Key Lime Bars

The ultimate summertime dessert. 

Lemon bars have always been one of my favorite sweet treats.  I love the tartness, sweetness, and bright yellow color.  They look, feel, and taste like summer.

So why not key lime bars? 

Key limes are more tart and aromatic than your traditional supermarket lime, and a bit sweeter than lemons. These little fruits have been around for thousands of years and have been traced back to the Indo-Malayan region, North Africa, Palestine, and Mediterranean Europe.  Key limes now flourish in the Florida Keys, hence the origination of their name, though they have also been called the Mexican lime and West Indies lime. This is why the Florida Keys allegedly have the best Key Lime Pie! 

I was looking for a quick and easy dessert to bring to a small farm picnic.  I'm part of a group at a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and we participate in a workshare.  In English, we work for 2 hours a week on a farm, and in return receive a bag with farm fresh produce. This is an excellent way for a farm to gain some help without having to pay for workers, and we get the pleasure of getting my hands dirty, learning all about gardening, weeding, and farming in general, AND we get to harvest my own vegetables.  I've been harvesting tons of spinach, swiss chard, kale, mizuna, lolla rossa, misc lettuces, radishes, and turnips.  We're still waiting for the tomatoes, carrots, peppers, and tons of other veggies to be ready. 

We are so excited about the gorgeous lettuces we've been harvesting that we decided to have a farm picnic after we work at the farm. We make a big salad with just-harvested greens, bring a few sides and a few beers, and enjoy the farm! This past week I brought these key lime bars, and they were a hit. Creamy, tart custard on a graham cracker crust, topped with fresh whipped cream. How can you go wrong? I baked them on parchment paper for easy removal from the pan to get pretty bars.

This recipe does make a tart key lime bar. I like tart.  If you desire a less tart, sweeter bar, reduce the amount of lime zest by half, and add an extra 1/4 cup sugar. These are fast and easy to make, but remember they must be refrigerated at least 4 hours after baking, preferably overnight, so allocate enough time for yourself.  Although I consider these a great BBQ/picnic dessert, they should be kept cool, so keep them in a cooler unless you want key lime soup  ;)

Happy picnicking!

Key Lime Bars

This is based on Martha Stewart's recipe

Makes about 16 bars

1 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup plus 3 tbsp sugar, divided

5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

3 large egg yolks

1 1/2 tsp finely grated lime zest

2/3 cup fresh Key lime juice (about 23 limes)

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk 

Parchment paper

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 Key limes, thinly sliced, for garnish

1 tsp grated lime zest, for garnish

1. Make the crust. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the parchment paper to line a 8 inch glass baking dish- leave two sides hanging over the dish so you can easily lift the bars out. In a bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, 3 tbsp sugar, and melted butter. Dump this mixture into the baking dish and firmly press the crumbs down until an even layer is formed. Bake for 10 minutes, let cool completely on a wire rack, leaving the oven on.
2. Make the custard filling. Use an electric mixer to whisk the egg yolks and lime zest. Whisk on high until the mixture is very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and add the condensed milk in a slow, steady stream, mixing constantly. Raise speed to high and mix until thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed back to low again and add lime juice; mix until just combined.  Spread mixture on top of cooled graham cracker crust. Bake 10 minutes, rotating halfway, until the top is set and barely jiggly. Cool completely on wire rack. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight.
3. Make whipped cream. In a large bowl or electric mixer, whip cream until large peaks just start to form.  Add the confectioners sugar and vanilla and beat just until stiff peaks form. 
4. Get bars ready for serving. Remove bars from refrigerator and use the parchment paper to lift the entire square out of the baking dish. Use a large, sharp knife to cut bars into desired size. Wipe the knife after every single cut you make to achieve pretty, clean bars. Decorate with whipped cream in whatever fashion you desire. I cut the tip off a ziploc bag and used a decorating tip to pipe the whipped cream on top of the bars, sprinkled some lime zest on top, and finished the bars with a thin slice of lime. 
5. Refrigerate.  The bars can be kept for up to 3 days in a airtight container before they are topped with whipped cream. Once topped with whipped cream, they should be eaten the same day. 

No-Fuss Blackened Chicken

I made some most delicious blackened chicken.  

I also made cat shaped polenta.  But that's not really relevant.

This is super easy and pretty fast.  Just rub the seasoning on, and bake. The longer you leave the rub on, the more the flavors will permeate the chicken.  Rub it on the night before for big flavor.

I didn't plan ahead for that myself, just rubbed it on and threw it in the oven. 

It was finger-lickin good.  Just a bit spicy, but not too hot.  You can adjust the heat by adjusting the cayenne.  The chicken was so moist, the skin nice and crispy. Just simple, healthy, and delicious!

