Lemon-Lime Ice Box pie

About three months ago my friend mark asked me to try making a Key Lime pie. I did and since then I have been experimenting with these delicious citrus flavored desserts.

My first attempt was the Key Lime pie using a recipe from Cook's Country. It tasted great but lacked structure. My next attempt was the combination by of both lemon and lime. This pie was better, but still was a little runny and the graham cracker crust needed work. I was also dissatisfied with how the two layers looked.

This past weekend I made my third attempt, addressing the concerns from the past pies and I am pleased to say that I achieved perfection. A delicious no-bake Lemon/Lime Ice Box Pie.

I adapted the recipe from the 2009 season of Cook's Country.

First I ditched the pie plate and used a spring form pan. I increased the amount of graham crackers, butter and sugar for the crust. I did this because I wanted enough graham cracker crumbs to line the bottom and sides of the pan.

I followed the recipe for the lime filling and then just repeated the recipe, substituting lemon for lime juice and zest. I also added three drops of green and yellow food coloring to give each layer a distinctive look.

After making the lime filling I put the pie in the freezer so it would firm up while I mixed the lemon filling. This way there would be no mixing of the two layers.

I served each slice with a dollop of whipped cream and tiny candied lemon and lime wedges.

The pie was tart, but not too tart with a nice sweetness to balance it out. the lemon lime flavors were distinctive, but went well together. The pie looked great with the bright green and yellow layers perfectly separated. And the graham cracker crust was firm without being hard and had a really nice flavor to it.

My pie was declared a huge success by my friends. Next up a lemon/ raspberry chiffon pie!!

Recipe:
Graham Cracker Crust
14 Graham Crackers broken in pieces
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 stick of butter, melted.


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Line the bottom of a spring form pan with a circle of parchment paper.
Place graham crackers in food processor. Add sugar and butter and process until it has the texture of moist sand.
Pour the crumbs into the pan. Use a spoon to press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and up and around the sides.
Bake in the over 10-12 minutes, till golden brown and firm. Set aside to cool.


Filling
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon of lime zest
8 oz. cream cheese softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup instant vanilla pudding mix (the no-cook kind)
green food coloring
1 1/4 teaspoon of plain gelatin
1 cup of fresh squeezed lime juice (based on size you will need 8 or 9 limes)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract


1.) add sugar and zest to food processor and process for 30 seconds
2.) add cream cheese and process for an additional 30 seconds
3.) Add sweetened condensed milk, putting mix and 3 drops of green food coloring. process for 30 seconds
4.) use a spatula to scrape down sides of processor bowl
5.) in a small dish place 2 tablespoons of lime juice and the plain gelatin, stir. Place in microwave for 15 seconds to heat and dissolve gelatin
6.) While processor is running add gelatin lime juice mixture, remaining lime juice and vanilla. Process for 30 seconds
7.) pour filling into spring form pan and place pan in freezer for 15 minutes.


While pie is firming repeat the above 6 steps with the following substitutions.
1 tablespoon of lemon zest
3 drops of yellow food coloring
1 cup of fresh lemon juice (about 6 lemons based on size)


Take pie out of freezer and ad lemon filling. Place pie back into freezer for 10 minutes and then transfer to the refrigerator. Cover with plastic wrap. To have a smooth top try to avoid having the wrap touch the filling. Chill 5 hours or more. Can be made a day in advance.


Serve with whipped cream and little wedges of lemons and limes coated in sugar.

BBQ Chicken Breasts

I was back in my own kitchen today making a healthy dinner of BBQ grilled chicken breast, peas with caramelized pearl onions and steamed broccoli. The broccoli was fresh, but the pearl onions and peas were frozen. I buy the chicken breast cutlets in bulk when they are on sale. Trim them and bag 2 or 3 in a  Ziploc bag and freeze. This way there is always chicken ready to be defrosted for dinner.

The chicken cutlets were patted dry and then brushed lightly with olive oil then sprinkled with kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder and smoked paprika.

After getting the BBQ nice and hot and brushing the grills with oil I seared the chicken on each side in order to get some nice grill marks. Then I turned the far right burner off and moved the chicken to the cool side of the grill, closed the lid and let it cook for about 15 minutes.

In the meantime I heated some oil in a large skillet and added 1/2 bag of frozen pearl onions. I cooked these till they were translucent, about 5 minutes and the I added 2 teaspoons of brown sugar and continued to toss the onions until they were caramelized. I placed the onions on a plate and wiped out the skillet of excess oil.

