Lemon Bars In The Cast Iron Skillet

First off...the heat wave broke. Woke up in the middle of the night to drip....drip.....drip... Fog rolled in off the Pacific Ocean. And it was thick. Yesterday afternoon I decided to make some lemon bars but this time I thought I would try them in the cast iron skillet.And they turned out great. The shortbread bottom was flakey and crumbled in your mouth and the Meyer lemons were so tart and sweet. The recipe came from one of my favorite cookbooks, Jim Fobel's Old fashion Baking Book.Recipes from an American Childhood.

Lemon Bars

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour

1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar

8 Tablespoons...1 stick cold unsalted butter, sliced

2 large eggs....I warmed mine in warm water in the little bowl

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

1. Postion a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl stir together 1 cup of flour and 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Cut in the butter until it resembles a coarse meal and work it with your fingertips till it holds together. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 8 inch square pan. Here is where I went with the cast iron skillet instead. Bake about 15 minutes, until light golden brown. remove, but leave the oven on.

2. Meanwhile, in a meduim bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the eggs until frothy. Gradually beat in the granulated sugar. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice, beat at a high speed for 10 minutes, until smooth and slightly thickened.

3. On a sheet of waxed paper combine the remaining 2 Tablespoons flour with the baking powder and salt, gradually beat into the egg mixture, beating just until smooth. Pour over the baked layer and bake about 20 minutes longer, until set and lightly browned. Cool in the pan on a rack. Sift the remaining powdered sugar over the top and cut into bars or in pie shaped pieces if using the cast iron skillet.

A little taste of Spring.

BLUE

What a way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I had a dental emergency and I was feeling blue. After I got home, I needed some serious comfort for an August afternoon. I had picked up some blueberries at the farmers market just cause they looked so well, summer. I had no idea what I was going to do with them..probably just eat 'em fresh. But after the dentist situation, I wanted something cozy. The fog was rolling in and I felt like building our first fire, but being our neighbors were bbqing..and we were going to be too....the fire just didn't seem right. But what did seem right was a fruit dessert bubbling away in my baby cast iron skillet. My friend, Julie and I took a trip to New England a couple of years ago and on our last night we were in Portland, Maine...the beloved Portland, Maine I might add.
Our last dinner after a 14 day long trip was at "Fore Street" in Portland. And it was the best we had the whole time..and we had some pretty good food on that trip.But when the waiter came out and sat down on our table tiny individual cast iron skillets with a warm jumbleberry crisp...we nearly cried. It was beautiful and it was delicious. And I have never forgotten it. And neither has Julie.