Weekly Menu | Lemon Roasted Salmon & Vegetables, Chicken Fricassee, Thai Steak Noodles, Soda Pop Brisket

This is Spring Cleaning week for me.  Wait, did I say that last week?  Yes, I think I did.  Well, this week I really mean it.  I'm making a plan to start and finish a few projects this week.  The one I'm most excited about is the new window boxes for the front of our house.  We are making these ourselves - the first project we've done in a while!  I'll provide a step-by-step of our process.  So far, it seems pretty simple... let's hope.

In Spring cleaning mode, our menu is also a little lighter and fresher this week.  Here is what we'll be havin' for dinner this week :

Lemon Roasted Salmon & Vegetables

This is made on a baking sheet ($8) - everything goes on one sheet and into the oven for 30 minutes.  It is so good, healthy and fresh, the perfect thing for a Monday.

Chicken Fricassee
Mike loves this.  That's saying a lot for someone whose favorite meal is steak and baked potatoes.  It sounds fancy, but it is really a one-pot dish + white rice.  The perfect winter-spring transition dinner for a cool evening.

Thai Steak Noodles 
This was on such heavy rotation for a while that I had to take a break.  It has been a couple of months since we've made this, so it is time to bring it back!  So much flavor.   Salty, sweet, peanuty.

Soda Pop Brisket

This is most likely on the menu for this weekend.  When we are projecting, I love having something that can cook all day in the oven and make the house smell good.

What's on your menu this week?  I'm always up for new ideas!

Lemon Glazed Layer Cake | 6" Round Cake Pan Restocked

Lemon Glazed Layer Cake

There is a little cafe here in town that we go every Sunday after Church for brunch called Cafe Europa.  It is locally famous for the Lemon Cake, a layered lemon cake, with buttercream in the middle and then drizzled with a lemon glaze.  The combination of butter cream + glaze + plus dense cake + lemony goodness is just amazing.  In fact, a couple of weeks ago I was out with a big group of girls for dinner in one spot, then we all concluded that we should change venues for dessert - just for this cake.

The Lemon Cake at Cafe Europa is quite large (and the pieces are very generous, thank goodness).  A cake that size around our house is dangerous.  I made my version in a 6" Round Cake Pan ($6) that is a new addition to the store (that was just restocked!!).  This might be an odd "essential" size, but I find that this is the cake pan I reach for over and over.  We don't have too many occasions that we need a huge layer cake for... but we always have an occasion for a little one : )  It's called Tuesday night.  Or Sunday afternoon.

This 6" cake is just the right size for 6 generous slices, or 8 smallish slices.

Lemon Layer Cake

1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

2 lemons, zested & juiced
1 teaspoon vanilla

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4 tablespoons of butter

1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

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1 lemon, zested and juiced

1 1/2 cup of powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Cream together butter and sugar for 3 minutes.  Add eggs.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt.  In another separate bowl, combine milk, lemon juice, zest and vanilla.  Add half of the wet ingredients to the butter sugar mixture, mix for 5 seconds, then add half of the dry and mix for 5 seconds.  Repeat with second half, ending with dry ingredients.  Pour batter into 6" or 8" cake pan - I like to line mine with parchment paper (as noted below).  Bake for 30-35 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

For the buttercream filling, in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip together butter and powdered sugar for 5 minutes.  

For glaze, mix together powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth.  Pour over slightly warm cake.  Top with lemon zest. 

I'm obsessed with parchment paper sheets.  Once you start baking with them, you will never go back to buttering and flouring a pan again.  Here, I traced the bottom round, cut it out, then I cut strips of to go around the sides of the pan.

I use a little smudge of butter to hold the paper in place before I pour the batter in.  

I like to make the parchment paper sides go up further than the pan in case in would want to spill over - a little protection.  Then, I place the pan on a Small Baking Sheet, also lined with Parchment Paper (that I cut in half).  This way, if there is any spilling over, there will be no burning on the bottom of the oven... and no pan scrubbing.

It might sound like a little work, but there is a reason professionals use these methods.  It guarantees the cake comes out perfectly clean and makes clean-up so much easier.

You can see how easily the cake lifts out of the pan with the Parchment Paper.

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I take a serrated knife and cut the cake into two layers.  

This is the buttercream.  After whipping for 5 minutes it really transforms into something new.  I also think a cream cheese frosting would be yummmmy for a cake like this.

I like it to be "homemade" looking and imperfect.

Pour the glaze over the top and allow it to drizzle over the sides.  

I added lemon zest on top for some color and to make it look lemony.

You can serve it right away, or keep it in the refrigerator, uncovered.

