# Lemons!



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Years ago Harry Belafonte sang these words:


> > _Lemon tree very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet,_
> > _But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat._


Well, we all know that _"the fruit of the poor lemon"_ can be used to make some mighty fine dishes. What are your favorite dishes made with lemons?


----------



## amazingrace (Jul 28, 2006)

Lemon merangue pie, is without question, my all time favorite lemon treat. That is _real _lemon merangue pie, not that artificial pie wannabe so many "bakeries" push.


----------



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

I love lemon pie, but am not crazy about merangue. Put some good - _real!_ - whipped cream on the pie, and I'm there in a heartbeat. Not that I'd turn down a lemon merangue slice ... not at all.


----------



## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

I like chicken piccata, sometimes just the classic lemon and capers, sometimes add in some green onion and mushroom, sometimes white wine instead of or in addition to chicken stock.

Nice, large shrimp marinated in an olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and oregano mix, threaded onto skewers with a lemon wedge every 2 -3 shrimp and quickly grilled over hot charcoal.

One of these days I WILL make a batch of lemon curd.

mjb.


----------



## vera bradley (Mar 21, 2004)

Chicken Piccata and Veal Francese.

And I just happen to _love_ "Vera's Lemon Cookies", those little lemon glazes crescent-shaped cookies served at Maggiano's Little Italy restaurants. :lol:


----------



## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

I love lemon pound cake.

Gingerbread topped with lemon curd.

Egg-lemon chicken soup (Avgolemono)

Lemon Lentil Soup.

Lemon Roasted Potatoes.

Lemon Doughnut from Dunkin donuts.

Lemonette (as opposed to vinegraitte) 

Garlic, salt, lemon, and evoo emulsion dressing.

But hey I'm greek. We greeks put lemon on lemon.


----------



## dillbert (Jul 2, 2008)

Mapiva -

speaking of lemons and Greek....

a thousand years ago I was invited to a wind-ding in Athens, seaside Pireaus to be exact - and there was a really good semi-sweet 'snack' dish made from the white lemon rind 'flesh'

apparently there's a specific type of (local?) lemon that is especially thick skinned and 'most suitable' for the dish.

never seen it since - any ideas / recipes along those lines?


----------



## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Gosh, Shel, that's like asking, "what is your favorite dish made with bacon?" Lemon perks up so many things its really hard to choose. 

If I had to choose just one, though, it would be any version of Lemon Chicken from the Maghreb. 

Oh, wait! There's the lemon bread I first had at White Oak Plantation.

Just a sec. Let's not forget Lebanese Olive Salad. 

And....

I reckon, thinking it over, that my favorite dish made with lemon is whatever the last one was.


----------



## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Was it in a syrup? It is very popular in Greece to make candied lemon rinds but I'm not very familiar with the hows and whys, only that it's a regional thing and not really done on the island I'm from. Most popular I think is lemon rinds and quince.


----------



## izbnso (May 12, 2007)

Savory (short list):
The all important "perk" factor from adding fresh lemon juice to a dish.
Piccata
Steamed artichoke dipped in lemon butter 

Sweets (not so short list):
Lemon curd
Lemon bars
Lemon pound cake
Lemon thin cookies
Lemon poppy seed sandwich cookies
A cookie I invented that is lemon infused dough piped in a rosette filled with raspberry lemon curd and then baked
Lemon poppy seed sweet rolls
Lemon poppy seed muffins
Lemon ice box pie
Fresh lemonade
Lemon cheese cake
Lemon jellies (an ooey gooey candy the kids love)
My Dad's favorite cake: white cake with a lemon wash, filled with lemon butter cream (yolks), iced with lemon butter cream (whites) and topped with sliced strawberries.

And homemade cough syrup: honey, lemon and a shot of whiskey!


----------



## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

I was watching Molto Mario the other day and he said something I've always adhered to. Paraphrase: "Whenever a dish seems to be lacking a little something, try squeezing a little lemon on it, the acidity usually perks it up."


----------



## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

Make a big batch of Lemoncello (sp?) using the zest and then you have lots of flesh for juicing to make al sorts of things!


----------



## blueicus (Mar 16, 2005)

I like Marcella Hazan's recipe for pasta (fettucine) with a lemon cream sauce.


----------



## mandarin.mint (Oct 29, 2008)

Mmmn. . .lemon. Strange how as a fruit it is largely inedible (well, you can eat it, but you'll have to get veneers after all the erosion the acid causes to the enamel on your teeth). . .but as an accompagniment, it is largely indispensible!!!

I love it on my chicken, fish, vegetables, seafood. . .in my butter, in my dips, tea, water, vinagrettes, dressings, mayo, you name it.

For sweets, I love lemon tarts/bars, mexican wedding cookies, lemon zest in my cranberry biscotti, lemon-blueberry scones, mixed with strawberry in my lemonade, lemon pound cake. . .in my icing. . .everything! Lemon is so versatile!


