Lemon-Vanilla Bean & Berry Tarts

No 4th of July BBQ is complete without a tasty dessert, and the combination of lemon French yogurt cake, vanilla bean pastry cream, and fresh berries is hard to beat.

The handy thing about garnishing cute little individual tarts with fresh berries is that they are amazingly beautiful and look like you slaved in the kitchen for hours to complete - which is rarely ever the case. That being said, I'm ever the fan of delicious eats that look impressive and are in actuality so easy a trained chimp could make them.

The cake itself is a variation on Ina Garten's Lemon Yogurt Cake - tweaked a little bit to cut the fat. It's very easy to make and packs a refreshing lemony flavor.

As you're celebrating the 4th today remember to be safe. And please, take a moment to think about the men and women who have sacrificed so much, and those who continue to do so, to keep our country safe and secure.

Happy 4th of July!



Lemon-Vanilla Bean & Berry Tarts

Serves 12

Lemon Yogurt Cake

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup greek/plain, strained yogurt
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 jumbo eggs
zest of 2 lemons
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 F

Grease and line a rimmed half-sheet pan (jelly roll pan) with parchment paper. Set aside. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together yogurt, 1 cup sugar, eggs, zest, and vanilla bean seeds. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet. Using a rubber spatula fold the oil into the batter until it is fully incorporated. Pour batter into the prepared sheet pan and bake 10-12 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean. Meanwhile, cook the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside and cool. When the cake comes out of the oven, allow to cool for ten minutes. Brush the top of the cake with the lemon syrup and allow to soak in.



Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream

1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups nonfat milk
1 vanilla bean

Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl; set aside. In a medium saucepan (off heat), whisk together sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks and salt. Gradually whisk in milk (1 tablespoon at a time to start) until smooth. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out seeds with the tip of a paring knife; add seeds and pod to milk mixture. Cook over medium-high, whisking occasionally, until the first bubbles appear on surface; continue to cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute more. Pour pudding through prepared sieve into bowl; discard solids. Place plastic wrap directly on entire surface of pudding to keep skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours, and up to 3 days. To serve, whisk just until smooth.

To Assemble

Using a 2 3/4 - 3 in. round cookie cutter cut out 24 rounds from the lemon cake. Using a pastry bag or a small spoon top 1 round with a tablespoon or so of the pastry cream, top with a second round of cake, and place another tablespoon of pastry cream on top. Garnish with berries and mint sprigs as desired. Repeat until all twelve are assembled. Devour at will.

There's no break down on nutritional content for these - mainly because I can't get it exact enough to be comfortable enough to give a specific number. From what I've gleaned they're about 225-250 calories per tart though.

Lemon-Pepper Shrimp

This is another recipe courtesy of my MiL (Marinating MiL? The MiL who marinades? hmmm...)

It's quite the quick and tasty treat, especially when grilled with some mushrooms. It was a rather nice recipe to break out the hibachi for the first time this year.

The only problem with using a hibachi is that they're such a pain to get lit it almost seems like a travesty to not use it for as much as possible while it's going.

Cue the s'mores and my healthy lemon pepper shrimp dinner soon turned into a rather disappointing calorie count for the day.

Nonetheless, this recipe is outstanding. Nice tanginess, a good deal of spice, but not too much.

I added a tablespoon of Dijon mustard.

It was yummy.

Lemon-Pepper Shrimp Marinade

1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoone extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
4 teaspoons rosemary
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Mix and let shrimp marinate for at least one hour. Grill. Devour.

Easter Lamb

This marinade recipe comes courtesy of my Mother-in-law. Lamb is one of my favorite things to eat with her - well...and duck, and sushi, and risotto, and mussels...you get the picture.

She is quite the amazing cook, visiting her home is always a pleasant experience resplendent with fresh, new treats to explore and devour. Not to mention the outstanding wine I get to drink when I'm with her (being the only person who drinks alcohol in a household can make it difficult to explore new wines).

This marinade works as a tenderizing agent as well. I let my boneless leg of lamb soak in it for about 24 hours and it was truly divine after being pan seared. A little drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon to finish and it was quite the Easter treat.



Spring Lamb Marinade

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh, chopped rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cloves minced garlic

Mix together well and let lamb soak for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Monterey Bay Sand Dabs

I must admit after moving to Monterey I was curious about seeing Sand Dabs on menus at nearly every restaurant we visited. A sand dab, after all, sounds less than appetizing. It more conjures up thoughts of gritty shellfish than a mildly flavored, delicate fish.

Sand dabs are flatfish, like flounder, and are indigenous to the Pacific Ocean. They're very popular along the California coast and are considered a delicacy. They're not as popular elsewhere, though after trying them I can only assume it's because they're not available everywhere.

Last night I finally decided to try them out after being convinced by my local fishmonger. Unfortunately the only way I could get them was pre-breaded, but after a little fry in some olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon I'm thinking breaded may be the way to go when preparing sand dabs.

I really can't recommend them enough if you happen to be on the California coastline. They couldn't be simpler to prepare and they're so fresh you might as well be catching them yourself (obviously dependent upon where you buy them).

Lemon Curd French Toast with Minted Strawberries

I was originally going to title this post "What do do when your cake collapses" but the end result was simply too amazing to ignore.

I've been noticing a ton of French Yogurt Loafs traipsing around the food blogosphere lately and it piqued my curiosity enough to try it out. From what I'd read it was similar in taste and texture to pound cake, but with a fraction of the fat and calories - sign me up, eh?

Unfortunately it collapsed like one of those fainting goats as soon as I pulled it out of the oven.

Bummer.

It had great flavor, but it was dense and chewy where I wanted it to be light and fluffy...or at least fluffier.

As husband and I were chewing on a piece, and he was mentioning that I don't have great success with cakes (gee, thanks babe), I decided that this would make delicious French toast. As I was pulling the eggs out of the fridge last Saturday morning to make said French toast, I noticed a jar of calamansi curd I'd made a little while ago, canned, and stuck in the fridge door.

Cue lightbulb flickering over head.

This was one of those ideas that's either going to end as a tasty and amazing treat, or with me furiously fanning the damn smoke detector hoping it will shut the hell up.

It was outstanding.

Seriously the best French toast I've ever had in my life. I honestly believe that it is worth it to make the yogurt loaf just to have this French toast again - and I'm a very lazy person, so that's sayin' something.



Lemon Curd French Toast with Minted Strawberries

Serves 2 (One hungry, one not so hungry)

6 slices yogurt loaf ( I used this recipe but converted it to vanilla bean instead of peach)
3 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons lemon curd
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt, divided

In a shallow pan mix the lemon curd and beaten eggs until thoroughly combined. Set the slices of yogurt loaf to soak for ten minutes, flip and let soak another ten minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the strawberries, mint, lemon juice and sugar. Toss to combine and set aside. Heat a pan, and cook the soaked slices of yogurt loaf until golden brown on each side and set throughout. Set three slices each on two plates, top each with one cup slices strawberries and 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt. Embrace the awesomeness.