Pi Day Mini-Pies

Earlier this week geeks everywhere celebrated Pi Day. Pi Day is March 14 (3/14). Get it? Huh, do ya? Anyway, for all but the very geekiest, Pi day is mostly an excuse to eat pie. Some local pie places were even giving out free pie. Sadly, I was not able to get in on the free pie, so I had to make my own. I actually made tarts, but I prefer to call them mini-pies. After all, tart day seems like it would be something else all together...but I digress.

 There's not really a recipe here. I picked a pie crust recipe (which I'm not going to bother sharing, I didn't think it was that tasty, but recipes abound on the interwebs) and some fillings. I pressed the dough into greased muffin tins because I wanted my pies to look rustic, but you can roll out your dough and cut nice circles for a more refined look. Then I filled them with cherry and peach filling that I had left over from another project; use whatever you have on hand. I topped each pie with a heart I cut from the dough scraps and baked according to my dough's directions. Just watch the baking time since most recipes are for a whole pie.

Mini-pies are so simple to make that it would be a great Pi Day project for older children to do on their own. Smaller Pi fans can certainly help as well. Short on time? Go ahead and use prepared crust and fillings. I got seven mini-pies from a single crust recipe. You're number is going to vary depending on how thin you roll the crust, how big you make your shells and whether you choose to top them with crust or just go with a single crust. You could also use mini-muffin tins to make mini-mini-pies.

Don't worry about waiting a year to make these, either. They're a great little treat any time. Enjoy!

Roasted Squash with Onions, Walnuts and Bleu Cheese

First, a note about the recipes I post here. Copyright and ownership are huge issues with recipes. If a recipe appears within the text of a post, it's one that I consider "mine". That's not to say that there isn't a similar one out there somewhere, but I didn't use one when I made it. If the recipe is online, I simply link to where I found it originally. And, if I've made a recipe out of a cookbook and it's not online anywhere, I will simply reference the book, but I will not repost the recipe. There are also recipes that are based on a well-known or basic foundation and can be found everywhere. I do post those. My lemon curd and preserved lemons both fall into that category.

 

All that being said, here's one that I put together for crisp fall evenings. I've made many variations of it and you can include any combo of root vegetables that you like. Try it with parsnips and sweet potatoes-yum! Feta cheese also works well.

 

 

 

Roasted Squash with Onions, Walnuts and Bleu Cheese

• Peel and cut a medium butternut (or any other winter variety) squash into bite size pieces.
• Toss with olive oil and spread on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper.
• Roast in a 350° oven for about an hour (when the squash is soft and starting to carmelize, it's ready). About 30 minutes into the roasting time, add a sliced onion.
• About 50 minutes into the roasting time, add a handful of chopped walnuts.
• When everything is roasted, toasted and carmelized to your liking, remove from the oven.
• Top with crumbled bleu cheese before serving.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

It is football season! I am a huge fan of football food, the game, not as much. The food, though- it's portable, it's a bit on the indulgent side and it's fun! Now, I hear most of you wondering how I can justify football food while preaching real, homemade food. That's easy-I make real, homemade football food. When you make it yourself, you can modify the ingredients that you don't like, add ingredients that you love and swap out ingredients that are less than healthy. Understand, I'm not claiming that my football recipes are health food. That's part of the allure of football food-it's general unhealthiness-but, mine is better than what you find in your freezer section or at the local sports bar.

I threw this together as a munchy for my little guy's first birthday party. I made it up as I went, but it turned out great. This recipe is incredibly simple (so much easier than making poppers), healthier than deep fried poppers, and so yummy! Try it for your next party and see what you think. I bet you'll be happy with the results.

Jalapeno Popper Dip
Ingredients

•  5-6 jalapenos (or serranos or cubanelles or...)
• 8 oz block of cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup sour cream (add as much or as little as you want to acheive your desired consistency)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used extra sharp and shredded it fine)

Instructions

• Roast peppers in a 450° oven for about 20 minutes. When the peppers are soft and the skins are dark, they're ready. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
• Remove skins and seeds from cool peppers and chop the flesh finely.
• Stir together chopped peppers and all other ingredients.
• Refrigerate for at least an hour to let flavors come together. Serve at room temperature for easy dipping.

Tips

• Place peppers in a paper bag as they cool to make peeling the skins off even easier.
• Serve with tortilla chips or baked flour tortilla chips.
• Adjust heat by adjusting the number or type of peppers you use.
• No fresh peppers or short on time? Substitute canned green chiles.
• For an interesting twist: add some crispy, crumbled bacon.

