Lemons and Limes, Part 2

Here are those excellent recipes from Hillary!  I am still dreaming of that entire meal.  It was perfection!

Brazilian Lemonade

4 juicy limes (try and find ones with thin, smooth skins; they’re the juiciest and the thin skin cuts down on the chance of your drink being bitter)
1 c. sugar
6 c. cold water

6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk

Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time.

Wash limes thoroughly with soap (I just use hand-dishwashing soap or regular hand soap); you need the soap to get the wax and pesticides off of the limes because you’re using the WHOLE lime, baby. Cut the ends off the limes and then cut each lime into 8ths.

Place 1/2 of the limes in your blender.

Add 1/2 of the sugar water, place the lid on your blender, and pulse 5 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher (the one you’ll serve the lemonade in) and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Dump the pulp and stuff in the strainer into the trash. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water. Add sweetened condensed milk; DO NOT leave this step out unless you will die of a horrible sweetened condensed milk allergy because this is the secret ingredient! You may want to taste test it at this point; I used giant, thick-skinned limes tonight and didn’t test it and it came out a little bitter. If it’s bitter, just add some more sugar and maybe a little more milk.

Serve immediately over lots of ice. This does not keep well, so don’t make this in advance (although you can cut the limes, mix the sugar water, and measure the sweetened condensed milk in advance). Serves 4, although I can pretty much guarantee you that people will want more; I usually plan on 1 1/2 servings at LEAST per person.

Pan-Grilled Flatbread

Flat bread Makes eight 6-7 inch breads.  This type of flatbread is akin to naan, a soft and chewy Indian Flatbread to sop up curries.  DO NOT use a food processor to mix this very sticky dough because you may burnout the motor.  Instead, mix the dough by hand (the method is provided), be aware that the mixing and kneading times will increase substantially.  Only one flatbread will fit in a skillet, but you can speed up the cooking process by using two skillets.  You can also cook it out on your grill.

1 package (about 2 teaspoons) instant yeast

2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt, plus more for sprinkling

1/4 cup (1 3/8 ounces) whole wheat flour, sieved before measuring to remove course bran flakes

2 1/2 cups (13 3/4 ounces) bread flour, plus more for dusting work surface

1 cup water, at room temperature

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for oiling the bowl

4 tbsp (1/2 stick) butter for brushing flatbread

1- In a standing mixer: Combine the yeast, sugar, salt, whole wheat flour, and the bread flour in the bowl of the standing mixer and mix with the paddle attachment until blended, about 15 seconds.  Add water, yogurt, and olive oil and mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms, about 30 seconds.   Replace the paddle with the dough hook and knead the dough on medium speed until smooth and glossy, about 8 minutes, adding more flour in 1 tablespoon increments if necessary for the dough to clear the sides of the bowl (the dough will stick to the bottom of the bowl).  Scrape down the sides to the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary.

2- transfer the dough to a lightly oiled large bowl, cover with plastic wrap in a draft free spot until the dough has doubled in bulk, about 45 mins to 1 hour.  (At this point, the dough can be punched down, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerated up to 2 days).

3-Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and, if it is sticky, sprinkle very lightly with flour.  Use a chef’s knife to cut the dough into 8 equal portions.  roll each ball into a 4-inch circle, let rest for 10 minutes, then roll over with a rolling pin once or twice so the seeds adhere to the dough.

4-Five to Ten minutes before cooking the flatbreads, heat a large, heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat until hot.  Working one at a time, lift the dough circles, gently stretch about 1 inch larger, and place in the skillet.  Cook until small bubbles appear on the surface of the dough, about 30 seconds.  With tongs, flip the bread and cook until is speckled and deep golden brown in spots, about 2 minutes.  Flip the bread over again: cook until the bottom is speckled and deep golden brown in spots, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

5-Transfer the bread to a wire rack and cool for about 5 minutes (brush bread lightly with butter and sprinkle with salt to taste (we added chopped rosemary).  Wrap the breads loosely in a clean kitchen towel and serve warm.  Or, wrap the bread tightly in foil and store at room temperature up to 2 days; reheat in a 300 degree oven until warm, about15 minutes

Lemon Curry Yogurt Dip

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

2 dates, chopped

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

1/4 teaspoon curry powder

pinch of coriander

pinch of cumin

honey to taste

kosher salt to taste

1 tablespoon freshly chopped tomato

1 tablespoon fresh chopped red onion

1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1.  In a small bowl combine the yogurt, chopped dates, curry powder, coriander, cumin, lemon juice, honey and salt.  The longer it sits the softer the dates get. I liked it better the next day so go ahead and make this early if you can. 

