Gail Ball exc uiiue events Wedding Specialist Corporate & Personal Event Planning I • always maintain a bowl full of fresh lemons somewhere in my house. Always. First, there's that skin. It's the perfect color. Isn't lemon yellow among the happiest of all hues? Second, lemons are indispensable to my cooking. Whenever I put together a sweet table, I insist on at least one thing chocolate and something lemon. The tangy sweet and sour flavor adds just the right amount of zest to any cele- bration. Lemons are fresh. Lemons are sunny. And they better almost every- thing around them. Like most citrus, the lemon is a win- ter fruit, best from fall to spring, but it's readily available all year long. Most lemon desserts are yellow. But the color doesn't come from the lemon itself If that were so, lemonade would not be the cloudy, milky color we know it to be. What makes lemon- filled sweets yellow is, most often, eggs. Most recipes that call for lemon also include eggs — from pie to pud- ding to curd. Look through the following recipes and you'll see lemon most often sur- rounded by its ubiquitous pals, eggs and sugar. Eggs add the form while sugar cuts the acid. Unless absolutely necessary, use only fresh lemons when you cook. In a pinch, you can use frozen lemon juice (located in your grocer's freezer, near the frozen juices). Choose fruits that are heavy for their size and with a rind that gives when squeezed. Roll them with the palm of hand to and away from you on a flat surface to get the juices going. For extra juiciness, microwave them for 30 seconds or so. The enemy of lemon is too little or too much sugar. Part of the lemon's charm is the sharpness that makes you suck hard after the first encounter, but too much sugar can be sickening as well. Be careful. The great food writer Molly O'Neill wrote, "There is something eternal about the freshness a lemon imparts." It's true. Whenever I want to bring out the flavor of most cooked foods, I squeeze a lemon. Many a baked goods recipe benefits from adding a spoonful or two of fine- ly grated lemon zest, even it the recipe doesn't call for it. In fact, even the cookbook recipes I follow nearly always get an extra squeeze of lemon. Like all condiments, lemon should be added to taste. Life has given us lemons. Make lemonade. And lemon squares and tarts and cookies. Use lemons as a theme for entertaining. Cram glass vases full of lemons and fill them with water. Then stick yellow tulips in the vase. Use bright yellow napkins. We can all use more sunshine. ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk well until smooth. Pour into the baked crust and bake for 20-30 min- utes, until the filling is set. Let cool before garnishing with the candy, if using, and the mint leaves. Makes 12 servings. Lemon Raspberry Thumbprints Pretty and elegant. The cookies may crack a little around the sides when you make your indentation — I like them this way (they look homey). If you prefer your cookie not to crack at all, add a teaspoon of water to the dough. Lemon Tarte With Almond Crust Crust: 1 cup flour 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup ground almonds 6 T butter or margarine, melted Filling. 1 cup sugar 1 cup lemon juice 2 T flour 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted 6 eggs jellied lemon slices candy, garnish (optional) fresh mint leaves, garnish Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8- or 9-inch tart pan with removable bot- tom with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. Make crust: Combine all crust ingredients in a bowl and stir well until a thick dough is formed (you ma•also do this with a mixer or food processor). Press this. mixture evenly on the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake the crust in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven to cool. Set the oven to 400F. Make filling: Combine all filling 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened 1/4 cup sugar 1 large egg yolk 1 t. lemon extract Fresh fine-grated peel from one lemon or lime 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 t. salt 1/4 cup raspberry jam or preserves Confectioners sugar, for sprinkling on cookies Preheat oven to 325°F. Combine butter, sugar, egg yolk, extract and grated peel in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour and salt and beat :until well mixed. Shape dough into 16 1-inch diame- ter balls. Place on parchment-lined or ungreased cookie sheet and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Press your thumb or index finger knuckle (second knuckle, where finger bends in half) into the center of the cookie to make an indentation in each cookie (the dough may crack a bit). Spoon a small amount of jam into the indentation of each cookie. Bake for LIFE Is A LEMON on page 34 P erional Service 2edicated to Thetaiii Beautiful Elegant Memorable (248) 851-8845 (248) 851-7922 (Fax) gail22b@aol.com \l/ EMBROIDERY DIGITIZING SCREEN PRINTING PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS ea rth2earth.com Need a deal on printed t-shirts? Flow's $4.20 each sound? Printed. With 2 colors. Is It even legal? (248) 335-7015 3115 2002 C33