After 15 minutes I brushed the chicken with BBQ sauce and then closed the lid again. two to three minutes later I turned the chicken and brushed the other side with sauce. I repeated this twice. I checked the chicken for an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

I took the chicken off the grill and tented it. I heated the skillet, added a whole bag of frozen peas and the onions and cooked for 4 to 5 minutes. I placed the basket of broccoli florets over a pot of boiling water and steamed the broccoli for 5 minutes. Do not steam it any longer, if you do the broccoli will turn gray.

The broccoli was served with a light spritz of I Can't Believe It's Not butter.

The garlic powder and smoked paprika gave a nice boost to the BBQ sauce. In this case I used Bullseye bottled sauce (original flavor).

The sweetness of the onions complimented the peas perfectly.

Tony's Pizza Napoletana

I love the simplicity of a good slice of NYC pizza, but I am open to exploring other pizzas too, so yesterday a group of us went to Tony's Napoletana Pizza in North Beach. It is right next door to Tony's Coal Fired Slice House.

In 2007 Tony won the award for Best Pizza Margherita at the World Pizza Cup in Naples, Italy. Tony was the first American and non- Neapolitan to win this award. This award winning pizza is available on his menu, but he only makes 73 a day. We were fortunate to have one of the last ones available.

The menu describes the pizza as having a rustic, medium crust. Tony makes it the same way he did in Naples, using the same ingredients and cooking it in the same oven. He starts with dough mixed by hand using San Felice flour. The dough is proofed in Neapolitan wood boxes. The dough is the shaped into a pizza round and covered with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella fior di latte, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil. The pizza is baked in a 900 degree wood fired oven and served on a pedestal.

I loved this pizza. The tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, oil and crust all came together in perfect harmony. In each bite the flavors were enhanced by the presence of the sea salt. It deserves every accolade it receives.

We arrived at the restaurant at 5:00 PM and surprisingly there was no line. There was also nobody at the podium waiting to greet people. I stood for a full five minutes, waiting, wondering if I came in the wrong door. Servers went by, bustling with trays and pizza boxes and no one said anything. Finally the host appeared, he had been at the bar talking with someone. I gave the benefit of the doubt and assumed it was customer related.  Besides, now he had to deal with the 15 people in line behind me. I gave my name and guest count and within 10 minutes we were seated.

The service was quick and friendly. Since we were new to this side of the restaurant our server went through the pizza options on the menu, including her recommendations. We placed our pizza orders and waited.

While we waited we were served a basket of fresh baked Foccia with three dipping oils; extra virgin olive oil, olive oil and garlic and olive oil and red pepper. We also shared a Cesar salad. The romaine was crisp and fresh, the Parmesan had a nice bite and the dressing was rich and creamy. One salad was enough to share between five of us.

Within minutes our pizza arrived. I already talked about the Pizza Margherita but we also ordered the New Yorker; mozzarella, hand crushed tomato sauce, pepperoni, sliced Italian fennel sausage, ricotta, chopped garlic and oregano cooked in the wood burning oven.

And the Americano, cooked in a gas brick oven, this pizza featured mozzarella, pepperoni, Molinari salami, mushrooms, red onions, bell peppers, black olives, Italian sausage and cherry tomatoes. It was a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach.

Tony's Napoletana has a reputation for the best pizza in the city and it is well deserved. Everything was delicious, the service excellent and atmosphere friendly and inviting. We will be going back.

After dinner we slipped next door to the Slice House and had some authentic Gino's Italian Ice, imported all the way from NYC; Lemon, Chocolate and Cherry. Cool and refreshing palette cleanser.

Mr. Joe Kitchen rating 5 Aprons

Tony's Pizza Napoletana
1570 Stockton St
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 835-9888

Monday & Tuesday Closed
Wednesday - Sunday 12 noon -11pm

Tony's Coal Fired Pizza & Slice House

Tony's Coal Fired Pizza & Slice House opened a couple of weeks ago in North Beach. Right next door to Tony's Pizza Napoletana. The slice house offers authentic NY style pizza and NY and Chicago deli sandwiches.

I love NYC pizza. I grew up on it and it is, absolutely the best pizza going. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to find outside of NYC. I had just about given up on finding a really good thin crust NY pizza in San Francisco. I would drive down to San Jose to visit Kirk at Slice Of New York every couple of months, to satisfy my cravings.

But now we have Tony's Coal Fired Pizza & Slice House right here in San Francisco and I can get NYC pizza anytime I want it. (except Mon. & Tues. when they are closed)

This pizza is the real deal. Crisp, thin crust, yet still has a good chew. The sauce is absolutely amazing. Just the right balance of acidity and sweetness with a full robust tomato flavor. And the cheese!! Perfectly cooked mozzarella. This pizza was great. I am a plain cheese guy, but Tony' offers pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms and many other toppings. They have a slice of the day posted on a chalkboard by the door.

