Lemon Bars

These lemon bars were super sweet and I didn't love the shortbread crust.



Lemon Bars (Epicurious.com)

Ingredients:
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
hot shortbread base
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a bowl whisk together eggs and granulated sugar until combined well and stir in lemon juice and flour. Pour lemon mixture over hot shortbread. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. and bake confection in middle of oven until set, about 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan and cut into 24 bars. Bar cookies keep, covered and chilled, 3 days. Sift confectioners' sugar over bars before serving.

Shortbread Base

Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut butter into 1/2-inch pieces. In a food processor process all ingredients until mixture begins to form small lumps. Sprinkle mixture into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan and with a metal spatula press evenly onto bottom. Bake shortbread in middle of oven until golden, about 20 minutes. While shortbread is baking, prepare topping.

Risotto with Spring Vegetables and Ham

I've been making a few new recipes but not quite as often as I would like. We have 2.5 more weeks until Kaylee gets her freedom back after having double knee surgery. I should have more time then.

I made this recipe a couple weeks back and it was ok, but not as good as the goat cheese risotto. Part of that could be my modifications too.



Risotto with Spring Vegetables and Ham (CookingLight.com)

Ingredients
3/4 cup shelled fava beans (about 1 1/2 pounds unshelled) I omitted because I could not find them.
2 cups water
2 cups (1-inch) slices asparagus (about 1/2 pound) I used green beans.
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion (about 1 small)
1/2 cup finely chopped smoked ham (about 3 ounces)
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or other medium-grain rice
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup shelled green peas (about 1 pound unshelled)
3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation
1. Cook beans in boiling water 1 minute; drain. Plunge beans into ice water; drain. Remove tough outer skins from beans; discard skins. Set aside.
2. Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add asparagus to pan; cook 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove asparagus from pan with a slotted spoon; rinse under cold water. Set aside. Add broth to boiling water; reduce heat. Keep warm over low heat. Reserve 3/4 cup broth mixture; keep warm.

3. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and ham to pan; cook 10 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Add rice; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium-high. Stir in wine, and cook 2 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add the remaining broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 minutes total).

4. Stir in peas, reserved beans, and reserved asparagus. Add reserved 3/4 cup broth mixture, stirring until liquid is absorbed (about 4 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup cheese, cream, butter, salt, and pepper. Place about 1 cup risotto into each of 6 shallow bowls; sprinkle each serving with 2 teaspoons remaining cheese.