I have a huge backlog of posts. I had to take a hiatus from food writing over the holiday season for a number of reasons, (including family visiting and a lot of change in organization at work), but I’m finally able to resume a normal schedule. My refrigerator is full, and my coworkers are bugging me to bake them loaves of zucchini bread, among other things. The next few recipes are from before New Years, and I did quite a bit of cooking over the holidays that was not recorded on camera, but it was all delicious.

I’m hoping, in the coming months, to spend time with certain family members to learn their recipes. My step mother’s Argentinian alfajores (flaky pastry cookies with dulce de leche and coconut flakes), and beef empanadas are divine, so I’ll be sure to post the recipe once I’ve converted it from Spanish and kilos to English and cups! Also, our winter has been terrifically warm, so I haven’t gotten the chance to make any hearty soups, but my mom’s mother, Grandma Jean, who turned 90 yesterday, has fabulous recipes for both split pea soup and beef barley soup, which I have, but would prefer to make with her, since she is better at cooking in real life than telling you how much of something to use.

Anyway, starting with Lemon Curd, which I made with Gaby when she was in town over the holidays, then following with a few more backlogged posts before resuming a normal cooking schedule!

Lemon Curd

Recipe modified from the Joy of Cooking. Joy’s recipe calls for zest from 1 lemon, (which is about 1-2 tablespoons) but, since we made Lemon Poppyseed Pound Cake the same day, I had about 6 lemons, and we zested all of them. I used about 3-4 tbsp of zest in my curd.

Ingredients

3 large eggs
1/3 cup white sugar
1-4 tbsp of lemon zest
1/2 cup strained fresh lemon juice
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a medium stainless steel or enamel saucepan, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon zest (before you turn on the heat!)

Once combined, add the lemon juice and the butter, which should be cut into small pieces so it can blend easily.

Whisk over medium heat until the butter has melted, then whisk consistently until the mixture is thick and simmers gently for a few seconds.

Use a rubber spatula to scrape the lemon curd into a mesh sieve and strain into a bowl. (This is to get out any bits of egg white that may have unintentionally cooked) Stir in the vanilla.

Let cool, cover, then refrigerate to thicken. This will keep for a little over a week, if refrigerated. (For storage, use a jar)

Lemon curd is great on its own, though a bit too tart to be pudding, but it also goes very well with shortbread, or as the filling in a sponge cake or lemon bar, or as filling in a cheese cake. Very easy to make and quite versatile.