easy baking - Lemon Bars -

Delicious and refreshing, a great summer dessert and in the winter a great company to a nice hot cup of tea. And as I recently discovered easy to bake as well.
Ingredients : 
FOR THE CRUST
1 1/2 stick of unsalted butter
2 cups of all purpose flower
1/4 cup of light brown sugar
1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar , more to garnish
1/4 teaspoon of salt
FOR THE FILLING:
4 large eggs + 2 egg yolks
2 cups of granulated sugar
1/3 cup of all purpose flour sifted
1 cup of fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon of lemon zest


To make the crust, pre heat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack positioned in the middle. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with vegetable oil and line with aluminum foil making sure it overhangs on all sides by a couple of inches to help pulling the bars out at the end. Grease the foil as well.
In a food processor, pulse the butter,flour, confectioner's sugar, brown sugar and salt for about 2 minutes. Pour the mixture onto the greased foil and press it down evenly. Make sure the mixture also goes up the sides of the pan about an inch  and also be careful not to create any cracks.
bake until golden, about 25 minutes.
In the meantime start preparing the filling. 
Whisk together the eggs and the extra yolks,the sugar and the flour until evenly combined.Add the zest
( I used buddah hand because it gives more zest) and the juice.
When the crust is done, remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 300. Pour the filling over the warm baked crust and bake for 35 minutes.

Allow the bars to cool in the pan and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours allowing them to become firm. Take out of the pan lifting the foil, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar or powdered sugar, cut into serving size pieces and enjoy:)

polpette napolitane

Now this is a blast from the past! I remember first having those in a school trip to the Amalfi coast in 1993. Crispy on the outside, perfectly moist in the inside,rich and not greasy at all. Pretty much, the perfect Meatball! ....and still simple in the making.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb ground pork

1 lb ground beef

1 bunch of flat leave Italian Parsley minced

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 french baguette - just the white inner part

1/2 cup of whole milk

3 large eggs

1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 ball of fresh mozzarella - cut into small cubes

unseasoned bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste.

TO MAKE THE MEATBALLS: 

Place the white inner part of the baguette cut into small pieces, in the milk.  Place a generous amount of bread crumbs onto a large dish.While the bread is absorbing the milk preheat the oven to 350 and start preparing the meat.

In a large bowl combine the ground pork with the ground beef, salt and pepper, garlic and the parsley. Mix by hand until even, then add the eggs and the Parmesan.Mix again. Add the bread after squeezing the milk out of it and mix again until all the ingredients are nicely combined. Form into balls by hand and  add one cube of fresh mozzarella in the center then roll into bread crumbs.  Once all the meatballs are formed heat up 2 to 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a skillet. Once the oil is sizzling hot, place the meatballs in the pan and brown on both sides. Once they are golden brown remove them from the skillet and place them into a baking dish. Bake them in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes.

I wanted my meatballs with a simple tomato sauce. For this I heated up 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a skillet, added 1 crushed garlic clove and some black pepper. After a couple of minutes, when the garlic became fragrant but not brown, I added 4 fresh ripe tomatoes crushed and I added about 1/4 cup of white wine and 2 tbs of unsalted butter. I cooked this on medium heat until it reduced to half the size and the creamy thick consistency of a sauce was reached. I served it over the meatballs and thought it perfectly complimented the creaminess of the meatballs without taking away the simplicity of Italian cuisine. 

Usually I make the meatballs large enough to stand out on a dish but for our Christmas party  I prepared smaller bite size version of them and served them with lollipop sticks to turn this dinner dish into a perfect Mess -Free Appetizer. In this case I didn't use a tomato base sauce but I served them with a side of Parsley and fresh garlic gremolata dip. However you chose to serve them I am sure you will enjoy them quite a bit.