When life hands you lemons...

[Jensen]

10 down: 9,999,990 to go

I took pictures of my adventure in preserving lemons but, as luck would have it, I had some sort of write error on my Flash card and none of them were recorded. So, all I've got is a photo of the finished product:

I used 10 lemons: 5 quartered and 5 juiced. Lots of salt. The lids I had on hand didn't have a waxed finish so I put a piece of plastic wrap over the jar before sealing it.

[cheesecakegoddess]

Lemon Liqueurs? Anyone have a good recipe for that? I've seen one or two great ones for oranges...

Andrew

we did something years ago we called Sunny Lemon Cough Remedy (originally Sunny Lemon Rum, but it really went over well during cold season). just fill the jar of your choice with rinsed, quartered lemons, top off the jar with gold rum, and sit in the sun (inside if it's cold out, outside if not) for several weeks, shaking occasionally. strain, add warmed honey to taste (coats the throat nicely, if you're going the cough syrup route; any form of sugar is an option otherwise), and bottle. also good on vanilla ice cream...

[gus_tatory]

man, you are very lucky to have such a beautiful tree...no fair bragging when it's in the 'teens here in nyc!!!

i was gonna say, no fair bragging when it's -35 celsius in montreal.

umm, that's close to where fahrenheit and celsius meet (-40)!

[alanamoana]

also, when preserving you can add some spices: bay leaf, peppercorns, thyme whatever combination pleases you. since you have so many, you can experiment a little. when they've sat in the liquid long enough (a couple of weeks or so), just take the "meat" away from the skin and use the skin only. at least that's how we did it.

i worked in san francisco for a restaurant that has a retail product line. they made preserved lemons and lemon curd to sell to high end gourmet shops. well, one day at the restaurant a semi-truck pulls up to the garage and unloads an entire truckload of meyer lemons!!! about three guys in the garage juiced for about 15 hours a day for three weeks. boy, the garage never smelled so good. we had barrels and barrels of preserved lemons. it was crazy!

[fifi]

OK... I'll bite. What the heck do you do with barrels and barrels of Meyer lemons? And, where the heck did the truckload come from?

[Jensen]

OK... I'll bite. What the heck do you do with barrels and barrels of Meyer lemons? And, where the heck did the truckload come from?

My house ...

[NVNVGirl]

I agree that meyer lemon curd is wonderful. But so is Meyer Lemon Marmalade...you can use it as a glaze on chicken and fish too...plus, it's really pretty and sunny looking

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

6 Meyer lemons (1 1/2 lb)

4 cups water

4 cups sugar

Special equipment:

Cheesecloth

Kitchen string

6 (1/2 pint) Mason type jars, sterilized

Halve lemons crosswise and remove seeds. Tie seeds in cheesecloth bag. Quarter each lemon half and thinly slice. Combine with bag of seeds and water in a 5 qt. nonreactive heavy pot and let mixture stand, covered, at room temperature 24 hours.

Bring lemon mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 4 cups, about 45 min. Stir in sugar and boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally and skimming off any foam, until a teaspoon of mixture dropped on a cold plate gels, about 15 min.

Ladle hot marmalade into jars, filling to within 0/00 inch of top, Wipe rims with dampened cloth and seal jars with lids.

Put jars in water-bath canner or on a rack set in a deep pot. Add enough hot water to cover jars by 1 inch and bring to a boil. Boil jars, covered, 5 minutes and transfer wtih tongs to a rack. Cool jars completely.

Marmalade will keep, stored in cool dark place up to one year.

[JAZ]

This won't use many -- unless you have a party, of course. But they're good.

After School Special

[ludja]

This won't use many -- unless you have a party, of course. But they're good.

After School Special

Thanks, this sounds interesting...

[Jensen]

Taking a break from my race preparations ...

After the preserved lemons, I made a Greek chicken dish--chicken pieces baked with lemon, olive oil, and oregano.

Yesterday, I made a batch of lemon cheese, using a Bon Appetit recipe. I put most of it in a jar, which will be taken to the potluck at the races tomorrow, along with some scones. I had some leftover so I baked half a dozen tart shells and filled them; they didn't last too long.

I've got the vodka for making limoncello but haven't got round to it yet.

[ronnie_suburban]

Taking a break from my race preparations ...

After the preserved lemons, I made a Greek chicken dish--chicken pieces baked with lemon, olive oil, and oregano.

Wow, does that look awesome! Yum!

=R=

[ludja]

Taking a break from my race preparations ...

After the preserved lemons, I made a Greek chicken dish--chicken pieces baked with lemon, olive oil, and oregano.

Yesterday, I made a batch of lemon cheese, using a Bon Appetit recipe. I put most of it in a jar, which will be taken to the potluck at the races tomorrow, along with some scones. I had some leftover so I baked half a dozen tart shells and filled them; they didn't last too long.

I've got the vodka for making limoncello but haven't got round to it yet.

Thanks for sharing your ongoing onslaught against the legions of meyer lemons and for the great photo; I know what I'm making for dinner tonight!

[Jensen]

I should probably say that I am willing to send some lemons to eGulleteers if they have their own shipping accounts. This offer will last until I get tired of shipping them out ...

[ronnie_suburban]

I should probably say that I am willing to send some lemons to eGulleteers if they have their own shipping accounts.  This offer will last until I get tired of shipping them out ...

hehe...life handed me some lemons (a big box full of some extraordinarily beautiful ones--thanks Jensen ) and I've been having a fun week with them...