The service was fast, fun and friendly. The pizza was fresh and hot and was served within five minutes.

There is one table inside and two tables outside, but this pizza is made to be eaten on the go. Just give the slice a fold and and you can walk and eat. 

Tony also offers authentic Italian delicatessen sandwiches and at some point I'll give them a try, but this is now my "go to" destination for great pizza in San Francisco.

Did I mention they also carry authentic Gino's Italian Ices from NYC. Try a refreshing scoop of lemon or cherry after your pizza. Yum!

Mr. Joe's Kitchen rating **** aprons

The Counter

The Counter is a customer build burger chain. There are 24 locations and many more scheduled to open, including one in Times Square, NYC. We visited the new location in Corte Madera.

According to the website the customer can create up to 312,000 burger combinations. When you arrive the server explains you have two choices, you can build your own burger with a special menu checklist, or order a house specialty burger from the regular menu. I went with a basic bacon cheese burger.

To start I chose the 1/3 pound Angus beef burger. Other selections are chicken, turkey, veggie and special of the day. The burgers also come in 2/3 pound and 1 pound sizes. Another option is getting your burger served in a bowl instead of on a bun.

Step #2 I ordered American cheese, from the ten cheeses on the menu. Some of the other cheeses to choose from included Tillamook cheddar, horseradish cheddar, imported Swiss and sharp provolone. At Step # 3 you can choose up to 4 toppings from a list of twenty items. Plus they offered nine premium toppings, which cost $1.00 more. I chose the Applewood Smoked Bacon.

Step #4 choose from the variety of 20 different sauces on the menu (I went with ketchup on the table. And finally Step #5 choose your bread. Hamburger, Multigrain or Onion Bun. English muffin or special of the day. A traditionalist I went with the hamburger bun.

Along with the burger we started with some fried onion strings and we shared an order of fries.

The food came fast. The onion strings were hot, crisp and zesty. The coating had a nice flavor with a hint of heat. The appetizer was quickly followed by the burgers. My burger was cooked exactly the way I asked with a nice char-broiled exterior and plenty of beefy flavor. My bacon cheeseburger came with what appeared to be one strip of bacon folded in 1/2, and one portion was over cooked to the point of being crunchy. The cheese had reached that perfect melting point where it was warm but not gooey. Topped with some ketchup and few onion strings my burger was really delicious and satisfying (except the crunchy bacon).

My friends agreed their burgers were just as good, except one of them had selected steak sauce for their burger and the kitchen left it off.

The french fries are the size of matchsticks, about 1/8 of an inch thick. They had a nice crispness to them, but if you only ate one, it tasted more of oil than potato. They were nice, but I like a more robust french fry with a crisp exterior and fluffy, potato interior. These were too delicate. One serving of fries was plenty to feed three people. 

The menu also features a selection of sandwiches, kids options and three other types of fries, including sweet potato fries. There offered desert and milk shake too. The restaurant has a full bar, and beer and wine list.

The meal came to $18 bucks each (including tax and tip) for three custom built burgers, three soft drinks, an appetizer and an order of fries. A little pricey, but the quality was there so I will be going back.

To learn more about The Counter go to  www.thecounterburger.com

Mr. Joe's Kitchen rating *** aprons

Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie.

I have been going to the gym and trying to eat healthier so I have been looking for ways to add protein to my diet. Here is a delicious smoothie I created that is loaded with protein. I drink this as my morning or midday meal.

You will need a blender. I start by pouring a weight loss shake into the blender, as a base. I use the Kirkland brand found at Costco, but you can use Slim-Fast, or a generic brand such as Safeway. Next add one scoop of whey protein powder. I don't have a brand favorite, but I do watch for the sales at GNC. Next chop 1/2 of a high protein energy bar into chunks. I recommend the Premier Protein Bars sold at Costco. They have the highest percentage of protein out of any bar on the market and 24 bars at $19.99 is a really good price. You can also order them on-line at www.PremierProtein.com. I save the rest of the bar for eating at the gym, or using in a shake tomorrow.

In addition add 1/2 of a frozen banana. I cut up two three very ripe bananas and keep them in the freezer so they are ready for blending. Add 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt. I switched to using regular yogurt rather than "lite" or "low-fat" because there are no additives. Safeway has a great brand under the organics label. Finally drop in 4 or 5 ice cubes.

