recommended 15 minutes. I should've done 10 minutes. I didn't take into account my crusts were smaller and the dark finish of the pan. They were still quite edible.

Allow the crusts to cool completely. Now grab an ice cream scoop and add the filling to the crusts. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Pop them out and refrigerate for at least three hours. Aren't they cute??!

Top with sweetened whip cream and lime zest. How adorable!

Yea!

Tools of the trade:

• Mini Tartlet Pan (not the same as mine -- Williams-Sonoma doesn't have mine on the web)
• Microplane Citrus Tool
• William-Sonoma Two-in-One Citrus Juicer
• French Whisk
• KitchenAid Food Processor
• Tart Tamper

I Love My Oven & Tyler Florence!

Tyler Florence is one of my favorite Food Network personalities. With the exception of the association with Applebee's, the man can do no wrong. I was watching Tyler's Ultimate one day and the man roasted broccoli. I love roasting as a cooking method because it intensifies flavor like nothing else. It also makes veggies sweeter.

I've roasted carrots, potatoes and onions before, but broccoli??!! This I would have to try. Since I've tried it, I haven't cooked it any other way. It's really quick and it doesn't require a lot of work. Be forewarned: If you like mushy broccoli, this is not for you! Here goes:

Start with fresh broccoli. This will not work with frozen. Rinse and chop off the crowns. You can also cut it into spears. I'm using just the crowns today.

Grab a foil-lined baking sheet. and place the broccoli on it. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss everything together.

Take it to a 400 degree preheated oven. Roast it for 10 minutes. Look at that color!

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and roast for 10 more minutes.

Plate and sprinkle with fresh lemon juice. The caramelized pieces are the best.

Tools of the trade:

• Williams-Sonoma Two-in-One Citrus Juicer
• Totally Bamboo Butcher Block
• Shun Chef's Knife
• Microplane