Day: June 30, 2009

Here are the recipes for Springtime Brunch, episode #1

(As submitted by Laura Lufkin for Epicurious.com’s Favorite Mother’s Day Recipe Contest.)  Yes, this recipe is a contest runner up!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
5 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into small pieces
2 to 3 tablespoons cold water

1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons shallots, chopped
1 bunch asparagus spears, cut into fourths to yield 2 to 3 cups
1/2 cup raisins, dried figs or dates, chopped
3 slices bacon, cooked well, drained and crumbled

8 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
2 cups whole milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation
Sift flour into a bowl and cut in the butter with knives, fingers or pastry blender until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Slowly work in water to form a soft dough. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough big enough for a 9-inch pie pan and place in pan. Prick the crust with a fork and chill for 30 minutes. Cover the dough with foil and fill the shell with baking beans or pie weights. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove pie weights and foil and bake for another 10 to 12 minutes until pastry is golden brown.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add shallots, asparagus and raisins and sauté gently for 5 to 6 minutes until lightly golden brown. Scatter over base of the pastry shell and top with bacon.

Beat together goat cheese, milk, eggs, herbs and salt and pepper and pour over the asparagus. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over tart. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown and set in the center. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Easy Chive Drop Biscuits

1 cup sifted flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs beaten

¾ cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons snipped chives

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease or cover with parchment a large baking sheet.

Whisk together dry ingredients.  Stir in eggs, cream and chives.  Dough will be soft and lumpy.  Drop by large spoonfuls onto prepared pan.

Bake 15-20 minutes until edges are golden brown.  Makes 12 biscuits

And here are the famous Lemon Squares:

*here’s a tip–you can substitute any zest, juice or extract for the lemon and that is what I did on the show. Use this as a base recipe and experiment away!

Laurie’s Luscious Lemon Squares

For the crust:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) cold butter, cut into cubes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons cornstarch
5 large eggs
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
2-3 tablespoons lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon extract
2 teaspoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray pan a glass 9” x 13” baking dish. Set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, confectioner’s sugar, butter and vanilla extract. Pulse until thoroughly combined and butter is the size of small peas.

Press mixture into prepared pan and bake for 18-20 minutes until edges are golden brown.

In the meantime, zest and juice the lemons. Set zest aside. In a small bowl stir together the lemon juice and cornstarch until cornstarch is dissolved.

In the processor (don’t bother cleaning the bowl), combine eggs, sugar, extracts and reserved lemon zest. Pulse mixture until just combined. Set aside until crust is ready. Before pouring mixture onto the crust, pulse one more time to recombine filling as it may have separated.

When crust is lightly browned on the edges, remove from oven and pour lemon mixture directly on hot crust and return pan to oven for 15-18 minutes or until center is set. Remove pan to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Dust squares with powdered sugar and cut into desired size. Enjoy!