So far, aside from sprucing up some cocktails, I've made (i.e. collaborated on) a salad dressing (using zest, juice, dijon mustard, chives & canola oil), and a wonderful batch of braised nappa cabbage and smoked pork tenderloin finished with meyer lemon juice. Later this weekend I'll be making a batch of lemoncillo and possibly some lemon sorbet. I'm also going preserve a portion of them using a recipe from The Joy of Pickling. If I have any left after that, I'll also be making a lemon tart.

I handed about half the lemons off to guajolote who will be using some of them to make a Puerto Rican style pork butt (subbing the meyer lemons for sour oranges), and last night he made scallopini (sp?) and used the meyer lemons, stock, white wine and capers to make a sauce for it.

...and that just about takes care of box #1.

I'm ready for my next shipment

Thanks again Jensen. It was very kind of you to send them.

=R=

[ronnie_suburban]

Here is a picture of a dish I made using the Meyer lemons that Jensen sent to me

It's braised pork hocks (fresh) with Meyer lemons (6 of them, cut into 8 pieces each--hopefully they are visible in the picture). I also used a small amount of mirepoix, some celery root, S.M. tomatoes, garlic, parsley, bay leaf and white wine.

For the gremolata, I used the zest from the Meyer lemons, parsley, garlic, EVOO, s&p. The dish turned out great...the primary flavor note being the Meyer lemons. The half-wedges of Meyer lemon which cooked with the pork were so tender, they could be eaten, rind and all with the dish (and they were great!). The dish itself was really tasty and much different in flavor than the braised dishes I usually make.

Thanks again Jensen

=R=

[Tam]

Beautiful dish, Ronnie!

[Jensen]

Here is a picture of a dish I made using the Meyer lemons that Jensen sent to me

Oh my! I see next time I will have to deliver them in person (staying for dinner, naturally).

[alanamoana]

OK... I'll bite. What the heck do you do with barrels and barrels of Meyer lemons? And, where the heck did the truckload come from?

mostly on the west coast, but restaurant lulu sells their product at high end gourmet shops like "draeger's", etc.

the restaurant itself didn't use any of it!

p.s. don't know where the truck came from...jensen's house?!

Edited January 26, 2004 by alanamoana (log)

[tanabutler]

I feel your pain, Jensen. My Meyer lemon tree is bent to the ground, and I'm afraid it will break.

Here are two of my favorite uses of the lemons.

Tagliarini with Lemon Sauce

Tagliarini al Limone

from (one of my faviorite cookbooks ever) Patricia Wells' Trattoria: Simple and Robust Fare Inspired by the Small Family Restaurants of Italy

4 T (60 g) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 c (250 ml) heavy cream

1/4 c (60 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice

Sea salt

1 pound (500 g) fresh tagliarini, tagliatelle or fettucine

Grated zest of 3 lemons

3 T fresh flat Italian parsley, snipped with scissors

Freshly grated Italian Parmesan-Reggiano cheese, for the table (optional)

1. In a skillet big enough to toss the cooked pasta later, combine butter, cream and lemon juice over low heat. [Tana's note: I melted butter, added lemon juice, stirred, and then slowly added the cream to prevent curdling. Maybe unnecessary, but it worked.] Remove from heat when thoroughly combined.

2. In a large pot, bring 6 quarts (6 liters) to a rolling boil. Add 3 tablespoons salt and the pasta, stirring to keep pasta from sticking. Cook until tender. Drain, leaving a little water clinging to the pasta so the sauce will adhere.

3. Transfer pasta to the skillet, tossing to blend. Add the lemon zest and toss again. Cover and rest for 1 to 2 minutes to allow pasta to absorb sauce. Transfer to warm shallow bowls, sprinkle with parsley leaves, and serve immediately. Grated cheese optional.

[Tana's notes: Fresh pasta is necessary because this is a delicate sauce. I didn't have Italian parsley, so once I made it with curly parsley, which was delicious, and another with fresh snipped marjoram, which was equally good.]

There is also a recipe for lemon risotto that I've made:

The lemon risotto recipe is (loosely): 2 shallots sautéed until translucent in 2 T. butter with 1 T. olive oil (I, of course, used lemon olive oil), add 1-1/2 cups risotto and stir over moderate heat until the risotto is slightly translucent and shiny (glistening). Add 1 c. white wine and stir until absorbed. Then, stirring, add one ladleful at a time of 4 cups simmering chicken or vegetable stock. When that is all absorbed, remove from heat and add the grated zest of 3 lemons, their juice, and minced herbs (about 2 T. each: mint, sage and rosemary). Serve immediately with grated parmesan.

[ronnie_suburban]

Here is a picture of a dish I made using the Meyer lemons that Jensen sent to me

Oh my! I see next time I will have to deliver them in person (staying for dinner, naturally).

By all means ...although you may want to wait until the temperature goes back into double digits...

..and, thank you Tam.

=R=

[Raynickben]

You can sell just about anything on Ebay!

Edited January 26, 2004 by Raynickben (log)

[duckduck]

I swear to God Ronnie...one of these days I'm going to just hop a plane and show up at your front door for dinner....

[ronnie_suburban]

I swear to God Ronnie...one of these days I'm going to just hop a plane and show up at your front door for dinner....

...lemons have always brought me good luck!

=R=

[zennenn]

Hi Jensen--

I'll take you up on your lemon offer--don't know if I've got the PM thing down, or maybe Egullet is having tech difficulties?

Thanks!