For summertime this would be awesome grilled! It would make a great addition to a BBQ or picnic. :)

Blackened Chicken

Serves 2

1 lb chicken parts, skin on (I used drumsticks and thighs)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Blackened Seasoning:

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped (or 1 tsp dried thyme) 

1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped (or 1 tsp dried oregano)

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)

2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp salt

Mix all the spices together to make the blackened seasoning.  Rub on the chicken.  Place in fridge to marinate, if desired.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle the chicken with the olive oil, and place skin side down on baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Flip the chicken over, and bake another 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Chicken Salad with Pecans, Grapes, and Green Peppers

A little sweet, a little crunch.. this chicken salad has it all.  I made this to bring to a BBQ, and unfortunately it never made it there.

Why, you ask?

Not because it got gobbled up ever-so-quickly.  No.  Because on the way to the car the container slipped from my fingertips in slow-motion fashion as I (in slow motion) yelled a inappropriate curse word at the top of my lungs, resulting in a super dramatic chicken salad explosion.

I would've taken a pic of the Chicken Salad with Mulch, but didn't think you all would be into that recipe. Here's what it looked like in my house before the explosion:

Luckily I had already tried the chicken salad, so I know it was good.  I liked the green pepper in place of the celery.  I also enjoyed the different textures of sweetness from the dried cranberries and sliced grapes.

The Boyfriend got to eat some too, since I had a little container of it stashed in the fridge just for him, the Most Excellent Girlfriend that I am.

This was very much a contents-of-the-fridge-and-pantry chicken salad.  The original recipe calls for tarragon vinegar, walnuts, shallots, and celery.. none of which I had.  I would've liked to use the tarragon vinegar though.  But I made due, and it turned out great.

Chicken Salad with 

Pecans, Grapes, and Green Peppers

Recipe adapted from Epicurious

Makes 4-6 servings

4 cups cubed (1/2 inch) cooked chicken (about 1 3/4 pounds)

1 cup pecans, chopped

2 large or 3 small garlic cloves

1 small onion, minced

1 green pepper, diced small

2 cups red seedless grapes, sliced in 4 or 5 slices each

1/2 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup mayonnaise

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

2 tsp dill week

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Throw all ingredients in a bowl and mix.

Special note:  Make sure you use a grip of steel when carrying to your car.  

A few other fave summertime recipes:

Zucchini Spaghetti with Spring Vegetables

Grilled Shrimp and Smashed Avocado

Strawberry Salad with Halloumi and Cucumber

BBQ Side dish- a few faves.

For you Amanda :)  

A couple fave simple sides-  

Orange Fennel Salad

-Double recipe for BBQ

3 Oranges (preferably blood oranges)

1 Red Onion, thinly sliced

1 Fennel Bulb, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp olive oil

About 1-2 tbls fresh mint

salt + pepper

(Add pitted black olives if you like!)

Remove membranes from oranges:  Peel and pull apart orange sections.  Remove outer skin of each section to expose the flesh of the orange.  Do this over a bowl, reserving the orange juices.  

Toss the orange with the fennel, red onion, lemon and orange juices, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Add the mint and toss gently.  Season with salt and pepper, serve cold.

You can alter this dish by removing the red onion and mint and adding grilled shrimp, 1 tsp chopped chives, and a pinch of cayenne if you like.  

Citrus Chicken Pasta Salad- 

-This is enough for a BBQ!

2 boxes seashell pasta

10 chicken breasts- boneless, skinless, cooked (preferable baked/ roasted, not grilled), and shredded                           

About 1 cup fresh pineapple, slices cut into very thin little tidbits, juice reserved

8 clementines, outer skin removed to expose flesh of the orange

8 small Granny Smith apples, peeled, core removed, and finely diced

2 cups mayo

1 tsp almond extract

Cook seashells according to package instruction, until al dente.  Run under cold water, drizzle with a little olive oil, and reserve.

In a large bowl, mash the clementines with a potato masher until most sections are soft and mushy.  Drain about half of the orange juice, and pour the remaining juice into a small bowl. Add to the small bowl the mayo, reserved pineapple juice, and almond flavoring. Stir to combine. 

In the large bowl, add to the mashed clementines the seashells, shredded chicken, pineapple, apples, and oranges.  Pour dressing over and stir gently.  

Other options:

Caprese Salad Skewers always go over well, although not really a recipe of my own....  Just skewer a piece of fresh basil, a grape tomato, fresh mozzarella, and caper.  They get eaten quick. 

Fruit skewers are fun and cute.  Buy a bunch of fruit- melons, pineapple and cut into fun shapes.  Toss them with a little lemon juice and a bunch of fresh mint, and skewer them onto long wooden skewers.  Place in a sallow vase for a fruit bouquet. 

Sorry no potato salad recipes- I'll post one soon!