Once everything is the blender start up on regular speed and then increase it to high. I blend for about 45 seconds or until I no longer here the ice grinding. Pour and serve. This will generally make two servings, so share with a friend or put the remainder in the refrigerator and drink it after the gym. Enjoy.

Ingredients
Blender
12 oz weight loss shake or chocolate protein drink (10g protein)
1 scoop whey protein powder (25g protein)
1/2 chocolate peanut butter protein energy bar, chopped (15g protein)
1/2 ripe banana, cut into pieces
1/4 vanilla, banana or plain yogurt (2g protein)
4 or 5 ice cubes 


total 52g protein or 26g per serving. 

My Culinary Journey

My adventures in the kitchen began in february 2009. One evening instead of using a jar of tomato sauce I followed a recipe from America's Test Kitchen and created my own. Then I browned and seasoned some ground turkey and mixed it it. I let it simmer, served it over pasta and it was delicious. I knew I would never be going back to sauce in a jar again. I also knew I wanted to do some more cooking.

I began cooking in earnest and when I had a chance, I took a photo of my creations. What follows is some of the thing's I have made in the kitchen. This is by no means a comprehensive list. Sometimes the camera is not handy and sometimes the food does not last long enough to snap a picture. Enjoy!

Irish Soda Bread for St. Patrick's day

Creamy, non-dairy, Cream of Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese and chips

Two Cheese Baked Ziti

Spaghetti with Garlic, Basil Meat Sauce served with tossed greens and grape tomatoes.

Classic Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Grilled Chicken with a Lemon Parsley sauce served with Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli

Pasta Caprese - pasta tossed with cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and chopped basil

Grilled Chicken with tomato basil sauce served with a loaded baked potato and steamed broccoli with a lemon garlic dressing

Fresh baked No-Knead Bread

Sunday Dinner - A delicious Roast Beef

The Roast Beef was served with mashed potatoes, glazed carrots and peas with shallots and tarragon.

Skillet Baked Ziti. One pan and done in 30 minutes.

Mocha cupcakes. made from a mix with Starbucks VIA Instant Coffee added.

Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce.

Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce over spaghetti served with steamed broccoli with a lemon garlic drizzle, and fresh Italian Bread (store bought)

Butternut Squash Soup

Spicy Pan Roasted Chicken Breast with Sweet Potato and Apple Hash, Frizzled Brussel Sprouts with Spaghetti Squash and a Pillsbury Crescent Roll.

My first attempt at a Red Velvet Cake. Looked brown, but tasted great.

Fresh baked, homemade Cinnamon Rolls. These were great!!

Pan Seared Pork Tenderloin with a Rosemary and Garlic pan sauce served with Brussel Sprouts.

Absolutely amazing Chocolate Chip cookies. The secret is in the butter and the mixing.

Mom's Old-Fashioned Irish Beef Stew.

Baked Ziti with a Tomato Basil sauce and two cheeses, Mozzarella and Parmesan.

St. Patrick's Day - Corned Beef with cabbage, potatoes and carrots.

Lemon filled Cupcakes with lemon Cream Cheese frosting.

Extra-crunchy Fried Chicken with crisp french fries and onions.

Sunday morning Beignets.

Extra crunchy Fried Chicken with Apple Cabbage Slaw and Home-made Corn Bread (the corn bread was not a success)

Blueberry Smoothie

More Lemon filled Cupcakes.

Roast beef with grilled Asparagus, Mashed potatoes and a drop biscuit.

Cold Oven Pound Cake.

Oven Baked Pork Chop with homemade bread crumbs and oven baked garlic and Parmesan potato wedges, served with steamed broccoli and apple sauce (Mott's)

Orange Banana Smoothie

Very Berry Smoothie with pomegranate juice.

Pan Roasted Chicken Breast with a lemon Thyme pan sauce served with steamed broccoli drizzled with red onion and garlic dressing.

Spinach Salad with seasoned grilled chicken, hard boiled egg, grape tomatoes, bacon and a warm bacon vinaigrette. Served with home made garlic bread.

The best BBQ ever! Smoked Texas Beef with Texas BBQ sauce on hearty piece of sandwich bread. Served with  Apple Cabbage Slaw and macaroni salad.

BBQ Chicken Breast, Apple Cabbage Slaw and grilled corn on the cob.

Icebox Lemon Pie. I adapted a recipe for Icebox Key Lime Pie

Chopped Salad with grilled chicken breast, romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes and a balsamic vinaigrette's.

Icebox Lemon/Lime Pie. I made the Icebox Key Lime Pie first. let it set, then added a layer of my icebox Lemon Pie.