Operation: Pantry Clean Out

In the days before my "from scratch" resolution, I stocked up my pantry-with all the canned, processed stuff you would expect in a pantry. Now, I want to get rid of that stuff. I want to make room for home canned and preserved or, at least, locally preserved foods. So, I need your help. Do you have a great "from the pantry" kind of recipe? Send it to me and maybe you'll see it featured in a future post!

Spicy Asian Dipping Sauce

OK, this is another one of those embarrassingly easy recipes that I shouldn't even put on here. But, it's yummy, so here it is. This summer, when the peppers are in, I'm going to try a fermented pepper sauce that I have directions for, but for now, here's the easy one.

Asian Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chili garlic sauce (add more if you like it spicier)
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons of sugar

Directions:

• Mix everything together and let rest.

See, I told you it was embarrassingly easy.

Ham Pinwheel Spread

Who doesn't love a ham pinwheel? Well, vegetarians, I suppose. OK, skip that question. I love a ham pinwheel. There, that's better. In case you're not familiar with them, ham pinwheels are slices of deli ham covered in cream cheese, rolled up and cut into slices. Some folks put a green onion or tiny pickle in the middle. I'm not picky. I'll eat any of the versions. While these are easy to prepare they're often done for parties and I've never taken the time to make them for a meal or snack for myself. This spread that I came up with gives you the taste with less effort.

Ham Pinwheel Spread

Ingredients

• 8 ounce block of cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup diced ham (or more if you want a thicker, meatier spread)
• sweet pickle relish or diced green onions to taste (or get crazy and use both)

Directions

1. Mix everything together in bowl, chill. (Can't get much easier than that)

You could easily make this into a cheeseball if you wanted something a little more party-ready. I put mine in a tortilla and made a lunch roll-up. Enjoy!

Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins

Hmm, see a carbohydrate theme in the recipes lately? So yummy...Anyway, this is a great muffin. The texture of the cornmeal and the slight hint of orange really makes them a bit different from plain ol' blueberry muffins. This originally appeared in Family Fun magazine in the fall of '07.

Cornmeal Blueberry Muffins
makes approximately 1 dozen
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest (I substituted orange extract since I didn't have zest)
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (If you use frozen, do not thaw before adding)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400°. Grease the bottoms only of 12 standard muffin cups.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and orange zest. In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs and oil until well blended. Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until batter is blended. Gently fold in blueberries.
• Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake muffins for 15 minutes or until tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for 5 to 10 minutes on a wire rack before removing them.

Honey Oat Waffles

Ok, I love breakfast foods. Not necessarily at breakfast time, but that's not the point. The point is, that many of these luscious concoctions are not great for you. They can also take a long time to prepare. To fix the time issue, I periodically prepare a bunch of waffles or pancakes, let them cool completely and then pop them in the freezer. All you have to do on a busy morning is put them in the toaster, just like those store-bought ones. Unlike the store-bought ones, though, these are very yummy and not so terrible for you. They don't have much sugar in them and they are packed with fiber. So eat up! Within reason, of course. I'm not promoting them as weight-loss waffle or anything...

Honey Oat Waffles
Ingredients

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 cup oats
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• water, to thin if necessary

Directions

• In a large bowl, mix eggs and buttermilk. Add oats, stir well and let sit for 10 minutes (if using quick-cooking oats, it's not necessary to let it sit)
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• Pour about 3/4 cup into a prepared waffle maker and cook according to manufacturer's instructions.

These are yummy with maple syrup, drizzled with more honey or topped with fruit. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Praline Muffins

I don't know about you, but I find a muffin to be the perfect breakfast food. It's yummy. It's portable (essential when trying to get people out the door in the morning). It's easy to make. Here's a delicious pumpkin muffin from Family Fun magazine. The pumpkin and whole wheat flour make them a bit healthier than some muffins and if you want to cut down the fat, throw the pecans into the batter and forget about the topping. Not exactly praline if you go that route, but still good eatin', I'm sure.

Pumpkin Praline Muffins

Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients
Praline Topping

•  3 Tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
• 1/3 cup flour
•  3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans

Muffin Batter

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1. Combine all the topping ingredients in a small bowl and use your fingers to rub them into a crumbly topping. Set it aside. Heat the oven to 400 ˚ and grease the bottoms only of 12 standard muffin cups.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, molasses, oil, eggs, milk and vanilla. Stir the pumpkin mixture into the dry mixture just until blended.

3. Divide the batter among the muffin cups and sprinkle on the praline topping. Bake the muffins for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes before removing them.