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Spring Collection, Restocked! Lamb & Bunny Cookie Cutters, New Cotton & Blue Ribbon, Chatham Pillows

These little Lamb Copper Cookie Cutters always sell out before I even have the chance to do a sample decorated cookie : )  I have restocked them (again), and I'm hoping to get my hands on one to make a white wool with icing, leaving the cookie plain on the head.

 

The Bunny Copper Cookie Cutters have also been restocked.   I love this bunny!  He is so classic.  I hope to make a simple shortbread cookie with butter glaze for these... and maybe some little sprinkles on his tail.   Making dozens of sugar cookies can seem daunting, but then, I remember that simple cookies can be just as beautiful.

As always, the Cooper Cookie Cutters (made in the US!) are such a beautiful gift.  Emma's teacher has told me how much she has enjoyed her collection and starting the cookie making tradition each holiday with her daughter.   I think they look so sweet in the small Buttery Colored Baskets with the Hiding Bunny tag.

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Last week, I told you how these Chatham Blue Pillows were my favorite... well, I guess they were yours, too.  I got countless emails about restocking these.  You're in luck!

You will love the generous size (22" Square) and the gorgeous piping detail on these linen pillows that include the down insert.

There are a couple of new products that I haven't had time to photograph yet - but, you will go crazy for them.

Blue & Natural Wide Cotton Ribbon 

This is the same ribbon I carried during the holidays in red, but now in a fresh blue color for spring.  How great would it look tied to a loaf of Lemon cake for a friend, or a Buttery Yellow Easter Basket.

Cotton Ribbon

Natural Color with a medium blue stripe.

1 1/2" wide, 5 yards

Blue Baker's Twine

This is a huge ball of twine in just the right hue for spring and summer.  I will be tying this on everything from cello bags of cookies to tomato vines on garden stakes : )

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Lemon Meringue Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue & Lemon Curd Celebration Candles

I'm re-sharing this from two years ago : )  The Lemon Curd Celebration Candles featured here have been restocked in my store!

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I love looking back at old posts.   Sort of.  Sometimes I cringe at photos I took with my iphone, other times it brings back a great memory... and delicious dessert.  I've included one of my original first posts (6 years ago) below that I'm revisiting today - Lemon Meringue Cupcakes.  I realize that citrus season is in the winter, but for me, nothing is as springy as a lemon dessert.  Actually lemon anything.

Today, I'm making these in honor of Emma's Mimi's birthday - like me, she's crazy about any thing lemon and cupcakes.  While I haven't shared these cupcakes on the blog in years, they are one of my favorite to make: white cake topped with lemon curd and swiss meringue.

I've topped them with my 6" Celebration Candles in Lemon Curd - a new color for spring.  They are perfectly lemony in color with a beautiful natural subtle hue.



Products used :

6" Celebration Candles in Lemon Curd
Jumbo Starburst Tip
18" Disposable Piping Bag
Brown Cupcake Liners

The cupcakes can come from a box, and the curd can be store-bought, or everything can be made from scratch.  If you're feeling ambitious today (unlike me) and would like to make everything from scratch, here is my recipe for Lemon Butter Cake that would be great to use for the cupcake element, and here is link to my Lemon Curd recipe.

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes


Get my Printable Recipes, here.

24 Cupcakes - Vanilla or Lemon (from a mix or homemade)
Lemon Curd (store-bought or homemade)
Swiss Meringue (recipe below)

Bake cupcakes as directed.  Let cool for 30 minutes before topping.



Gently split each cupcake to allow lemon curd to get into the cake.



Dollop lemon curd on generously.



Put Swiss Meringue in a large piping bag (18" Disposable Bags) fitted with the Giant Starburst Tip, $4.

Pipe meringue in swirls on top of the lemon curd cupcakes.


Optional : To toast the top of the meringue, place the cupcakes under the broiler (set to about 400 degrees) in the oven for 30 seconds.  OR, use a kitchen blowtorch, like I did here.










 




Swiss Meringue

4 egg whites
1 cup of sugar
1 pinch of cream of tarter

In the top bowl of a double boiler (glass bowl sitting on a sauce pan with simmering water), whisk together egg whites, sugar and cream of tarter.  




Cook mixture in the double boiler over medium low heat for 3-5 minutes, or until sugar has dissolved.  If you rub the mixture between your fingers, you should be able to tell if the sugar has dissolved.




Transfer the mixture to your kitchen aid fitted with the whisk attachment.  Whisk on high for 7-10 minutes.



The mixture will cool and froth into a thick meringue as it whips.  Beat until stiff peaks form. Transfer to piping bag, or spread directly on lemon curd. 

Here is the easy-to-pin strip!






















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Now, you can enjoy a flashback of some fine photography from years past : )

For my friend's birthday party last night, I created these refreshing Lemon Meringue Cupcakes.  I picked these "Naked Ladies" (pink flowers) from my backyard - I love them in big bunches. 

Leah enjoying her Birthday cupcakes!