101 in 1001 {II}: 076 follow an amy's bread recipe [completed 02.19.09]
lemon bars are my kind of dessert: fruity, sour, and easy to eat on the run (if, you know, you're attacked right after you tuck in). i knew that i wanted to try something from the sweeter side of amy's bread, the owners' recently published dessert book; their actual bread is amazing as well, but as a newbie baker, i'm far from being a match for that sort of recipe. i was most pleased, then, when this baby popped up as a guest feature on martha stewart's site. i printed it out, took a stroll around the office, and discovered a tall canning jar full of lemons on our free shit table: clearly the universe wanted me to make this recipe. i even avoided my traditional baking bungle when i almost skipped the freezing-the-unbaked-crust-for-half-an-hour stage (but caught myself thirty seconds after i plopped the pan in the oven; disaster avoided, though this is probably why the little buggers are so reluctant to yield to the spatula).
verdict: the amy's bread gals continue to impress me. the dash of coarse salt in both the crust and the filling - especially in the crust - generates wonderful little pockets of savory/sweet snazz (if you're the sort of person who likes salted plums, you'd be all over this), and the emphasis on the lemons' sourness (these are not little kids' lemon bars) is really nice. i had to bake the filling for a bit longer than i thought i would (30 rather than 20 minutes), and i'm having a bit of a time dishing pretty bars (it's really tricky to make clean cuts: note that even martha's stylists had trouble with this) - but they taste so good that i don't care.
any weekend foodieness planned where you are? i wish you all savory/sweet snazz, internets.
4 comments:
Oh man, salty + sweet + tart = irresistible. I haven't made lemon bars in so long, but I think I'll have to try this recipe this weekend. They look amazing.
Also, you work somewhere that has a free shit table with lemons on it? Why don't I work somewhere more like that?
the lemons were kind of a fluke, really: the free shit table is usually full of book galleys and promotional tees. which are useful for weekend reading and the gym, respectively, but not so much for the baking. it does come through for me every now and again, though.
tonight i'm making lentil soup once again, but this time trying without bacon, and with whiskey/vodka substituted for the wine - just for kicks. i tried vodka last time, being sans wine, and it was fine, but no real flavor imparted. so whisky was a better choice than rum or "cool blue" (which someone left me last summer). i'll let you know in a half-hour...
i made these amazing spice cookies at christmastime that had sea salt in them, and i had the same salty + sweet (but + spicy) love affair.
wow, how lucky for me: i've been searching for a good lemon bar recipe. perhaps i'll be trying yours this weekend! (our lemon tree is laden with ripe fruit, and i can only drink so many lemon drops. if you have other good lemon recipes, send 'em on over!)
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