 

Shortcuts: Cuban Sandwich Pockets

First of all, you are aware of my preference for good ol' "from scratch" foods. However, now and then, I use a shortcut. There is nothing healthy about a crescent roll out of a can. I can't think of a single redeeming feature, nutritionally or ecologically speaking. But, they taste really yummy and, sometimes, in a moment of weakness, they jump into my cart. And, let's face it, they are much simpler to use than trying to make your own, although I do hope to give it a try sometime soon (just the term "butter packet" makes it sound intriguing).

Anyway, this is a recipe I dreamed up because I wanted a cuban sandwich. It's only a cuban sandwich in the loosest sense (it has ham and pickles), but it satisfied my craving and was quick to make.

Crescent Cuban Pockets

Ingredients

• canned crescent rolls
• ham
• pickles (I used Tony Packo's sweet hots, because I love them)
• cheese (Swiss is traditional but I used cheddar since I had it on hand)

 Traditional cubans also use roast pork, but I didn't have any. If you do, put it in too; it will really add to the flavor.

Directions

• Unroll the crescents and separate into 4 small rectangles. Pinch the seams closed.
• On each rectangle, place your desired ratio of meat, cheese and pickles.
• Fold the rectangle over and pinch closed.
• Bake on an ungreased baking sheet according to the directions on your brand of crescent rolls.

Mushroom Brie Bruschetta

Sometimes I play around in the kitchen. This often leads to snacks or meals that I would love to share with you, but are not really recipes. Sometimes I make something really wonderful and then I never succeed in recreating it. Hopefully, the more of those I post here, the fewer I will lose to recesses of my brain. Anyway, this is one of those "not really a recipe" recipes. It's just sort of an idea. Change it in any way you want to make it yummy for you and yours!

Mushroom Brie Bruschetta

Saute a variety of mushrooms in a combination of olive oil and butter. Throw in some onions, garlic and whatever mix of herbs sound good to you (I used a bit of rosemary). When the mushrooms are beautifully brown and soft, put a slice of brie (or any soft cheese that you enjoy) on a piece of toasted bread (I used some of my home made sourdough) and spoon the mushroom mixture on top. This is a simple and delicious snack or light meal. Enjoy!

Gussied Up Big Game Food

Well, as most of you know, there's some sort of big deal sporting event on tonight. For those of you that don't know (lucky!), tonight is the final game of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. You know, that "March Madness" that everyone keeps talking about. I will admit I'm not a huge sports girl, but I love sports parties. They're laid back and focus on the game. Therefore, the hosts are under no pressure to entertain. My favorite part of hosting a party (besides seeing my wonderful friends and family) is the cooking. How I love to make a million dishes and spread them all over my house! I'm not hosting a party for this particular game (as a matter of fact, I'm on a family getaway with some dear friends of ours) but here's a dish that will add a flair to any game day buffet.


Crispy Potatoes with Bleu Cheese, Scallions and BBQ Sour Cream
You can make this for any number of people. Figure on about 1 medium potato per person.
Ingredients:

• potatoes, sliced thin (If you're in a pinch for time just use some good, crunchy kettle chips)
• oil for frying
• sour cream
• BBQ sauce (I actually used a BBQ rub from Pampered Chef)
• scallions, sliced thin
• bleu cheese
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

• Mix the sour cream and BBQ sauce (I used about 1/4 cup sour cream and 2 TBSPs of rub. Just wing it until you like the ratio).
• Fry the potato slices in a bit of olive oil (just enough to cover the bottom of the pan) until they reach your desired level of crispiness and brownness.
• Remove potatoes from pan, blot off any extra oil.
• Layer potatoes on serving platter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Top with bleu cheese, scallions and sour cream. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The beauty of these is their absolute versatility. Don't like bleu cheese? Use cheddar. Want some meat? Add some bacon. Not a fan of BBQ? Use regular sour cream or ranch dressing. You can make these completely your own! Enjoy!

Recipe Review: Three by Andrew Zimmern

by Gary Soup on Flickr

Any of you that are familiar with Andrew Zimmern and his popular Travel Channel show, "Bizarre Foods", probably got a little nervous reading that title! Never fear, these are three yummy, accessible recipes made with every day ingredients that have some international flair.

Over the past two weeks, I have made Andrew's Lamb Hand Pies, Korean Fried Chicken Fingers and Best Beef Stew. All three were delicious! The real test, of course, is my four year-old son. He gave the dishes an enthusiastic thumbs-up! Well, not literally, but he cleaned his plate and that is definitely a "thumbs-up" in his world!

