I got this recipe from a co-worker years ago. I think his roommate’s girlfriend - or something like that -was a chef…or maybe just studying to be one. It’s been so long I really don’t remember. (He he!) At any rate, she came up with this fabulous recipe. It has a wonderfully light flavor, which is perfect for a beautiful spring or summer afternoon. There’s just a bit of tartness from the lemon, and the coconut gives it an almost tropical taste. You can use limes in place of the lemons, if that’s more to your liking, or even a mixture of the two.

Ingredients:
For the Crust
35 vanilla wafer cookies (about 4.5 ounces)
1/3 cup macadamia nuts (1.6 ounces)
1/3 cup coconut flakes (1.0 ounce)
1/4 cup butter, melted

For Filling
15 ounces cream of coconut
2/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
3 tablespoons cold water
2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

For the Topping
3/4 cup whipping cream, chilled
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions:
For the Crust

Finely grind cookies and nuts in processor. Place in medium sized bowl. Mix in coconut and butter, and stir until blended. Press mixture onto bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch glass or metal pie dish. (I find the bottom of a drinking glass works well for pressing the crust.) Cover and freeze for 30 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 week ahead and kept frozen.) Bake in preheated 350°F oven until crust is golden, about 15 - 20 minutes. Cool completely.

For the Filling
Whisk first 4 ingredients in large bowl to blend.

Pour 3 tablespoons cold water into metal bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over and let stand until gelatin softens, about 10 minutes. Set bowl in small saucepan of simmering water; whisk until gelatin dissolves, about 1 minute. Whisk into coconut mixture. Pour into crust. (Filling will reach top of crust). Chill until set, about 4 hours.

For the Topping
Beat cream and 2 tablespoons powdered sugar in medium bowl until stiff peaks form. Put on top of pie and garnish with lemon rounds.

Serves 10.

Updated

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  I’ve had the flu and haven’t felt much like cooking or writing.  I’ve taken the time to make a few changes to the site, though.  Some are updates on the back end, so you probably won’t notice those.  There is also an alphabetical recipe index to make it easier to quickly browse all the available recipes. Finally, I’m going to start adding nutritional information whenever possible. 

Well, it’s spring…and that means berry season!  This recipe from the 1968 edition of Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book is unlike any other blueberry pie I’ve ever tasted.  It’s long been a favorite in our household.

Ingredients:
pastry for 2-crust 9-inch pie
4 cups fresh blueberries
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash ground nutmeg
dash salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Combine blueberries with sugar, flour, lemon peel, cinnamon or nutmeg, and salt. Line 9-inch pie plate with pastry and fill. Sprinkle with lemon juice; dot with butter. Adjust top crust, seal, and cut slits for escape of steam.  If desired, brush top of crust with milk or egg and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 400ºF for 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm, if desired.

Serves 8.

Updated

This is one of my fall-back grill recipes. It takes just a few minutes to throw the marinade together. Then you just throw it in the fridge to marinate until you’re ready to grill it. The longer it marinates, the more tender the meat, so try to make it a day ahead of time. Also, I find it hard to time grilled food for doneness. It really depends on how even your grill cooks, how windy it is outside, and several other factors. Save yourself a headache and use an instant read thermometer.

The original recipe came from a collection of recipe cards, given to me by my mom, called Healthy Meals in Minutes. Well, I have a confession to make. I’d eat this even if it weren’t healthy!

Ingredients:
1 pound flank steak, trimmed

For the Marinade:
1/3 cup reduced-calorie Italian dressing
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves, crumbled
3/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
To prepare the marinade, in a small bowl, combine the dressing, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, and pepper. Mix well.

Place the steak in a shallow glass dish. Reserve ¼ cup of marinade. Pour remaining marinade over steak; turn to coat. Cover dish with plastic wrap; refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, turning once or twice.

Preheat broiler. Remove the steak from marinade; place on a broiler pan. Discard the marinade in dish.

Broil steak 4 inches from the heat, basting with the reserved marinade and turning once, for 5 to 6 minutes per side for medium-well.

