Private Cooking Class with Linda Johnson

Soup, salad, and dessert. One way to justify the rich dessert is to have a lighter meal, so today we made Italian Wedding Soup, Salad with red leaf lettuce, goat cheese, spiced pecans, cranberries, and balsamic vinaigrette, and Meyer Lemon Tart with Pecan Cookie Crust.

I adapted a recipe from Rebecca Rather who makes her famous Big Hair Lemon-lime Tarts, but instead of using meringue I prefer whipped cream. Linda bought Meyer lemons so our curd was made with all Meyer lemons, rather than a combination of lemons and limes. It was much sweeter and less acid than the lemon-lime curd, so it's all a matter of preference. The tart dough reminds me more of a cookie dough and has a thicker, crunchier texture, which I think is great, especially the unexpected nuttiness of the crust combined with the tart citrus. Try it and see what you think. I had a phone call from a woman who sampled Debbie Mear's lemon tart from last week and she told me it was the best pie crust she's ever eaten, and she claimed to be a crust connoisseur. She really loved the lemon tart and wanted to know if I sell my baked goods.

Lemon Tarts with Pecan Crust

Crust
1 ½ cups pecans, toasted in 350 degree oven for 7 minutes, coarsely chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, unsalted at room temperature, plus 2 T for greasing tart pans
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
Butter 4 ½ inch tart pans (approximate 8), using your fingers.
Using mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium high until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla, then flour and salt. Combine on low speed, then add nuts. Don’t overmix.
Form dough into a ball and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Press down into prepared pans. Bake crusts for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 30 minutes. (Crusts can be made ahead and stored in airtight containers for up to 2 days)

Lemon Curd

10 extra large egg yolks
1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (can also use ½ lemon juice, ½ lime juice, or Meyer lemon juice)
Zest of 2 lemons
½ cup butter, cut into cubes
Pinch of salt

Mix egg yolks, sugar, juice and zest in a large STAINLESS STEEL bowl set on top of simmering water. Add cubes of butter. Water should not touch bowl, only need about 2 inches of water. Cook mixture for approximately 40 minutes, or until it is a thick, but loose custard. (or temperature of 165 degrees/leaves a path on the back of a spoon)
Transfer mixture to another bowl (stainless steel) and cover the top directly with plastic wrap and cool for at least 4 hours (or freeze 1 hour)

To prepare tarts: Remove shell from tart pans. If shells are cold, briefly place in hot oven and this will loosen bottom tart pan round. Handle them gently. Spoon cooled curd into tart shells.

Chantilly cream
2 cups whipping cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Whip until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Whip until stiff peaks form, but do not overwhip. Place in piping bag and pipe around the edge of tart in star shapes.

Italian Wedding Soup

Linda told me a while back that she was interested in learning to make soup. She does not like thin, watery soup that is not filling. I think the Italian Wedding Soup is a hearty and tasty soup, using fresh herbs and vegetables. Making you own soup is not too difficult and a great way to use up leftovers. You can also control the amount of salt! I am so tired of restaurant soup because it is invariably oversalted and overseasoned. Even Central Market soups, which I used to love, have been inconsistent the last few times I tried them. Gloppy, salty, overcooked, just not good. The only really great soups I've had have been in Fredericksburg, Texas, at the Nest and the Herb Farm. I make soup regularly, ranging from Chicken Tortilla Soup, a family favorite, to Miso soup with seaweed and tofu, and Poblano Corn Chowder. The Italian Wedding Soup is a fairly light soup and can be made even lighter with turkey or chicken meatballs, instead of beef. In my version we baked the meatballs in the oven to release as much fat as possible, rather than cook them in the broth. Linda gets extra credit for making her own chicken stock!

(and it was really good) We talked about how the soup we made could be easily modified using any vegetables she had on hand, sweating them in a little oil, adding wine, stock, some leftover chicken or meat, a handful of any pasta or broken noodles, some fresh herbs, some chopped tomato, and low sodium stock. She is really good with master recipes and I have a feeling she will make some interesting soups in the future.

Italian Wedding Soup

Meatballs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
½ pound lean ground beef, chicken, turkey
¼ cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp minced garlic
2 T chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 T milk
2 T chicken broth
1 egg, beaten
¼ t red pepper flakes
1 tsp Kosher salt
½ tsp pepper
Pinch nutmeg
Mix all ingredients, except meat, and then add meat. Form meatballs into 30 walnut size balls. Bake in 375 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Soup
2 T olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup carrot, diced
1 cup ham, diced (optional)
1 T minced garlic
Sweat the vegetables in the olive oil until softened.
Add
½ cup dry white wine and deglaze the pan until almost evaporated
Add
8 cups low sodium chicken stock
2 t dried oregano
1 t red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
1 cup small pasta for soup (stars, baby bow ties, etc.)
1 can cannellini or beans of your choice, rinsed and drained (optional)
Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and add the pasta, simmer for 15 minutes.
Add meatballs, beans, spinach, and parsley and cook until spinach wilts, about 2 minutes. Do not add the spinach until you are ready to eat if you make this soup in advance.

Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.

Lastly, we made the salad, which I have included in a previous blog post with the recipe.

Linda had not made homemade vinaigrette before so this was something different for her.

She really enjoyed the salad and the constrasting components. I explained the importance of using the best, freshest, organic leaf lettuce (or her favorite lettuce), washing and drying it in a salad spinner (which she had), and keeping it chilled, as well as chilling the salad plates or bowls.

The texture of the crisp, cold lettuce, with the creaminess of the goat cheese, the spicy, crunchy pecans, and the unexpected sweetness from a few dried cranberries is a taste surprise, with the brightness and acid from the balsamic vinaigrette. Add a few halved ripe cherry tomatoes, some red onions, and even more flavors are possible. I explained to her that I rarely use any store bought salad dressing, preferring to make my own dressing every few days. Again, I control the salt, sugar, and fat and there are zero additives/preservatives. It only keeps for 3 days, but it's very easy to make and it really, really is worth it. Salad is so often an afterthought, with some bagged, tasteless lettuce leaves thrown on a plate topped with some sweet, thick dressing and underripe, bland tomatoes on the side.

I was pleased to see that Linda really loved the salad. Now her husband, Baker, is not a salad eater, but he had plenty of lemon tart to enjoy.