I made the hand pies and chicken fingers as written in the links above. The chicken fingers took a bit of time, but the double frying technique was well worth it. They were wonderfully crunchy and delicious! Now, the beef stew required a bit of adjusting. First, unless I misread the recipe I printed from the website, it didn't mention when to add the garlic. I realized that while the beef was browning and threw it in then. I used a dark oatmeal stout beer brewed here in Michigan (we're not beer drinkers so I chose one that will be awesome made into beer bread).  I didn't have all the herbs for the bouquet garni, so I made do with the ones I did have and, finally, I didn't have red wine vinegar, so I used balsamic. The stew was wonderful, even if I didn't do it exactly as written. And that, my friends, is the beauty of cooking from scratch. You can substitute ingredients or adjust cooking styles to suit your time, family and kitchen.

Give these a try. I really think you'll like any one of them and it might just open up a whole new world of flavor for you and yours!

PS-If anyone associated with "Bizarre Foods" ever reads this, know that I would do just about anything (within legal and moral limits, of course) to accompany Andrew on one of his expeditions. Food traditions and traditional diets may be the most important factor in saving our health and improving the health of our planet. I would love to experience them in a truly authentic way. Whew, shameless groveling complete...

Baby Biscuits

Who doesn't love a biscuit? They're soft and fluffy, a perfect vehicle for sweet or savory. For some reason, I decided to make some little mini-biscuits the other day as I was making biscuits for ham and beans. It's nothing revolutionary, just something I hadn't thought of before. Take your favorite cut out biscuit recipe (I used the one below from the Super Suppers Cookbook) and just use a small round cutter. I used a Tupperware midget, but a shot glass would be perfect as well. You might need to watch them pretty closely, but I baked them for about 2/3 of the time called for and they turned out very yummy!

Angel Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 5 cups flour
• 3 tsps baking powder
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 envelope dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 cups buttermilk
• flour for rolling
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two forks until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add buttermilk.
• Add to flour mixture. Stir until flour is just moistened.
• Pat or lightly roll to 1/2-inch thick on a floured surface. Cut into desired size, rerolling scraps as necessary. Dip each biscuit in melted butter (I just brushed the tops with butter, rather than dipping the whole biscuit) and place in prepared baking dish. Bake 12 to 15 minutes (for minis, I baked about 10 minutes) or until golden brown.

Sourdough 101: The Starter

Sourdough starter is a beautiful thing. You can use it as a base for bread, pancakes, pizza dough, biscuits... It's simple to make and needs minimal maintenance to last just about forever. Now, many hardcore traditionalists would consider my version a cheat, since I use yeast in the starter and don't just let it ferment on its own via the yeastie beasties that float around in the air. However, I find this version to be fairly foolproof and, while I do love experimentation, I'm a huge fan of things that work without any heartache.

Sourdough Starter

Ingredients:

• 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• 2 cups warm water
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

• In a non-metallic bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; let stand 5 minutes.
• Add flour; stir until smooth.
• Cover loosely.
• Let stand in a warm place for 48 hours; stirring several times a day. (The mixture will get all bubbly, smell yeasty-a bit like beer-and a liquid will rise to the top. These are all good things.)
• Use the starter or keep in the refrigerator. Before you use your starter bring it to room temperature. The longer you leave it out before you use it, the stronger the "tang" in the final product will be.

Keeping your starter:

• Whenever you use some of your starter, replenish it with equal amounts of flour and warm water. (For instance, if you use 1 cup of starter, replenish with 1 cup water and 1 cup flour.)
• If, after 2 weeks, you haven't used any, remove half of the starter and replenish with the flour and water.
• If it ever develops mold or a bad smell, discard and start over after sterilizing the storage container.

S'more Pizza

It was pizza night at the Living from Scratch house and, after our individual caprese pizzas, we wanted a little dessert. I had one more ball of the dough I made using my sourdough starter and this recipe.  I spread a little nutella on it (chocolate chips would work just as well) then topped it off with marshmallows that I cut into thirds and some crushed graham crackers. I popped it back in the oven until the marshmallows were nicely browned and puffy. It was quick, easy and oh so yummy!

Pi Day Pie!

Here she is! Oatmeal-Almond Pie. Isn't she a beauty? She is quite tasty, too. How do I know already? Well, I may have sampled devoured the piece I took the picture of. But, hey, I hadn't eaten much of anything today and it has oatmeal in it...healthy...It's got a hearty texture and a sweet, simple flavor.

I got the recipe from Grit Magazine. Here it is with a few notes.

