A Lovely Lemon-y Loaf

“A lovely ladies purse” (spoken in a high Cockney accent)…I am not certain why that phrase came to me as I sat down to write this blog but as I say “A lovely Lemon Loaf”aloud, it reminds me of some obscure dialogue in some forgotten movie-so onward!   I made my Lemon Loaf from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan on a very rainy day.  I had these tiny, little lemons from a friend’s tree and decided that I needed to use them.  They have a very thin skin and are about 1 1/2” in diameter.  I don’t know why but all things in miniature look so appealing.  They are just too darn cute!  The recipe went together quite easily.  I did change the recipe a bit as I had already read a few of the early comments about the recipe not having enough lemon flavor and turning out a bit dry.  So, I used full fat sour cream instead of the heavy cream (mainly because it was raining and I didn’t want to trudge out in the rain for heavy cream) and about 1/3 c of lemon juice from my tiny, little lemons that I had zested to add liquid and for some extra flavor.  I had my first taste of it this morning and it is good.  The loaf is a bit dense and a little dry like I read in the comments.  However, I bought some fresh strawberries to top it off and I am hoping that it will make it even more delicious.

Today is a beautiful southern California day- sunshiney and bright, the air is cool at 7 am.  Wishing all of my baking friends “A Lovely Lemon-y Loaf!” especially with strawberries, whipped cream and lemon curd…

That’s amore!

“When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie…

That’s amore!”

Well, it’s Tuesday and that means baking.  I gotta say,  Pizza Rustica is amore.  On Sunday I mixed the dough and it was fabulously easy, it came together quickly and was in the fridge in a flash, resting and chilling.  Monday, turned out to be too busy with personal stuff so the pizza pie baking was left for Tuesday.  Since I was out and about after work today I stopped to purchase the ricotta cheese but forgot to get the Pecorino Romano…   When I got home I was able to roll out the dough and mix up the ricotta filling.   I had never done a lattice top on a pie before and it was fairly easy-peasy and ended up looking pretty.   Then I  popped the pie into the oven.  It baked quickly and was out in 35 minutes.   The crust was slightly overly browned at the edge.  That would be my only complaint.  My daughter and I set up the photo op for our “little darling” and took a few quick pics before we cut into the Pizza Rustica.  The sweet pastry held the savory egg and ricotta filling that had been flavored with mozzarella and bacon, rather than the prosciutto.  It is a surprisingly delightful combination.

So here it is… Ladies and Gentlemen:  Pizza Rustica!  Now that’s Amore!