Place the steak on a carving board or serving platter. Let stand for 5 minutes. Slice the steak diagonally across the grain and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

To barbecue, marinate as directed in Steps 1 and 2. Heat charcoal grill until coals form white ash or preheat a gas grill to high. Grill steak for 5 to 6 minutes per side for medium-well. Proceed as directed in Step 5.

What are you going to do with all that leftover Easter candy? Nikki has provided the perfect solution by choosing Easter candy as this month’s Master Baker ingredient. Keep an eye out for her recipe round-up at the beginning of April. There are bound to be recipes for just about every type of Easter candy imaginable!

My favorite Easter candy is the Cadbury mini egg. These are the candy-coated, milk chocolate eggs, not the sickly sweet, creme-filled variety. (Sorry to any fans of the creme egg I may have offended!) I thought they’d be the perfect substitute for the chocolate in a milk chocolate macadamia nut cookie. The easiest way to break the eggs into chunks is to place them in a freezer bag, then whack them with the flat side of a meat tenderizer.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) Cadbury mini eggs, broken into large chunks
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Directions:
Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine mini egg pieces and macadamia nuts. Set aside.

Cream butter until fluffy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy (a couple minutes). Beat in eggs one at a time, and vanilla.

Alternatively mix in the mini egg mixture and the flour mixture, a third at a time, until well blended. Chill cookie dough for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. On cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, spoon out the cookie dough in small 1-inch diameter balls. Place dough balls 3 inches away from each other on the cookie sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just starting to brown. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

I know, I know…another bread recipe. What can I say? I’m hooked. It’s so much fun to make, and I get such great feedback from my family. My grandfather actually tried to pay me to make him a loaf of raisin bread after my mom shared hers with him. And, no, of course I didn’t take the money.

I was looking for a good Italian bread recipe, and none of my cookbooks (not even those all about bread) had what I wanted. I found a basic Italian bread recipe by Emeril on foodnetwork.com that came close. I made a few changes here and there, and the end result was fantastic. This is by far the easiest bread I’ve made to date. I think it may be the addition of the olive oil, but there’s no need to clean the bowl between initially mixing the dough and kneading it. It basically cleans itself!

Ingredients:
2 cups lukewarm water (~100°F)
1 package active dry yeast
5 to 5 3/4 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Directions:
Stir the yeast 1/2 cup of the warm water. Let proof (foam) as you measure out the dry ingredients.

Combine 5 cups flour, sugar and salt salt in a mixing bowl. Add the yeast mixture, remaining water and olive oil. Using a dough hook attachment, mix on lowest speed of electric mixer (stir setting on a KitchenAid) until a dough starts to form. Beat on low speed (2 on a KitchenAid) for 7 minutes. Transfer dough to lightly floured surface and need by hand for 1 to 2 minutes, or until a smooth, firm, elastic dough is formed.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and spray the dough with a thin coating of cooking spray. Wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to proof in a warm, draft-free place for 11/2 hours or until doubled in size.

Remove the plastic wrap, punch down and flatten the rounded dough with the heel of your hand. Roll the dough up tightly, sealing the seam well after each roll. The dough should be elongated and oval-shaped, with tapered and rounded (not pointed) ends.

Preheat the oven lined with a baking stone or unglazed quarry tiles to 425°F.

Place the dough on a baker’s peel heavily dusted with flour, or alternately on an inverted baking sheet. Allow the dough to proof, loosely covered with a floured canvas cloth, for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Brush the dough with the egg white and sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top. Using a razor blade or sharp knife, slash the dough lengthwise about 1/4-inch deep, keeping the blade at a 45 degree angle.

Spray the dough generously with water from a water bottle and place in the oven on the baking stone. Immediately close the oven and bake for 3 minutes. Open the oven door and spray the dough again with the water bottle. Close the oven door and bake for an additional 3 minutes before spraying the dough for a third time (the spraying of the dough will ensure a crisp golden brown crust).

Bake the dough for a total of 45 minutes, or until a hollow thud is heard when tapping the bottom of the bread. Allow the bread to cool before slicing.

Makes 1 large loaf.