2.  Before serving add chopped tomato, onion and cilantro on top of the dip.

Note: This is great as a dip with the flat bread, but also great on chicken and fish.  

Grilled Cilantro Chicken With Tomato and Avocado Salsa

Salsa:

1 lb. med. Beefsteak tomatoes, quartered & seed squeezed out

2 serrano chilies, thinly sliced (take out the half the seeds if you don’t want it as spicy)

1/2 c. thinly sliced green onions

1/2 c. distilled white vinegar

2 1/2 T. brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

4 tsp. minced fresh ginger

1 T. minced garlic

2 tsp. mustard seeds

2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. cayenne (opt.)

1/2 tsp, turmeric

1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil

2 firm, ripe avocados, cut into 3/4 inch chunks

Chicken:

1/4 c. olive oil

1/4 c. fresh lime juice

1/2 c. chopped cilantro

1T. ground cumin

1/2 tsp, kosher salt

1/2  tsp. freshly ground black pepper

4 chicken breast halves with bone & skin*

salsa: ln a bowl, combine tomatoes, chilies and green onions. ln a medium saucepan over high heat, bring vinegar to a boil. Add sugar and salt; cook, stirring until dissolved, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. put ginger. garlic and dry spices in a bowl. ln another medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat until rippling. Add ginger; mix and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat-. Stir in seasoned vinegar and pour over tomato mixture. Let salsa cool, cover and chill for at least t hour and up to 4 hours (if you don't have that time, do it just before serving). Before serving, stir in avocado.

chicken: ln a large bowl, combine the oil, lime juice, cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper. Turn chicken in mixture to coat. Let stand at room temperature, turning occasionally for 30-35 minutes. Prepare grill for high heat (450"-550"). you can tell if you hold your hand 5 inches above grate for only 2-4 seconds. Grill chicken, turning often to prevent scorching, 15-20 minutes. serve chicken over rice and spoon salsa on top. Serves 4. *Bone and skin optional.

Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries

Recipe from Ina Garten

Ingredients

•           1/2 packet (1 teaspoon) unflavored gelatin powder

•           1 1/2 tablespoons cold water

•           1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided

•           1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

•           1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

•           1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

•           1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon

•           2 pints (4 cups) sliced fresh strawberries

•           2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

•           1 tablespoon sugar

•           1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

•           Freshly grated lemon zest, for serving

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin on 1 1/2 tablespoons of cold water. Stir and set aside for 10 minutes to allow the gelatin to dissolve.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup of the cream, the yogurt, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds. Heat the remaining 3/4 cup of cream and the 1/3 cup of sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Off the heat, add the softened gelatin to the hot cream and stir to dissolve. Pour the hot cream-gelatin mixture into the cold cream-yogurt mixture and stir to combine. Pour into 4 (6 to 8-ounce) ramekins or custard cups and refrigerate uncovered until cold. When the panna cottas are thoroughly chilled, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Combine the strawberries, balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, and pepper 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving. Set aside at room temperature.

To serve, run a small knife around each dessert in the ramkein and dip the bottom of each ramekin quickly in a bowl of hot tap water. Invert each ramekin onto a dessert plate and surround the panna cotta with strawberries. Dust lightly with freshly grated lemon zest and serve.

Raspberry Coulis

Raspberries

Lemon Juice

Powdered Sugar

Just combine berries, lemon juice and powder sugar in blender and

puree.  Then press through a sieve to make it even smoother and get rid

of any seeds.  If needed, add more sugar after you have sieved it..