Video: How To Zest

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Remember to rinse and dry the fruit before zesting to remove wax, dirt, and/or pesticides.

Recipe: Spaghetti Al Limone

Sorry it's been a while since I last blogged but hopefully it gave you a chance to look over my older postings for Summer recipes for August. ;)
It's been mainly salads and the basic Summer BBQ fare on my end but as Summer ends and the cool Fall weather approaches, here's a last taste of Summer for you.

While perusing the online sales circular for Pathmark, I noticed that San Giorgio Pasta is on sale this week for 88¢ a box and a 2 pound bag of lemons is $2.99 perfect for making this classic simple and quick Italian dish of spaghetti in lemon sauce. There are many recipes on the internet for Spaghetti al Limone ranging from the use of heavy cream and white wine to the additions of garlic and shallots but in it's simplest form, it is just a sauce made with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. A Microplane rasp or the fine side of a box grater is needed to get the lemon zest off the lemon before you juice it. Depending on the size of the lemons you buy, you may need 2-3 lemons for this dish.
This will serve 4 people and pairs well with my Lemon Roast Chicken with Parsley.


Ingredients 

• 1 pound spaghetti 
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest 
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• Salt
• Ground black pepper 
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley or basil leaves (whichever is on sale, in your garden, or your taste preference)

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook spaghetti according to manufacturer's directions.
2. While the pasta is cooking we make the sauce. In a large serving bowl, add the lemon juice and zest. Slowly whisk in the extra virgin olive oil until it is emulsified and looks creamy. Then mix in the Parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. When pasta is al dente, drain in a colander and add to the large bowl with the lemon sauce.
4. Toss well to coat pasta in the sauce and then sprinkle the chopped herb on top.
5. Serve. 

Note: It's best to allow the pasta to sit a bit in the sauce to absorb more of the flavors.

Recipe: Lemon Roast Chicken and Parsley

This is a recipe that I learned years ago when I first started living on my own and have been roasting chicken like this ever since. I saw Chef Jeff Smith make a roast chicken on TV when he used to have his show on PBS and I adapted his simple recipe to give it more flavor. Whole chicken is often on sale for 79¢ to 89¢ a pound.

Ingredients

• 1 three to four pound chicken
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup olive oil (I use extra virgin for more flavor)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 bunch fresh parsley

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F
2. Rinse the chicken inside and out with water and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Rub the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper.
4. In a small bowl, make a dressing with the olive oil, lemon juice, and ground thyme.
5. Rub the chicken inside and out with the dressing.
6. Stuff the chicken loosely with the parsley and bake uncovered in a roasting pan for about 1 1/4 hours.

Note: Originally the recipe did not mention if the lemon juice was from a bottle or not but if you are using juice from a large fresh lemon, go ahead and stuff the chicken with the juiced lemon halves as well to give more flavor.

My tip: It's easier to make the dressing in a glass measuring cup so that you can see the measurements and have one less bowl to clean.

The resulting juices at the bottom of the pan make a delicious gravy.

Cooking hint: Pour the salt and pepper into a small bowl and mix together well and use it to season the chicken. This way you have less of a risk of getting chicken juices all over the place, cross contamination, and makes seasoning food fast and easy.

Recipe: Spinach Feta Quiche

Frozen pie crusts are usually sold in bags containing 2-3 crusts so if you have one left over from making the Shepherd's Pie, you can make this simple Greek inspired quiche! My recipe uses half & half in place of the standard milk and cream but the results are the same. I always keep boxes of frozen vegetables in my freezer to make this when frozen pie crusts are on sale.

Ingredients

• 1 10 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 4 eggs beaten
• 2 cups half & half
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped (or 1 tablespoon dried. You can also substitute with dried oregano)
• 4 ounces feta cheese crumbled
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 frozen deep dish pie crust (I like Oronoque Brand it's made by Mrs. Smith's Bakeries)

Directions

1. Drain the thawed frozen spinach and squeeze out as much moisture you can (you don't want a watery quiche). Set aside in a small bowl.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the eggs, half & half, salt (feta has salt in it as well so you must taste the cheese to see how much salt you should add), pepper, lemon juice, parsley, and nutmeg.

3. Stir in the spinach and feta cheese. Pour into the frozen pie crust just to the top ( you might have some quiche mixture left over which you can make into an omelet to preview the taste).

4. Bake in the oven at 350° for 30- 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out dry. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. You can also eat this at room temperature.

I like to serve this with a small salad for lunch or a light supper.

Serves 6-8 people. Opa!!!!

Recipe: Lemon Roasted Chicken with Potatoes

Here's a personal recipe of mine that I make every chance I can when whole chicken, lemon, onions, and potatoes are on sale. When a whole chicken is 79 cents/pound, lemons (4 /$1), 2 pound bag of yellow onions (79 cents), 5 pound bag Russet potatoes (99 cents) at my local supermarket, this dish that serves 4-6 will cost about $6.23 and you only have 1 pan to clean!

*TIP- save the carcass and bones as this will be great for making homemade chicken stock!



1 (4 to 5-pound) roasting chicken
1 large yellow onion (or 2 medium), sliced
Good olive oil (it's for flavor but ordinary vegetable oil will do)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons, quartered
3 baking potatoes quartered
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Take the giblets out of the chicken and rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat from the cavity opening (put the fat aside). Toss the onion and potatoes with a little oil in a small roasting pan. Place the chicken on top and sprinkle the inside of the cavity with salt and pepper. Place the lemons inside the chicken. Pat the outside of the chicken dry with paper towels so that the skin will crisp up nicely), rub it with a little oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tuck the chicken fat between the skin and breast to help the white meat not dry out pushing it in with your fingers (I use the chicken fat rather than butter since it gives more chicken flavor but it can be omitted). Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.

Roast for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Cover with foil and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. (The onions may burn, if cut too thin but the flavor is sweet and smoky and perfumes the chicken with the lemon)

Slice the chicken and place it, plus all the pan juices, over the onions and potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and serve warm.