When Life Gives You Lemons... Part II

We have a counter full of lemons.  Our neighbors give us lemons, my mom gives us lemons, and now our little lemon tree has flower buds on it.  Our friends down at Blue Label restaurant (can't wait to try their fixed menu for restaurant week) recently hosted a Meyer Lemon cook off, and Nick and I had the day off, so we used the opportunity to make some wild things we have never made before (lemon ravioli, lemon coriander vodka,  lemon steak noodle salad, lemon candy...) and still we have a ton of lemons, not to mention very full bellies.
Experimenting is really important, as well as really fun, unfortunately it's not always palatable (my raviolis were too bitter, and my vodka was not as lemon-y as I would have liked).  After experimenting for days, I just want something easy, classic, and promised to be delicious.

Lemon Bars!

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet.
For the crust, cream 1/2 lbs. butter and 1/2 cup sugar.
Add 2 cups flour and 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt and mix until just combined

Gather the dough into a ball.  Flatten the dough (with floured hands) and press it into the greased baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides.  Stick it into the refrigerator to chill for 10 to 15 minutes.
Pre-bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned.  Take the crust out of the oven to let it cool off and leave the oven on.

For the lemon, whisk together the 4 eggs at room temperature, 1 2/3 cups sugar, 1+ tablespoon lemon zest (3 or 4 lemons), 2/3 cup lemon juice, and 2/3 cup flour.  Once smooth pour the lemon mix into the crust and bake for 25 minutes, just beyond the when the filling sets.  Let cool to room temperature and dust with powdered sugar.

A good lemon bar can't be beat.  They are so easy to make, easy to transport, everyone seems to like them, AND four more lemons bite the dust!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

The lemon tree on our front porch is still too tiny to be fruitful.  Luckily for us, I found a Meyer lemon tree around the corner from our house that was heavy with ripe, fragrant lemons.  Our neighborhood is rich with citrus, so during the winter I feel like a jewel thief.  I ride around on my bicycle and when those bright orange or yellow orbs call out to be plucked from their perches,  I do.   I always ask first if the fruit tree is in someone's yard- more often than not I've asked for a few lemons and ended up with bags full of fruit from a neighbor's backyard. 

In this fashion, I often end up with surplus foraged lemons.  As the old adage goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemon meringue pie. 

Lemon meringue pie was one of the first pies I successfully made over and over again. It was one of my mom's favorites, and one of her father's favorites too.  It is a classic dessert, simple enough for a home cook, and a mile-high meringue is sure to impress the guests.  

You can find a lemon meringue recipe in just about any decent cookbook.  For this pie, we made an Italian meringue, which uses boiled sugar-water rather than granulated sugar.  This creates a meringue that doesn't deflate as quickly and will not sweat.

The lemons gleaned from our neighbor's tree were delicious in pie-filling form.  The lemon pie was so good, it could've been served all by itself.  It was tart and lively, a lovely yellow hue.

 

Our lemon meringue pie was not long for this world.  I ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Something so light isn't meant to last.