Kitchen gadget inspires citrus-infused meals
I have always enjoyed browsing at shops such as Crate and Barrel
and William and Sonoma. The stores are filled with kitchen wares
and gadgets, as well as a random mix of food items from barbecue
sauce to seasoning mixes to jams to pancake mixes.
Kitchen gadget inspires citrus-infused meals
I have always enjoyed browsing at shops such as Crate and Barrel and William and Sonoma. The stores are filled with kitchen wares and gadgets, as well as a random mix of food items from barbecue sauce to seasoning mixes to jams to pancake mixes.
I am always amazed at some of the things I find in the stores. During the holidays, William and Sonoma sold crushed peppermint candy for baking. I would have loved to know about it before I crushed up 30 mini candy canes by hand at home for a batch of peppermint cookies. But at $20 for 6 ounces. I probably wouldn’t have bought it if I had known about it.
Still, it’s always fun to look around and every once in a while I will buy something that’s been on my culinary needs list for awhile. About a month ago I visited Crate and Barrel with some friends. While they shopped for a salad bowl and something called a bacon screen, I looked through the gadget section. There was a microplane zester that I had long been eyeing. Sure, we have graters at home, but none of them seem to work that well for zesting lemons, limes or oranges – which is something we seem to do quite often for meals in my house. We have a zester, but it has a weird configuration where the fruit is zested right into a handle that makes it stick on the gadget rather than easily fall into the dish.
I finally gave in and bought the microplane zester along with a jar of Meyer lemon pancake mix. To top the pancakes, I zested a lemon into some fat-free ricotta cheese, and then mixed in some honey. It gave a creamy and sweet flavor to the subtle lemon flavor in the pancakes and offered a healthier topping than syrup.
Here are a few other recipes that are perfect to make use of a microplane zester, which works well on citrus, whole nutmeg and parmesan cheese.
Honey lemon ricotta topping
1 c. fat free ricotta cheese
2 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. lemon zest or more to taste
Mix ingredients together. Add more lemon or honey to taste. Serve on top of pancakes or French toast.
Lemon ricotta pancakes
Recipe courtesy of Bobby Flay
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
1 c. ricotta cheese
2 eggs
2/3 c. milk
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Butter, for griddle
1 (11-ounce) jar prepared lemon curd
Fresh raspberries, for garnish
Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish
Preheat a nonstick griddle.
Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk together the cheese, eggs, milk, lemon juice and zest in a large bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Brush the hot griddle with butter. For each pancake, pour approximately 1/4 cup measure of the batter on the griddle and cook on both sides until light golden brown. Repeat until no batter remains.
Empty the contents of the lemon curd into a small saucepan and warm over low heat. Alternatively, remove the lid and place in a microwave oven on 50 percent power for 2 minutes, stopping after 1 minute to stir the curd. Drizzle a few tablespoons of the curd over the pancakes, top with fresh raspberries, and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.
Orzo with Thyme and Lemon Zest
Recipe courtesy of Melissa d’Arabian
1 1/2 c. chicken stock or broth
2 c. water
Pinch dried red pepper flakes
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
3/4 c. orzo
1/2 lemon, zested
2 tbsp. fresh chopped thyme leaves
Salt
In a medium saucepan, add the stock, water, pepper flakes, and garlic and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the orzo, lower the heat, and simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in lemon zest and thyme leaves. Season with salt, to taste, and transfer to a serving bowl.
Cranberry orange scones
Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten
4 c. plus 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
2 tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tbsp. grated orange zest
3/4 lb. cold unsalted butter, diced
4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1 c. cold heavy cream
1 c. dried cranberries
1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp. water or milk, for egg wash
1/2 c. confectioners’ sugar, plus 2 tbsp.
4 tsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix 4 cups of flour, 1/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. Combine the eggs and heavy cream and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough will look lumpy. Combine the dried cranberries and 1/4 cup of flour, add to the dough, and mix on low speed until blended.
Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see small bits of butter in the dough. Keep moving the dough on the floured board so it doesn’t stick. Flour a 3-inch round plain or fluted cutter and cut circles of dough. Place the scones on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Collect the scraps neatly, roll them out, and cut more circles.
Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked. The scones will be firm to the touch. Allow the scones to cool for 15 minutes and then whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice, and drizzle over the scones.
