What's In Season--Citrus

Just when we need a mid-winter boost the most, bright and happy citrus fruit is piled high in all its glory.  The produce aisle is shiny with jewels of every color--bright orange, yellow and green. Large navel oranges, tangerines, blood oranges, limes and clementines are enticing us to touch them and bring them home. And that large dose of Vitamin C can't hurt either.

Citrus adapts well to salads, main course dishes as well as dessert. A very versatile ingredient to be sure.

One of my favorite winter salads is this one composed of blood oranges, fennel and oil-cured black olives.  Add a drizzle of olive oil and a squirt of lemon juice and it's good to go.

And what could be more beautiful than a pitcher of blood orange juice?

A lime adds punch to a cup of turkey chili.

And lemon sits atop a piece of salmon ready to be wrapped up and roasted in the oven.  Or you might want to try Martha Stewart's version.

And for dessert,  Walnut-Orange Cake.

OK, winter, bring it on.

Thinking of Spring

"A kitchen without a lemon is like a song without a tune." David Wheeler, writer


While I was reading a post last week at racheleats about making crackers, Rachel mentioned that Rome was experiencing spring-like weather and that she was going to be picking lemons later in the day.
We were in the middle of another snow storm with 12 inches already dumped on us. With another full day of snow expected, I thought that making these gorgeous crackers was a great way to spend the afternoon. I was prepared to do just that. But somehow I just could not get the thought of spring time in Rome or the beautiful scent of lemons out of my head.

My thoughts started to drift  towards all the wonderful food I could make with a few lemons.  Citrus is always plentiful in the winter, and the bright color and intoxicating aroma of a bowl of lemons was enticing. Because of the severe weather this winter on the East Coast, the cost of these beauties has skyrocketed. I've  seen the cost of one lemon as high as 80 cents this season. But a trip to the local vegetable market after the roads were cleared scored me eight lemons for $2.

Lemons are so versatile for use in both sweet and savory dishes that my options were vast--Marcella Hazan's fettucine with lemon cream sauce; risotto with lemon zest; Neiman Marcus' Zodiac Room's famous lemon bars; lemon ice cream; lemon martinis. This was going to be tough. Sweet won out though.

I have been experimenting of late with using olive oil in baked goods.  It seems to be the it thing among pastry chefs, and many recipes have been showing up on various sites online.  I have been baking pastry chef, Gina DePalma's,  Cinnamon Breakfast Toasts , which include olive oil, for quite some time with great success.  Also, I love her Torta di Mandorla.  But this was to be all about the citrus.

I came across a recipe for Lemon Olive Oil cake posted here which sounded great.

The cake went together quickly, and the batter smelled delicious.  Forty minutes later the cake was out of the oven and cooling.

Finally, the cake was ready for a taste test.

Unfortunately, the cake was not what I expected.  It was drier than I had anticipated and not as tender as it should have been. Perhaps I left it in the oven a couple of minutes too long or used an olive oil that was too heavy.

 I guess I'll just have to try again.  I know it's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.