----------



## geese4u (Apr 29, 2008)

Lemon zest and a little black pepper mixed with goat cheese, spread on crostini and drizzled lightly with honey is one of my favorites.


----------



## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

How 'bout some Lemoncello:


LEMONCELLO


Here it is.
10 lemons - peal skin only, no white

1 liter pure spirit (95%)- You could use vodka but would need to use about 3 pints and cut down on water later.

Put lemon peel in spirit in non-reactive container. Leave for at least three weeks moving occasionally.

After three or more weeks- Take 3 pints of warm water and dissolve two and a half pounds of sugar until clear. Allow to cool and then mix with lemon peel and spirit. Leave for two weeks.


Strain out peel and bottle. Put bottle in freezer for a few hours. It should come out like a syrup when pouring.

Great after a meal. I like it when I have coffee. It is supposed to settle your tum after food but is so easy to drink. By the way a good use for the lemons if you don't want to make juice. Cut off the ends and cut down middle then half the sides. Carefully put in freezer bags so that it is skin to flesh. Freeze. You now have lemon for you drink that acts like an ice cube but doesn't dilute your drink. HOPE YOU ENJOY.

================================================== ===============


We've taken to pouring limoncello over ice in a tall glass, adding a splash of cranberry, and topping with club soda. Very refreshing for our hot afternoons:

In a 12oz glass filled with ice I pour 3/4 of a glass of liqueur (...filled 3/4ths full of Lemoncello), add about an ounce of cranbery, then top with club soda.


----------



## dimityrdimitrov (Dec 28, 2008)

Here is a cake with a lemon peel.










Later today i will translate the recipe (from Bulgarian) and post it here.


----------



## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

I wrote a recipe for lemon _panna cotta_ yesterday, and posted it here: http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/pastr...-year-eve.html In that particular version, vanilla plays off the lemon very nicely.

Lemon is a big favorite -- from avgolemeno soup, to lemon squares.

BDL


----------



## dimityrdimitrov (Dec 28, 2008)

And here is the translated recipe as i promised 

http://recipesbyme4you.blogspot.com/...mon-peels.html


----------



## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

Dimityr:

Your recipe calls for "1 packet baking powder...half a lemon peel...3 packets vanilla". Exactly how much is that quantity, measured either in grams or in teaspoons (or Tablespoons) since I can't find neither baking powder nor vanilla in small packets here in America?

As to the lemon peel, "half a lemon peel", is what's meant is the zest from 1/2 lemon?

Otherwise the translation is great!

Vorbest romaneste? Stiu putzin! :bounce:


----------



## dimityrdimitrov (Dec 28, 2008)

Oh sorry. Here is the correction. 3 packets vanilla 0.6 g. 1 packet baking powder - 10 g. middle-sized lemon.


----------



## bughut (Aug 18, 2007)

Chicken tagine, with plenty of preserved lemons


----------



## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

As I understand it, therefore:

1 packet vanilla - 0.2 grams per packet

1 packet paking powder = 10 grams per packet

Lemon Peel = the zest from 1/2 (10 grams) lemon.

A bit more explanation is required.


----------



## dimityrdimitrov (Dec 28, 2008)

No just the lemon peel of middle-sized lemon .


----------



## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:roll:


----------



## dimityrdimitrov (Dec 28, 2008)

you are welcome! :chef:


----------



## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Presumably the "packet vanilla," is vanilla powder, no?

BDL


----------



## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

vanillin is sold in some parts of europe in packets. At least in italy, it is a chemical fake vanilla, and has a strong aftertaste. As far as i know, vanillin is the closest thing chemically to real vanilla, that is, closer than other fake flavorings are to what they are supposed to resemble, and if you read italian ingredient lists for commercial cakes and sweets, often they have "artificial flavoring" written in english and "aromi naturali" (natural flavoring) in italian! Apparently, since the molecule is so close to vanilla, they allow it as a natural flavoring. However, i can taste it and find it disturbing. You can replace a tsp or two of vanilla extract for a pck of vanillin. Unfortunately, there is no other vanilla here, even in pastry supply stores, you can either buy real vanilla bean or this chemical stuff. I;ve used it but prefer real extract, so i usually bring a big supply from abroad. You can taste the difference more in creams - in cakes it can be less noticeable. Anyway, to adjust the recipe, just put in a tsp or so vanilla extract. It';s not one of those ingredients nthat have to be perfectly measured. (i usually just dump some directly from the bottle without measuring.)
The baking powder pkgs weigh 15 gms. If you know how many grams in a tsp, you can figure out the equivalent in tsps. I have used it interchangeably with canned baking powder, teaspoon for teaspoon, and it works fine, so it must be the same mixture.


----------



## dimityrdimitrov (Dec 28, 2008)

yes it's vanilla powder.


----------



## jayn (Mar 26, 2011)

nice lemon things....Has anyone got a recipe for Maggiano's Lemon Cookies the soft iced crescent shaped ones.  even a copycat recipe.  Would really love this.


----------