Oatmeal-Almond Pie
Serves 10
Ingredients:

• pastry for a single crust pie (I took a little help here and used a store-bought crust. Spur of the moment pies don't always get home made crusts.)
• 1 cup old-fashioned (not quick cooking) oats
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds (I only had whole, so I chopped them up and used them.)
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup melted butter
• 2/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• pinch of salt

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350˚F. Adjust pastry in pie pan and flute edges.
• Using electric mixer (I just used a whisk. Dirtying the mixer is not necessary.), combine remaining ingredients (Let the butter cool a bit before you add it to avoid cooking the eggs.) until well-blended. Pour into pie shell.
• Bake for about 45 minutes, or until filling is set.
• Cool completely before cutting.

I did have a few ideas to make her even more yummalicious, including: adding a handful of chocolate chips, chopped dates, or a bit of cinnamon. I'm sure you will enjoy this pie and if you have your own ideas to dress her up a bit more, let me know!

Simple Decadence: Vanilla Sugar

Vanilla sugar has got be the easiest thing in the world to make. Seriously. There are two ingredients: sugar and vanilla beans. You don't even have to measure anything!

Pick a container. I used a cool vintage jar I found at a thrift store and sterilized.

Get yourself some vanilla beans. You can buy them in a grocery store, but they're going to be expensive. I get mine from the Arizona Vanilla Company. I go for the Grade B beans since they're a bit cheaper, but just as good for using. The reasons they are B grade are purely cosmetic.

Cut 2-3 beans (or more if you're using a large container or just want stronger sugar) lengthwise to expose the caviar (all the good pasty seeds in the center). I leave mine connected on one end, but that's not essential.

Place the beans in your container and fill with sugar. Close it up and let it sit. It'll take a week or so before the sugar is really ready, but it will last just about forever. Substitute the vanilla sugar in anything that calls for sugar. You'll be amazed at the lovely aroma and depth of flavor it gives to any baked good or just your morning coffee!

Valentine's Day From Scratch

Ah, Valentine's Day. Have you seen some of the figures about how much people spend? Eek! I prefer a simpler event. This year is a special case. I am walking in the Boston-area Komen 3-Day for the Cure this July. To participate, every walker must raise at least $2300. As you can imagine, I spend a lot of time fundraising. So, tonight at Olga's Kitchen (a yummy, Michigan-based company) in West Bloomfield, my family and I will be dining to raise money for my fundraiser account. Suffice it to say, our Valentine's Day is going to be a casual family affair.

Now, just because we're not doing something elaborate or expensive doesn't mean we don't deserve a special treat. Chocolate-dipped fruit is a wonderful indulgence, but this time of year the strawberries in the stores are not enjoyable. They are flavorless and have the texture of softballs to keep them intact as they travel thousands of miles to my produce section. Instead, I made chocolate-dipped mandarin oranges. I love the orange-chocolate combination and the touch of sea salt (thanks for that idea, Food Network!) brings it all together in a really sophisticated way.

This recipe is so simple, it's embarrassing. Peel and section 5-6 mandarin oranges (the number of sections that get dipped will depend on how thick you make your chocolate layer). Melt about 4 ounces of good dark chocolate in a bowl over simmering water or a double boiler. Dip each orange section about halfway into the chocolate. Move the section to a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet. Sprinkle each section with a few grains of coarse sea or kosher salt and let harden. You can put them into the fridge if you need them to harden faster. These take such a short time that you could start these after you get home from work and they'll be ready for dessert.

These are absolutely delicious and only have about 50 calories per three sections, so you can indulge even if you're watching your calorie intake. Enjoy!

Lemon Curd

 I've watched countless Food Network personalities make and use lemon curd. Never once did I have the urge to try it. It just didn't sound like something I'd want. But then, as you may recall from the preserved lemon post, I bought some lemons. More lemons than I needed for the preservation experiment. More lemons than anyone who has no fear of scurvy should ever have, really.  So, I figured I'd give it a whirl. All I can say is that I'm sorry I waited so long! Lemon curd is a creamy, tangy bit of wonderfulness. It's also really easy to make. 

1) In a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, or a double boiler, whisk together:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 stick of butter
1 cup of sugar
3 large eggs
pinch of salt
2) Keep whisking and heating (don't let mixture boil) until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. (It took mine about 20 minutes to thicken up).

3) Strain the mixture to remove any lumps that may have formed.
4) Stir in 3 teaspoons of lemon zest.

5) Cover with plastic wrap. If you press the wrap directly onto the curd (lightly) it will prevent a skin from forming.
6) Cool to room temp and then put in refrigerator to chill.

There are many ways to serve this. You can make a tart or use it as a spread for biscuits or scones. I have enjoyed it swirled into some vanilla yogurt with a bit of granola.

I hope you try this. It really is delicious!