Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette

A friend told me about a recipe he found in a grocery store magazine for a lemon vinaigrette for asparagus and it sounded amazing. I decided to give it a shot for Easter dinner and it was fantastic!

Ingredients

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon fresh Thyme leaves, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3/4 teaspoon coarse salt or sea salt

pinch fresh cracked pepper

2 pounds fresh asparagus stalks, washed and trimmed

Directions

In a jar, combine olive oil, lemon juice, Thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and shake vigorously until combined. Store in the refrigerator and serve at room temperature.

Steam asparagus until crisp-tender; do not overcook! 

Drizzle vinaigrette over asparagus to coat lightly.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Chocolate Lemon Cupcakes

Many moons ago, I worked at Dunkin Donuts. My favorite part was finishing and decorating the donuts. It was a chance to be creative in such a non-creative environment. One of my favorite "Manager's Specials" that I would make was the Chocolate Lemon donut. Picture a shell (the kind of donut you fill), filled with lemon custard and topped with chocolate frosting. It was a heavenly combination of sweet and tart all in one bite.


Tomorrow is the 2nd Annual Cupcake Swap for a group of my friends. This is one of the cupcakes I decided to make. Yeah.... I made 3... wanna make something of it??

Ingredients

Lemon Cake:

1 box White Cake Mix

4 egg whites

1/4 cup oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup sour cream

zest of 3 lemons

Lemon Glaze:

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1-2 cups powdered sugar

Chocolate Buttercream:

1/2 cup butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3-4 cups powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.
2. In a small bowl, sift cake mix to remove any lumps.
3. In a large bowl, gently whisk egg whites, oil, buttermilk, lemon juice, sour cream and lemon zest together.
4. Combine wet ingredients with the cake mix and stir until well combined.
5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 15-20 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
6. Lemon Glaze: Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. The mixture should reach a consistency similar to tomato soup. (I can't think of anything else to liken it unto)
7. Spoon glaze over cupcakes that are nearly cooled and let the glaze set.
8. Buttercream: Beat butter and cream cheese for 2 minutes. Scrape down bowl and add vanilla and cocoa. Slowly add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.
9. Pipe buttercream over glazed cupcakes and top with yellow sprinkles or lemon slices. (I topped with Lemon Sprinkles that Pampered Chef used to sell.)

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Best Ever Lemonade

I was looking for a lemonade recipe for my mom's wedding back in 2007 and came across this one on AllRecipes.com - it's pretty good!


Ingredients
1 3/4 cups white sugar
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups lemon juice

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled.
2. Remove seeds from lemon juice, but leave pulp. In pitcher, stir together chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups water.