Meyer Lemons Two Ways

After using the limequats for the marmalade from the last post, I was anxious to see what I could do with the Meyer Lemons from my brothers Garden of Eden.

My husband has been hankering for some risotto and I have been resisting - all the stirring - Bleeek!  Then a perfect storm of snow days and an abundance of meyer lemon made his wish come true!  

A few simple ingredients:

Meyer Lemon Juice and zest
Arborio rice
Onion
White Wine
Parmesan cheese 
Pine nuts and Mint for garnish

Meyer Lemon Risotto

A lot of stirring...and WhaaLaa!


Creamy, starchy, citrusy wonderousness!

Serve with a green veggie and maybe a simple protein like shrimp or chicken and dinner is served.  


I followed the recipe exactly, so I won't write it all out here.  Here is the link on Simply Recipes.  It really was worth all the stirring!






Recipe #2:  Roasted Cornish Game Hens With Meyer Lemons 

from:  LA Times

• 2 Corninsh Hens
• 4 Meyer Lemons
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 3 medium fennel bulbs (I only had one)
• 3/4 cups each Nicoise  and Picholine olives  (I had kalamata on hand so I used those)
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

1.  About an hour ahead, remove the Cornish game hens from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature.

2.  Heat the oven to 425 degrees.  Slice 2 of the lemons paper thin with a knife or a mandolin.  With your fingers, carefully loosen the skin from the meat on the breast side of the hens.  

Insert 5 or 6 lemon slices underneath the skin of each hen.  Put any unused slices and the ends of the lemons into the cavities, and rub the salt equally over the 2 hens.

3.  Cut the remaining 2 lemons into 8 wedges and scatter them in the bottom of a shallow baking pan with the fennel, olives, and garlic.   Place the hens on top of the fruit and vegetables.  Pour olive oil over the 2 birds, then season with a few grinds of black pepper.

4.  Roast the hens in the oven for 30 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees and roast for about 20 minutes longer, or until the meat is firm, the skin is golden and the juices run clear (a thermometer placed into the thickest part of the bird will register 165 degrees);  the vegetables and fruit will have started to caramelize. 






Although the cook time is about 50 minutes, it only takes about 20 minutes to prep the birds for the oven so the hands on time for this dish is manageable for a week night.

I prepped these before my workout and then threw them in the oven to bake while I worked out.   

I don't recommend this, because the amazing smells coming from the kitchen made it very hard to concentrate on staying on the treadmill!  ;-)

So a two-fer of Meyer lemon recipes....I still have a few left...Hmmm...Lemonade anyone?

Citrus Treasures from Florida

This year for winter break we headed south to check off one of the items on my bucket list.  I have had a fascination with manatees every since elementary school and have wanted to see them up close and personal and, with the extended winter break this year, we finally did it!  

Aren't they cute!

On the way back from visiting with the manatees we got to stop for a lunch visit with my brother and his family.  My brother is an amazing gardener, cook and outdoorsman.  After our delicious gourmet lunch, he took us on a tour of his backyard.  His backyard is something akin to the Garden of Eden with oversized citrus trees, avocado plants, chickens, cats, snakes, fish all living in relative harmony.  Citrus trees were in full production and I scored several bags of gorgeous Meyer lemons and limequats.  

The limequats are the smaller ones and
the Meyer lemons are the big juicy ones.

According to Wikipedia:  The limequat is a citrus tree that is the result of a cross between the Key lime and the kumquat, hybridized by Dr. Walter Swingle in 1909.

and

the Meyer lemon, is a citrus fruit native to China thought to be a cross between a true lemon and either a mandarin or common orange

However they came about, I was eager to try them in some recipes.  

Since I had a lot of limequats - more than I could ever use as a spritzer in my Perrier - the first thing that I tried was Limequat Marmalade.  I perused the internet and mis-mashed a couple of recipes to come up with a beautiful, easy tart-sweet marmalade.

Limequat Marmalade

Limequat Marmalade

• Limequats (I used about 8-9 limequats - mine were large-y)
• Sugar  Use 1 part fruit to 1 part sugar (I measured the sliced limequats and added that much sugar)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 Tbsp (slightly less) vanilla extract

Wash the limequats, remove the seeds and thinly slice.  I used my mandolin to do the slicing.

Add limequats, sugar and water to a non-reactive pan and bring to a boil.  

Boil rapidly for at least 15 minutes, stirring constantly.

Thick, but not thick enough...

Just about there... 
Once the mixture is thickened (You can use the cold plate method to tell if it is done.) Add the vanilla. 

    Pour into Canning jars and process, if you want.  I didn't have that much so I just sealed and refrigerated. 

  The marmalade is delicious served with a little butter on a warm english muffin. Breakfast tart-sweet perfection!







Doesn't all the bright yellow make it seem so much warmer and sunnier outside?

Next up...Meyer Lemon Risotto and Roasted Cornish Game Hens with Meyer Lemon.