Recipe: Lavender Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze

It’s amazing how a single food possesses the power to transport a person to ecstasy, and this luxurious recipe is one such example of this sweet bliss. Traditionally made with one pound each of flour, sugar, butter and eggs, pound cakes are among the the simplest of cakes; but they require precision and careful technique to achieve a dense richness, yet remain light and fluffy. Balancing just the right sweetness to the perfect tartness, lavender and lemon together are pure heaven. We love the bolt of lavender that sweetly surprises your senses in this refreshing cake.

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Recipe: Lemon Upside-Down Cake

This fragrant cake is a variation on the culinary classic upside-down cake. Lightly bursting with the rich flavors and aromas of lemon and extra virgin olive oil, this barely sweet, complex and supple cake is a nostalgic, yet contemporary dessert. The tartness of the lovely caramelized lemon complements the fruitiness of olive oil, making this a simply elegant and truly sophisticated end to any meal.

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Recipe: Moroccan Preserved Lemons

Preserved lemons are a staple of Moroccan and other North African cuisines. They are used in tagines and many other dishes to impart a tangy depth of flavor to just about any dish. See them in our Moroccan Lemon Chicken with Honeyed Sauce. The lemons are preserved in a salty brine mixture over time, and the following recipe is a simple way to make them, adapted from Mark Bittman's The Best Recipes in the World. He chooses to use the refrigerator to help finish the lemons, making for an easier job and shortening the curing time.


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The Indulgence - Lemons: Pucker Up, Sweetheart

Hot summer days. Lemonade stands. A succulent lemon tart. Summer pastas, grilled fish, a citrus vinaigrette. From childhood to adulthood the lemon is there, ironically enough, to make life a little sweeter. Lemons are one of those foods — like sugar, chocolate, and this month's main ingredient, shrimp — that human beings seem to have instinctively known were meant to be eaten. Though a thick peel hides the fruit from the eye, it is easy to see how people might have discovered the lemon's bounty: Good lemons have a pervasive aroma. When something smells that heavenly, who could resist taking a bite? While many of today's lemons are so sour that eating the fruit sounds like a form of self-flagellation, lemons can actually be sour or sweet (though sweet is a relative term). Relatively few varieties of lemons are available to us today, and we can only hope that someday lemons will go the way of tomatoes, where we will be inundated with exciting heirloom varieties.

The lemon's ubiquity in cooking stems from its dominant quality – its sourness – as acidity improves the taste of a wide variety of foods. Lemon juice is also a natural anti-oxidant, which is why adding it to sliced apples keeps them white; similarly, lemon juice helps food retain a fresh, bright, vibrant taste when cooked. The high acidity also explains why lemons are so wine friendly: Citric acid (that's what makes you pucker up, sweetheart) also occurs naturally in grapes and is preserved in wine. Lemony foods pair well with still and sparkling whites, as well as rosés. (read more)

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Recipe: White Chocolate Lemon Napoleon

White chocolate, lemon, raspberries… these are sexy foods. This dessert is simple in construction, comprising merely a lemon cream, white chocolate, sweet lemons and fresh raspberries, but its taste is anything but. This napoleon presents sensuous textures with everyday flavors; a sublimely silky cream contrasts perfectly with crisp white chocolate. Tart and tangy paired with sweet and creamy makes for a bright and utterly refreshing dessert.

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Monthly Meditation: A Little More Conversation

You know, I remember a time when there was actually such a thing as spring – and I miss it. Summer seems to hit us like a sucker punch these days, and whatever the cause for our warmer weather (I personally think it has more to do with natural weather cycles), it’s damn hot outside. For once I’m happy to be stuck in the air conditioning on a sunny day, plugging away at my laptop. Though the pool is inviting, I must say.

Like you, we are putting forth our best efforts to stay out of the hot kitchen this time of year, so we’ve been sure to incorporate quite a few grilled or quickly-cooked dishes in this month’s recipes to make it easier on all of us. In fact, June’s Mise en Place is a Summer Smörgåsbord with an array of colorful, light and refreshing dishes that are ideal for inviting friends over, and involve a lot less work.

Since we are partial to grilled seafood above all during the summer months, shrimp is starring as our Main Ingredient for June. Whether grilled, marinated or served in a salad, shrimp makes a wonderful choice for lighter fare that is easier on the body and needs little preparation. Lemons are not only an appropriate complement for our choice, but also add a tart sparkle to all sorts of dishes, so they have made their way onto our Indulgence radar for the second half of the month. Pucker up, people. (read more)


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Recipe: Shrimp Ceviche

Ceviche is more of a method than a recipe, in which the acid of lemons and limes is used to "cook" seafood. Like many classic preparations of the world, there are as many ways to make ceviche as there are cooks to prepare it; what is paramount is the choice of the freshest possible seafood or fish for the dish. In this case, we’re featuring shrimp, but any fresh seafood or combination of several will work. Red Peppers and onions add color and texture, and cilantro that unmistakable bite. Mucho gusto!

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Recipe: Mediterranean-Style Shrimp with Orzo

This super-simple dish is fresh and bright, redolent with the flavors of lemon juice and white wine, and enhanced with the aromatic oils in the lemon zest. The shrimp is showcased here atop orzo, but the dish can be made with any freshly cooked pasta, such as linguine or orrechiette.

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