Bing Cherry Lemonade

A week of temperatures in the hundreds with another week of the same ahead, and who knows what’s after that?!  Weather like this calls for something cool and refreshing.  This pretty and delicious drink has been just the ticket for me the past couple of days, and makes good use of the abundance of bing cherries this time of the year.  I can’t get enough of them, so am only too pleased to be able to enjoy them in as many forms as possible.  This recipe serves six, but can be doubled or even tripled if you have a crowd.

Bing Cherry Lemonade

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup water

1 cup pitted Bing cherries

½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 cups cold water

Gratings of fresh ginger (optional)

Place sugar and water into a medium saucepan and heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved.  Add ½ cup of cherries and bring to a boil.  (For added zing, you can stir in about 1/8 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger, if you like.)  Boil 5-6 minutes to soften cherries; mash slightly with a fork.  Set mixture aside to cool.

Strain cooled syrup into a pitcher, pressing on fruit to squeeze out juices.  Add lemon juice, water, and the remaining cherries.  Pour over ice and garnish with a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint.

Yield: 1 quart

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sweets for a Saturday

Seasonal Sunday

Sunday's Best Party

Lemon Pie Bars

Question:  How do you make an entire room full of people fall in love with you?

Answer:  Show up with a tray full of these delicious Lemon Pie Bars from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook.  It works.  Guaranteed!

I have a lot of cookbooks, so these days I check them out from the library before making a purchase.  This book got to me.  Unfortunately it got to a lot of other people as well; I’d have to keep turning it back in because some scoundrel kept putting it on reserve!  This “back-and-forthing” (and grumbling and muttering) went on for four times while my husband sat on the sidelines, a bemused look on his pastry-covered face.  A week after I reserved it for the fifth time, a box from Amazon showed up at the door, inside was this book and SprinkleBakes, a gift from my husband.  What a guy!  If you haven’t gotten this book yet, do it now.  Go ahead, click through and buy it, I’ll wait.  You will not be sorry, you’ll be in awe.  One recipe is better than the next, and my goal is to try them all.

This is the perfect summer dessert, cool and refreshing on a hot day, the zing of citrus certain to perk you up despite crushing humidity.

Lemon Pie Bars

For the crust

3 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 24 crackers)
12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
2 Tablespoons sugar

For the filling

1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
1 cup fresh lemon juice
Two 14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk
6 large egg yolks

Fresh Whipped Cream (optional)

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350° F.  Grease a 9 X 13 inch baking pan and line with parchment, allowing the ends of the paper to hang over two opposite edges of the pan.

To make the crust:  In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar and blend with a fork until the crumbs are evenly moistened.  Press the graham cracker mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.  Use a piece of parchment to press on the crust with the palm of your hands to make sure it is completely level.

Bake the crust for about 8 minutes, until lightly golden.  Let cool completely before adding the filling. Turn the oven temperature down to 325° F.

To make the filling:  In a large bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, sweetened condensed milk,  and egg yolks.  Pour the filling over the cooled crust.

Place the baking pan inside a larger baking pan and pour enough hot water into the larger pan to come halfway up the sides of the smaller pan.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the filling is puffed at the edges and no longer jiggles in the center when the pan is tapped.  Remove the pan from the water bath and set it on a rack to cool for 1 hour, then refrigerate until cold.

Cut the bars into squares and serve chilled, with the whipped cream.  The bars will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To make fresh whipped cream:

2 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar

Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the cream on medium until it starts to thicken.  Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until the cream holds nice soft peaks.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sweets for a Saturday

Sunday's Best Party

A Coastal Dinner

My Lobster Linens, Now What? post brought a lot of comments from amazingly creative people both on Blogger and Flickr, for which I thank you all very much!  I couldn't have done it without all of your wonderful suggestions.  Now, bearing in mind that I live in the Mississippi Valley, not near an ocean, and, as such, nautical items are few and far between, I don't think I did such a bad job.  Here is the result of  couple of weeks of brainstorming, your suggestions, and using what I had.  I think this tablescape drew more comments from diners than any other I've ever done.  My son, who is probably my number one fan, told his grandmother, that I can open up a closet and pull out anything and make a centerpiece out of it.  Funny, but probably true.  It happened in this case when I pulled out the small black roasting pan and started from there.  Let me know what you think,  I loved creating this one.

Here is the roasting pan in question.  While I don't have a lobster pot, per se, this got the job done.  I filled it with new potatoes and corn, giving an indication of what was to come, and topped it with a plastic lobster that I bought from Amazon (of all places).

I absolutely adore these napkin rings and this wonderful fabric.  I had not planned on making such a big display of the napkins.  I simply accordion folded them and slid each into a napkin ring.  In doing so it splayed out more than I liked, so I figured, heck, why not just take it around the entire white plate.  People loved this!

I found the lobster salt and pepper shakers at Pine Hill online.  I think they are my new favorite pair and I'll be putting them to a lot of use this season.  The pails I had around the house: the large one once was home to an amaryllis plant, the smaller one contained the burned down remains of a citronella candle.  I cleaned both up and think they worked out beautifully.

Here's an overview.  Someone had suggested I use lanterns.  While these candleholders aren't lanterns exactly, they gave the look of them and worked well.  The fish pitcher, well, it's been with me since the seventies and is one of the first pieces of tableware I think I ever purchased.  I love it and it never fails to draw comments.

Tablecoth and napkins - Pottery Barn
Plates and roasting pan - Old Time Pottery
Cups and Saucers - Amazon
Napkin Rings - Pine Hill
Lobster Salt & Pepper Shakers - Stonewall Kitchens
Glassware - La Rochere

This is linked to

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life 
Open House at No Minimalist Here
French Country Cottage
My Romantic Home
At the Picket Fence
Funky Junk Interiors
Under the Table and Dreaming
Between Naps on the Porch

CSI Project